The Missouri Public Service Commission has established the deadline for those wishing to intervene and participate in a natural gas rate case filed by The Empire District Gas Company d/b/a Liberty. Applications to intervene and participate in this case must be filed no later than September 27, 2021, with the Secretary of the Missouri Public […]
Tag: USA
Empire District Gas Company files request to increase natural gas charge
On August 23, 2021, The Empire District Gas Company (d/b/a “Liberty”) filed a request with the Missouri Public Service Commission to adjust natural gas base rates. The new rates would take effect in 2022 and reflect Liberty’s efforts to maintain a safe, reliable natural gas system, enhance the customer experience, and expand support for limited-income […]
Trenton City Council looks at creation of a “Social District,” discuss increasing monthly base rate of water meter charge
The Trenton City Council Monday night reviewed a preliminary report on proposed improvements to the aging water treatment plant, including an initial discussion on how to pay for an anticipated loan to finance the projects. The council also endorsed a developer’s application seeking funding for senior citizen housing, the creation of a social district for […]
FDA gives full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
The U.S. has its first fully approved vaccine against COVID-19, with federal health officials announcing Monday the approval of Pfizer-BioNTech’s two-dose vaccine. The green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to move Pfizer’s vaccine from emergency use to full approval is a milestone in the national pandemic response, and one that comes as the […]
As Missouri students head back to class, state launches new COVID testing program
(Missouri Independent) – Monday marks the first day of school for thousands of students across Missouri and it’s also when schools can begin enrolling in a new federally-funded testing program aimed at helping facilitate a safe return to the classroom. The Department of Health and Senior Services announced Friday evening that Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc., a […]
Meatpacking plants have long relied on immigrant labor. Some now turn to foreign visa workers
(Missouri Independent) – Colored hard hats distinguish different roles and jobs at Seaboard Foods, a major meatpacking plant in Guymon, Oklahoma. Senior management have green. Supervisors wear dark blue. Foreign workers on visas don yellow-green. But Seaboard is part of a small but growing trend in the meatpacking industry, which already largely relied on an […]
Audio: Afghanistan refugees arrive in Missouri
Refugees from Afghanistan are beginning to arrive in Missouri. Missourinet’s Brent Palm has more on the story. Some of the first refugees flew into St. Louis Lambert International Airport over the weekend. One man named Mohammed told the St. Louis Post Dispatch that “it’s very nice to be here” and said he really […]
Governor Parson announces $400 million plan to improve broadband infrastructure in Missouri
During a press conference at the Missouri State Fair hosted by the Missouri Farm Bureau, Governor Mike Parson announced plans to deploy more than $400 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to increase broadband internet access, adoption, and assistance statewide. “Investing in our broadband infrastructure is critical to unlocking our full economic potential […]
Tax rate set by Newtown-Harris Board of Education; meal prices increased by ten cents
The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education set the tax rate and approved meal prices on August 13th. The tax rate was set at $6.6331 per $100 of assessed valuation. That is $.0726 higher than last year’s. Meal prices were increased by 10 cents for all categories. Prices for breakfast will be $1.70 for kindergarten through […]
Audio: Online pet product retailer Chewy to hire 1,600 employees in western Missouri’s Belton area
The governor traveled to rural western Missouri’s Belton this week to help cut the ribbon on an 800-thousand square foot new e-Commerce fulfillment center that’s located near I-49. State Department of Economic Development Director Rob Dixon says Chewy has seen enormous growth. Dixon says Chewy plans to hire 1,600 employees in the Belton […]
Audio: Missouri legislator’s federal court trial delayed
A Missouri State Representative’s federal court trial has been moved to June 2022. The trial for Nixa Republican Tricia Derges was scheduled to begin Monday at a federal courthouse in southwest Missouri’s Springfield. Don Ledford, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Missouri, says a witness suffered a stroke and […]
Grundy County Commission to meet on August 17
The Grundy County Commission next week will hold a tax rate hearing and attend a meeting about the county’s 911 radio system. The hearing will be at the courthouse in Trenton on August 17, 2021, at 9 o’clock in the morning. The proposed tax rate for Grundy County is $.1967 per $100 valuation. That is a […]
Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education to meet on August 13
The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education will hold a tax rate hearing before its regular meeting on August 13, 2021. The hearing will start in the high school Family and Consumer Science classroom that night at 7 o’clock. During the regular meeting at 7:15, the board will discuss lunch prices and plans for reopening. Other […]
Judge orders state to immediately allow Missourians to enroll in expanded Medicaid
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Department of Social Services must allow newly eligible residents that qualify for benefits under voter-approved Medicaid expansion to enroll and cannot impose greater restrictions on them, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem sided with the plaintiffs who urged him to allow Medicaid expansion to take […]
Trenton Board of Education discusses COVID-19 protocols during lengthy meeting
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education on August 10th discussed COVID-19-related matters for the upcoming school year. Superintendent Mike Stegman began by going over a list of protocols. They included staff and students attending school in person and using social distancing. Masks will be optional for staff and students inside district facilities. It is “highly […]
Unionville man drowns at Thousand Hills State Park
The Highway Patrol reports a Unionville man has drowned at Thousand Hills State Park near Kirksville the afternoon of August 9 after he voluntarily left a pontoon boat in an attempt to rescue another swimmer. Sixty-four-year-old Steven Puckett was taken to the Travis Noe Funeral Home. Puckett went under the water at Forest Lake and did […]
Trenton City Council approves $4.00 increase in base electric meter charge
The Trenton City Council on Monday evening approved a $4.00 increase in the monthly cost for having an electric meter. The increased funds are designed to pay off a loan the city has due to additional energy costs incurred during the extreme cold spell in February. The council also voted to reduce by three dollars […]
Secretary of State announces Bicentennial-Day release of the State of Missouri Constitution in audiobook format
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, in commemoration of the two-hundredth anniversary of Missouri’s entry into the United States, has announced that the Constitution of the State of Missouri will be released in audiobook format on August 10, 2021. This 13-hour recording, produced by the Wolfner Talking Book and Braille Library, is the first audio version […]
Audio: Senators introduce meat labeling legislation addressing false advertising
(Brownfield Network) – A bipartisan group of Senators, led by Mike Rounds of South Dakota, has introduced a bill designed to restrict the use of the ‘Product of the USA’ label. Senator Rounds tells Brownfield the USA Beef Act would only allow products that are born, raised, and slaughtered in the US to bear that label. “Beef that […]
Audio: City of Trenton switching to “Advanced Metering Infrastructure” so water and electric meters can “talk” to each other and city hall
Trenton City Administrator and Utility Director Ron Urton reports Trenton currently has water and electric meters that are at least 20 years old. He says it is “pretty easy” for electric meters to transfer data by radio read. The city is switching to advanced metering infrastructure. Urton explains that technology allows meters to […]