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New session, old kerfuffles for the Missouri Legislature – Missourinet

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New session, old kerfuffles for the Missouri Legislature – Missourinet


The Missouri Legislature’s 2024 regular session has begun in Jefferson City. Members of the newly formed Missouri Freedom Caucus, made up of far-right conservative Republicans, wasted no time picking up where they left off last year.

The group is a local Missouri chapter of the congressional House Freedom Caucus, which has been known to take hard stances toward social conservatism and small government. It’s made up of frustrated and fed-up far right leaning lawmakers from what some see as a lack of action last year.

During his opening day speech, President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, tried to strike a unifying tone.

“Will we focus on principle progress or political pandemonium? Will we care more about Missouri’s future or our own futures? What I’m about to say is not breaking news, political experts and onlookers don’t think this session is going to amount to much,” said Rowden. “My simple message is let’s prove them wrong.”

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But like a scratch in a vinyl record, that unifying tone abruptly ended. The Freedom Caucus questioned why priorities like initiative petition changes and property tax relief did not pass last year. Caucus chair Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, took to the Senate floor to put his fellow Republicans to task for blaming him for lack of bills passing last year.

“We’ve been pushed to a point to where we wanted peace,” Brattin said. “We’ve been shown to say peace is no option. Now, I say that in terms of, I’m not going to be spiteful towards an individual, I’m not going to be hate-filled. But, in terms of advancing policy, this will be a ‘show no prisoner’ type of approach.”

Rep. Nick Schroer, R-St. Charles, is also a member. He said the time for statesmanship is over.

“I don’t care if it’s Republicans screwing the pooch or Democrats doing it,” Schroer said. “We need to take this state in the right direction. We need to stop overspending. We need to stop overtaxing. We need to put the people back in power and, yes, if it takes reading a substitute bill that’s dropped on our desks five minutes before we start talking about it, to walk through that bill to see what’s in it, you can count on me to do that this year.”

The caucus called out their fellow Republican members for being “Republicans in Name Only.” Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, said his caucus members tried extending olive branches.

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“In every case, those olive branches were rejected,” Eigel said. “Honestly, it was a mistake for some of us to wait till the closing days of session to start pushing back as hard as we did in the last days when suddenly things like expanding gambling were as important as eliminating personal property tax.”

On the other hand, the Senators have been blamed for holding up business in recent sessions and they are expected to again this year.

Top priorities this year for the Republican-controlled legislature include restricting foreign ownership of Missouri land, making it tougher to pass voter-approved ballot measures, ways to reduce property taxes, as well as boosting access to childcare.

The one constitutional duty that state lawmakers has is to pass a balanced budget.

House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, said this will be a different year for the state budget.

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“Gone are the federal dollars that have been thrown at the states that have helped grow inflation,” said Plocher. “We must again budget wisely and protect the surplus we’ve so hard worked to build up. The consensus revenues are almost flat. We need to be responsible with the surplus and ensure that Missouri is prepared for the future rainy day that we know always comes.”

Another priority this year for many members of the Missouri House and Senate is passing a bill to help pay for the state’s Medicaid costs. The federal reimbursement allowance bill, also known as the FRA, taxes Missouri hospitals to help with those expenses. Far-right Conservatives are expected to pick up where they left off last year, by blocking bills, possibly jeopardizing the fate of proposals such as the FRA.

The Missouri House’s Republican and Democratic leaders agree that the legislature must pass the FRA. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said she is concerned about the fate of the bill.

“So if we do not pass the FRA, we will be out so much money and where’s that money going to come from – public education, general revenue. And so, when we have the conversation about the FRA, it’s not just about making our Medicaid program solvent – it’s about making sure that we are funding all of the things necessary,” said Quade.

Plocher, who is running for Lt. Governor, said lawmakers must pass the bill.

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“How vital is three-and-a-half to $4 billion on a $50 billion budget if we don’t get it passed? I don’t think our budget can absorb a three and a half to $4 billion hit,” he said. “The FRA has been continually passed in Missouri since 1992 by both parties.”

Two years ago, the Missouri Legislature did not pass the bill during the regular session – forcing Gov. Mike Parson to call lawmakers back for a special session.

Quade, who is running for governor, said she is apprehensive to what Republicans will accomplish this year. But Quade said she is hopeful that they can work together.

“Our expectations are pretty low for a wildly successful year,” said Quade. “As you all know, there are a lot of elections coming up and a lot of Republican primaries in our future. There are a lot of things that have happened over the past few months pitting our Senate and House chambers against each other more so than usual.”

She outlined several Democratic priorities, including ways to boost teacher pay, restricting foreign ownership of farmland, as well as reducing or eliminating taxes on groceries, feminine hygiene products, and diapers.

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Plocher, on the other hand, said he’s optimistic about the session.

“Doom and gloom has no business in this building,” said Plocher. “I mean, if you live by that, you wouldn’t want to serve the public, right. I mean, we come down here – it’s hard to pass a bill and it should be. But we have to do the job. I signed up for this. I welcome the challenge. We’re going to pass good stuff. I hope the Senate works with us.”

Both leaders also expressed interest in legislative efforts to reduce crime.

Plocher said he is confident that he can still lead the lower chamber in this new session of the legislature. His comment follows a committee in his chamber reportedly investigating him for months.

“That’s all doom and gloom and just drama,” said Plocher. “I want to get past the drama. I believe the drama will be behind us shortly. Now what the Senate does, that’s their ballgame altogether.”

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The nature of the investigation is unknown and so is the timeline for the House Ethics Committee to wrap up its work.

By Anthony Morabith and Alisa Nelson

Copyright 2024, Missourinet.



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It’s All Madsen In Missouri High Limit Tilt – SPEED SPORT

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It’s All Madsen In Missouri High Limit Tilt – SPEED SPORT


WHEATLAND, Mo. — It was all Kerry Madsen on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Speedway as the 54-year-old native of Australia, who’s now based in Knoxville, Iowa, picked up his first Interstate Batteries High Limit Sprint racing victory.

Madsen led all 30 laps to earn the $12,000 prize. He outdistanced runner-up Sue Lynch by 2.79 seconds with Tanner Holmes finishing third.

“The car’s been super quick every time we’ve hit the track,” Madsen said, noting several competitive runs in the early portion of the High Limit schedule. “The car’s been quick every night, which gives you a lot of confidence.

“We haven’t drawn well in dashes and had some little stuff going on. We drew a good one (tonight) and the car was good and we got the job done. I’m pretty happy.”

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That changed this time as Madsen beat Holmes in the dash, to claim the pole position for the feature.

Madsen said his young crew chief Ty Wolfgang has “done a great job” getting in sync with him. Communication has been a big key.

“I know it sounds weird, but just hanging out together,” Madsen said of the driver-crew chief chemistry. “Dinner and a beer and just talk about racing. You do that and it might be a Wednesday night, but something clicks. He’s been real receptive with that stuff and that’s great.”

Madsen, a former Knoxville Nationals 360 winner, paced the early going after starting from the pole, with Holmes in close pursuit. Action slowed on lap six with Chase Randall and Danny Samms III tangling in turn two for the first and only yellow of the event.

Lynch moved into second on the restart as Madsen opened a 1.5-second lead by lap nine as Holmes dropped to third. Madsen’s margin swelled to nearly two seconds by lap 11 – but Lynch tracked down the leader and cut the deficit to a half-second at the halfway mark on lap 15.

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As the race continued until green-flag conditions, Madsen settled into a one-second advantage as Lynch and Holmes tried to keep pace. Madsen poured it on in the late stages, cruising to the checkers by nearly three seconds over Lynch.

“Hopefully we can keep rolling like this all year. Obviously, you can’t win every night, but being quick and running well is going to be awesome,” Madsen said.

Lynch, 28 from Cowansville, Pa., said the team found some steering issues and gave him a fast car. It just was not fast enough to stay with Madsen on Saturday night.

“We were battling steering issue in the dash and it was pretty obvious,” Lynch said. “We just didn’t have time to change it and we just tried to make it the best we could. Really the car was super good. The guys busted their butt all night. It’s a testament to the team. We’re working hard and hopefully one spot better real soon.”

Holmes, a 22-year-old from Jacksonville, Oregon, came home third with Daison Pursley fourth, Hank Davis fifth and Rico Abreu charging from 11th to sixth.

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“Our best night of the year,” Holmes said. “We’ve got to race a little bit during a break with High Limit these last few weeks. Some of those nights when we got our teeth kicked in taught us a lot.”

Fast overall qualifier was Sye Lynch at 13.342 seconds out of Group A. Aaron Reutzel led Group B with a lap of 13.469 seconds. Both were well off the track record for 410 Sprints held by Rico Abreu at 12.829 seconds on June 29, 2024.

The finish:

Feature: 1. 55-Kerry Madsen[1]; 2. 42-Sye Lynch[3]; 3. 13-Tanner Holmes[2]; 4. 9-Daison Pursley[4]; 5. 17GP-Hank Davis[5]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu[11]; 7. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[12]; 8. 77-Giovanni Scelzi[6]; 9. 19-Brent Marks[9]; 10. 26-Justin Peck[10]; 11. 88-Tanner Thorson[15]; 12. 21-Brian Brown[14]; 13. 28-Jace Park[23]; 14. 87-Aaron Reutzel[7]; 15. 19JR-Joel Myers Jr[20]; 16. 45X-Rees Moran[21]; 17. 5-Brenham Crouch[19]; 18. 44-Chris Martin[8]; 19. 19H-Kaleb Johnson[22]; 20. 87X-Logan Seavey[17]; 21. 36-Jason Martin[16]; 22. 9R-Chase Randall[18]; 23. 24D-Danny Sams III[13]; 24. 2-Miles Paulus[24]

 

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Missouri Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 winning numbers for April 18, 2026

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The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at April 18, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from April 18 drawing

24-25-39-46-61, Powerball: 01, Power Play: 5

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 18 drawing

Midday: 5-8-2

Midday Wild: 3

Evening: 3-8-5

Evening Wild: 1

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 18 drawing

Midday: 0-1-6-1

Midday Wild: 2

Evening: 4-7-6-9

Evening Wild: 5

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Cash Pop numbers from April 18 drawing

Early Bird: 08

Morning: 01

Matinee: 05

Prime Time: 04

Night Owl: 05

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Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Show Me Cash numbers from April 18 drawing

07-10-21-27-33

Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from April 18 drawing

02-38-45-53-63, Powerball: 21

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

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Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Missouri Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Missouri Lottery’s regional offices, by appointment only.

To claim by mail, complete a Missouri Lottery winner claim form, sign your winning ticket, and include a copy of your government-issued photo ID along with a completed IRS Form W-9. Ensure your name, address, telephone number and signature are on the back of your ticket. Claims should be mailed to:

Ticket Redemption

Missouri Lottery

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P.O. Box 7777

Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777

For in-person claims, visit the Missouri Lottery Headquarters in Jefferson City or one of the regional offices in Kansas City, Springfield or St. Louis. Be sure to call ahead to verify hours and check if an appointment is required.

For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.

When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
  • Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
  • Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
  • Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
  • Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
  • Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
  • Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Missouri Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 winning numbers for April 17, 2026

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The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at April 17, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from April 17 drawing

38-43-44-49-62, Mega Ball: 08

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 17 drawing

Midday: 4-8-6

Midday Wild: 2

Evening: 8-8-2

Evening Wild: 1

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 17 drawing

Midday: 3-9-4-2

Midday Wild: 4

Evening: 7-3-7-7

Evening Wild: 7

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Cash Pop numbers from April 17 drawing

Early Bird: 07

Morning: 06

Matinee: 08

Prime Time: 05

Night Owl: 07

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Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Show Me Cash numbers from April 17 drawing

04-06-25-37-39

Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Missouri Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Missouri Lottery’s regional offices, by appointment only.

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To claim by mail, complete a Missouri Lottery winner claim form, sign your winning ticket, and include a copy of your government-issued photo ID along with a completed IRS Form W-9. Ensure your name, address, telephone number and signature are on the back of your ticket. Claims should be mailed to:

Ticket Redemption

Missouri Lottery

P.O. Box 7777

Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777

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For in-person claims, visit the Missouri Lottery Headquarters in Jefferson City or one of the regional offices in Kansas City, Springfield or St. Louis. Be sure to call ahead to verify hours and check if an appointment is required.

For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.

When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
  • Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
  • Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
  • Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
  • Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
  • Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
  • Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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