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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Where KC's mayor travels isn't the problem. It's who pays, and what they stand to gain
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas delivers his State of the City address in February 2024 (photo courtesy of the City of Kansas City). How honest should elected officials be with the public? It's not a rhetorical question. In Kansas City, recent decisions by the mayor suggest a level of opacity that warrants closer scrutiny — not outrage, necessarily, but concern. Mayor Quinton Lucas has sidestepped ethics rules, not by breaking them outright, but by rerouting gifts through a nonprofit shielded from disclosure. His lavish trips, funded by interests with business before the city, now appear routine. The problem isn't where he travels. It's who pays, and what they stand to gain. A series of reports by The Missouri Independent outlined a troubling pattern in the mayor's conduct — one centered on secrecy, donor influence and potential retaliation against a whistleblower. At issue: his ties to politically-connected contractors, campaign finance maneuvering and the use of a nonprofit to obscure gift-giving — all while pushing a publicly subsidized downtown stadium. Kansas City mayor accused of skirting city gift ban by using nonprofit to pay for travel At the center is the Mayors Corps of Progress for a Greater Kansas City Inc., a 501(c)(4) nonprofit with a vague mission. During Lucas's first term, the organization covered more than $35,000 in travel, lodging, meals and tickets — including a $23,518 trip to the 2023 Super Bowl for Lucas, his then–chief of staff, and two police officers. The day after the game, the Heavy Constructors Association (commonly called the Heavies), a major construction lobbying group, wired $24,000 to the nonprofit. City ethics rules prohibit gifts over $1,000 to elected officials. Lucas claims these were work-related trips, yet he sought no city reimbursement and offered no public accounting. Instead, his team accepted dark-money donations from entities with business before the city, then kept the details quiet. We only know of them because a whistleblower came forward. The pattern repeated in 2024 and 2025, when Lucas again hit the Super Bowl circuit — without a whistleblower to reveal who paid the bill. In the following months, an anonymous investigation request was made to the Kansas City Municipal Ethics Commission, which just recently refused to engage, finding 'no justification' warranting it. Lucas, just back from a junket to Qatar, spoke about the issue with Kansas City radio host Pete Mundo. 'Big business exists around sports,' he told Mundo, 'it is the reason that so many of us are spinning our wheels to see where the teams play.' Lucas went on to say: 'I will be in any room where I can share what is happening with Kansas City… with a bunch of rich people who have money to invest in Kansas City.' The problem is not what room, or rather owner's box, the mayor is in. Nor is the problem his rubbing elbows with wealthy people. The problem isn't money from afar; it's money in the mayor's back yard. Lucas isn't accepting gifts from people who want to invest in Kansas City; he (or rather his nonprofit, but that's a distinction without much ethical difference here) is taking checks from businesses that want Kansas City to invest in them. Specifically, the Royals, which donated $15,000 to the Mayors Corps in 2022, and the Heavies, with its $24,000 donation around the Super Bowl, benefit mightily from any taxpayer funding. Lucas has presented himself as the man to make it happen — while refusing to disclose the terms of any deal. It's a huge potential conflict of interest that could be addressed with a little disclosure. Despite that, the mayor has doubled down on concealment, not transparency. A cynic would say none of this is surprising, probably least of all to Lucas himself, who said: 'I think the ethics commission got it right, I always knew they would.' Kansas City mayor accused of retaliating against whistleblower who revealed nonprofit spending The commission currently has five members, all appointed by Lucas. To its credit, the commission recommended changes to the city's code of ethics to clear up reporting requirements. But disregarding the complaint demonstrates the problem with dark money contributions. Because the Mayors Corps does not have any business before the city, the commission reasoned, there is no reporting requirement. But the Mayors Corp got the money from people with business before the city. That starts to look like the nonprofit functions as a vehicle to launder donations — something that, again, could be addressed with a little disclosure and that, you'd think, the group would be eager to clear up. Mark Funkhouser, Kansas City's mayor from 2007 through 2011, said when he entered office that the Mayors Corp, 'was explained to me as a slush fund that mayors had been using for many years to do just this sort of thing. Needless to say, I didn't have any fat cats willing to set up and contribute to such a fund for me.' Lucas does. In the radio interview, Lucas argued that by getting donations to pay for his trips, he was being a good steward of the city's finances. He called the idea that the city should cover his expenses, 'preposterous.' Taxpayers take note: If you're not paying for what your elected officials are up to, then there's a pretty good chance you're the product, not the customer. Advocating for taxpayer-funded development is one thing. Accepting undisclosed corporate gifts while doing so is another. It's not just a bad look; it undermines the city's ethics framework and public trust. The public deserves transparency, not evasive answers and twisted reasoning. And they deserve a mayor who respects rules, and the spirit of them.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iowa Senate sends bill to governor banning open THC drink containers in vehicles
Open beverages containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that are legal under Iowa's consumable hemp regulations would not be permitted in passenger areas of vehicles while driving under the legislation. (Photo by Rebecca Rivas/The Missouri Independent) The Iowa Senate sent three bills to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds' desk Wednesday, including a measure that would prohibit open containers of drinks containing THC in vehicles. The Senate unanimously approved House File 181, a bill limiting the consumption of drinks containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in vehicles. The measure would apply restrictions currently in place for alcoholic beverages in vehicles to THC drinks, stating that open or unsealed THC beverages are prohibited in passenger area of a vehicle when in operation. Open drinks can still be transported in the trunk of a vehicle, or behind the last upright seat if the vehicle does not have a trunk. This measure applies to otherwise lawful THC drinks as defined by the 2024 law that set a limit of 4 milligrams of THC per serving for consumable hemp products. The House passed the measure unanimously Monday. Rep. Zach Dieken, R-Granville, who serves as an Iowa State Patrol trooper, said 'we run into this quite frequently,' and the change would address an oversight in current Iowa law. Rep. Jerome Amos Jr., D-Waterloo, also urged his colleagues Monday to support the bill during floor debate as a public safety measure. 'This is a important bill from a standpoint of ensuring that individuals that are driving on the road, also like with alcohol, are not driving impaired,' Amos Jr. said. Two other bills already passed by the Iowa House also received unanimous, final approval in the Senate Wednesday: House File 180 would require any person convicted of grooming as a criminal offense to register as a Tier I sex offender. Under current Iowa law, grooming is a Class D felony — conviction of grooming also requires that a person is committed to custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections for 10 years in addition to sentencing for any other offenses, and must register as a sex offender for a period of 10 years after their release. House File 182 would bring Iowa's uniform Controlled Substances Act in line with the federal controlled substances act, making changes to the scheduling of some illicit drugs including certain opioid and stimulant substances. These bills next go to Reynolds, who can sign the measures into law or veto them.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Planned Parenthood to restart regular abortion appointments in Columbia, Kansas City next week
A surgical room is prepped for patients on Friday, June 21, 2024, at Planned Parenthood Great Plains in Overland Park, Kansas (Anna Spoerre/The Missouri Independent). Two of Missouri's nine Planned Parenthood clinics are poised to start performing regularly-scheduled surgical abortions next week, though clinic leadership says access to medication abortions is in the hands of the state. The first elective abortion in Missouri since the procedure was banned in 2022 was performed earlier this month in a Kansas City Planned Parenthood clinic. It will now be offering regular appointments for surgical abortions along with the clinic in Columbia, which has not offered the procedure since 2018. Two weeks ago, Jackson County judge Jerri Zhang struck down the final few regulations for Missouri abortion providers, calling them 'unnecessary' and 'discriminatory,' opening the door for abortions to resume. The regulations run afoul of the constitutional amendment granting the right to abortion, which voters passed in November as Amendment 3. Among these now defunct regulations is a requirement that abortion clinics submit a complication plan for medication abortions. While Zhang blocked the regulations connected to the complication plan, the statute itself remains, said Emily Wales, president and CEO with Planned Parenthood Great Plains. We're in uncharted territory here, because we don't have regulations that tie to the statute, because they're blocked. I would be somewhat surprised if (the state) came back and said they are fine with the plan. – Emily Wales, president and CEO with Planned Parenthood Great Plains Wales said Planned Parenthood submitted a complication plan to the state last week, but there has been no indication as to how long it will take to review the plans. Until that approval arrives, medication abortions cannot begin, Wales said. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which is charged with approving the plan, did not provide comments on the approval process. 'We're in uncharted territory here, because we don't have regulations that tie to the statute, because they're blocked,' Wales said. 'I would be somewhat surprised if (the state) came back and said they are fine with the plan.' In 2023, 63% of abortions in the United States took place using medication rather than surgical procedures, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights research group. That number is increasing as the number of states with bans and restrictions on abortions grow. In states where abortion is legal, medication that induces a miscarriage is available to patients in their first trimester of pregnancy. Patients typically take two doses of medication, the second of which is often taken at home. In recent years, a growing number of women have been ordering abortion medication from online providers in the United States and abroad. Wales said Planned Parenthood's clinics in Kansas City and Columbia are stocked with abortion medication and ready to administer it as soon as the state allows. Leadership at the clinic in St. Louis said they are also ready to begin providing the medication as soon as the state green lights it. 'We are hoping that the state acts in good faith,' Wales said. 'And recognizes that our process for managing complications is in line with the standard of care nationally.' The first elective abortion to take place in Columbia since 2018 is scheduled for Monday. Nearly seven years ago, the clinic in central Missouri stopped seeing abortion patients after a new law required abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Soon, appointments will be available at least one day a week. The Kansas City clinic, located 125 miles west on Interstate 70, performed the first elective abortion in nearly three years in Missouri on Feb. 15. No other patients have undergone the procedure since. But beginning Wednesday, the clinic will begin seeing patients for regularly-scheduled surgical abortions at least one day a week. Initially, they are scheduling patients up until 12 weeks in pregnancy, but Wales said they intend to expand the gestational age as they figure out scheduling. The clinic also hopes to expand the pain management offered for surgical abortions. Initially, they plan to offer patients Valium and local anesthetic. Down the road Wales said they hope to also offer IV sedation. The lag between the first abortion patient and the second was due to logistics. But weather and a holiday weekend also played a role. A snowstorm that week forced the clinic to cancel other appointments and the physicians who came in to perform the first abortion hadn't been scheduled to work the weekend of President's Day. Instead, they offered to come in on their day off to take part in the historic moment. Anti-abortion advocates split over push to renew Missouri ban with rape, incest exceptions While Columbia and Kansas City will only be offering appointments one day a week for the first couple months, both hope to expand as they adjust providers' schedules and new staff physicians come on board. Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which runs clinics in Kansas, Western Missouri and Oklahoma, has five physicians based in the Kansas City area. Wales said they hope to add at least one more staff physician in the coming months. The clinics also rely on a network of about half a dozen out-of-state contracted physicians to coordinate care at the clinics, which primarily includes contraceptives, STI testing, cancer screenings and wellness checks. The equipment used in surgical abortions has been on a tri-state tour in recent years, Wales said. After the Columbia clinic ended the procedure, the equipment went to Oklahoma, which at the time was seeing a surge in Texans following that state's 6-week ban. When Oklahoma's ban went into effect, the equipment was sent to Kansas as more Texans and Oklahomans started traveling north for the procedure. Now, it's back in Columbia. Wales said it's not immediately clear what the demand for abortion appointments will be in Missouri. In 2023, Kansas saw a 58% increase in abortion appointments as bans took effect in neighboring states. Wales is anticipating the clinics in Columbia and Kansas City could see patients traveling in from Iowa, Arkansas and even Louisiana. 'One of the challenges for us is that we still have an overwhelming need in Kansas, and we're going to have to take some time to figure out how patients travel,' Wales said. 'If the demand is higher in Missouri, we will increase access there.' The Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis' Central West End was the last clinic in Missouri to provide an abortion before Roe v. Wade was overturned. Clinic leadership, wary of the ongoing court battle, has not yet started scheduling out abortion appointments in St. Louis. Dr. Margaret Baum, interim chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, which runs clinics in eastern and southern Missouri and southern Illinois, said it was too soon to provide a timeline of when surgical abortions will return to St. Louis. 'We moved all of our services to Illinois, our nursing staff, our anesthesia equipment, physician presence, all of those things,' she said. 'So it's going to take a little bit of time to bring things back to Missouri.' The St. Louis location previously offered abortions up to 21 weeks, six days gestation. Baum said she imagines they will offer the procedure up until that point again once services restart. A 20 minute drive across the river in Fairview Heights, Illinois, patients can be seen up to 28 weeks, six days gestation. While a lot of uncertainty remains around surgical abortions, Baum said the St. Louis clinic is ready to start providing medication abortions as soon as the state clears them to do so. But even though medication abortion is easier to provide — it requires fewer staff and less equipment — Baum said the clinics in Springfield and Rolla won't be able to make the medication available to patients because neither clinic has doctors on staff, citing a state law that requires only physicians perform the procedure. She said bringing physicians to Springfield and Rolla 'is certainly a discussion, but 'right now, we have to focus our physician power in our very, very busy service in Illinois, and bringing things back to Missouri.' Baum is one of two long-term staff physicians and one contracted physician at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers. When she started at Planned Parenthood in St. Louis several years ago, an ultrasound technician saw patients, then Baum reviewed the ultrasound images before moving on with the procedure. But then Missouri law changed and suddenly she was required to do the ultrasound, cutting into her time with other patients. Then came the mandatory 72 hour waiting period between seeing a provider and having an abortion. That was followed by a requirement that the same physician who walked the patient through the required informed consent process also be the one to do their abortion 72 hours later. CONTACT US Across the river in Illinois, there was no waiting period, no physician consent requirement and no pelvic exam required for medication abortions. While Baum said Planned Parenthood celebrated the judge's most recent decision, many are also wary of what the state could do next. This legislative session, dozens of bills have been filed seeking to restrict Amendment 3. This includes multiple proposed constitutional amendments seeking to put an abortion ban on the ballot as soon as this year. 'It is important to remember that while we celebrated this victory last Friday, it is temporary, so we are still a little bit nervous that things could change,' she said. 'We don't know what will happen in January, when the actual court case takes place. So before we put too much effort into reopening services in St. Louis, if things could then change, we still have to focus where we have this facility in Illinois, to keep that running.' On Saturday, Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a request for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, asking a Cole County judge to temporarily halt the Columbia and Kansas City clinics from performing abortions. The state has been attempting to move Planned Parenthood's lawsuit against the state from Jackson County to Cole County. The filing is part of a separate lawsuit filed late last year by the attorney general's office arguing that Planned Parenthood doesn't have the grounds to sue because of a 2010 settlement agreement between Planned Parenthood and the state. 'More than anything, I think it's an attempt to get out of a court where they're unhappy with the outcomes they're seeing,' Wales said. 'But also to delay, distract and prevent Missourians from access and care.' Planned Parenthood has requested that the case be transferred to Jackson County. A status hearing in the Cole County case is scheduled for March 12. Bailey is also expected to appeal the most recent order out of Jackson County which allowed Planned Parenthood to restart surgical abortions. In an email Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the attorney general said the office intends to appeal the judge's Feb. 14 order 'immediately.' As of Thursday, the office had not filed an appeal. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Missouri lawmakers weigh the cost of regulating intoxicating hemp products
State Rep. Dave Hinman, a Republican from O'Fallon, toured the warehouse of St. Louis-based Triple High Seltzer, a hemp-derived THC beverage, on Feb. 7 with the company's founder Will Spartin (Rebecca Rivas/The Missouri Independent). How much it will cost to regulate intoxicating hemp products on sale in bars and liquor stores across the state has become a key flashpoint of the debate in the Missouri legislature. Year after year, hemp business owners and distributors have asked the state to impose age restrictions and testing requirements for intoxicating hemp products rather than ban them outright. The proposals always die over disagreements about how to enact the regulations — and who should enforce them. This year, lawmakers are considering multiple proposals that differ regarding what kinds of products are allowed and the cap on THC content, the psychoactive chemical that produces the high consumers look for in marijuana products. 'The governor is looking for a compromise and a set of rules and regulations that will keep businesses open, employees working and most of all protect Missouri residents and keep the consumer safe,' said Republican state Rep. Dave Hinman of O'Fallon, during a General Laws Committee hearing Tuesday on a bill he's sponsoring. Earlier this month, legislation allowing low-dose intoxicating hemp beverages to continue to be sold in grocery and liquor stores won the approval of committees in both the Missouri House and Senate. Both bills, backed by the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, prohibit anything but beverages to be sold outside of state-regulated and licensed marijuana dispensaries. On Tuesday, Hinman criticized the MoCann-backed bills for potentially putting more than 2,000 small businesses 'out of business and move all of the hemp products into the constitutional marijuana monopoly.' Hinman's bill is backed by liquor distributor Steven Busch and establishes the same three-tier distribution system that the alcohol industry has long abided by. It offers guidelines for beverages, edibles, vapes and oils — such as proposing to limit edibles to only 5 mg of THC per serving and beverages to 10mg of THC per serving. However, like the MoCann-backed bills, it also prohibits products with a high amount of THC from being sold outside of marijuana dispensaries. Bills adding regulations to hemp-derived THC beverages advance in Missouri legislature The committee debated a bill earlier this month sponsored by Republican state Rep. Ben Baker of Neosho that is backed by the Missouri Hemp Trade Association that would set the limit to 100 mg of THC per serving for edibles. He argued that some people who use the products medicinally require a higher dose. Both Hinman and Baker's bills direct the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control to issue and regulate the licenses, while having the Division of Cannabis Regulation oversee product testing. State agencies provided estimates regarding how much it would cost their departments to regulate the products for each of the four bills lawmakers have debated so far. For the hemp industry-backed bills, state agencies estimated high costs — about $20 million a year for Hinman's bill and $95 million for Baker's. The biggest expense is for regulating compliance for independent testing laboratories across the country, a requirement in both bills. The agencies' research estimated that the expense would eclipse the potential revenues from sales and license fees. 'In the best scenario, I would think we would try to get to a revenue neutral on it because we're allowing a product to be sold and people want it,' said Republican state Rep. Rudy Veit of Wardville on Tuesday. 'We shouldn't necessarily subsidize it.' At Tuesday's hearing, MoCann's lobbyist Tom Robbins argued that the bills the association supports – sponsored by Republicans state Sen. Nick Schroer of Defiance and state Rep. Chad Perkins of Bowling Green — do not have the high costs that the bills backed by the hemp industry. 'I don't know that there's an appetite to recreate the regulatory wheel with intoxicating products in places that kids go versus ours, which is zero dollars and removes the products from where kids can enter,' Robbins said. However, state agencies didn't provide complete cost estimates for the MoCann-backed bills because the agencies assumed they would prohibit 'all or nearly all' the intoxicating hemp products currently on the market. That's because the agencies assumed nearly all of them are made with a process that would be banned referred to as chemical conversion – or converting the cannabis compound CBD that's abundant in hemp into THC using chemicals. However, many hemp companies are not currently using this process, instead moving to the natural extraction process the MoCann bills allow for. The bill sponsored by Perkins requires randomized inspections and periodically testing of hemp-derived beverage products. The cost analysis for Perkins' bill states the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control is 'not equipped' to do such testing and would have to pay a lab to conduct the testing of samples collected by the division. It states: 'The cost for this testing is unknown but is anticipated to be a significant cost.' A cost estimate for hiring a third-party laboratory was included in the bill sponsored by Baker — $73,908,288 per year. It's much lower in Hinman's bill, though it's unclear why because the testing requirements are very similar. Hinman agreed with several of the committee members that the cost of regulating these products shouldn't come out of the state's general revenue fund. 'If you're going to give the opportunity to retailers to sell this product, they should be paying for it again through the fees and taxes they pay,' Hinman said. 'I don't know where that sweet spot is, but I'm sure we can figure that out.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bills adding regulations to hemp-derived THC beverages advance in Missouri legislature
Delta-8 THC products like this pineapple seltzer can be sold in stores in Missouri because the intoxicating ingredient, THC, is derived from hemp, not marijuana which is a controlled substance (Rebecca Rivas/The Missouri Independent). Legislation allowing low-dose intoxicating hemp drinks to continue to be sold in grocery and liquor stores won the approval of committees in both the Missouri House and Senate this week. A House committee advanced a bill 12 to 5 on Wednesday afternoon, followed the next morning by a 5 to 1 by a Senate committee. While the bills carve out a place for hemp-THC seltzers to remain on store shelves, both bills ban intoxicating hemp edibles and vapes from being sold outside of marijuana dispensaries. CONTACT US That point caused some reluctance from House public safety committee members who worried it would harshly impact a number of current Missouri companies that sell those products. 'This is a tough bill to vote on,' said Democratic state Rep. Mark Sharp of Kansas City, who voted in favor. 'On the one hand, you're regulating to the point where you want to keep children safe, especially in our urban areas. But on the other hand, you're maybe over regulating.' Sharp and several other lawmakers said they voted in favor to get 'more eyes' on the bill when it reaches the full House, while others voted against because they'd prefer other legislation that has been filed this year. Among the other proposals is the beer wholesalers' legislation, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Barry Hovis of Whitewater, which lays out regulations only for hemp beverages. Like both the bills approved this week, it would also establish the same three-tier distribution system that the alcohol industry has long abided by. 'I'm against monopolies, always have been,' said Hovis at the Wednesday House committee meeting, 'and I still think that with the unknown of what it's going to cost an independent business has been selling stuff that's legal under the farm bill already. It could be tripling, quadrupling…' Under both bills approved this week, all retailers must get a license to sell the beverages. But a key difference is which state agency is tasked with issuing and regulating the licenses. The Senate bill, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Nick Schroer of Defiance, puts the job in the hands of the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, which already regulates liquor retailers, distributors and manufacturers. Missouri cannabis trade group offers compromise in fight over regulating intoxicating hemp The House bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Chad Perkins of Bowling Green, will ask the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which already houses the state's cannabis regulating agency. 'This isn't a final product,' Schroer said of his bill in the Senate committee Thursday. 'If we're going to have a regulated industry, implement consumer protections to make sure that the potency that's on the packaging is exactly what it is. The main point is making sure that our kids don't have access to this stuff.' Schroer's original bill proposed to treat hemp-derived THC edibles, vapes and beverages the same as marijuana — meaning under the Division of Cannabis Regulation's rules and exclusively sold in dispensaries. The Missouri Cannabis Trade Association proposed an amendment last month to carve out an exception for beverages, such as THC seltzers sold in cans. It capped the amount of THC at five milligrams per can and excluded drinks made with 'synthetic' THC, or THC that has been converted from CBD using a chemical process. That language is in both the House and Senate bills. However, Brooklyn Hill, president of the Missouri Hemp Trade Association, said MoCann's carve out is 'not a solution to the problem.' 'This bill will still, even with the hemp beverage carve out, shut down hundreds of Missouri businesses and cost hundreds of Missourians their jobs,' Hill said. Currently, Delta-8 THC products — including a large variety of drinks that are popular at bars and available at gas stations throughout the state — can be sold in Missouri stores because the intoxicating ingredient is derived from hemp, not marijuana. Hemp is federally legal, though several states have passed laws to prohibit intoxicating hemp products. Missouri legislators have tried for the past two years to do that as well. There's no state or federal law saying teenagers or children can't buy them or stores can't sell them to minors — though some stores and vendors have taken it upon themselves to impose age restrictions of 21 and up. The proposal backed by the hemp association would limit beverages and edibles to 100 mg of THC per serving, saying that some people who use the products medicinally require a higher dose. It directs the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control to regulate hemp licensees. The Missouri Hemp Trade Association believes vehemently opposes establishing the three-tier system, saying it would create a monopoly on behalf of the distributors.
