Missouri hemp crackdown meets resistance

By Jason Hancock | Editor-in-Chief

Good morning,

Missouri’s attorney general has opened a new front in the state’s long-running fight over intoxicating hemp. But Rebecca Rivas reports the businesses on the receiving end are not backing down. And they’re raising pointed questions about where the state’s evidence came from.

Elsewhere, Jonathan Shorman looks at a federal voter-verification program that is quickly becoming part of the national elections fight ahead of November. And in Kansas City, the Royals stadium debate is back with a financing plan that promises growth but could leave taxpayers exposed if the math goes sideways.

by Rebecca Rivas

The attorney general’s case is landing on stores that say they are following federal law — and that the state is leaning on lab results gathered by businesses with a direct stake in shutting them down.

by Jonathan Shorman

A federal citizenship-verification tool is becoming central to Trump’s election agenda, but state officials are split over whether it strengthens voter rolls or risks sweeping eligible voters into a much larger data dragnet.

by Sophia Gromowsky

Supporters cast the proposal as a defense against outside influence and pandemic-era overreach, while critics argue it is solving a phantom problem and could reach further than advertised.

by Josh Merchant

Kansas City leaders are advancing a new downtown stadium strategy built on future tax growth, but the fine print makes clear what is at risk if the promised boom never fully materializes.

by Bridgette Dunlap

A bill passed unanimously by the legislature was intended to make the divorce process better for pregnant women. It might in some ways. But it will make things worse in others.

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