Missouri State Government
In less than two years of selling legal recreational weed, Missouri’s cannabis market has grown to $1.4 billion — outperforming states with a longer history of marijuana legalization like Arizona, Colorado and Nevada. “Those are mature marketplaces, and you are surpassing them,” said Laurie Parfitt, CEO at LKP Impact Consulting. “Missouri is doing amazing things,…
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By the time the NFL playoffs begin in January, sports betting will be legal in Missouri. The only remaining question now that voters approved Amendment 2 is whether bettors will use platforms licensed in Missouri or if players will have to use accounts linked to licenses from other states. The amendment directs the Missouri Gaming Commission to…
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OZARK — U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley won a second term on Tuesday, cruising to victory over a well-financed rival in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2018. Hawley led Marine veteran Lucas Kunce 52% to 45% when the Associated Press called the race at 9:30 p.m. “They said they were going…
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Missouri’s next governor will be Mike Kehoe, a Republican who cruised to victory Tuesday night over Democrat Crystal Quade. The Associated Press called the race at 8:30 p.m. with 22% of precincts reporting and Kehoe leading Quade 52% to 46%. “Our victory tonight, it’s a win for our cops, our firefighters, our farmers, and our…
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ST. LOUIS — Abortions rights will be enshrined in the Missouri Constitution, after voters on Tuesday overturned the state’s near-total ban. The Associated Press called the race at 10:30 p.m. with Amendment 3 winning 54% to 46%. “We did not accept this nightmare thrust upon us,” said Tori Schafer, deputy director for policy and campaigns…
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Missouri State Rep. Greg Sharpe (R-Ewing), has been re-elected for another two years. Sharpe, who defeated Democrat Melissa Jo Viloria, has been representing Northeast Missouri for six years. Sharpe said he is thankful for the people in his district, “I’m very grateful to the voters of my district who put me back in, and so…
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Missouri State Rep. Greg Sharpe (R-Ewing) has been representing Northeast Missouri for six years, but for the first time he has competition in the Nov. 5 general election. Democrat Melissa Jo Viloria is Sharpe’s opponent in District 4 covering the counties of Shelby, Knox, Scotland, Lewis, Monroe, Schuyler, Clark and part of Adair, with Shelby…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — It’s a girl’s world this election season — even in Northeast Missouri. “I have a 16-year-old daughter, and she’s my world. Her friends are my world — I love those girls,” said Melissa Jo Viloria, a Democratic candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives. “My main reason for running was because of them.”…
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In April 2023, Osage County Clerk Nicci Kammerich agreed to an experiment — she would tally municipal election results by hand, a move urged by residents who argued it would be cheaper, quicker and more secure. The results, Kammerich wrote after the election, were the opposite. The vote count finished three hours later than the previous…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — “Vote no” and “Amen” were yelled from the crowd as Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe condemned Amendment 3, also known as the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative, during his visit to Republican headquarters in Hannibal on Thursday, Oct. 24, less than two weeks before election day on Nov. 5. “Amendment 3 is…
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Ranked-choice voting is on the rise in the U.S., with two U.S. states and 45 U.S. cities now using some version of it. This November, Missourians will have the opportunity to ban it. Advocates of ranked-choice voting argue that it solves the problems of other voting methods, while detractors counter that it makes elections unnecessarily complicated. Here in the U.S., plurality…
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Chariton County cannot block construction of the Grain Belt Express electric transmission line by refusing permission to cross county roads, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. The county can establish rules for how the transmission line crosses its roads, the court ruled as it modified a trial court decision that said the county could…
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Chariton County cannot block construction of the Grain Belt Express electric transmission line by refusing permission to cross county roads, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled this week. The county can establish rules for how the transmission line crosses its roads, the court ruled as it modified a trial court decision that said the county…
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Until they get in touch with him, organizer TJ James says, many people with a felony conviction have no idea that they have the right to vote. And it’s not for a lack of interest, said James, an organizer with the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, or MORE2. “I’ve had people that I…
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Nearly 8,000 seniors and Missourians with disabilities could lose at-home care over the next year after a new eligibility algorithm went into effect this week, a spokesperson for the state health department told The Independent. Starting Oct. 1, Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services implemented a change in the scoring algorithm they use to…
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The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is asking for over $174 million in supplemental funding for this school year after receiving $1 billion less in appropriations compared to the previous year. When the State Board of Education reviewed the budget bill approved by lawmakers in May, Board Chair Charlie Shields predicted that “the mother…
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Missourians will have the opportunity to vote to enshrine abortion in the state constitution this November, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. In a decision published less than three hours before the constitutional deadline to remove a question from the ballot, the Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s ruling that recommended the measure be stripped…
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The Missouri Supreme Court will decide whether an abortion-rights will end up on the Nov. 5 ballot after a Cole County judge ruled the proposed amendment violated state law. The case bypassed the court of appeals over the weekend and headed straight to the state’s highest court, which scheduled oral arguments for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday…
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SEDALIA — On a hot and humid afternoon in the Swine Barn of the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, brothers Cole and Ty Murphy keep watch over their two hogs. Ty, 14, said he likes the hard work caring for pigs requires. “Every night we’re walking them for five to 10 minutes, working hair, cleaning…
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Families flock to McDonald County in southwest Missouri each summer to float down the Elk River, visit the caves where Jesse James took refuge and stay in a rustic cabin. The county is a vestige of old, wild Missouri charm — and a place where restaurants and bars still ask, “Smoking or non?” People in…
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Independent U.S. Senate candidate Jared Young won an endorsement Thursday from a Republican stalwart and former mentor of current Sen. Josh Hawley. Republican John Danforth, who served three terms in the U.S. Senate representing Missouri from 1976-1995, announced his endorsement of Young, a Webb City resident, in a written release. Young is a conservative and running…
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Marijuana companies face a hard deadline to meet Missouri’s new plain packaging requirements on Sept. 1 — more than a year after the rule was initially put in place. For decades, there’s been a global movement urging “plain packaging” on tobacco products — or packaging with limited colors and frills — after numerous studies found it makes…
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SEDALIA, Mo. — A confrontation between U.S. Senate rivals Thursday on the Missouri State Fairgrounds may be the closest thing to a live debate in the 2024 campaign. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican seeking his second term, arrived at the Governor’s Ham Breakfast looking for Lucas Kunce, the Democrat hoping to unseat him. He…
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State regulators issued two cannabis recall notices last week involving 135,000 marijuana products — more than double Missouri’s first massive cannabis product recall exactly one year ago. “I’ve never seen recalls of this magnitude in any other state,” said Nick Rinella, CEO of Hippos Cannabis. “This is kind of unprecedented.” Since the announcement, Rinella and facility owners…
Read Full Article November 12, 2024
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