Government + Politics
Artificial intelligence is used widely, but few states have set rules
In the fall of 2016, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families began using a predictive analytics tool that promised to help identify kids in imminent danger. The tool used more than two dozen data points to compare open cases in Connecticut’s system against previous welfare cases with poor outcomes. Then each child received a […]
Missouri AG had no authority to inflate cost of abortion amendment, auditor argues
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey overstepped his authority when he demanded changes to the cost estimate of an abortion-rights initiative petition, state Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick argued in a legal brief filed in Cole County Court last week. Fitzpatrick, Bailey and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, all Republicans, were sued last month by the Missouri ACLU over […]
Report shows Black drivers in Missouri more likely to be ticketed, arrested
Black motorists stopped by Missouri law enforcement are much more likely to end the encounter with a citation or in a jail cell than whites, according to the latest state report of racial data on traffic enforcement. The report also shows that Black drivers away from their home communities – or visiting the state – […]
In the military, fertility policies and family building collide
If you’re a service member with a family, the military’s got your back. If you’re trying to start one, it can be another story. Active duty service members unable to conceive children naturally can face significant hurdles as the military health plan doesn’t cover reproductive assistance, such as in vitro fertilization, intrauterine insemination, a surrogate or adoption. […]
New rules stir fear Black Missourians will once again lose out in marijuana licensing
When a marijuana legalization amendment was being criticized last year over concerns it would calcify the lack of Black participation in the burgeoning industry, Adolphus Pruitt was one of its most vociferous defenders. Pruitt, the president of the St. Louis City NAACP, and other local NAACP leaders insisted the constitutional amendment establish a “microbusiness license” […]
Appeals court says government-funded nonprofit not subject to Missouri Sunshine Law
At a 2014 gathering of licensed drug counselors at the Tan-Tar-A resort in Osage Beach, Chuck Daugherty delivered a warning. Marijuana legalization activists in Missouri, he said, were using tactics akin to 1960s radicals to advance their cause. Daugherty is executive director of ACT Missouri, a nonprofit established in 1991 to promote drug and alcohol awareness. […]
Around 600,000 Missouri kids still waiting for summer 2022 grocery benefits
Missouri families who were promised emergency pandemic grocery funds last summer are still waiting — even as another summer is beginning. For more than six months, families have been raising alarm about the delayed benefits owed to around 600,000 kids. There is, in Missouri, no clear end in sight. Pandemic EBT is a federal program […]
Celebration marks completion of $1.2 billion NBAF lab for studying animal-to-human pathogens
MANHATTAN, Kansas — National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility researcher Lisa Hensley’s career took her from laboratory to laboratory and country to country to study the alphabet soup of ghastly pathogens such as SARs, monkeypox, MERs and Marburg. But she said an Ebola outbreak in the West Africa country of Liberia brought home what it meant […]
Changes to Missouri donor privacy law would restore access to state contracts
A legislative fix to a donor privacy law blamed for impeding public access to state contract information is sitting on Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. The Personal Privacy Protection Act received bipartisan support on its way to being signed into law last year. The aim was to shield nonprofits from having to disclose their donors to […]
Kansas, Missouri officials tout nonprofit to oversee 2026 World Cup preparations
A nonprofit governed by civic leaders and politicians from Kansas and Missouri will oversee preparations for Kansas City to host part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, officials announced Thursday. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas joined civic leaders at Arrowhead Stadium to announce the formation of […]
Bill inspired by sexual abuse allegations at Kanakuk Kamps dies in Missouri legislature
A legislative push to extend the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil action failed this year — despite mounting evidence in Missouri and nationally that abuse can take years to come to light. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, would have extended the amount of time survivors […]
Missouri attorney general withdraws emergency rule banning transgender health care
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey terminated his emergency rule on gender-affirming care Tuesday — less than a week after the state legislature sent a ban on minors starting treatment to the governor’s desk. The ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit in late April seeking to block Bailey’s emergency rule, alleging the attorney general didn’t have […]