(Missouri Independent) – 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 […]
Tag: Columbia
Residents of Kirksville and Macon ejected from trike motorcycle near Bevier
Residents of Kirksville and Macon sustained injuries when they were ejected from a trike motorcycle two and a half miles north of Bevier the evening of September 10th. The Highway Patrol reports passenger 62 year old Rhonda Hargadine of Kirksville had serious injuries and was taken by an air ambulance to the University Hospital of […]
Sixth judge announced for 2021 Missouri Days Marching Festival
Judge Number 6 for the 2021 Missouri Days Marching Festival is Ryan Christian. He has extensive teaching experience in the public school system as a music educator. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Culver-Stockton College, a Master of Education in Administration from William Woods University, and a Master in Music Education from […]
Seven die in traffic crashes over Labor Day holiday weekend
Seven people died in traffic crashes during the 2021 Labor Day holiday weekend. Last year, there were 18 fatalities. The 2021 counting period for the Labor Day holiday ran from 6 p.m., Friday, September 3, through 11:59 p.m., Monday, September 6. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports the following enforcement activity during the 2021 Labor […]
Veterans Administration sending mixed messages to vets about cannabis use to treat PTSD
(Missouri Independent) – Despite increasing legal access to medical and recreational cannabis in states across the U.S., veterans face unfair treatment and stigmatization because the U.S. refuses to recognize marijuana as a viable treatment option. While the VA has embraced the federally illegal status of the drug, agency policy does not allow discrimination against veterans […]
Two from Missouri plead guilty to meth trafficking
Two Missouri residents have pleaded guilty in federal court to methamphetamine trafficking after they received a large package of methamphetamine shipped from California to distribute locally. Bryan Patton Tullous, 39, of Columbia, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps, Jr., to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Co-defendant Cassiopeia Marie Blaise, 36, […]
COVID cases among children rising as Missouri Delta variant wave enters fifth month
(Missouri Independent) – Clay LaRue, superintendent of the Van Buren R-1 School District, made a tough decision Sunday. With COVID-19 cases spiking in Carter County in southeast Missouri, and many of those infections among very young children, LaRue shut down the district’s pre-kindergarten program for two weeks. He had previously directed faculty, staff, and students […]
Missouri’s electric cooperatives mobilize to assist victims of Hurricane Ida
Hurricane Ida left a trail of damage and destruction along the Gulf Coast following its landfall on Sunday. In response, Missouri’s electric cooperatives have mobilized to answer a call for help. At the request of DEMCO Electric Cooperative, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, more than 150 Missouri lineworkers from 30 of the state’s electric cooperatives are traveling […]
Biden administration opens civil rights investigation into states banning school mask mandates
(Missouri Independent) – Federal education officials have launched civil rights investigations in five Republican-led states that have prohibited school districts from mandating mask-wearing, saying those policies could amount to illegal discrimination against students with disabilities. The Biden administration notified the education chiefs in Iowa, Tennessee, South Carolina, Utah, and Oklahoma of the investigations through formal letters Monday. The new investigations will examine […]
Audio: Missouri School Board Association leader responds to attorney general’s lawsuit challenging school mask requirements
State Attorney General Eric Schmitt is suing Columbia Public Schools and any Missouri K-12 public school requiring students and staff to wear masks. Schmitt, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, says a mask mandate “flies in the face of science, especially given children’s low risk of severe illness and death and their low risk of […]
two injured in Macon County crash near Excello
A Highway 63 accident in Macon County has injured two people. Twenty-two-year-old Jacob Hawkins of Macon was southbound when his car hydroplaned off the west side of Highway 63, struck a delineator post, and overturned one-fourth of a mile south of Excello. Hawkins received serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to University Hospital in […]
Missouri ICUs filling as Delta variant wave moves into northeast, southeast regions
(Missouri Independent) – 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 […]
Charges filed in homicide investigation of Northwest Missouri State University student and her daughter
Charges have been filed regarding a homicide investigation involving the death of a Northwest Missouri State University graduate student and her daughter. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office reports 45-year old J. T. McLean, the long-term boyfriend of 43-year-old Allison Abitz, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the murder of Allison and […]
Schools to continue mask rules despite legal challenge from Missouri Attorney General
(Missouri Independent) – 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 […]
NCMC Board of Trustees set tax levy, hear reports on various matters, and hire new employees
The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees heard reports on housing and other matters on August 24. Resident Life Director Donnie Hillerman reported one new residence hall is open, and he hopes the other new residence hall will open September 1st. There are some displaced students currently staying in Selby Hall in the wing […]
Children’s Mercy Hospital doctor responds to Missouri Attorney General’s lawsuit banning mask mandates in schools
A children’s hospital doctor is responding to the Missouri Attorney General’s lawsuit that aims to ban schools from requiring students and staff to wear masks. Dr. Jennifer Watts of Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City says the hospital is strongly advocating to keep children in school. Attorney General Eric Schmitt is suing Columbia […]
Northwest Missouri State University reports student death; Boone County Sheriff conducting homicide investigation
Northwest Missouri State University reports a student pursuing her educational specialist degree through Northwest Online was found dead at her home in Boone County on August 22. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a homicide investigation and has identified the victims as 43-year-old Allison Abitz and her daughter, 11-year-old Jozee Abitz. The sheriff’s office […]
Missouri Attorney General files class action lawsuit against school districts forcing masks on kids
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today filed a class-action lawsuit against school districts forcing a mask mandate on schoolchildren and teachers. The lawsuit, which is a reverse class action that was filed earlier this morning, names Columbia Public Schools, the Board of Education for the School District of Columbia and their board members, and the […]
Carroll County crash injures Unionville man
An early morning wreck in Carroll County has injured a resident of Unionville. Thirty-one-year-old Matthew Whitlock received serious injuries and was taken to University Hospital in Columbia. Whitlock was driving southbound when his pickup left Highway 65, struck an embankment, and came to rest against a tree. The pickup was demolished and towed from the […]
Missouri State Fair auction results from the Sale of Champions
The Missouri State Fair celebrated youth in agriculture on Saturday, Aug. 21. The annual Sale of Champions highlighted the day, breaking records from previous sales, raising a total of $185,948 for Youth in Agriculture. The Grand Champion Steer was exhibited by Payton Rodgers of Savannah, MO. Payton is the daughter of Blaine and Melissa Rodgers, […]