Much of the discussion during Monday night’s Trenton City Council meeting involved discussion on trash service complaints. City administrator Ron Urton provided a list of recent complaint calls received by city hall detailing addresses that experienced issues. Two members of the public, Larry Huffstutter and Gaylon McCorkle voiced their concerns. Responses were provided by Rapid […]
Tag: terms
Farm Service Agency now accepting nominations for county committee members
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency began accepting nominations for county committee members on June 15. Elections will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas for these members who make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2021 election must be postmarked or received in the […]
Bob Griffin, longest-serving Missouri House speaker, has died at age 85
(Missouri Independent) – Bob F. Griffin, who served as speaker of the Missouri House for 15 years until he was forced to resign in the face of a federal criminal investigation, died Wednesday in Columbia. He was 85. Griffin was the longest-serving speaker in the state’s history. During his tenure as speaker from 1981 to 1996, the […]
Rains Heating and Cooling in Princeton files suit against Grundy County Nursing home District
A petition for damages has been filed against the Grundy County Nursing Home District relating to bidding for a partial HVAC system replacement in the 1972 section of Sunnyview Nursing Home and Apartments of Trenton. Rains Heating and Cooling in Princeton filed the petition, which involves five counts, including breach of contract, unjust enrichment, money […]
Some of Missouri’s largest CAFOs are seeking less stringent state regulation
Eleven of Missouri’s largest concentrated animal feeding operations are working to reduce the state’s oversight of their hog facilities despite a record of manure spills and clean water violations. Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, has 11 CAFOs seeking new state permits. The facilities, dotted across northern Missouri, combined are capable of raising more […]
Judge strikes down Missouri Medicaid expansion as unconstitutional
The push to expand Medicaid eligibility in Missouri was dealt another blow on Wednesday, as a Cole County judge ruled the voter-approved initiative was unconstitutional because it didn’t include a way to pay for 275,000 new enrollees. Plaintiffs, which include three people who would have been eligible for Medicaid on July 1 if the expansion […]
Webinar and publications offer guidance for local broadband initiatives
Thirty-seven percent of Missourians did not have wired broadband in their homes from 2015 to 2019. Should we be concerned that one out of three Missouri households are not connected to high-speed internet? What does “wired broadband” mean? As governments roll out new broadband initiatives, these are timely questions that Broadband Technologies: A Primer on […]
Missouri prison healthcare contract won by a company accused of bid-rigging in Tennessee
(Missouri Independent) – The long-time contractor for medical services in Missouri’s prisons is protesting the state’s decision to award the business to a company that will charge more than lawmakers appropriated and is accused of bid-rigging to obtain a contract in Tennessee prisons. Centurion Health, a Virginia subsidiary of St. Louis-based managed care company Centene, beat […]
Audio: Missouri Public Defender System prepares to hire 53 new attorneys, biggest staffing increase since around 1989
If Gov. Mike Parson does not make changes to the Missouri Public Defender System’s next budget, the office is on track to get its largest staffing increase since about 1989. Director Mary Fox tells Missourinet 53 new public defenders would be hired statewide. “This is going to make a huge difference in terms […]
Judge rejects effort to add plaintiffs to Missouri Medicaid expansion lawsuit
(Missouri Independent) – A trial to determine whether Missouri must expand Medicaid coverage as mandated by a 2020 initiative will take place Friday as scheduled, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled Tuesday. The ruling against adding new plaintiffs to the case came a day after Beetem heard arguments over whether two people who would become eligible for Medicaid […]
USDA announces dates for Conservation Reserve Program general and grasslands signups
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has set a July 23, 2021, deadline for agricultural producers and landowners to apply for the Conservation Reserve Program General signup 56. Additionally, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will accept applications for CRP Grasslands from July 12 to August 20. This year, USDA updated both signup options to provide greater […]
Trenton City Council informed 17th Street Bridge to open by late June or July 4th weekend
Work is progressing on the 17th Street Bridge project in Trenton with City Administrator Ron Urton telling the council Monday night that if weather conditions allow, he anticipates the new bridge can be opened by late this month or by the July 4th weekend. In his report, Urton noted base rock and curbing have been placed […]
Missouri lawmakers passed a host of reforms aimed at keeping kids out of jail
(Missouri Independent) – Retired St. Louis Judge Evelyn Baker once sentenced a 16-year-old Black boy to 241 years in prison for two armed robberies. No one was seriously injured in the robberies, but the boy “didn’t express any remorse,” Baker said, remembering the sentencing hearing. Now, when she thinks back, Baker deeply regrets the sentence […]
Court news for Division One of Grundy County Circuit Court on Thursday, June 10, 2021
Jail sentences were ordered for several defendants during Thursday’s session of Division One of Grundy County Circuit Court. A Trenton resident, Joshua D. Phillips, pleaded guilty to felony domestic assault in the first degree, causing serious physical injury to another person. He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor stealing. Both charges stem from an incident in […]
‘Defund the police’ was designed to provoke a response. In Missouri, it worked
(Missouri Independent) – For years after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, activists and community leaders have pushed to “re-envision public safety.” Inspired in part by the Ferguson Commission, which recommended that cities focus more resources on the root causes of crime, organizers across the state echoed these calls. But they largely fell on deaf ears. […]
Attorney General says Missouri lawmakers can refuse to fund Medicaid expansion
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers were not obligated to fund Medicaid expansion, and the courts cannot force the state to pay the medical bills of people who would be eligible under an initiative that amended the state constitution, the state attorney general’s office argued in documents filed Monday in Cole County Circuit Court. The filing from Attorney […]
Despite high voter turnout, women hold only 30% of political offices
Women account for a majority of the U.S. population, but a new report shows they make up less than one-third of high-level government leadership at the local, state, and national levels. A first-of-its-kind study by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University found women hold just over 30% of positions in mayoral […]
COVID-19 surge in north Missouri creates worries for summer as vaccinations decline
(Missouri Independent) – In the last week of April, the Linn County Health Department signaled that the COVID-19 pandemic had cooled enough that it could discontinue weekly reports on new cases. With only three active cases on April 21, the urgency for frequent updates seemed to have passed. But the coronavirus came roaring back this […]
Grundy County Republican Central Committee elects officers
The Grundy County Republican Central Committee elected officers on May 17th. Officers elected were Vice Chairperson David Meservey and Treasurer Michael Ormsby. The terms are for two years. Claude Harris was approved as a committeeman for Trenton’s Third Ward. It was decided the Grundy County Republican Central Committee will have a booth at the Missouri […]
Trenton’s Convention and Visitors Bureau board members define operation of group
Trenton’s Convention and Visitors Bureau continued discussing how the group will operate, including drafting policies and procedures. Spending authorization has been extended to the board chairman and treasurer in amounts not to exceed $1,000 without board approval. A quorum will consist of a majority of the members. The attendance policy allows no more than three […]