Editor’s note: The number of protection orders filed against Dusty Blue has been corrected to two. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Questions about a Missouri state senate candidate’s past have resurfaced after a website documenting his legal history was created and campaign flyers featuring excerpts from a decade-old probable cause statement began popping up. Dustin “Dusty” Blue
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins has until Aug. 4 to certify or reject the referendum petition to put the 2025 Congressional map on the November ballot. In a statement to ABC 17 News, Hoskins said the 2025 map is the “law of the land.” “I am still verifying and certifying
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Missourians have enjoyed no-excuse absentee voting for many election cycles now, without evidence of any significant issues. The period to cast such ballots started Tuesday statewide. But that practice has come under fire by some powerful voices, namely President Donald Trump, who has supported an end to no-excuse absentee balloting as part of the SAVE
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri State ID Access Coalition is demanding that the Missouri Department of Revenue provide public disability accommodations. The coalition sent a letter to the DOR director in May asking for ADA accommodations on the department’s website, over the phone and in person at licensing offices throughout the state. The coalition is
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released his audit of Morgan County on Thursday and gave it a “fair” rating. “The good news is the county doesn’t show any signs of excessive waste or fraud, but it does have several areas lacking controls and procedures, which can lead to inefficiency and increase the possibility
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A lawsuit was filed on Thursday in federal court that challenges Missouri’s recently passed hemp restrictions. Gov. Mike Kehoe on April 23 signed House Bill 2641 into law, which effectively banned the sale of THC seltzers and other intoxicating hemp products at convenience stores, bars and restaurants. It would require those products
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A lawyer who worked for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has filed a lawsuit against its commissioner. Lindsey Phoenix, of Columbia, filed a lawsuit against Education Commissioner Karla Eslinger on Monday, claiming retaliatory termination and that her First Amendment rights were violated. The petition alleges that after the shooting
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The group promoting Gov. Mike Kehoe’s push to eliminate Missouri’s income tax has spent $3 million so far this election. Filings with the Missouri Ethics Commission show Missouri Promise PAC has spent $3.3 million from April 1-June 30 supporting Amendment 5. Most of its spending has gone toward “media” so far. Its
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Gov. Mike Kehoe signed House Bill 2372 into law Monday that includes several overhauls to healthcare laws in the state. HB 2372, was sponsored by state Rep. Tara Peters (R-Phelps County) and state Sen. Mike Bernskoetter (R-Cole County). One provision in the bill, bans health insurers from placing time limits on anesthesia
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Some rural highways and interstates will go from 70 miles per hour to 75 mph as soon as Aug. 28, after Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a bill into law Monday. However, some driver safety organizations say this could lead to more traffic crashes. “Unfortunately, increasing the speed limit even just five miles
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Police Department is getting $1 million in the newly signed state budget to use specifically on downtown public safety. When exactly the money hits the city’s account depends on Gov. Mike Kehoe releasing the funds, according to State Sen. Stephen Webber. Webber said a conversation with Columbia Police Chief Jill
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe on Monday signed a slew of bills into law, including one that can increase the speed limit on rural roads. Kehoe’s office announced in a Monday press release that the governor signed Senate Bill 1408. The bill allows the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission and the Missouri Department
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) June 28 of each year will be recognized in the state of Missouri as Eliot and Muriel Battle Day. Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed Senate Bill 1544 on Monday, which modifies state designations. Among those designations is a day to honor Eliot Battle, the first Black faculty member at Hickman High School,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Gov. Mike Kehoe declared a state of emergency for the state on Friday because of recent storms and flooding. Kehoe announced on his social media that he signed Executive Order 26-16. Severe weather went through Mid-Missouri on Thursday and continued into Friday morning, with more storms expected to enter the area in
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Gov. Mike Kehoe on Thursday signed an online age verification rule into a state law. House Bill 1839 was made official Thursday and now requires age verification for websites that have more than one-third of its content containing sexual material, including social media. The sites would have to use a third-party for
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COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri Realtors Association hosted a “Protect Your Power: Vote No” rally in Columbia on Thursday. The rally is in opposition to Amendments 4 and 5 that will be on the Aug. 4 ballot. Amendment 4 would increase the required number of votes needed for a citizen petition to pass. While Amendment 5
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Two Mid-Missouri counties have sued the Missouri Attorney General, alleging that a state law that allows judges to set salaries for deputies and jailers in some counties is unconstitutional. Audrain County and Montgomery County filed the lawsuit Thursday in Cole County. The county commissioners in each county are asking a judge
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A new audit of former Gov. Mike Parson’s office found insufficient documentation for hundreds of thousands of dollars in state travel expenses, unallowable employee payments and a lack of recordkeeping, leading Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick to give the office a “fair” rating. The State Auditor’s Office rates agencies on a four-point
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PORTLAND, Mo. (KMIZ) Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an agreement Wednesday at the Callaway Energy Center nuclear power plant with the Federal Permitting Council to allow the state and federal government to start the permitting process for FAST-41 projects, like nuclear plants, at the same time. The permitting council coordinates and improves federal environmental reviews and
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A group calling itself the Missouri Licensing Advocacy Group is suing the Missouri attorney general and other state officials to stop an enforcement campaign targeting businesses that operate video gambling machines. The group filed its lawsuit in Cole County last week, saying that Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and Missouri Alcohol and
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