The initiative, which he championed during his 2024 gubernatorial campaign, reflects his vision for effective law enforcement and aims to ensure that resources and oversight are adequately managed at the state level, ultimately fostering a more cohesive approach to crime prevention and response in St. Louis.

The history behind the State’s oversight of the St. Louis Police Department is a long one. Dating back to 1808, the department is one of the oldest in the United States and was less of a department and more a militia. Consisting of four men, the SLPD was established to protect the growing settlement of St. Louis. 

As time went on, the city grew and a larger force was needed to keep the peace. During the Civil War, the strategic importance of St. Louis was vital to both Union and Confederate forces. With Union forces ultimately controlling the city, the police department was brought under state control. 

For more than 150 years after that control, St. Louis’s Police Department had remained under state control until 2013 when a ballot initiative succeeded in handing control over to the local government. 

National and state perceptions of crime in St. Louis has been uniformly negative over time. Over the past few decades, St. Louis has consistently stayed in the top 10 of various lists ranking the most dangerous cities in the United States. In many lists, St. Louis has reached number one and stayed close to that spot over time. 

Although St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and other city officials have offered statistics that prove that violent crime has been trending down in the past decade and reports differ on their methodology and their credibility, the public perception of the city’s crime has yet to budge for many Missourians and Americans alike. 

By returning the SLPD back to state control, the legislation creates a six-member board to supervise the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, consisting of five citizens appointed by the Governor and the Mayor of St. Louis. 

Among the governor’s appointees, four will be voting members required to reside within the city, while the fifth appointee will serve as a nonvoting member and can live either in the city or nearby. 

The Mayor of St. Louis will also hold a voting position on the board.

In its final day of voting in the House, the bill also saw the addition of an emergency clause measure. This will mean that after signing it, Governor Kehoe will have 90 days to appoint the board members. 

HB 495 not only includes legislation for the creation of the board that will run the St. Louis PD but also includes increased penalties for the sex trafficking of minors, increased penalties for the distribution of fentanyl to minors, prohibition of stunt driving, and more. 

During the Democrat-led filibuster in the Senate, Senator Karla May and her colleagues managed to remove the rioting provision from the bill as well as increase the minimum funding from 22% to 25%. Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman also managed to attach an amendment that would remove shackles from pregnant female inmates. 

Earlier today, the Governor held the signing of the bill in his office in the Capitol. 

“It’s a big day for our office and our team with me today, but it’s a bigger day for Missouri citizens and a win for our law enforcement,” stated Governor Kehoe during the bill signing. “We want St. Louis and the entire region to thrive, it’s important for the rest of the state and we know that the ripple effect from this will make that happen.” 

The Governor was also joined by a slew of legislators, public safety officials, members of law enforcement, and Attorney General Andrew Bailey. 

“Like Governor Kehoe, I also have significant attachments to St. Louis,” said Representative Brad Chris, who was the bills handler in the House. “Today begins the ascent of St. Louis to becoming what it once was.” 

In the Senate, Senator Nick Schroer and Senator Travis Fitzwater led the charge on this bill. 

“There was a promise that we made to voters before coming into office this year that we were going to make this state safer for Missourians,” stated Senator Schroer. “Today with the signing of this bill, we are going to make good on that promise.” 

Senator Fitzwater also added, “The loss of population and businesses in St. Louis is not sustainable,” the Senator also thanked Senate Majority Floor Leader Tony Luetkemeyer for his hard work in passing this bill. “Behind the scenes, I don’t know if anyone carried more weight without getting enough credit than Senator Tony Luetkemeyer.” 

With St. Louis soon to be added to the list of state responsibilities, Attorney General Andrew Bailey noted that his team can be counted on to continue making Missouri safe. 

“I want to thank the Governor for his leadership and for making this a priority,” Bailey noted. “I am excited to welcome the St. Louis Police Department as our new clients for the law firm of the state of Missouri. You can count on us for consistent, quality, and competent  representation.” 

With the passage and signing of HB 495, the control of St. Louis’s police department is now on its way to finally being returned back to the state. The question now will be, can Governor Kehoe’s bold plan to tackle crime in St. Louis be successful? Only time will tell, but for now, the Governor has received a major win that could shape the future of the Show-Me State.

Jake Kroesen

Jake Kroesen is a Jackson County native and a graduate of the University of Central Missouri. He holds a B.S. in Political Science.

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Last weekend, a group of neo-nazis stood on an overpass in Town and Country to display their hatred of people like me and many of my neighbors. On October 7th—the anniversary of the day Israel was attacked—state representative candidate Eric Morse followed suit by trying to tie his Jewish opponent, Dr. George Hruza, to the hate group in a press release. The cruel irony: Dr. Hruza is the son of a Holocaust survivor.

We have a candidate running here in St. Louis County that is obsessed with his opponent (including his ethnic and immigrant background, it seems) all the while insinuating that he is the only “anti-racist” in the race. Whether it’s falsely stating his opponent (a legal immigrant who escaped the horrors of Soviet communism) is “modeling his governing philosophy after those who trample on the human rights of people…” or making memes mocking Hruza with captions like, “Name this Band…Ghostface Killaz…,” Eric Morse has proven he is unfit for public office. It’s not funny; it’s offensive and terrifying.

Morse claims that bigots hide behind black masks and white hoods. Apparently, they also hide behind smiling profile pictures and deceptive Democrat-blue logos.

St. Louis County has a clear choice this November: standing with a hate-aligned candidate or against him. Dr. George Hruza is the only candidate in this state representative race that has made his campaign about local issues—not backhanded, racially-charged virtue signaling. This isn’t about partisan politics; this is about human decency in our community.

Rachel Reby Eidelman

Rachel Reby Eidelman is a resident of St. Louis County.

The post Opinion: The Eric Morse code: fight bigotry with more bigotry appeared first on The Missouri Times.

“I’m so excited to share with you the news of my candidacy for State Representative! I have spent my life as an entrepreneur trying to make St. Louis County a better place,” stated Mathews. “I believe our district deserves more than the empty promises and political point-scoring we are currently enduring. It’s not about ‘Democrats vs. Republicans.’ It’s about putting aside personal gain for the sake of helping your community. There’s plenty of politicians on both sides who are failing to stand up and do the right things in the state capitol. But that can change if voters choose a new path for our district.”

An embodiment of the American Dream, Cijo’s story of success was made possible by the boundless opportunities that a vibrant free enterprise economy can bring to families across Missouri. Starting at the age of 15 working at various fast-food and retail jobs, he was able to pay his way through college to earn a finance degree.

After a year of working in sales during the Great Recession, Mathews pursued a business opportunity at Garner’s Market. He applied his entrepreneurial spirit, revamped the business model, and built it up to be the largest Bosnian grocer in the St. Louis area. Since then, Mathews has entered into numerous successful business endeavors, including operating several gas stations, real estate redevelopment, and opening a boat and RV storage business on Tesson Ferry.

“We need men and women serving in Jefferson City who have proven they have what it takes to be successful by their own merits. We need people who know what personal risk feels like and understand the struggle to make ends meet. As someone who worked my way through high school and college and is now a father, I know firsthand what it feels like to roll up my sleeves and be proud of the work I do to provide for myself and my family.”

Mathews continued to outline his priorities, saying that we must work with law enforcement and community stakeholders to make sure that our streets, schools, and homes are safer. Likewise, supporting local businesses and keeping taxes low for hardworking families remain top issues of concern.

“I will work to provide adequate funding for our teachers so they can better prepare and educate the next generation. We need leaders who will prioritize our district’s families and small businesses, not pander to special interests and large corporations. We need fewer suits and more blue collars in the Missouri Capitol.”

Cijo Mathews resides in St. Louis with his two sons. He attends Queen of All Saints Church and enjoys spending time as a volunteer youth athletics coach.

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Contracts are awarded via a competitive bidding process, but that process has seen fewer and fewer bids over time, with 26 offices only receiving a singular bid, and three not even receiving one bid. The three that still need a bid are located in downtown St. Louis City, Forsyth, and Grant City.

“It has always been difficult to receive multiple bids in our smaller rural offices with fewer transactions and this year, we noticed a trend where even our larger offices were getting fewer operators willing to submit bids,” said MVDL Director Ken Struemph. “Even with the extra fees generated from online renewals, these contracted License Offices have not been able to keep up with increasing costs”.

Though many Missourians are also feeling the effects of high inflation, this is an all-time first for the DOR. The MVDL division of DOR has noticed less interest in operators willing to submit bids for contracted License Offices. Additionally, several contractors are willing to give up their offices and refuse to sign contract extensions. While it is not new that it is harder to receive bids in smaller rural offices, this is the first time MVDL has struggled to obtain multiple bidders for the larger more populated offices, and rarely has a contractor given an office back and refused to sign an extension. 

“My number-one goal since becoming the DOR director has been to improve customer service for our citizens. To do that our contract License Offices must remain financially viable. Higher costs and high staff turnover have negatively impacted on their ability to serve customers. Our License Offices need a fee increase in order to attract and retain knowledgeable staff who can process transactions in an accurate and timely manner” DOR Director Wayne Wallingford stated.

House Bill 424, which was introduced last legislative session was a much-needed fee increase bill that also created the “License Office Distribution Fund”. The House bill passed 14-0 in committee and the full House perfected the bill with 85 yes, 50 no, and 13 present. SB366 was passed 4-3 in the Senate Emerging Issues committee and at the end of session the conference committee report was signed and sitting on the legislator’s desks, but it never received a vote before a Senate filibuster prohibited any votes the final two days of session. This fee increase would ensure the longevity and health of all license offices in the state of Missouri.

Missouri Association of License Offices (MALO) President Ryan Williams expressed his concern saying, “Processing the MORE renewals has been a lifesaver, but our members are still struggling to keep up with the rising costs of inflation. License Offices have only had one fee increase since 1999, and we all know inflation has risen quite a bit since then. While most businesses can raise their prices to keep up with inflation…License Offices cannot. Rent and wage increases over the past three years have made keeping up with expenses almost impossible. Without a fee increase, I’m concerned numerous communities across Missouri may not have anyone willing to run their local License Office”.

For more information on licensing offices, please visit the DOR website or the Missouri Association of License Office website.

Click here for the current list of offices coming up for bid.

Click here to see past bid results for offices.

Click here to submit a bid for an office.

Below is a list of bid results from all License Office awarded contracts from December 2022 to July 2023.

51 contracts have been awarded since December 2022 

• 3 offices received no bids 
• 6 Offices had to be rebid after the first posting 
• 26 offices received only 1 bid 
• 16 offices received more than 1 bid

Offices receiving no bids-

 St. Louis Downtown-

• When was the Office bid, extend, and re-bid-
• § Initial: RFPSDOR230079 – Issued 4/13/23 Closed 4/26/23
• § Rebid: RFPSDOR230080 – Issued 5/10/23 Closed 5/23/23 – Extended to 6/7/23
• § Planning Rebid to Issue 9/6/23
• Public Notice sent out — 4/25/2023 and 5/5/2023 (Sent to City Legislators/Called them as well)
• Elected officials notified (Legislators or County/City)- 4/25/2023 and 5/2/2023- Also, called Casey Millburg-Policy Director for Mayor Jones

STOPGAP MEAUSRES- Notified public about other adjacent offices they could utilize and contacted those offices and moved more workstations to those offices to handle extra volume.

Forsyth-

• When was the Office bid, extend, and re-bid-
• § Initial: RFPSDOR230087 – Issued 5/10/23 Closed 5/23/23 – Extended to 6/7/23
• § Planning Rebid to Issue 9/6/23
• Public Notice sent out — 5/26/2023 (Was sent to the Legislators of the area)
• Elected officials notified (Legislators or County/City)- 5/26/2023

STOPGAP MEAUSRES- Current contractor agreed to keep office open until a new contractor could be found.

Grant City-

• When was the Office bid, extend, and re-bid-
• § Initial: RFPSDOR230040 – Issued 1/11/23 Closed 1/25/23– Extended to 2/8/23
• § Rebid: RFPSDOR230048 – Issued 3/08/23 Closed 3/21/23
• Public Notice sent out —
• Elected officials notified (Legislators or County/City) – numerous times between January and March of 2023.

STOPGAP MEAUSRES- Notified public about other adjacent offices they could utilize.

Offices that had to be rebid

1. Arcadia Valley (Non-Compliant First Bid)
2. Buffalo (Non-Compliant First Bid)
3. Rockport (No bid on first RFP)
4. Gainesville (Non-Compliant First Bid)
5. Macon (MO BUYS Issue)
6. Savannah (Non-Compliant First Bid)

Offices receiving only one bid

1. Fredericktown
2. Brookfield
3. Carrollton
4. Eminence
5. Maryville
6. Monroe City
7. Edina
8. North County
9. Viburnum
10. Warrenton
11. Vienna
12. Clinton
13. Bethany
14. Mexico
15. Bowling Green
16. Rogersville
17. Kingston
18. Memphis
19. Richmond
20. Steelville
21. Milan
22. Paris
23. Stockton
24. Van Buren
25. Chillicothe
26. Dexter

Offices not signing extensions and shutting down before new vendor could start

1. Chesterfield –closed from 12/28/2022 to 5/14/2023
2. Florissant – closed from 7/2/2023to 1/2/2023 — open for appointment only 1/3/2023 to 5/16/2023
3. Fredericktown – 8/26/2022 to 4/17/2023
4. Mountain Grove – Closes 7/28/23 we expect a new vendor in place in the Nov./Dec. timeframe.
5. Savannah – 12/30/2022 to 5/9/2023
6. Trenton – 5/31/2023 to 8/14/2023
7. Van Buren – 5/23/2023 to 6/27/2023

Brady Hays

Brady Hays is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in History. He is currently attending the University of Missouri School of Law and is on pace to graduate with his JD in 2026. He has been working for the Missouri Times since early March 0f 2022.

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In her letter to Gov. Mike Parson, Gardner expressed that she had “a heavy heart but steadfast resolve.” She also stated that she had made tremendous strides in “redefining public safety.” I guess that is true, if you consider trying to take out a sitting governor and letting criminals run the streets of St. Louis as “redefining.”

Her staff of prosecutors, likely embarrassed by the office’s abysmal record, had nearly all left. While Rome burned, Gardner took up taking classes to become a nurse. That seems almost too ridiculous to be true.

It is important to remember, though, that Gardner was elected (and re-elected) by the citizens of St. Louis. Good, bad or indifferent – we get the government that we ask for and deserve. I’m hopeful that the folks that have decided to remain in the City of St. Louis, despite the rampant crime, will choose more wisely when it is time to elect a new prosecutor.

With Gardner gone, it is time for St. Louis and the State of Missouri to move on.

There are plenty of economic opportunities in the St. Louis region, but the entire state needs more able-bodied people to take on jobs; we also need a trained workforce. If you grow up in a community with little opportunities besides being a part of some criminal element, then there’s little to no opportunity for outcomes beyond crime and death.

St. Louis needs to clean up its act in many ways. It starts with reducing crime. We are also working to improve our schools statewide and there’s no better place to start than in St. Louis. The costs of crime and an unskilled workforce is costing the entire state in many ways.

This legislative session we have considered many proposals to remove Gardner. We have also considered taking over the control of the St. Louis police force. Fairly unique to Missouri, St. Louis’ police force was controlled by a state board until recently. Now, some politicians are considering bringing the governance of the St. Louis police away from St. Louis and back to Jefferson City. I think the new police chief needs a chance to make the system work before we intervene.

At some point, St. Louis is going to have to right its own ship. Inserting Jefferson City politics into the control of their police force is not a next step. With Gardner gone, we stand ready to help St. Louis get on the right track and succeed as one of our major economic drivers.

Senator Cindy O’Laughlin

Cindy O’Laughlin is the Missouri state senator representing District 18.

The post Opinion: With Kim Gardner’s resignation, St. Louis needs to police their own appeared first on The Missouri Times.

The district in St. Louis county encompasses a wide range of surrounding municipalities, including swaths of Maryland Heights and Creve Coeur.

The seat was formerly held by Sen. Jill Schupp, a Democrat who has served the area since 2014. She reached her term limit this year.

The campaign for District 24 was a tight one, with both sides running very aggressive campaigns in the area.

Now, the district has elected another democrat for the next four years, State Rep. Tracy McCreery. McCreery represented part of St. Louis County in House District 88. Now she will serve District 24 as their new Senator.

McCreery went unopposed in her primary and defeated Republican candidate Dr. George Hruza.

This Democrat victory will not shake up much in the upper chamber, as Republicans will still likely hold their longstanding super majority in the Senate.

Kelton Turner

Kelton is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. He is a native of mid-Missouri and likes to write politics at both the state and federal levels. Kelton joined the Missouri Times in April 2022

www.themissouritimes.com

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Instead, DeGroot will be joining his longtime friend, Senator-elect Curtis Trent, as he moves from the lower to the upper chamber. DeGroot will be working as Trent’s chief of staff for this upcoming session. 

Since DeGroot withdrew his re-election bid before 5 p.m. on the Tuesday before the general election, the Missouri GOP will be able to select another candidate in his stead. 

Now that the dust is settling, DeGroot talked with The Missouri Times to reflect on his six years in the House and also talk about his future. 

DeGroot comes from humble beginnings. He worked for a country club in his native South Dakota, doing every job under the sun before a chance encounter brought him to St. Louis where he sold stocks and bonds for three years. From there, DeGroot earned a scholarship that allowed him to go to law school at St. Louis University which set him on the path to becoming an elected official. 

DeGroot represented HD 101, near the Chesterfield area, for six years, beginning in 2016. 

According to DeGroot, the first four years were spent on one thing in particular: tort reform. 

DeGroot recounted horror stories he had heard from journalists in St. Louis, writing stories about people who go to court for petty crimes, then being slapped with large fines and court payments they could not pay, leading to a vicious cycle of imprisonment and debt to the courts. 

In the legislature, DeGroot also championed HB 1987, better known as the Correctional Center Nursery Program. The bill “establishes a fund to establish a nursery in one or more of the correctional centers for women operated by the department.” For those eligible for the program, infants born to inmates while in custody can remain with their mother for up to 18 months. 

It’s a program designed to reduce recidivism while also giving newborn children an opportunity to bond with their mothers which could minimize the risks of cognitive and behavioral delays later in childhood. 

Although that specific bill did not make it through, the program lived on as an amendment to SB 683, which was signed into law this past summer. 

Trent, a Springfield-area Republican, won his primary against Brian Gelner, a beer executive. He is the GOP nominee for SD 20, running unopposed.

DeGroot and Trent met when they both were elected to the House in 2016. DeGroot said he was a little apprehensive about Trent at first but the two became fast friends and coworkers. They’ve worked on legislation together and shared a similar vision for policy. They even shared the same desk on the House chamber floor. 

But now, DeGroot will transition to Trent’s chief of staff, a behind-the-scenes position that is no easy task, even for a former legislator.

When asked about his choice to transition to an unelected role in the upper chamber, DeGroot said he thought he could be more of a help to Missourians by working alongside his longtime friend and colleague who he is confident will do a good job in the Senate. 

But it is no secret that this incoming class of Republican senators will have a tough session ahead of them. 

The Senate is still reeling from a very unproductive session. Brought on by a splintered group of Republicans known as the conservative caucus, vying for political dominance over the majority of the GOP caucus, so-called, Rowden Republicans. 

But just earlier this month the caucus unceremoniously disbanded while its leader Bill Eigel called for peace amongst fellow Republicans.

Politics aside, DeGroot does have mixed feelings about his departure from the House, which he called “bittersweet.” He also mentioned how excited he was to work with his friend and to see how this class of senators do. 

“I look forward to the challenge of working in the Senate with my best friend and a person I respect very much — Curtis Trent — I will truly miss not being in the Missouri House of Representatives,” said DeGroot.

 “I am proud of the legislation we passed during the time I served.  My only goal was to leave Missouri in a better place for my children, I think we accomplished that.”

Featured Image: Bruce DeGroot (PHOTO/TIM BOMMEL – HOUSE COMMS)

Kelton Turner

Kelton is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. He is a native of mid-Missouri and likes to write politics at both the state and federal levels. Kelton joined the Missouri Times in April 2022

www.themissouritimes.com

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The event, dubbed the Bi-State Softball Showdown, was put on by Greater St. Louis Inc, an economic development agency in the Gateway City that operates on both sides of the Mississippi River.

The effort was not only a bi-state one but, a bipartisan one as well. Both teams were composed of legislators and officials from both sides of the aisle.

“We represent the 15-county, bi-state St. Louis metro, and we are lucky to have legislative delegations in Illinois and Missouri that work hard to represent the region and promote policies that drive inclusive growth,” said Tracy Henke, chief policy officer at Greater St. Louis, Inc.

“We wanted to bring these bi-state, bipartisan leaders together to celebrate what we share in common, which is a desire to see the St. Louis metro win the next decade, and to further build their relationships with each other,” Henke added.

As is the norm when baseball teams from Illinois and Missouri play in Busch Stadium, team Missouri won the battle, 8-6. Legislators from both chambers of the General Assembly participated on the field and at the plate.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt threw the ceremonial first pitch for the game. Blunt is vacating his seat as he retires this fall.

His potential replacement Eric Schmitt was also on the field, making plays in the outfield. The six-foot-six Attorney General towered above his competition literally and figuratively, garnering two RBI with his bat.

State Senator and Majority Floor Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Boone County, was also in attendance. Soon-to-be Speaker of the House Rep. Dean Plocher, R-St. Louis, spent some time on the mound and was team captain.

State Representative and SD 10’s Senator-elect Travis Fitzwater, R-Holt’s Summit, took home the title of MVP due to his performance on the field. Hopefully, it won’t be the only player accepting an MVP in Busch Stadium this year.

When asked about how an event like this can even be put together, Henke credited Greater St. Louis Inc, as well as legislators and local investors.

“Softball team captains, Missouri Speaker-elect Plocher and Illinois Assistant Majority Leader Hoffman, were key to assembling their teams,” Henke said. “We also had help from some of our key investors — including the Cardinals, Maryville University, BJC Healthcare, Edward Jones, and Missouri American Water.”

The game lasted itself 6 innings, with both teams scoring five runs in the 3rd inning. Illinois only scored once after that in the 4th. Missouri on the other hand got three more runs in the 5th.

The officials from the Land of Lincoln outhit their fellows from the Show Me State 14-9, but their offense just could not get the job done, resulting in a Missouri victory.

Busch Stadium also has its fair share of ties to Missouri politics.  On Aug. 2 Trudy Busch Valentine, heiress to the Anheuser Busch beer empire, won the Democratic nomination for Blunt’s seat.

But this game was more than just a goodwill gesture between neighboring state governments. It could have some economic implications as well.

“In terms of economic output, St. Louis is the largest market in Missouri and the second largest in Illinois, so working together to drive pro-growth public policies that strengthen the St. Louis metro is critical to both states,” Henke said. “While we hope the members of both teams had fun, we also hope that it reinforces the idea of the good that can come from working together across party and state lines.”

This is the second year in a row the arch-rivals have faced off. Last year was also hosted by Greater St. Louis Inc and also ended with a Missouri win. According to them, plans for next year’s game are already underway.

Kelton Turner

Kelton is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. He is a native of mid-Missouri and likes to write politics at both the state and federal levels. Kelton joined the Missouri Times in April 2022

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Both relief efforts come as welcome resources to Missourians in St. Louis and the surrounding area, who endured heavy rainfall and intense flash flooding during the last week of July.

First, Gov. Mike Parson’s request for a major disaster declaration was granted by President Joe Biden last week, according to a press release from the Department of Labor.

This means that some Missourians could be eligible for up to 28 weeks of Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA).

Disaster Unemployment Assistance gives benefits to those whose employment was directly affected by the flooding or storms. This includes those who lost their jobs completely or had their employment interrupted by the disaster.

According to the release, the Missouri Department of Labor’s Division of Employment Security will be accepting applications for DUA through Sep. 9.

The release says that individuals can apply for up to 28 weeks, but it also mentions that if an individual is granted the assistance, it will only last as long as their period of unemployment does.

DUA will only be available to those affected by the flooding in the City of St. Louis, as well as St. Louis County and St. Charles County.

To view the full release and to see the eligibility and proof requirements, click here.

Another department offering relief is the Department of Revenue.

The Missouri Department of Revenue is following in the footsteps of the IRS and will grant tax extensions to Missourians affected by the flooding disaster.

Both the Missouri Department of Revenue and the IRS will extend their tax deadlines from July 25th to Nov. 15th.

To qualify for the relief, you must reside in or have a business in the City of St. Louis or St. Louis County, St Charles County or Montgomery county.

To view the full release and eligibility requirements, click here.

Kelton Turner

Kelton is a 2023 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. He is a native of mid-Missouri and likes to write politics at both the state and federal levels. Kelton joined the Missouri Times in April 2022

www.themissouritimes.com

The post State gives flood victims relief options appeared first on The Missouri Times.

Steve Ehlmann has been the County Executive for St. Charles County since 2007. He is favored to win re-election in the current cycle.

Ehlmann holds political sway in the county, and his endorsement was coveted in a four-man race to replace term-limited Sen. Jeanie Riddle. Ehlmann represented St. Charles County in both the upper and lower chambers of the Missouri legislature before becoming County Executive.

The former circuit judge went the judicial route with his endorsement, as he endorsed Wentzville judge Mike Carter Tuesday. Carter earned a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri and has experience in television production as well as experience working in the Attorney General’s office.

“I am honored to have received the support of Steve Ehlmann,” Carter said in a press release. “Steve has accomplished so much for the citizens of the county over his 16 years in office, spurring extensive economic development and infrastructure improvements, while keeping taxes low.”

There is no Democrat running in SD 10, meaning the Republican primary essentially serves as the general election. Carter is seeking to win that primary race in a crowded field that includes state representatives Travis Fitzwater, R-Holt’s Summit, Jeff Porter, R-Montgomery City and Bryan Spencer, R-Wentzville.

Though Carter has Wentzville roots, defeating three state representatives with established voter bases in the district is a tall task for someone with no state legislature experience. Ehlmann’s endorsement has the potential to be highly influential and gives Carter crucial momentum with less than a week left before the Aug. 2 primaries.

Featured Image Courtesy of Mike Carter

Matthew McFarland

I’m a journalist hailing from the Detroit area. I love to tell investigative stories with a focus on everyday people.

You can contact me by email at matthew@missouritimes.com

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