Politics

Governor Jay Nixon will travel to Brazil this month on a trade mission. The trip comes on the heels of the news that Missouri saw its strongest year ever for exports in 2011.  The governor will travel with a delegation of business leaders hoping to expand their exports to the South American nation. According to the governor’s office, several Missouri businesses are expected to negotiate contracts with Brazilian customers during the trip.

Novinger, a small town west of Kirksville, is voting Tuesday on a proposition that would implement the town’s first ever sales tax. The proposed tax is a 1% sales tax and is estimated to raise between $10,000 and $15,000 annually.

The President of the United States may not be on the ballot, but there is still an important election in Columbia Tuesday. Voters in Columbia’s second and sixth wards will be electing new City Council members, while the rest of the city will vote on two new school board members and new tax levies. Columbia resident David Harrison said he'll stick to voting on the issues.

“The school bond issues, my ward is not even in the elections this time. I am mostly just voting for the school bonds and the levies,” Harrison said.

This week on Talking Politics, we examine "wedge issues"--those hot-button topics lawmakers both nationally and state-wide continually bicker over.