Missouri

Different needs but similar fears arise in communities on both ends of Missouri’s redistricting

Published

4 months ago

November 14, 2025

Different needs but similar fears arise in communities on both ends of Missouri’s redistricting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — To grasp the effects of the rush to redraw America’s congressional districts before the 2026 elections, consider one historically Black neighborhood in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the small town of Boonville, population 7,800.

The 18th and Vine community is known for a museum telling the story of segregated professional baseball in the decades before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier. Its leaders are talking about expanding the city’s streetcar line to lure more visitors to its cultural and historical attractions.

About 100 miles (161 kilometers) east, Boonville leaders want federal help restoring an old railroad bridge to give cyclists a more direct route on a popular cross-state bike trail near the mostly white farming community.

The two areas are thrust together under a new map Missouri Republicans passed in September in response to President Donald Trump’s push to give the GOP another winnable seat ahead of next year’s elections. Texas answered Trump’s call first, tilting five seats toward Republicans, but lawmakers in both major political parties are fighting a mid-decade, state-by-state battle to squeeze extra territory out of states they control. In California, voters approved a new House map to boost Democrats.

Missouri Republicans targeted Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, shaving off portions of his Kansas City district and stretching it into Republican-heavy rural areas.

Congressional districts often mix rural and urban areas, but redoing boundaries can alter priorities and change which federal projects representatives pursue and how they pursue things like health care, housing and education funding. When Congress debates a farm bill, is protecting food assistance benefits more important than preserving crop insurance? It often depends on who’s being represented.

That might explain why Robert Sylvan, an 81-year-old Kansas City resident who attends Cleaver’s church, worries “the whole set of dynamics that impact us” could be upended.

People walk between downtown shops Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Boonville, Mo. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel

Voters fear being forgotten

Even with U.S. politics deeply polarized, there’s bipartisan agreement on Sylvan’s point.

Republican state Rep. Tim Taylor, who represents the Boonville area in the Legislature, said farmers Cleaver previously represented didn’t feel he understood them or came around much.

“Where he lives, things are different than they are here,” said Taylor, who voted for the redistricting plan despite misgivings about it.

It’s unclear how any Republican challenging Cleaver in the redrawn district would balance the needs of the two communities. So far, no likely contender is from Kansas City.

Troost Avenue, the city's traditional racial dividing line, now marks... — Troost Avenue, the city’s traditional racial dividing line, now marks a boundry for redrawn congressional districts in an attempt to flip a seat from Democrat to Republican, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. Credit: AP/Charlie Riedel

Some Kansas City residents don’t expect people around 18th and Vine to get much attention if Cleaver loses. Cleaver was raised in public housing in Texas and preached about social justice as a Methodist pastor in a predominantly African American congregation.

“Naturally, 18th and Vine is kind of his baby,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. “I don’t want it to be forgotten.”

Not just urban vs. rural

Fewer than 11% of Boonville’s residents are Black, while more than 64% are in 18th and Vine. The new Missouri map could have the state going from having people of color hold two of its eight House seats to one. Non-Hispanic white people are 62% of Missouri’s population but would hold 88% of its seats.

“We could potentially have folk representing us who have no interaction and have never had any interaction with people of color and have no idea of what goes on in the urban context,” said Cleaver’s son, Emanuel Cleaver III.

The areas often see common needs differently. Is the pressing problem with health care cuts that they cause rural hospitals to struggle or that millions of Americans don’t have insurance? An 18th and Vine resident is nearly twice as likely as a Boonville resident to have no health insurance. Boonville has been without a hospital since 2020.

Other differences: Buses stop every 15 minutes in 18th and Vine but must be prescheduled in Boonville. Kansas City leaders want more gun laws to combat violence while Republicans like Taylor have fought to expand gun rights. Trump won 67% of Boonville’s vote, compared with 14% of 18th and Vine’s.

The Kansas City neighborhood, celebrated for barbecue and jazz joints, hosted a 1920 meeting that founded the Negro National League, where Robinson got his start. Later, the area fell into disrepair.

Cleaver helped change that, seeking taxpayer dollars for 18th and Vine since 1989, first as a city councilman and then mayor before his two decades in Congress. The city’s spending has exceeded $100 million, helped by federal grants. Most recently, Cleaver helped obtain $15.5 million in federal money to renovate the nation’s oldest Black-owned housing cooperative, which he called “one of the citadels for the African American community.”

That project followed Cleaver’s efforts to bring money to neighborhoods on the historically Black side of Troost Avenue, long known as the city’s unofficial racial dividing line. It’s now one of his new district’s borders, which he finds outrageous.

“I feel more skeptical about the society’s direction than I did when I was a kid growing up in public housing,” Cleaver lamented during an interview at the church his son now leads.

Now, 18th and Vine also is home to all-night jazz jam sessions, a dance company, an arts center and an MLB Urban Youth Academy. Kendrick’s museum hopes to raise $35 million to triple exhibit space.

If there’s unease among locals, it’s that they might be priced out as taxpayer money helps transform the area. The city is working on a pedestrian plaza and a parking garage. Local officials are studying a streetcar line extension. There’s no cost estimate yet, but the latest streetcar extension got $174 million in federal funds.

Carmaletta Williams, executive director of the Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City, an area museum, wonders about a new representative: “Will they see the value in what’s going on?”

A bike trail lures tourists to Boonville

Boonville is surrounded by row crops and cattle ranches. One local school district graduates fewer than 10 students a year.

Yet it lures tourists with the Katy Trail. At 240 miles (386 kilometers), it’s the longest trail built on former rail lines in the U.S., and work on it began at nearly the same time as the rebuilding in 18th and Vine.

Taylor said after the trail’s first section opened in 1990 it was instrumental in reviving a town that was “pretty much dying” when he was a teenager in the 1980s. His wife runs Taylor’s Bake Shop & Espresso downtown.

Heading into Boonville, bikers detour off the railroad’s original path, crossing the Missouri River on a highway bridge that includes a designated bike path. The path leads them away from a 1932 railroad bridge, which trail riders would love to see refurbished. The city applied unsuccessfully last year for a $236,000 federal planning grant.

“The Katy Bridge is like the Eiffel Tower of Missouri if it would only be fixed,” said Annie Harmon, who runs a store in downtown Boonville called Celestial Body that sells essential oils, herbs, tie-dyed clothing and crystals.

Missouri has received $30 million in federal funds over the years for the Katy Trail and a related trail-building effort that cycling enthusiasts hope will loop almost 450 miles (724 kilometers), said Brandi Horton, a spokeswoman for the Rails to Trails Conservancy, a Washington-based nonprofit.

“You can’t do trail development at this scale,” Horton said, “without the dollars and the investment that the federal government can uniquely provide.”

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Missouri

Missouri Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 winning numbers for March 3, 2026

Published

8 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 3, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 3 drawing

07-21-53-54-62, Mega Ball: 16

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 3 drawing

Midday: 5-8-9

Midday Wild: 8

Evening: 8-8-2

Evening Wild: 7

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 3 drawing

Midday: 0-3-5-7

Midday Wild: 2

Evening: 0-9-9-5

Evening Wild: 6

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from March 3 drawing

Early Bird: 13

Morning: 15

Matinee: 09

Prime Time: 14

Night Owl: 14

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Show Me Cash numbers from March 3 drawing

04-07-09-17-21

Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Missouri Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Missouri Lottery’s regional offices, by appointment only.

To claim by mail, complete a Missouri Lottery winner claim form, sign your winning ticket, and include a copy of your government-issued photo ID along with a completed IRS Form W-9. Ensure your name, address, telephone number and signature are on the back of your ticket. Claims should be mailed to:

Ticket Redemption

Missouri Lottery

P.O. Box 7777

Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777

For in-person claims, visit the Missouri Lottery Headquarters in Jefferson City or one of the regional offices in Kansas City, Springfield or St. Louis. Be sure to call ahead to verify hours and check if an appointment is required.

For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.

When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Missouri

Missouri auditor to probe St. Louis arts funder after whistleblower complaint

Published

20 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Missouri auditor to probe St. Louis arts funder after whistleblower complaint

Missouri state Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick has launched a review of the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis’ finances.

The audit is in response to complaints from a whistleblower who alerted the office to possible misuse of funds, Fitzpatrick said Tuesday. The auditor’s office then reviewed documents provided by RAC during an initial investigation before launching a full audit.

“We have verified the veracity of the whistleblower complaint, and have seen with our own eyes at this point records that give us enough concern that we want to proceed with an audit,” Fitzpatrick said.

The auditor’s report could be released late this year or in early 2027, he added. It would then be up to state and local authorities to follow up on any potential misconduct.

In an unsigned statement, RAC said it receives an annual audit from a firm selected by the offices of the St. Louis mayor and St. Louis County executive and that it shares the results publicly. “[We] are confident the findings from the state will mirror the success we have come to expect at the local level,” the statement says.

“We welcome the opportunity to provide documentation and context regarding our financial practices and grantmaking processes. As always, RAC will continue to focus on serving the St. Louis region’s arts and cultural community and maintaining the public’s trust,” the statement adds.

Potential issues identified in the state auditor’s initial investigation include the possibilities that RAC’s administrative expenses exceed what is allowed by statute, that leaders issued bonuses disallowed by the state constitution and that large grants were issued with no follow-up to ensure the money was used properly.

Fitzpatrick said his actions are not related to the commission’s choice of grant recipients.

Changes to the grant process

RAC distributes annual grants to arts organizations in St. Louis and St. Louis County. It is funded by a tax on hotel and motel stays. The commission distributed $3.7 million last year.

The organization suspended grant applications for fiscal 2026 due to “continuing financial volatility” and a new five-year plan, according to a note on its website. It will use applications received in 2025 as a guide for its 2026 grants.

Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis

Vanessa Cooksey took leadership of the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis in 2021.

“This pause allows RAC to support eligible and high-scoring 2025 grantees and applicants while navigating financial challenges and planning for a stronger, more sustainable grant program in the future,” the note says.

RAC publishes a list of its annual grants online.

Vanessa Cooksey became president and CEO of the organization in 2020 after it spent a year without a permanent leader. Previous chief Felicia Shaw had stepped down in November 2019. Neither Shaw nor RAC provided a public explanation for Shaw’s departure.

Some smaller organizations had complained that during Shaw’s tenure they stopped receiving annual grants.

The Regional Arts Commission had a $13.4 million budget in 2024, according to tax documents. Cooksey received a $196,253 salary and $28,652 in additional compensation.

Continuing a process begun by Shaw, Cooksey oversaw changes to grant applications that she said were meant to simplify the process – including removing a longstanding split between its funding mechanisms for large and small organizations.

A key arts funder after the coronavirus pandemic

In November 2022, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to direct $10.6 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to RAC. A measure that would have allocated another $1.6 million failed to pass the St. Louis County Council, so RAC was statutorily required to distribute ARPA funds only to groups based in St. Louis.

RAC has distributed $9.5 million of the ARPA money so far, funding 195 individual artists and 75 organizations.

Arts leaders said in 2022 that the sector supports more than 19,000 jobs and generates nearly $600 million a year – more than all local sports franchises combined.

The federal money was a boon to St. Louis artists and arts organizations following a steep decrease in funding at the height of the coronavirus pandemic due to decreased tourism in the region.

Tax revenues earmarked for RAC decreased from $9.5 million in fiscal 2019 to $2.8 million the next year. Tax revenue directed to RAC have increased but still lag behind the pre-pandemic total. The commission reported $7.5 million in tax revenue received in fiscal 2024.

RAC presented a new five-year plan with much fanfare in March 2020 but had little initial opportunity to implement it. Not long after, St. Louis officials put limits on public gatherings to tamp down spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Commission officials released a new five-year strategic roadmap in December 2025.

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Missouri

Missouri Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 winning numbers for March 2, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing

Midday: 3-3-4

Midday Wild: 2

Evening: 4-8-9

Evening Wild: 7

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 2 drawing

Midday: 6-4-2-2

Midday Wild: 5

Evening: 2-8-2-4

Evening Wild: 1

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from March 2 drawing

Early Bird: 08

Morning: 12

Matinee: 05

Prime Time: 04

Night Owl: 02

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Show Me Cash numbers from March 2 drawing

13-17-18-23-28

Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Ticket Redemption

Missouri Lottery

P.O. Box 7777

Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777

For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.

When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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