Springfield, IL (AP) – Illinois lawmakers are seeking ways to penalize the use of drones to deliver drugs, cellphones, and other contraband to prison yards after seeing such cases in Ohio, Maryland, and Oklahoma. A proposal by Illinois Republican Senator Tim Bivins would add an extra year of prison time to inmates involved in bringing…
St. Louis, MO  (KTRS)  Police are investigating an overnight murder in north St. Louis. Investigators say a woman was found slumped over the wheel inside of a vehicle near St. Louis Avenue and Prairie early Monday morning. The victim had been shot to death according to police. There’s no word of any arrests. The victim’s name…
( KTRS ) Missouri lawmakers are considering a measure that’s part of a growing national movement aimed at forcing judges to award equal custody to both divorcing parents. Current state law requires only that judges award “significant, but not necessarily equal” periods of time with a child. Supporters of the bill say that in cases…
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Robby Fabbri and Patrik Berglund scored on breakaways and Brian Elliott stopped 37 shots as the St. Louis Blues held on for a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night. Elliott was superb until Nikita Kucherov scored in the final minute for Tampa Bay, which lost for the…
BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) – A new Illinois law aimed at consolidating local government services will significantly reduce the number of separate emergency dispatch centers in parts of Illinois. The Belleville News-Democrat (bit.ly/1KP931l ) reports that the law requires counties with at least 250,000 residents to cut by half the number of 911 call centers by…
( KTRS ) City regulators are trying to persuade Missouri lawmakers not to replace local regulations governing ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft. Those two businesses have endorsed legislation in the House that would replace stricter rules in St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia with statewide regulations. The St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission has…
ST. LOUIS (AP) – A Midwest environmental group has followed through on its promise to formally challenge Peabody Energy’s ability to guarantee it has enough money for future cleanup of its Illinois and Indiana coal mines. The Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago Friday asked regulators to stop allowing the St. Louis-based company to…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A presidential proclamation has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the Supreme Court, the White House and elsewhere in honor of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. As the flags have risen, so has the political heat over the vacancy on the nine-member court. At issue is the right of Democratic…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — University of Missouri officials say they’re looking into whether a graduate student employee union would be legal. Interim President Mike Middleton said in a release Wednesday that the university is seeking to determine if it’s legal for graduate students to organize. He says there’s no legal precedent in current Missouri law.…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis wants to win a $50 million challenge aimed at improving transportation. The city has submitted an application to a U.S. Department of Transportation challenge. The department is offering up to $40 million to implement new ideas to make transportation “safer, easier, and more reliable.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports…