Author
Funds now available for Missouri nonprofits working to deter crime
Under legislation approved by state lawmakers in May, nonprofits working to deter crime in seven Missouri communities can now apply for state funds —totaling up to $500,000 — to support their work. Applications are being accepted through Oct. 29. A law signed by Gov. Mike Parson in June created the Economic Distress Zone Fund grant program. The […]
Pandemic pushed St. Louis job fair for ex-offenders online. It became more successful
When Dominic Tornatore is released from St. Louis County jail this fall, finding a job will be critical to helping him get back on his feet. Tornatore, 34, knows he’s made mistakes. He’s struggled with drinking and has numerous drunk-driving offenses on his record. But he says he’s learned from a lifetime of bad decisions. […]
Planned Parenthood wants feds to block Missouri rule targeting its Medicaid funding
Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri is calling for the Biden administration to intervene to block the state’s new emergency regulation that abortion advocates contend could cut off Medicaid funding for its clinics around the state. Without federal action, Planned Parenthood said it may need to turn to the courts. “It […]
Missouri Supreme Court hears arguments over a 2015 law to cap revenue from court fines
Should Missouri legislators have singled out St. Louis County in a 2015 court-reform law that capped the amount of revenue its 90 municipalities could raise in court fines and fees? That was the question before the Missouri Supreme Court Wednesday, the latest twist in litigation over a 2015 law that limits the amount of revenue […]
St. Louis asks appeals court to force protestor to pay attorney fees for suing police
An attorney for the city of St. Louis argued in court Tuesday that a woman who sued a police officer for excessive force must pay $57,000 in attorneys fees the city spent on the case. Kristine “Kris” Hendrix filed a lawsuit in 2017 claiming that two St. Louis officers used excessive force, tasing her repeatedly […]
As Missouri Hispanic population grows, building trust is key to bridging cultural gap
When Eduardo Crespi was working as a nurse at University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia more than 20 years ago, he’d have a full load of patients to care for. But on top of that, he would also get called to translate for Spanish-speaking patients who weren’t his own. “That’s how it started,” he said. […]
The debate on Latino vs. Latinx vs. Hispanic is the song that never ends
Growing up in El Paso, Texas, in the ’80s and ’90s, the diversity at my school could’ve been broken down into two categories — children who were born in the United States and students who weren’t. But almost all of the students’ families came from Mexico at some point, and we called ourselves Mexican-Americans or […]
St. Louis fights to force protestor to pay thousands in attorney fees for suing police
Around midnight in May 2015, Kristine “Kris” Hendrix was walking to her car after a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown St. Louis. As a mother of three Black boys and an elected school board member, Hendrix says she was moved to march in the street alongside dozens of others to speak out against the […]
Missouri HBCUs use federal relief funds to clear pandemic-related student debt
Harris-Stowe State University junior De’Ketra Tatum remembers listening to a lecture in February 2020 about what could happen if the coronavirus hit the United States. A month later, she got an email saying that all students had to leave the campus. “It was terrifying,” she said. “It took a lot for me to stay calm […]
Missouri Republicans vow to push again for voter ID law
With several months to go before state lawmakers return for the 2022 legislative session, Republicans are promising to once again push to require photo identification to vote. Committees in the Missouri House and Senate held hearings Tuesday dominated by discussions of requiring a government-issued ID for both in-person and absentee voting. Secretary of State Jay […]
COVID pushed many Black families in Missouri to homeschool. Now they’re sticking with it
Every homeschool family kicks off their school year a little differently. For the Browns, they decided to start with an adventure. Cal and Mike Brown loaded up their five school-age children last week and drove to Grafton, Ill., to explore the historic river community founded in 1832. Then they explored New Town, a recently-built community […]
Roadblocks facing Kevin Strickland’s innocence claim nothing new for Missouri
Kevin Strickland was hopeful Thursday was going to be his first step towards freedom after 40 years in prison. A new law that went into effect Aug. 28 gave Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker a legal avenue to free Strickland, who she says is innocent and wrongly incarcerated. But opposition from the Missouri attorney […]