As Missouri students return to class, the American Heart Association says healthy teachers are key to student success. But more than 70% of Missouri educators have thought about leaving this year, citing stress, low pay, student behavior and lack of support.

Bailey's short tenure as attorney general was defined by confrontation with the federal government and local officials, as well as accusations of corruption, incompetence and grandstanding.

Missouri’s State Board of Education will shutter 12 schools for the severely disabled by next school year, part of a plan to revamp the program and expand support for students with extensive needs.

Food insecurity is on the increase in Missouri, according to the University of Missouri's new 2025 Missouri Hunger Atlas. Released every two to three years, the report maps where need is rising and helps guide efforts to get food to those who need it most.

Mental health experts say back-to-school season in Missouri is about more than supplies and schedules. With one in five young Missourians facing a diagnosable mental health disorder and serious struggles on the rise, advocates say it’s time to treat mental health like school prep.

Missouri advocates for families say the federal budget "megabill" could make it harder for them to put food on the table. The changes shift more of the administrative costs for SNAP, the federal program formerly known as food stamps, onto the state, and make it harder for some people to qualify for benefits.

On a single night in 2023, more than 6,700 people in Missouri didn’t have a place to call home - and that included hundreds of families and teens. Now, with the passage of the new federal budget, donations to homeless shelters are down, and even the helpers need help.

New Medicaid work rules are raising fears among many Missourians about losing health insurance. Under the new federal budget bill, adults on Medicaid expansion will have to prove 80 hours of work or volunteer time each month. However, health experts say Medicaid backlog is the real issue.

The city of Cape Girardeau has renewed its partnership with SEMO REDI, agreeing to provide $68,000 through the end of the calendar year to support economic growth in southeast Missouri. Part of this initiative is a partnership with Southeast Missouri State University.

Drivers with zTrip’s IRIS microtransit program are suing, accusing the company of cheating them out of thousands in overtime. The federal class-action suit, filed in Kansas City, says drivers regularly worked more than 40 hours a week without time-and-a-half pay because zTrip wrongly treated them as independent contractors.