April 19, 2019

As Syphilis Invades Rural Missouri, A Fraying Health Safety Net Is Failing To Stop It

When Karolyn Schrage first heard about the “dominoes gang” in the health clinic she runs in Joplin, Missouri, she assumed it had to do with pizza.

Turns out it was a group of men in their 60s and 70s who held a standing game night — which included sex with one another. They showed up at her clinic infected with syphilis.

That has become Schrage’s new normal. Pregnant women, young men and teens are all part of the rapidly growing number of syphilis patients coming to the Choices Medical Services clinic in the rural southwestern corner of the state. She can barely keep the antibiotic treatment for syphilis, penicillin G benzathine, stocked on her shelves.

Public health officials say rural counties across the Midwest and West are becoming the new battleground. While syphilis is still concentrated in cities such as San Francisco, Atlanta and Las Vegas, its continued spread into places like Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma creates a new set of challenges. Compared with urban hubs, rural populations tend to have less access to public health resources, less experience with syphilis and less willingness to address it because of socially conservative views toward homosexuality and nonmarital sex.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/syphilis-invades-rural-missouri-fraying-health-safety-net-failing-stop-it

April 19, 2019

MU shifts $25 million in 2020 budget

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri will shift $25 million in its fiscal 2020 budget to focus on scholarships, research and employee pay.

The university said in a news release that it will dedicate $10.5 million from other areas for employee performance and promotion raises, $9.6 million for scholarships and $4.6 million for research support.

The budget was released at noon Friday and top university leaders fielded questions from reporters at a news conference in Jesse Hall ahead of the release.

The reallocation will result in budget reductions across the university. The highest reductions include the Office of Advancement at 10.78 percent, the Office of the Chancellor at 10.32 percent and the Office of the Provost at 9.86 percent, the university said in a news release.

https://www.abc17news.com/news/mu-shifts-25-million-in-2020-budget/1070583871

April 19, 2019

Attorney appeals his case for nonprofit records said to be linked to Greitens

COLUMBIA, Mo. - A St. Louis attorney is seeking documents from a nonprofit, A New Missouri, which has been accused of criminal activity in the past.

Elad Gross filed a lawsuit against the organization in June in Cole County Circuit Court. Judge Jon Beetem dismissed the case with prejudice in November finding that Gross did not have legal standing to bring a case against A New Missouri.

Later that month, Gross filed an appeal to the Missouri's Western District Court of Appeals. He said that because A New Missouri claims to serve all Missourians, its records should be available for public scrutiny.

&quot Former) Representative (Jay) Barnes (R, Jefferson City) explicitly found that this organization was a fake charity that was a criminal enterprise from its inception, designed to get around our campaign finance laws," Gross told ABC 17 News Thursday.

https://www.abc17news.com/news/attorney-seeks-records-from-non-profit-said-to-be-liked-to-greitens/1070360375

April 18, 2019

Missouri House advances bill to collect online sales taxes

JEFFERSON CITY — A bill advancing in the Missouri House would require out-of-state retailers to collect taxes on online sales to Missourians.

Lawmakers voted 78-72 on April 9 to give the measure initial approval.

The bill follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that gave states the ability to collect sales taxes from out-of-state retailers who sell items to their residents.

The proposal by Republican Rep. J. Eggleston would only apply to online retailers that sell at least $100,000 in products to Missouri residents or make at least 200 separate sales over a year.

http://www.dailystarjournal.com/news/ap/missouri-house-advances-bill-to-collect-online-sales-taxes/article_bfd6ca78-25dd-59b5-b1c2-034b3bc2238e.html

April 18, 2019

With Ferguson City Council Seat, Activist Fran Griffin Hopes To 'Move Ferguson Forward'

Exactly one month after a Ferguson police officer killed Michael Brown about a mile from her home, Fran Griffin attended her first city council meeting.

Determined to make her voice heard, she joined more than 600 people inside a crowded church for a contentious meeting. Since that night in 2014, Griffin has attended nearly every council meeting.

On Tuesday, the activist and mother of three will be sworn in as Ferguson’s newest council member and the first black woman to represent the city’s predominantly black third ward.

“I want to show people that we can have hope that things will change,” Griffin said. “I get asked a lot — ‘Why do you have so much hope?’ And it’s because I see the potential in us when we work collectively.”

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/ferguson-city-council-seat-activist-fran-griffin-hopes-move-ferguson-forward

April 17, 2019

Coalition to pursue "butterfly highway" designation for Missouri 13

LEXINGTON – The Missouri Highway 13 Corridor Coalition is considering a proposal to develop Missouri Highway 13 as a butterfly trail.

A delegation from Caldwell County ”planted the idea” at the coalition’s meeting on Monday, April 8, noting the corridor is a natural migration path for monarch and other butterflies, Coalition Chairman Bill Bernier said.

Bud Motsinger, Caldwell County presiding commissioner, said Interstate 35 has already been designated the Monarch Highway in states from Minnesota to Mexico, with a 50-mile radius on each side of the road included.

“We’re within that 50-mile boundary,” Motsinger said.

http://www.dailystarjournal.com/news/local/coalition-to-pursue-butterfly-highway-designation-for-missouri/article_7a3935cf-4766-553e-92c4-e49c674cec9d.html

April 17, 2019

Wash U Announces Free Tuition For Up To Half Of New Med Students

The Washington University School of Medicine will more than double the number of students receiving full tuition each year thanks to $100 million in scholarship funding.

Officials from the medical program on Tuesday announced the boost in scholarships, which will be provided throughout the next 10 years. The scholarships are aimed at recruiting more low-income students and people of color and reducing the massive amount of medical school debt students incur.

“They look at our tuition and they don’t even consider applying because of concern they would accumulate very large amounts of debt,” said Eva Aagaard, the school’s senior associate dean for education. “This might change their mind, and we might see a really different population applying and being accepted into Wash U.”

The money will make it possible for up to half of the school’s approximately 100 incoming students pursuing an M.D. degree each year to receive full-tuition scholarships to the medical school, ranked among the nation's best. Others will receive partial support. About 20 current students per class have a full scholarship, and another 40 receive some kind of scholarship. Students pursuing a combined medical and doctoral degree already get a full ride, Aagaard said.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/wash-u-announces-free-tuition-half-new-med-students

April 17, 2019

Wash U Announces Free Tuition For Up To Half Of New Med Students

The Washington University School of Medicine will more than double the number of students receiving full tuition each year thanks to $100 million in scholarship funding.

Officials from the medical program on Tuesday announced the boost in scholarships, which will be provided throughout the next 10 years. The scholarships are aimed at recruiting more low-income students and people of color and reducing the massive amount of medical school debt students incur.

“They look at our tuition and they don’t even consider applying because of concern they would accumulate very large amounts of debt,” said Eva Aagaard, the school’s senior associate dean for education. “This might change their mind, and we might see a really different population applying and being accepted into Wash U.”

The money will make it possible for up to half of the school’s approximately 100 incoming students pursuing an M.D. degree each year to receive full-tuition scholarships to the medical school, ranked among the nation's best. Others will receive partial support. About 20 current students per class have a full scholarship, and another 40 receive some kind of scholarship. Students pursuing a combined medical and doctoral degree already get a full ride, Aagaard said.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/wash-u-announces-free-tuition-half-new-med-students

April 17, 2019

Complaint alleges Stoddard County Clerk illegally certified election

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — A former deputy clerk has accused Stoddard County Clerk Cecil Weeks of illegally certifying the April 2 municipal election after she told him two unregistered voters cast ballots in Dexter, Missouri’s Ward 2.

Ginger McCoy, who recently was fired from the clerk’s office where she had worked for 13 years, filed a complaint April 8 with the Stoddard County Sheriff’s Department.

The filing of McCoy’s complaint is referenced in a motion filed by Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor to look into the allegation.

Oliver filed the motion after learning of the complaint, and cited a “conflict of interest” as his reason for making the request.

McCoy’s husband, Tim, works as the investigator for the prosecuting attorney’s office

https://www.semissourian.com/story/2601755.html

April 16, 2019

Court docs: California woman had sex with daughters' teen boyfriends

VISALIA, Calif. -- After reviewing the probation report, a Tulare County judge said he would not sentence 41-year-old Coral Lytle on Monday, saying he didn't believe the indicated sentence (five years of probation with a six-year suspended prison term) was appropriate.

Lytle, who is out of custody, can now withdraw her earlier plea.

A trial setting hearing will take place next Monday.

Lytle was arrested for having sex with two teenage boys in the fall of 2017.

https://abc7chicago.com/court-docs-woman-had-sex-with-daughters-teen-boyfriends/5252454/