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…
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…
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…
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Springfield man has been charged with assaulting a woman on the Missouri State University campus and is a suspect in two other sexual assaults. The Springfield News-Leader reports that 52-year-old Stephen Goodwin is jailed on $100,000 bond in Greene County on kidnapping and attempted rape charges. No attorney is listed…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri’s K-12 public schools would get about a $76 million increase in basic funding under the budget proposed by a House panel. A House committee on Thursday scaled back a recommendation by Gov. Jay Nixon to increase funding by about $85 million. Recommendations from both Nixon and the House panel…