Missouri

For more than 35 years, Cliff Middleton has been fighting to free his father from a Missouri prison for a crime they say he didn’t commit. In 1991, Ken Middleton was convicted of murdering his wife in their Blue Springs home, but the Georgetown University Law Center program “Making an Exoneree” reinvestigated and noted glaring discrepancies with his case.

Mark Twain’s hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, contains many of the inspirations for “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”

For the eighth year in a row, Centene is the highest ranked Missouri-based business on Fortune's list of the 500 largest American companies. It sits at No. 19 — up four spots from last year's list.

Amendment 5, which is aimed at eliminating the income tax, will stay on the August 4 ballot. But the court ruled that the summary must ensure voters know they are giving lawmakers authority to impose new sales taxes without current constitutional restrictions.

Boanerges Flores-Bravo says he signed self-deportation paperwork after officials told him his family would be deported without him, according to U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell. Flores-Bravo fled Nicaragua with his wife and daughter four years ago to escape political persecution

Bills to improve literacy and establish a new system for grading Missouri schools passed the House but failed to make their way through the Senate.

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway sued American Shaman in March, taking particular aim at 7-OH, the company’s more potent products that she argued are “hazardous opioids." The company could face a $5 million penalty if it breaks the settlement.

Some Republicans want to convert the St. Louis-based 1st Congressional District into a winnable seat, after successfully carving up Kansas City in order to oust Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II. But doing that could place the entire map at risk for a Democratic takeover.

Fifteen people say they were physically assaulted by staff, and some sexually abused by other residents, at Change Academy at Lake of the Ozarks, a youth residential treatment center in Missouri that takes in children from across the country.

Safe House Projects' new app, Simply Report, is now available on all Apple and Android devices in Missouri. The state has one of the highest rates of human trafficking in the country, with about four victims per 100,000 people.

Officials with the Department of Conservation said the pandemic helped many Missourians reconnect with the outdoors. But that has led to significantly more problems with campers at conservation areas since 2020.

Voters in Missouri will decide whether the state can expand sales and uses taxes, in order to eliminate the income tax. Local government officials worry about how it will impact businesses, consumers, revenue for services like parks and transit, and budget planning.