Missouri

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday announced agreements that would help pave the way for the future construction of a new St. Louis Rams football stadium at a site just north of downtown St. Louis.

The Missouri Senate will vote Thursday on legislation tightening limits on how much local governments can rely on court-related fines to prop up their operating budgets.

Missouri will soon be in the market for a new transportation leader following the announcement that Department of Transportation Director Dave Nichols plans to retire May 1.

Triple-A Missouri would issue its first new money general obligation paper in eight years under Gov. Jay Nixon's proposal to tap $70 million in voter approved bonding authority to finance water system projects.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon unveiled a fiscal 2016 budget that begins drawing on existing bonding authority to fund more than $300 million in projects at state facilities and public higher education institutions as the new legislative session kicks into high gear.

Weakening gasoline tax revenues will force Missouri to concentrate limited financial resources to road work on major arteries.

Bondholders will learn later this month how much they stand to recoup from a settlement that ended a trial accusing Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. of misleading them on a bond deal that soured after the failure of an artificial sweetener plant project in Moberly, Mo.

A settlement was announced Wednesday to end a federal civil trial stemming from a bond default triggered by the collapse of an artificial sweetener plant project in Moberly, Mo; the former Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. was among the defendants.

Jury selection began Tuesday in a federal class action lawsuit accusing the former Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. of securities fraud for its role in underwriting $39 million of defaulted bonds for a failed artificial sweetener plant in Moberly, Mo.

A coalition opposed to public funding for stadiums is warning that the proposed St. Louis Rams stadium funding scheme would require a public vote.

Missouri officials made their pitch Friday to keep the St. Louis Rams in town, unveiling plans for an open-air, nearly $1 billion National Football League stadium partially financed with borrowing.

More questions over whether the National Football League's Rams will remain in St. Louis were raised Monday by reports that the team's owner is planning to construct an 80,000-seat stadium in southern California as part of a larger development project.

Missouri's proposed $2 billion upgrade of I-70 could be funded by tolling the 200-mile link between Kansas City and St. Louis.

Missouri has lowered by more than $300 million the level of revenues expected in the current fiscal year, Gov. Jay Nixon announced.

Missouri hospitals reported providing $588 million in charity care and another $512 million in uncompensated care last year, the Missouri Hospital Association said in a report.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster sued 13 St. Louis County municipalities Thursday alleging violations of a state law that limits how much money they can make from court-related traffic fines.

Ferguson, Mo.'s use of reserves to paper over budget deficits prompted a warning from Moody's Investors Service that the city's Aa3 rating could face a downgrade.

Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich last week announced guidelines for his planned audit of 10 municipal court systems that includes Ferguson amid growing public and legislative concerns over abuses.

Seven St. Louis County local governments, including Ferguson, face litigation challenging the legality of their municipal court fees.

Squeezed for funds to finance transportation projects, Missouri is eyeing tolls to improve and expand Interstate 70.