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Missouri senators’ immunity claims challenged in Chiefs parade shooting defamation suit
The Kansas man suing three Missouri lawmakers for defamation is challenging their assertions that their statements accusing him of being involved in the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration were made in the course of official business. In filings Monday in the federal lawsuits Denton Loudermill is pursuing against the three state […]
Missouri budget surplus remains close to record levels as fiscal year nears end
Missouri will enter the new fiscal year July 1 with a near-record cash surplus as state spending falls short of budgeted amounts and revenues meet expectations. Meeting revenue expectations won’t, however, be enough to trigger an income tax cut dependent on revenue growth, said Jim Moody, a former state budget director. “My view is, best […]
Ethics complaints allege Eigel exceeds limit on anonymous donors to campaign for governor
State Sen. Bill Eigel’s campaign for governor accepted too much in anonymous donations and too much from some individual donors, complaints filed Thursday with the Missouri Ethics Commission allege. St. Louis attorney John Maupin, a Republican who in the 1990s was chairman of the Missouri Ethics Commission, filed the two complaints, which also accuse Eigel […]
Missouri Supreme Court backs August election on Kansas City police funding
The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday turned back an effort by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas to push an election on Kansas City police funding to November. The court on April 30 overturned the results of a 2022 election on the issue, agreeing with Lucas that the fiscal note summary printed on the ballot was […]
Lawsuit claims new Missouri court secrecy law is unconstitutional
A state law requiring secrecy in court filings violates the Missouri Constitution’s requirement for open courts and imposes steep new costs on litigants, especially those pursuing appeals, a lawsuit filed last week argues. The lawsuit, filed in Cole County by the Missouri Broadcasters Association, two attorneys and William Freivogel, editor of the Gateway Journalism Review, […]
Missouri House chief clerk sues Dean Plocher, Rod Jetton alleging whistleblower retaliation
The top staff member of the Missouri House filed a lawsuit Friday accusing Speaker Dean Plocher and his chief of staff, Rod Jetton, of harassment and intimidation during battles over ethics charges and hiring decisions. House Chief Clerk Dana Miller’s lawsuit follows months allegations about misconduct by Plocher and a House Ethics Committee investigation that […]
Reactions to Trump conviction fall along party lines in Missouri
Reactions by Missouri politicians to the felony conviction Thursday of former President Donald Trump fell predictably along partisan lines, with Republicans condemning the verdict and Democrats expressing satisfaction or trolling their partisan foes. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a candidate for the GOP nomination for governor, blamed President Joe Biden for the state of New […]
2nd Missouri judge rules counties can stack taxes at marijuana dispensaries
Buchanan County can collect a special marijuana sales tax on dispensaries within St. Joseph city limits, a judge ruled Wednesday in the second decision granting counties the right to stack taxes on top of city levies. Circuit Judge Daniel Kellogg wrote in his two-page ruling that provisions in the recreational marijuana constitutional amendment passed in […]
Complaint alleges Jay Ashcroft campaign letter runs afoul of ethics law
A Jay Ashcroft campaign letter that attacked his opponents Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe as a closeted Democrat and state Sen. Bill Eigel as a “political gadfly” shows illegal coordination between his gubernatorial campaign committee and a political action committee, a complaint to the Missouri Ethics Commission states. Ashcroft’s campaign is denying the allegations. The complaint, […]
Missouri governor sets vote on tax exemption for child care centers, Kansas City police funding
Missouri will have two constitutional amendments on the Aug. 6 primary ballot, one to grant tax exemptions for child care facilities and another to rerun a 2022 election result on police funding thrown out by the state Supreme Court. Gov. Mike Parson said Tuesday that he would put the two proposals from the General Assembly […]
Appeals court rules Torch Electronics had no grounds to sue over Missouri gambling enforcement
The courts cannot shield Missouri’s biggest vendor of games offering cash prizes from criminal prosecution for gambling violations, the Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. In a unanimous decision, the court upheld last fall’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Torch Electronics that sought an order barring the Missouri State Highway Patrol from seizing […]
GOP candidates will remain on Vernon County ballot pending review by Missouri appeals court
Eight Republican candidates for county office – including four GOP incumbents – will be on the ballot in Vernon County in August, at least until a lawsuit plays out at the Missouri Court of Appeals. An order issued Wednesday by the Western District Court of Appeals stayed a trial court decision directing Vernon County Clerk […]