State News

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Mo. -- Nearly eight decades after he was killed in the attack at Pearl Harbor that launched the U.S. into World War II, a Missouri man has been laid to rest next to his parents. KYTV-TV reported the remains of Navy Seaman 1st Class Orval Austin Tranbarger of Mountain View were buried Wednesday. The TV station said people lined highways and streets from Willow Springs to the cemetery in Mountain View to pay their respects...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- State and federal governments announced Thursday steps aimed at reining in violent crime in St. Louis, prompting Black leaders to question why police reform isn't part of the conversation. Fifty Department of Homeland Security agents will be sent to St. Louis under Operation Legend -- a federal anti-crime program launched last month in several cities -- to assist city police in high-crime areas, with a special focus on gangs, U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen said...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump is still trying to overturn "Obamacare," but his predecessor's health care law keeps gaining ground in places where it was once unwelcome. Missouri voters this week approved Medicaid expansion by a 53% to 47% margin, making the conservative state the seventh to do so under Trump. ...

LEMAY, Mo. — All firefighters in a small fire district in south St. Louis County are quarantined at home as a precaution after a firefighter tested positive for COVID-19, a district official said Thursday. The 27 firefighters and one administrative assistant in the Lemay Fire Protection District were sent home Wednesday, said Jerry Schloss, chairman of the board of directors for the fire district, which has only one fire house...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Democrat Nicole Galloway said she's the best candidate for Missouri governor to enact Medicaid expansion after voters narrowly approved the measure. Voters on Tuesday made Missouri the 38th state to expand eligibility for the government health care program to thousands more low-income adults...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Voters on Tuesday made Missouri the 38th state to approve expanding Medicaid health care coverage to thousands more low-income adults. Support for the constitutional amendment means that as many as 250,000 more adults could choose to be covered by government health insurance beginning in July 2021, according to estimates from the state auditor...

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-- The Navy appeared reluctant to reinstate former Navy SEAL and Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens in 2019 until Vice President Mike Pence's office appeared to intervene, according to newly released documents. Greitens resigned as governor in 2018 amid several scandals, including campaign misconduct allegations and accusations he took a compromising photo of a woman without her consent during a 2015 extramarital affair...

ST. LOUIS -- A baby elephant died several weeks after it was born at Saint Louis Zoo. Zoo officials said an Asian elephant calf named Avi was euthanized Sunday because he had developmental problems that limited his ability to feed. The zoo said Avi's condition deteriorated quickly over the past two days despite feeding assistance and intravenous treatments...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- With coronavirus cases surging, several St. Louis-area school districts have decided to start the school year with online-only learning, while the state's largest school district is limiting the number of days each student will attend in-person...

CLAYTON, Mo. — St. Louis County’s prosecutor announced Thursday he will not charge the former police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, a dramatic decision that could reopen old wounds amid a renewed and intense national conversation about racial injustice and the police treatment of people of color...

CHICAGO -- Chicago added Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska and North Dakota to the list of states where people who are traveling to the city must quarantine for two weeks as Illinois learned its own residents must do the same when they travel to New York, New Jersey or Connecticut...

Kansas City was considering joining the St. Louis area in imposing new restrictions designed to stem the coronavirus' spread in the absence of statewide limitations, even as the state set another single-day increase in new confirmed cases Tuesday. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a tweet that he participated in a call Monday with Dr. ...

Missouri's most populous county is limiting crowd sizes, ordering bars to close early and getting tough on businesses as the number of coronavirus cases soars, complicating the start of the school year. St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page said Monday that the new restrictions would take effect at 5 p.m. Friday. The announcement came one day after the county reported 523 new positive cases for its largest single-day increase...

KIRKWOOD, Mo. -- The superintendent of one of Missouri's largest school districts wants to start the school year with only online classes while St. Louis-area leaders are defending their decision to shut down youth sports in an effort to help prevent transmission of the coronavirus as cases rise among young people...

RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- A teenage suspect was charged Thursday with second-degree murder and other crimes in connection with a fatal shooting inside a large suburban St. Louis shopping mall. Eighteen-year-old Jaron Lemmitt is also charged with one count of first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action. Lemmitt is jailed on $1 million cash-only bond. He was arrested Wednesday night...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Mike Parson is clarifying comments he made in a radio interview in which he said children returning to school will come down with the coronavirus but will "get over it," remarks that drew criticism from several Democrats as well as the head of a state teachers union...

RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- One man is dead and a second man is hospitalized after a shooting inside a large suburban St. Louis shopping mall. The shooting happened around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the St. Louis Galleria. St. Louis County Police spokesman Ben Granda said two groups of people were involved in a dispute that led to the shooting near an escalator on the second floor...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Missouri on Tuesday reported more than 1,100 new coronavirus cases, once again breaking its own record for the largest single-day increase in cases. Data from the state health department show 34,762 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since the virus first struck Missouri, a 1,138 increase in reported cases compared to Monday...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis' top prosecutor on Monday charged a husband and wife with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a racial injustice protest outside their mansion. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are white, are both personal injury attorneys in their 60s. Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner told The Associated Press their actions risked creating a violent situation during an otherwise nonviolent protest last month...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri tourist town of Branson postponed a vote on whether to impose a mask ordinance after residents repeated deep suspicions of public health experts, the health care system and data tracking the spread of COVID-19. One woman wore a wedding veil Thursday as a face shield and warned against moving toward a socialist society. Another brought a sign calling out the mayor for his "mask asphyxiation orders," The Kansas City Star reports...

FREDERICKTOWN, Mo. -- The former deputy collector for an eastern Missouri county has been sentenced to five years of probation. Kelcey Gresham, of Fredericktown, was sentenced after pleading guilty Thursday to a felony stealing charge. Gresham paid $5,409.72 in restitution under the terms of the plea...

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis County will impose limits next week on youth sports amid coronavirus outbreaks among players, the county executive announced Thursday. Teams will be banned from playing other teams, they'll be restricted to groups of 10 people or fewer, and spectators won't be allowed, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said...

O'FALLON, Mo. -- U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley on Thursday urged U.S. Attorney General William Barr to launch a federal civil rights investigation of St. Louis' elected prosecutor, accusing her of abuse of power in her investigation of a white couple who wielded guns while defending their home during a protest...

O’FALLON, Mo. — Missouri lawmakers will reconvene later this month to consider ways to stem the escalating violence that has become especially deadly in St. Louis and Kansas City, Gov. Mike Parson announced Wednesday. The special session starting July 27 will be singularly focused on violent crime. But unlike some other states that are considering police reforms in the wake of racial injustice protests, Missouri lawmakers will focus on measures that could strengthen laws and put more people behind bars. The leader of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus said he was disappointed police reform is not on the table.

ST. LOUIS -- Gov. Mike Parson sought to reassure Missourians about the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday as the state reported 888 new confirmed cases, its second largest single-day increase. "WE ARE NOT DEFENSELESS AGAINST COVID-19," Parson, a Republican, said in a tweet. "We are much better prepared now to deal with the virus than we were in March. We know more about the virus. We know how to box-in outbreaks. We have accelerated testing and our health care system is stable."...

Billboards towering over an African American cemetery in suburban St. Louis will be removed in the coming months after a settlement was reached in a lawsuit alleging the signs desecrate the memory of the people buried there. The judge in the case was advised of the settlement last week, said attorney Mary Coffey. She represents Wanda Brandon, a volunteer whose lawsuit sought the removal of six lighted billboards that stand above Washington Park Cemetery in Berkeley, Missouri...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Missouri's health department reported 936 confirmed new cases of the coronavirus Tuesday, by far the largest number reported in the state in a single day since the pandemic began. State data also shows hospitalizations are on the rise. Around Missouri, 932 people were hospitalized for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, as of July 10, the most recent available date. That was the highest total since 984 people were hospitalized May 5...

ST. LOUIS -- Former Gov. Eric Greitens was on the scene of a double homicide near Saint Louis University, where he rendered first aid to the shooting victims, according to news reports. Greitens and a friend were in the area having dinner when a barrage of gunshots rang out just after 8 p.m. Monday. Greitens and the friend rushed to the scene to try to help two men who had been shot until medics arrived, St. Louis television station KTVI reported...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Gov. Mike Parson on Monday signed several bills into law, including legislation to ensure free COVID-19 testing and a requirement hospitals perform rape kits when needed. Here's a glance at what Parson approved: A new law ensures that COVID-19 testing, if recommended by a doctor, will be free to patients. The change takes effect immediately...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A judge rejected Friday a motion that would have immediately made it easier for Missourians to vote with a mail-in ballot during the coronavirus pandemic. Cole County Judge Jon Beetem denied the motion for a preliminary injunction sought by the Missouri NAACP and the League of Women Voters, the Jefferson City News-Tribune reported...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The State of Missouri is investigating a St. Louis company it says approved 600 fake medical marijuana certifications. State investigators say Lou Moynihan, 33, knew or participated in the fraudulent activity that likely occurred through telemedicine visits when the company, WeedCerts, launched last year...

ST. LOUIS -- Authorities executed a search warrant at the St. Louis mansion of a white couple whose armed defense of their home during a recent racial injustice protest drew widespread attention, their attorney confirmed Saturday. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are personal injury lawyers, were caught on video brandishing guns as demonstrators walked past their Renaissance palazzo-style home June 28 while headed to protest outside of the mayor's home nearby. ...