For more than three decades, the federal government released an annual comprehensive report on the state of hunger in America. But that ended in 2025 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would no longer produce Household Food Security reports. While the report has disappeared, hunger clearly hasn’t. In fact, it appears to be […]

A new Missouri-based nonprofit has dropped $2.9 million into a campaign hoping to reinstate an abortion ban. Her Health Her Future Missouri was incorporated in September and is now the top donor to Her Health, Her Future PAC, the campaign aimed at passing Amendment 3. If approved by a majority of voters, it would overturn […]

When MyPillow founder Mike Lindell visited the Missouri Capitol in January 2023, the conversation was focused on election security. Lindell, a Donald Trump ally who has repeatedly promoted false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, offered a suggestion to lawmakers and activists: Contact your “constitutional sheriff.” Craig and Linda Rantz, who were there […]

When I considered practicing in Missouri in late 2020, I expected the licensing process to evaluate my education, training, experience and professional credentials. What I did not expect was to be asked to reconstruct more than three decades of my personal preprofessional history. After six months of unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was […]

Over five consecutive elections from 1974 through 1982, Missouri Democrats elected supermajorities — more than two-thirds of the 163 members — to the Missouri House. The party drew its strength from rural voters, union households and Black-majority urban districts. The supermajority ended as rural voters, who had developed a habit of voting Republican in national […]

Most Missourians probably could not name a member of the State Board of Education. Most could not explain why board members serve eight-year terms or why Missouri’s Constitution limits the number of members from the same political party. That is understandable. The State Board was never intended to be a political institution that attracted significant […]

In December 2022, a surgeon at NKC Health removed Karrie Krause’s gallbladder. Three years later, a lawyer representing the hospital took her to court over her unpaid bill. The middle school English teacher is far from alone. As the price of getting sick or injured keeps growing and the cost that patients are forced to […]

Missouri voters are being asked on Nov. 3 to fundamentally rewrite the balance of power between themselves and the state lawmakers they elect. If Amendment 6 passes, future legislatures could no longer change laws enacted by voters through the initiative process on their own. Instead, at least 80% of both the House and Senate would have […]

I did not leave the Republican Party, and I am not going anywhere. But I am tired of watching most of my party’s leaders in Washington behave as if abandoning Ukraine to Vladimir Putin is simply the price of loyalty to this president. President Donald Trump has never hidden his instinct to accommodate Putin, and […]

For pregnant women living north of Interstate 70 in central Missouri, there weren’t many places to deliver a baby. Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall was one of them. Now it isn’t. Fitzgibbon delivered 252 babies in 2025. In April, the hospital filed for bankruptcy protection and began sale negotiations for its 60-bed hospital and its 99-bed […]

Missouri energy leaders are all in on nuclear power. A new state energy plan from Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources prioritizes new nuclear plants, as well as energy independence and grid reliability. Missouri uses eight times more energy than it produces, a statistic state energy leaders want to change by building more nuclear power plants, […]

Missourians will vote next month on a proposal to set aside and invest state money that could remain untouched for more than a century, with the eventual goal of generating enough earnings to eliminate state taxes. Amendment 7 will ask voters if they would like to enshrine in the state’s constitution a “permanent public endowment […]

Missouri is headed toward a potentially painful budget reckoning as state spending continues to outpace revenue growth. The two leading candidates for state auditor agree that should be a major concern for the office. They disagree over what the auditor can — and should — do about it. Republican incumbent Scott Fitzpatrick argues the auditor’s […]

Andrew Bailey has been back in Missouri for about two weeks, and he already has a message. Speaking to a recent gathering of Boone County Republicans, the former attorney general said there’s “a real disconnect right now between where the people are and where some of our leadership is.” He said lobbyists and political consultants […]

The growing attention being given to Missouri’s child welfare system offers a critical opportunity to address not only the challenges with the system, but the circumstances that bring families to a point of crisis — and into contact with the system in the first place. Children’s Division Director Sara Smith has made significant strides within her […]

SPRINGFIELD — Melanie Stinnett and Betsy Fogle have more in common than their political affiliations might suggest. Both came to politics after careers helping Missourians navigate a complicated healthcare system. Both have made improving access to services for people with disabilities a priority. And both worked this year to restore proposed cuts to funding that […]

LEE’S SUMMIT — Marching up and down the front steps of split level homes in a Lee’s Summit neighborhood on a recent Monday evening, Democratic state Rep. Keri Ingle was not the first to tell residents about the upcoming election. As her bright pink tennis shoes reached the stoop of the first house on her […]

I am Jane Doe. I was a freshman in college, second semester, when I got a call from my mom that my dad was in the hospital. I should find my older brother and we should come home. In the hour and a half it took me to locate my brother on campus (landlines, kids), […]

Jamie Reed stood before a room full of Republicans in St. Louis County in September, clicking through a presentation about pediatric gender medicine. The former caseworker at a St. Louis transgender clinic described puberty blockers and hormones in stark terms and warned of what she sees as lasting harm to children. The audience gasped, groaned […]

For most people, the AI debate began with tools such as ChatGPT and questions about jobs, academic integrity, misinformation, and privacy. But AI is increasingly becoming a physical presence as well, through massive data centers, new demands on the electric grid, infrastructure investment and decisions about who bears the cost. That makes the latest developments […]

Current and former Lincoln University students are suing the State of Missouri for nearly $550 million to address what they allege are decades of inequitable funding that they say has hurt the college’s academic programs and facilities. In a complaint filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, their attorneys […]

Andrew Bailey, the former Missouri attorney general who left his post at the FBI last week, told fellow Republicans Tuesday night that he vowed to continue holding wrongdoers, whether criminal or political, to the letter of the law. “The cornerstone of prosperous communities is the criminal justice system and holding wrongdoers accountable,” Bailey said. “It […]

In early August, Missouri voters decisively rejected two efforts to rewrite some of the basic rules of state government. Although Republicans hold supermajorities in the Senate (24-10) and House (111-52), Amendment 4 would have required citizen-led constitutional amendments to win both statewide and in all eight congressional districts. Voters also rejected Amendment 5, which would have required lawmakers […]

A St. Louis jury awarded $10 million Tuesday to three plaintiffs in a sprawling ownership battle over six Missouri cannabis licenses involving more than 20 businesses and individuals. Over a week of testimony, jurors heard about a tangled series of business agreements and allegations that partners went behind one another’s backs to secure competing deals. […]

A state task force created by Gov. Mike Kehoe to recommend changes to Missouri’s child welfare system convened for five hours Monday to begin developing clearer common standards for determining whether a child is safe that can be used by abuse and neglect investigators, the courts, juvenile officers and others across the state. The Missouri […]

I am riding on the front of a train barreling into a distant land. Physically, I am at home, in an inflatable pool cushioned by warm water, entering birthland. As my son emerges, I am in awe. We are surrounded by nothing but love: my husband, my certified nurse midwife (CNM), and doula. I feel whole, and present. […]

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 […]