Missouri State News | West Plains Daily Quill

Missouri abortion-rights campaign turns in more than double the needed signatures to get on ballot

Advocates have turned in more than twice the needed number of signatures to put a proposal to legalize abortion on the Missouri ballot. The campaign turned in more than 380,000 voter signatures on … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 5/3/24

Defendant Thomas Kinworthy Jr. sits in the courtroom during his first-degree murder trial on Thursday, May 2, 2024, in the 22nd Circuit Court in St. Louis. Kinworthy was found guilty of first-degree murder and other counts in the death of St. Louis officer Tamarris Bohannon, 29, who was shot and killed, and officer Arlando Bailey who was injured during a home invasion in August 2020. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, Pool)

Man found guilty of murder in 2020 fatal shooting of Missouri officer

A man charged with killing a St. Louis police officer in 2020 has been found guilty of murder. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that a jury convicted 46-year-old Thomas Kinworthy of murder and … more

5/2/24

FILE - The Missouri Capitol is seen, Sept. 16, 2022, in Jefferson City, Mo. A dayslong filibuster in the Missouri Senate ended Thursday, May 2, 2024, after a Republican faction allowed a vote on a more than $4 billion Medicaid program they had been holding hostage. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Missouri Senate filibuster ends with vote on multibillion-dollar Medicaid program

A dayslong filibuster in the Missouri Senate has ended. Senators gave initial approval in a voice vote Thursday to a $4 billion Medicaid program that Freedom Caucus members had been holding hostage. … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 5/2/24

Campaign to raise Missouri's minimum wage to $15 an hour confident it will get on the ballot

Missouri voters have gotten a step closer to getting to decide whether to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. The group behind the effort, Missouri Jobs with Justice, said Wednesday that … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 5/1/24

FILE - Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Quinton Lucas speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, May 13, 2022. The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, took the unusual step of striking down a 2022 voter-approved constitutional amendment that required Kansas City to spend a larger percentage of its money on the police department. The state Supreme Court ordered that the issue go back before voters by November. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Missouri Supreme Court strikes down 2022 vote on KC police funding, citing faulty fiscal note

The Missouri Supreme Court has taken the unusual step of striking down a 2022 voter-approved constitutional amendment that required Kansas City to spend a larger percentage of its money on the police … more

By JIM SALTER | 4/30/24

FILE - A shopper loads her car after shopping at a Walmart in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. Walmart announced Tuesday, April 30, 2024, is closing its health centers and virtual care service, as the retail giant has struggled to find success with the offerings. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Walmart to close its 51 health centers and virtual care service

Walmart is closing its health centers and virtual care service after struggling to find success with the offerings. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer said Tuesday that after managing the … more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN | 4/30/24

Editorial Roundup: Missouri

St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 28, 2024. Editorial: Missourians have one week left to help get abortion rights on the ballot Missourians who believe that women have an inalienable right to … more

By The Associated Press | 4/30/24

FILE - Missouri Speaker of the House Dean Plocher listens as Gov. Mike Parson delivers the State of the State address, Jan. 24, 2024, in Jefferson City, Mo. On Monday, April 29, 2024, a panel of lawmakers dismissed an ethics complaint against Plocher, breaking from a Republican who argued that Plocher used his power as the House leader to block an investigation. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Ethics committee dismisses complaint against Missouri speaker

A panel of lawmakers has dismissed an ethics complaint against Missouri's powerful House speaker. The House Ethics Committee voted 7-2 on Monday to dismiss the complaint against Republican Speaker … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 4/29/24

FILE - Andrew Lester appears in court to answer charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action, April 19, 2023, in Liberty, Mo. The family of Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who was shot when he mistakenly went to the wrong home in Kansas City, Mo., filed a lawsuit Monday, April 29, 2024, against Lester, the white 84-year-old homeowner, an attempt to pursue justice from the “driver’s seat” and put pressure on the criminal trial scheduled for later this year, the family's attorney said. (KMBC via AP, Pool, File)

Family of a Black teen who was shot after ringing the wrong doorbell files lawsuit against homeowner

The family of a Black teenager by a white homeowner when he mistakenly went to the wrong Kansas City, Missouri, address has filed a lawsuit. The family's attorney says Monday the lawsuit was an … more

By HANNAH FINGERHUT | 4/29/24

KS--Kansas Digest

Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up for select Kansas stories. For up-to-the minute information on AP's complete coverage of Kansas and the rest of the world, visit Coverage … more

4/29/24

Provost at Missouri university appointed new Indiana State University president, school says

Indiana State University officials say a provost at a Missouri university has been appointed the new president of the western Indiana school. School officials announced Friday that Dr. Michael … more

4/26/24

FILE - Residents place their signatures on a petition in support of a ballot initiative to end Missouri's near total ban on abortion during Missourians for Constitutionals Freedom kick-off petition drive, Feb. 6, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. Missouri's GOP-led House on Thursday, April 25, amended a proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would raise the vote threshold needed for all constitutional amendments going forward. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga, File)

Amendments to Missouri Constitution are on the line amid GOP infighting

Republican Missouri lawmakers are divided over how far to go with a ballot measure that would make it more difficult for future voters to amend the state constitution. The GOP-led House on Thursday … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 4/25/24

A demonstrator stands outside the Supreme Court as the justices prepare to hear arguments over whether Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, on Capitol Hill Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

The Latest: Supreme Court arguments conclude in Trump immunity case

Arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court have ended after more than 2 1/2 hours in Donald Trump’s bid to avoid prosecution over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. The … more

4/25/24

Kansas man sentenced to 10 years for crash that killed officer, pedestrian and K-9 last February

A man who sped through a red light in Kansas City and crashed into a patrol car has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of an officer and a bystander. … more

4/25/24

FILE - Containers of Roundup are displayed on a store shelf in San Francisco, Feb. 24, 2019. Bayer, the manufacturer of the popular weedkiller, won support Wednesday, April 24, 2024, from the Missouri House for a proposal that could shield it from costly lawsuits alleging it failed to warn customers its product could cause cancer. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)

Missouri House backs legal shield for weedkiller maker facing thousands of cancer-related lawsuits

The Missouri House has passed legislation that could protect chemical manufacturer Bayer from some lawsuits alleging a popular weedkiller causes cancer. The legislation comes as Bayer faces tens of … more

By DAVID A. LIEB | 4/24/24

FILE - Ericka Lotts stands next to a poster of her son, Derontae Martin, from his high school football playing days, Sept. 17, 2021, at her home in Ferguson, Mo. Martin died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a rural Missouri home, not at the hands of the white homeowner who had a history of racist social media postings, an FBI official told The Associated Press on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jim Salter, File)

2021 death of young Black man at rural Missouri home was self-inflicted, FBI tells AP

The FBI has determined that a young Black man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a rural Missouri home, not at the hands of the white homeowner who had a history of racist social media … more

By JIM SALTER | 4/24/24

Missouri's GOP lawmakers vote to kick Planned Parenthood off Medicaid

Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature has passed a bill to ban Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood. The GOP-controlled House on Wednesday voted 106-48 to send the proposal to … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 4/24/24

Editorial Roundup: Missouri

Kansas City Star. April 22, 2024. Editorial: These Missouri and Kansas Republicans in Congress finally did right by Ukraine We don’t get that many chances to say, “Well done, House … more

By The Associated Press | 4/23/24

FILE - A Missouri and American flag fly outside Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, June 24, 2022. Lawmakers in Missouri are trying to defund Planned Parenthood by taking it off Medicaid rolls, even for the most basic of health care services. It's a move they've tried for years in a state where almost all abortions are already banned. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Missouri lawmakers again try to kick Planned Parenthood off Medicaid

Lawmakers are poised to take another shot at defunding Planned Parenthood in Missouri. Republicans have tried for years to block Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood clinics in Missouri. … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 4/22/24

FILE - The Missouri Capitol is seen, Sept. 16, 2022, in Jefferson City, Mo. Missouri lawmakers on Thursday, April 18, 2024, passed a bill to expand private school scholarships statewide, an effort made possible by extensive compromises including a commitment to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on public schools. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Missouri lawmakers expand private school scholarships backed by tax credits

Missouri lawmakers have passed a bill to expand K-12 private school scholarships statewide and pump hundreds of millions of dollars more into public schools. The scholarship accounts are funded by … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 4/18/24