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GOP incumbents faced opposition from ‘school choice’ PACs in Missouri legislative primaries
The mailers started showing up in Rep. Jeff Farnan’s district months before the Aug. 6 primary, labeling the Republican from Stanberry a tool of teacher’s unions with an agenda of “open borders” and “higher taxes.” By the time voters went to the polls, the Missouri chapter of the American Federation for Children had spent $90,000 […]
Missouri agency quietly made it harder to change gender marker on driver’s licenses
It became much harder this month for Missourians to change the gender marker on their driver’s licenses following a quiet move by the state Department of Revenue. The department, which issues state driver’s licenses, switched from requiring the signature of a physician, therapist or social worker to approve a change in gender designation to mandating […]
Mike Kehoe, Crystal Quade agree to Missouri gubernatorial debate on policy
SEDALIA — Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Kehoe and Democrat Crystal Quade agreed Thursday to a debate next month hosted by the Missouri Press Association. Kehoe did not participate in several Republican debates in the run up to the Aug. 6 primary. News stations have offered to moderate a Kehoe-Quade debate, but a date has not […]
Missouri standardized test scores show progress, continued challenges statewide
Missouri students are showing progress on standardized tests administered by the state, with results in some categories approaching — and even exceeding — pre-pandemic levels. But in other areas — most notably English language arts — students continue to struggle. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education revealed preliminary scores in the Missouri Assessment […]
Vivek Malek wins Republican nomination for Missouri Treasurer
State Treasurer Vivek Malek defeated multiple challengers Tuesday to hold on to his party’s nomination to keep his job this fall. The Associated Press called the race for Malek at 9 p.m. He will face Democrat Mark Osmack and Libertarian John A. Hartwig Jr. in November. “I want to thank my family and everyone who […]
Death row exonerees urge Missouri AG to consider Marcellus Williams’ innocence
A group of men exonerated after years on death row gathered at the Missouri Capitol Thursday to call on Attorney General Andrew Bailey to stop blocking efforts to vacate the conviction of Marcellus Williams. Williams was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1998 stabbing death of Lisha Gayle during a robbery of her suburban St. […]
Judge says Missouri lawmaker immune from subpoena in challenge of transgender care ban
A circuit court judge ruled Monday that state Sen. Mike Moon is immune from questioning in a legal challenge of Missouri’s restrictions on gender-affirming care that he sponsored in 2023. Wright County Circuit Court Judge Craig Carter, who is stepping into Cole County for the case, agreed with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office that Moon […]
Survivors of childhood abuse ask for trial for former Missouri boarding school owner
Survivors of abuse are asking Missouri’s attorney general to proceed with the trial of the co-owner of Circle of Hope Girls Ranch, a now-shuttered boarding school for troubled girls in Cedar County. Stephanie Householder, who ran the school with her husband Boyd Householder, faces 21 charges of child abuse and neglect alleged by former Circle […]
Incumbent Missouri Treasurer faces four-way Republican primary
Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek is facing a trio of Republicans running full-fledged campaigns to unseat him in the GOP primary next month, as the first-time candidate vies to earn a full term in the office he was appointed to in 2022. Malek faces off with state Sen. Andrew Koenig, state Rep. Cody Smith and […]
Missouri leads seven states challenging health care protections for transgender Americans
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is leading a coalition of seven states challenging a rule by the Biden administration that would preempt state restrictions on gender-affirming care. Filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on Wednesday, the states are seeking to block the regulation and prevent the federal government from […]
Judge rules Missouri AG has no right to medical records of transgender minors at Wash U
A St. Louis judge on Friday determined Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has no right to access unredacted private health information of transgender children treated at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Joseph Whyte ruled that Washington University does not have to provide the unredacted medical […]
Major corporations, wealthy donors fuel growth of Missouri private school scholarship program
The largest donors to a tax credit program supporting private school tuition scholarships in Missouri are a Fortune 500 health care corporation, a cable company and the founding family of the Kansas City Chiefs. UnitedHealth Group Inc. has given the most since 2023 to the state’s K-12 tax-credit scholarship program, dubbed MOScholars, with a $2 […]