(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 […]
Tag: The K
Hy-Vee launches financial services across eight states
Hy-Vee, Inc. announces the launch of Hy-Vee Financial Services, fueled by Midwest Heritage. Customers across Hy-Vee’s eight-state region can now enroll in and apply for financial services, including checking and savings accounts, auto and home insurance, home mortgages, consumer loans, and pet insurance. Additionally, Hy-Vee Fuel Saver + Perks and Hy-Vee Plus premium members can […]
After winter cold snap drove up natural gas prices, utilities grapple with who should pay
(Missouri Independent) – Penalties that Spire Missouri issued to suppliers who failed to provide natural gas during a February cold snap that forced power outages across the Midwest could drive bills for hospitals, schools, and businesses to astronomical levels, according to a trio of complaints pending before state regulators. During the worst of the cold snap in February, […]
Lawmaker announces that he will reintroduce Taiwan Defense Act
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he will reintroduce the Taiwan Defense Act (TDA), following new signs of China’s increasing belligerence in the Asia-Pacific and imperial ambitions worldwide. Sen. Hawley’s bill ensures the United States is able to defeat any attempted Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Originally introduced in June 2020, TDA is co-sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), Steve […]
Princeton Board of Education approves bids, presented update on summer maintenance projects
The Princeton R-5 Board of Education on Monday evening, June 14, approved a bid for a passenger vehicle pending availability and final approval of a facility grant. The approved bid was from Suburban Chevrolet of Tulsa, Oklahoma for $45,695. Pettijohn Auto Center of Bethany also submitted a bid for $44,414. Pettijohn’s bid was lower, but […]
“Fireworks in the Park” set for July 5 in Jamesport
Activities are planned leading up to fireworks in Jamesport. The Jamesport Community Association and Lil’ Red Shed Fireworks will present Fireworks in the Park at the Jamesport City Park on July 5, starting at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Activities will include blacksmithing demonstrations, bounce houses, face painting, and a parade. There will also be […]
Access II Fishing Tournament reels in money to support the disabled
Access II Independent Living Center netted $480 during their Summer Fishing Tournament Sunday, June, 6 at Harrison County Lake. Eleven teams came out to raise money for Access II, a non-profit agency that provides services to people with disabilities and the elderly in Northwest Missouri. Winners from the tournament include: First Place Bass: Gaige Blanton/Beau Blanton […]
As massive livestock operations move in, fighting them gets harder for rural neighbors
(Missouri Independent) – Jeff Jones has lived on his family’s land east of Columbia, Missouri, his entire life. Some of the family’s farms are more than 150 years old. And Jones, who raises cattle and grows row crops, has no intentions of going anywhere. But after years of fighting, his community is home to a […]
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 […]
University of Missouri report looks at population trends in Missouri
Missouri’s population grew by about 11,000 people from 2019 to 2020. This 0.2% increase is only half the national rate of 0.4%, though it is typical of the modest growth experienced by many other Midwestern states. But the picture gets more complicated when you zoom in to specific regions and counties. “This growth is uneven,” […]
Audio: Missouri’s Governor to sign Second Amendment Preservation Act on Saturday
Legislation establishing a Second Amendment Preservation Act will be signed into law Saturday afternoon by Missouri’s governor, in the Kansas City suburb of Lee’s Summit. Governor Mike Parson will sign SAPA Saturday at 2 p.m. at Frontier Justice. House Bill 85 is sponsored by State Rep. Jered Taylor (R-Nixa) and State Sen. Eric Burlison (R-Battlefield). They say […]
‘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. […]
Missouri man charged with drug trafficking, illegal firearms after calling 911
A Missouri man who called 911 to aid his mother was charged in federal court after police officers responded to their residence and found evidence of drug trafficking and illegal firearms. Michael Cummings II, 39, of Kansas City, was charged with possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and with possessing firearms in furtherance of […]
Woman facing charges in Mercer County after entering a Princeton residence
A Bethany woman faces charges in Mercer County after she allegedly unlawfully entered a Princeton residence in March where a man she previously dated lived. Thirty-eight-year-old Jackie McCrary has been charged with second-degree felony burglary, misdemeanors of second-degree property damage, and stealing with a value of less than $150, no prior stealing offense. Bond was […]
Governor Mike Parson to be on campus of NCMC in Trenton to sign House Bill 574
Governor Mike Parson is to be on the campus of North Central Missouri College at 4:30 Thursday, June 10, 2021, to sign House Bill 574. According to the governor’s office, the intent of that bill is to protect agriculture producers from those who seek access to facilities under false pretenses. The bill specifies the U.S. […]
Filibusted: Experts say the time has come to end Senate practice
(Missouri Independent) – Even the stuffy, florid name of the procedure, “filibuster” sounds like something conceived around a table of wig-wearing Founding Fathers. While the name has its roots in the 18th Century (with pirates nonetheless), the concept and practice in the United States Senate is much younger, not being implemented in a modern form until […]
Missouri, Kansas utilities may use loophole to charge customers for fossil fuel lobbying
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri and Kansas residents’ utility bills may be helping to bankroll the energy sector lobbying against policies aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Federal and state rules prohibit utility companies from passing their lobbying costs on to customers through bills. But in both Kansas and Missouri, utilities like Evergy, Ameren, and Spire […]
47 participate in “Cops and Bobbers” event
Even with other events in the area but with near-perfect weather on Saturday, the Trenton Police Department hosted 47 local children at the 9th Annual Cops ‘N Bobbers fishing event. Numerous fish were caught as area kids spent the morning of June 5th, 2021, fishing with the men and women of the Trenton Police Department […]
Audio: Missouri’s Governor to sign prescription drug monitoring program on Capitol lawn in Jefferson City
The governor will sign prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation into law Monday (today) in Jefferson City, making Missouri the 50th and final state to have the PDMP program. Governor Mike Parson (R) plans to sign bipartisan PDMP legislation from State Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City) and State Rep. Travis Smith (R-Dora) Monday afternoon, on the Missouri Capitol lawn […]
Missouri Department of Agriculture announces 2021 Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program
The Missouri Department of Agriculture announced that the Missouri Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program is up and running for the summer. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services, the SFMNP assists low-income seniors in obtaining fresh, Missouri Grown produce and generates more than $200,000 for the farmers’ market community. Through the […]