Missouri voters will decide Nov. 5 if retirement funds for sheriffs and prosecutors should be supported with fees collected on court cases. A fee used to fund sheriffs’ pensions was put in place by state law in 1983. The Missouri General Assembly placed Amendment 6 on the ballot to reverse a 2021 Missouri Supreme Court […]
State Government
Posted inKansas City
Missouri’s Prop A would raise minimum wage to $15 and promise sick leave, but business owners warn of job losses
At any given moment in Missouri, a working parent might miss a day’s pay to care for their sick child. New mothers could return to work just days after giving birth to make ends meet, while fast-food workers may skip car payments to cover rent. Labor movement leaders say these harsh workplace realities affect hundreds […]
Posted inState Government
Missouri could legalize sports gambling. How much tax revenue could it generate?
You can bet on almost anything during the Super Bowl. Money changes hands based on the result of the coin toss, the color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach and the length of the national anthem. In 2023, Kansans took full advantage of the chance to bet on sports. They bet $194 million in […]
Posted inState Government
Missouri Amendment 5: Voters can OK or reject a new casino at the Lake of the Ozarks on Nov. 5
Missourians, long restricted to sites along the Missouri or Mississippi rivers for casino gambling, will decide whether to add another river to that list during the Nov. 5 election. Amendment 5 will ask Missouri voters if they want to allow an additional casino on the Osage River, near the Bagnell Dam at the Lake of […]
Posted inState Government
Air conditioning is coming to some Missouri prisons. But it will take years and cost millions
Missouri lawmakers took a step toward improving conditions in some Missouri prisons last year by setting aside millions to install air conditioning in one of the state’s 17 prisons. That cooler air is still a year and a half away. That decision came as global temperatures broke summertime heat records. Prisoner rights advocates celebrated the […]
Posted inState Government
A Missouri panel of lawmakers looks at immigration — and gets pushback
It’s like clockwork each election cycle. Politicians reach for an old playbook, brandishing images from the southern border, claiming that undocumented migrants steal jobs and commit violent crimes at an alarming rate. The intent is to sow fear and misinformation about immigrants for political advantage. During Tuesday’s presidential debate, Donald Trump talked about immigration more […]
Posted inElections
Sports betting in Missouri: Everything you need to know about Amendment 2
Missourians could soon legally bet on sports from their own homes — instead of driving to Kansas or Illinois to place bets. Legalizing sports wagering will appear as Amendment 2 on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. Missourians 21 or older would be allowed to bet if it passes. Read the full amendment here. Here’s […]
Posted inState Government
State Rep. Marvin Robinson II, a Kansas Democrat known for siding with Republicans, has died
State Rep. Marvin Robinson II, a Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat, died of pancreatic cancer. He was 67. The U.S. Navy veteran served one term in the Kansas House and just lost reelection in a crowded Democratic primary. He was controversial in his party for siding with Republicans on some high-profile issues. He was one of […]
Posted inState Government
Johnson County opens a facility for kids in mental health crises
Pulling children out of a mental health crisis is tricky. Some have just run away from home while others are coming off a violent attack on a sibling or parent. They’re thinking impulsively, acting desperately and sometimes doing irrational things to change their situations. That can land them at the Johnson County Juvenile Intake and […]
Posted inState Government
Missouri Democrats, tired of seeing uncontested Republicans, recruit more legislative candidates
Correction: This story has been corrected to reflect the part of the state Melissa Viloria worked in as a volunteer and the first year House candidates ran in new districts after redistricting. When Melissa Viloria was growing up in northeast Missouri, few people in power that looked like her. Viloria was born in Hawaii to […]