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Updating MO Statutes 

  The Missouri House has unanimously passed a bill designed to improve the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. HB 2650 passed with 147 votes and no opposition. Bill sponsor Willard Haley says the goal is to modernize existing statutes in order to meet the needs of MO’s educational and workforce landscape. He says…

MO Conservation to be featured on PBS

Missouri’s conservation efforts will be the focus of a documentary that will be broadcast nationally. The MO Humanities Council has awarded a grant to the MO Conservation Commission to fund the production of “A Vision of the Wild, the story of Conservation in MO”, a two hour documentary that will be featured on PBS, and…

Senators want limits on the government’s use of facial recognition technology for airport screening

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of senators wants restrictions on the use of facial recognition technology by the Transportation Security Administration. The lawmakers say they’re concerned about travelers’ privacy and civil liberties. In a letter Thursday, 14 lawmakers are calling on Senate leaders to use the upcoming reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration to…

Motorcycle Safety Month 

The Missouri Department of Public Safety is urging motorcyclists to take an active role in their own safety. Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month begins today, and the statistics speak for themselves. According to figures just released by the MO State Highway Patrol, there were 2,459 crashes involving motorcycles in MO last year….resulting in 2,141 injuries and…

EPA bans consumer use of a toxic chemical widely used as a paint stripper but known to cause cancer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a ban on consumer uses of methylene chloride, a chemical widely used as a paint stripper but known to cause liver cancer and other health problems. The EPA said Tuesday its action will protect Americans from health risks while allowing certain commercial uses to continue with…

Family Leave for First Responders

A bill sponsored by a Metro-East lawmaker is designed to increase the job retention of  First Responders. House Bill 3908 creates the Firefighter Paid Family Leave Act, giving downstate firefighters, paramedics, and EMT’s who have been employed for one year, up to 6 weeks of paid family leave that can be used for the birth…

Former tabloid publisher testifies about scheme to shield his old friend Trump from damaging stories

NEW YORK (AP) — The former publisher of the National Enquirer testified at Donald Trump’s hush money trial about going to great lengths to help shield his old friend from potentially damaging stories. The efforts relied on a catch-and-kill scheme prosecutors allege amounted to interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. At the same time, the…

St.Louis Emergency Sirens

The City of St.Louis Emergency Management Agency is upgrading it’s Outdoor Warning-Siren system and encouraging residents to sign-up for NotifySTL on the city’s website. Following several what it calls “inconsistent testing concerns” the Agency has announced it’s plan to update and improve STL’s outdoor warning system so that the public can be notified in the…