Consumers who are victims or identity theft often face a frustrating and time-consuming process when trying to clear their name and repair their credit history. Attorney General Jay Nixon, whose office has a role in mediating consumer identity theft cases, is making it easier to expedite the process through a new feature on his Web site, the Identity Theft Incident Report.

The new form, which can be found…[more]

After recent heavy rains, a rising Missouri River is flooding croplands in western and central Missouri – a financial catastrophe for those farmers that Attorney General Jay Nixon says could have been avoided if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had acted to repair levees breached or damaged by floods last May. Nixon today called on the Corps to expedite the necessary permits to repair nearly 40 levees in Missouri,…[more]

Toastmasters’ Division S Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests produced special winners. Lively laughter from the humorous speeches filled the meeting room at the Plaza Library as several contestants vied for speaking awards. Ve Stanzel of Kansas City, Missouri, Toastmasters Unlimited Club took away the 1st Place award and Shand Glenn of Springfield, Missouri, Speaking Eagles Toastmaster Club was the recipient of the 2nd Place award.

The second portion…[more]

The City of Springfield has reached tentative agreement with John Q. Hammons to develop a new full-service hotel adjacent to the Springfield Exposition Center.

BKD, LLP, representatives have informed the City that the Springfield-based national accounting firm is in negotiations with Opus Northwest, LLC, a Minneapolis-based real-estate development company, to build its new corporate headquarters.

The City Council on Monday, Oct. 22, 2007, is expected to…[more]

Fuel prices and heating expenses are not the only costs going up for Missouri residents. A farm industry survey found that Missourians paid a much bigger grocery bill in the third quarter of 2007 compared to the same period last year.

Prices are up over $4 from the same period last year, at least in part because of higher commodity prices for items like flour and cereal.

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) applauded the Senate Finance Committee
for approving yesterday the Heartland, Habitat, Harvest and Horticulture (4-H) Act of 2007 by a 17- to 4-
vote margin. The measure contained energy tax provisions vital to the biodiesel industry’s continued
integration into the domestic energy supply.

The 4-H Act contained an extension of biodiesel tax incentive. The federal biodiesel tax…[more]

Attorney General Jay Nixon today asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to suspend plans for a spring rise in 2008 on the Missouri River. At least 40 levees on the river in Missouri still need to be repaired from the flooding last May, Nixon said, and if the Corps follows through on its plan for the spring rise called for by the draft Annual Operating Plan, it could represent…[more]

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill clarifying which areas are most vulnerable to flooding.  The change came in an amendment to the Flood Insurance Modernization and Reform Act of 2007.  U.S. Representative Kenny Hulshof (MO-09) co-sponsored the change.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed…[more]

Operation Cracked Earth was the center of attention for Missouri National Guard troops over the weekend. The training exercise was designed to test communications systems in the event of a major earthquake along the New Madrid fault line.

Stretching from southern Illinois to northeast Arkansas, the New Madrid fault produced a massive earthquake in 1811 in what was then a sparsely inhabited area of the country. Although the…[more]

A Labrador retriever is now healing from what Christian County officials have described as a “horrible case of neglect.”

The dog had been abandoned and had a chain collar embedded an inch and a half deep in its neck. Fortunately, a veterinarian was able to remove the collar and the dog is recovering.

Dr. Mark Divine, who treated the Lab, said, “He’s about three years old…[more]