Free Republic

Katherine Sasser announced her plan to resign from the Columbia School Board on Monday evening. Sasser said her resignation stemmed from her family’s decision to move from Missouri. She shared Monday — and in a February board meeting — that her family has been targeted by legislation attacking LGBTQ+ and transgender youth. “As a family we have made the difficult but necessary decision that Missouri is no longer a safe state for us,” Sasser said. Her voice quavered as she thanked the district administration, the board, teachers, friends and family.

An aggressive effort in St. Louis is trying to lure Afghan refugees…. About 600 have arrived so far and another 750 are expected later this year. Civic leaders are hopeful that over the next few years, thousands more will decide to relocate to the Midwestern city, helping to offset seven decades of population loss and rejuvenate urban neighborhoods — just as the arrival of Bosnian refugees did three decades ago.

Recommendations for a temporary mask mandate were rejected by university curators Tuesday morning. UM System President Mun Choi asked curators to enact a two-week masking requirement in classrooms, labs, offices and public buildings when attendance was required and social distancing was not possible. The board voted 3-6 against the recommendation. When the first recommendation failed, he asked for a policy to require masks only in classrooms and labs, with masks strongly encouraged in other indoor spaces, applied during the same two-week period. That recommendation also failed, by a vote of 2-7.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt demanded that Columbia Public Schools immediately stop enforcing mask requirements in a letter to the district Wednesday afternoon. The letter came after a junior at Hickman High School took advantage of a newly created email account in which Schmitt asks members of the public to turn in school officials who are still requiring COVID-19 regulations. The student asked Schmitt to inform Superintendent Brian Yearwood and the Columbia School Board that they no longer had authority to direct a mask mandate. The letter also requests documentation of correspondence from Yearwood and the board regarding the district’s...

Missouri State Attorney General Eric Schmitt ordered an end to mask mandates in school districts and public health agencies Tuesday....

The MU School of Medicine has joined a nationwide, at-home clinical study, ACTIV-6, to test how repurposed medications can be used to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms. The medications in the study are fluticasone, fluvoxamine and ivermectin, all previously approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat other conditions. Those interested in participating in the study must be 30 years old or older, have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 10 days and have at least two COVID-19 symptoms for seven days or less. You can find more information or enroll in the study through activ6study.org, or by...

“The website says they send us biodegradable silverware,” said Biggs. “No. I stopped all of that because they compost slower than the food, so it doesn’t work well with our system.” One day after following the custodians, he realized they were simply pulling all of the bags from the three-bin system on their rounds and dumping them inside another bag that went into the landfill trash compactor...“Over my time here, I’ve gone to the trouble of doing my civic duty and collected hundreds if not thousands of recyclable items off the streets of Columbia,” Wills said. “To think that all...

The United States exported more than 1 billion gallons (68,000 barrels per day) of fuel ethanol in 2016. Brazil surpassed Canada as the top destination for U.S. fuel ethanol. Imports were almost exclusively (99 percent) sugarcane ethanol from Brazil. Brazil is one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of fuel ethanol, but unlike the United States, Brazil’s main ethanol feedstock is sugarcane. Relatively high global sugar prices during 2016 encouraged more sugar production over sugarcane ethanol production. Most of the imported ethanol went to the West Coast region, most likely for compliance with California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)...

In a statement released early morning, the White House said Obama's 2014 executive order prohibiting LGBTQ workplace discrimination would remain intact "at the direction" of Trump.

My dad is 86 and starting to fail physically and somewhat mentally. For the first time he is talking in his sleep about his experiences in a MASH unit during the Korean War. He never volunteered much about what he went through there. Mainly when he talks he is just griping about being a soldier which I find kind of humorous. But he has started to talk about having to be on point all the time on missions to retrieve bodies at night. He says that they can't use any light because it would draw enemy fire. I don't know...

Sheena Greitens was robbed by multiple people while in her car at a coffee shop parking lot... Greitens, a former Navy SEAL officer, said he is "now, more than ever, focused on the mission of creating safer neighborhoods."

Republican U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt is taking Donald Trump to task for berating the parents of a decorated Army captain killed in Iraq. Blunt, of Missouri, advised Trump to "focus on jobs and national security and stop responding to every criticism whether it's from a grieving family or Hillary Clinton."

MU assistant professor of communication Melissa Click's interaction with a Columbia police officer during the university's Homecoming Parade on Oct. 10 warrants a conversation with the University of Missouri System Board of Curators, MU Interim Chancellor Hank Foley... Foley referenced body camera footage ... In the video, Click tells the police officers to "get your hands off the children" and later curses at an officer who grabbed her shoulder.

For those of you who haven’t had time to research the details of the recent brouhaha between Ben Carson and Ted Cruz, here’s a quick rundown of the facts. Monday, February 1 – Carson’s campaign announced that he would be delivering his post-caucus speech before the caucus results came in and then would immediately fly not to New Hampshire but rather to his home in Florida. This is how campaigns usually signal their candidate is about to drop out of the race. Monday, February 1, 6:29 p.m. – Marco Rubio supporter Conrad Close tweeted, “Rubio campaign pushing the narrative hard...

Faculty in the Missouri School of Journalism were voting Tuesday to revoke a courtesy appointment for Melissa Click, an assistant professor in MU's Department of Communication. the journalism school's associate dean for graduate studies, characterized Click's actions as a clear violation of First Amendment rights. Kurpius said taking actions that might escalate a peaceful protest was "unwarranted."

The same day University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe announced his resignation, the deans of nine different MU departments requested the dismissal of Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin. The deans said Loftin has shown failed leadership through a number of instances, including the elimination and eventual reinstatement of graduate assistant health insurance and the elimination of the vice chancellor for health sciences position. The deans claim Loftin created a "toxic environment through threat, fear and intimidation."

For more than 100 years, coal-fired boilers at the Municipal Power Plant have helped power the city's electric needs. At 5:30 p.m. Sept. 22, the last day of summer, the Municipal Power Plant burned its last load of coal. The city-owned plant's two coal-fired boilers join a growing number of small, aging coal-fired units across the country that have gone cold in the face of tighter environmental regulations on emissions. A third boiler will continue to burn natural gas. To meet both regulations, Johanningmeier said, the plant would have had to refit the boilers with emissions-reducing equipment costing tens of...

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz stood by his call for Republicans in Congress to strip funding from Planned Parenthood, saying if the fight results in a government shutdown, it would be laid at the feet of President Barack Obama. "So now the Democratic field consists of a wild-eyed socialist with ideas that are dangerous for America and the world — and Bernie Sanders," he quipped, to rousing laughter. He noted that, in the past four years, Republicans have taken over Congress with vows to undo Obama's policies, "and what on Earth has changed?" On abortion in particular, Cruz eviscerated GOP...

Fourth District U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler on Friday became the only member of Missouri’s congressional delegation to issue a public statement in support of Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, who was jailed because of her defiant stance against same-sex marriage. There are six Republicans and two Democrats in the House delegation, while the Senate seats are held by Republican Roy Blunt and Democrat Claire McCaskill.

The protest was part of a national event held by Women Betrayed, an anti-abortion organization that aims to eliminate public funding for Planned Parenthood. The location on Providence Road is officially called the Columbia Health Center. The rally came two days before the center will begin taking appointments for abortions. Columbia Health Center will be the only abortion provider in mid-Missouri. Because of the 72-hour waiting period, the first day that abortions can be administered will be Aug. 3.