Despite potential conflict of interest, lawmakers frequently cash in on their expertise by lobbying for the private sector after leaving office. Ethics experts say the revolving door elevates the interests of wealthy private clients above those of the public
As Missouri Republicans mull over Tuesday's statewide losses, some say the party doesn't need to change its conservative philosophy but must confront how best to communicate what it stands for -- and grooming the best messengers.
Academics, activists and politicians offered up their take Saturday on the success or failure of Missouri's legislative term limits, in place since voters approved them in 1992. One point of agreement: The limits aren't likely to go away.
On Saturday, major political figures – past and present – involved in Missouri’s 20-year experience with legislative term limits will gather at the University of Missouri-St. Louis to discuss its impact on state government.
Lawyers for Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and several other top Republicans have filed documents in court that propose four alternatives to the ballot summary they are contesting, which deals with the General Assembly's effort to bar Gov. Jay Nixon or his administration from setting up a health insurance exchange.
Republican Steve Tilley stepped down as speaker of the House on Monday, stating that, among other things, his incoming role as a consultant would interfere with his duties as the General Assembly’s highest-ranking Republican. Tilley, from Perryville, Mo., is also resigning from his seat in the Missouri House.
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder is crisscrossing the state today touting a lawsuit challenging ballot summary language for a measure prohibiting the governor from setting up a health insurance exchange through an executive order.
Two high-ranking Republicans in the Missouri House are throwing cold water on Sen. Brad Lager’s proposal for a special session in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the federal health care law.
As an assessment of the now-finished 2012 session of the Missouri General Assembly gets under way, many share the view that term limits played a key role -- especially at the top.
The Missouri General Assembly’s session adjourns Friday. While the GOP-controlled legislature has passed some noteworthy legislation, other bills deemed priorities have stumbled along the way. Here’s a list of bills passed or in play.
Term limits · Missouri budget · Affordable Care Act · Politics · Missouri politics · Education · Bullying · Judicial Selection · Higher education · Health insurance exchanges
Tim Jones · Peter Kinder · Rush Limbaugh · Rob Mayer · Jay Nixon · George Connor · Ryan Silvey · Kurt Schaefer · Jason Crowell
Missouri House Of Representatives · Missouri General Assembly · Missouri Legislature · University Of Missouri - St. Louis · Missouri Senate · Missouri House Education Committee · Missouri National Education Association · Progress Missouri · PROMO · Missouri Supreme Court
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Meeting in St. Louis next week, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will have its first opportunity as an assembled group to consider what to do after the Vatican issued a mandate for change this spring. It calls on the conference to reorganize and more strictly observe church teachings.
When a family of four goes to the St. Louis Zoo, they can be forgiven for not knowing it will cost them $60, $72 if they park. If they can't pay, the alternative is to tell the kids they can't do what kids do at the zoo.
Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley gave reporters less than a half-hour’s notice today when he announced that conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh’s sculptured bust will be formally installed in the Capitol at 1 p.m.
The world seems eager to learn more about Pope Francis, so learning that he admires St. Philippine Duchesne and her spiritual daughters — Argentinean nuns who have been under Francis' spiritual direction as they live among the poor — adds to understanding.
The celebration in Sikeston will reunite residents of the community which was destroyed in May 2011 when the Army Corps of Engineers opened the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway to alleviate flooding on the Mississippi. Residents are still hoping for a FEMA buyout so they can relocate their village.
The Newman Money Museum at Washington University has a quirky pseudo-robot Ben Franklin in the basement that is essentially a TV screen projected into a plastic shell head.
The Beacon's Mary Delach Leonard and Rob Koenig extensively covered flooding in 2011 in Missouri. Now this coverage is compiled in an iBook. Read the stories.
"Lost Egypt," at the St. Louis Science Center, combines real images shot in Egypt with art and artifacts as well as interactive and family-friendly features and explanations of the science used to uncover the ancient world. The exhibit will run through Sept. 2.
Opera is for snobs. Country music is for rednecks. Everybody loves Chuck Berry now that he's been around for a few decades, but what about Nelly? Why can't we simply respond to what's before us without dragging preconceptions and prejudices into play?
Organizers aren't trying to replace the rib fest, but music lovers will be able to find tangy sustenance as they listen to such greats as Mavis Staples (pictured), Big George Brock, Trombone Shorty, Kim Massie and Marquise Knox take the stage.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's arts and features editor. You can contact her at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.
Developers on the south side come in all shapes and sizes, with ambitions that vary from single buildings to entire city blocks. In the first of a two-part story, Jason Deem talks about building community.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Twenty winners will split a million dollars and a wide array of professional services after this year's Arch Grants competition. Victors will also see one-on-one business mentoring in their prize package. The diverse group includes everything from biotech concerns to fashion enterprises.
Innovation and entrepreneurial activity are on the rise in St. Louis, especially in bioscience, technology and alternative energy. The Beacon's InnovationSTL section focuses on the people who are part of this wave, what they're doing and how this is shaping our future. To many St. Louisans, this wave is not yet visible. InnovationSTL aims to change that. We welcome you to share your knowledge, learn more about this vibrant trend and discuss its impact.
The Academy of Science-St. Louis hosts tours of EarthDance, an organic farm, and the Monsanto Agronomics and Breeding Facility May 21-22. The workshop is meant to prompt discussion and answer questions about these two competing philosophies of food production.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Vernon Bowman's challenge to Monsanto Co.'s patent on its Roundup Ready soybean seeds was billed as a David vs. Goliath contest. Goliath won and won big. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that an Indiana soybean farmer had violated Monsanto's patent on its genetically engineered soybean seeds.
Sally Altman is the Beacon's Health and Science editor. You can contact her at saltman@stlbeacon.org.
Opera is for snobs. Country music is for rednecks. Everybody loves Chuck Berry now that he's been around for a few decades, but what about Nelly? Why can't we simply respond to what's before us without dragging preconceptions and prejudices into play?
You have to know your audience: McDonald's regulars don't need free-range chicken or a certain breed of beef; a second-chance high school needs personally motivated students as opposed to people ordered to attend and low-income Democrats by and large don't want a cigarette tax.
Last week, Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura sacrificed his crown as the King of America. He faced an individual decision to play against the best in the nation or the best on the planet. Find out what happened at that world-level tournament.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's Voices editor. You can contact her and submit opinion pieces for possible publication at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.