(Missouri Independent) – A Missouri law prohibiting state and local police from enforcing certain federal gun laws has already undermined drug and weapons investigations, the U.S. Department of Justice argued in documents filed Wednesday in Cole County Circuit Court. As part of an ongoing lawsuit set for a hearing Thursday afternoon, the Justice Department is asking Cole […]
Tag: Columbia
Jury convicts Missouri man of enticing a minor for illicit sex
A man was convicted at trial by a federal jury of attempting to meet a law enforcement officer, posing online as a 14-year-old girl, for illegal sexual activity. Darren Wade Lasley, 32, of Columbia, Missouri, was found guilty of attempting to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. On June 14, 2017, Lasley […]
Browning man life-flighted to University Hospital after crashing on Highway 5
A Browning man was injured Tuesday night when the pickup he was driving traveled off Highway 5 in Linn County, went through a fence, and struck a tree three-fourths of a mile south of Purdin. Twenty-two-year-old Alexander Gerst of Browning received serious injuries and was flown by medical helicopter (LifeFlight Eagle) to University Hospital in […]
Two people injured in crash on Highway 63 in Adair County
Two people were taken to hospitals following an accident involving two pickup trucks on Tuesday afternoon in rural Adair County on Highway 63, one mile south of Millard. Seventy-three-year-old Jackie Yardley of Glenwood received serious injuries and was flown by medical helicopter (Air-Evac) to University Hospital in Columbia. Also injured was a passenger in another […]
Audio: Roots and Blues Festival in Columbia to require vaccinations or negative COVID-19 test
After more than a year without live music, the driving beat of a snare drum, the pulsing rhythm of a bass guitar, and sweet vocal melodies floating through the air around Stephens Lake Park will be welcome sounds as the Roots N Blues Festival makes its highly anticipated return to Columbia September 24-26, 2021. This year, however, […]
Audio: Missouri’s governor signs deal with newly formed organization aimed at boosting the state’s sluggish vaccination rate.
Governor Mike Parson’s administration has signed a deal with a newly formed organization aimed at boosting Missouri’s stagnant COVID-19 vaccination rate. The $2.5 million contract with the Missouri Immunization Coalition is the latest attempt by the administration to jumpstart vaccinations in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The hiring of […]
Missouri seeks to boost prizes in local vaccine incentive program
(Missouri Independent) – Prizes awarded through a vaccine incentive program offered by local public health departments in Missouri may get boosted to $100-per-person under a new federal allowance. After previously rejecting Missouri’s proposal to exceed a $25 limit on prizes paid for with federal funding to incentivize immunizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently […]
Less than half of Missouri nursing home staff vaccinated, reviving fear of lockdowns
(Missouri Independent) – Many of the staff and residents in Shunda Whitfield’s St. Louis County nursing home were sick before they even realized what was going on. It was April 2020, and masks weren’t yet standard practice. Little was known about COVID before it swept through nursing homes, and as a certified nursing assistant, Whitfield […]
14-year-old girl life flighted to hospital after being ejected from UTV
A girl from Salisbury was hurt when the utility terrain vehicle she was operating overturned on a gravel road in northern Chariton County. The 14-year old girl was flown by medical helicopter to University Hospital in Columbia with moderate injuries. The crash happened three miles southwest of Wein on Bee Branch Avenue as the southbound […]
34 to take the Oath of Allegiance to become U.S. citizens at Missouri State Capital rotunda
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and U. S. District Court Western District of Missouri will welcome 34 U. S. citizenship candidates to be naturalized at the state capitol on August 10. The event at the capitol rotunda at 11 o’clock that morning is one of more than 200 events planned as the state […]
Seven escape injury in boating accident at Long Branch Lake in Macon County
Seven people, including a minor child, escaped injury in a boating accident Sunday evening at Long Branch Lake in Macon County. The highway patrol reports a ski boat was westbound near the main boat ramp when it struck a rock jetty that was just below the surface of the water. The boat received moderate damage […]
Weed electrocution research sparks interest as herbicide resistance impedes current methods
Move over, herbicides. There’s a new sheriff in town. And he’s toting some powerful guns loaded with electricity to kill weeds. This shocking new method of weed control was demonstrated at the 2021 Pest Management Field Day at the University of Missouri Bradford Research Center in Columbia. As more weeds develop resistance to herbicides, electrocution […]
Missouri Supreme Court rules voter-approved Medicaid expansion is constitutional
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri must expand Medicaid to 275,000 eligible people who were expecting coverage under a constitutional amendment that took effect July 1, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous opinion, the court overturned a trial court ruling that the amendment, passed in August 2020 was unconstitutional because it may increase the state’s cost for […]
Paul Wilson to become Missouri’s next chief justice
Judge Paul C. Wilson assumed the role of chief justice beginning July 1. His term as chief justice will run through June 30, 2023. He succeeds Judge George W. Draper III, who remains on the Court. A Jefferson City native, Wilson earned his undergraduate degree from Drury College in Springfield and his law degree, cum […]
Mizzou weed science shares Seed Terminator research
In the 1984 film “The Terminator,” a robotic assassin played by Arnold Schwarzenegger warns, “I’ll be back.” If waterhemp could talk, it might say the same thing. Waterhemp can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. The prolific producer of seeds is the state’s No. 1 weed, robbing Missouri agriculture of millions of dollars […]
Roots N Blues Festival returns to Columbia in September
After more than a year without live music, the driving beat of a snare drum, the pulsing rhythm of a bass guitar, and sweet vocal melodies floating through the air around Stephens Lake Park will be welcome sounds as the Roots N Blues Festival makes its highly anticipated return to Columbia September 24-26, 2021. Missouri’s […]
Missouri Department of Conservation says no indication of mysterious bird illness in Missouri
At least nine states and the District of Columbia have recently reported numerous unexplained sick and dying songbirds. To date, avian and wildlife health experts with the Missouri Department of Conservation have not received similar reports, and there are no other indications of unexplained death or illness in Missouri’s wild birds. “Though we have not […]
New Missouri Department of Conservation fall hunting booklets available for deer, turkey, dove, waterfowl
Missouri deer and turkey hunters and waterfowl and dove hunters can get the most current information on upcoming fall hunting from the Missouri Department of Conservation’s 2021 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting & Regulations Information booklet and Migratory Bird and Waterfowl Hunting Digest 2021-2022, available where permits are sold and online. The 2021 Fall Deer and […]
Sara Walsh joins growing field in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District
(Missouri Independent) – A crowded Republican primary is emerging in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District, a solidly GOP seat that is also the only one of the state’s eight districts certain to have a new lawmaker at the end of 2022. State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, on Wednesday became the latest candidate to enter the race […]
Coalition of Attorneys General files suit against Google for alleged anti-competitive actions in relation to app store
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a coalition of 37 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Google for alleged unlawful antitrust actions. The suit, filed on Thursday, alleges exclusionary conduct relating to the Google Play Store for Android mobile devices and Google Billing. The coalition of attorneys general accuses Google of using its dominance […]