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Wednesday, February 4, 2026 – Missouri political news headlines

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KCMO (Kansas City): Pete Mundo in the Morning: Sen. Eric Schmitt on partial government shutdown, ICE, more

93.9 The Eagle (Columbia): U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison on partial government shutdown

P-D: St. Louis could block new ICE detention centers from the city (avoid stltoday paywall by reading archived version here)

Westplex Talk 104.5 FM: The Brad & John Show, Wednesday: Why Cara Spencer won’t antagonize ICE (link opens at 9:25 mark) (listen on Apple Podcasts here)

KCUR: Kansas City activists hold anti-ICE forum

Columbia Missourian: FEC campaign finance reports: Highlights from Hawley, Schmitt, Mark Alford, Bob Onder campaigns

Westplex Talk 104.5 FM: The Brad & John Show, Tuesday: 60-second life lesson: What Ed Martin and hot women have in common (link opens at 17:40 mark) (listen on Apple Podcasts here)

The Beacon (Kansas City): After enhanced subsidies disappear, Affordable Care Act enrollment drops in Missouri; comments from Washington University health care policy analyst Jeffrey Jones @jeffreyjonesmo Timothy McBride

The Missouri Times: Combest: 20 for 20, Part 4 (10/21/21): Missouri expanded Medicaid in 2021, but experts are still “worried”; “Media coverage to include third-party quotes from health care advocacy organizations, ironically overweight health care policy analysts from liberal universities”

Washington Missourian: Franklin County seeking federal, state funding for a new bridge

Westplex Talk 104.5 FM: The Brad & John Show, Wednesday: Franklin County officials to bug state and federal officials about bridge funding; John mispronounces “Bourbeuse” (link opens at 3:00 mark) (listen on Apple Podcasts here)

FLASHBACK: Student Life (Washington University), Feb. 4, 2000: Primaries 2000: Combest vs. John McCain and mainstream media

Student Life (Washington University): Former St. Louis mayor headlines her first event as a WashU fellow; Tishaura Jones attends forum hosted by “Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity”

P-D: Missouri secretary of state breaks with Trump on national election takeover (avoid stltoday paywall by reading archived version here)

This Week in Missouri Politics #TWMPDaily: Live from the Great Northwest Days

Columbia Missourian: Senate passes rule changes making it harder to end debate

Missouri Independent: Missouri Senate changes its rules to make it harder to cut off debate

St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Senate approves 5 appointments to state-controlled St. Louis police board

KMOV (St. Louis): Missouri governor proposes second year of public transit cuts

Missouri Independent: Missouri public schools want protections in open-enrollment legislation

JCNT: Bill would move Missouri school board elections from April to November

JCNT: Missouri House GOP lawmakers disagree on presidential primary; party heads promise to fix problem to get it back

JCNT: Sen. Travis Fitzwater (R-Holts Summit) looks to restrict solar energy projects to protect Missouri farmland

Missouri Independent: Missouri Senate considers bills to halt solar development on farmland

Missourinet: Registering your vehicle in another state? Bill from Rep. Ed Lewis (R-Moberly) would bar this

Missouri Business Alert, via Columbia Missourian: Missouri cannabis sales hit new annual record in 2025, continuing steady growth

Westplex Talk 104.5 FM: The Brad & John Show, Tuesday: Dem Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern’s 7-OH legislation (link opens at 8:50 mark) (listen on Apple Podcasts here)

Southeast Missourian; Sen. Jamie Burger (R-Benton) proposes bill to strengthen accountability for jailhouse informants after two wrongful convictions (avoid Southeast Missourian paywall by reading archived version here)

Westplex Talk 104.5 FM: The Brad & John Show, Tuesday: Sen. Ben Brown (R-Washington) offers constructive feedback on Brad & John’s initiative petition observations; Brad confuses Ben Brown with former state Rep. Ben Baker (link opens at 13:10 mark) (listen on Apple Podcasts here)

Westplex Talk 104.5 FM: The Brad & John Show, Tuesday: Local law enforcement and Catherine Hanaway warn oldsters and other gullible people about Bitcoin scams (link opens at 1:55 mark) (listen on Apple Podcasts here)

Banner Press, via Southeast Missourian: MoDOT to host public meeting for U.S. 61 improvements in Jackson (avoid Southeast Missourian paywall by reading archived version here)

SNL: Crystal Quade to lead Downtown Springfield Association as new director

Springfield Daily Citizen: Crystal Quade named executive director of Downtown Springfield Association

Westplex Talk 104.5 FM: The Brad & John Show, Wednesday: Crystal Quade and Tishaura Jones, and “you are not your stump speech” (link opens at 17:45 mark) (listen on Apple Podcasts here)

Combest, The Missouri Times, October 2021: You are not your stump speech; “And you are not your botched bills, or the bumbling TV interview you wish you could do over, or that time you got ratioed on Twitter.”

P-D: St. Louis planning agency outlines proposed data center rules (avoid stltoday paywall by reading archived version here)

P-D: Feds cite Perryville cereal plant for safety violations after worker’s death inside oven (avoid stltoday paywall by reading archived version here)

Westplex Talk 104.5 FM: The Brad & John Show, Tuesday: St. Louis County trying to push NEW property tax on residents (link opens at 1:00 mark) (listen on Apple Podcasts here)

P-D: Rock Hill residents tell city leaders to do something about pot smell (avoid stltoday paywall by reading archived version here)

Westplex Talk 104.5 FM: The Brad & John Show (1/21/26): Pothead facility stinks up Rock Hill, plus Trainwreck Saloon bartender’s money quote (link opens at 2:40 mark)

P-D editorial: Missourian Ed Martin has washed out of Trump’s vengeance team. That’s ominous. (avoid stltoday paywall by reading archived version here)

The Missouri Times op-ed: Secretary of State Denny Hoskins: Protecting what matters most: Faith, trust, and our elections

The Beacon’s (Kansas City) Maria Benevento: Some Missouri lawmakers want to push religion into the public school day

Amazon.com: John Combest: Stalking, Harassment, Internet Trolling: A Guide to Recovering and Rebuilding After Online Attacks – available in paperback and Amazon Kindle (note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

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