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Missouri's Sunshine Law in peril

Missouri's Sunshine Law was written to ensure that the public could have access to all sorts of government records — including emails, meetings, votes and deliberations. But do the use of self-destructing text-messaging apps sidestep the reach of the state's open records law?

Missouri gives its citizens access to records through something known as its Sunshine Law. But in recent years, many journalists and government accountability groups have run into challenges obtaining what is supposed to be public information. Two cases currently making their way through state courts have some watchdogs concerned that the law's effectiveness may be in peril.

The Missouri Independent's editor in chief, Jason Hancock, has been covering government transparency. He spoke with KCUR's Brian Ellison about the recent cases.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, Trevor Grandin, and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
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