JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Missouri have passed a bill to raise the gas tax for the first time in decades. The GOP-led House on Tuesday voted 104-52 to gradually raise Missouri’s 17-cent gas tax to pay for road and bridge maintenance. If signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson, the measure would…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Mike Parson says he’s cutting off all federal pandemic unemployment benefits to Missourians. Parson on Tuesday announced those federal benefits will end June 12. The Republican governor says there’s a labor shortage. He hopes cutting off extra unemployment aid will push people to work. At least four other states…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Mike Parson is threatening to veto a wide-ranging law enforcement reform bill because of a provision that would give the Legislature the power to issue subpoenas requiring people to testify before committees. The governor says the provision gives lawmakers too much power. In the past, House members accused the…
O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed a lawsuit challenging St. Louis County’s COVID-19 restrictions, citing concerns about their impact on religion, education and the freedom of residents. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in St. Louis County Circuit Court names Democratic County Executive Sam Page, the county’s health department and its…
EUREKA, Mo. (AP) — A large sinkhole is draining a lake at Lone Elk Park in St. Louis County. Park officials say the lake level has dropped substantially thanks to the massive sinkhole in the man-made lake. It’s the second time in the last five years that a sinkhole there has drained water. Park officials…
RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Mo. (AP) — A juvenile black bear has been tranquilized and will be taken out into the country after spending days roaming the suburbs of St. Louis. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation captured the bear Sunday evening in the St. Louis County town of Richmond…
WELDON SPRING, Mo. (AP) — Authorities said a hiker was accidentally shot by a turkey hunter in St. Charles County on Saturday. St. Charles County Police Department spokeswoman Val Joyner said the shooting appears to be “a really bad accident.” The shooting happened around 12:30 p.m. Saturday on the Lewis and Clark Trail in the…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones has signed a bill prohibiting race-based discrimination based on hairstyles. The Democratic mayor, elected last month, signed the bill Friday. Kansas City, Missouri, has a similar ordinance. Several states also have passed the CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have approved a $35 billion budget for next fiscal year that includes no funding for a Medicaid expansion approved by voters. House and Senate members gave final approval Friday to the spending plan just hours ahead of a constitutional deadline. The budget increases funding for public schools, universities,…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A congressional committee examining the Black maternal health crisis heard emotional testimony from one of the committee’s own members. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Democrat Cori Bush of St. Louis on Thursday described how she nearly lost the lives of her two children two decades ago, when both were born…