( KTRS ) Several Illinois schools will receive more than $20 million in federal grants over the next five years to help improve student performance and ensure students are better prepared for college. State Superintendent of Education Tony Smith says there are five School Improvement Grant winners including the Gordon Bush Elementary in East St. Louis.…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Graduate students at the University of Missouri will receive subsidized health insurance premiums for another year. The Columbia Daily Tribune (bit.ly/1ZL5GiE) reports that interim Chancellor Hank Foley made the announcement Tuesday. Health insurance became an issue after the university gave graduate assistants 24-hour notice in August that they would no longer…
( KTRS ) The Illinois Department of Public Health is alerting the public to the potential of contracting Zika virus while traveling abroad. Two pregnant Illinois women have tested posistive for the virus after traveling to Honduras and Haiti. Physicians are monitoring their health and pregnancies. Zika virus is spread to people through mosquito bites,…
GRANDVIEW, Mo. (AP) – A Grandview woman has been charged in connection with the shooting of her 5-year-old granddaughter. Forty-three-year-old Taprill R. Barnett faces one count of felony child endangerment in the incident Monday. Court records say that Barnett told police she was cleaning her gun at home while the girl was playing in another…
( KTRS ) A proposed ban on lobbyist gifts to lawmakers and public officials has won approval from a House panel. Current law allows lobbyists to give unlimited gifts to legislators and other officials. Republican Rep. Justin Alferman’s bill would prohibit that. On Tuesday, members of a House committee voted unanimously in favor of the legislation.…
(KTRS) – The Missouri State Auditor is calling out Sharon Carpenter and her work managing the St. Louis Recorder of Deed’s office. Auditor Nicole Gallaway found several issues with Carpenter, saying she did not handle public money correctly, failed to use proper bidding practices, did not track employee vacation time, and holds tens-of-thousands of dollars…
(KTRS) – As work continues on the Loop Trolley Project, the University City Council approved a proposal to offer matching loan money to struggling businesses. The trolley project started last Spring and during the peak construction times, it was difficult for shoppers to get to the Loop. The Post-Dispatch reports that five businesses have claimed…
Illinois has massive pension debt and lawmakers are deadlocked over a state budget
WASHINGTON (AP) – A new government report estimates that this year’s budget deficit will rise to $544 billion, an increase over prior estimates that can be attributed largely to tax cuts and spending increases passed by Congress last month. The estimate from the Congressional Budget Office also sees the economy growing at a significantly slower…
