A state Representative and Missouri’s attorney general sparred over school dress codes. Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, has sued 45 K-12 school districts for requiring masks and quarantining to slow the spread of the coronavirus. During a Missouri House Budget Committee hearing, Democrat Peter Merideth of St. Louis asked if […]
Tag: policies
State judges across the U.S. face growing GOP pushback against rulings in election cases
Missouri Independent) – In mid-December, Texas’ highest criminal court revoked the state attorney general’s ability to use his office to prosecute election-related cases without the request of a district or county attorney. In an 8-1 opinion, the all-Republican court weakened Attorney General Ken Paxton’s power to independently go after perpetrators of voter fraud, a problem he says […]
U.S. House hearing on extremism toward minorities turns into ‘defund the police’ debate
(Missouri Independent) – Leaders of faith organizations and Historically Black Colleges and Universities told members of a U.S. House panel on Thursday how their institutions and places of worship have been roiled by bomb threats and extremism. They talked about the recent waves of bomb threats aimed at HBCUs, a terrifying hostage-taking at a Texas […]
American Farm Bureau Federation claims it’s the ‘voice of agriculture,’ Others beg to differ
(Missouri Independent) – This story was originally published as a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “voice of agriculture,” a slogan it trademarked in 2007. But as the divide between agribusiness and small farmers has grown in recent decades, a unified voice of agriculture has become harder to […]
Missouri State Auditor releases audit of Ralls County with rating of “fair”
State Auditor Nicole Galloway has released an audit of Ralls County, located in northeast Missouri, that finds improvements are needed to the property tax system and to other areas of county government. The report gave a rating of “fair.” “Our audit found several areas where improvements would help ensure greater accountability for the taxpayers of […]
Missouri AG files suit against Biden Administration for unlawful reinstatement of ineffective Central American Minors Refugee Program
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, along with seven other attorneys general, filed suit against the Biden Administration for their unlawful reinstatement of the ineffective Central American Minors (CAM) Refugee and Parole Program. The lawsuit alleges that illegal aliens with pending asylum claims can petition the government through the CAM Program to allow their minor children […]
Counties ask Missouri Supreme Court to strike down law restricting local CAFO rules
(Missouri Independent) – A pair of Missouri counties are 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 or CAFOs. Under the law, county commissioners are prohibited from setting policies that are “inconsistent with or more stringent than” state […]
Missouri Attorney General sues nine additional schools to halt mask mandate policies
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Monday filed suit against nine more school districts to halt their illegal mask mandate policies. Districts that were sued include Bayless, Jennings, Lexington, Kirkwood, Ritenour, Hancock Place, Special School District of St. Louis, Meramec Valley, and University City. “As we’ve made clear from the beginning, the power to make […]
Ryan Woodward selected as North Central Missouri College Outstanding Employee
Ryan Woodward, Senior Network/Security Administrator, has been selected as North Central Missouri College’s Outstanding Employee for January. Ryan, an NCMC alum, has been employed at NCMC for six years and holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a minor in Networking. Ryan has enhanced NCMC’s IT infrastructure security by enabling stricter password policies […]
Gallatin Board of Education accepts resignations
The Gallatin R-5 Board of Education accepted two resignations after a closed session on January 19th. The resignations were from Superintendent Secretary Lesli Lin and Special Education Teacher Vickie France. They will be effective at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. During the regular meeting, the board approved entering into a one-year contract to […]
Gallatin Board of Education to consider approval of sports cooperative with Jamesport at Wednesday meeting
The Gallatin R-5 Board of Education on January 19, 2022. will consider approval of cooperative baseball and junior high and high school football with the Jamesport Tri-County School District. A meeting is scheduled to be in the Gallatin High School library at 6 pm. Board Secretary Vicki Corwin notes the meeting may be moved to […]
Supreme Court blocks Biden workplace vaccine rule, allows health care workers mandate
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a blow to the Biden administration’s fight against the pandemic, blocking a federal mandate that workers be vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19 — though the court allowed a separate rule requiring vaccinations for some health care workers. The two rulings represented a split victory for Republican attorneys general […]
Caldwell County receives “Good” rating from Missouri State Auditor
State Auditor Nicole Galloway announced that her office has issued a rating of “good” in a regularly scheduled audit of Caldwell County, located in northwest Missouri. A December 2016 audit of Caldwell County also issued an overall rating of “good.” Auditors found that controls and procedures at the Caldwell County Detention Center in Kingston need improvement. The […]
Missouri Farm Bureau honors six individuals with Outstanding Service to Agriculture award
Six individuals were honored with the Missouri Farm Bureau Outstanding Service to Agriculture Award on December 6. The presentations were made by MOFB President Garrett Hawkins during the opening session of the organization’s annual meeting at the Lake of the Ozarks. The award is given annually to select individuals who have demonstrated their desire to […]
Missouri cattle producers say more competition needed to stay profitable
Meat prices have been on the rise, but family-farm advocates say higher profits haven’t been making their way to smaller cattle producers. Four companies control 85% of the beef supply, noted Darvin Bentlage, a cattle rancher and farmer in southwest Missouri. He said the executive order on promoting competition that President Joe Biden signed last summer is a […]
Trenton R-9 Board of Education hears presentation on implementation of SafeDefend system
The Trenton R-9 Board of Education on December 14th heard about the implementation of the SafeDefend system for the district. Superintendent Mike Stegman reported employee training for the system was December 6th. Law enforcement and fire and rescue members were also invited to participate. On-site employees were fingerprinted into the system, and it is now […]
Newtown-Harris Board of Education approves changes to COVID-19 policy at Monday meeting
The Newtown-Harris R-3 Board of Education approved changes to the COVID-19 policy on December 13th. The changes specifically involved shorter quarantine periods. The board also reapproved the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan. The 2020-2021 audit was approved. Superintendent Doctor Lucas McKinnis reports there were no findings or recommendations, and the […]