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Missouri is shaping up to be big battleground over abortion rights in November. Even in this solidly Republican state, where the procedure is almost entirely illegal, many Catholics say they support a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution.
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Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are suing the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco over a federal rule closing the gun show loophole.
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Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed legislation that would have blocked teenagers from receiving hormone therapy and other gender-affirming treatments recognized as necessary by medical professionals. The Senate voted to override her veto, but the House fell short.
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Missouri House ethics panel ends investigation into Dean Plocher, after blocking release of evidenceThe committee voted to dismiss the ethics complaint, after removing language that blamed the result on “the inability of the committee to finish the investigation as a direct result of obstruction of the process and the intimidation of witnesses by” Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher.
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On May 7, voters in Kansas City, Kansas, will decide whether to approve a ballot measure that would raise property taxes for the next 30 years. The bond would pay to consolidate elementary schools, build new buildings, increase early childhood education, and fund additional renovations.
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In order to work in Missouri, 14 and 15-year-olds must obtain a certificate from their school, with information from their prospective employer about the job, as well as parental consent and age verification. But a Republican-sponsored bill would eliminate that formal process, and only require a signed permission slip.
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The Missouri Freedom Caucus, a faction of the state GOP, has vowed to debate the budget in detail and attempt to cut hundreds of millions in spending. That could push final votes on spending past the constitutional deadline of May 10.
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El Concejo Municipal de Kansas City renovó su contrato anual con el Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA-organismo de transporte del Área de Kansas City), que mantiene la tarifa de transporte en cero, pero da instrucciones al Gerente Administrativo de la Ciudad, Brian Platt, para considerar los costos y beneficios de un programa alternativo de “una tarifa gratuita funcional”.
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The Missouri House Speaker is already being accused of obstructing the work of an ethics committee. Recently, lawmakers have raised concerns about whether the ethics rules in the House need to be reworked in cases where the chamber’s most powerful member is the focus of an investigation.
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The lawsuit, led by Republican attorneys general from 17 states, comes after federal regulations were published on implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The language means workers can ask for time off to obtain and recover from an abortion.
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Missouri House votes to make it harder to amend constitution, with controversial language reinstatedCurrently, a simple majority of votes is needed to pass a proposed constitutional amendment once it makes it onto the ballot. The proposed resolution would increase that threshold to both a simple majority of votes and the majority of Missouri’s eight congressional districts — but the bill also includes unrelated "ballot candy."
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The two-page proposal states that beginning in the 2026 federal elections, a candidate running to represent a congressional district in Missouri may do so only if they live in that district. But it may violate the U.S. Constitution.
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Kansas City Council renewed its annual contract with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, which keeps zero-fare in place but directs City Manager Brian Platt to weigh the costs and benefits of an alternative "functional free fare" program.
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The Republican legislation comes after several unsuccessful attempts to stop public funds from going to abortion providers or affiliates through the budget process. The bill now goes to Gov. Mike Parson.
Government
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With a one-party majority and a bag of legislative tricks, Kansas lawmakers conceal much of their bill-making process.
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The leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the landmark case would see a complete ban on abortion in Missouri and offer Kansas legislators the opportunity to do the same.
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Local leaders from the Northland to Johnson County are working to make their communities more environmentally sustainable.
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Average starting pay for teachers in Missouri is already the lowest in the country. Now, teachers might not be receiving the raise they were hoping for.
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Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says the current system of state control over the KCPD undermines the voices of Kansas City residents.
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Facing a budget shortfall in 2020, Missouri cut 200 jobs at the Department of Social Services including positions in the division overseeing abused and neglected children.
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The Missouri senate bill, introduced by Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder (R-Sikeston), aims to strengthen and broaden existing rape shield legislation.
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Marshall also signaled he was unlikely to vote for Ketanji Brown Jackson's appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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A recent Mother Jones article highlighted a bill co-sponsored by Tracey Mann that would extend tax breaks in opportunity zones where he owns properties.
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Kansas City’s new snow removal process has been tested as the city experienced several snowy days in recent weeks.
Elections
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State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, a Republican, issued an audit of Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office and downgraded his administration to the second-lowest rating because it illegally withheld documentation about election cybersecurity. Ashcroft, who is also a Republican, criticized the report as a political attack.
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In the few days since the 2024 Kansas legislative session started, bills governing mail-in ballots and advance voting applications have already been filed. There is still zero evidence that widespread election fraud happens at the state or national levels.
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Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft threatened to unilaterally kick President Joe Biden off of the Missouri ballot if Donald Trump is disqualified in other states for violating the U.S. Constitution's insurrection clause. But an appeals court ruling found Missouri law did not give the secretary of state that power.
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A local baseball fan created a Facebook group to "save Kauffman Stadium" over two years ago. Now, their movement claims over 7,500 members, even as the campaign to build a new downtown Royals ballpark gains momentum and legislative support.
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Across the U.S., thousands of children and young adults serve as informal interpreters for family members that don’t speak English. For kids of Latino immigrants in Kansas City, being the family interpreter is an honor and burden. Plus: Gov. Laura Kelly is again calling for lawmakers to expand Medicaid to provide health care to about 150,000 low-income Kansans.
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The Shrewsbury lawmaker recently bowed out of the Missouri attorney general’s race. Unsicker was stripped of her committee assignments and later kicked out of the House Democratic caucus because of her social media posts and association with an accused Holocaust denier.
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Missouri lawmakers will gavel in the 2024 legislative session today. But where did they leave off last year? The 2023 session had a promising start – a budget surplus meant more money to work with. In politics, though, few things go according to plan.
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As the 2024 legislative session begins, the Republican-led Missouri General Assembly is prioritizing expanding child care access and restricting ballot initiative restrictions. But the stakes of an election year could exacerbate divisions between the parties.
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Sheriff Calvin Hayden, the conservative incumbent under fire for his controversial election investigation, will need to beat a former colleague and a current police chief to keep his job for a third term.
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Former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele and David Axelrod, former chief strategist for Barack Obama's presidential campaigns, both say the country is headed toward a Trump vs. Biden rematch.