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Legal fight over civilian oversight of St. Louis police could have statewide implications
A St. Louis ordinance aimed at transforming the way the city investigates allegations of police misconduct went into effect on Sept. 2. A week later, three police organizations successfully got a preliminary injunction, putting a pause on the city’s expansion of civilian oversight of police work. In a decision with statewide implications, St. Louis Circuit […]
Missouri Court of Appeals revives ‘old school’ self-defense law in resisting arrest case
Two Newton County sheriff deputies were dispatched to a trailer park north of Neosho to evict a man and his wife on Nov. 13, 2017. According to the deputies, the man refused to leave, fought off the deputies and stole a patrol car that he would later crash in town. The local prosecutor would go […]
Voters, local election officials working to navigate Missouri’s new voting law
The first time Maureen Loyacono voted was in 1960, when she cast a ballot for John F. Kennedy. “And I’ve never missed an election since,” said Loyacono, 84, a Kansas City resident who also served as a poll worker for 40 years. But she’s worried this might be the first election where her vote won’t […]
Conservationists celebrate milestone in effort to save Missouri’s endangered hellbenders
In dripping black wetsuits and scuba masks, standing in the middle of a southern Missouri river last month, a state herpetologist and two zookeepers hugged each other and cheered. “Number 10,000!” That day, state herpetologist Jeff Briggler with the Missouri Department of Conservation and two Saint Louis Zoo keepers released into the wild the 10,000th […]
St. Louis prosecutor asks court to free Lamar Johnson after nearly 30 years in prison
It’s been three years since Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner asked a St. Louis circuit judge to set aside the 1995 murder conviction of Lamar Johnson. It was the first exoneration case Gardner’s conviction-integrity unit had brought forth — and a case that prosecutors statewide were watching closely. But Gardner hit a major roadblock when the […]
Missouri Supreme Court fines Kim Gardner $750 for professional misconduct
The Missouri Supreme Court reprimanded St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner Tuesday and fined her $750, finding that she violated professional misconduct rules during the investigation of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. The court’s decision marks the final step in an ethics probe that began in July 2018. It aligns with the recommendation from a […]
Missouri’s new voter ID law faces lawsuit claiming it’s unconstitutional
Voting-rights advocates filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing that a new law requiring Missourians to present a government-issued photo ID to vote is unconstitutional. While lawmakers have approved voter ID laws numerous times, and voters signed off on putting it in the state constitution in 2016, the proposal has never withstood a legal challenge. The voter […]
NAACP, League of Women Voters sue to block Missouri’s new election law
The League of Women Voters of Missouri and Missouri NAACP filed a lawsuit Monday attempting to block a wide-ranging elections bill they argue violates the right to core political speech by curtailing voter engagement. The lawsuit focuses on provisions of the law, which is set to go into effect on Aug. 28, that prohibit compensating […]
St. Louis police associations sue city to block the new civilian oversight law
Three St. Louis police organizations have filed a lawsuit against the city to block a law expanding civilian oversight of the police. The law, which was approved by the St. Louis Board of Alderman last month and signed last week by Mayor Tishaura Jones, would create the Division of Civilian Oversight. Over the next year, the […]
Grieving St. Louis families respond to police-involved shooting scenes, push for change
On the night of April 24, 2013, six residents living in a neighborhood just north of downtown St. Louis say they saw the same thing. A young Black man – 25-year-old Cary Ball Jr. — crashed his car, got out, stumbled onto another car and limped away. And then each said they saw Ball drop […]
Beer heiress Trudy Busch Valentine captures Missouri Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate
Anheuser-Busch heiress Trudy Busch Valentine won the Democratic nomination for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat Tuesday, defeating her closest rival, former Marine Lucas Kunce. With nearly all precincts reporting, Busch had won 43% of the vote, compared to 38% for Kunce. Throughout her campaign, Valentine has said working as a nurse and experiencing immense grief […]
Missouri Election Day FAQ: What you need to know to make sure your vote counts
Boone County sent out more than 100,000 sample ballots to prepare voters for Tuesday’s primary election, and many were surprised at what they saw. “They weren’t aware of redistricting happening,” said Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon. “So we had a lot of questions from people that were newly in the 3rd Congressional District that were […]