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Friday in federal court, a 63-month prison sentence was handed down to one of the men involved in a romance scam that bilked dozens of senior citizens out of nearly $1 million. The length of the sentence was the maximum of the 51- to 63-month range Judge Sarah Pitlyk could impose. Pitlyk said that the stiff punishment was due in part to both the "very serious harm to many people" that the defendant, 43-year-old Bonmene Sibe, was responsible for as well as his disruptive and contemptuous conduct during court.

Putting cops in schools is a terrible idea. It tends to encourage school administrators to abdicate their disciplinary duties and allow cops to decide which school policy violations should be treated as criminal acts. Turns out it’s also a bad idea to have compliant cops adjacent to schools. A new report from ProPublica, sourced from […]

BENTON – Dr. Mingqing Xiao, 60, of Makanda, Illinois, was convicted by a federal jury on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in connection with lying to federal authorities about a foreign bank account in China in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Dr. Xiao, a mathematics professor and researcher at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, was convicted of three counts of Making a False or Fraudulent Statement to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on his tax returns and one count of Failure to File a report of a Foreign Bank Account (FBAR). Evidence presented at the trial established that Xiao opened a foreign bank account at Ping An Bank in China in 2016 and received monthly deposits into the account from Shenzhenalo University in Shenzhen, China, from 2016 to 2020. Some of the funds were linked to additional sources in China. By 2020, Xiao had accumulated more than $100,000 in the Chinese account. U.S. taxpayers are required to report the existence of any foreign bank account on their federal income

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The new space is named after a former "late-night haunt" that existed above Brennan's old Central West End location.

Missouri lawmakers are poised to require schools test and, potentially, filter drinking water to prevent lead poisoning, making the state one of just a handful that require administrators to meet standards stricter than federal regulations. The state offers grants for schools to pay for water testing, but there is no requirement to test, and only […]

The post Legislature on the verge of requiring Missouri schools test, filter water for lead appeared first on Missouri Independent.

ST. LOUIS COUNTY - On Friday, May 6, 2022, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued warrants on suspect David A. Taylor, 28 years of age, of the 9900 block of Linn Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri 63125, for one count of Unlawful Possession of Explosive Weapon. A mugshot for Taylor is attached. Taylor is being held on a $50,000 cash only, no 10% bond. Please note, charges are merely an accusation and Defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law. The probable cause statement reads: On or about May 5, 2022, officers conducted a traffic stop on the Defendant’s vehicle for following a school bus too closely. The Defendant was arrested for an outstanding warrant. An inventory search of the vehicle revealed two pipe bombs in the center console. Post Miranda, the Defendant admitted to knowing the pipe bombs were in the car and he also knew what was inside the pipes. Defendant said he had purchased them. These devices are capable

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The aerospace giant has been working with the St. Louis college for 15 years on a program that has evolved into a fruitful talent pipeline for the company. Now the school wants to get other industries involved.

This month, a simple school assignment at Wild Horse Elementary is funding more than 550 free, hot meals for people without housing and health care workers.

One of the St. Louis region's largest privately held companies is building an Element Hotel at uptown Charlotte's Stonewall Station mixed-use development. The original project — an Even Hotel — was abandoned in mid-2019.

For the St. Louis firm, its acquisition comes after its management team in recent years has turned around the company, paying off $40 million in debt and retooling its portfolio to place a focus on a 50-plus audience. It believes its new ownership will position it for expansion.

Two St. Louis-based architecture firms have merged through an acquisition.

This one is just absolutely bizarre. The Attorneys General of Missouri and Louisiana are now suing President Joe Biden and a whole bunch of his administration, including press secretary Jen Psaki, Dr. Anthony Fauci, DHS boss Alejandro Mayorkas, and newly appointed Disinfo czar Nina Jankowicz, in a nearly incomprehensible complaint that the Biden administration forced […]

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources State Historic Preservation Office today announced the approval of $117,250 in federal funding to Certified Local Governments (CLG) in the state for five historic preservation projects through the National Park Services’ Historic Preservation Fund. The program is open to all 84 Certified Local Governments throughout Illinois with funds available to reimburse participating CLG communities for projects that focus on Surveys, Public Education, Planning, and National Register of Historic Places nominations. The approved projects are: City of Collinsville – The project is the creation of Historic Preservation Design Guidelines for the city’s historic landmarks and potential preservation district to establish a clear set of professionally developed guidelines. The City of Collinsville was awarded $7,000 in federal Historic Preservation Funds, with the city providing $3,220 in matching funds. City of Carbondale

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The project would cater to professional working-class families and early retirement seniors.

EAST ST. LOUIS – Over 30 businesses in Madison and St. Clair Counties were awarded more than $1.4 million in funding from the Back to Business program thanks to advocacy and support from State Senator Christopher Belt (D-Swansea). “Metro East businesses have fought to keep their doors open,” Belt said. “Local businesses are deserving of this funding to continue getting back on their feet after the unprecedented times we have had.” A total of $1.415 million was awarded to 34 businesses in the 57 th District. The B2B grants are awarded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity using funds allocated to them by the American Rescue Plan through last year’s state budget. DCEO has provided $250 million in B2B grants – thanks to strong support from Senator Belt – to small businesses throughout the state, with an emphasis on hard-hit sectors, such as hotels, restaurants, bars, barbershops, and salons, and disproportionately

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A high-ranking Fabick Cat finance executive was reinstated following the removal of its leader, a newly reviewed document says, adding that the development was related to leadership changes.

Being able to secure a table three days before arguably the biggest dining day of the year is indeed an anomaly.

Hilbert jumped onto our marble coffee table this morning and began rolling around deliriously. This attracted the attention of the camera, and eventually it attracted the attention of another cat, too.