Jefferson City, MO (KTRS) A Missouri lawmaker wants to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. State Representative Michael Butler has pre-filed legislation that would raise the state’s minimum wage to that amount. Butler says the state’s current minimum wage of $7.65 an hour has trapped too many Missourians in poverty. “No one…
St. Louis, MO (KTRS) The St. Louis Board of Aldermen is scheduled to vote on the final financing package for a new NFL stadium. However, the additional $100-million contribution from the NFL, which was included in package the board approved on Tuesday is questionable. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter on Thursday to Governor…
SWANSEA, Ill. (AP) – A retired East St. Louis police captain has died in an apparent accidental shooting. The Belleville News-Democrat (http://bit.ly/1OAne5Q ) reports that 72-year-old Sherman Jumper of Swansea died Wednesday afternoon after a small handgun he was carrying inside of a bag discharged. Police say Jumper was in his garage and appeared to…
BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) – A southwestern Illinois woman has pleaded guilty to lying about a terminal ovarian cancer diagnosis and stealing money raised on her behalf. Thirty-two-year-old Alissa Jackson of Belleville was a married mother of five when she was charged in June 2014 with bilking thousands of dollars in donations, free food and a…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Supporters of increasing the cigarette tax by 23 cents a pack are collecting signatures to get the proposal on the ballot. Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association Executive Director Ronald Leone said Wednesday an outside firm began gathering signatures this week. Initiative petitions need a certain number of voter signatures…
( KTRS ) The University of Missouri system has appointed an associate dean to lead its diversity task force. The university has announced that David Mitchell, associate dean for academic affairs, will chair the university system’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force. He is also chair of the Missouri State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission…
( KTRS ) State officials say the unemployment rate rose Illinois in November as more people started looking for work. The Illinois Department of Employment Security reports that the jobless rate hit 5.7 percent in November, the first increase since July 2014. The report showed a 5.1 percent increase in the number of unemployed people looking for work…
ST. LOUIS (AP) – A center to welcome refugees from Syria and elsewhere is set to open in St. Louis. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1lU0s2j ) reports that the refugee center is scheduled to open Thursday. Muslim police chaplains Adil Imdad and Dzemal Bijedic said they began to look for a warehouse to open a…
