(Missouri Independent) – With a change of just a few words, a bill to expand the sales tax exemption for food purchases became a bill virtually ending the exemption, infuriating its sponsor and forcing a Missouri House committee to give it another look. On Monday, the House Rules – Administrative Oversight Committee voted to send state Rep. […]
Tag: weeks
Biden in State of the Union urges ‘unmistakable’ support for democracy in Ukraine
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night to reassert America as a leading global voice for democracy and condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting an “unprovoked” war in Ukraine. “Throughout our history, we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price […]
Missouri budget bill blocks Medicaid patients from accessing Planned Parenthood
Missouri’s supplemental budget bill signed into law Thursday includes a provision to block patients who rely on Medicaid from accessing Planned Parenthood health centers. Federal Medicaid law protects patients’ rights to choose their providers, including Planned Parenthood. Michelle Trupiano, executive director of the Missouri Family Health Council, noted because of the Hyde Amendment, Medicaid cannot cover abortions, […]
Missouri Senate passes $4.6B spending bill with pay raises, federal school funds
(Missouri Independent) – With a deadline looming that could cost Missouri almost $2 billion in federal education aid, the bill to distribute the money passed the state Senate on Wednesday after Democrats slammed a zero-dollar funding line as a partisan attack on Planned Parenthood. The $4.6 billion spending bill approved on a 25-7 vote is the first legislation requiring […]
Missouri man indicted for child pornography on workplace computer
A Missouri man was indicted by a federal grand jury after child pornography was found on his workplace computer. Shane Tyler Barton, 55, of Carthage, was charged with receiving and distributing child pornography in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. The indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed against Barton […]
Body discovered at Poosey Conservation Area in Livingston County
Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox reports Jamesport residents discovered a deceased man at the Poosey Conservation Area in northwest Livingston County on Saturday afternoon, February 19th. The man was identified as 45-year-old Michael Daniel Daly of Blue Springs. The sheriff’s office, Missouri Department of Conservation, and Highway Patrol responded to the Wind Pump Trail at […]
Misinformation fuels false belief that Missouri COVID death figures are being inflated
(Missouri Independent) – On a recent Tuesday evening in southeastern Missouri, John Freeze stood in front of yet another angry group of constituents. Some here believe the number of COVID-19 deaths are being purposefully inflated for financial gain. Among the culprits, in their mistaken view: Hospitals seeking Medicare reimbursements; The federal government, led by Dr. Anthony […]
U.S. House hearing on extremism toward minorities turns into ‘defund the police’ debate
(Missouri Independent) – Leaders of faith organizations and Historically Black Colleges and Universities told members of a U.S. House panel on Thursday how their institutions and places of worship have been roiled by bomb threats and extremism. They talked about the recent waves of bomb threats aimed at HBCUs, a terrifying hostage-taking at a Texas […]
CDC preps guidance for governors on relaxing COVID rules, but states forge ahead
(Missouri Independent) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing guidance for governors about when to relax masking and other measures meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 but doesn’t want to release those instructions just yet. Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that it’s too soon to begin rolling backmasking and other public […]
Missouri Supreme Court tosses laws that blocked 2019 abortion bill referendum
(Missouri Independent) – In a case that grew out of a law making it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion after eight weeks, the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday said those seeking to force a referendum on new laws can begin collecting signatures as soon as the bill is passed. The ruling threw […]
Trenton Board of Education hears presentation from Trenton Teachers Association on 4-day school week
Joel Hultman with the Trenton Teachers Association presented preliminary research regarding a four-day school week during the Trenton R-9 Board of Education meeting on February 8th. The board took no action on the matter. Hultman reported a survey of teachers showed many wanted more information on a four-day school week. None of the questions specifically […]
House committee scales back governor’s pay raise plan for Missouri state workers
(Missouri Independent) – Hundreds of custodians, clerks, and cooks working for state agencies would not get the raises Missouri Gov. Mike Parson promised in December under a spending bill approved Monday by the House Budget Committee. On a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting the bill and Democrats opposed, the committee approved a spending bill that sets […]
Task force rescues 57 dogs from “horrific conditions” at Missouri site
The Humane Society of Missouri’s Animal Cruelty Task Force rescued 57 dogs, including Corgis, German Shepherds, Border Collies, and several other large and smaller breeds from a property in Newton County, Missouri. The rescued dogs are being transported to HSMO’s Macklind headquarters in St. Louis, where the animals will receive health evaluations and emergency veterinary […]
White House plans speedy delivery to states of COVID vaccine for littlest kids
(Missouri Independent) – The Biden administration is preparing to ship COVID-19 vaccines to the states as quickly as possible, should the Food and Drug Administration approve an emergency use authorization for kids under 5. White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients said Wednesday that approval of the specially formulated vaccine would make 18 million young […]
Audio: Former Missouri deputy arrested for stealing prescription drugs from residents
A former Jefferson County deputy has been arrested for stealing prescription medicine from residents while claiming to be a detective following up on police reports. TV station KFVS reports Michael Filsinger of Arnold, near St. Louis, is charged with four counts of felony stealing, one count of misdemeanor stealing, and one count of […]
Mobile food pantry visit to Lucerne postponed
A postponement in Lucerne has been announced for this weeks’ mobile food pantry visit because of the expected winter weather conditions this Thursday. The new date for the mobile food pantry from Columbia to stop at the Lucerne Christian Church is Thursday, February 10, 2022. The food pantry stop in Lucerne is usually the first […]
Audio: Senator Roy Blunt on President Biden’s plan to nominate a black woman to the bench
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring from the high court. His retirement won’t change the make-up of the six to three divide between conservative and liberal justices. Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt weighs in on President Biden’s plan to nominate a Black woman to the bench. U.S. Supreme Court Associate […]
Seven Missouri residents indicted for conspiracy to transport stolen catalytic converters across state lines
Seven Rogersville, Missouri, and Springfield, Mo., residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to transport thousands of stolen catalytic converters across state lines as part of a multi-million-dollar business. “A scourge of catalytic converter thefts on a breathtaking scale had a significant impact on the Springfield community […]