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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 7h

Craig McKey was told in 1997 that the Granite City steel mill wouldn’t last. He runs the union now, and about 1,100 people are back making steel. The promise protecting the mill ends next June. I spent the morning in the union hall.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 7h

The Granite City steel mill is back, with about 1,100 workers. The fine print: its protection ends in June 2027. Most U.S. Steel mills got until 2035. I asked Rep. Nikki Budzinski why the shorter deal. Neither U.S. Steel nor the White House has explained it.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 12h

I asked Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) about today’s federal search of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home. She called it “incredibly chilling” but said she doesn’t know the rationale. DOJ says a judge authorized the warrant in an ongoing criminal investigation. Omar has not been charged.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

A priest can’t pass communion through glass, and church law bars hearing confession on a line that may be recorded. The Archdiocese of St. Louis says that’s the reality at the Ste. Genevieve County jail, so it’s suing. DHS says the claims are false. Here’s what we found.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Darren Bailey claims Illinois went from exporting power to importing it under Pritzker. Federal data says Illinois still makes far more electricity than it uses, and the surplus has grown since 2019. Bailey’s right that bills are rising. The reason is data centers, not imports.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Tired of the attack ads in Missouri’s 2nd District? Democrat Fred Wellman says he is too, so he posted what he’d do first: ban congressional stock and crypto trading, restore ACA subsidies, open Medicare to younger people, repeal the GOP tax cuts. Rep. Ann Wagner’s campaign promises her turn soon.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

The Record has a new home: Saturdays at 5:30 a.m. on KSDK. Night shift, this one’s yours. Everyone else, relax. Nobody lives by TV Guide anymore. Set the DVR or stream us free on the 5 On Your Side app whenever you’re ready. ☕

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Former NORAD chief Glen VanHerck says threats are present in Missouri and St. Louis today, and that police guard the grid after the fact. Missouri's Guard commander has advice that needs no clearance: be ready to go 4 or 5 days without power.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

A former NORAD chief says data centers and substations should be defended before an attack, not after. Right now, police are in charge. So who should do it? He says the options run from "additional military" to the owners themselves.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Jim Durkin led Illinois House Republicans. Now he's voting for Democrat JB Pritzker, and says Darren Bailey can't be trusted to lead the state. Pritzker told me Durkin reached out. Bailey told me, "the man's a complete failure."

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Darren Bailey founded a Christian school in Clay County. Gov. Pritzker's campaign made its textbooks an issue. Weeks later, someone threatened the school. Today, Bailey blamed Pritzker. Pritzker condemned the threat, said police will "go after the criminals."

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Pritzker's new essay warns AI "might kill us all." It doesn't mention Illinois' nearly $1 billion in tax breaks for data centers. He paused new deals in June. Darren Bailey criticized that idea in February. Then claimed it as his own in June.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Ferguson's council approved a data center at the old Emerson campus last week, 4 to 3. Opponents are circulating a referendum petition. Organizers say about 1,054 signatures would force the council to repeal the deal or send it to voters. Sponsor Nick Kasoff says the city needs the money.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Sen. Eric Schmitt accused Jack Smith of perjury over a Hawks game in Atlanta. Smith was at an Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland. Tonight Schmitt posted: "Who knew Jack Smith was a Caitlin Clark fan?"

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Sen. Eric Schmitt accused Jack Smith of perjury, citing texts he said placed Smith at a Hawks game in Atlanta. Smith was at an Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland. 5 On Your Side found the broadcast video. Schmitt says he stands by calling Smith a "dirtbag."

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Andrew Bailey left the Missouri AG's office for the No. 2 job at the FBI. Friday is his last day. A close ally tells 5 On Your Side it's not the final chapter of public life for Andrew Bailey. Governor and lieutenant governor are both on the table. Maybe US Attorney.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Fred Wellman was executive director of the Lincoln Project. Sunday we asked him: impeach Trump or work with him? "If it means that an impeachment is part of that process, fine." Then his actual priority list. 40 seconds.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Fred Wellman's campaign wouldn't answer our questions about Wagner's ad in writing. Sunday he took them on camera. On taxpayer-funded care: if a doctor recommends it. On trans girls in girls' sports: "That's not the issue." On surgery for minors: "not a thing that occurs." Full clip.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Fred Wellman's ad says Ann Wagner "quadrupled her net worth." We read him her disclosure, the disclaimer on his own source, and the S&P math. "I don't care if it's 12 or 30." Then we asked if "corrupt," his ad's word, applies to her. "She may not be corrupt herself."

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It's over. The Supreme Court ruled a third time against Missouri GOP's new map and told the lower courts not to order it again. The opinion says the Secretary of State "was well aware" of the risk and "nonetheless chose to proceed." Wagner, Wellman invited to react on KSDK.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Aired at 5 last night. Overnight the fight went back to the Supreme Court, and Kavanaugh wants the other side's answer by 1 p.m. Central today. In the video: the map, about 60,000 St. Louis County voters who'd switch districts, 10,000 ballots already out, and the Republican director's prediction.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This aired at 6 last night. Since then: the referendum group went back to the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh wants the other side's answer by 1 p.m. Central today, and the group's leader cast his own ballot on the 2022 map. Inside: 10,000 ballots out, "no second bite," and a Republican's prediction.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Ann Wagner's ad says Fred Wellman "wants" it. His record says he opposed a ban. That's a real gap, and only he can close it. We sent his campaign 12 questions to try. Zero answered. Zero quotes disputed. The full fact check:

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Missouri's map war heads to the Supreme Court for the third time in 3 weeks. The 8th Circuit ordered the new map for November, 2 to 1, then paused its own ruling until Monday at 5 for the justices. It didn't reverse the Missouri Supreme Court. Absentee voting starts tomorrow on the old map.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Hot air balloons can't steer. They go where the wind says. Tonight the wind said Walton and Olive, and half the block came out to catch it. Irv Logan has watched this race since 1973. His granddaughter had never seen one. A pilot with 43 years in the basket said that's exactly why he's here.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

About 1,500 military and overseas ballots left St. Louis County Friday on the 2022 map, no notice enclosed about the court fight. 3 are back. Those votes are cast. The 8th Circuit heard argument Thursday and still hasn't ruled. Bob Onder's lawyers have asked it to write a new order of its own.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

68% of Missourians oppose a data center in their own community. Republicans 56-31 against. Democrats 79-4. It's the one issue in the new SLU/YouGov poll that got past the partisan filter, and the pollster says it's moving fast. I asked him why. Full interview on The Record.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Trump is underwater in Missouri for the first time since the SLU poll began. Hawley and Schmitt are the only names above water, both barely, both sliding. Congress is at minus 43 and the pollster calls that an improvement. I asked him if anyone here is popular. Full interview on The Record.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The new SLU/YouGov poll has Amendment 3 at 43 yes, 44 no, inside the margin of error. I asked the pollster who's winning. He told me he can't say. Seven months ago that same question had a clear answer. Full interview on The Record.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Pritzker's statewide ad: 12 credit upgrades since 2021. Accurate. Bailey's campaign concedes it and blames Rauner. Not mentioned: Bailey voted no on every balanced budget the agencies cite, and says Republicans ending the Rauner impasse is why he ran for office. Illinois is still last.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Kansas football's account said Missouri was on the "wrong" side of the Civil War. The record: Missouri never seceded, the first emancipation order came out of St. Louis, and the Tigers are named for a Union militia.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

SLU/YouGov, statewide: 68% of likely Missouri voters oppose a new data center in their community. Opposition is up 17 points in six months. The mayor of St. Louis signed the rules anyway. "Sometimes mayors have to do things that are hard to do."

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

A retired reporter who now endorses candidates says City Hall quit telling him about news events. The mayor: "I don't believe that we have any intention of blocking Elliott... We're not here to ban anybody from the office." The harder question underneath: who counts as press, and who decides.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Mayor Cara Spencer served with Sharon Tyus for years. Asked this morning if she accepts the "analogy" explanation, she skipped the translation: "No matter what was meant by it, it was just absolutely inappropriate." She's spoken to Aldridge. The Board meets tomorrow with censure on the table.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

A proposed $2.8B arms sale would send Israel 40,000 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds each. Rep. Gregory Meeks is withholding clearance over civilian-safety and legal concerns. But his objection alone cannot necessarily stop the deal. Here’s how the process works.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Why was Missouri’s election integrity director fired? A lawsuit alleges Nick La Strada was terminated after objecting to an altered election result and discussion of a fake complaint concealed with a burner phone. The allegations are unproven.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

We knocked on the alderwoman's door. Her husband answered. She didn't. Later an email arrived: no threat, no gun, an "analogy." Not on the page: sorry. Meanwhile the colleague she said she'd put a bullet in has filed a police report and is seeking a restraining order. Friday, same room.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Cities across America now fly the Hispanic Heritage flag. It was born in St. Louis. Artist José Garza designed it in 2023, and City Hall raised it before anyone else did. It's up again tonight to open Hispanic Heritage Month. The Hispanic Festival hits Soulard Park this weekend.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The state's brief dropped at 4:59. I was on air with other stories. It doesn't ask the 8th Circuit to change November's map. It asks the court to rule the referendum petition itself unconstitutional, which the AG says would shape elections "for decades to come." Argument Thursday.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

BREAKING: BREAKING: The U.S. Supreme Court has stayed the federal order that barred Missouri from using any map but the new one. That leaves the state court's ruling as the only one in effect. Election officials and Denny Hoskins are prohibited under court order from using HB1.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

If we expect our guests on this program to admit when they're wrong then the host is held to the same standard. Tuesday at 5pm, I told you the fight over Missouri's congressional map was over when it was not. I should have said "We don't know yet."

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The clerk who mails ballots to airmen all over the world says clerks are "between a rock and a hard place." Her plan? Hold off printing as long as possible, because a voter who gets the wrong ballot "might not get a second opportunity." Her read on the court order? It doesn't cover clerks.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

A federal judge can't overrule the Missouri Supreme Court. SLU's Anders Walker says Judge Clark didn't try: he agreed voters can redistrict by referendum, then ruled they can't do it mid-game. Walker's prediction: the 8th Circuit sides with Clark. "I think Judge Clark's probably right."

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Can a federal district judge overrule the Missouri Supreme Court? No, says SLU law professor Anders Walker. Only the U.S. Supreme Court can. What Judge Clark did instead was rule on a separate question under the 14th Amendment. Why that distinction matters.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Hatfield says Missouri counties can obey both court orders at once, by using no map. Asked if that means election officials do nothing and skip their duty, he wouldn't advise them. He did admit this much: "Our side came up short on this TRO."

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Kavanaugh let the state ruling stand. A federal judge ordered HB 1 anyway. So which map do Missouri counties print? The attorney who beat HB 1 at the Missouri Supreme Court says neither, legally. "They're going to need to talk to their lawyers."

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The new map is back tonight by federal order, issued 7 minutes before the ballot deadline, 24 minutes after Kavanaugh declined a different question. The state court's opposite order still stands, the appeal is filed, and election officials meet tomorrow to pick a path. Your district: TBD again.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Thousands of Missouri voters changed congressional districts last week without moving. Who tells them? St. Louis County's directors: sample ballots and two online lookups. And per Fey, nothing in the law requires the state "to tell them officially what district they're in." Check yours.

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The AG's brief this morning: local officials face "individual decisions," and the state is "genuinely unsure" it can switch maps in time. St. Louis County's bipartisan election directors, hours later: the ruling is "unequivocal," and "we are ready to go whichever way the court decides."

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Mark Maxwell @markmaxwelltv.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Military ballots ship Sept 19. The work that gets them there starts tomorrow, when St. Louis County begins building ballots for 965 precincts: days of proofing, test decks, tabulation checks. "All hands on deck." Whatever Washington decides, they're on the clock.

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