Rudi Keller
Rudi Keller covers the state budget, energy and the legislature for the Missouri Independent. He’s spent 22 of his 30 years in journalism covering Missouri government and politics, most recently as the news editor of the Columbia Daily Tribune. Keller has won awards for spot news and investigative reporting.
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The Missouri Senate has begun work on the state's roughly $50 billion budget, with questions still swirling around renewing a tax that funds Medicaid and GOP infighting that could derail the process. Meanwhile, many appropriations require matching funds from the recipient.
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Denton Loudermill, of Olathe, Kansas, is suing Missouri state Sens. Rick Brattin, Denny Hoskins and Nick Schroer over social media messages that incorrectly accused him of being a shooter and an "illegal alien."
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The bill sponsored by Missouri Rep. Travis Smith, R-Dora, would cut the 4% corporate tax rate down to 3% next year, and make another one percentage point cut each year until the tax is eliminated in 2028. It passed the Missouri House on a party-line vote.
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The current Secretary of State and Republican gubernatorial hopeful enlisted the help of economists who crafted the 2012 Kansas tax plan, which crashed revenues and was repealed several years later, to prepare a proposal for Missouri tax revisions.
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The chair of a Missouri House appropriations committee is demanding Treasurer Vivek Malek answer questions about the state’s involvement with Torch Electronics. The machines have been controversial for years, with some GOP lawmakers and state gaming officials arguing they are illegal gambling devices.
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After weeks of flirting with the idea, Missouri state Sen. Lincoln Hough of Springfield jumped into the Republican Primary for lieutenant governor on Thursday.
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While Republicans shelved two bills that would further loosen Missouri's gun laws, Democratic leader Crystal Quade of Springfield said she will introduce a proposed constitutional amendment allowing cities to write local gun laws that are stricter than state laws.
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As Republican lawmakers voted down amendments aimed at legalizing abortion in cases of rape or incest, one state senator defended the decision, saying, "God does not make mistakes."
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The Missouri Senate is considering proposed changes that would raise the bar for voters to pass a constitutional amendment — making it mathematically possible for just 20% of voters to determine the outcome of statewide ballot measures, including the upcoming one on abortion rights.
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Missouri Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin said she "absolutely" would vote to remove Sen. Bill Eigel from the chamber. Eigel and the other five members of the far-right Freedom Caucus have filibustered almost every day since the session began on Jan. 3.