JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Missouri Governor Mike Parson has just a few more days to either sign or veto all the bills passed by the legislature this year. One of the bills on his desk would ease the process for Missouri National Guardsmen to pay for their higher education.

The current program that helps National Guard members supplement the cost of college draws federal dollars, but not enough, according to Major General Will Blaylock, who leads the Missouri National Guard Association.

“The federal level doesn’t fund it completely, and so [Senate Bill 912] closes the loop so that we have soldiers and airmen who can go to college basically at no cost,” Blaylock said.

The bill also waives the tax liability on recruitment bonuses and re-enlistment bonuses for the National Guard and U.S. Armed Forces.

“It’s a cleanup of a system that we have had in place, but it needed to be corrected because it is hurting our recruiting,” Blaylock added.

A healthy job market with many lucrative alternatives, Blaylock believes, is one of the main contributing factors to a recent recruitment slump.

SB 912 also affects veterans, making it easier for them to obtain a special parking placard, creates a new program to help address veteran suicides, and renames a section of highway in Osage County after U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Paul Hasenbeck, a Missourian who went missing in action during the Vietnam War.

On Friday, Governor Parson’s office announced a list of bills he plans to sign in the coming days, but SB 912 was not among them. Parson has until July 14 to take action on bills passed by the legislature.

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Over the course of the next two weeks, all 16 SEC teams will be given a “SEC Network Takeover” day. This will allow schools to showcase their favorite games from the past calendar year. Missouri has been assigned Saturday, July 6th, and the schedule they’re putting out is loaded with classics.

Beginning at 11:00 PM on Friday night, Missouri will take center stage on SEC Network. They’ll showcase 11 different sporting events from the past year, highlighted with two primetime events on Saturday evening.

The first primetime event will be aired at 6:30 PM, showcasing Missouri’s gymnastics meet vs LSU. The #9 ranked Missouri Tigers hosted a record-setting 7,336 fans. This was a top-ten showdown as the #3 ranked LSU Tigers came to Columbia, MO in a battle of Tigers.

Immediately airing after the gymnastics meet will be one of the greatest games of the University’s history. This of course is a reference to the 2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl. Missouri clashed with Ohio State in a new years six bowl game. The program-changing game is one that any fan of Missouri athletics would be ecstatic to watch again.

I’d be remised to not mention the fact that at 4:00 AM, they’re airing a men’s basketball game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. This is of course due to the fact that Missouri failed to win a conference game this past year. Hopefully next year there will be more options for the men’s basketball program.

This will be the tenth consecutive summer with the “SEC Network Takeover”, which has given all 16 schools an opportunity to program a full day on air. The SEC has done a great job of giving all different sports a platform with this takeover. It will be fun for fans of all sports to tune in on Saturday, July 6th, when Mizzou takes over the network.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a lawsuit against the state of New York, claiming it violated Missourians first amendment rights.

Bailey alleges New York undermined former President Donald Trump’s ability to campaign for presidency with prosecution, gag orders, and sentencing of Trump.

“Right now, Missouri has a huge problem with New York. Instead of letting presidential candidates campaign on their own merits, radical progressives in New York are trying to rig the 2024 election by waging a direct attack on our democratic process,” said Attorney General Bailey in a press release. “I will not sit idly by while Soros-backed prosecutors hold Missouri voters hostage in this presidential election. I am filing suit to ensure every Missourian can exercise their right to hear from and vote for their preferred presidential candidate.” 

Bailey’s lawsuit said New York’s actions detest Missourians’ ability to hear from and cast a fully informed vote for president mere months before the election.

He is asking the Supreme Court to halt any further action in the New York case until after the presidential election.