Slay hopeful Mo. lawmakers agree to tax credits
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay remains hopeful that Missouri lawmakers will agree to tax credits to help develop an international air cargo hub at Lambert Airport, even as the effort appears to be stalled. Slay told the St. Louis Post-Dispatchthat the job-creation potential is simply too great to give up on.
Slay says the major problem lawmakers have with the proposal is the issue of expiration dates for some tax credits.
The plan would provide public incentives to warehouse operators, freight forwarders and light manufacturers who would operate near the airport. The plan is aimed at increasing cargo flights to and from China, but agreements could also be sought with other countries.
CDC confirms two more listeria cases in Mo.
Missouri health officials say the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed two more illnesses in Missouri that are linked to tainted cantaloupe. The state Department of Health and Senior Services said Thursday that Missouri now has had three cases of listeria that are tied to contaminated fruit grown on a farm in Colorado. Missouri health officials say all three people had to be hospitalized.
The state health agency says a 94-year-old died, but local medical officials determined listeria was not the cause of death.
A national outbreak has caused dozens of illnesses and more than a dozen deaths in 18 states.
Mo. Republicans bail out of a Feb. presidential primary
The Missouri Republican State Committee decided Thursday to use a caucus system to award delegates to presidential candidates, instead of relying on a primary election. The Missouri caucuses take place on March 17.
State law set Missouri's primary on Feb. 7. But National Republican Party rules require Missouri to wait until at least March to hold its presidential contest, or risk losing half its delegates. After the caucuses, the Missouri GOP will hold congressional district conventions on April 21 and have a state convention on June 2. The final slate of delegates who go to the national convention will be selected on those dates.