Missouri’s House Speaker has named a former Missouri Department of Public Safety (DPS) director as the chair of a new House committee that will investigate crimes by alleged illegal immigrants.

House Speaker Dean Plocher (R-Des Peres) has called a press conference for 11 o’clock this (Tuesday) morning in Jefferson City, where he’ll announce the formation of a new House Special Committee on Illegal Immigrant Crimes. Speaker Plocher and committee chairman Lane Roberts, who is also a former Joplin police chief, will brief the Capitol Press Corps. Speaker Plocher says the committee will work closely with law enforcement agencies to assess criminal activities involving alleged illegal immigrants in Missouri, as well as propose solutions.

939 the Eagle’s Mike Murphy reports that in late June, five men believed to be illegal immigrants were captured in northern Missouri’s Macon County with a 14-year-old runaway from Indiana. Police say they were allegedly trafficking her to California. Murphy reports the five suspects are from Mexico and Honduras and are charged and jailed.

Meantime, the southern border is one of the main campaign issues for a former GOP state senator from Lake St. Louis who is running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-St. Elizabeth) on Capitol Hill. Former State Sen. Bob Onder (R-Lake St. Louis) is one of seven Republicans running in the August primary. Onder tells 939 the Eagle that he’s worried about fentanyl and other issues:

“Because not only is that a security issue with the crime brought on by illegal aliens, but it’s also an economic issue, the economic burden of 10 million illegal aliens in our country. The burden in terms of 100,000 fentanyl poisonings since (President) Joe Biden took office. Human trafficking at an all-time high,” Senator Onder told 939 the Eagle last week at a presidential debate watch party at Lakeside Ashland.

Onder faces former State Sen. Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia), State Rep. Justin Hicks (R-Lake St. Louis) and four others in the August GOP primary. The winner will face one of two Democrats who are running: Bethany Mann of Wentzville and Andrew Daly of Fulton. Congressman Luetkemeyer is retiring after serving eight terms on Capitol Hill.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) – The 2025 fiscal year begins Monday, just days after the governor vetoed many one-time projects.

The overall budget the governor signed is about 50 billion dollars. Governor Mike Parson vetoed just over $1 billion from the 2025 Missouri state budget, blaming most of that on an expansive and controversial education bill.

Parson said that the education bill will cost $400 million more than anticipated. It includes raises for teachers and incentives for schools to stay in session five days a week.

The non-partisan think-tank Missouri Budget Project said the tight budget is likely the fault of last year’s income tax cuts. While the investment into Missourians’ education is important, Amy Blouin said the recent tax cuts are costing the state.

“Because of the tax cuts, we’re facing a significant cliff, and next year, instead of a lot of little projects throughout the state, we’re probably looking at education and healthcare being cut,” Blouin said.

The Missouri legislature slashed the top level of income taxes from 5.3% to 4.95% last year.

“We’ve been living on borrowed time, if you will, because of those savings that were accrued during COVID, but those tax cuts have real consequences,” Blouin said.

St. Louis Democratic Rep. Peter Merideth said he’s not surprised at the budget cuts, mostly because he believes Republican tax cuts are leading to a loss in revenue.

“A billion dollars a year of tax cuts that were just passed, plus more that are about to take effect, that’s why we can’t pay for all of these things,” Meredith said.

House budget chair Republican Rep. Cody Smith declined an interview today. Senate appropriations chair Republican Sen. Lincoln Hough did not respond to inquiries.

Lawmakers will begin crafting the 2026 Missouri budget in January.

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If you value your vehicle’s exterior, you might want to park it under something Tuesday evening if you live in Missouri or Illinois. Both states are in the danger zone for explosive thunderstorm development that could include big hail and damaging wind Tuesday evening.

The National Weather Service out of St. Louis, Missouri shared this explanatory graphic about what much of Missouri and Illinois can expect Tuesday early evening into later Tuesday night.

As you can see from the graphic, northeast Missouri especially is in what the National Weather Service refers to as an enhanced chance of severe storm risk. The most likely result will be strong thunderstorms which will include at least some hail and very strong winds. They mention that a “few weak tornadoes” are also a possibility for Missouri and Illinois in these storms.

It’s worth noting that their forecast for the rest of the holiday week mentions an increasing chance of thunderstorms in Missouri and Illinois as we get closer to the 4th of July. It’s possible that nature could provide its own fireworks for America’s birthday.

Make sure to check out the updated forecasts for Tuesday and the rest of 4th of July week at the National Weather Service in St. Louis official site.