(Missouri Independent) – Senate Democrats and immigration advocates are pushing the White House to end a controversial Trump-era immigration policy enacted during the pandemic that allowed U.S. officials to expel migrants and asylum seekers at the border. “I continue to be disappointed, deeply disappointed, in the administration’s response,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York […]
Tag: Texas
Planned Parenthood sues Missouri social services agency over restricted Medicaid funds
(Missouri Independent) – Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Thursday against Missouri’s Department of Social Services, alleging the agency unlawfully plans to restrict Medicaid payments to the provider. A March 4 notice sent to Planned Parenthood of St. Louis Region cites a supplemental budget bill lawmakers passed last month that bars abortion providers or their affiliates from being […]
North Central Missouri College Foundation announces honorees for the Distinguished Alumni Class of 2021
North Central Missouri College Foundation announces the Distinguished Alumni Class for 2021, John Hunolt, Janet (Boyd) Lake and Nick Sottler. Honorees will be recognized during the Pirates Ball on March 26, 2022, at the Ketcham Community Center on the campus of North Central Missouri College. The Pirates Ball is to honor distinguished alumni, Voyage Fund […]
Audio: Former Branson performer receives 5 years probation for wire fraud
A one-time Branson performer has been sentenced to five years’ probation after pleading guilty last year to wire fraud. Jason Patrick Garrett was the star of the John Denver Tribute, performed at the Branson IMAX theater 6 nights a week for several years. He ended his shows by asking audience members to donate […]
Missouri Attorney General joins coalition of 27 states in urging Supreme Court to protect coach’s right to pray after football games
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a coalition of 27 states filing an amicus brief in Kennedy v. Bremerton, supporting a Washington state football coach’s right to engage in his private exercise of religion by praying after football games. Coach Joseph Kennedy was suspended by Bremerton School District after praying while in view of his […]
Missouri State Auditor begins audit of Texas County
State Auditor Nicole Galloway today announced that her office has begun a regularly scheduled audit of Texas County, located in south-central Missouri. The most recent audit of Texas County was completed in November 2017 and gave the county an overall performance rating of “poor,” the lowest possible. “My office will conduct an independent review of government operations […]
Biden OKs release of 30 million barrels of oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden authorized on Tuesday the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, part of an international boost to the global oil supply that has been disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The reserve is a complex of four sites with deep underground storage caverns in salt […]
Missouri man sentenced to 13 years in prison without parole for meth conspiracy
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court after law enforcement officers seized more than two kilograms of methamphetamine from his residence. Walter M. Terrell, 37, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 13 years in federal prison without parole. On Sept. 1, 2021, Terrell pleaded guilty to one count […]
Missouri judge hands down five year prison sentence for $1.6 million investment fraud scheme
A man was sentenced in federal court for defrauding two Kansas City-area brothers who have also been convicted in the investment fraud scheme. Duc Nguyen, also known as “Doug,” 58, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to five years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Nguyen to […]
Major Michael Turner transfers to Field Operations Bureau in Jefferson City
Major Michael A. Turner, bureau commander for the Support Services Bureau, will transfer to the Field Operations Bureau, General Headquarters, Jefferson City, MO. As bureau commander for Field Operations, Major Turner will have direct oversight responsibilities for all nine troops, Aircraft Division, and Water Patrol Division. He will continue serving as a member of the […]
North Missouri Sportsman’s Alliance to hold events at Chillicothe Elks Lodge
The North Missouri Sportsman’s Alliance will hold two events at the Chillicothe Elks Lodge on April 9th: a free deer antler scoring program and a Texas Hold ’Em Poker Tournament to raise funds for the alliance to fund the Share the Harvest program. Deer racks will be accepted from 9 o’clock to noon. Certified Pope […]
Coalition of 13 attorneys general call for resignation of Alejandro Mayorkas’ at Department of Homeland Security
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, along with 13 other attorneys general are calling for U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ resignation. In a letter, citing the continued failure to enforce federal law and secure the southwest border, the coalition of 14 state attorneys general is demanding that Secretary Mayorkas leave office as his […]
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 […]
Two Carrollton teenagers injured in crash on rural county road
The Highway Patrol reports two Carrollton residents sustained serious injuries when a pickup truck struck a ditch in Carroll County Thursday night, February 17th. Passengers 18-year-old Triniti Gibson and 18-year-old Chrissy Wheeler were taken to the Carroll County Memorial Hospital. No injuries were reported for the driver, 21-year-old Chance Wadley of Sandia, Texas. The truck […]
U.S. House hearing on extremism toward minorities turns into ‘defund the police’ debate
(Missouri Independent) – Leaders of faith organizations and Historically Black Colleges and Universities told members of a U.S. House panel on Thursday how their institutions and places of worship have been roiled by bomb threats and extremism. They talked about the recent waves of bomb threats aimed at HBCUs, a terrifying hostage-taking at a Texas […]
Agricultural producers have until March 15 to enroll in USDA’s Key Commodity Safety Net Programs
Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2022 crop year have until March 15, 2022, to sign a contract. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers these two safety net programs to provide vital income support to farmers experiencing substantial declines in […]
Two women, former federal correctional officers, plead guilty to bribery and contraband smuggling scheme
Two former correctional officers pleaded guilty to engaging in bribery and smuggling contraband into Leavenworth Detention Center. According to court documents, Jacqueline Sifuentes, 26, of Laredo, Texas, and Cheyonte Harris, 29, of Raytown, Missouri, previously worked as correctional officers at Leavenworth Detention Center, a privately-run maximum-security federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. Sifuentes used her position […]
American Farm Bureau Federation claims it’s the ‘voice of agriculture,’ Others beg to differ
(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published as a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “voice of agriculture,” a slogan it trademarked in 2007. But as the divide between agribusiness and small farmers has grown in recent decades, a unified voice of agriculture has become harder to […]
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 […]
Federal funds coming to Missouri to plug abandoned oil and gas wells
Missouri is among the states set to receive infrastructure funding for plugging what are known as an orphan, or abandoned, oil and gas wells. Uncapped orphan wells release methane, which is 80 times more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide over its first 20 years in the atmosphere. Amber Steele, geological survey program director of […]