Gun RIghts graphic V2

Lawmakers pen letter to ATF in defense of Americans’ Second Amendment rights

U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) sent a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) and Explosives expressing concern over two of their newly-proposed gun rules that could threaten Americans’ Second Amendment rights.  The rules, 2021R-05 and 2021R-08, would require the retention of firearms transaction records forever, paving the way to […]

Missouri Governor Mike Parson

Parson set to call special session to extend Federal Reimbursement Allowance with ban on certain contraceptives

(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers appear to be headed into a special session next week to renew medical provider taxes vital to sustaining the state’s Medicaid program. Gov. Mike Parson met Tuesday with the state Senate Republican caucus. The group discussed language that would bar the state from paying for some contraceptive medications and devices and extend […]

United States Capitol Building by Florian Pintar on Unsplash

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 […]

WOTUS or Waters of the United States

Missouri Attorney General opposes reinstatement of overreaching WOTUS rule in Letter to EPA and Army Corps of Engineers

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Army Corps of Engineers, opposing their recent move to reconsider the more limited Navigable Waters Protection Rule, a President Trump-era rule that reversed the 2015 Obama-era Waters of the United States rule. EPA Administrator Michael Regan and the […]

Man With A Knife

Disturbance at Chillicothe business results in arrest of a man making threats with a “bladed weapon”

A report of a disturbance at a business in the 200 block of West Business Highway 36 in Chillicothe the evening of June 1st led to an arrest. Assistant Police Chief Rick Sampsel reports an investigation revealed one subject had threatened another with a bladed weapon. Forty-nine-year-old Walter Franklin Spunaugle has been charged with second-degree […]

Hands in Handcuffs Arrest graphic

Authorities report four arrested over the weekend

Court dates have been set following multiple arrests this past weekend on various charges. Forty-year-old Caleb Ray Ingraham of Trenton has been charged with felony assault in the third degree, felony exhibiting a weapon and misdemeanor peace disturbance.  Bond is $7,500 pending an appearance Tuesday in the Associate Division of Grundy County Circuit Court.  Court […]

Charges Filed

Hamilton man charged with domestic assault and unlawful use of a weapon after threatening family members

A Hamilton man has been charged with two felonies after he allegedly threatened family members with a knife on May 18th. Thirty-year-old Grant Austin Smith faces domestic assault—third degree and unlawful use of a weapon—exhibiting. He has also been charged with misdemeanor property damage—second degree. Bond was set at $25,000 cash only with special conditions […]

Missouri State Capitol courtesy of WikiMedia

Parson vows to veto crime bill if it includes penalties for lying under oath to Missouri legislature

(Missouri Independent) – The fate of a wide-ranging crime bill was called into question on Tuesday over a provision that would stiffen penalties for lying under oath to the legislature or obstructing a legislative investigation. During a conference committee on Tuesday morning convened to work out differences on Senate Bill 53, House members said the bill […]