News Staff

A Missouri federal judge says the federal government cannot force health care workers to take the covid shot. The ruling affects workers in Missouri and nine other state. Judge Matthew Schelp said that rules given by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid were not valid because Congress did not approve the mandate. Schelp said that the feds were taking decisions traditionally made by the state, creating a federal dictate into private medical decisions of millions of Americans.

Adair county ended the month of Novmber with 42 new covid cases yesterday and two new deaths. An unvaccinated 94 year old woman died, and a 60 year old man who was also unvaxxed passed away. In all, 37 people in the county have died from covid since the pandemic began.

In Sullivan county, the health dept says only 39% of the county’s population is fully vaxed. That’s about 24-hundred people. Five new positive cases in the county this week for a total of 13 active cases at the moment.

The state patrol says nine people died in wrecks during the Thanksgiving holiday — none of the fatalities in our area.

Statewide during the holiday period, the patrol was called to 457 wrecks with 114 injured. Troopers also made 125 arrests for DWI and 72 people arrested for having drugs

Covid vaccination clinics are scheduled at the Adair County Health Department. The shots are free but you have to call the Health Department to register. The adult clinics are from 1:30 to 3:30 on December 7th, 21st and 28th.

The pediatric COVID-19 vaccine will be given from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on each Thursday in December.

And there’s pandemic payola for getting the shot. Those who get the vaccine, including kids ages 5-11, will receive a $50 gift card to local Casey’s, Hy-Vee, Walgreens or Walmarts. You also get a $50 gift card for a second dose…but not boosters.

If you want to buy a Christmas gift for a child in need — you just have a day left — to sign up for the Adopt a Child program run by the Kirksville Salvation Army.

The deadline to get involved is tomorrow. To sign up, just call the Kirksville Salvation Army or message them on their Facebook page. You’ll be given the name of a child 16 or under to buy for — and the Kirksville fire department will hand out the toys.

An 88 year old man suffered moderate injuries in Marion county when some farm animals hit a four-wheel ATV he was driving. The 4-wheeler overturned and threw the man off. The State Patrol says that Franklin Tuley was taken to University hospital. The wreck happened on a farm on Hwy 168.

Donations are mounting-up for a Missouri man who was wrongfully convicted of killing three people.

Kevin Strickland got out of prison after a judge said he is innocent. The GoFundMe page to benefit Strickland has raised more than $430,000.

Strickland is 62, and he’s not getting any money from the state because state law only allows payments for people who are cleared by DNA evidence. Strickland has always maintained that he was home watching television and had nothing to do with the killings, which happened when he was 18 years old. Evidence used against him was completely debunked.

A naval officer who grew-up in Kirksville is being honored for her work as a Navy judge advocate. Tracy Reynolds, picked by the Judge Advocates Association as its 2021 Outstanding member. A judge advocate is an attorney who helps those in the military with various legal issues. Reynolds graduated from Kirksville High School in 1995 and Truman State in 1999. She is being honored for a record of superb professional accomplishments, service to the community and to the legal profession

More controversy involving the St. Louis county health director.

Dr. Faisal Khan sent an email to staff telling them to ignore the “lunatic fringe” opposed to the county’s mask order and vaccines. That has outraged some politicians in the county who call the remarks inapprorpiate. It comes after Dr. Kahn made a lewd gesture at a group of angry anti-mask protesters after he spoke at a County Council meeting.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is suing the Moberly School District. He says they’re violating the state’s Sunshine Law violations by forcing parents to fill-out a form if they want to record meetings about a child’s individual learning plan. But Moberly’s school supt disagrees. He says the paperwork is just a consent form to let them know parents are recording the meeting