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Missouri tops 11,000 reported COVID deaths, doubling total from 2020
The number of Missouri deaths from COVID-19 reported since Jan. 1 has exceeded the number reported during 2020. As of Dec. 31, 2020, the Department of Health and Senior Services reported 5,519 deaths from the coronavirus that killed its first Missouri victim on March 18, 2020. On Friday, the total reached 11,046. The grim report […]
GOP lawmaker blasts Missouri governor’s veto of funding to combat child sex abuse
Missouri Rep. Randy Pietzman nearly choked on his words as he tried Wednesday to explain why $300,000 means so much to the children of Lincoln County. Pietzman, R-Troy, was asking the Missouri House to override Gov. Mike Parson’s veto of that funding in the state budget, which was slated to add two investigators and a […]
Missouri lawmakers look to undermine Biden COVID vaccine mandate
Members of the Missouri House on Wednesday floated the idea of pursuing legislation to undermine a mandate from the Biden administration meant to increase vaccination rates in the U.S. The House Judiciary Committee held what Rep. David Evans said was the first in a series of discussions about vaccine mandates, including an executive order President […]
Lottery reports record sales as Missouri officials push for sports wagering
The Missouri Lottery tallied records for ticket sales and transfers to education programs in the fiscal year that ended June 30, and if it had authority for internet-based games, the take could be even larger, lottery executives told lawmakers on Tuesday. Lottery sales were up about 20 percent, to $1.8 billion, netting $345 million after […]
Few charges result from scores of Missouri highway patrol gambling investigations
During 2019 and 2020, the Missouri State Highway Patrol delivered almost 200 cases to local prosecutors alleging violations of state gambling laws. But according to state court data, only about two dozen cases have actually been filed. In most counties with alleged violations – including eight of 13 with five or more cases – prosecutors […]
University of Missouri curators vote to continue rule for masks in classrooms
The University of Missouri will continue to require masks in classrooms as part of its COVID-19 policy but visitors to campuses for indoor social and athletic events will not have to cover their faces. By a 5-4 vote Monday afternoon, the Board of Curators extended the current policy through Oct. 15. The vote came after […]
Once upon a time in Missouri: Republican attorney general backed mandatory vaccination
In December 1921, with memories still vivid from the flu pandemic that ravaged the world in 1918, health officials in Missouri were confronted with an even more sinister and deadly threat – smallpox. From Sept. 1 to Nov. 29, 1921, there were 271 cases and 96 deaths in Kansas City. Determined to check the contagion, […]
Missouri schools must prioritize in-person class. In first weeks, thousands quarantined
Teddy Danieley was devastated. Three weeks ago tears streamed down the five-year-old’s face when he learned he couldn’t attend the first-day of school in St. Louis because his dad had tested positive for COVID-19. Instead, he and his two older sisters — 10-year-old Lucy and 9-year-old Ruby — spent what would have been their first day […]
Judge orders no change – for now – in Missouri’s prisoner health care contractor
Work to bring a new contractor for prisoner health care services online in Missouri can continue but the actual transition from Corizon, the current provider, won’t occur until at least early November, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ordered Tuesday. Green issued a temporary restraining order blocking the state from canceling its contract with Corizon […]
November trial set for lawsuit challenging $1.4 billion Missouri prison health care contract
A trial will be held in early November to determine whether a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Centene will take over the contract for prison health care in the Missouri Department of Corrections. In a hearing Thursday, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green set Nov. 3 as the first day in the trial where current provider […]
Missouri low income housing tax credits put on accelerated payout plan
The Missouri Housing Development Commission is moving ahead with a plan to accelerate redemption of some low-income housing tax credits despite misgivings of powerful members of the state Senate. The 10-member commission voted unanimously Wednesday to speed up the payouts on half of the tax credits that will be issued later this year or early […]
Missouri fielding ‘high volume’ of calls for rental assistance as evictions resume
Calls from tenants seeking emergency rental assistance are escalating in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that blocked a national eviction moratorium. The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) has 60 application processors working to distribute hundreds of millions in federal aid and has been fielding about 500 calls and responding to about 200 […]