Missouri State Government
A pair of Missouri counties is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn a 2019 law that stripped them of their ability to set their own rules for concentrated animal feeding operations. Under the law, county commissioners are prohibited from setting policies that are “inconsistent with or more stringent than” state rules for CAFOs. The law nullified…
Read Full Article JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Just as he had promised earlier in the week, Attorney General Eric Schmitt unveiled a slate of lawsuits against Missouri schools Friday in an effort to halt their mask policies. “School districts do not have the authority to impose, at their whim, public health orders for their schoolchildren. That is doubly true when the public…
Read Full Article After several months of negotiations and adjustments before the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC), Ameren Missouri customers are set to see a rate increase for its services early next year. The new revenue will be earmarked for infrastructure and clean energy. Electric and gas customers will see an increase on their bills beginning Feb. 28, 2022, increasing Ameren’s annual…
Read Full Article Missouri’s two largest counties will continue their efforts to overturn a court ruling that severely limits the powers of local health departments at the same time health officials warn the omicron variant will bring thousands of new COVID-19 cases. Missouri reported almost 10,000 new coronavirus infections Monday, making December the second-worst month of the pandemic this year.…
Read Full Article Missouri is slated to receive more than $13 million in emergency relief funds from the federal government to repair roads and bridges damaged by flooding and storms in 2019. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awarded a nearly $2.4 million grant to address infrastructure damage from severe storms and flooding in March 2019 and almost $11 million for the fallout of…
Read Full Article Washington, DC – Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO) and Congressman Daniel Webster (R-FL) introduced the SAFER Travel Act, H.R. 6257, to bar federal vaccine passports and quarantine requirements for travel. “You shouldn’t need a vaccine passport to get on a train, board a plane, or travel home for the holidays,” said Graves, Ranking Member of the House Transportation…
Read Full Article The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has sent nearly three dozen school districts letters instructing them to halt COVID-19 mandates — such as mandatory face coverings, quarantines, or vaccines — this week. The letters, which instruct the districts to “cease and desist” their orders, also say the Attorney General’s Office will begin an investigation into “alleged failure to follow the law.” All…
Read Full Article Two years ago, a company led by an influential businessman faced off with the state’s environmental regulators over whether it needed to do additional testing for a chemical health officials worried could pose a cancer risk to the company’s workers. The Moberly manufacturing facility, Orscheln Products LLC, is owned by the family of businessman Barry Orscheln,…
Read Full Article When people are checked into the Clay County Detention Center, they all have to pay an intake fee of $8. But for women on their periods, entering the jail used to cost them extra. Incarcerated women at the facility used to be charged about $6 for two packages of 12 pads. If they didn’t have…
Read Full Article WASHINGTON — Enforcement of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for millions of health care workers was blocked in 10 states on Monday, after a ruling by a federal judge in Missouri. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp affects the states involved in the lawsuit, including Missouri. The others are Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire,…
Read Full Article As costs increase and the winter months approach, Missouri is expanding its energy assistance benefits for low-income residents. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program offers eligible Missourians assistance on heating and cooling bills. While the summer program has been offered from June-September with the winter program running from November-May, the Department of Social Services (DSS) expanded the program this week to…
Read Full Article Even as nursing homes worked through the summer to get Missouri over the halfway mark in employee vaccinations, the state fell further behind peers, dropping to last in the nation. And while neighboring Kansas has fared better, both states have large swaths of nursing home staff to get vaccinated before a federal deadline next month.…
Read Full Article About half of Missouri is now required to adhere to 10-digit dialing to make local calls to accommodate a new phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved 988 as the nationwide shorthand number for the hotline last summer. Similar to the 911 system, the three-digit dialing option will allow callers to…
Read Full Article With the 2016 relocation of the Rams back to Los Angeles tied up in court, there has been some speculation of St. Louis receiving an NFL expansion team as a way to appease it for the loss. Rams owner Stan Kroenke and other team owners are embroiled in a massive legal battle with St. Louis over allegations the team improperly moved…
Read Full Article Before slavery ended in 1865, large numbers of Missourians didn’t count in the population base used to allocate the seats in the General Assembly. In the 1821 Missouri Constitution, only “free white male inhabitants” counted in the distribution of Missouri House seats, leaving out white women and all Blacks, free or enslaved. A change in 1849 added white…
Read Full Article ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Court of Appeals at St. Louis on Tuesday rejected a bid by the Los Angeles Rams, its owner and the National Football League to move January’s relocation lawsuit out of St. Louis. An order signed by Robert M. Clayton III of Hannibal, the eastern district appeals court’s presiding judge, denied…
Read Full Article Missouri schools and libraries have been awarded more than $48 million in federal relief funds over the past three months to address the digital divide and expand broadband access for students. More than 430 schools and libraries across the state were awarded funds from the Federal Communication Commission’s Emergency Connectivity Fund Program in its second round, allowing them to purchase computers, tablets,…
Read Full Article The University of Missouri System allowed a mask mandate for its four campuses to expire Friday. Last month, the Board of Curators extended a rule that face masks be worn in classrooms by a 5-4 vote. That policy was scheduled to end at the close of Friday, and a meeting notice had not been posted this…
Read Full Article Missouri students and teachers identified as being exposed to a coronavirus case in school may now be permitted to remain in class if they continue to test negative for the virus and properly wear a mask. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) updated its school reopening guidance Friday to include the new “test to stay”…
Read Full Article Gov. Mike Parson announced a sudden cabinet shake-up Tuesday, with a slew of personnel changes across five state agencies — including the immediate and unexplained departure of the official in charge of the state’s procurement agency. In a news release Tuesday afternoon, Parson announced Office of Administration (OA) Commissioner Sarah Steelman was stepping down and…
Read Full Article Pump prices for gas and diesel didn’t change much Friday in Missouri, despite being the first day of a 2.5 cents per gallon increase in the state fuel tax. The cheapest gas in the state was $2.49 a gallon in Springfield, according to GasBuddy.com. That was unchanged from earlier in the week. The most expensive, AAA of…
Read Full Article Shawndra Taylor had just 12 hours notice when the first truck canceled. In it, contained food to help prepare the 3,000 meals served each day in her school district in Eldon — including items she needed to make dinner for students. Her supplier, Kohl Wholesale in Quincy, Ill., was too short-staffed. Taylor, the district’s food services…
Read Full Article JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Mike Parson announced Wednesday the state of Missouri has approved more than $1.8 million in grant assistance to 19 agencies across the state to investigate and prosecute crimes that victimized children. “Criminals who victimize children must be investigated, prosecuted, and brought to justice, no matter when they commit these heinous crimes,”…
Read Full Article With thousands of students quarantined in the first weeks of the new school year, Missouri’s health director said the state is exploring a new strategy that aims to keep kids in class through regular testing. Donald Kauerauf, the new director of the Department of Health and Senior Services, said his agency discussed a new modified…
Read Full Article Missouri Republicans assailed President Joe Biden’s push to require employees of private businesses to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing, vowing a legislative response and legal action. Gov. Mike Parson promised to “fight back against federal power grabs and government overreach” in a tweet Thursday afternoon, calling Biden’s plan “an insult to our…
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