News

Missouri lawmakers are considering a measure allowing casinos to loan money to patrons, something opponents say could make things worse for those with gambling addictions.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the House Financial Institutions Committee added the change onto a banking bill Wednesday with no debate. Committee members endorsed it by a 13-1 vote, sending the measure to the full House after the Rules Committee approves it.

Gamblers who pass a credit check would be able to borrow money and exchange it for electronic tokens and chips for wagering.

A locally-owned Kirksville grocery store is closing.  Near and Far Downtown Grocery sells produce from local farmers to stock its shelves. Velda Salt opened the store with her husband after having success at the farmer’s market. But she says the college town environment, and its seasonal nature, made it tough to be profitable year-round.

“More than half of our clientele are students," said Salt. "But it’s not just the students, because when school is out the professors are gone, a lot of them. The community…overall the town decreases.”

Health experts gathered in Columbia today to discuss ways to address disparities in health and access to health care.

William Shakespeare's famous tragedy "Hamlet" is one of the Bard's most-performed plays and features one of the best-known characters in all of literature. Hamlet's famous question, "To be, or not to be," has been posed in a variety of cultural eras, settings and time zones—from Disney to spaghetti westerns.

Now, MU's theater department is placing Shakespeare's classic drama in a dark, dystopian future. KBIA's Wendy Mader talked with Kevin Brown, an assistant professor of theater at MU, about the vision behind the show.

Agribusiness Development Team Five has returned home, after an 11-month tour in Afghanistan. The Missouri National Guard team was tasked with helping was improve agricultural practices in Afghanistan.

A dispute about the removal of several old trees from a “leafy” Southwest Columbia neighborhood may be a step closer to a resolution.

The Missouri GOP filed an ethics complaint yesterday against Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill. At issue are fundraising comments McCaskill made in an interview on MSNBC with Chris Mathews.

The dramatically swift democratic reform in Myanmar has been the geopolitical surprise of the past year. The new government -- headed by former military Thein Sein -- freed thousands of political prisoners and signed truces with rebel groups.