News
Missouri regulators deny certification for majority of social-equity cannabis license winners
David Huckins, a disabled veteran from Leavenworth, Kan., threw his name into the lottery this spring for a chance to win a social-equity marijuana dispensary license in Missouri. In June, he learned he landed one of 57 microbusiness licenses meant to benefit disadvantaged business owners – including disabled veterans, those with lower incomes and people […]
Kansas City Chiefs owners fund radio ad campaign opposing Missouri abortion amendment
The family business that owns the Kansas City Chiefs is one of the biggest funders of a political action committee opposing a proposed amendment to overturn Missouri’s abortion ban. Unity Hunt, the business that controls the assets of the late Lamar Hunt, including the Chiefs, in late September donated $300,000 to the Leadership for America […]
Federal appeals court weighs fate of DACA program
WASHINGTON — After concluding oral arguments Thursday, a panel of federal judges will determine the fate of a program that has shielded from deportation more than half a million immigrants lacking permanent legal status who came into the United States as children. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a 12-year program that was meant […]
Regenerative farming practices require unlearning past advice
Early on a cool September morning, farmer Josh Payne tends to his flock in Concordia, just east of Kansas City. As Payne opens the gate, about a thousand sheep round the corner and bound into fresh grass. The pasture the flock grazes was once corn and soybeans, along with the rest of the Payne family […]
Challenges persist for St. Louis schools, as NAACP pushes for improved literacy rates
A complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. A fired school superintendent and an interim leader without proper state certification. Two government audits, and a shortage of school buses and bus drivers. The start of the 2024-2025 school year has been anything but routine for the St. Louis Public School […]
Missouri Chamber backs Democrats in two swing state Senate districts
Democrats hoping to chip away at the GOP supermajority in the Missouri Senate got a big boost last week when its candidates in two swing districts won the endorsement of the state’s largest business advocacy group. In a third hotly contested district, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry chose not to weigh in at […]
Settlement reached in Gateway Pundit defamation case, though details were not disclosed
A settlement has been reached between the Gateway Pundit and two Georgia poll workers who accused the St. Louis-based far-right website of defamation in a civil suit in St. Louis Circuit Court. Notice of the settlement was filed Monday afternoon. The parties to the dispute “provide notice to the court that the parties have reached […]
Jay Ashcroft joins Midwest secretaries of state at election security summit in Nebraska
OMAHA, Neb. — Four secretaries of state and a federal agency director in cybersecurity described their work Wednesday as a line of defense in upholding election integrity and security ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, in explaining the reason for Wednesday’s summit, asked simply, “Why not?” He said the […]
Missourians to vote on paid sick leave and minimum wage hike next month
A measure that would guarantee paid sick leave for over 700,000 Missouri workers who currently lack it, as well as gradually raise the minimum wage to $15, will appear on voters’ ballots next month.
How do you vote amid the hurricane damage? States are learning as they go
WASHINGTON — Hurricane season has not only wreaked havoc on people’s lives throughout much of the country, but could also make it more difficult for voters to cast their ballots in hard-hit regions. Other election threats include misinformation and even terrorism, with warnings from the Department of Homeland Security and an arrest in Oklahoma allegedly […]
Senators demand another antitrust investigation into pharmacy middlemen
A federal antitrust watchdog is already conducting an investigation into, and has filed a lawsuit against, huge pharmacy middlemen. Now two U.S. senators want the Federal Trade Commission to open a separate investigation into an emerging practice of their even bigger parent companies. The middlemen are called pharmacy benefit managers or PBMs, and they have […]
Republican women falling behind when it comes to running for Congress, experts say
WASHINGTON — Republicans are struggling to recruit and elect women to Congress, lagging behind Democrats in ensuring women, who make up half the population, have a strong voice in the halls of power, experts on women in politics said Tuesday. “This year’s data shows clearly that Republican women are falling behind in candidacies, nominations and […]