Civil Rights
Federal watchdog finds Missouri failed to adequately report, protect missing foster kids
A federal watchdog found that Missouri failed to sufficiently reduce children’s risk of going missing from the foster care system and frequently failed to notify local and federal authorities they were missing. A report by the U.S Department of Health Human Services Office of Inspector General issued Thursday found that the Department of Social Services’ […]
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 Supreme Court mulls challenge to laws that blocked abortion bill vote
Making people who want to force a statewide vote on newly passed laws wait while the Secretary of State writes a ballot title undermines the constitutional right of referendum, attorneys for an abortion-rights group argued Wednesday to the Missouri Supreme Court. A ballot title was “not necessary for most of Missouri history,” Jessie Steffan, attorney […]
Formerly incarcerated people can still vote in Missouri. This KC group shows them how
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. Kansas City resident Christine McDonald didn’t know she could vote after completing her prison sentence in 2007. As someone who was formerly incarcerated, McDonald thought she lost that right. “Nobody told me that I could vote,” she said. But the same year McDonald left prison, she […]
Missouri AG wants off Agape abuse case, says prosecutor doesn’t ‘intend to seek justice’
In a sign of frustration with a county prosecutor’s decision to pursue less than a quarter of recommended charges against a boarding school accused of abuse, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has formally requested that the governor remove his office from the case. In a letter sent Thursday, Schmitt said that Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney […]
House probe of boarding school abuse continues, including review of lawmaker emails
A Missouri House oversight committee received records nearly two months ago documenting regular contact between a pair of legislators and the owner of a boarding school facing felony child abuse and neglect charges. Yet at its first public hearing since May last week, the emails were never mentioned — and most members say they’ve not […]
Lawsuit: Lobbyist accuses MOSERS of violating Missouri Sunshine Law
A new lawsuit will test whether public agencies can hide how much they are paying attorneys and determine how far they must go in searching for records sought under the Missouri Sunshine Law. The lawsuit, filed Sept. 10 in Jefferson City by lobbyist John Gaskin of Flotron McIntosh, accuses the Missouri State Employees Retirement System […]
LGBTQ history exhibit goes unmentioned by Missouri board governor cited for its removal
When news broke that an LGBTQ history exhibit was suddenly and without warning removed from the Missouri Capitol, Gov. Mike Parson contended the reason was that it didn’t get pre-approval from a board he chairs. But at that board’s first meeting in more than a year on Monday, neither the exhibit nor the state Capitol […]
Democrats demand LGBTQ exhibit return to Missouri Capitol or other exhibits be removed
If an LGBTQ history exhibit was removed from the Missouri Capitol because it didn’t get pre-approval from a specific board, then every exhibit on display that didn’t get approved must also be removed, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade argued in a letter to state officials on Wednesday. That would mean, she said, that there would […]
VA sending mixed messages for vets about cannabis use to treat PTSD
Despite increasing legal access to medical and recreational cannabis in states across the U.S., veterans face unfair treatment and stigmatization because the U.S. refuses to recognize marijuana as a viable treatment option. While the VA has embraced the federally illegal status of the drug, agency policy does not allow discrimination against veterans who acquire medical […]
Parson rationale for removing LGTBQ exhibit from Missouri Capitol called into question
Fireworks this week over the sudden removal of an LGBTQ history exhibit from the museum in the Missouri Capitol caught the attention of John Cunning. For 24 years before he retired in 2018, Cunning oversaw the museum as part of his job at Missouri State Parks. So when he read Gov. Mike Parson’s explanation for […]
Exhibit on history of LGBTQ rights removed from Missouri Capitol
A state senator from Kansas City is demanding answers about why an exhibit on the LGBTQ-rights movement was removed from the Missouri Capitol after only a few days on display. Sen. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, released a statement Thursday decrying the move, saying he was “disappointed and angry that Missouri State Parks would bend to […]