COLUMBIA, Mo. - Gov. Jay Nixon and First Lady Georganne Nixon were in Columbia on Friday at the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri to help unload 800 pounds of venison donated by Missouri hunters through the Share the Harvest program.

Share the Harvest is a public-private partnership that for more than 20 years has provided venison to families in need through food banks and food pantries across Missouri. The 2012 Missouri archery season for deer runs through Jan. 15.

By Johnny Kampis | Missouri Watchdog

ST. LOUIS – A Missouri lawmaker wants you to enjoy your turkey and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, but not buy a LCD high-definition TV at a low, low price.

State Rep. Jeff Roorda, D-Barnhart, has pre-filed what he calls the Thanksgiving Family Protection Act, which would prohibit all retail establishments except restaurants, gas stations and drug stores from opening on Thanksgiving.

Beginning Jan. 1 Missouri’s minimum wage will increase by 10 cents from $7.25 to $7.35. This comes out to a four dollar a week increase from $900 to $904 and a 200-dollar increase annually based on a 40-hour workweek.

The inflation adjustment was approved by voters in 2006, but has been opposed consistently by business groups like the Missouri Chamber of Commerce. Missouri is only one of 17 states with a minimum wage higher than the federal wage, which the Chamber said Wednesday puts it at a “competitive disadvantage” with surrounding states.

Monday’s headlines from the State Capital

Missouri News Hoizon
St. Louis, Mo – Less than a week after the elections Missouri Lawmakers already receiving pressure for items to be placed on their agenda when they return in January.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Jay Nixon declared the week of Oct. 14 through Oct. 20 as Earth Science Week 2012 to bring awareness to the fact that earth sciences are fundamental to the health, safety and welfare of all Missourians.
Early 19th Century Mining in Missouri, Photo courtesy MO DNR

By Johnny Kampis | Missouri Watchdog

ST. LOUIS — The stimulus bill has poured nearly $5 billion into Missouri, but the impact to the Show Me State is murky because of how the program accounts for jobs created.

Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, funneling more than $800 billion in federal funds across the country during the recession with the objective of creating new jobs or saving existing ones.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — With a razor thin margin in the Missouri House of Representatives, the Missouri General Assembly overturned Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of legislation that would expand the state’s religious exemption for insurers.

The law, which takes effect immediately, will allow Missouri employers and insurers to chose not to provide coverage for contraception and abortion. It came in reaction to a new policy by President Barack Obama earlier this year requiring employers to cover contraceptive care.

--Congress returns to Washington this week for a quick, pre-election, and one of the first issues expected to come up in the U.S. House of Representatives is the 2013 farm bill.

Despite a bipartisan push for the legislation and calls for passage by many agriculture stakeholders suffering from the summer’s drought, it appears the legislation is simply stuck in ever-present Washington gridlock.

Missouri News Horizon
MNH file photo of Gov. Jay Nixon
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Republican State Auditor Tom Schweich has released a scathing audit of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon’s use of official state resources for travel.

In a report released on Wednesday, Schweich said the governor’s office spent more than $602,000 on taxpayer paid travel expenses, on top of more than $565,000 his administration spent to operate state planes.

Missouri News Hozrizon
Quick News file photo
Gov. Jay Nixon penned a letter to lawmakers Monday urging them to oppose the retroactive implementation of legislation that would impose a sales tax on vehicles purchased outside of the state of Missouri.

Nixon, who vetoed the legislation earlier this summer, said retroactive implementation of the tax could negatively effect thousands of Missourians who purchased a vehicle from out of state after March 21, the date a Missouri Supreme Court decision declared a previous version of the law unconstitutional.

Missouri News Horizon
SEDALIA, Mo. — Republican members of Missouri’s congressional delegation joined the Missouri Farm Bureau Thursday in opposition to new language in the Clean Water Act that they say could expand the Environmental Protection Agency’s reach into rural communities.

New Haven, Mo. – Governor Jay Nixon made the announcement today at Henniges Automotive facility in New Haven, Mo. expects to create 200 new jobs.

New Haven, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon will be in New Haven, Mo. later this afternoon to announce plans for a $5 million investment by a local auto parts manufacturer, and the significant expansion and new jobs the investment will bring.

By Johnny Kampis | Missouri Watchdog

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — If the existing federal tax cuts expire, American taxpayers will see their taxes rise by $494 billion.

The average Missourian will pay an extra $2,634 in taxes next year, if Congress does not extend the decade-long tax cuts, the Heritage Foundation reports.

The IRS, the state Attorney General or even the FBI says you get free money…at least according to a new scam that’s going through the mail in Missouri right now. 

Attorney General Koster says it’s another scam. The ruse uses fake letterhead designed to look like government correspondence and it tells you that you are eligible for a cash award of some kind.

From the Missouri Journal, Used by Permission
By Brian Hook

While the state’s unemployment rate inched lower last month, the number of workers in the labor force also continued to decrease.

Missouri News Horizon
Gov. Jay Nixon (Official photo)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Jay Nixon acted on several bills this morning (Thursday), including controversial legislation to expand a religious exemption for insurance and a bill that would have allowed localities to instate sales tax on used automobiles.

Missouri News Horizon

Both of Missouri’s U.S. Senators are joining Gov. Jay Nixon in his call for a federal disaster declaration in response to Missouri’s continued drought conditions.

In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack on Wednesday, Sen.’s Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt urged the Department to move forward with Nixon’s request for a primary disaster declaration for all 114 Missouri counties.

File photo by Kyle Quick.
MNH
Jefferson City, Mo - Missouri officials are urging residents to take extra precautions during the July 4 week, citing concerns over ongoing dry conditions across the state.

Gov. Jay Nixon said with continued dry conditions and record temperatures, Missourians should take special care when celebrating the holiday.