Skip to Content

Missouri Politics

USDA approves Missouri waiver to exclude candy, sodas from SNAP purchases

MO Healthy SNAP Waiver – Oct 22 2025_0Download COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The USDA said Wednesday that it had approved Missouri’s waiver seeking to exclude candy, soda and other junk food from purchase with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding. Missouri was one of six states receiving a waiver Wednesday, including Hawaii, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia

Continue Reading

Missouri, U.S. Department of Education reach proposed settlement in student loan forgiveness case

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The State of Missouri and the U.S. Department of Education have reached a proposed settlement over the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program. The Education Department said Tuesday in a news release that the state has agreed not to enroll new borrowers in the SAVE student loan debt forgiveness plan, deny any

Continue Reading

Missouri secretary of state receives more than 600 boxes of signatures as redistricting battle continues

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Secretary of State’s Office started scanning and counting more than 305,000 signatures on a petition to put a new congressional map to a vote. The group People Not Politicians delivered the signatures Tuesday after collecting them over several months. If approved, the signatures would put Missouri’s new congressional map

Continue Reading

Vernetti announces reelection bid for statehouse

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) State Rep. Jeff Vernetti (R-Camdenton) announced his reelection bid in the Missouri House of Representatives in a Wednesday press release. Vernetti first won his seat last year. State representatives serve two-year terms. The release says focuses of his campaign include “accessibility and constituent service.” He owns LOZ Sports Training and Vernetti’s Italian

Continue Reading

Black Friday turns political as signature gatherers and their opponents target shoppers

COLUMBIA (Mo.) KMIZ Petitioners trying to get Missouri’s new congressional map on the 2026 ballot collected signatures on Black Friday as the deadline to submit approaches. The Boone County Democratic Party posted on Facebook, requesting volunteers to sign up for shifts on the big shopping day. This comes after Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced her

Continue Reading

Tyson Smith plans to prefile legislation on dog-breeding facilities; woman appears in court for Columbia animal abuse care

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A representative for Columbia in Missouri’s state house plans on prefiling legislation about dog-breeding facilities. Democratic State Rep. David Tyson Smith wrote on his social media on Thursday that he plans on prefiling a bill that would require regular inspections at dog-breeding facilities. The announcement comes after Melissa Sanders, 26, of Columbia,

Continue Reading

Missouri’s sports betting launch sparks excitement, but concerns loom over addiction, harassment, game integrity

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Inside a Jefferson City conference room, fewer than a dozen people have been creating hundreds of pages of rules that could help shape Missouri’s future.  The Missouri Gaming Commission refers to it as the “war room,” and it’s where the groundwork is being laid for the state’s journey into legalized sports betting.

Continue Reading