Chris Koster

PETA Attacks Washington University's Use of Live Cats With "False Advertising" Complaint

Last month, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released an "undercover video" inside one of Washington University's labs, which the group says reveals the school's mistreatment of live cats in one of its courses. Soon after, PETA made more of a splash with an announcement that The Price Is ... More >>

Humane Society: Missouri Still Has Nation's Worst Puppy Mills

Three years after Missourians voted to crack down on disreputable dog breeding operations, the Show-Me State continues to lead the nation in the number of dangerous and unsanitary puppy mills. So says the Humane Society of the United States, which last week issued a report highlighting the nation' ... More >>

Senator Brian Nieves Writes Insane E-Mails to Constituent Who Doesn't Want His Newsletters

We have to imagine that, as an elected official in Missouri who has experienced some controversy, State Senator Brian Nieves must be used to getting a fair amount of hate mail. And we'd guess that this message he received last Friday is, relatively speaking, pretty mild: "Take me off your mailing ... More >>

Family of Murder Victim Cathy Robertson Says Defense is Desperate, Making Up Conspiracies

Earlier this week, we told you about the ongoing court battle centered on a 1990 murder case, with attorneys for accused killer Mark Woodworth now seeking testimony from Missouri Governor Jay Nixon. Since then, Daily RFT has heard from the family of victim Cathy Robertson -- and they are less than ... More >>

Mark Woodworth: Defense Wants Governor Jay Nixon To Testify in Trial of 1990 Murder

The attorneys for a Missouri man accused of murdering his neighbor more than two decades ago are seeking testimony from the man who was attorney general back in 1993 -- who just so happens to be current Governor Jay Nixon. "I wouldn't be doing my job for my client if I didn't try to do this," Robe ... More >>

Bridgeton Landfill: Is the Attorney General Going to Intervene in the Odor Problem?

The Bridgeton landfill is so smelly that the attorney general's office might have to intervene. At least the director of the Missouri department of natural resources has requested that the agriculture and environment division of Attorney General Chris Koster's office get involved and "institute ap ... More >>

Catholic Bishops Slam Birth Control Ruling: "Pray for the Protection of Religious Liberty"

The Catholic bishops of Missouri are praying that the legal fight against federal health care mandates for birth control coverage is not over. "We now call upon all people of good will to pray for the protection of religious liberty and for defense of the First Amendment freedoms we all hold dear, ... More >>

Phyllis Schlafly Says Violence Against Women Act Promotes Divorce And Hatred of Men

Today in St. Louisans weighing in on national politics, Daily RFT brings you the always charming Phyllis Schlafly, president of the Eagle Forum and conservative activist with reliably delightful views on other human beings. Today's topic? The Violence Against Women Act, the one that Congress failed ... More >>

Ed Martin Won't Meet With Editorial Boards: A Rare (and Probably Smart) Move

So far this year, most candidates for statewide office have made the pilgrimage. They've stepped into the inner sanctums of the Post-Dispatch and The Kansas City Star. They pow-wowed with the editorial boards, fielded uncomfortable questions, asked for a kiss on the forehead.&nbs ... More >>

University of Corporate Greed: America's for-profit colleges leave taxpayers and students high and dry

Primary Results: Akin to Face McCaskill, Clay Trounces Carnahan, Jones Wins City Treasurer

Yesterday's Missouri primary resulted in a few surprises. The biggest, perhaps, was Congressman Lacy Clay's stunning victory over Congressman Russ Carnahan for Missouri's First Congressional District that includes all of St. Louis and much of the county. Clay garnered 63.2 percent of the vote to Car ... More >>

Brunner, Kinder and Martin Favored to Win GOP Primary Contests, Poll Finds

According to an automated phone poll over the weekend of nearly 600 people likely to vote in Missouri's GOP primary tomorrow, 35 percent said they'd pick John Brunner to take on incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill30 percent said they'd prefer Todd Akin25 percent went for Sarah SteelmanBrunner enjoys ... More >>

Attorney General Koster Shuts Down C&N Sunset Kennels

Attorney General Chris Koster shut down dog breeder C&N Sunset Kennels in Ellsinore, Missouri, for multiple violations of the Animal Care Facilities Act (ACFA). Owner Connie Nelson must now transfer all of her breeding dogs to rescue shelters, the public or licensed breeders who are ACFA complia ... More >>

Rams' Proposal for Edward Jones Dome Revealed

Today Attorney General Chris Koster is expected to release details of the St. Louis Rams' counter-proposal on how to fix up the Edward Jones Dome -- despite objections from the football team and the Convention and Visitors Commission. We're not saying who, but someone very close to the negotiations ... More >>

Edward Jones Dome Makes Time's List of "Worst Stadiums in the World"

Time magazine's Keeping Score blog compiled a list of the worst stadiums in the world, and in a development that's sure to please the Rams, the Edward Jones Dome came in at number seven.

Mo. Attorney General To Release Dome Plans Despite Objections From Rams, CVC

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said yesterday that his office plans to release details of plans to renovate the Edward Jones Dome regardless of a confidentiality agreement that has kept the proposal out of public view. Per the deal that brought the Rams to St. Louis from Los Angeles, the Ram ... More >>

SaveMore.Com: Another Daily Deal Site Runs Afoul of the BBB

​SaveMore.com, a Texas-based daily deals site, has had more than 1,000 complaints from 45 states filed against it in the last ten months, according to the Better Business Bureau. The business currently has an "F" grade with the BBB, the lowest possible ranking. That's quite an achievement for a bu ... More >>

Hundreds Flock to Jay Nixon's Downtown Fundraiser

​Daily RFT didn't get an invite* to Governor Jay Nixon's fundraiser yesterday, but apparently hundreds of other people did.A source in attendance tells Daily RFT that an estimated 600 people arrived last night at the Renaissance Grand downtown to support Nixon in his bid for re-election. David Pea ... More >>

Richard Bradley: St. Charles Man Labeled Sexually Violent Predator; Detained Indefinitely

​Richard Bradley, 42, became the 12th Missouri prisoner this year committed to the state's Sex Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Service in Farmington where he could stay the rest of his life. Bradley will join 174 other sex offenders who've completed their sentences for their crimes but bee ... More >>

Joplin Charity Says It's Not Phony, Despite BBB Warning

rescuejoplin.orgRev. Terry Lee admits he's not wise to technology, but he knows the way of the Lord.​The Better Business Bureau says rescuejoplin.org is a "phony non-profit" attempting to raise funds for the tornado recovery in Joplin. The organization is the third charity in just the past week ac ... More >>

John's Butcher Shoppee Accused of Labeling Organ Meat "Ground Beef"

A curious suit over questionable meat.​At a news conference today in St. Louis, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced that he's filed a civil suit against a meat processor with stores in Overland and Festus on claims that the company mislabeled some of its products. According to the att ... More >>

Owners of U.S. Fidelis Indicted for Fraud, Stealing, Unlawful Merchandising

consumerist.comYes, an angel's halo really did adorn the US Fidelis logo.​I admit it. Given all the allegations regarding bad business practices made against brothers Darain and Cory Atkinson over the past couple years, I thought they'd already been criminally indicted. Apparently not. Well, not u ... More >>

Population Trends Shows Cairo Disappearing With or Without Flood

Cairo: Stuck between a couple wet spots.​In 1950 the city of Cairo, Illinois, located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, had 12,123 inhabitants. By 2010, just 2,831 called the city home. That's a decline of more than 76 percent in 60 years or a 12.6 percent loss per decade. More ... More >>

Wildwood Latest Missouri City to Require Prescription for Pseudoephedrine

Thirty-one Missouri cities now ban the over-the-counter sales of these drugs. When will all of Missouri follow?​The west St. Louis County 'burb of Wildwood last night became the 31st Missouri city to ban over-the-counter sales of psuedoephedrine. The drug -- found in such cold medicine as Sudafed ... More >>

Kenneth Tomlinson: Police Captain and Scoutmaster Turned Child Molester Gets Life

Kenneth Tomlinson, aka "Big Dog" to the kids.​A year after he was charged with "deviate sexual intercourse" with Boy Scouts under his care, a former police captain and scoutmaster in Fredericktown was sentenced last week to three consecutive life terms plus plus 22 years.Kenneth Tomlinson pleaded ... More >>

Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Challenging Nudity Restrictions on Missouri Adult Businesses

​A Cole County judge last week granted a summary judgment request that has -- for now -- thrown out a lawsuit challenging Missouri's recent restrictions on strip clubs and adult bookstores. The Missouri Legislature last year passed sweeping reforms that outlaw nudity at such businesses in addition ... More >>

12-Step Plan to Clean Up Lake of the Ozarks Noticeably Void of Alcohol Restraint

The first step is admitting you have a problem.​Attorney General Chris Koster yesterday proposed twelve recommendation for improving the notoriously icky water quality at the Lake of the Ozarks.Here at Riverfront Times we are amazed that none of the twelve steps (described below) have anything to ... More >>

Kenneth Tomlinson: Former Police Chief and Boy Scout Leader Now a Child Molester

​Kenneth Tomlinson has pleaded guilty to 22 counts of sexual abuse of minors all during the time that he served as police captain of Fredericktown and a Boy Scout leader in the southeastern Missouri town. In January, Tomlinson was charged with a dozen counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and fo ... More >>

Strip Clubs Challenge Financial Impact of New Law

The new law bans strippers from appearing nude. They can't even wear thongs. ​Attorneys for sexually oriented businesses argued yesterday in court in central Missouri that the state legislature violated its own rules in passing a strict new law on sexually-oriented businesses. The law that went in ... More >>

Missouri Attorney General Appeals Innocence Ruling for Convicted Killer Dale Helmig

Dale Helmig​Last week a judge in Dekalb County ruled that Dale Helmig had been wrongfully convicted for the murder of his mother, Norma Helmig, in 1993. Helmig has served 14 years in prison for the crime -- despite mounting allegations that the prosecutor (former U.S. Congressman Kenny Hulshof) wi ... More >>

BODIES Exhibit at Galleria Will Come with Warning Tag

bodiestheexhibition.comKing Solomon would be so proud. ​So, that's that. Yesterday, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced his office had reached a settlement with Premier Exhibitions, the Atlanta-based company slated to install a display of plasticized human cadavers next month inside t ... More >>

Anti-Semitic Senate Hopeful Silenced by FCC, But Not Why You Think

whty.orgGlenn Miller a.k.a. Frazier Glenn Miller​Remember Missouri's U.S. Senate candidate Glenn Miller? A former KKK leader, Miller made a big splash this spring when he began airing his anti-Semitic campaign ads on radio stations across western Missouri. Dozens of headlines followed, as did gues ... More >>

Akin Turns Up Heat on Galleria, Wants Attorney General to Investigate BODIES Exhibit

Akin: Not over my their dead BODIES.​As we reported last week, U.S. Congressman Todd Akin (R - Town & Country) is, um, achin' to stop the Galleria shopping mall from hosting an exhibit of plasticized human cadavers this fall. At issue is Akin's belief that some of the human remains used in BOD ... More >>

Joseph Miller: Latest Missourian to Be Confined Indefinitely After Serving Prison Sentence

Purgatory or Farmington, Missouri?​Joseph J. Miller isn't going to garner sympathy from most folks, and I'm certainly not defending the man. Still, I think it's curious how people like him can remain incarcerated in Missouri after they've served their so-called "debt to society." As the Missouri A ... More >>

Toldya So! Former Ladue Police Chief Feels Vindicated by AG's Racial Profiling Report

New official stats seem to bolster Larry White's case​Larry White must be smilin' today.He's the former chief of police that's suing Ladue, insisting he was canned last year for refusing to crack down on black drivers and for disobeying requests that he look the other way when Ladue residents app ... More >>

10 Things to Do for $10 This Weekend in St. Louis, April 16-18, 2010

This weekend's especially good for having fun on a budget: You can find proudly weird $5 art auctions, the free opening of Grant's Farm's season, local hip-hop shows and more. Here are our ten suggestions for weekend fun that will cost you less than $10. Looking for live music? Here's the weekend co ... More >>

Monsanto Subject of Antitrust Workshop Today in Iowa with U.S. Attorney General

​Updated at 11:50 a.m. Competitors, activists, farmers, politicians. They all get a chance to weigh in on St. Louis-based Monsanto today at a "workshop" in Iowa that's to focus on antitrust behavior in the agriculture industry. In attendance at today's meeting will be U.S. Attorney General Eric Ho ... More >>

Mo. State Senators Think They're in D.C., Argue Federal Budget, Health Care Reform

Mr. Schmitt goes to Washington, err Jefferson City.​Attention State Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Glendale): The Missouri Capitol may look like the U.S. Capitol. (Indeed, the building in Jefferson City is modeled after the one in Washington D.C.) But let us remind you of one little thing: You're a state ... More >>

Missouri Attorney General Calls for Execution of Man Linked to Larry Flynt Shooting

Larry Flynt has been in a wheelchair since the 1978 shooting.​Attorney General Chris Koster yesterday called on the Missouri Supreme Court to set execution dates for two convicted murderers. The first, Joseph Franklin, was convicted in 1997 for the shooting death twenty years earlier of a man out ... More >>

Last Jeff Smith Post: The Letters

One supporter of Jeff Smith compared him to a Kennedy.​Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, Build-A-Bear CEO Maxine Clark and an ex-girlfriend are among the hundreds of people who wrote to a federal judge asking for leniency in the sentencing for former state senator Jeff Smith. The letters, along with some ... More >>

Steve Brown's Decision to Wear the Wire "Came Without Hesitation"

Steve Brown was sentenced to two years' probation and a $40,000 fine. Jeff Smith got a year in prison and must pay a $50,000 fine. ​In a letter to U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson, former state rep. Steve Brown's wife, Rebecca Brown, stated she is "deeply disappointed" by her husband's illegal ac ... More >>

Ewww! Raw Sewage Dumped into Lake of the Ozarks, Again, Says Missouri Attorney General

Photo: partycovepics.com (site is very, very NSFW)Captain of the raft at Party Cove in Lake of the Ozarks. Two business owners near the lake are being sued for allegedly allowing raw sewage to flow into it.​For the second time in a little more than a year, raw or partially treated sewage has been ... More >>

Why Not Require Prescriptions for Psuedoephedrine?

​Today's Post-Dispatch has an interesting article about psuedoephedrine -- one of the key ingredients for the making of meth. Yesterday, officials in Union joined another Franklin County city -- Washington -- to become the second municipality in the nation to require a prescription for the sale of ... More >>

Oh, Meth! New Campaign Against Meth Use Hopefully as Catchy as Old One

As we reported last week, U.S. "Drug Czar" Gil Kerlikowske is in St. Louis today to unveil the White House Office of National Drug Policy's new anti-meth campaign. Here's hoping the campaign is as good as the last one featured here.  Continue on to view the full press release of today's announ ... More >>

Attorney General Wants Racist Executed for Murders; Fashion Police Want Him for Hitler Haircut

Joseph Franklin rockin the Hitler haircut.Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster today called for the Missouri Supreme Court to set an execution date for Joseph Franklin. Franklin was convicted in 1997 of murdering Gerald Gordon -- twenty years after he shot and killed him in the parking lot of a St ... More >>

Valley Park to Mexican immigrants: "Adios, illegals!"

A small-town mayor's plan creates one big controversy.