(Missouri Independent) – Seventeen Republican members of Congress have sued the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seeking an end to the federal rule requiring passengers on commercial flights and in airports to wear masks. The mandate illegally restricts the lawmakers’ freedom and is not backed by legal authority, they said in the suit filed Monday. […]
Tag: step
Princeton R-5 Board of Education to meet on March 14th
The Princeton R-5 Board of Education will discuss steps and movement for certified staff and the wage schedule for non-certified staff. The board will meet in the high school activity room on March 14th at 5:30 in the evening. Other items on the agenda include facility repairs involving high school brickwork, the proposed divisional switch […]
Trenton Board of Education approves 2022-2023 salary schedule which sets base pay at $36,000
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education on March 8th approved, on a vote of five to one, salary schedules for the 2022-2023 school year. Approval was given after hearing a proposal from Charley Crimi with the Salary and Welfare Committee and a recommendation from Superintendent Mike Stegman. The certified salary schedule for next school year […]
Man arrested after fleeing from law enforcement near Chillicothe
A 37-year-old man was arrested near Chillicothe on Sunday night, March 6 after he allegedly failed to yield to law enforcement and fled. Chillicothe Police Sergeant Jeremy Stephens reports officers conducted a traffic stop near Mitchell Road and Corporate Drive, but the vehicle continued to the area of the 600 block of Corporate Drive. He says […]
Brunswick man injured in crash on Highway 24
The Highway Patrol reports a Brunswick man sustained moderate injuries as the result of a van running off the road west of Brunswick Sunday afternoon March 6. Eighty-year-old Gail Stephenson was taken to Carroll County Memorial Hospital in Carrollton. The van traveled west on Highway 24 before running off the right side of the road […]
Kansas National Guard soldier pleads guilty in Missouri court to sexual exploitation of a child
A man serving with the Army National Guard pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually exploiting an 11-year-old southwest Missouri victim to produce child pornography. Christian Sinclair, 21, of Chanute, Kansas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of the sexual exploitation of a child. By pleading guilty, Sinclair […]
Treasurer calls on Missouri pension funds to sell Russian investments in wake of Ukraine war
(Missouri Independent) – State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick wants Missouri to join other states that are dumping Russian investments from retirement funds. In a news release Tuesday, Fitzpatrick called for an emergency meeting of the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) Board of Trustees for votes to block future purchases of Russian securities and consider how to divest […]
Missouri budget bill blocks Medicaid patients from accessing Planned Parenthood
Missouri’s supplemental budget bill signed into law Thursday includes a provision to block patients who rely on Medicaid from accessing Planned Parenthood health centers. Federal Medicaid law protects patients’ rights to choose their providers, including Planned Parenthood. Michelle Trupiano, executive director of the Missouri Family Health Council, noted because of the Hyde Amendment, Medicaid cannot cover abortions, […]
Video: Biden taps Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as first black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden formally announced the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday afternoon. “President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,” the White House said in a statement. If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson, 51, […]
Ten Florida residents indicted for $67 million healthcare fraud, wire fraud, kickback, and money laundering scheme
Ten Florida residents were charged in an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of Florida for their alleged roles in a $67 million health care fraud, wire fraud, kickback, and money laundering scheme involving the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary genetic tests and durable medical equipment. Daniel M. Carver, […]
Missouri man sentenced to more than 14 years in prison for carjacking pizza driver
A Missouri man appeared before United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark late Friday afternoon and was sentenced to 179 months in prison for carjacking a Domino’s Pizza driver in February 2021. According to the plea agreement, on or about February 5, 2021, Ryan McDaniel, 25, of St. Louis, approached the victim who was […]
State judges across the U.S. face growing GOP pushback against rulings in election cases
Missouri Independent) – In mid-December, Texas’ highest criminal court revoked the state attorney general’s ability to use his office to prosecute election-related cases without the request of a district or county attorney. In an 8-1 opinion, the all-Republican court weakened Attorney General Ken Paxton’s power to independently go after perpetrators of voter fraud, a problem he says […]
Disability advocates say to focus on accessibility in voting reforms
Experts say Missouri ranks low among states when it comes to steps it has taken to improve accessibility in voting. Denise Lieberman, director and general counsel of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, which has a disability-rights committee, said people with disabilities face barriers at all stages of the voting process, from registering to vote to […]
Misinformation fuels false belief that Missouri COVID death figures are being inflated
(Missouri Independent) – On a recent Tuesday evening in southeastern Missouri, John Freeze stood in front of yet another angry group of constituents. Some here believe the number of COVID-19 deaths are being purposefully inflated for financial gain. Among the culprits, in their mistaken view: Hospitals seeking Medicare reimbursements; The federal government, led by Dr. Anthony […]
Missouri man sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for producing child pornography with 6 year old
United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark sentenced Andrew Hotchkiss to 27.5 years in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for the production of child pornography. Hotchkiss previously pleaded guilty in November 2021. Between the dates of March 1, 2019, and May 13, 2019, in St. Francois County, Missouri, […]
Major Gregory Smith, of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, to retire March 1, 2022
Major Gregory K. Smith, commander of Field Operations Bureau with direct oversight responsibility for all nine troops, the Aircraft Division, and the Water Patrol Division will retire March 1, 2022. Smith was appointed to the Patrol on July 1, 1989, as a member of the 61st Recruit Class. After graduating from the Academy, he was […]
Why millions on Medicaid are at risk of losing coverage in the months ahead
(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News. The Biden administration and state officials are bracing for a great unwinding: Millions of people losing their Medicaid benefits when the pandemic health emergency ends. Some might sign up for different insurance. Many others are bound to get lost in the transition. State Medicaid […]