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Missouri Dems hope Kansas, Illinois will help pay for out-of-state residents’ abortions
Missouri’s top Democratic lawmakers have yet to receive a formal response to letters urging governors in Kansas and Illinois to help pay for abortions for out-of-state Medicaid patients, though a Kansas lawmaker said it is highly unlikely given Republican dominance of the state’s legislature. In letters sent Wednesday and first reported by the Associated Press, […]
Missouri state commission told low pay, lack of support is fueling teacher shortage
Teachers, school administrators and advocacy groups on Wednesday laid out for a state commission a long list of grueling conditions they say drive educators out of the industry. At the third meeting of the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Blue Ribbon Commission — created by the State Board of Education — testimony focused on low pay, […]
Missouri AG Eric Schmitt beats Hartzler, Greitens to claim GOP Senate nomination
ST. LOUIS — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt beat back a crowded field of opponents Tuesday night to secure the Republican nomination for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat. With most precincts reporting, Schmitt led with 45% of the vote, compared to 22% for U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler and 19% for disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens. […]
Stark disparities persist in Missouri’s maternal mortality rate, state board finds
A multi-year report analyzing maternal mortality in Missouri and published Monday found that women on Medicaid are eight times more likely to die within one year of pregnancy than their counterparts with private health insurance. It also found Black women in Missouri were three times more likely to die within a year of pregnancy than […]
Licensed home daycares can exempt related kids from max capacity under new Missouri law
Home-based child care providers are permitted to exempt up to two children related to them from being counted toward their maximum capacity under a new law that went into effect this month. That means providers like Debbie George, who has operated a daycare in Hallsville for nearly 36 years, won’t have to leave two slots […]
Missouri AG sues to block St. Louis from using public money to ensure abortion access
Hours after St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones signed a bill Thursday that would direct $1 million in federal relief funds to support access to abortions, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed suit to block the new law. Schmitt’s lawsuit and motion for preliminary injunction argue that Board Bill 61 violates state laws that prohibit public […]
Candidates’ ties to Missouri reform schools facing abuse allegations draw fresh scrutiny
At first, Robert Bucklin was optimistic. A former student of Agape Boarding School in Stockton, Bucklin is among numerous students who have accused the Christian boarding school and its staff of physical and sexual abuse. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt launched an investigation into the school and ultimately recommended 65 criminal counts against 22 staff. […]
Dave Schatz expects results will trump rhetoric and push him to front of U.S. Senate pack
Dave Schatz hopes his achievements speak for themselves. He sponsored the first gas tax increase since the early ‘90s that will infuse about $1.8 billion toward Missouri’s crumbling highways and roads and helped shepherd the passage of Missouri’s trigger law banning nearly all abortions. Even if Missourians may not know his name, they’ve likely felt […]
‘Doing well by doing good:’ Spencer Toder aims for impact in Missouri U.S. Senate race
His name tag said he was a candidate for U.S. Senate, but you wouldn’t have guessed Spencer Toder was running for anything. As he made his way through the Black Wall Street 314 Festival in Wellston Loop in St. Louis last month, Toder spent nearly all his time asking questions instead of asking for votes. […]
Missouri Democrats call for special session on contraception, ectopic pregnancies
Missouri’s top Democratic leaders on Monday urged Gov. Mike Parson to call lawmakers into a special session to pass legislation to protect access to contraceptives and treatment of ectopic pregnancies in the wake of Missouri’s ban on nearly all abortions. In a letter sent to Parson, Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo of Independence and House […]
New Missouri law shields nonprofit donor identities, allows LLCs to give to candidates
A new law signed by Gov. Mike Parson last week will shield nonprofits from being forced to disclose their donors to government agencies and allow for certain limited liability companies to contribute to candidates. Included in a bill modifying various tax credits is the “Personal Privacy Protection Act,” which would bar public agencies from requiring nonprofits […]
Missouri doctors fear vague emergency exception to abortion ban puts patients at risk
Some Missouri medical providers are fearful that patients with high-risk pregnancies will face delayed care in life-threatening situations because doctors fear prosecution under Missouri’s newly-enacted abortion ban. “I’m following the rules that are made by people that have no understanding of medicine and science, and that’s extremely, extremely dangerous,” said Iman Alsaden, a doctor and […]