Agricultural producers and landowners can apply for the Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands signup from today until August 20. This year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated signup options to provide greater incentives for producers and increase the program’s conservation and climate benefits, including setting a minimum rental rate and identifying two national priority zones. […]
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Area churches to sponsor event at Polo Community Building
Area churches will sponsor a night of music, food, fellowship, and laughter at the Polo Community Building. Christian Comedian and Motivational Speaker Dennis Swanberg will be there on July 10th. A whole hog roast with fixings will start at 5:30 that evening. Swanberg will start at 6:30. There will be music by a bluegrass/gospel band. […]
Biden-Harris administration extends moratorium of residential evictions in USDA multifamily housing communities
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended through July 31, 2021, the moratorium on evictions of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who live in multifamily housing communities supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “The United States is recovering from a nationwide housing affordability crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s […]
Governor Parson offers up detailed list of funding on the chopping block if FRA stalemate is not resolved
During a press conference at the State Capitol, Governor Mike Parson warned of the detrimental consequences to Missourians if the Federal Reimbursement Allowances (FRA) and related programs were not extended. The FRA and related programs provide critical funding to MO HealthNet and must be extended before cost-savings measures are needed on July 1. “If political […]
Parson gives Missouri Legislature deadline of high noon Tuesday to reach deal on healthcare tax proposal
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson gave lawmakers a deadline of noon Tuesday to strike a deal to renew medical provider taxes vital to funding Medicaid or accept responsibility for more than $700 million in cuts from the state budget that takes effect July 1. If not, the governor says he will freeze funding in Missouri’s […]
Missouri 4-H’ers flock to new American Sign Language project
Aynsley Harmon, a 12-year-old from Kahoka, Missouri, wanted to be able to talk with a deaf relative she sees at family reunions. So she did what any resourceful 4-H’er does: She looked for a project to help her accomplish her goal. With a lot of support and collaboration along the way, her determination resulted in […]
Gallatin Board of Education finalizes 2020-2021 budget, approves 2021-2022 budget
The Gallatin R-5 Board of Education finalized 2020-2021 expenditures and approved the 2021-2022 budget on June 17. The Teachers Fund was zeroed out with the estimated amount of transfer of $395,000 from General Fund 1 to the Teachers Fund 2. Student accounts were zeroed out for athletics, basketball, football, golf, softball, track, and wrestling. A […]
After winter cold snap drove up natural gas prices, utilities grapple with who should pay
(Missouri Independent) – Penalties that Spire Missouri issued to suppliers who failed to provide natural gas during a February cold snap that forced power outages across the Midwest could drive bills for hospitals, schools, and businesses to astronomical levels, according to a trio of complaints pending before state regulators. During the worst of the cold snap in February, […]
Feds pony up to get more SNAP-eligible families enrolled
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering a 50/50 match on Nebraska dollars invested in outreach to get more eligible families enrolled in SNAP, the program formerly known as food stamps. Ellen Vollinger, legal director at the Food Research and Action Center, said the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps struggling families put food on the […]
USDA opens signup for CLEAR30, expands pilot to be nationwide
Landowners and agricultural producers currently enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program now have a wider opportunity to enroll in a 30-year contract through the Clean Lakes, Estuaries, And Rivers initiative, called CLEAR30. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expanding CLEAR30, a water-quality focused option available through CRP – to be nationwide now. Interested producers with […]
USDA announces dates for Conservation Reserve Program general and grasslands signups
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has set a July 23, 2021, deadline for agricultural producers and landowners to apply for the Conservation Reserve Program General signup 56. Additionally, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will accept applications for CRP Grasslands from July 12 to August 20. This year, USDA updated both signup options to provide greater […]
Audio: Trenton student to compete in national spelling bee on Saturday
The word “volition” comes from Latin and French roots meaning “wish” or “will.” Titus Kottwitz, a seventh-grader at Trenton Middle School in northwest Missouri, got his wish when he spelled the word “volition” correctly to earn a spot in this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee. “I’m excited that I got this far because […]
Lawmakers condemn recent surge of antisemitism, call on leaders to act
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) along with Senators Jacky Rosen (Nev.) and James Lankford (Okla.) introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning recent antisemitic incidents in the U.S. and around the world. The resolution also calls on leaders to denounce antisemitism and take specific steps to address it and prevent it. “The recent rise in acts of […]
Gallatin Board of Aldermen approve setting electric rates
The Gallatin Board of Aldermen this week approved an ordinance and resolution regarding the setting of electric rates. City Clerk Hattie Rains reports the ordinance authorized the city, going forward, to use a resolution instead of an ordinance to set electric rates. The resolution changed the electric rates for citizens and businesses. The rates will […]
Judge sets trial date for lawsuit over Missouri Medicaid expansion
(Missouri Independent) – The lawsuit seeking to force Missouri to expand Medicaid coverage under a voter-approved constitutional amendment will go to trial June 18 in Cole County. On Wednesday morning, Circuit Judge Jon Beetem met in a conference call with Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office and attorneys for the three people suing for coverage. In an online notation with […]
Audio: North Central Missouri Development Alliance hires new Executive Director
The North Central Missouri Development Alliance has hired a new executive director. Scott Sharp accepted the position on May 17th. He will officially begin on June 14th and work out of the office at the Plaza Apartments in Trenton. He succeeds Micah Landes who resigned earlier this year. Sharp currently works for Pepsi in Chillicothe […]
Missouri Jobs Report report for April, 2021, shows slight decline in unemployment rate
Missouri non-farm payroll employment showed little overall change from March 2021 to April 2021, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by a tenth of a percentage point. Employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 600 jobs over the month. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in April 2021, down from 4.2 percent in […]
Medicaid provider taxes imperiled as compromise on abortion issues eludes lawmakers
(Missouri Independent) – The pathway to renewing provider taxes essential to funding Medicaid before Missouri lawmakers adjourn for the year became much narrower when issues raised by abortion opponents forced removal of the taxes from a health care bill. When a conference committee met to work out differences between the House and Senate on the bill, […]
Furious lawmakers demand answers from Missouri DSS for undercount of abuse reports
(Missouri Independent) – Lawmakers slammed the Department of Social Services on Thursday for underreporting the number of substantiated cases of abuse and neglect at youth residential facilities during a previous legislative hearing. For nearly an hour-and-a-half on Thursday, the House Special Committee on Government Oversight pressed DSS officials on why the number of findings of […]