A voter-mandated pay hike for Missouri’s minimum wage workers hasn’t kicked in yet — and conservative lawmakers and business groups are looking to the General Assembly and the courts to block the raise. State legislators have filed three bills to restrict the provisions of Proposition A, which ordered a boost to the minimum wage and […]
Missouri
The Beacon reports on the Missouri government to help bring depth, nuance and new ideas to our readers about how their tax money gets spent and about laws passed by their elected officials.
Posted inHealth
Even after voters, and now a judge, backed abortion rights, access in Missouri will remain difficult
Voters passed Amendment 3 in November to guarantee abortion rights in the Missouri Constitution. That kicked in Dec. 5. But that voter action followed decades of work by the General Assembly to regulate abortion into oblivion. So now state courts must reconcile those myriad regulations attacking abortion with the fresh constitutional amendment that promises access […]
Posted inState Government
Abortion, insulin prices and period products: Here are the Missouri health bills to watch in 2025
Missouri lawmakers will return to Jefferson City in January ready to launch on dozens of health-related bills, including an effort to chip away at abortion rights approved last month by voters, limit how recipients can use government food assistance cards and eliminate the state sales tax on food. Legislation already filed for consideration for 2025 […]
Posted inHealth
Missouri ended its cannabis prohibition. Now it’s looking at the public health consequences
Since Missouri legalized marijuana in 2018, Dr. Bob Batterson has noticed a change in attitudes. The Children’s Mercy Hospital psychiatrist more often hears from parents wondering if cannabis could help their child’s anxiety, autism or OCD. “I tell them there are no studies,” said Batterson, the medical associate director of the hospital’s Division of Developmental […]
Posted inHealth
Prescription delivery in Missouri faces delays under USPS rural service plan
CORRECTION (Dec. 9, 2024) This story originally misidentified a source as a Beacon board member. But Heidi Lucas told a Beacon reporter only that she knows one of The Beacon’s board members. We misheard her and incorrectly identified her as a board member. We failed to check the listing of our own board. A snowstorm […]
Posted inHealth
Stealing from Kansas City’s poor: Thieves use bogus machines to scan EBT cards and rob food stamp accounts
A scam to steal food stamp benefits from some of Kansas City’s poorest families picked up again this summer. Thieves installed inconspicuous gadgets at grocery store checkouts, many along Independence Avenue in Kansas City’s northeast, and skimmed the data — and dollars — right off the EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards the state issues to […]
Posted inHealth
Weathered COVID before? Scientists say every new infection puts you at risk of getting long COVID
Salam Kabbani wears a smile, and many of her sentences trail into laughter. That tends to mask the fact that she got COVID-19 three years ago — and never got better. The 34-year-old Overland Park pharmacist is one of 17 million Americans battling long COVID, an amorphous constellation of symptoms that scientists are only beginning […]
Posted inHealth
Kansas City LGBTQ community vows to ‘fight like hell’ amid mental health and rights worries after Trump win
Election night at BlaqOut in Kansas City was always going to double as a launch party for the organization’s fight for policy and attitude changes toward the Black LGBTQ+ community. As vote results came in, a particular sense of urgency followed. “We have to continue to organize beyond Election Day,” said D. Rashaan Gilmore, the […]
Posted inElections
From swing state to red state: A peek below the surface of county results in Missouri
An analysis of Missouri election results shows a steady shift to Republicans, including smaller movement in urban Democratic strongholds.
Posted inElections
Amendment 5 results: Missouri voters reject casino at the Lake of the Ozarks
Missouri voters rejected Amendment 5 on Tuesday, which would have amended the state constitution to allow a casino to be built at the Lake of the Ozarks. The measure failed to reach the simple majority needed to pass, with 47.6 of Missouri voters giving their approval according to unofficial results. The measure would have amended […]