Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has announced his office’s findings after reviewing all available existing evidence and any available new evidence in the Tory Sanders case. Consistent with the findings of then-Attorney General Josh Hawley and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who also consulted with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the Attorney General’s […]
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced a plan to require companies with revenues of $1 billion or more to pay their employees $15 per hour. Senator Hawley’s plan would result in an immediate wage increase for millions of workers while avoiding a one-size-fits-all increase that would disadvantage small businesses. Small business employees earning less than […]
The Sullivan County Health Department reported zero active COVID-19 cases as of February 26th. The department reports this was the first time there have been no active cases since May 1, 2020, when the first positive case was reported for Sullivan County. There have been 849 confirmed cases since that time and 15 COVID-19-related deaths.
Wright Memorial Hospital recently announced their 2020 Employee of the Year. Brinda Marsh, a pharmacy technician II at Wright Memorial Hospital, was presented with the award at a ceremony held in her honor on February 25. The other finalist for the award was Audra Beverlin, 4th Quarter 2020 Employee of the Quarter. Marsh has been […]
(Missouri Independent) – The eyes of the nation turned to U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley over the holidays when he became the first senator to announce an objection to the certification of presidential electors. But the eyes of local politicos turned instead to his home-state colleague, Missouri’s senior senator. How would Roy Blunt — up for […]
(Missouri Independent) – About 137,700 registered voters in Missouri did not have a state-issued identification in 2017, according to an analysis from the Secretary of State’s Office. Another 140,000 voters had expired IDs, and 2,000 more voters had forfeited their driver’s licenses. Under a bill passed Wednesday in the Missouri House, those registered voters would either have to […]
The USDA says export sales numbers for most major commodities declined during the week ending February 18th. Corn and wheat were driven to new marketing year lows following cancellations by unknown destinations, possibly China, while soybean sales dropped also following cancellations by an unknown destination. China also canceled on U.S. beef and while it was […]
American Farm Bureau is asking USDA to extend the February 26th deadline to apply for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. In a letter to new Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, AFBF President Zippy Duvall says suspending CFAP3 pending regulatory review has created confusion for farmers and ranchers with respect to eligibility and the application process. The […]
The next tier of Missouri’s coronavirus vaccination plan will be activated on March 15. That means all teachers, faculty, and staff in public, private, and nonprofit pre-K-12 will become eligible. So will state-licensed childcare center workers, some food production employees, as well as grocery and convenience stores workers. Missouri is currently vaccinating residents in Phase […]
Governor Mike Parson announced that Phase 1B – Tier 3 of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Plan will be activated on Monday, March 15, 2021. “Missouri has had a vaccine plan since October, and this has not changed. We have been very disciplined in following our plan,” Governor Parson said. “With vaccine supply steadily increasing, we […]
The Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge south of Sumner will open to the public on March 6th. The refuge is closed annually from late October to the first Saturday of March to allow for undisturbed habitat for migrating and wintering waterfowl. The visitor center will be closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Only the main office […]
December 2021 will mark the 17th year of the North Central Missouri College Foundation-sponsored High School Holiday Hoops. The Holiday Hoops Committee recently met and has set dates for games to be played on December 18th, 20-23, and 27-31, 2021. “We are excited to begin the planning for Holiday Hoops 2021. Canceling the 2020 event […]
Prince Bixler, 41, of Lexington, Kentucky, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Wier to 36 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $333,100 in restitution to three sex trafficking victims. In September 2020, a federal jury convicted Bixler of 15 federal felonies related to his […]
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he will introduce new legislation to give blue-collar workers a pay raise. For nearly four decades, workers making below the median wage have experienced stagnant wages, and this past year, the problem has been made worse by unprecedented layoffs, reduced hours, and income disruptions due to the government shutting down […]
(Missouri Independent) – The plan for distributing money directly to Missouri counties in the current version of the $1.9 trillion federal coronavirus relief bill is pretty simple – each gets $195.44 per person. But for cities, instead of a formula based on population, Congress divvies up the money using the method for determining Community Development Block Grant allocations. […]
After about twelve hours of debate, the Missouri Senate refrained from voting overnight on a contentious K-12 public education package. There was some confusion towards the end that appeared to ultimately lead to the plan getting shelved – at least for now. Several changes were made over the course of the day and night. As […]
The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees approved multiple personnel matters on Tuesday evening, February 23rd. One personnel matter involved the resignation of the Director of Admissions and Marketing Kristie Cross. Her last day on campus will be March 19th. She will then take vacation time, and her official last day will be May […]
Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, a major broiler chicken producer based in Greeley, Colorado, has pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to pay approximately $107 million in criminal fines for its participation in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chicken products, the Department of Justice announced today. According to the plea agreement entered […]
Senator Roy Blunt is a leader/ranking member on the Senate panel investigating the police response to January 6’s deadly attack on Congress and the Capitol. He says the event caused many types of trauma to Americans. Senators questioned now-resigned leaders of the Capitol Police and Congressional security. The takeaway on Tuesday is that […]
Twenty-one participants raised more than $8,400 for Special Olympics athletes at the Polar Plunge at Simpson Park in Chillicothe on Saturday. Spokesperson Melody Prawitz reports awards went to Emily Braun for the individual with the most money raised at $1,000 and the Braun Family for the group with the most money raised at $1,425. The […]
