News

All first-time undergraduate applicants to the University of Missouri System are not required to submit standardized testing scores for admission for the 2021-22 academic year.

The application of those who choose not to submit a standardized testing score — such as ACT and SAT — will not be placed at a disadvantage, according to a news release from the UM system.

State and federal governments' efforts to rein in violent crime in St. Louis are prompting Black leaders to question why police reform isn’t part of the conversation.

U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen said Thursday that 50 Department of Homeland Security agents will be sent to St. Louis under Operation Legend, a federal anti-crime program, to assist city police in high-crime areas. State senators meanwhile debated a crime bill proposed by Gov. Mike Parson to address violence in St. Louis and other cities.

Columbia/Boone County Public Health has issued a new health order, effective Monday, which primarily changes rules for bars and restaurants.

Under the new order, customers at bars and restaurants must be seated when not entering, leaving and using restrooms, according to a health department news release. Customers must wear masks when not seated.

Restaurants and bars will continue operating with social distancing between tables, according to the order. Groups of customers are limited to no more than 10 people.

The Boone County Commission’s failure to distribute any of the $21.2 million in federal money for COVID-19 relief it received from the state in May has members of the Columbia City Council frustrated.

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. The Republican president readily carried Missouri in 2016, but the Medicaid vote came as more people have been losing health insurance in a shaky coronavirus economy.

Four people have tested positive for COVID-19 following open testing at the Missouri Capitol.

The state health department on Wednesday said 228 lawmakers, staffers and other Capitol workers were tested in total. The health department offered free testing in advance of lawmakers returning to work for an ongoing special session on crime.

Statewide, the health department reported another 1,241 confirmed positive cases Wednesday. Of those tested statewide in the past week, close to 10% were positive for COVID-19.

Amendment 2-Expand Medicaid*

Yes, 622,036 

No, 580,969 

*After 99% of the vote was counted statewide.

Primary Election ResultsGovernor (Democrat)

Nicole Galloway 452,503

Eric Morrison 32,304

Jimmie Matthews 20,399

Antoin Johnson 20,169

Robin Van Quaethem 9,452

Governor (Republican)

Mike Parson (i) 510,471

Saundra McDowell 83,191

James Neely 59,451

Raleigh Ritter 27,197

Lieutenant Governor (Democrat)

The 43rd Annual Heritage Festival and Craft Show has been canceled because of COVID-19 concerns, according to a Monday news release from Columbia Parks and Recreation.

The event had been planned for Sept. 19-20 at Nifong Park. This event is one of the department's largest events, held in partnership with many historical and cultural groups, according to the release.

This event, where traditional artisans can present lost arts, usually attracts around 15,000 people and has handmade craft vendors and food trucks, according to the release.

Central Pantry will reduce its operating hours in order to continue its drive-through service during the pandemic.

The new schedule for Central Pantry starting Tuesday is:

• 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
• 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.
• 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

The pantry changed its distribution model to drive-through option in March in response to COVID-19, according to its news release.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon expects about 30% of the county’s 114,000 registered voters to cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election.

There are a total of 61 candidates seeking their party’s nominations for 19 different offices ranging from county positions to statewide offices and the 4th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Voters also will cast ballots on Amendment 2, which asks whether they want to expand Medicaid in the state.

Lennon is predicting the election will lure just less than one in three registered voters.

Health departments in at least 50 Missouri counties have not received any money from the federal government even though the state received hundreds of millions of dollars in early May. The Kansas City Star says local public health agencies across the state are trying to ramp up testing and contact tracing but say their hands are tied because the state has not delivered any federal aid. The money was given to their local county commissions instead and in many places have held up the money. Gov.

Recent coronavirus outbreaks at Missouri correctional facilities are prompting some advocates for prison inmates to urge the state to require face coverings for staff. The Missouri Department of Corrections reported Monday that 539 prisoners and 122 staff members across the state have tested positive for COVID-19. The majority of those cases have occurred in recent weeks at four facilities — 354 of the 539 cases are considered “active." Hedy Harden, chairwoman of Missouri CURE, a St.

Boone County reported 61 new positive COVID-19 cases Saturday, a daily record. The county also reported its fourth death from the virus Friday.

The fourth death was an individual in the over-80 age group, the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department said Friday.

Boone County has now reported 1,235 total COVID-19 cases, 224 of which are active, according to the county’s dashboard. Three are currently hospitalized, and 512 people are quarantining because of exposure.