Missouri

Missouri Audit Flags Suspicious SNAP Benefit Use by Deceased, Out-of-State Recipients

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | San Francisco’s unresolved mayoral race … N.C. governor vetoes budget plan … and a mysterious Indiana jailhouse substance.

  • By Michael Grass

Missouri Audit Flags Suspicious SNAP Benefit Use by Deceased, Out-of-State Recipients

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | San Francisco’s unresolved mayoral race … N.C. governor vetoes budget plan … and a mysterious Indiana jailhouse substance.

  • By Michael Grass

Black Drivers in Missouri Are 85% More Likely to Be Stopped Than Whites

New statistics on the inconsistent treatment of blacks and whites by police in the state show how little has changed after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson.

  • By Aamna Mohdin, Quartz
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens

Missouri's Scandal-Tarnished Governor Resigns

Rather than face impeachment over allegations of sexual misconduct and violations of campaign-finance law, Eric Greitens is leaving Jefferson City.

  • By David A. Graham, The Atlantic
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens

Grand Jury Indicts Missouri’s Governor on Felony Invasion of Privacy

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | A ‘sea change’ for Vermont gun politics; Trump slams Calif. law enforcement agencies; major flooding on many rivers in Midwest; PennDOT urges patience on potholes; and Sacramento mayor pushes major ‘tiny’ house plan.

  • By Michael Grass
A streetcar vehicle moves along Main Street in downtown Kansas City. A streetcar vehicle moves along Main Street in downtown Kansas City.

Kansas City Enters ‘Phase 2’ of Its Smart City Transformation

“There is a greater value to the data we maintain as a city than we anticipated,” according to the city’s chief innovation officer.

  • By Dave Nyczepir
Snow plows attempt to clear the streets Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014, in St. Louis, Missouri Snow plows attempt to clear the streets Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014, in St. Louis, Missouri

Worker-Training Issue Leaves Show Me State Vulnerable This Winter

An important part of the snow-removal process: People to operate the plows.

  • By Michael Grass
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri

The Next Step in Kansas City’s Push to Become a ‘Smart City’

In the months ahead, local government leaders plan to build upon technology now deployed along the downtown streetcar line.

  • By Bill Lucia
Gennice Mackey uses a bullhorn Thursday to lead a chant of "Save the Raise!" outside a McDonald's restaurant in St. Louis. Gennice Mackey uses a bullhorn Thursday to lead a chant of "Save the Raise!" outside a McDonald's restaurant in St. Louis.

How St. Louis Workers Won and Then Lost a Minimum-Wage Hike

After a Missouri law took effect on Monday, the wage floor in the city was reduced to $7.70 per hour after three months at $10 per hour—the latest case of a state cracking down on a city that had enacted a progressive policy.

  • By David A. Graham, The Atlantic
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri

Missouri Mayors Look to Expand High-Speed Internet Access

“It’s becoming quite obvious that if you’re not connected, you’re falling behind,” Kansas City Mayor Sly James said.

  • By Bill Lucia
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

Missouri Will Finally Have A State-Level Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

Gov. Eric Greitens announced the details of his program—which notably neither doctors, nor pharmacists will be able to access—in an executive order announcement on Monday.

  • By Quinn Libson
St. Louis St. Louis

St. Louis to Remove Its Confederate Monument

The Missouri Civil War Museum agreed to dismantle the memorial by Friday.

  • By Yasmeen Serhan, The Atlantic

The States That Tax Cigarettes at the Highest and Lowest Rates

The Tax Foundation has new rankings and an interactive tool that look at the taxes states levy on a pack of smokes and changes in state cigarette tax revenue over the years.

  • By Bill Lucia
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis, Missouri

A ‘Constitutional Crisis’ in Missouri

In a class-action lawsuit filed Thursday, a group of defendants argued the state’s public-defender system is too underfunded and overworked to meet the Sixth Amendment’s standards.

  • By Matt Ford, The Atlantic

Missouri Gov. Signs Anti-Union Bill; St. Petersburg Mayor Makes Sanctuary City Declaration

Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: More sanitation troubles in Michigan prisons; Baltimore minimum wage bill; and lieutenant governor position may be axed in Illinois.

  • By Route Fifty Staff

Tobacco Company Cash Crushes Tax Increases

Between 1980 and 2015, voters approved nearly 70 percent of the 32 tobacco tax hikes that appeared on statewide ballots. But this time was different.

  • By The Pew Charitable Trusts
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City’s Free Transit Plan for Election Day; Jackson, Miss.’s Pothole Payouts

Also in our State and Local Daily News Digest: Feds vs. polygamous towns in Ariz. and Utah; Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s appeal in N.D.; and N.Y.C.’s Second Ave. Subway nearly ready.

  • By Route Fifty Staff
Trojan Park in Wellston, Missouri. Trojan Park in Wellston, Missouri.

How a Park Gave Wellston, Mo., a Sense of Place

The National Recreation and Park Association teamed up with St. Louis' regional parks and trails district to create a community center.

  • By Dave Nyczepir

Navigator Award Finalist: Jean Ann Lawson, Chief Performance Officer, Kansas City, Mo.

Looking to improve agency customer service? The City of Fountains provides great case studies that showcase an impressive transformation.

  • By Michael Grass
Sensors and other smart infrastructure line the Main Street corridor in downtown Kansas City's Power and Light District. Sensors and other smart infrastructure line the Main Street corridor in downtown Kansas City's Power and Light District.

Remember the Human Element When Implementing Smart City Technologies

Building sensor networks seems like the most difficult step, but that’s just the start on the long road to a smarter local government.

  • By Michael Grass

Missouri Does Away With Concealed Handgun Permit Requirement; Indiana Plan to Limit Pensions for Employees: Trick Them

Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: LinkNYC halts free Wi-Fi due to bad behavior; Alaska needs LNG buyers for record public works project; and receding water costs Massachusetts city

  • By Route Fifty Staff