About two-thirds of the $203,777 in 2025 property taxes Conagra paid on its Macon property went to the Macon County R-I School District, county receipts show.

The school district got $134,202.30 of the $203,777.31 total, according to the receipts, which Macon County Collector Rhonda Anno provided to the Macon Chronicle on Friday. The county's own levy got $9,732.14.

The Chronicle reported Nov. 9 that Conagra had told employees it intends to close the plant at 204 Vine St. on Jan. 15, 2027. The state's list of layoff notices shows the closing affects 442 workers.

"All taxing districts are going to feel the loss from this plant closing," Macon County Assessor Jon Kerns said in an email Friday.

"We will also…

A La Plata sorority chapter will serve a free Thanksgiving dinner Nov. 21, the first of several Macon County holiday events as schools and offices set Thanksgiving week closings.

The Upsilon Mu chapter of Beta Sigma Phi will hold its second annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, according to the listing on the Gary Cunningham Event Center's community events calendar. The meal is free and "open to everyone," the listing says.

The dinner will be held at the event center on East Moore Street in La Plata. No reservations are needed, and some carryout may be available after the meal, said Crystal Amini-Rad, the event center's manager, who is the contact for the…

Long Branch State Park plans to replace its North Shelter, which was removed in the summer of 2023 because of structural and safety concerns.

Missouri State Parks on Friday emailed the Macon Chronicle answers from Jered Wisdom, the park's superintendent. The shelter was removed "due to concerns of structural integrity and for the safety of our team members and guests," Wisdom said in the answers.

Replacement of the shelter is part of an approved capital improvement project and is in the planning stage, he said.

The park's website listed the replacement time frame as undetermined Friday. The area previously occupied by the North Shelter still has a concrete pad, five picnic tables, a grill, a water fountain, and a spigot,…

Missouri plans no hardship exceptions to its new Medicaid work rules, including for Conagra workers who lose their jobs when the Macon plant closes Jan. 15, 2027.

"The department does not have plans to offer separate hardship exceptions," Baylee Watts, media director for the Missouri Department of Social Services, said in an email Friday.

The Macon Chronicle reported Oct. 28 that the work rules start Jan. 1, 2027, and that Missouri had chosen not to use an optional short-term hardship exception, so losing a job would not automatically excuse someone.

Conagra told employees Nov. 9 that it intends to close the plant, the Chronicle reported that day. The state's list of layoff notices shows the closing affects 442 workers.

The…