Great Northwest Day at the Capitol drew more than 250 area constituents together to showcase the region in Jefferson City on February 5th & 6th. Nineteen counties, multiple communities, and representatives from business, education, healthcare, and government came together to discuss issues that are critical to the region. This year’s priorities focused on caring for […]
There’s bipartisan support in the state legislature to focus on shifting the criminal justice system away from mass incarceration. Freshman Republican Representative Louis Riggs of northeast Missouri’s Hannibal says he’s looking forward to GOP Governor Parson’s leadership on the issue. Riggs of Hannibal says alternatives to incarceration are important. Riggs sits […]
The Missouri Department of Corrections is moving many inmates and workers at the Crossroads prison in Cameron to the nearby Western Missouri Correctional Center. Director Anne Precythe says moving to the older prison makes sense. The state has budgeted three-million dollars to convert half of Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron into a […]
Story by Alisa Nelson of Missourinet The Crossroads Correctional Center in northwest Missouri’s Cameron could be closing. Governor Mike Parson’s state budget proposal includes shuttering the prison and moving the inmates and many of the workers to the other prison in town – the Western Missouri Correctional Center (WMCC). “As governor, I am […]
Governor Mike Parson delivered his first State of the State Address to the Missouri Legislature today. You can listen to his entire speech. Parson’s budget proposal includes closing Crossroads Prison in Cameron and moving inmates, workers mostly to Northwest Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron. The $20 million in savings would b used to give […]
Hands off Amendment 1. That’s the message from supporters of the “Clean Missouri’ ballot initiative to state lawmakers, who begin the 100th General Assembly next week. The anti-gerrymandering measure passed by 62 percent of the vote in November, but Gov. Mike Parson and several legislators are already calling for major changes. Joan VonDras with the Sierra Club’s […]
Missouri Senate President Dave Schatz does not think a Right-to-work proposal will make it to the governor’s desk this year. In 2017, the legislature passed a right to work bill quickly, but voters overturned the law in a referendum last August. Senator Eric Burlison, a Republican from Springfield, has filed a Right-to-work proposal […]
Minority leaders in the Missouri legislature believe they’re taking a realistic approach to the upcoming session. New House Democratic Leader Crystal Quade of Springfield says her party will focus on defending progressive ballot measures passed by voters, noting the new laws are already under threat. Senate Democratic Leader Gina Walsh of Bellefontaine Neighbors […]
Work continues on $50 million in renovations of the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City. Dana Rademan Miller chairs the State Capitol Commission which is charged with the preservation of the structure. She says the building has been in urgent need of repair after state revenue declines led to 15-years of deferred maintenance. Rademan […]
A bill in the state legislature would implement Instant Runoff Voting in Missouri. It calls for voters to rank candidates in order of preference in a process of elimination until one candidate achieves a 50 percent-plus-one majority. Republican state Representative Dan Stacy of Blue Springs says his proposal would ensure a majority winner when three […]
The Missouri Legislature is expected to make highway funding a top issue in the upcoming session, according to Triple-A spokesman Mike Right. Right says one of the reasons November’s ballot measure failed was likely from “bait and switch” language. Proposition D would have increased the gas tax by two and a half cents […]
State Representative Jim Hansen of northeast Missouri’s Frankford plans to ask the legislature to pass a total ban on texting while driving. Missouri is one of the only states in the country without a total ban on texting while driving. Hansen hopes his proposed ban on texting while driving will get some traction […]
