Missouri will not use optional federal exemptions designed to help low-income people keep Medicaid coverage when they are hospitalized, travel for medical care or live in areas affected by disasters or high unemployment. The exceptions are optional in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which starting Jan. 1, 2027 will require states to verify that […]

There are plenty of ways to tell when a political party is worried heading into an election. One is polling. President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to 32% in a September Reuters/Ipsos poll, the lowest of his career, and sits in the mid-30s in national polling averages. Voters are especially unhappy about the cost of […]

As a high school teacher and parent, I see many things to change about our educational system, from funding and curriculum to choice. A strengthened focus on financial literacy while re-thinking foreign language requirements should be also at the top of any reform list. Most American universities and colleges desire one or more years of […]

In December 2023, a woman living in a small community near Austin, Texas, made a $78.08 contribution through WinRed. A few weeks later, she made another. Then came four more contributions in January 2024. Those were the first six entries under her name in Federal Election Commission records stretching back decades. Since then, her name […]

As Missouri prepares to vote on whether to reinstate an abortion ban, a new information campaign by a local nonprofit is setting out to remind Missourians that regardless of what happens in November, some abortion options will remain available. The campaign launched last week and will run through Election Day, when Missourians will decide whether […]

Missouri drew its final round of marijuana microbusiness applicants on Sept. 9. The state received 888 applications and expects to issue approximately 77 licenses beginning in December. I want to write about the months in between, because I work in the trade that operates in them. I am a consultant. I run licensing, compliance and […]

The U.S. Senate passed legislation Tuesday to make America’s National Churchill Museum a National Historic Landmark, sending the bill to President Donald Trump for his signature. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a corresponding bill in March after the legislation had been stalled in Congress for at least two years. If Trump signs the bill, […]

Since receiving a letter from the Missouri Department of Social Services Sept. 1 containing “an important notice” about his federal food assistance, Andrew Dallas has struggled to ease his mind. Dallas, 63, of Arnold, who was diagnosed with epilepsy after a childhood head injury, can’t work or drive, and he depends on disability benefits and […]

I was baffled when I saw that Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, represented by Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, had asked a federal district court for an injunction against the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri. Why would they risk infuriating the court that they regularly appear before with a weird gambit in federal […]

Missouri can continue using a federal database to review voter eligibility after the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily cleared the way for states to use an expanded version of the system to check the citizenship status of registered voters. The court’s 6-3 emergency order on Friday stayed a federal judge’s ruling that had blocked the expanded […]

When a doctor starts asking a new mother about feelings of depression, therapist Haley Walker said the patient may be thinking about more than her actual symptoms. “[It] can feel scary as a new mom,” Walker said. “You’re like, ‘Is this person going to try and take my baby if I’m honest?’” Walker specializes in […]

On Monday, Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt showed he still knows how old-fashioned politics works. He helped pass a college sports bill he spent months negotiating with Democrats Maria Cantwell and Chris Coons. They disagreed over major provisions, compromised and produced legislation that passed the Senate 77-22. A day later, a different Eric Schmitt showed up. […]

A Cole County Circuit Court judge will decide whether to strike down a 2024 law allowing charter schools in Boone County, a case that could further define Missouri’s constitutional ban on special laws. In a hearing Tuesday morning, attorneys representing Columbia Public Schools asked Circuit Court Judge Emily Fretwell to block a 2024 law that […]

Missouri Republicans are scrambling to organize late campaigns on ballot measures they spent most of the year trying to block from the Nov. 3 election. The party’s State Committee met Saturday in Columbia and passed resolutions asking for a “yes” vote on Proposition A, a referendum on the 2025 redistricting map, and a “no” vote […]

Madison Taylor has spent the past eight days picketing outside her former workplace, Greenlight Dispensary in Springfield. Two weeks ago, Taylor says she and a group of coworkers met outside of work to discuss forming a union. Days later, 12 employees who attended the meeting were fired, she said, after management accused them of consuming […]

Even when Missouri lawmakers fund public schools in accordance with the state’s foundation formula, the level is still inadequate to meet the needs of schools across the state. The practice of selling our public schools short has become the pattern — year after year, irrespective of the need. This year the practice seems to be […]

Private philanthropy will fund two major initiatives underway at the Missouri State Board of Education, but the identities of the donors remain unknown to the public, the state education department and at least one of the contractors doing the work. Earlier this month, the board approved two memorandums of understanding with consultants helping search for […]

More Missouri women had abortions while the state was under a near-total abortion ban than they did in the years before, when abortion was legal but highly restricted. That fact has become a fault line among Missouri conservatives debating Amendment 3 — a divide that could matter in an election recent polling suggests may again […]

There are rough months in politics. And then there are months when you get summoned before the Missouri Supreme Court, found in contempt, sued repeatedly, accused by a former employee of retaliating against him for raising concerns about misconduct and singled out for criticism by the highest court in the nation. Denny Hoskins had the […]

Reporters Clara Bates and Anna Spoerre were awarded the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism on Saturday by the Missouri Press Association for their reporting on problems in the state’s foster care. The award recognizes reporting that uncovers information not readily available to the public and requires “exceptional journalistic skill, determination and effort.” It includes a […]

Missouri education is entering a period of significant change. That makes the search for the state’s next Commissioner of Education more than a personnel decision. It is a decision about who will lead Missouri’s schools through some of the most consequential policy changes the state has undertaken in years. The Missouri State Board of Education […]

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday drove a stake through the heart of Missouri’s undead congressional map, ordering it be buried for the year and for voters to cast ballots in the districts they’ve used the past two election cycles. In a unanimous decision, the court said that state law rules in the case. “In […]

Since 2017, a D.C.-based nonprofit called the Fairness Project has poured more than $13 million into Missouri campaigns. Every campaign it backed that has reached Missouri voters has won. And now it is making its biggest investment yet in the state. In 2024, The Fairness Project gave more than $4.5 million to a citizen-led ballot […]

Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick’s demand that the president of the St. Louis Board of Education testify about the firing of former Superintendent Millicent Borishade raises a larger question: Is this really about accountability, or is accountability being selectively applied? Dr. Borishade has filed an active whistleblower and wrongful-termination lawsuit against the district. Any competent […]

Emily Byrd has lost Medicaid coverage twice due to paperwork problems. Both times, Byrd, of Kansas City, submitted documents requested by the Missouri Department of Social Services. But duplicate letters, late notices and “confusing, inconsistent information” made it difficult for Byrd to regain coverage — the second time forcing them to reapply. The 25-year-old, who […]

For years, I watched young families chase a familiar version of the American dream: land the right job, save enough money for a down payment, and find a home in a community where they could raise their children safely. One with a reasonable commute, maybe a park nearby and enough room in the backyard to […]

The Missouri Supreme Court is weighing whether a 2022 law making it a crime for school employees to provide students with “explicit sexual material” violates constitutional free speech protections. The law, which a Jackson County Circuit Court judge struck down last November, “sowed great confusion across Missouri school districts” and spurred school librarians to remove […]

The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday challenging an appeals court’s decision in March directing the state to award cannabis company Hippos LLC 13 facility licenses after finding the 2019 application scoring process was inconsistent. It’s been five years since the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission denied Hippos’ appeal over its applications for marijuana facility licenses, […]

Melanie Pierce works with many pregnant women who know they’ll have a long drive ahead of them when labor starts. One of her jobs as a doula living in Mansfield, Missouri, is helping families answer a question that may not be as fraught for women who live closer to a delivery hospital: When is it […]

Kansas City’s Muehlebach Hotel hosted every president from Theodore Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan. Harry Truman ran much of his political operation from the penthouse suite. It’s where he signed the Truman Doctrine in 1947 and awaited election results in 1948. Once referred to as White House West, it’s one of Missouri’s most storied buildings. The […]

Backers of a Missouri redistricting referendum late on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene for a third time in three weeks in the fight over which congressional map must be used for the Nov. 3 elections. The latest appeal comes as the first votes are being cast and state election officials face conflicting […]

The Missouri Supreme Court had barely settled the immediate question of which congressional map is legally in effect before some Republicans began looking ahead to drawing another one. Minutes after the court ruled unanimously against use of a gerrymandered map drawn by Republicans last year, GOP state Sen. Nick Schroer posted “8-0 2027” on social […]

School districts around Kansas City know it’s possible, maybe even likely, that Missouri’s governor and lawmakers will choose to not fully fund public schools next year. The state’s foundation formula, the calculation of how much money schools should receive, is enshrined in law. That doesn’t mean lawmakers always choose to provide the full formula amount, […]

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Missouri must use the congressional map passed by Republicans in 2025 for the Nov. 3 election, but the decision was put on hold for a week — leaving election officials to proceed for now under the map they were already using. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals […]

There was something strange about the glowing profile of convicted fraudster Siddharth Jawahar that appeared last month in the Jefferson City News Tribune. It was a News Tribune story. Except it really wasn’t. The byline belonged to Jake Kroesen, editor of The Missouri Times, another Scott Faughn-owned publication. Faughn bought the News Tribune late last […]

Missourians living overseas began receiving their ballots Friday despite continuing uncertainty over which congressional candidates should be listed on them. Military personnel and other eligible Missourians outside the United States can receive ballots electronically or by regular mail, with military members in combat zones able to return voted ballots directly through a portal maintained by […]

Ask whether college is worth the cost, and the conversation will quickly turn to jobs. Will graduates find employment? How much will they earn? Will their salaries justify what they spent or borrowed to attend? These are necessary questions. College is expensive, and students deserve honest information about whether a degree will improve their economic […]

It was the call Ray Dlugolecki had been dreading. And one he and other public health officials have been expecting. The assistant director at Jackson County Public Health learned on Sunday afternoon about a confirmed case of measles, not just in his agency’s jurisdiction, but in one of its own buildings. The previous week, an […]

New rules going into effect next week allow immigrants’ enrollment in safety net resources to be taken into account for lawful immigration status applications, the latest in the Trump administration’s immigration overhaul. The rules will have wide implications for mixed-status households, as people without lawful status may forgo enrollment in public benefits for their U.S. […]

State cannabis regulators issued a recall Wednesday after random testing found mold in pre-rolled joints sold in the state. The product, Juicy J’s cherry limeade infused pre-rolls, failed testing for Aspergillus, “a common mold that can be tolerated in small amounts by healthy individuals but may cause adverse health effects in high amounts or in […]

Voting rights groups and Democratic officials are looking to defend against what they see as possible election interference from the Trump administration ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, now that they’ve won a major battle over mail ballots. Common Cause, a nonpartisan pro-democracy organization, announced a “voter protection” campaign Thursday that would place thousands of […]

I’ve worked in education for 30 years, which means I can now retire and receive my full benefits. But I’m not writing this from my favorite spot on my patio with my dogs beside me and my feet up; instead, I’m writing from my office as an elementary school principal in Phelps County, where I’ve […]

The last legal battle over Missouri’s 2025 redistricting plan played out Thursday, with a panel of federal appeals court judges hearing from Republicans that they should reinstate the map designed to help the GOP flip a Democratic-held congressional seat. The hearing via videoconference before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals featured sharp exchanges over […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday took another step forward on a sweeping bipartisan bill to overhaul the college sports world. The measure, clearing its second procedural hurdle on a 77-22 vote, would set national standards for college athletes’ compensation, provide certain antitrust protections to the NCAA, establish a five-year eligibility timeline for athletes and bar professional […]

WASHINGTON — The White House Thursday withdrew the nomination of Richard “Lance” Schroyer to lead the agency the president tasked with carrying out his mass deportation campaign, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, had yet to have his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. […]

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was sued again Wednesday over his handling of the state’s congressional redistricting referendum. The proposed class action is the second filed against Hoskins in less than a week and the third lawsuit against him overall during that span. It seeks damages for voters who cast August primary ballots in […]

In its latest effort to overhaul federal homelessness funding, the Trump administration is proposing to provide more money to localities that prioritize treatment-first policies such as sober living, more cooperation with law enforcement and more temporary and transitional housing. It’s a reversal from a decade-long federal approach known as Housing First that sought to permanently […]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it’s helping manufacturers increase the supply of estrogen-based hormonal patches and acknowledged a current nationwide shortage as more women seek hormonal therapies for symptoms related to menopause. In a release earlier this month, the FDA said it is expediting actions to increase supply, and said all six manufacturers […]

Weeks before a federal judge in St. Louis sentenced Siddharth Jawahar to 11 years in prison for running a $35 million Ponzi scheme, he hired a prominent Missouri political consulting firm to help generate favorable publicity and support for a lighter sentence. Jawahar’s $10,000 agreement with Axiom Strategies – obtained by federal prosecutors and later […]

Every year, the trustees of our carpenters’ health and welfare fund sit down to figure out how much it will cost to keep our members and their families covered. And every year, the number goes up. Not because our members are getting sicker. Not because they’re using more care. It goes up because health care […]