Grundy County’s unemployment rate in June is about in the middle of the rates for area counties. The Missouri Division of Employment Security reports Grundy Countys’ unemployment rate is 4.2%, based on 185 unemployed out of a civilian labor force of 4,400 workers. The June rate for Grundy County is seven-tenths of a point higher […]
The Sullivan County Health Department, on Friday night, July 23, confirmed nine additional COVID-19 cases. That brought the total number of cases to 938, with 29 active cases. As of July 22, 30.2% of Sullivan County residents were fully vaccinated. Nine COVID-19 cases have been added in Linn County since July 20. The health department, […]
The Grundy County Health Department reports 15 new COVID-19 cases have been added since July 21st, bringing the total to 1,309. Of the 36 active cases, 14 involve residents between the ages of 40 and 64, 12 involve those from 20 to 39, eight involve those 19 or younger, and two involve residents at least […]
Seventeen more individuals have been charged in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain approximately $11.1 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and to use those funds to purchase luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other personal items. According to court documents and statements made in court, between May and August 2020, the defendants submitted or […]
The Harrison County Health Department will distribute free school supplies at a Back to School Safety Fair. The event will be at the fairgrounds of Bethany on August 16 from 5 o’clock to 6:30 in the evening. There will also be an outdoor movie, educational booths, food, lead and car seat checks, giveaways, and COVID-19 vaccines. […]
Governor Mike Parson announced the launch of a statewide COVID-19 vaccination incentive program, MO VIP, to encourage vaccination among all Missourians age 12 and up. Over the next three months, 900 Missourians who have or will choose to be vaccinated will win cash or education savings account prizes in the amount of $10,000. “We understand […]
The Putnam County Health Department reports seven new COVID-19 cases since July 15th, making the total 535. Five of the new positive cases are linked through close contacts. Eight cases are active. There are 14 COVID-19-related hospitalizations and 13 deaths. The Putnam County Health Department requests close contacts self-quarantine for at least seven days. On […]
After more than a year without live music, the driving beat of a snare drum, the pulsing rhythm of a bass guitar, and sweet vocal melodies floating through the air around Stephens Lake Park will be welcome sounds as the Roots N Blues Festival makes its highly anticipated return to Columbia September 24-26, 2021. Missouri’s […]
The State 4-H Council has selected 25 youths ages 14-18 to serve as the first class of Missouri 4-H Ambassadors. These youth leaders will be tasked with promoting 4-H programs throughout the state, said Samantha Brandeberry, University of Missouri Extension state 4-H educator. They will also help plan and facilitate a teen conference next spring. […]
Redistricting reformers urged the people charged with drawing new voting-district maps in Missouri to commit to putting the voters over partisan interests. Governor Mike Parson has appointed a bipartisan group of commissioners to draw state legislative maps. The Legislature draws congressional maps. Caroline Fan, founder and president of the Missouri Asian American Youth Foundation said in […]
Stone County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Selby and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced charges against Ride the Ducks Branson employees Kenneth Scott McKee, Charles Baltzell, and Curtis Lanham in relation to the sinking of Stretch Duck #7 on Table Rock Lake on July 19, 2018, which resulted in the deaths of 17 individuals. According to […]
Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), a member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, helped introduce the Intelligence Community Workforce Agility Protection Act of 2021. Currently, active-duty members of the military can deduct certain moving expenses from their federal taxes, but that benefit does not extend to intelligence community professionals. The bipartisan bill would expand the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Facing a looming shortage of beds caused by rapidly rising COVID-19 cases, healthcare providers in Springfield are asking the state to set up temporary hospital beds so existing hospital space can be dedicated to caring for the most severely ill. The alternate care site would treat patients stable enough to be removed […]
COVID-19 cases have increased by 11 in Daviess County since July 12th, bringing the total to 757. The health department reports that, of the 12 active cases, six involve residents at least 60 years old, three involve those 40 to 59, two involve those 19 or younger, and one involves a resident who is 20 […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that Kansas-City-area contractor Brian S. Pummell will pay back over $26,000 in restitution to Missourians who paid Pummell for work he never performed. “Protecting consumers is an important duty of the Attorney General’s Office, and the dedicated investigators, hotline operators, and attorneys in the Consumer Protection Section of my […]
Lawmakers are celebrating the decision to drop a proposal before the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to redefine a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The proposal would have raised the threshold for an MSA from 50,000 residents to 100,000, which would have eliminated 144 areas from the designation, including St. Joseph. The move to drop […]
With the initial wave of COVID-19-related layoffs now more than a year in the past, the six-figure over-the-year job losses that had characterized the Missouri labor market for the last nine months of 2020 and the first three months of 2021 were replaced with an increase of more than 130,000 jobs from June 2020 to […]
A Kansas man was sentenced in federal court for engaging in two separate fraud schemes related to millions of dollars in false payday loan debt and for tax evasion totaling more than $8 million. “After raking in millions of dollars from the victims of his fraud scheme, the defendant lied repeatedly and used every trick […]
An additional COVID-19-related death has been reported for Linn County since July 6th. The health department noted the afternoon of July 13th there had been 42 deaths. Eight cases had been added since July 9th, bringing the total to 1,705. Twenty-two cases were active. There were four COVID-19-related hospitalizations. Linn County had a 33.2% fully […]
(Missouri Independent) – When Linn County Prosecuting Attorney Shiante McMahon saw a photo of one of her campaign shirts defaced with obscene, racist, and sexist writing — and learned it had been on display in the headquarters of the Marceline Police Department — she decided a complaint with the city wouldn’t do any good. So she posted the photo […]
