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Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri IndependentMissouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins will have to rewrite the ballot summary for a proposed constitutional amendment a third time, because the judge ruled that it "fails to adequately alert voters" that the measure would ban abortion. -
Thad Allton/Kansas ReflectorFederal Medicare and Medicaid regulations mandate staff vaccinations for employers that receive funding. But the high court ruled that Katlin Keeran was protected by a 2021 Kansas law making it illegal for employers to question the sincerity of religious beliefs for opting out of vaccines.
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Voters will likely see the issue on the ballot in 2026. The amendment would ban most abortions, with limited exceptions before 12 weeks of pregnancy, and also includes language banning gender-affirming care for minors — something that's already in state law. -
The bipartisan bill allows requests for an investigation to be submitted by individuals or community groups, not just local governments. -
Missouri’s system for providing legal representation to families ensnared in the foster care system is highly decentralized and has little state oversight. The result is that some parents go without legal help at all, while kids stay in foster care far longer than the national average. -
The legislation, which state Rep. Jim Murphy called "a pro-life bill that everybody agrees with," also expands tax credits for maternity homes and diaper banks and creates a "Zero-Cost Adoption Fund." -
With elder abuse cases in Kansas on the rise, investigators are taking on three times the number of cases they can adequately manage. The state says it can't release data on caseloads but advocates say metrics for evaluating elder abuse are lacking. -
A memo from President Trump earlier this year revealed plans to remove transgender service members from the military — a plan the Supreme Court has allowed to be enforced while the legal battle plays out. Thousands of transgender service members now face the possible end of their careers. -
The number of people waiting in jail to be transferred to state mental health facilities reached an all-time high in February. People are sometimes being incarcerated for longer than if they’d actually received the maximum sentence for the crime they were charged with. -
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been seeking medical records on gender-affirming health care for minors from providers across Missouri. An appeals court said Planned Parenthood must produce "de-identified" medical records or otherwise cite exemptions. -
Officials say an unvaccinated child in Sedgwick County has tested positive for measles. -
Senate Bill 71 expands the death benefit for officers killed in the line of duty to $100,000. -
Three years after David Schneider was sentenced to 50 years in prison, his former gymnasts and their families live with the emotional scars of the offenses and the trauma of going to trial. Schneider continues to appeal his conviction. -
Despite efforts to develop markets and genetics, Missouri's industrial hemp industry is at its lowest point in years. “Most of the farmers who started with hemp — they lost money,” says a Missouri agricultural economist.
