Deborah Van Fleet

With child care in some parts of Missouri as high as $12,000 a year, many Missouri families are struggling to pay it. State Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, has introduced a state tax credit for families within the income eligibility who also qualify for the federal child and dependent care tax credit by having earned income.

Many Missourians don't take advantage of the opportunity to have their criminal records "expunged," which could increase their wages and opportunities. A bill before the Missouri House would make the process automatic. Expungement of all eligible crimes could result in billions in increased wages and economic activity.

As rents and home values rise, the Missouri Property Tax Credit – designed to help seniors and Missourians with disabilities stay in their homes – has failed to keep pace. Missouri Rep. Marlene Terry, D-St. Louis, has introduced HB-1351 to raise both the amount of tax credit the lowest earners can receive and the amount of income they can earn to qualify.

A report from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) reveals three out of four applications to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's two premier conservation programs, EQUIP and CSP, were denied. IATP says much more money for conservation programs must be included in the new Farm Bill so more farms can participate.

For a person with disabilities in Missouri to lose Medicaid health coverage because they make too much money can be devastating since private-pay care is expensive. State Rep. Melanie Stinnett has introduced a bill that would allow them, and/or their spouses with higher incomes to keep their Medicaid benefits.

Improving air quality by lowering the acceptable levels of particulate matter or "soot" in the air is the goal of the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed new standards. If approved, advocates say they could save up to 20,000 lives a year and dramatically improve the lives of asthma sufferers and others with chronic lung and heart conditions. The EPA is seeking public comment on these proposed changes until March 28.

Concern about the influence agribusiness has on the "bottom line" for many independent farmers and rural communities had led to a 2,000+-signature petition being sent to President Joe Biden urging him to make good on his 2021 executive order to enforce antitrust laws and promote competition in the ag industry.

The first of four training sessions about preparedness to help individuals with disabilities during a disaster will be held in Springfield on March 6-7. They're free of charge and appropriate for people from a variety of backgrounds.

It's American Heart Month, and the American Heart Association wants people to be trained to use hands-only CPR. Around 350,000 people of all ages experience cardiac arrest in this country outside the hospital each year.

Plans have been approved for Kansas City to triple the distance of its streetcar, which has operated fare-free since it began service in 2016. Kansas City's bus system has also offered free rides since 2020, a policy that is set to sunset this year but officials are exploring making it permanent.