(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden’s massive pandemic stimulus law pumps a welcome infusion of federal aid into state and local government coffers — but one brief section is raising questions about whether states are barred from cutting their own taxes if they accept the federal help. The Senate added language to the COVID-19 relief package […]
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent letters to President Joe Biden and Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, calling for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to testify at a full Senate hearing, to be scheduled as soon as possible on the growing crisis at […]
Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley voted Friday against adding a minimum wage hike to the current COVID-19 relief bill in the Senate but is calling for a higher minimum wage — and a tax credit for some blue-collar workers. Hawley, in a stand-alone bill, would require companies that make more than $1 billion annually to […]
All Missouri K-12 public and private school workers will be eligible to get vaccinated beginning March 15. Nonprofit PreK-12 staff, state-licensed childcare center workers, some food production employees, as well as grocery and convenience stores workers, will also become eligible at the same time. During a webinar hosted Wednesday by the Missouri Department of Elementary […]
A resurfacing project is set to begin soon on U.S. Route 36 through St. Joseph. The Missouri Department of Transportation has contracted with Magruder Paving, LLC to complete the project, which includes both directions of U.S. Route 36 between the Missouri River Bridge and 0.75 miles east of Route AC (Riverside Road). The project includes […]
The governor’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year includes a two percent pay increase for state workers beginning next January. Trevor Foley, with the Missouri Department of Corrections, says the request is welcomed. Governor Parson’s budget proposal also includes an additional two percent pay increase for three cook classes and an extra […]
The Sullivan County Health Department in Milan will host a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Wednesday morning at the North Central Rural Electric Coop shop building in Milan from 9 until 11 o’clock. Pre-registration is required by calling special telephone numbers beginning Monday morning at 9 o’clock. All three of those special telephone numbers are 660-292-2491, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at 10:00 AM, State Emergency Management and the National Weather Service will conduct a Statewide Severe Weather Tornado Drill. Every school, citizen, and business are encouraged to participate in the drill. The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill will issue a test tornado warning as part of the drill. Local warning […]
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. […]
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 […]
(Missouri Independent) – Last spring, as Missouri businesses shed hundreds of thousands of jobs, Gov. Mike Parson warned that the state was headed for the worst financial crunch since the 2008 recession. Ten months later, Parson presented a budget plan that anticipates a $1.1 billion surplus on July 1, the biggest in state history. And if the $1.9 trillion pandemic […]
Tami Campbell, Senior Database Administrator from Mercer, MO, has been selected as North Central Missouri College’s Outstanding Employee for February. Tami has been employed at NCMC for eight years and holds an associate degree in Information Technology. Recently, Tami has been instrumental in helping the NCMC IT team launch new solutions and infrastructure. Tami’s main […]
In 2019, Gov. Mike Parson closed a prison in northwest Missouri’s Cameron. Most staff and inmates transferred to the other prison in town – Western Missouri Correctional Center. Now, Parson wants to reopen the Crossroads Correctional Center and turn it into a training academy for correctional officers. During a House Budget Committee hearing, Trevor Foley […]
(Missouri Independent) – Thousands of Missourians facing repayment of mistakenly paid unemployment benefits would get some relief under legislation passed with a bipartisan vote Wednesday in a Missouri House committee. The bill, which will likely be debated on the House floor next week, would forgive debts due to overpayments from federal coronavirus relief programs but would not […]
(Missouri Independent) – The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in a report Monday found a gradual increase to a $15 federal minimum wage by 2025 would reduce poverty, add $54 billion to the deficit over a decade and increase pay for millions of low-income workers. The report could help Democrats make a strong case for including a […]
