Almost two dozen employees in Missouri State Archives and the State Library are on paid leave and will lose their jobs at the end of the month because of a politically motivated budget cut targeting Secretary of State Denny Hoskins. Twenty-two employees — 17 in the archives, five in the library — were told Friday […]
This column is a major departure from how I have written columns for nearly four decades. It is personal. I have avoided using “I’ and have endeavored to remain objective and impersonal as I have addressed and analyzed myriad social, educational and political issues across race, age, gender and socioeconomic status. That has been my […]
The opening of the legislative special session Monday put partisan and intraparty fights in the Missouri Senate on display as Democrats called for expanded storm relief and Freedom Caucus members called for tax cuts as the price for supporting stadium subsidies. Gov. Mike Kehoe called lawmakers together just two weeks after they finished work in […]
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from invalidating work permits and other documents that granted legal status to 5,000 Venezuelans, a subset class of the nearly 350,000 whose temporary legal protections the U.S. Supreme Court last month allowed to be terminated. The Saturday order from U.S. District Judge Edward […]
When Courtney Leader gets the letter from the state each year telling her it’s time to recertify her daughter’s Medicaid eligibility, she scrambles to make sure the paperwork gets to the right place. Leader, of Ash Grove, considers herself adept at navigating her 8-year-old daughter’s complex medical needs and appointments, but even she has fallen […]
A group of state officials and business leaders tasked by Gov. Mike Kehoe with creating a new formula to fund Missouri’s public schools gathered for the first time on Monday under an expectation that funding should be below what lawmakers approved earlier this year. Halle Herbert, the governor’s incoming policy director, told the group that […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security over the weekend took down a public list of cities and jurisdictions that the Trump administration labeled as “sanctuary” cities, after a sharp rebuke from a group representing 3,000 sheriffs and local law enforcement. On Saturday, National Sheriffs’ Association President Sheriff Kieran Donahue slammed the list as […]
Both sides of the abortion debate seemed caught by surprise last week by the Missouri Supreme Court’s order that essentially reimposed the state’s abortion ban. Planned Parenthood clinics were sent scrambling, cancelling abortion appointments and working with patients to ensure access in other states — a return to the way things operated before voters enshrined […]
As the Missouri legislature begins its special session to consider, among other things, taxpayer subsidies for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals, lawmakers are hearing from a parade of stakeholders — Gov. Mike Kehoe, policy analysts, lobbyists, activists and the many special interests who stand to gain from the deal. They should also hear from […]
Along with hundreds of millions in potential new costs for Missouri taxpayers, an analysis of the budget bill backed by Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump shows it would also cut state revenue as tax changes at the federal level are reflected in state returns. Exactly how much is uncertain. The review by Jared Walczak, […]
WASHINGTON — Billionaire Elon Musk said Friday he will continue to advise President Donald Trump despite stepping away from his official role as a special government employee. During a wide-ranging Oval Office press conference, Musk — sporting a bruised right eye he blamed on a punch he invited from one of his sons, 5-year-old X […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court Friday said it will allow the Trump administration to remove deportation protections for more than 500,000 nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who were given permission to temporarily remain and work in the United States by the Biden administration. The move by the high court — which permits […]
When the company at the center of a massive cannabis product recall lost the appeal of its revoked business license in February, Missouri regulators moved quickly to ensure those involved would no longer be permitted access to a marijuana facility without supervision. But that punishment doesn’t mean those involved with Robertsville-manufacturer Delta Extraction are out […]
A decade of work by lawmakers and activists culminated earlier this month with the legislature sending a bill to Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe expanding extracurricular opportunities for homeschool students. The legislation, which has been filed every year in Missouri since 2014, will require public schools to allow homeschooled students in the area to try out […]
Kansas is the only state or local government to pass a plan to fund a Kansas City Chiefs or Royals stadium project. Dysfunction in the Missouri General Assembly might also mean the Show Me State has nothing to offer. A last-minute plan by Gov. Mike Kehoe to help finance stadium projects for the Royals and […]
How honest should elected officials be with the public? It’s not a rhetorical question. In Kansas City, recent decisions by the mayor suggest a level of opacity that warrants closer scrutiny — not outrage, necessarily, but concern. Mayor Quinton Lucas has sidestepped ethics rules, not by breaking them outright, but by rerouting gifts through a […]
Gov. Mike Kehoe’s stadium funding plan for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals is facing growing resistance from across the ideological spectrum as lawmakers prepare to return to the Missouri Capitol on Monday. From the right, the Senate Freedom Caucus is threatening a return to procedural gridlock if the agenda for next week’s special session […]
WASHINGTON — The Center for Migration Studies Thursday released a report finding the population of people in the United States without permanent legal status increased to 12.2 million in 2023, using the most recent Census Bureau American Community Survey data. It’s a number that grew by 2 million from 2020 to 2023, according to the study by […]
WASHINGTON — The massive tax and spending package U.S. House Republicans narrowly advanced last week could hinder accountability for for-profit colleges and weaken student-borrower protections, student advocates say. The bill, now headed to the Senate, calls for sweeping changes to education policy under what GOP lawmakers deem “regulatory relief.” That includes eliminating a rule governing for-profit schools, […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services urged health care providers Wednesday to stop several treatments for children with gender dysphoria, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries. The announcement came just a couple hours before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sent letters to hospitals throughout the country, promising “a […]
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