A KBIA News Series exploring what needs to change to sustain agriculture. Reported and produced by Jana Rose Schleis.
Bailey Stover/KBIA
Tisya Cooke is a Jewish transgender woman and spoke about her experiences coming out and about how she personally defines gender affirmation.
MISSOURI NEWS
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Missouri has been working on updating its computer systems to improve how it administers social safety net programs since 2013. New federal rules mean that work will wait until at least 2028. -
Utility provider Ameren disconnected more than 17,000 Missouri households in October for lapsing on payments, according to documents filed with the Public Service Commission. -
While the federal government has reopened and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits have been reinstated — for LGBTQ+ individuals, the ability to access food assistance remains difficult and uncertain. -
Signature gatherers were allegedly offered thousands of dollars to abandon their work and provide ‘intelligence’ to opponents of the referendum campaign. -
The bureau says it arrested more than 250 people and seized more than 100 weapons and more than 260 kilos of drugs in the last three months. Those numbers cover the eastern Missouri counties for which the St. Louis field office is responsible. -
Fifty volunteers are expected to help prepare and serve meals. Organizers are still looking for donations of pies.
NPR TOP STORIES
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Meteorologists are surprised that the weather model that did the best job forecasting hurricanes this year was a new one, introduced by Google. AI may be the beginning of a new era of forecasting. -
The Trump administration has halted the processing of immigration requests from Afghans and the president vowed to tighten his immigration crackdown after the shooting of two National Guard members. -
Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was convicted for drug trafficking and weapons charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
MORE FROM KBIA and the Missouri News Network
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Although the team has been investigating the mid-Missouri area since January, the decision to launch “Operation Brightside” was made several weeks ago after the death of a Stephens College student in a downtown Columbia shooting. -
Officials working on the Missouri Hemp Hoax Report sent 55 products bought at smoke shops, gas stations and other retailers for testing. -
The initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, paid producers for fruits, vegetables and proteins that were then distributed at no cost to families in need - was eliminated amid federal spending cuts. -
The Black Leaf Collective "...is not just a pop in and walk out. There will be an opportunity for you to sit, enjoy your book, enjoy your tea, your treat that you purchase... just pause for a second and enjoy it." Guests: Candace Hulsizer, owner of Black Tea Bookshop and Ebony Eigh, co-owner of A Case of Cakes by Robin Cason November 24, 2025 -
![David Hall sits on his couch on Monday, April 7, 2025, at his home in Columbia. “Even in Missouri there's certain areas that you still don't see that many queens of color. And especially in the bigger cities, how many of them do you see on cast in bigger bars that have, like, either a rotating cast or a main cast throughout weekends? I will give kudos to Kansas City because they've worked really hard on having that diversity within all of their cast, but still. Like, Columbia, one joke was like, ‘Kaycee can't work all the time.’ … ‘Kaycee can't perform in every show, so you can't really ding us on diversity.’ But I'm like, I still want to bring that representation,” Hall said. “Since [Nclusion Plus], one of the places I perform with, we go to smaller areas and perform. And I'm like, just to have one person look at me and say, ‘Oh yeah, I look like them. I can do that,’ makes me really happy. And it's like, ‘OK, what I'm doing, I'm on the right track for that.’”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/92a6365/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F9e%2Fe25c27e04e9a9b2be4ca9cb307d6%2F20250407-bas-queer-joy-david-hall-0291.jpg)
David Hall is a bisexual man of color. He spoke about coming out and the challenges of having others affirm his bisexuality when he's in a relationship with another man. -
"It's been the most amazing experience ever and I really don't see my life taking me anywhere else." -- Kalli Ward, student entrepreneur and owner of Shop the Foxxy, a fashion boutique that operates both online and on the MU campus November 21, 2025
![David Hall sits on his couch on Monday, April 7, 2025, at his home in Columbia. “Even in Missouri there's certain areas that you still don't see that many queens of color. And especially in the bigger cities, how many of them do you see on cast in bigger bars that have, like, either a rotating cast or a main cast throughout weekends? I will give kudos to Kansas City because they've worked really hard on having that diversity within all of their cast, but still. Like, Columbia, one joke was like, ‘Kaycee can't work all the time.’ … ‘Kaycee can't perform in every show, so you can't really ding us on diversity.’ But I'm like, I still want to bring that representation,” Hall said. “Since [Nclusion Plus], one of the places I perform with, we go to smaller areas and perform. And I'm like, just to have one person look at me and say, ‘Oh yeah, I look like them. I can do that,’ makes me really happy. And it's like, ‘OK, what I'm doing, I'm on the right track for that.’”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8765982/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F9e%2Fe25c27e04e9a9b2be4ca9cb307d6%2F20250407-bas-queer-joy-david-hall-0291.jpg)
A stocking stuffer for the beer enthusiast in your life.
Redeem your beer book at 20 establishments across Mid-MO and support KBIA
Redeem your beer book at 20 establishments across Mid-MO and support KBIA
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In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Paul Lux, the Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections, and Mark Earley, the Supervisor of Elections in Leon County. They spoke about how the lists of registered voters are already maintained in Florida, and about how the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE Act — a proposed piece of federal legislation that would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections — could impact that process.
KBIA Newscasts
Missouri Health Talks
![Northeast Missouri Health Council is the federally qualified health center [FQHC] in Kirksville, MO.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0d538e6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/761x503+0+0/resize/260x172!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6d%2Fa1%2F4b6427de4d8ca4bcdcb797153bec%2Fnortheast-missouri-health-council.jpg)
The Daily Blend
