Adam Allington

If you are a fan of wine, particularly European wines, from France, Italy or Germany, you can be proud of the role Missouri plays in creating that wine.

Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander is taking action against a financial management company connected to the failed Mamtek artificial sweetener plant

Updated at 3:35 p.m. on 1/16/13 The St. Louis circuit attorneys's office has identified the shooter at the Stevens Institute of Business and Arts as 34

The Mississippi River's water level is dropping again and barge industry trade groups warn that river commerce could essentially come to a halt by…

After weeks of lobbying, the Army Corps of Engineers now plans to release extra water from reservoirs upstream on the Missouri River. But the releases are…

The US Army Corps of Engineers this week began shutting flow from a South Dakota reservoir which feeds into Mississippi River, just north of St. Louis.…

Missouri Congresswoman-elect Ann Wagner says she would not support any plan to increase tax rates to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Failure to reach a deal before January First would result in immediate tax increases and across the board spending cuts. Wagner spoke at a luncheon of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association on Tuesday. On the issue of the so-called “fiscal cliff” said she supports a compromise to generate revenue by reforming the nation’s tax code, while also preserving the Bush-era tax cuts on the wealthiest 2-percent of Americans. “I am certainly at this point in time; I would not be in favor of increasing taxes on individuals, on the private sector, or on small businesses,” said Wagner. “However I do believe that real tax reform and revenues vis-a-vis loopholes and deductions are a supreme possibility.” Wagner said she’s optimistic that a deal will yet be reached during Congress’ lame-duck session. The Second District Republican also weighed in on the ongoing fight between Republicans and the White House over the Setempber attacks against an American Consulate that took the lives of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya. Taking a step back from some of her future colleagues in Congress, Wagner withheld judgment about what many in the GOP are calling a “cover up.” Wagner, herself a former ambassador to Luxembourg, said that any time lives are lost a full investigation is necessary, however her biggest concern is for the safety and security of American diplomats serving abroad. “It’s absolutely too early to assign blame,” said Wagner. “I think there’s still fact-finding and information that needs to be delved into and I think that will happen over time. I think it’s not productive to have name calling and finger pointing at a time when we’re still investigating.” Ann Wagner is set to be sworn in to the 113th Congress on January 3rd. Follow Adam Allington on Twitter: @aallington

Democratic Sen. ClaireMcCaskilldefeated GOP challenger Todd Akin Tuesday to hold on to a Missouri Senate seat that Republicans once considered vulnerable. McCaskill won with about 54-percent of the vote in the election. She told supporters in St. Louis' Central West End Tuesday night that the victory means more to her because many pundits had predicted she would lose her seat. "They all said 'it's over, it's done, it's too red, it's just too red, there is no way that Claire McCaskill can survive.' Well, you know what happened? You proved 'em wrong," McCaskill said. McCaskill told supporters that her landslide win does not mean she will only represent the interests of Democrats,"McCaskilltold supporters at the Chase Park Plaza. Akin damaged his chances shortly after winning the August primary, when he said in a TV interview that women's bodies have ways of avoiding pregnancy in what he called "legitimate rape." Akin apologized. But he refused calls from top Republicans to quit, and his campaign never fully recovered financially. Akin was forced to concede early early in the evening at his watch party in Chesterfield. “Well things don’t always turn out the way you think they’re going to,” said Akin. “I just called Claire McCaskill and gave her congratulations, because the way the numbers are looking, we have lost this race.” Throughout the campaign Akin never backed down from his convictions, even after it became apparent that he was likely headed toward defeat. In conceding, Akin repeated themes warning against big government and Christian conservatism. “We believe that life, liberty and pursuit of happiness come from almighty god, not an almighty government,” said Akin. “We also believe that our creator made us one people, there is one class in this country—Americans.” Neither Akin, nor his staff addressed the media after his concession speech. Some of Akin's supporters felt that their candidate was hamstrung by his own party after GOP funders dropped support for Akin in the wake of his controversial remarks. "The Democrats would never throw their own under the bus and that’s what I feel happened in August," said Kimberly Benz of North St. Louis County. See the St. Louis Beacon's Jo Mannies' story on this race See more stories on issues and elections from St. Louis Public Radio, the St. Louis Beacon and Nine Network of Public Media at BeyondNovember.org. Follow Adam Allington on Twitter: @aallington Follow Bill Raack on Twitter: @billraack

Updated 4:37 p.m. with additional reporting. Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich released an audit of Governor Jay Nixon on Wednesday accusing Nixon of overspending his appropriation by $1.7 million and thumbing his nose at the budget appropriation process. Schweich gave Nixon's office a grade of "fair" on a scale spanning excellent, good, fair and poor. Schweich says a rating of "fair," indicates "multiple adverse findings and/or an indication that the agency in question has no plans to correct previous findings." Specifically Schweich says Nixon's office billed other agencies for his staff’s salaries and and travel expenses. “There were 14 agencies that paid for $770,000 worth of salaries for the governor’s employees, plus $32,000 for an education advisor,” Schweich says. “Then the governor spent 334 days on the state plane, with 96 percent of those flight costs charged to other agencies.” The audit isn’t the first time Nixon has come under fire for his budget accounting. Last spring, the General Assembly passed rules barring state agencies from paying for the Governor’s travel or staff. Schweich says Nixon is finding ways to circumvent that regulation. “What the governor is doing is finding ways to exceed that appropriation by forcing other agencies to take that money out of their appropriation,” Schweich says. “No accountant thinks that’s proper, no one I’ve heard of thinks that’s proper.” Nixon’s staff released a statement saying the Governor’s office “accounts for its operational costs in a manner that properly reflects the nature of the work it performs.” Some question the timing of the audit given that Schweich is a Republican and Nixon is a Democrat up for re-election in November. Schweich says any allegations of political gamesmanship are “patently false," stating that he is required to conduct an audit of every state agency during its term. Moreover, he says his predecessor, Democrat (and candidate for Lieutenant Governor) Susan Montee never conducted an audit of the Governor’s office. Follow Adam Allington on Twitter: @aallington

Missouri Republican Congressman Todd Akin today remains embattled but suggests that he plans to stay in the race for U.S. Senate.The political firestorm…