Another 880,000 Missourians become eligible today (Monday) to get their coronavirus vaccination. Phase two of the state’s coronavirus vaccination plan is underway. Missourians who work in higher education, libraries, financial services, government, construction, critical manufacturing, and remaining food and agriculture sectors are all eligible to get immunized. So are the homeless and those […]
Category: State News
Audio: Missouri House gives initial approval to delivering goods by robots and drones
Some items you buy could soon be delivered in Missouri by robots and drones. The Missouri House has given preliminary approval to a bill that would allow the devices mainly on sidewalks and crosswalks. Holts Summit Representative Travis Fitzwater says his bill would allow the robots to travel up to 10 miles per hour and […]
Audio: Missouri House passes K-12 open enrollment bill
Roughly 44 states allow K-12 open enrollment and Missouri could become the next. The Missouri House has passed Sedalia State Representative Brad Pollitt’s open enrollment bill. He served in the public school system for about 34 years, including as a teacher and a former school superintendent in Sedalia. Representative Mark Sharp, a teacher […]
Missouri updates demographic estimates used in vaccination dashboard
Missouri’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard was updated this afternoon to reflect the current state of COVID-19 demographics among Missourians. When Missouri’s vaccination dashboard was initially created, the method used relied on national population demographic percentages which were attributed to Missouri, and not taking into account the differences between Missouri’s demographic landscape and national averages. Going forward, Missouri-specific demographic […]
Audio: Blaze in northeast Missouri’s Hannibal kills three, including two small children
Firefighters in northeast Missouri’s Hannibal say three people are now dead from that horrific house fire, including two small children. Missourinet Quincy affiliate WGEM reports the fire killed 42-year-old Jason Carpenter, along with five and six-year-old brother and sister Logan and Summer Shanks. Neighbor Candiss Clement tells WGEM she can’t believe the victims are gone. […]
Missouri woman sentenced to 16 years in prison without parole for distributing almost 7 pounds of heroin
A Missouri, woman has been sentenced in federal court for her role in leading a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of heroin in Greene County, Mo. Jasmine D. Steed, 34, of Springfield was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough on Thursday, March 25, to 16 years and eight months in federal prison without […]
Missouri man sentenced to 70 years in prison without parole for sexual exploitation of a minor
A Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court for coercing a minor victim to engage in illicit sexual activity. Tracy Todd Presson, 55, of Gainesville, Missouri was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 70 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Presson to spend the rest of his life […]
More charges announced against Missouri lawmaker after indictment for $900,000 COVID-19 fraud scheme
Additional charges have been returned by a federal grand jury against an elected Missouri state representative for a nearly $900,000 COVID-19 fraud scheme, following her indictment last month for a separate fraud scheme in which she made false claims about a supposed stem cell treatment marketed through her clinics in southern Missouri, and for illegally […]
Highway Patrol corporal named Missouri State Employee of the Month for unique handling of traffic stop
Jeffrey W. Huff, a corporal in the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop A, has been named Missouri State Employee of the Month for March for the care and compassion he demonstrated while responding to a teenager experiencing suicidal thoughts. Huff became eligible for the state recognition after being named Department of Public Safety Sworn Employee […]
Audio: Human remains believed to be Mengqi Ji discovered in Missouri’s Rock Bridge Memorial State Park
Human remains believed to be those of a missing Columbia woman have been found in a mid-Missouri state park. Columbia resident Mengqi Ji has been missing since October 2019, and authorities have searched a river near Boonville for her remains several times. During a Thursday evening press conference, Columbia Police announced that a […]
Audio: Missouri House gives final approval to large election legislation; bill includes photo ID requirement
Legislation that requires a photo ID and the use of a paper ballot was given final approval by the Missouri House in Jefferson City on Thursday. The vote, primarily along party lines, was 109-48. House Bill 738 is sponsored by veteran State Rep. Don Rone (R-Portageville), who represents the Bootheel. Rone was unable to make it to the […]
Audio: Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden says Greitens still unfit for office; Schatz has similar feelings about the ex-governor
Missouri Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden of Columbia has strong words about fellow Republican Eric Greitens running for the U.S. Senate. Greitens resigned as governor in 2018 after allegations about federal campaign donation violations, taking a half-nude photo of his former mistress without her permission, improperly taking a donor list to bankroll his […]
Audio: Missouri House attempting to undo state Supreme Court’s restrictions on bail
In 2019, the Missouri Supreme Court began restricting when judges can require bail. Currently, judges can only charge bail fees for safety reasons or to help ensure defendants appear in court. The Missouri House has given preliminary approval to Lake St. Louis State Representative Justin Hill’s bill that would undo the high court’s bail rules. […]
Audio: Missouri Senate gives final approval to legislation keeping sex offenders away from Missouri conservation areas
Legislation aimed at keeping registered sex offenders away from state Conservation areas has been given final approval today (Thursday) by the Missouri Senate. Riddle notes current Missouri law bans sex offenders from being 500 feet of public parks with playground equipment, public swimming pools, and children’s museums. The only exception would be a […]
Audio: Missouri House passes school open enrollment bill
Missouri could become a school open enrollment state. Eighty-two members of the House of Representatives have voted in favor of an open-enrollment bill – the bare minimum number of votes required to pass. Representative Brad Pollitt, a Republican from Sedalia, says his hope is to have students in districts they want to be in and […]
Audio: Missouri House Budget Committee votes against funding for Medicaid expansion in next budget cycle
The Missouri House Budget Committee has voted against funding for Medicaid expansion in the next fiscal year. The committee, made up of mostly Republicans, has voted down 1.6-billion dollars in funding for Medicaid expansion in the next state budget cycle. Last year, 53-percent of Missouri voters approved a ballot measure to expand government-funded […]
Lawmakers introduce legislation to prohibit permanent fencing around Capitol complex
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (Md.) introduced the No Fencing at the United States Capitol Complex Act. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) previously introduced the legislation in the House. Their bipartisan, bicameral bill prohibits funding for permanent fencing […]
Former Police Captain David Dorn receives Congressional Medal of Honor Citizen Honors Award
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society announced retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn would be posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor Citizen Honors Award for his courage when he was mortally wounded while saving his friend’s business from looters during the riots in St. Louis last June. U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) nominated him […]
Missouri State Treasurer returns $100 million in unclaimed property
Treasurer Fitzpatrick today announced that his office has returned the first $100 million of his administration in just over two years, the fastest of any Missouri Treasurer. $100,080,956 has been returned since Treasurer Fitzpatrick took office in January 2019. This is the Treasurer’s fourth Unclaimed Property record. “Raising awareness and returning Unclaimed Property to rightful […]
Video: Baby Stingray arrives at SEA LIFE Aquarium in Kansas City
SEA LIFE Aquarium in Kansas City has a brand-new baby Stingray. This male, Blue Spotted Ribbontail Ray was born right here at SEA LIFE in Kansas City just before the New Year. The baby ray is named Trayvis Kel-sea, after beloved Kansas City Chiefs tight-end, Travis Kelce. Blue Spotted Ribbontail Rays are known to dig […]