Author
Bobby Bostic released on parole after being imprisoned in Missouri for 27 years
Standing on the Missouri Capitol steps moments after being released from prison, Bobby Bostic said the first place he planned to visit was his mother’s grave in St. Louis — a city he’d last freely walked in 1995. “I’m a free man all because of you all who supported me,” Bostic, 43, said Wednesday morning […]
Republican Scott Fitzpatrick wins Missouri auditor election
State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick won the race to become Missouri’s next auditor Tuesday, easily defeating former state Rep. Alan Green. In final, unofficial returns, Fitzpatrick, a Republican, secured a 59% to 38% win over Green, a Democrat who previously represented Florissant in the Missouri House. The auditor’s office, tasked with the impartial review of public […]
Missouri Medicaid application wait times average 41 days, the lowest in nearly a year
Average wait times for Missouri Medicaid applicants fell in September below the federally-allowed maximum for the first time in nearly a year.
Commission recommends salary increases to address Missouri teacher shortage
A state commission Tuesday laid out its recommendations to improve teacher recruitment and retention in Missouri, including a push to raise starting salaries that currently rank among the lowest in the nation.
Missouri families still waiting for summer food benefits for low-income children
For some families, the delayed benefits were a missed opportunity for much-needed relief during the summer, and have been a source of concern and confusion.
Missouri participation in public benefits program WIC fell sharply during pandemic
Even as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified economic hardship and unemployment, Missouri saw one of the nation’s sharpest drops in participation in WIC, a federal benefits program for low-income women and children, according to a report released last week. The steep decline, the report found, was associated with Missouri’s burdensome system of dispersing benefits. Missouri began transitioning […]
Bipartisan group of Missouri lawmakers demand Agape Boarding School be shut down
A bipartisan chorus of Missouri lawmakers joined together on Twitter Wednesday to call for Agape Boarding School to be shut down.
Top Missouri lawmaker urges federal prosecutors to intervene in Agape abuse case
Missouri’s highest ranking legislator is asking federal prosecutors to intervene and shut down Agape Boarding School, alleging “undeniable corruption” and “inaction” by local officials who he says “could do the right thing and have consistently chosen not to.” House Speaker Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, made his request last Wednesday in a letter to Teresa Moore, United […]
Missouri judge once again delays decision on closing Agape Boarding School
A Cedar County judge on Wednesday again delayed ruling on the state’s efforts to close Agape Boarding School, the Stockton-based reform school facing mounting abuse allegations — allowing the school to stay open until at least the next hearing, which is scheduled for Monday.
‘This job is impossible’: High turnover, low morale plague Missouri child welfare agency
Eighty open cases of child abuse and neglect sat on Matt Cordova’s desk in 2017 during the height of the “hole I found myself buried in,” he remembers. Twenty open cases would have been a lot to handle; 80 was impossible. An investigator at Missouri’s child welfare department for two years, Cordova was tasked with […]
Missouri judge once again delays closing Agape Boarding School
A Cedar County judge Monday morning delayed a decision on the closure of Agape Boarding School, the Stockton-based reform school facing mounting abuse allegations from former students. Judge David Munton initially ordered Agape be shut down last week at the request of the state Attorney General and Department of Social Services. The state’s petition for […]
Court order would close Agape Boarding School after years of abuse allegations
A Cedar County judge Wednesday ordered Agape Boarding School to be shut down after years of allegations of sexual and physical abuse of students — though the order remains on pause until after a hearing Thursday afternoon.