The freezing of property tax assessments for Missourians 62 and older looks, at best, fuzzy. The state adopted a law this year that lets counties give that property tax assessment freeze when homeowners become eligible for Social Security. And it allowed counties to throw in a yearly tax credit to give older residents even more […]
Meg Cunningham
Meg Cunningham is The Beacon’s rural health reporter. She graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism, where she covered state government and health. She spent roughly three years covering national politics, including the 2018 and 2020 elections, at ABC News in Washington. She’s spent over five years covering politics and policy, with the last three of those years focused on Missouri state government, developing expertise on state policy and agencies, democracy and representation, and health outcomes in Missouri. She grew up in the Kansas City suburbs.
Posted inState Government
People in Missouri prisons say food went from bad to worse when contractor took over
Missouri volunteer prison labor tends gardens that yield about 100 tons of fresh produce a year. For the most part, that food goes to local charities. The prisoners who grow it complain they get little fresh food. Instead, they get a lot of bologna. They say they’re served portions they consider too small and unappetizing. […]
Posted inHealth, State Government
In Missouri, 66% of suicides come with a gun. So groups want firearms a little farther out of reach
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Even in Missouri — where politicians risk their careers talking about rules around guns — people will listen to your thoughts about firearm safety. In a place where two-thirds of the rising number of […]
Posted inHealth, State Government
The pandemic put Missouri mothers at greater violence risk, even homicide — especially if they were Black
Social isolation during the pandemic put Missouri’s Black moms in greater danger that their partner would kill them. A report from the state’s maternal mortality review board found that from 2018 to 2020, homicide was the third-leading cause of death for Missouri moms. Black women made up 75% of those deaths. Among those homicides, guns […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, Elections, Health, State Government
Missouri groups look for the strongest abortion rights that voters would back
Update (Nov. 22, 2023): After two losses in lower state courts, the Missouri Supreme Court on Nov. 20 denied hearing Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s appeal, effectively ending the court battles over language for a set of initiative petitions aimed at restoring access to abortion in Missouri. The fight over the Missouri abortion ban begins […]
Posted inEconomics, State Government
Missouri’s secretary of state reins in environmentally minded investing
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft says his rule is the first of its kind, placing Missouri on the cutting edge of how some states might think about regulating ESG, or “environmental, social and governance,” investing. The practice takes into account social concerns and personal beliefs.
Posted inHealth, State Government
“We’ve got hell coming”: Missourians in state prisons fear consequences of summertime heat
As heat waves sweep across the Midwest, incarcerated people in Missouri are increasingly afraid of the rising temperatures inside prisons. They live in concrete buildings that retain heat. People share close quarters, making cooling all the more difficult. As Earth’s temperatures reach their hottest recorded numbers this summer, people incarcerated in Missouri’s prisons describe conditions […]
Posted inState Government
Missouri has a $500k incentive for urban farmers –– if growers can figure out how to get it
News that the Missouri legislature has authorized $500,000 for urban farming grants ought to be welcomed by small growers like Darian and Nicolette Davis, who run an orchard in Kansas City’s Swope Park to provide fresh fruit to their community. The couple hatched the idea of the Kansas City Urban Farm Co-op during the unrest […]
Posted inHealth, State Government
“I can’t wait.” Missouri moms face waitlists, access problems when looking for mental health care
Geornesha Clayton is a social worker. So when she was undergoing a difficult pregnancy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, with morning sickness so severe it put her job at risk, she understood that problems could carry over after she gave birth. Her delivery was also rocky. Clayton, who lives in Kansas City, ended […]
Posted inHealth, State Government
‘They don’t know why they were shot.’ New MU research shows most injured kids were hit by bullets not intended for them
With gun injuries now the leading cause of death among children and teenagers in the United States, parents and communities are seeking new strategies to keep children safe. That’s especially the case in places like Kansas City, where children too often become innocent victims of a larger gun violence epidemic. Young people are now more […]