Missouri State Government
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…
Read Full Article 
A campaign to legalize adult cannabis use in Missouri is emphasizing the use of new revenue to automatically expunge nonviolent cannabis-related criminal records. Legal Missouri 2022, a statewide coalition, filed a ballot initiative with the state last week seeking to legalize recreational marijuana use while expunging criminal records for those with low-level marijuana offenses. Marijuana possession accounted…
Read Full Article 
In the fall of 2020, I was infuriated to see then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rushing to seat Justice Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court just 35 days before the 2020 election. After all, he was the one who refused to even hold hearings on Merrick Garland, a moderate choice by any measure, because the…
Read Full Article 
New cases from the Delta variant wave that has killed more than 1,150 Missourians since June 1 have plateaued but hospital ICUs continue to fill — and small, rural hospitals are among the hardest hit. There were 690 patients in ICU beds across the state on Tuesday, the most recent day reported by the state Department of Health and Human Services.…
Read Full Article 
The schools in Gov. Mike Parson’s hometown will continue to require students, teachers and staff to wear masks indoors despite a lawsuit filed by the Missouri attorney general challenging public school mask mandates across the state. The Bolivar R-1 Board of Education in Polk County voted in a special meeting this month to require masks as a…
Read Full Article 
Wars are not always fought by armed military forces with guns, bombs, stealth fighters, and sophisticated weaponry. And the enemy is not always clearly defined. Even the reasons for war often lack clarity. But the divisiveness and fighting still rage, nonetheless. At first glance, you might think characterizing the divisiveness that America is experiencing today…
Read Full Article 
SEDALIA, Mo. — Missouri is investing at least $400 million to increase broadband across the state, Gov. Mike Parson announced from the Missouri State Fair Thursday. The funds, pending appropriations approval by the legislature, will come from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Additionally, the Department of Economic Development (DED) has applied for an additional $56 million from the federal government to…
Read Full Article 
Missouri payrolls added exactly 15,000 non-farm jobs in July as the unemployment rate ticked down 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted data from the federal Bureau of Labor Standards shows. The state’s labor force of 3.08 million, however, declined by 177, and overall employment, which includes self-employed people and farm labor, grew by 4,462 for the month.…
Read Full Article 
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Those seeking a substitute teaching certificate in Missouri will be allowed to pursue accreditation through alternative training as the state still struggles with a staffing shortage heading into the new school year. The rule change, approved by the State Board of Education Tuesday, permanently gives applicants the choice between the standard 60 hours of college…
Read Full Article 
President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion bill targeted at revamping the country’s infrastructure could create jobs for Missourians in the state’s booming renewable energy sector. The Senate approved Biden’s sweeping infrastructure legislation Wednesday after months of negotiations, marking a bipartisan victory for leaders in Washington. The bill adds $550 billion to its federal budget and is…
Read Full Article 
By RUDI KELLER, Missouri Independent Missouri is seeing the first signs that the Delta variant surge may have crested, though many areas are still suffer from rising COVID-19 case numbers while hospitalizations hit new highs for the summer. On Wednesday, the seven-day average of COVID-19 cases reported by the Department of Health and Senior Services declined week-over-week…
Read Full Article 
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Mike Parson pardoned Mark and Patricia McCloskey last month, the Governor’s Office said. The McCloskeys had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in June related to last year’s incident when the couple pointed firearms at protesters who marched past their house in St. Louis. Mark McCloskey is a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate. The McCloskeys were…
Read Full Article 
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled last month that the state must expand Medicaid as voters approved in 2020. Now it’s just a question of when. On Friday, attorneys representing plaintiffs who would have qualified for coverage urged Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem to effectuate what the state’s highest court ordered and prohibit the…
Read Full Article 
Eight months after her son was born, Webster Groves High School teacher Jaime Adamski broke down in tears at her doctor’s office. Her breast milk had declined significantly since she had gone back to work. “I was depressed, angry, frustrated,” she said. “I felt like I was not a good enough mother because I wasn’t…
Read Full Article By JASON HANCOCKThe Missouri Independent Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has added his name to the growing list of GOP elected officials asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Parson and 11 Republican governors submitted an amicus brief on Thursday in a Mississippi case weighing whether state laws that…
Read Full Article 
From USA Today Some people in Missouri are dressing in disguise and begging doctors to not publicly reveal they’ve received a COVID-19 vaccine, a doctor said. Priscilla Frase, Ozarks Healthcare hospitalist, said patients voiced concerns on how their family members, friends and co-workers would react if they got vaccinated. “Nobody should have to feel that…
Read Full Article 
By KAITLYN SCHALLHORNThe Missouri Times Hours after St. Louis said it would implement a mask mandate, Attorney General Eric Schmitt vowed to challenge the order in court. And at least one mayor has said he will not penalize businesses that choose not to enforce the mandate. Both the city and county of St. Louis said they would begin requiring masks…
Read Full Article January 17, 2025
CLUB MUDDY: INDIAN FOOD AND CHRIS BUNCH
Obituaries
Current Weather
SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU