News

Media criticism and critique from Missouri School of Journalism professors Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins and Charles Davis.

Regional news coverage from the KBIA newsroom, including:

• Issues facing the Mo. Legislature as new legislative session begins
• Mo. AG wants to retry overturned murder conviction
• Boonville now owns former Union Pacific bridge

Taxes and health care figure to play prominently in Missouri's new legislative session.

The 2013 session kicks off at noon Wednesday and runs through May 17. Republicans will hold overwhelming majorities in both the House and Senate, but the governor's office will still be held by Democrat Jay Nixon.

Republican legislative leaders plan to pursue changes to the state's tax credit programs, as well as income tax cuts for individuals or businesses.

As Missouri lawmakers begin a new session at noon on Wednesday, one issue facing them is how to fund Missouri’s roads and highways. A “Blue-Ribbon” citizen’s committee created by the Missouri House to examine the state’s transportation needs released its report on how to fix the funding crisis on Tuesday. The report lays out several options, including: raising either the state’s fuel tax or creating a sales tax dedicated to transportation needs.  House Speaker Tim Jones says he prefers exploring options that are "revenue neutral."

The Missouri attorney general plans to retry a northwest Missouri man after the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction for the 1990 murder of a neighboring farmer.

The state's high court ruled Tuesday that prosecutors had failed to share evidence that could have helped Mark Woodworth's defense against charges that he fatally shot Catherine Robertson and wounded her husband.

The court ordered Woodworth released unless prosecutors decide to retry him. Later Tuesday, a spokeswoman said Attorney General Chris Koster intends to retry Woodworth.

The Missouri state treasurer's office has returned nearly $20 million in unclaimed property in the first half of the fiscal year that began July 1.

Treasurer Clint Zweifel says in a release that his office has returned $19.5 million in 71,000 accounts. That's an increase of 11 percent increase over the first six months of the 2012 fiscal year. Last year, the office returned a total of about $39 million.

Zweifel says his office has returned $140 million to more than 450,000 account holders since January 2009.

Boonville residents are celebrating the end of a long effort to take ownership of a former Union Pacific Railroad bridge.

The Boonville City Council on Tuesday approved a deal to transfer ownership of the bridge to the city.

City officials are already discussing plans for redevelopment of the Boonville bridge, which was built in 1931, with an eye toward making it a major part of the Katy Trail biking and hiking trail.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the city has a four-phase plan that would cost an estimated $4 million over eight to 10 years.

The director of the Missouri agriculture department is promoting a state program that gives grants to groups that provide spay and neutering services for animals.

This is the fifth year of the program, which is funded by proceeds from Missouri's "I'm Pet Friendly" license plates.

Agriculture Director Jon Hagler said Tuesday the public is more concerned these days about animal welfare, particularly dog breeding and inadequate animal shelters.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development announced Monday the approval of Enhanced Enterprise Zone, or EEZ, designation to the city of Centralia, Mo.

In the program, businesses could receive tax incentives as encouragement to open up shop in a certain area of the city. Zone designation is based on certain demographic criteria, the potential to create sustainable jobs in a targeted industry and a demonstrated impact on local cluster development, the department says.