Missouri State Government
A United States District Court judge in St. Louis heard arguments Monday morning on whether the federal government can continue with a student-debt-forgiveness plan due to begin next month. The lawsuit, filed last month by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, seeks to block an income-driven repayment plan for borrowers proposed by President Joe Biden’s administration. …
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Missouri’s Constitution has banned noncitizens from voting since 1924. And state law requires individuals to verify they are a U.S. citizen in order to register to vote. But GOP lawmakers contend the constitutional and statutory language isn’t strong enough. Instead of saying that “all citizens” can vote, Republicans argue the state constitution should be changed to make it clear…
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The final day of the 2024 legislative session lasted less than 10 minutes in the Missouri Senate. The lightning-quick adjournment was aimed at avoiding bitter flare ups that plagued the previous day, when a member of the Freedom Caucus tried to amend the Senate Journal to say a “stampeding herd of rhinoceroses” had rumbled through…
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Missouri’s murky and complicated past with puppy mills has resurfaced once again with the release of the Humane Society’s 2024 Horrible Hundred report. According to the Humane Society, the report is a “list of known, problematic puppy breeding and/or puppy brokering facilities” across the country and it ranks states based on how many of these…
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When the final budget votes were over Friday and the constitutional deadline was met, Missouri House Republicans crowed about holding the line on spending while Democrats accused the GOP of failing the state’s most vulnerable citizens. A budget process that had the least public input in years — with just a pro-forma public hearing in the House and…
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Missouri’s primary is on August 6. Missouri Times Publisher Scott Faughn breaks down where the candidates stand as the spring and summer campaign season begins to heat up. ‘24 Statewide Races Governor: Republican Primary: TOSS UP – Democrat Primary: Toss UPGeneral: LIKELY REPUBLICAN RepublicansLt. Governor Mike KehoeLot of things are going right for Mike Kehoe. He has…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — Missouri Governor Mike Parson said he wasn’t trying to compare himself to Mark Twain when he made a stop Tuesday in Hannibal to promote his new book “No Turnin’ Back”, but that didn’t mean Hannibal’s most famous son wouldn’t be referenced. Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum Director Megan Rapp introduced the…
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A proposal to allow a new casino near the Lake of the Ozarks on Sunday was the final initiative petition submitted for a possible slot on Missouri’s ballot later this year. The Osage River Gaming & Convention committee said in a news release that it turned in over 320,000 signatures in an effort to meet the requirement…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Wednesday’s Midwest March for Life at the Missouri Capitol had a different tone this year. It was about fighting. Nearly two years ago, the crowd celebrated Missouri becoming the first state to ban abortion after Roe V. Wade was overturned. But on Wednesday, a new worry loomed over the annual event: Abortion…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — None of the demands Missouri Freedom Caucus members said must be met before they would drop a filibuster against legislation renewing taxes that fund Medicaid were achieved when the group decided to end its resistance a little before 3:30 a.m. Thursday. After a 41-hour-filibuster, the Senate gave initial approval Thursday morning to a…
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The Missouri Senate’s budget plan approved in a committee Wednesday has more money for workers who help people with developmental disabilities, more to help low-income families afford child care and more for counties to defray the cost of holding people convicted of felonies. There are also big new road projects and a boost to higher education funding. The committee…
Read Full Article Missouri House members on Wednesday took a step toward prohibiting exports of water, arguing the state’s “most precious resource” should be protected and reserved for residents. The bill, which prohibits water exports without a state permit, cleared an initial Missouri House vote 115-25. It needs second approval before it moves to the Missouri Senate, where a…
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Missouri has plenty of money left in reserve as the state Senate prepares to work on the almost $51 billion budget passed Thursday in the House, but one looming issue could disrupt final passage and put the surplus in danger of disappearing. Lawmakers must renew a set of medical provider taxes, known as the federal reimbursement…
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The Royals and the Chiefs had everything. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce — fresh off of a Super Bowl victory — endorsed a “yes” vote in ads airing on TV and on YouTube. Endorsements rolled in from the city’s top political players: Mayor Quinton Lucas (belatedly), U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and nearly every union in…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Marion County Democrat Central Committee is holding a meeting at 7 p.m. April 16 at the Palmyra, Mo., courthouse to elect state-level delegates to send to the Missouri Democratic Party’s State Convention, where delegates will be elected to be sent to the Democratic Party’s National Convention in August. In a press…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — Republican candidates running in the Aug. 6 Missouri Republican primary for several offices spoke on Saturday morning at the Hannibal Nutrition Center for Lincoln Day. Lincoln Day is a yearly event across many counties in Missouri, and offers an opportunity for voters to meet their state and local candidates in a local…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — Missouri Lt. Gov, Mike Kehoe made a visit and toured the facilities at Hannibal Regional Healthcare System on Friday afternoon. Kehoe, who is running for governor in the Aug. 6 Missouri primary, has been focusing on rural healthcare and workforce development in Missouri. He said access to healthcare in rural areas is an…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Republicans are shelving bills allowing concealed weapons in churches and exempting firearms from sales tax to avoid a public “freak out” in the wake of Wednesday’s mass shooting during the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration, Missouri House Democrats said Monday. During his weekly news conference Monday, House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit…
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A state Senate district map drawn by a judicial commission meets state and federal constitutional requirements and will not be changed, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. In a 5-2 decision handed down just two weeks after hearing oral arguments, the court upheld a trial court opinion that rejected the challenge to districts that split Buchanan County on the western…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The first contract for reconstruction of Interstate 70, for a 20-mile stretch from Columbia to Kingdom City, was awarded Wednesday by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. The $405 million contract is part of a planned $2.8 billion project that will add a lane of traffic in both directions from Wentzville in…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher fired his legislative director Wednesday, the latest in a series of departures from his office as he continues to face an ethics investigation into allegations of unlawful conduct. Erica Choinka had worked for the Missouri House since 2016, first as a legislative assistant and then as…
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Less than a day after a draft letter from state Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden’s home Republican county committee demanding his resignation began circulating on social media, the party’s chairman tried to retract it. The letter, which also called for Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin of Shelbina to resign, was never intended to be a…
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Frustrated with legislative inaction on sports wagering, Missouri’s major sports franchises are going directly to voters. On Friday, a coalition that includes six major sports teams and is backed by major donations from two sports betting platforms announced an initiative campaign to put sports gambling on this year’s ballot. In a news release, St. Louis Cardinals President Bill…
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A group of Republican lawmakers raised concerns about the death penalty and advocated for legislation that would abolish it in Missouri during a Tuesday press conference at the state Capitol — characterizing it as an issue of restraining government overreach and protecting life. Rep. Chad Perkins, a Republican from Bowling Green, has filed legislation to abolish the…
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A Democratic state representative booted from her party’s caucus because of her association with a man described as a Holocaust denier and another called a conspiracy theorist is running for governor. State Rep. Sarah Unsicker of Shrewsbury went to Washington, D.C., and announced her bid for Missouri’s highest office in front of the U.S. Capitol. “What is happening in Missouri is…
Read Full Article March 30, 2025
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