Missouri

Upstream With a Paddle: From cops to cottonmouths, float trips can be perilous if you're not prepared

New Study Shows Best Way to Prevent Injuries is to Cross the River to Illinois

When it comes to preventing serious injury, Illinois is an infinitely safer state to be in than Missouri, at least according to a new report released this morning by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report, entitled The Facts Hurt: A State-By-State Injury P ... More >>

We'll Get By (With a Little Elk From Our Friends)

Got elk? Missouri does. And we're about to double the population by trucking in 35 more from eastern Kentucky. Last year -- despite dire warnings from the Farm Bureau -- the Department of Conservation reintroduced 34 elk to a confined ranch in the southeastern part of the state. (And we say "reintro ... More >>

Mobile Home Fire Reveals 50 One-Pot Meth Labs

Firefighters responded to a mobile home blaze Monday at Pacific Summit Estates in Franklin County, reports The Washington Missourian. Witnesses told police that they saw a man and a woman run from the home while smoke was pouring out of it, then get it into separate cars and drive off. That was susp ... More >>

Opposition Mounts to Missouri's "Don't Say Gay" Bill for Schools

A week after Republicans sponsors in the Missouri House referred it to committee, a bill that would severely restrict conversations about sexual orientation in public schools is under attack from a growing number of detractors including educators, doctors and fellow politicians. HB 2051 would permit ... More >>

Mountain Lion Spotted in Northern Missouri, 13th Cougar Verified in Past Year

The Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed this week the presence of an adult mountain lion in Grundy County. A trail camera captured an image (right) of the big cat on April 2 as it walked through a wooded area around 8:45 p.m. The cougar is the 29th verified sighting in Missouri since mount ... More >>

Bill Would Outlaw Homosexual Discussion in Missouri Schools

A Missouri legislator from near the Arkansas border is pushing a bill that would severly restrict conversations about sexual orientation in Missouri schools.State Rep. Steve Cookson's HB 2051 is backed by 19 co-sponsors who helped push the legislation last week to the House Elementary and Secondary ... More >>

Missouri Traffic Fatalities Up in 2011; Seatbelts Ignored By 2/3rds of Victims

​The Missouri Highway Patrol reported this week that traffic deaths statewide are up this year. Between January 1 and March 7, Missouri roadways saw 29 more traffic fatalities than they did during the same time frame last year. If the accidents continue at their current clip (125 through March 7), ... More >>

Senator Kevin Engler Introduces Bill About Bedbug Reporting

​Citing both an increase in the number of infestation reports in Missouri communities and a special request from state health officials, State Senator Kevin Engler (R-Farmington) introduced legislation yesterday that sets new standards for tenants and landlords when it comes to reporting bedbugs.

Missouri Meth Lab Seizures Hit New Record; State Leads Nation Again

Confiscated meth equipment.​Once again, Missouri has the dubious distinction of leading the nation in the number of meth labs seized in 2011. Law enforcement uncovered 2,096 labs in Missouri last year, an increase of six percent over the 1,960 discovered in 2010. Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and O ... More >>

Missouri Gets a C in Science Education -- And It's One of the Better Students

​The Thomas B. Fordham Institute for Advancing Educational Excellence just released its comprehensive State of State Science Standards 2012 report, which grades each state on how it teaches science to students, and Missouri ranked in the top twenty. Sadly that's no better than a C grade, as the Fo ... More >>

Battledrum's Civil War story line will resonate with young and old alike

​The Thomas B. Fordham Institute for Advancing Educational Excellence just released its comprehensive State of State Science Standards 2012 report, which grades each state on how it teaches science to students, and Missouri ranked in the top twenty. Sadly that's no better than a C grade, as the Fo ... More >>

Missouri's Prison Population Getting Older

In Missouri, the percentage of state prisoners age 50 and over has doubled in the past ten years, rising to 15.3 percent of all inmates in fiscal year 2010, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch, titled "Old Behind Bars: The Aging Prison Population in the United States." That change repr ... More >>

Fight Over Missouri's Cigarette Tax Heats Up; Lung Association Gives State Failing Grade

​Missouri received its annual report card last week from the American Lung Association. The result ain't pretty. The state earned an "F" for tobacco prevention and control (spending just $58,693 last year to prevent tobacco use statewide); an "F" for smoke-free air (with legislators refusing to pa ... More >>

Missouri's 2012 Primary Election Would Be Very Telling If It Weren't Officially Meaningless

​A couple of weeks ago, Huffington Post blogger Will Bower wrote, "This February 7th, 2012, I'll be paying closer attention to Missouri's primary results and asking myself 'What if Missourians had been able to go first this time 'round?'" Bower, an outspoken crusader for election reform, proposed ... More >>

Prison Reform Would Save Missouri Taxpayers Millions, Bipartisan Report Says

​Since 1990, Missouri's spending on inmates has tripled to more than $660 million, and the state's prison population has doubled. While the state's overall general fund has grown by 14 percent over the last decade, the Department of Corrections' budget has grown by 39 percent. For all the spendi ... More >>

Net Worth of Missouri Congressional Delegation Tops $47.9 Million

​The Center for Responsive Politics recently released its report on the nation's wealthiest U.S. representatives and senators. No one from Missouri makes its Top 10 list, but that doesn't mean we don't have some worthy contenders. Turns out we actually have some of the richest -- and poorest -- po ... More >>

Bloody Mary Mix, Ground Beef Recalled

​Gut Check might have spent the past few days curled up in front of the fireplace with a snifter of brandy and a year's worth of Jane's Defence Weekly, but the food-recall news didn't stop. In the past week, the FDA and the USDA have announced several voluntarily recalls. Only two, though, involve ... More >>

Missouri Fares Well in Avoiding Arrest-Related Deaths

​For many cops, shooting a suspect during the course of a crime means shooting to kill, and it's an action to be used only in matters of imminent danger. With that in mind it's heartening that from 2003 to 2009 Missouri witnessed just 26 arrest-related deaths, well below the national average ... More >>

Slideshow: A First Look at EdgeWild Restaurant & Winery

​EdgeWild Restaurant & Winery (550 Chesterfield Center, Chesterfield; 636-532-0550) is the Narnia of west county. Walk through the double doors, and you're transported to a warmer world, filled with fine wine, chocolate-covered mushrooms, fireplaces, oak tables and wooden-rafter ceilings. It's ... More >>

Eastern District of Missouri Sees Surge in Bank Fraud Prosecutions, Bucking National Trend

Federal prosecutions against financial institutions are ticking downward across the country, but the Eastern District of Missouri is defying that trend, nearly matching New York City's district in per-capita charges against banks so far this year. A report released last week by the Transactional Re ... More >>

Missouri Supreme Court to Strip Club Owners: "Tough Titties!"

Justices uphold Missouri's nudity ban for strip clubs.​The Missouri Supreme Court yesterday handed strip club owners yet another loss in their legal fight to overturn a sweeping law regulating "adult-oriented businesses." The law passed in 2010 prohibits exotic dancers from displaying their genita ... More >>

Does Missouri Allow Convicted Felons to Possess Guns?

​In a 4,650-word, front-page treatise in yesterday's New York Times, author Michael Luo lays bare a significant trend: each year, thousands of felons across the country have their gun rights reinstated following prison sentences, despite a federal law that strips away the right to bear arms fo ... More >>

Top 3 Missouri Deer Hunter Videos So Far This Season

Now that we're a few days into firearms deer season (and several weeks into bow season), Missouri sportsmen are lighting up YouTube with videos of their exploits. Here's three we found interesting: "Hello! I'm a deer!"

Missouri Workers Exceed National Average for Secondhand Smoke Exposure

​Nearly 12 percent of Missouri workers are exposed to secondhand smoke on their jobs, according a study published this week by the Center for Disease Control. That's nearly double the national average of around 7 percent. The survey used data collected from all Missouri counties in 2007 and 2008. ... More >>

Missouri Workplace Fatalities Plummet in 2010

​So here's the good news: Workplace fatalities in Missouri are down significantly in 2010, even as the national number holds steady, according to the Missouri Department of Labor.But here's the bad news: You might want to think twice about becoming a farmer.Across the state, agriculture, forestry, ... More >>

Beef, Pork, Turkey and More Cantaloupes Recalled

cnn.comYour shaped pureed pork product might contain metal fragments.​It's officially no longer safe to eat anything. Cantaloupe continues its rampage. The death count from listeria-contaminated Rocky Ford cantaloupes is up to sixteen, making it the deadliest food-borne illness outbreak in over ... More >>

Lawsuit Filed Against Latest "Fair Tax" Proposals

Lawuit: Ballot language provides bad road map for voters.​Missourians for Fair Taxation last week filed a lawsuit attempting to change the ballot language for two recent proposals that will ask voters to eliminate state income tax in favor of higher sales taxes in Missouri.The group -- composed of ... More >>

Time For Missouri To Lose Its Hillbilly Status on Cigarettes

Cigarette machine or Missouri voting booth? You decide!​Fred Teutenberg would call Missouri "the last refuge of the persecuted smoker." That's one way to describe the state with the lowest cigarette taxes in the nation. Another would be to call it a hillbilly outlier, and justifiably so. When even ... More >>

Kindergartener Brings Mom's Meth, Crack Pipe to Show-and-Tell

Mommy calls this her "little helper."​Here's yet further proof that Missouri lives up to its billing as the "Meth Capital of the United States": A kindergartner in western Missouri recently brought his mom's crack pipe and $3,700 worth of crystal meth to his school's show-and-tell. According to KC ... More >>

One in Three Missouri Teens Don't Wear Seat Belts

Maybe it's time to bring back the crash test dummies?​Missourians continue to lag the nation when it comes to using seat belts, according a new report.The study found that just 79 percent of the general population in Missouri wear seat belts. The national average is 85 percent. Missouri's ranking ... More >>

Report: Missouri Roads, Bridges Suck

Missouri's rural roads are among some of the nation's worst, a new report finds.​One out of every five rural roads in Missouri is in poor condition, according to a report released today by a Washington, D.C. transportation research group.And nearly as many of Missouri's rural bridges -- eighteen p ... More >>

Race That Was Tour of Missouri Gets Top Three Finishers From Tour de France

tourofmissouri.comThe third, and final, Tour of Missouri in 2009.​Next week marks the start of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, a.k.a. the race Colorado gained and Missouri lost following a political pissing match last year between Governor Jay Nixon and Lt. Governor Peter Kinder. During its three-y ... More >>

Synthetic Cocaine Now Marketed as "Jewelry Cleaner"

Take your jewelry cleaning to the next level!​A bill aimed at making new forms of synthetic drugs illegal in Missouri doesn't go into effect until August 28, yet already it seems that dealers are attempting to stay one step ahead of the law.The legislation targets fake marijuanas and cocaines, the ... More >>

Missourians Are More Sober Than Rest of U.S., Study Shows

​For those who think Missouri is home to a bunch of meth-makers, heroin addicts and beer swillers, the most recent national statistics out of Washington show that, surprisingly, this is far from being true. In fact, when crunching the latest data for both drugs and alcohol, Missouri ranks eith ... More >>

Dems to Ask Justice Department For Photo ID Investigation

Marcia Fudge: The Cleveland congresswoman wants the Justice Department to investigate photo ID laws like the one planned for Missouri ballots in 2012​Next year, Missouri voters will be asked to consider an amendment to the state's constitution, requiring voters to bring an unexpired Missouri or fe ... More >>

Lawsuit Filed Against Missouri's "Religious Freedom" Amendment

Don't drink the Kool-Aid, warn plaintiffs.​In November 2012, Missouri voters will be asked to approve an amendment to the state constitution, titled Religious Freedom in Public Places. According to the sponsor of the resolution, Republican Mike McGhee of the western Missouri town of Odessa, the am ... More >>

Missouri Fares Poorly in New Obesity Study

Screenshot: healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2011/​Missouri is the eleventh-most obese state in the nation, according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011, a new report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The state's adult-obesity r ... More >>

Missourians Are Really Freakin' Fat, Study Finds

image via newsgroper.comMissouri: getting fatter every minute.​Fat people are taking over the world! According to a new report from the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), twelve states now have obesity rates above 30 percent. And guess what? We're ... More >>

Survey: Tips in Missouri "About Average"

​Marketplace, NPR's business and finance program, commissioned a survey of tipping habits across the country.The state-by-state results place Missouri more or less in the middle of the pack, with an average tip of 19.4% on a $20 dinner bill. Most states fell into the 18%-21% range, with New Hampsh ... More >>

Great Missouri Treasure Hunt

Here's some Missouri history for ya!​History is everywhere--dusty basements, libraries, and now online, too. Secretary of State Robin Carnahan is hoping that people who find pieces of Missouri history will share their treasures, which is why she's launched the Great Missouri Treasure Hunt.The cont ... More >>

Missouri Realtors Lead Fight Against "Fair Tax" Initiative

Missouri realtors not sold on so-called "Fair Tax." ​Financier Rex Sinquefield may have found his most formidable (and numerous) opponent yet: Missouri's licensed real-estate agents. Last week the Missouri Association of Realtors (representing some 18,000 brokers in the state) renewed its oppositi ... More >>

Black Bears May Never Have Left Missouri

Missouri may have always had black bears. But the grizzlies depicted in its flag? Not so much.​New research from the Missouri Department of Conservation is challenging the belief that black bears were extirpated from the state in the 1930s. In recent decades, the bears, which can reach 900 pounds, ... More >>

Poll: Are Missouri's Uneducated Lawmakers Good or Bad for State Government?

Are you smarter than a Missouri legislator?​Yesterday the Chronicle of Higher Education came out with a report comparing the education levels of state lawmakers around the nation. To my knowledge, just two St. Louis news outlets reported on the study: Riverfront Times and the Post-Dispatch. But lo ... More >>

28 Percent of Missouri Legislators Don't Have College Degrees

Meanwhile, in Jefferson City...​Aha! Finally, everything coming out of Jefferson City makes sense!Missouri legislators are less educated than their counterparts in other states, according to an analysis out today in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Just 69 percent of Missouri representatives and ... More >>

150 Years Ago Today, Missouri Was About to Join the Confederacy

Image viaCpt. Nathaniel Lyon -- Unionist, religious, and pretty brutal​"Sophocles himself could not have better staged the tragedy that unfolded in Missouri in the spring and summer of 1861." So wrote University of Cincinnati Professor Christopher Phillips over the weekend in The New York Times w ... More >>

Missouri Supreme Court: Help Wanted

Are those the current Missouri Supreme Court judges?​Since the Missouri Supreme Court's establishment in 1820, 116 people have served as judges. But only one of them, former judge Ronnie White, was a person of color. That may change this fall, when Gov. Jay Nixon names a successor to Judge Mi ... More >>

The Block Restaurant, Butcher and Bar Open

Ian Froeb​The Block, a restaurant, butcher shop and bar from Marc del Pietro of the well-known local restaurant family -- and, in his case specifically, from Luciano's Trattoria (172 Carondelet Plaza, Clayton; 314-863-9969) -- is now open at 146 West Lockwood Avenue in Webster Groves."The concept ... More >>

Teachers Union Case v. Charter School District Going to MO Supreme Court

Teachers' rights to bargain collectively in Missouri are now headed to the state supreme court.​Are Missouri school boards required to collectively bargain with unions representing their faculties -- and, even more importantly, to do so in good faith?That's the question now heading to the Missouri ... More >>

Insult to Injury? Missouri Offers Flood Victims Free Campsites

Meet your new neighbor!​Are you one of the unlucky souls who lost their home in the recent flooding? The State of Missouri is really sorry about that. In fact, they'd like to do something for you. They'd like to give you a temporary new home! A place that real-estate agents might generously descri ... More >>