Audit finds former Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s state flights often lacked public purpose ^37.6%

KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR - By Jason Hancock - 7/2/2026, 8:01 PM

Negativity Bias 49.1% - Biased Writer Voice 19.9% - Self-Serving Bias 9.8%

Former Gov. Mike Parson’s office spent $375,000 flying him around on state aircraft without keeping flight records showing why, and for a third of those flights auditors could not identify any state business purpose. That finding anchors a closeout audit of the governor’s office released Thursday by State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, which... more

Missouri courts keep rewriting 'unfair' ballot language as fights over direct democracy intensify ^12.4%

Missouri Independent - By Jason Hancock - 6/14/2026, 9:00 AM

Hasty Generalization 15.9% - Negativity Bias 15.7% - Availability Heuristic 8.9%

As Missouri secretary of state, Denny Hoskins is often responsible for reducing complicated ballot measures to a few sentences voters can understand. In his first year and a half in office, judges have repeatedly found those sentences unfair, insufficient or misleading. Courts have rejected or rewritten Hoskins’ descriptions five times... more

Missouri governor places tax overhaul on August ballot, and abortion ban in November ^11.9%

KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR - By Jason Hancock - 5/22/2026, 6:34 PM

Negativity Bias 15.6% - Appeal to Emotion 9.3% - Framing Effect 5.9%

Gov. Mike Kehoe will ask Missouri voters in August to decide whether lawmakers should have new power to expand sales taxes to replace the income tax and whether citizen-led constitutional amendments should face a higher bar for passage. Kehoe moved four proposed constitutional amendments to the Aug. 4 primary ballot: Amendment 1,... more

Lawsuit challenges Missouri ballot plan to phase out income tax and expand sales tax ^33.2%

KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR - By Jason Hancock - 5/16/2026, 9:00 AM

Negativity Bias 21.8% - Framing Effect 20.5% - Optimism Bias 9.8%

A lawsuit filed earlier this week seeks to knock a proposed constitutional amendment off Missouri’s 2026 ballot that would give lawmakers new power to expand sales taxes to eliminate the income tax, arguing legislators bundled too many subjects into one proposal and wrote misleading ballot language. The lawsuit, filed in Cole County... more

Missouri appeals court rewrites ballot language for congressional map referendum ^23.4%

KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR - By Jason Hancock - 4/30/2026, 8:18 PM

Negativity Bias 26.5% - Burden of Proof 15.1% - Framing Effect 13.7%

A Missouri appeals court on Thursday rewrote the ballot summary for a proposed referendum on the state's newly gerrymandered congressional map, ruling Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' description still included unsupported claims about the map approved by lawmakers last year. The Western District Court of Appeals reversed part of a Cole... more

Missouri U.S. Rep. Sam Graves is retiring, igniting Republican race for 6th District seat ^21.9%

Missouri Independent - By Jason Hancock - 3/27/2026, 2:08 PM

Biased Writer Voice 20.3% - Halo Effect 15.2% - Negativity Bias 14%

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves is abandoning his run for a 14th term in Congress and will retire, the Northwest Missouri Republican told the Wall Street Journal. Graves, 62, has represented Missouri’s 6th District since 2001 and is now among a growing number of House members stepping aside ahead of the 2026 midterms. “I think it is time for me to... more

Missouri House committee rejects revival of gun rights law already ruled unconstitutional ^44.8%

KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR - By Jason Hancock - 3/26/2026, 6:03 PM

Framing Effect 15.7% - Sunk Cost Effect 7.2% - Appeal to Emotion 6.2%

Missouri lawmakers’ latest attempt to bar state and local officials from helping enforce certain federal gun laws collapsed Wednesday in a House committee, defeated not only by Democrats but by Republicans who said the bill would hurt gun dealers, invite costly litigation and ignore the concerns of law enforcement. The House General Laws... more

China’s lawsuit makes Missouri’s $25 billion COVID judgment even harder to collect ^56.9%

STLPR (republished from Missouri Independent) - By Jason Hancock - 12/24/2025, 4:17 PM

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has cast news that she is being sued by the Chinese government as a badge of honor, pointing to the lawsuit as proof that her aggressive push to collect on a roughly $25 billion court judgment tied to the COVID-19 pandemic is having an impact. But experts in international law say the lawsuit,... more