Kelsey Proud
Kelsey Proud is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where she earned a Convergence (Multimedia) Journalism degree. She has worked at PBS Interactive in Washington, D.C., MSN UK News in London and is a social media enthusiast. Kelsey feels journalism is truly a public service and hopes her work enhances community and reaches those who need information most. Though she's "from" Chicago, Kelsey has also lived in several different regions of the United States, including periods of time in North Carolina, Ohio, New Mexico and Illinois. Her extended family has roots in Boone and Audrain counties in Missouri, too. She is a wannabe chef and globe trekker, former competitive golfer and band-ie (trumpet), and honorary Missourian.
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Will be updated. Updated 5:06 p.m. with more information. As we reported this morning, the Supreme Court has held that the federal healthcare law is constitutional. That includes the individual mandate that requires almost all Americans to buy health insurance by 2014. The Court called the penalty that someone must pay for refusing to buy insurance a kind of tax that the Congress can impose under the Constitution. Health Insurance Exchanges Some will turn to the online marketplaces known as health insurance exchanges to fulfill the mandate. The director of health policy for the Missouri Foundation for Health, Ryan Barker, says Missouri is one of a couple dozen states that have resisted setting up a state health insurance exchange.
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Updated 4:34 p.m. with comments from Rep. Sylvester Taylor. Usually, the residency requirement for political candidates is just another box to check, but two cases involving St. Louis-area office-seekers have not been so clearly defined - until today.
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A Jackson County jury awarded damages to the owner of a northwest Missouri animal sanctuary after three monkeys were taken from the preserve. Two of the monkeys have been returned to the Monkey Island Rescue and Zoological Sanctuary in Greenwood since they were taken in October 2007. The other monkey remains missing. A Jackson County jury on Thursday awarded $58,000 for emotional distress to Dana Savorelli, the sanctuary owner.
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Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians today, in a ceremony that was kept under wraps until less than an hour before it happened. Word of the ceremony leaked out after various media members spotted Limbaugh inside the Missouri Capitol. The ceremony was by invitation only, and the audience consisted of Republican lawmakers and family and friends. Limbaugh told the audience that other members of his family were more deserving of the honor, but he also thanked House Speaker Steven Tilley (R, Perryville) for not rescinding it.
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Will be updated. Updated at 11:59 a.m. with information that Wyatt is the only current openly gay Republican state legislator in the nation. A Republican Missouri House member has announced publicly that he is gay and called upon GOP leaders to end legislation that would limit discussion of sexual orientation in public schools.