( KTRS ) Republican lawmakers say Gov. Jay Nixon’s State of the State address outlined unrealistic spending proposals and ignored specific steps to improve Missouri’s economy. In a news conference Wednesday evening, after Nixon’s eighth and final annual address, House Speaker Todd Richardson said Nixon’s speech was more of a victory lap than a proposal…
Missouri’s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest point in more than a decade
( KTRS ) Gov. Jay Nixon is set to unveil his legislative agenda for his final year as the state’s top executive. Nixon is scheduled to give his last State of the State speech tonight. In it, he will outline his recommended spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. This year’s…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Graduate students at the University of Missouri will receive subsidized health insurance premiums for another year. The Columbia Daily Tribune (bit.ly/1ZL5GiE) reports that interim Chancellor Hank Foley made the announcement Tuesday. Health insurance became an issue after the university gave graduate assistants 24-hour notice in August that they would no longer…
( KTRS ) A proposed ban on lobbyist gifts to lawmakers and public officials has won approval from a House panel. Current law allows lobbyists to give unlimited gifts to legislators and other officials. Republican Rep. Justin Alferman’s bill would prohibit that. On Tuesday, members of a House committee voted unanimously in favor of the legislation.…
LESTERVILLE, Mo. (AP) – A woman found dead last week near the Black River in southeast Missouri had been missing since November. KFVS-TV (bit.ly/1P0WkbI) reports that the victim has been identified as 63-year-old Sharon Nelson, of Hillsboro. The Reynolds County Sheriff’s Department is investigating her death as a homicide. Her body was found Wednesday morning…
( KTRS ) Observers from St. Louis to Chicago marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day with commemorations and demonstrations. A celebration in downtown St. Louis drew hundreds of participants, who braved temperatures hovering near the single digits on a 2.5-mile march. Speakers and marchers linked King’s legacy to contemporary efforts at job creation and police…
ST. LOUIS (AP) – St. Louis police identified the 52-year-old man killed by an officer after a reported fast-food restaurant robbery. Police on Monday named Crayton West was killed during what they said was a Sunday evening armed robbery at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. The 42-year-old officer has not been identified. West was shot…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri lawmakers pushing to change the state’s loose ethics laws next will turn to ways to clamp down on the flow of unlimited gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers. A bill to ban lobbyist gifts to public officials is up for review Tuesday in a House committee. Lobbyists can spend whatever…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster maintains a fundraising lead for Missouri governor, though some Republicans are cutting into his cash advantage. Reports filed Friday with the Missouri Ethics Commission show Koster raised $1.3 million this past quarter and had nearly $5.8 million in his campaign account to start 2016. Republican…