News

News coverage from the KBIA news room including:

Westminster College announced it will be closing its campus in Mesa, Az. at the end of the spring semester. Westminster opened the campus last fall as a partnership with the city of Mesa. It was one of four higher education institutions that partnered with the city to help boost the city’s economic development.

Rob Crouse, director of Media and Public relations at Westminster College says due to competition, Westminster could not reach the necessary growth and demand. 

Missouri senators have endorsed legislation that could lead to the development of a preschool rating system by private or nonprofit groups.

The bill given initial approval Wednesday comes two years after a law was enacted barring the creation of a preschool rating system by the state, higher education institutions or quasi-governmental entities.

The new legislation leaves intact the prohibition on government involvement but would allow publicly funded preschools to participate in a rating system run by a private or nonprofit group.

The Missouri House gave initial approval to legislation that would move the state's primary elections to June.

Party primaries for Congress, the state Legislature and statewide offices are currently held in even-numbered years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in August. But the bill endorsed on Wednesday would move the primaries to the first Tuesday after the third Monday in June.

Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary officially opened to the public Tuesday—just in time to celebrate Earth Day.

Located in the middle of the city, just five miles west of downtown, this park is designed to create a new experience for residents. Its paved paths accommodate large numbers of visitors while the prairies provide the open sanctuary feel.

Mike Griggs, Director of Parks and Recreation, said that having the nature sanctuary dedication on Earth Day was a perfect fit.

A Republican-led Missouri House committee is holding a hearing on multiple measures seeking to impeach Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

The hearing on three separate impeachment resolutions includes one citing Nixon's decision to allow same-sex couples who married legally in other states to file joint tax returns in Missouri. Another measure is critical of the amount of time the governor took to call special elections to fill legislative vacancies.

NBC tries to get inside David Gregory’s mind, hiring a psychological consultant to ask his wife and friends what makes him tick. How might that translate into higher ratings?  Also, the Supreme Court hears arguments in the Aereo case, publishing criminal mug shots, and reporting on acts of anti-Semitism in the U.S. and abroad. From the Missouri School of Journalism professors Amy Simons, Mike McKean and Earnest Perry: Views of the News. 

This week on KBIA we're featuring music from the new release by guitarist Jason Vieaux, Play. You can hear tracks from the Azica Recrods release Play this week on KBIA. On this his thirteenth recording, Vieaux offers up a set of seventeen shorter pieces from guitarist-composers including Antonio Lauro and Andres Segovia.

On April 22nd the Radio Television Digital News Association announced the 2014 recipients of the prestigious Edward R. Murrow regional awards. The RTDNA's announcement says "the awards recognize the best electronic journalism produced by radio, television and online news organizations around the world."

"RTDNA is proud to be able to honor the best of local broadcast and digital journalism with these prestigious awards while honoring the legacy of Edward R. Murrow." RTDNA Chairman Chris Carl  

KBIA's Hope Kirwan sits down to talk with Nadege Uwase to talk about what it was like growing up in Rwanda during the genocide and what the international community has learned from this tragedy.

And later on the program, a bill proposed in the state House to begin discussion on the Missouri state flag’s design has some historians worried. One flag expert, though, says the state’s a long way from a redesign process. ­Jack Howard reports.   

The state of Missouri has carried out its fourth execution this year. Just past midnight, William Rousan was executed for the 1993 murder of a 62-year-old woman in southeast Missouri. He was also convicted of killing the woman’s husband in a plan to steal their cows.

The Missouri House has endorsed legislation allowing use of a cannabis extract by people whose epilepsy is not relieved by other treatments.

A Missouri House panel has endorsed a bonding proposal that calls for spending at least $200 million on a new state mental health facility in Fulton.

A Republican-led Missouri House committee plans to hold a hearing on measures seeking to impeach Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

On April 24, the family resource organization Parentlink will hold a special conference in Jefferson City for Grandparents raising grandchildren in the state of Missouri. The free event will provide Seniors with resources, practical information as well as support to help them meet the significant financial and legal challenges they face. But events like this one happen only occasionally - more sustained outreach programs for these Grandparents are harder to find.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in the case of American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo.

For more than two years, broadcast and cable companies have argued Aereo's subscription-based streaming of local programming is a violation of copyright.

Aereo maintains its use of mini-antennae allows users to tune in signals already available to them using over-the-air tuners.

On this episode of Thinking Out Loud, we meet a woman who took a historic kayak ride from the headwaters of the Missouri River to the Gulf of Mexico. In this week's first segment Janet Moreland shares the story of her ambitious summer 2013 trip. Plus, in this week's second segment, we hear about the Missouri River Cultural Conservancy and that group's May 2 fundraiser.

  Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is raising new concerns that an income tax cut passed by the Legislature could have "cataclysmic" consequences for state revenues.

The Democratic governor said Tuesday that the bill could eliminate taxes on all income over $9,000, punching a $4.8 billion hole in the state budget.

Republican legislative leaders called Nixon's assertion "ridiculous," ''absurd" and "laughable."

Nixon did not veto the bill Tuesday but has indicated he will do so.

  Columbia City Council passed an ordinance at Monday night's meeting that will grant food trucks specific parking locations downtown.  The spots include eight metered spaces on the south side of Cherry and Locust streets and 10 spaces on the north side of Walnut Street.

Carrie Gartner, executive director of the Downtown Community Improvement district, said the new location for these food trucks could benefit all parties.

Efforts to spare the life of a condemned Missouri man hinge on an argument that has so far held little sway over the courts.

A unique partnership between Columbia Public Schools and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has sparked plans for a new school rooted in nature and science education. One-third of the $1.2 million project will be funded by the Department of Natural Resources.      

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is ready to follow through on his criticism of a tax-cut plan passed by the Legislature.

The Columbia City Council voted Monday night to approve land on North Eighth Street as the site of a future homeless drop-in shelter. 

The mayor of the Missouri community of Marionville has resigned over anti-Semitic remarks he made in support of a white supremacist accused of killing three people at Jewish community sites in Kansas.

A Missouri Senate committee is preparing to consider the final sticking points to conclude its work on the state's operating budget.

Regional news coverage from the KBIA Newsroom, including:

• City of Columbia considers retail surveyors for sales tax revenue
• Moberly to add a fresh food farmers market
• Rally kicks off Sustainability Week at MU

The old Missouri State Penitentiary site in Jefferson City is back open for tours today after closing briefly to deal with a mold problem for tours.

While jeans may be worn by students around MU's campus most days of the year, they will have a different meaning on Thursday.

A Republican state senator wants to know the opinion of Missouri's top law enforcement official on legislation that seeks to nullify some federal gun laws.

Missouri lawmakers are debating an expansion of a college scholarship for top students that is designed to keep more of them in the state after graduation.