Missouri
Missouri workers rally across state ahead of paid sick leave taking effect May 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Last November, Missourians voted in favor of Proposition A, which increased the state’s minimum wage and gives employees earned paid time off. As a house bill that would repeal the earned sick pay portion of the proposition makes its way through the Capitol, several workers rights groups organized rallies across the state, including in Kansas City.
Dozens gathered outside Oddly Correct Coffee at the corner of E 42nd and Troost Thursday afternoon in support of the proposition, including Fran Marion, a fast food worker and leader with the Missouri Workers Center. She says wishes she had paid sick leave while her children were growing up, but is happy her now grown children will soon no longer have to make the difficult decisions she had to. One of her children has a son who had to undergo open heart surgery at just three weeks old.
“If I had paid sick days, I wouldn’t have to worry about how my rents going to get paid, how I’m going to get food on the table, and I would be able to be with my sick child,” said Marion. “With paid sick days going into effect next month, it brings me comfort in knowing that Ray can take time off without losing a paycheck and have to suffer over choosing to keep a roof over their head or being home taking care of my grandson.”
Missouri Jobs with Justice, Missouri Workers Center, Stand Up KC, business owners, workers, and more rallied outside the coffee shop, including owner Mike Schroeder. He shared his shop’s success after raising the wages of workers years ago and encourages other businesses owners who may be unsure to keep an open mind.
“It was a gamble, but it worked,” said Schroeder. “People were happier, they did better work, our customers were happier, we saw a 20% increase in revenue after enacting living wages and paid sick leave.”
After the rally, the group took to the streets, going to businesses in Kansas City and speaking with owners to remind them of the changes coming next month. Employers must provide their employees with written notice of their earned paid sick leave rights by next Tuesday, April 15. Earned paid sick leave takes effect May 1.
This comes as a bill is currently making its way through the state capitol that looks to repeal the paid sick time mandate. House Bill 567 has already passed the House and is currently in the Senate. A lawsuit by Missouri business groups in the state wants the results of Proposition A thrown out.
The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments last month, with those who filed the suit requesting a decision preferably by April 15, but at the latest by May 1.
Copyright 2025 KCTV. All rights reserved.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Supreme Court opened the door Tuesday to abortions being halted again in a tumultuous legal saga after voters struck down the state’s abortion ban last November.
The state’s top court ruled that a district judge applied the wrong standard in rulings in December and February that allowed abortions to resume in the state for the first time since they were nearly completely halted under a ban that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
In Tuesday’s two-page ruling, the court ordered Judge Jerri Zhang to vacate her earlier orders and re-evaluate the case using the standards the court laid out.
The state emphasized in their petition filed to the state Supreme Court in March that Planned Parenthood didn’t sufficiently prove women were harmed without the temporary blocks on the broad swath of laws and regulations on abortion services and providers. On the contrary, the state said Zhang’s decisions left abortion facilities “functionally unregulated” and women with “no guarantee of health and safety.”
Sam Lee, director of Campaign Life Missouri, said he was “extremely excited” by the Supreme Court order.
“This means that our pro-life laws, which include many health and safety protections for women, will remain in place,” Lee said. “How long they will remain we will have to see. But for right now, we would expect that Planned Parenthood would stop doing any abortions until the court rules otherwise.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, police arrested a suspect in a fatal shooting that happened on the streets of Westport at the start of the Memorial Day weekend.
30-year-old Marquis Ponder is facing charges related to the homicide, according to the police department.
‘We have to do better’: 3 shootings in Kansas City, Missouri over holiday weekend
Two men got into an argument outside a smoke shop Friday afternoon on Broadway Boulevard. The argument ended in gunfire, adding another homicide to this year’s count in Kansas City.
Police identified the victim as 30-year-old Levon Quinn.
There have been 63 homicides in the first five months of 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.
“This is Westport, this is a very busy area,” KCPD Public Information Officer Alayna Gonzalez said on Friday after the shooting. “It’s very heavily traveled, there’s a lot of surveillance footage.”
Al Miller
That surveillance video has been going around on social media sites.
It shows a man, believed to be the 30-year-old Quinn, leaving a business, Dr. Smoke.
He got into an argument with another man. Quinn turned away to leave when the other man pulled out a gun and shot the victim.
The suspect in the video, believed to be Ponder, ran away as the victim got into his car.
Police say Quinn attempted to drive to the hospital, but he crashed into a motorcyclist along Mill Creek Parkway.
He died by the time officers got to him. The motorcyclist was reported to be okay.
“I do find it interesting that somebody would think an area that is as busy and heavily populated as [Westport] would think that an argument escalating into gunfire would even be worth a Friday evening,” Officer Gonzalez said.
Police arrested 30-year-old Ponder later Friday night, charging him in connection with the homicide.
The metro saw shootings on Saturday and Sunday, too. An argument on Troost and 56th on Saturday evening ended with one man dead and two people hospitalized. A shooting in the Crossroads on Sunday morning left one person with life-threatening injuries.
“Arguing and escalating to gun violence is completely unnecessary,” Officer Gonzalez said. “We have to do better.”
This weekend’s violence comes as KCPD is working to crackdown on crime, including illegal street racing and sideshows, in entertainment districts.
The department stated they issued 35 citations, six custodial arrests and towed six vehicles in entertainment districts like the Crossroads and Westport over Memorial Day weekend.
—
KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One person suffered life-threatening gunshot wounds early Sunday morning in the Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City, Missouri.
Kansas City, Missouri, police officers working off-duty heard several gunshots in the area of East 18th and Oak streets.
They found the shooting victim, and he was taken to a hospital.
No arrests have been made.
Detectives are investigating what led to the violence
—
If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
Deer ticks, Lyme disease carriers, found in Montana
Runza joins orientation lineup for incoming Huskers
Democracy at gunpoint: Why Nevada needs Assembly Bill 105
Stefany Shaheen, daughter of retiring US senator, launches congressional campaign in New Hampshire – The Boston Globe
South Jersey will play a major role in New Jersey’s 2025 governor’s race
-
News1 week agoMaps: 3.8-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Southern California
-
World1 week agoPortuguese PM’s party set to win general election, fall short of majority
-
Politics1 week agoAfghan Christian pastor pleads with Trump, warns of Taliban revenge after admin revokes refugee protections
-
Politics1 week agoTrump, alongside first lady, to sign bill criminalizing revenge porn and AI deepfakes
-
Movie Reviews1 week agoReview | Magellan, conqueror of Philippines, as we’ve never seen him before
-
Politics1 week agoExpert reveals how companies are rebranding 'toxic' DEI policies to skirt Trump-era bans: 'New wrapper'
-
Education1 week agoHow Usher Writes a Commencement Speech
-
World1 week agoDigitisation fronts new Commission strategy to boost EU single market