Missouri
Campaigns behind MO abortion, sports betting initiatives confident they’ll get signatures
More than $10 million, much of it from outside the state, has been raised to push proposals for abortion rights, sports wagering and raising the minimum wage.
Three initiative campaigns say they are on track to submit signatures that would put measures to legalize abortion and sports wagering, and to increase the minimum wage, on Missouri’s ballot this year.
Campaign finance reports filed this week show more than $10 million, much of it from out-of-state organizations, has been raised to fuel the campaigns. Only one opposition group, seeking to prevent abortion rights from making the ballot, is active. And its resources, much of it from Catholic churches, total less than $100,000.
The reports, which were due Monday, show who is backing the ballot measures as campaigns prepare to deliver signatures by May 5. Some campaigns used the deadline to issue public statements showing confidence of success.
When Missourians for Constitutional Freedom announced plans to begin collecting signatures for its abortion rights initiative in mid-January, leaders estimated the campaign would need to raise $5 million to successfully gather enough signatures to make the ballot.
The report filed Monday, covering the first three months of the year, shows the campaign has raised $4.9 million. Additional reports of large contributions filed since April 1 show another $435,000 in contributions.
Of that amount, 3,206 individual Missourians have contributed $1.8 million. Of the top 15 donors, eight are from Missouri and gave $850,000. The seven donors who gave the most, making up more than half the total raised, are national advocacy organizations.
The largest single donor to the campaign is the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a liberal dark money organization based in Washington, D.C., that gave $1 million.
“We’re so grateful to the tens of thousands of Missourians who have chipped in, volunteered, and signed on to fuel our grassroots campaign that will end Missouri’s total abortion ban and put families — not politicians — back in charge of personal medical decisions,” Rachel Sweet, campaign manager, said in a news release.
The abortion rights proposal would amend the state constitution to protect abortion up to the point of fetal viability. It would also protect other reproductive health care, including contraceptive access, if approved by voters.
There were times in 2023 when it seemed like the campaign would fail to launch because of a lengthy court battle over the ballot language. Eventually, the Western District Court of Appeals struck down the ballot language written by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft as “replete with politically partisan language.”
That ruling, however, came only after months of wrangling over whether Attorney General Andrew Bailey could derail the initiative by refusing to certify the fiscal summary.
The opposition group, Missourians Stands With Women, has raised $84,567 to fund its “Decline to Sign” campaign, with $25,000 coming from Catholic dioceses and archdiocese and another $20,000 from Republican committees designed to elect GOP legislators.
The sports wagering campaign, organized by the state’s professional sports teams under the leadership of the St. Louis Cardinals, is being funded entirely by the two largest online sports wagering platforms, FanDuel and DraftKings.
The campaign, under the name Winning for Missouri Education, reported raising $4 million through March 31 and $2.1 since that date. The committee has spent $3.3 million, according to the report filed Monday.
The cost has been shared almost equally between the two online platforms.
The proposal would allow online platforms, major professional sports teams and the state’s licensed casinos to seek a sports wagering license. The net winnings would be taxed at 10%, far less than the 21% tax on money casinos win from patrons.
The revenue, estimated at up to $28.9 million annually, would support education programs.
In a news release Tuesday, the campaign said it had amassed more than 300,000 signatures and will submit at least 325,000 signatures.
“As the campaign approaches our goal of putting this on the November ballot, Missouri is a step closer to allowing Missouri adults to bet on sports, while generating tens of millions in annual funding for our classrooms,” Jack Cardetti, spokesman for the campaign, said in the news release.
Missourians for Healthy Families & Fair Wages, the campaign committee backing the minimum wage increase, reported it raised $540,000 during the first three months of the year and $1.9 million in total donations of both cash and in-kind services.
A large portion of the funding is in-kind donations from the Missouri Jobs with Justice Action. The Sixteen Thirty Fund is another major source of cash, giving $575,000 in 2023. The Fairness Project, another Washington, D.C.-based group that helps run liberal initiative campaigns, has contributed $250,000.
Under the statutory change being proposed, Missouri’s minimum wage, currently $12.30 an hour, would go to $13.75 per hour on Jan. 1 and $15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2026. The last time Missourians voted to increase the minimum wage, in November 2018, it received 62% of the statewide vote.
This year’s proposal would also require employers to give paid sick leave to employees and allow them to use the time off to care for a sick family member or if they need time away from work due to domestic violence issues at home.
“We feel good about the direction we’re headed,” said Joni Wickham, spokeswoman for the campaign.
A St. Louis University/YouGov poll conducted in February found that 44% of voters were ready to vote for the abortion rights proposal after hearing the court-written ballot language. The SLU/YouGov poll also showed 60% of those surveyed said they would vote to legalize sports wagering.
The poll did not include a question about the minimum wage.
The abortion rights and sports wagering proposals would amend the state Constitution and need at least 171,592 signatures from registered voters, spread across six of the state’s eight congressional districts, to make the ballot. The minimum wage increase proposal is a statutory change and needs at least 107,246 signatures to make the ballot.
This story was first published at www.missouriindependent.com.
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) — Missouri is constantly on the brink of losing a veterans home because funding can vary from year to year.
One lawmaker is sounding the alarm on funding for Missouri’s veterans homes, saying the taxes the states rely on for these specialized care facilities are not dependable. The Missouri Veterans Commission relies on marijuana tax revenue and casino admission fees but has no set line in the state budget if these two avenues falter.
Before he represented Jefferson City in the Missouri House, Dave Griffith was a Green Beret.
Now he’s fighting a different battle: to keep Missouri’s veterans homes open and operational.
“These are veterans that we made a promise to,” Griffith said. “When we raise our hands as veterans, we make a pledge to our country to protect and serve. At the same time, the country made a pledge to us. That when you get to this point in your life, when you need skilled nursing services, we’re going to be there for you. And we’re failing them.”
Missouri’s seven veterans homes are currently serving 848 veterans, and almost all of them have waitlists. They offer specialized services, from haircuts to physical therapy, at a partially subsidized rate for veterans who can no longer care for themselves.
“Age is not a determining factor, we have everything from 40s up to, we’ve got a veteran who was in the Battle of the Bulge, so I think he’s 103 years old right now,” said Missouri Veterans Commissioner Director Ret. Col. Paul Kirchhoff.
It’s a fight every year to ensure funding since there is no permanent line item in the state budget for veterans homes. Kirchhoff said before the funds were secured this year, the commission had been deferring critical maintenance on some of the homes and even discussing which one they could afford to close.
“A lot of businesses have a 5-year plan, 10-year plan, I can’t do it because I don’t know what kind of funding I’m going to get year to year,” Kirchhoff said.
A portion of the tax revenue from both medical and recreational marijuana goes to the Missouri Veterans Commission. Missouri Cannabis Trade Association Spokesperson Erin Schrimpf said marijuana has been selling at three times the rate expected before legalization. She said the industry expects it will continue to thrive and provide the state with ample sales tax.
“Missouri’s regulated market is thriving and has a lot of support,” Schrimpf said.
The Veterans Commission received nearly $34 million from marijuana taxes this fiscal year, but that’s not the bonus people thought it would be. It’s just enough to maintain veterans homes.
“A lot of people think that with the marijuana funding that there could be additional programs that we could start, that’s just not the case,” Kirchhoff said.
The amount veterans homes receive from casino admissions has been decreasing steadily, from $30 million in 2013, to $11 million in 2023, which is the last full fiscal year the Missouri Gaming Commission has reported. Although casinos in Missouri are reporting increased revenue, they’re getting less foot traffic and the admissions fees stay the same.
Griffith wants to get a new line item in the budget, $50 million in general revenue for veterans homes. He only has one year left in office, but expects his colleagues to carry on the battle after he’s gone.
“It’s a battle that I’m not afraid to fight, and I will continue that battle until I have to walk out of this building,” Griffith said.
Copyright 2025 KMOV. All rights reserved.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KFVS) – Missourians seeking abortions are fleeing to Kansas or Illinois after a court judgement essentially reinstated the state’s abortion ban.
Since the Missouri Supreme Court decided a Jackson County judge’s ruling was not efficient, abortions are effectively banned in Missouri again unless the lower court can rule again. Abortions providers in and out of Missouri have noted that patients are going out of the state to receive care just one day later.
After the Dobbs decision, Missouri was the first state to ban abortion. In November 2024, Missouri voters legalized abortion in November when 52% of them voted “yes” on Amendment Three.
Amendment Three was put on the ballot by initiative petition, having to receive thousands of signatures from people all over Missouri. It faced several legal challenges along the way, going all the way to the state’s Supreme Court before the matter was settled.
A Jackson County Judge stopped Missouri’s licensing requirements for abortion providers, saying they were unfairly restrictive and singled out abortion providers in February. Shortly after, Planned Parenthood started offering abortions at several locations.
Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the legal reasoning behind the Jackson County ruling was not sufficient, which puts all the abortion regulations back into effect.
When abortion was banned in Missouri after the Dobbs decision but before Amendment Three, data from the Guttmacher Institute shows about 10,000 Missourians traveled to Kansas or Illinois each year to receive abortions.
Rianne Hawkins with Planned Parenthood Great Rivers said the clinic is determined to continue providing abortions, even if it can’t do so in Missouri.
“We’re working really hard to make sure that all the patients that need that care are able to receive that abortion care, whether they have to go to Kansas or Illinois,” Hawkins said.
Hope Clinic in southern Illinois said about 40% of its out-of-state patients since Roe v. Wade was overturned are from Missouri. Co-owner Julie Burkhart said she will continue to work with Missouri abortion clinics during this uncertain time.
“We’ve seen firsthand how they struggle to deal with rising travel costs and logistical barriers like taking time off work and finding childcare. Beyond making it harder for people to access abortion, restrictions also create fear and stigma around this safe, common form of reproductive health care.”
The Jackson County judge can reverse the decision with another ruling. Planned Parenthood said its legal team has already filed a response to Tuesday’s ruling.
Meanwhile, anti-abortion advocates have already turned their attention to the next battle. Another vote on abortion will take place after lawmakers passed a bill to put abortion back on the ballot. Anti-abortion advocates like Brian Westbrook with Coalition Life said Amendment Three was misleading and this new measure will clear things up.
“There’s a lot of work being done behind the scenes,” Westbrook said. “Rallying the troops, getting synergy around this ballot initiative.”
Under the bill passed by the Missouri general assembly, abortion will be on the ballot again in November 2026.
Copyright 2025 KFVS. All rights reserved.
Substance use disorder can have temporary or lasting effects on your physical, mental, and social health. Missouri 988 can point you or a loved one in the right direction.
During Mental Health Awareness Month, it is critical to understand the resources available if you or a loved one is leaning on substance use.
Jean Sokora, Dunnica Sobering Support Center Program Director, joins Cameron Conner on Show Me Today to discuss the impacts of substance use disorder.
This sponsored interview is in collaboration with Missouri 988.
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