JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – An appeals court has ruled that a previous calculation of damages owed to about 3,000 blind Missouri residents receiving state benefits was too low. The St. Louis Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/1MRLuDR ) that the decision Tuesday means the state could soon provide more than $19 million in damages for shortchanging their…
( KTRS ) Illinois Congressman Mike Quigley says he’s joined other Democrats in creating a task force to help ensure equal rights for transgender people. The Transgender Equality Task Force will analyze some of the challenges facing the transgender community, including violence, homelessness, housing discrimination and unemployment. Quigley says the group also will recommend legislation to address…
WASHINGTON PARK, Ill. (AP) – Police in southwestern Illinois are investigating as a homicide an 84-year-old man’s death from a fire that began in his car. Howard Brown died early Sunday after the fire sparked a gas tank explosion and then spread to his home. Washington Park Police Chief Tony Tomlinson tells the St. Louis…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri judge has ruled against a challenge to the state Senate’s vote overriding Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of measure that could reduce the number of weeks residents can collect unemployment benefits. The Jefferson City News Tribune (http://bit.ly/1l3yP60 ) reports the judge ruled last week against the challenge from the…
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – If the University of Missouri succeeds in meeting a student demand for a faculty that’s 10 percent black in two years, it will likely be alone among its peers. An Associated Press analysis of 2013 federal data found that no state’s “flagship” public university campus had a black faculty population approaching…
ST. LOUIS (AP) – A man shot and wounded by a Missouri state trooper in a St. Louis casino’s parking garage last weekend is accused of assaulting a police officer. St. Louis prosecutors charged 28-year-old Javon Burton of Vinita Park with second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer and armed criminal action. The Missouri State…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A state audit of the Missouri Department of Conservation has noted concerns over how the department awards grants. Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway said in a release Friday that the Conservation Department received a good performance rating overall. But she says auditors identified an instance in which the department overpaid a…
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The St. Louis Zoo has tested 42,000 stool samples in 20 years of operation from more than 150 zoos and other organizations around the U.S. to study the hormonal health of animals. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the zoo’s endocrinology lab has taken samples from more than 60 animal species. The…
( KTRS ) Illinois authorities are urging hunters to be safe as firearm deer-hunting season gets underway. The seven-day season starts Friday for a three-day period. A final four-day period starts Dec. 3. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says there were 20 hunting accidents in all of 2014, with two deaths. Ten of the incidents…
ST. LOUIS (AP) – St. Louis-area taxi drivers suing Uber allege they’ve seen up to a 40 percent dip in business since the ride service began operating in violation of local regulations. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/1MyFoEK ) that drivers Robert Glynn of Laclede Cab, Douglas Uchendi of ABC Cab, and Aaron Vilcek and…