Missouri

Missouri Republicans champion juvenile justice reform

Published

5 months ago

January 20, 2026

Missouri Republicans champion juvenile justice reform

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Gov. Mike Kehoe made juvenile justice reform a top priority, and Missouri lawmakers are taking action.

A new bill being considered by the Missouri House of Representatives aims to crack down on juvenile crime by giving prosecutors greater power to try young offenders as adults. The House committee could vote on the proposal as soon as next week. A companion bill is also moving through the Senate.

St. Louis Republican Rep. Brad Christ introduced a bill to reform the juvenile justice system.

Gov. Mike Kehoe made juvenile justice reform a top priority, and Missouri lawmakers are taking action.(KCTV5/Hannah Falcon)

“It’s been a problem that’s picked up in the state over the last four years, and that every law enforcement agency wants to figure out, every community wants to figure out,” Christ said.

Christ’s bill would expand prosecutors’ authority to try juveniles as adults and extend lockup periods for young offenders. The lawmaker believes this approach will break the cycle of repeated arrests and demonstrate that Missouri can effectively address juvenile crime.

“The juvenile system is set up for rehabilitation and that’s not what’s happening now,” Christ said. “We are seeing crime come down in the state with bills like last year and this year, and I think we’re set up to show the world what Missouri is made of and I think Gov. Kehoe has got us on the right path.”

Proponents argue the current system isn’t working. They point to cases where young people are arrested, released by police, and picked up again shortly after, a cycle they say perpetuates crime and puts communities at risk.

The proposal has garnered bipartisan support. Democratic representatives, including Rep. Rachel Proudie of St. Louis, voiced backing for the effort.

“All in all, I’m glad we’re focusing on this; this is definitely scratching an itch,” Proudie said.

Gov. Mike Kehoe made juvenile justice reform a top priority, and Missouri lawmakers are taking... — Gov. Mike Kehoe made juvenile justice reform a top priority, and Missouri lawmakers are taking action.(KCTV5/Hannah Falcon)

However, not everyone is convinced the solution will work. Advocates for youth justice raise concerns about transferring young people to the adult system.

“Threatening children with adult prosecution does not reduce crime. It destroys futures and increases recidivism,” said Clinton Davis with the Missouri Justice Coalition.

While community groups have raised objections, no lawmakers spoke against the bill during the committee hearing on Tuesday morning.

Notably, Missouri’s juvenile recidivism rate—the rate at which young offenders reoffend—stands at less than 10%, significantly lower than the adult recidivism rate. Community leaders opposing the bill point to this statistic as evidence that the current system is already working.

“If you take a child from the juvenile system and place them in the adult system where it’s already failing, you’re not helping the child,” Davis said.

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Missouri

Missouri ice cream shop named best in the state. Here’s why.

Published

5 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Press Room

Missouri ice cream shop named best in the state. Here’s why.

Think you know the best ice cream shop in Missouri? Ask ten people, and you’ll likely get ten different answers.

Cheapism, a website focused on budget living, is weighing in on the debate with its recently released list of the best ice cream shops in every state. Here’s what it selected as Missouri’s best ice cream spot:

What’s the best ice cream shop in Missouri, according to Cheapism?

The media outlet selected the winners by scouring through Reddit threads, Yelp reviews, Google ratings and local favorites to find the best ice cream shop in every state.

Factoring all of that in, the honor of Missouri’s best ice cream shop goes to Clementine’s Ice Cream in St. Louis.

Clementine’s is a locally owned artisanal ice cream shop founded in 2015, known for its “naughty” (alcohol-infused) and “nice” (nonalcoholic) offerings, as well as non-dairy options.

The company has expanded from its beginnings as a single shop to multiple locations, boasting 11 shops across the Midwest, with three more on the way.

What’s Clementine’s best ice cream flavor?

Clementine’s also landed on Food & Wine’s list of essential ice cream flavors for all 50 states with its gooey butter cake ice cream.

The magazine praised the “super creamy” texture of the cream cheese ice cream and appreciated the large chunks of Clementine’s homemade gooey butter cake mixed throughout.

What is gooey butter cake?

For those not in the know, gooey butter cake is one of the Show Me State’s best-kept secrets, with its origins tracing back to St. Louis in the 1930s.

The cake allegedly came about when a baker accidentally reversed the butter-to-flour ratio while making a batch of coffee cake, resulting in a gooey, custard-like filling. Given it was the Great Depression, the bakery decided to sell the resulting cake rather than waste it, making it a hit with locals in the process.

It became so popular, in fact, that other bakeries in the city soon began making their own versions, and an iconic Missouri treat was born.

How to find a Clementine’s near you

Clementine’s has more than a dozen locations, mostly centered around St. Louis. It also has locations in Kansas City and Bentonville, Arkansas.

A Clementine’s is scheduled to open in Columbia this summer.

Check out this map to find the nearest Clementine’s location near you:

You can also get Clementine’s shipped directly to your front door via Goldbelly.

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Missouri

Missouri lawmaker pushes for more transparency from data center developments

Published

15 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Press Room

Missouri lawmaker pushes for more transparency from data center developments

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KFVS) – As more data centers are announced across Missouri, one state lawmaker wants to get rid of non-disclosure agreements.

Republican State Rep. Tricia Byrnes from St. Charles County organized a public hearing for Sept. 16 at the Missouri Capitol for lawmakers to discuss data center regulations. Any legislation that comes out of the hearing will have to wait until January to be introduced in the General Assembly. Byrnes said she hopes local communities take action before January.

The effort comes after Amazon and Google announced multibillion-dollar data center projects in Montgomery County, which Byrnes represents.

Montgomery County farmer Harry Cope said residents have concerns about how the projects have been handled.

“The transparency that’s gone on with all of this stuff in our county has been about like looking through muddy water,” Cope said.

Byrnes said Missourians are looking for state leaders to respond.

“Missourians should never take a bad deal. And right now, folks are waiting for Jefferson City to stand up and pay attention,” Byrnes said.

Byrnes is not proposing a complete statewide stop to data center projects. She said she wants to get rid of nondisclosure agreements for data center projects and create specific noise standards and water permits. She said she wants the process to happen in public.

Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, has said he supports more data centers in Missouri, saying they are better for the economy.

“It’s about opportunity, good-paying jobs, investment in our community, better efficiency. And it’s about making sure Missouri remains on the forefront of next-generation technology,” Kehoe said.

Byrnes did not directly comment on whether Kehoe will support her legislation. She addressed a comment the governor made last week, when he implied foreign adversaries such as China are spreading misinformation about data centers.

“We have extremely intelligent people all across Missouri, and what I’m hearing now is this spin that they’re hearing stuff from China. I can tell you, no one from China asked me to have you here today,” Byrnes said.

Missouri House Democratic Leader Ashley Aune said there is an opportunity for lawmakers to craft legislation based on what Missourians want.

“I don’t have a proposal top of mind about what regulation would, should, can look like across the state. But what I will say is that we have a real opportunity to work with our voters,” Aune said.

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