News

Regional news coverage from the KBIA Newsroom, including:

• McCaskill, Blunt take opposing stances on taxes
• After 30 Years Locked Up, George Allen Released From Custody

Missouri's two U.S. senators are taking opposite positions on whether to raise taxes on the wealthy as part of a solution to the so-called fiscal cliff facing the economy.

Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill said Wednesday that she supports President Barack Obama's insistence that top income-earners should face higher tax rates. But Republican Sen. Roy Blunt said he opposes increasing the tax rates for anyone.

The divide between Missouri's senators is emblematic of the stalemate in Washington.

The lengthy drought this past summer in Missouri not only affected crops, but it's affecting horses, too.

For the second year in a row, the March of Dimes has given Missouri a grade of “C” in its annual state rankings of premature birth rates. Factors including maternal smoking, lack of access to health care, and obesity are to blame.

The Director of Newborn Medicine at St. Louis Children's Hospital, Dr. F. Sessions Cole, calls preterm birth a major problem for our region.

The number of international students enrolled at Missouri colleges and universities has topped 16,000.

An annual report by the Institution of International Education says Missouri's public and private higher education facilities had 16,061 international students during the 2011-2012 academic year. That was up 6.3 percent from the previous year.

The state Department of Higher Education says most foreign students pay full tuition at Missouri institutions. The report estimates that international students spent about $418 million in Missouri.

Missouri's minimum wage will rise by a dime to $7.35 an hour in 2013.

For the past several years, Missouri has followed the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. That's because the federal rate was equal to or greater than the state's minimum, which is adjusted annually based on the cost of living.

But inflation has now pushed Missouri's minimum wage above the federal standard. The new wage is posted on the website of the state labor department.

Five of the former highest ranking members of the U.S. Armed Forces visited veterans at the Truman VA Hospital today. The five enlisted military advisors are known as the Pinnacle Five.

Beyond subsidies and food stamps, what’s in the farm bill?

With the election over, lawmakers are now returning to Washington for the final weeks of the 112th Congress. Their schedule is packed, but House majority leader Eric Cantorhas said addressing the expired Farm Bill is on the agenda.

Heart of Missouri Court Appointed Special Advocates, otherwise known as CASA, is expanding its services to Callaway County.  A $22,500 grant from the national CASA group made the expansion possible.