JEFFERSON CITY — Superintendents from small districts bordering Iowa and Arkansas told similar stories Tuesday about the possibility of Missouri school districts adopting an open enrollment policy. There are good and bad elements of the philosophy of letting parents enroll…

UPDATE: Power was restored about 1 p.m. Ameren spokeswoman Susan Gallagher told the Associated Press that a black snake that slithered between two cables near the Capitol was the culprit.

During the outage, staffers, lobbyists and visitors were forced to…

JEFFERSON CITY — The Senate  spent all morning talking education, and it still hasn’t gotten through the whole discussion.

It was debating a bill, sponsored by President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, that would allow virtual classes and change how the school funding…

Cunningham

JEFFERSON CITY — The Senate took up the contentious issue of property tax and assessment today, but the issue got put on hold in the middle of the intra-party debate between Repulicans.

Several solutions have been offered about this problem, but…

JEFFERSON CITY — If this were college, they would call it hazing.

Somehow, the freshman senators seem to have a bit more trouble than others getting things done around here. And former representatives aren’t exempt.

Today, Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, watched as many of her…

Cunningham

JEFFERSON CITY — Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, held a press conference today about a bill that would overhaul the way home property value is assessed in Missouri.

If the bill passed, houses would be assessed at the time of the purchase,…

Justus, left, and Cunningham

JEFFERSON CITY — Senators Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, and Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, seem like unlikely allies.

But today, the two were the only opposition to Sen. Charlie Shields‘ quality rating system bill in the Health, Mental Health, Seniors…

While today was a day for Missouri Democrats to celebrate their new governor, Jay Nixon, as well as other statewide success, plenty of Republicans from the state were in a festive mood, too.

Taking in the Inaugural Day festivities together were newly…

Neal St. Onge

The first showdown of the new legislative session appears to be an intra-party affair.

In December, as first reported by the Columbia Daily Tribune’s Terry Ganey, former state Rep. Neal St. Onge, R-Ballwin, found a way to secure…

Haddenhorst

Creve Coeur Councilman Robert Haddenhorst Jr., 3rd Ward, wants Missouri to impose a statewide ban on smoking in public places, an issue that generally has been dormant locally in the past two years.

At Monday’s council meeting, he made his plea…