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‘World War II hasn’t stopped’: St. Louis residents want relief for radiation sickness
Kim Visintine said her son had his first chemotherapy treatment at three weeks old. A year later, Visintine and her husband had $100,000 in medical debt. Six years later, their son died. But it wasn’t until she found hometown friends on Facebook that Visintine connected her son’s cancer – a rare form of brain tumor called […]
Outrage over proposed Kansas City landfill sets up showdown in Missouri Capitol
The prospect of a landfill on the edge of Kansas City and a stone’s throw from a golf course community has pitted half a dozen Missouri mayors against a private company with an army of Jefferson City lobbyists. And that’s all before the would-be owners even approach the city with a plan. For more than […]
Missouri bill eliminates mandatory childhood lead testing in hopes of increasing access
Doctors would no longer be required to test young children living in high-risk areas for lead poisoning under a Missouri House bill heard in committee Tuesday. But supporters of the bill, including the Missouri chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, say the legislation would increase access to lead testing and education and streamline requirements […]
Residents ask Missouri legislators to halt silica mine, don’t want ‘our futures ruined’
Ste. Genevieve County residents who fear a proposed silica sand mine will drain their drinking water wells and light up the night sky with its 24-hour schedule asked a Missouri House committee on Monday to halt the project. “We (do) not deserve to have our futures ruined because a handful of people want to make […]
Keystone pipeline owner blames Kansas spill on faulty weld, estimates $480M remediation cost
TOPEKA, Kansas — The Keystone oil pipeline’s massive spill in northern Kansas was likely caused by a faulty welding job, the company that owns the pipeline said Thursday. Federal regulators in December ordered Canada-based TC Energy to investigate the cause of the spill in Washington County, which dumped oil onto adjacent farmland and into Mill Creek. […]
Missouri Senate approves bill creating program to waive regulations for eligible startups
The Missouri Senate approved a bill Monday that would allow state agencies to waive regulations they believe are hindering certain businesses. The bill, which has raised fears among environmental advocates that it could undermine health and safety regulations, now heads to the Missouri House, which is already working on its own version. Missouri legislators have […]
GOP renews push to block Missouri cities, counties from mandating EV charging stations
Requiring business owners to install electric vehicle chargers is an infringement on their freedoms and a mandate they can’t afford, members of a Missouri House committee argued Wednesday. Primarily Republican lawmakers voiced support during a committee hearing on legislation that would require cities and counties to pay for electric vehicle chargers in order to mandate […]
Despite setback for Missouri silica sand mine, the fight isn’t over for neighbors
Missouri regulators handed a setback to a proposed silica sand mine south of St. Louis earlier this month when they revoked a pivotal permit. But the fight isn’t over for opponents of the mine. While state regulators denied one permit to NexGen, the would-be owners of the proposed mine, they almost simultaneously granted the company […]
Evergy blames renewable plans, inflation for $1 billion rise in infrastructure plans
One of the largest electric utilities in Kansas and Missouri says inflation and plans to add more renewable energy are to blame for the ever-rising estimated cost of its next few years of infrastructure investments. Evergy’s Kansas capital plan, which outlines investments in the grid and energy production, is more than $1 billion higher than […]
New order puts Keystone pipeline cleanup under EPA oversight
Owners of the Keystone oil pipeline must complete their cleanup of a massive spill in northern Kansas under oversight of the federal government, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday. The EPA and TC Energy, which operates the Keystone pipeline, signed a cleanup agreement last week, according to a news release from the EPA. It requires TC Energy […]
Crews will reroute Mill Creek after massive Keystone pipeline spill in Kansas
Crews will reroute Mill Creek to avoid the site of the Keystone Pipeline’s largest-ever oil spill, the pipeline’s parent company announced Tuesday. The Keystone pipeline, which runs from Canada to Texas and Illinois, spilled 14,000 barrels of oil near the Kansas-Nebraska border in early December. The spill — the latest in a number of spills and deficiencies along the […]
‘Everybody can do their part’: Naturalists working to reestablish prairies in Missouri
MONROE CITY — As beautiful as a tallgrass prairie in bloom is, establishing one is equally unglamorous. First invasive species, like autumn olive or bradford pear trees, have to be ripped out and burned off. And even after prairie grass seeds are thrown, it won’t be pretty at first. “And next year, you look out […]