JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) -A new Missouri law going into effect later this month will allow the state to raise the maximum speed limit to 75 miles per hour on select highways.
The Missouri State Highway Commission will have the authority to raise the speed limit by 5 miles per hour on Interstates 35, 44, 55 and 70 starting August 28.
Urban areas with posted speed limits currently under 70 miles per hour will be permitted to keep those lower limits. This does not automatically raise speed limits; the Highway Commission has to enact the new limits where they see fit.
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The current speed limit on most parts of the Missouri Interstate system is 70 miles per hour. Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Chase Fox said drivers most often exceed that limit by a modest margin.
“I think more frequently we see a range between 5 to 10 over the posted speed limit,” Fox said.
Fox noted that hundreds of active construction zones on the affected interstates are adding complexity to speed enforcement. Speed limits along much of Interstate 70 currently vary between 50 and 70 miles per hour due to construction activity. Fox encourages drivers to stay aware of posted limits.
“Fortunately, when they have the time and resources, we do high-visibility projects where an aircraft will come up and monitor speed for us to assist us in speed enforcement in construction zones,” Fox said.
Fox says increased speeds can lead to more unsafe situations.
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“Increased speed does now also require greater braking distance and stuff like that, and when you’re talking about seconds to react out on a highway, I think those two factors correlate with one another,” Fox said. “So yeah, I think speed is a contributing factor to crashes.”
The Missouri Department of Transportation declined an on-camera interview but provided a written statement saying they’re evaluating the eligible locations.
“MoDOT has the responsibility to set speed limits that are reasonably safe considering the various factors of each roadway, such as traffic volume,” a department spokesperson said. “The passage of this bill allows the department to increase that limit in areas where it’s determined to be reasonably safe to do so.”
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This photo taken with a smartphone shows Steve Perry, of Kansas City, holding a sign in opposition to Missouri’s congressional redistricting plan on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, outside the state Capitol, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rebuffed an appeal from Missouri officials who wanted to use new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump in the November election, a defeat for Republicans who had hoped the new map could help them hold onto their slim House majority.
The justices let stand a decision by Missouri’s top court, which said the new districts were automatically suspended by a citizen petition demanding a statewide vote.
The ruling marks a rare setback for Republicans in a nationwide redistricting battle that Trump urged Republicans to launch last year.
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Missouri’s new districts were used in the August primaries. But the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in September that the state must revert to districts adopted after the last census.
Republican state Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, who appealed, had argued it would violate federal rights to switch districts for voters between the primary and general elections. She also said it would cause confusion.
Missouri currently is represented in the U.S. House by six Republicans and two Democrats who were elected under districts that Republican state officials approved in 2022.
But at Trump’s urging, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe called the Legislature into a special session last year to redraw congressional boundaries to their advantage ahead of the midterms.
The revised map targeted the 5th Congressional District, held by longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City. It reassigned portions of Kansas City to two neighboring districts represented by Republicans and stretched the remainder of Cleaver’s district far eastward into rural Republican areas.
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Cleaver was unopposed in the Democratic primary. State Sen. Rick Brattin won the Republican primary in the reshaped district.
On the same day as the primary, Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected a petition with thousands of signatures seeking to force a November referendum on the map. Hoskins asserted that Missouri’s Constitution doesn’t allow a referendum on congressional redistricting. A lower court agreed, but the state Supreme Court reversed Hoskins’ decision.
The state’s top court said the new districts were retroactively frozen in December, when the petition signatures were submitted, and thus never became law. Hoskins on Tuesday assigned the redistricting referendum as Proposition A on the November ballot, in compliance with the state court order.
The Missouri Constitution does not specifically say that a referendum can be used for congressional redistricting. But the state Supreme Court said a constitutional provision allowing a referendum on “any act” of the Legislature encompasses congressional redistricting legislation.
Missouri was the second Republican-led state, after Texas, to respond to Trump’s call last year to redraw congressional districts. Several other states followed. All told, Republicans had hoped to win as many as 16 additional seats from new House maps enacted in eight states — Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama. Democrats, whose counterattack faced several setbacks, think they could win up to six additional seats from new districts in California and Utah.
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It remains to be seen whether the redistricting works as intended for Republicans. The president’s party historically has lost congressional seats in the midterms, and Trump’s poor approval ratings could provide an extra hurdle for Republican candidates.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KSNW) – KU is looking towards the Border Showdown against Missouri after its 51-6 rout of LIU.
The Jayhawks accumulated more than 600 yards of offense, but now, the juices will be flowing a little more this week for the 122nd installment of the rivalry with the Tigers, which returned last year after a 14-year hiatus.
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“Last year, getting the teams back together reignited the sparks so to speak of this rivalry and the intensity of it,” Kansas head coach Lance Leipold said. “Now, it’s not on the books for a while after Friday, so hopefully it can be.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night in Lawrence.
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A woman was killed while swimming Friday afternoon in Beaver Lake after being hit by a boat, according to Trey Reid, assistant chief of communications for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
An emergency call came in at 5:35 p.m. and was just north of War Eagle on the White River arm of the lake, according to Reid. The woman was swimming in an open portion of the lake that is relatively narrow with a lot of boat traffic.
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The woman was identified as Alla Barry.
Barry was a doctor and professor of biology at Missouri Southern State University, according to a social media post by the university.
“It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Dr. Alla Barry, a beloved professor of biology at Missouri Southern State University. Dr. Barry passed away following a tragic boating accident,” the post states.
No other boating accidents were reported on the lake over the weekend.
The incident in still under investigation, according to Reid.
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