Don’t drink raw milk. It’s one piece of public health advice almost every doctor, scientist and public health official can get behind. Especially as bird flu jumps from chickens to cows to a handful of farmworkers. Yet on the north side of Excelsior Springs, Be Whole Again Farm hasn’t noticed the public health guidance having […]
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 inState Government
Why rural Missouri schools and hospitals might become homebuyers
In Kirksville, Missouri, an entire floor of the hospital sits empty. The community could easily fill beds with patients — if only it could hire nurses and other workers to tend to them. Just up U.S. 63 near the Iowa border, the Schuyler School District can’t keep teachers on the payroll. A manufacturer wants to […]
Posted inElections
Here’s how to register and vote in Missouri
To vote, you now need a photo ID such as a current Missouri driver’s license or nondriver license, a current U.S. passport, a current military ID or another U.S. or state-issued photo ID.
Posted inHealth
Missouri and Kansas families will be getting money for kids’ summer meals — eventually
Summer may be half over by the time Kansas families get extra food aid meant to see them through long hot days when school breakfasts and lunches disappear. For Missouri families, the aid may not arrive until a new school year is well underway. But that still beats the 13 states where families won’t be […]
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers clarify some confusion to let more counties freeze property taxes for seniors
Missouri lawmakers gave counties a dose of much-needed clarity in May when they passed a bill aimed at clarifying a 2023 law that lets counties pass a senior property tax freeze, aimed at those 62 and older. The law passed last year gave counties the power to freeze property tax rates for Missourians who were […]
Posted inState Government
Missouri lawmakers passed 48 bills this year. Here’s a list of potential new Missouri laws
Correction (May 30, 2024): This story originally erred in how it described a tax-credit scholarship bill. Those credits would go to donors who contribute to a state fund to allow families to send students to the school of their choice, including private schools. Missouri lawmakers set their sights on new laws to make it easier for […]
Posted inState Government
Republican infighting kills effort to make it harder for voters to change Missouri law
After years of effort, Missouri Republicans were poised to take a step toward making it harder for initiative petitions to pass. For the majority of the spring, Republicans seemed on the same page about a plan they would send to voters on the August ballot. Then the little, fragile unity that remained among Republicans crumbled […]
Posted inEducation
Don’t miss Missouri’s back-to-school tax holiday in 2024
Missouri’s back-to-school sales tax holiday begins the first Friday in August and stretches through midnight on the following Sunday. This year, that’s Aug. 4-6.