News

On this bright spring morning at Blackbird Bend, along the Missouri River, the scene is a little odd.  A 24-row corn planter is brushing over the tops of a stunning winter wheat crop, 12 inches high.

Afghan war veteran Jacob George is a self-proclaimed hillbilly farmer from the Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas. After three tours as a combat engineer, he now spends his days bicycling around the country protesting U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan. He recently passed through Missouri on his way to protest the NATO summit taking place in Chicago next week.

The Missouri House has passed legislation that would bar local governments from interfering with the day-to-day operations of alternatives to abortion agencies.

Missouri lawmakers have sent the governor legislation prohibiting workers from suing each other for accidental on-the-job injuries.

The Missouri House and Senate have both passed a scaled-back version of a workers’ compensation reform bill. 

With just a few days left to go in Missouri’s legislative session, Governor Jay Nixon says he’s optimistic about reaching a deal with lawmakers on workers’ compensation legislation he previously rejected.  While visiting a medical supplies company in North Kansas City on Tuesday to highlight positive economic and employment trends in the state, Nixon said he met with lawmakers Monday evening, before continuing work on the workers’ comp legislation.

The Missouri House has approved language designed to bar the creation of a Kansas Jayhawks specialty license plate.  The measure was added onto a larger higher education bill passed by the House Tuesday.

Missouri added about 6,000 jobs in April as its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down slightly.

Figures released Tuesday by the state Department of Economic Development also show that Missouri added more jobs in March than originally thought. The March job growth was revised upward from 4,800 to 6,800 new jobs.

Missouri's unemployment rate declined one-tenth of a percentage point in April to 7.3 percent. The department said that is the lowest level in 40 months.

The national unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in April.