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MoInd šŸ“°

Republicans combine to spend $65 million in Missouri primaries for statewide offices

8 months 4 weeks ago
The top three finishers combined to spend $27.5 million in the Republican primary for governor, with the winner, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, accounting for almost two-thirds of the total, newly filed campaign disclosure reports show. Overall, Republicans in statewide contests spent almost $65 million, compared to just $4.8 million in the Democratic Party, where the […]
Rudi Keller

Fight over transmission towers for reliable energy rages across Missouri

8 months 4 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — From the beige-trimmed kitchen window of her home in Missouri’s Monroe County, Marilyn O’Bannon can look out across more than a half-mile field of crops. But in the future, that view may include electrical transmission towers and lines, which could be along the route of a proposed massive federal power transmission corridor that […]
Mary McCue Bell

Fate of Missouri abortion-rights amendment in hands of state Supreme Court

8 months 4 weeks ago
The Missouri Supreme Court will decide whether abortion-rights will end up on the Nov. 5 ballot after a Cole County judge ruled the proposed amendment violated state law.Ā  The case bypassed the court of appeals over the weekend and headed straight to the state’s highest court, which scheduled oral arguments for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday — […]
Anna Spoerre

Missouri judge rules abortion amendment is in ā€˜blatant violation’ of state requirements

9 months ago
A Missouri judge ruled Friday evening that a reproductive-rights amendment did not comply with state initiative petition requirements, leaving the door open to potentially withhold it from the November ballot.Ā  Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled that the coalition behind the citizen-led ballot measure failed to meet the sufficiency requirement through a ā€œfailure to […]
Anna Spoerre

Attempt to block Missouri sports betting amendment lacks evidence, judge rules

9 months ago
A Cole County Circuit Court judge rejected an attempt to invalidate an initiative petition on sports betting Friday, allowing voters to decide whether to enshrine sports wagering in Missouri’s Constitution on the November ballot. ā€œLawsuits seeking to remove an initiative petition from the ballot after it has been certified as sufficient by the secretary (of […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Judge under tight deadline to rule on Missouri abortion amendment’s place on ballot

9 months ago
A lawsuit attempting to knock a reproductive-rights amendment off the November ballot could hinge on whether it would immediately repeal Missouri’s current near-total ban on abortion, an issue disputed during a two-hour-long hearing Friday. Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh said at the completion of Friday’s hearing that he intends to rule quickly because the […]
Anna Spoerre

Despite opt-outs by GOP states, debut of kids’ summer food program seen as a success

9 months ago
AĀ U.S. Department of Agriculture initiativeĀ to feed hungry kids during the long summer months is mostly winding down, with advocates calling it a success despite some hiccups — and the federal government and many states are already working to bring the permanent program back in 2025. The Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program — orĀ Summer EBT — hasĀ popped […]
Shauneen Miranda

Growth in artificial intelligence puts pressure on Missouri energy generation

9 months ago
As the use of artificial intelligence grows, so does the technology required to store its data — and the energy that infrastructure consumes. At a recent forum about ā€œsecuringĀ Missouri’s energy future,ā€ lawmakers, regulators, lobbyists and advocates discussed the challenge of powering new data centers. A data center is a physical location that houses internet servers. […]
Jana Rose Schleis

Tyson Foods annual sales have doubled in the past two decades

9 months ago
Tyson Foods annual sales have doubled in the past two decades, increasing from $26 billion to $53 billion from 2004 to 2023, according to a review of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Yet Tyson, which is the country’s largest chicken company, has closed nine meatpacking plants over the past year — including two in […]
John McCracken

Voter records put under microscope in Missouri sports betting amendment trial

9 months ago
A Cole County Circuit Court judge must soon decide whether Missouri voters will be able toĀ  enshrine sports betting in the state’s constitution. A lawsuit brought by two political strategists questions the validity of the signature verification process used by the Secretary of State’s Office. The proposal was certified for the November ballot after being […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Judge calls Ashcroft’s characterization of abortion amendment ā€˜unfair’ and ā€˜misleading’

9 months ago
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has been ordered to remove his characterization of an abortion rights amendment from his government website after a judge deemed it was unfair and violated state statute. A Cole County judge on Thursday ruled that Ashcroft’s ā€œfair ballot languageā€ summary of the reproductive rights amendment, also known as Amendment […]
Anna Spoerre

5 things to know about the Harris-Trump presidential debate

9 months ago
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will take the stage next week in the only planned debate between the respective Democratic and GOP presidential candidates between now and November. It’s the first presidential debate since President Joe Biden bowed out of the race following his own disastrous debate performance in late June […]
Shauneen Miranda

Trump’s Jan. 6 case to extend beyond Election Day under timeline laid out by judge

9 months ago
WASHINGTON — Exactly two months out from the presidential election, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan plans to move ahead with the case accusing former President Donald Trump of subverting the 2020 presidential election results, telling Trump’s attorneys that she is ā€œnot concerned with the electoral schedule.ā€ Chutkan released a timeline for the case late Thursday […]
Ashley Murray

In a ā€˜town hall’ with no questions, Trump grouses about polls, attacks debate host

9 months ago
Former President Donald Trump questioned polls showing a close race against Vice President Kamala Harris and complained about the conditions of an upcoming debate during a Fox News interview Wednesday in Pennsylvania. Under questioning from a friendly interviewer, Sean Hannity of Fox News, in front of an arena of cheering supporters in Harrisburg, the Republican […]
Jacob Fischler

Where’s the latest farm bill? Follow the proposed spending for clues

9 months ago
Congress couldn’t pass a new farm bill last year, so it punted. The extension of the old bill ends inĀ less than a month, on Sept. 30. It will likely miss that deadline, too, an unprecedented two-year delay. Farm state representatives predict doom without a new farm bill. They would have us believe we will go […]
Greg Frazier

Missouri judge hears arguments challenging ā€˜fair ballot language’ for abortion amendment

9 months ago
A judge could decide as early as Thursday whether Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s ā€œfair ballot languageā€ summary for an abortion-rights amendment is truly fair.Ā  Missouri voters will be asked on Nov. 5 whether they support Amendment 3, which would establish a constitutional right to an abortion up until fetal viability and protect other […]
Anna Spoerre