After years of debating whether to expand Medicaid in Missouri, voters will finally get the chance to decide in the August primary election.

Currently, the government-funded health insurance program for low-income Missourians and those with disabilities takes up roughly one-third of the state’s $35 billion budget. Supporters of expansion say there are still significant gaps in coverage.

Missouri has some of the strictest eligibility requirements in the country, said Traci Gleason, with the Missouri Budget Project, an organization that analyzes state finances.

“If you’re not a custodial parent, and you’re not a senior or disabled, you cannot access Medicaid,” Gleason said. “The small sliver of adults that we cover, those custodial parents, we cover at the lowest eligibility level allowed by federal law.”

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/expand-or-not-expand-medicaid-missouri-voters-decide-august

Illinois will distribute $31.5 million in grants over the next year to local nonprofits, faith- or community-based organizations and governmental bodies to address issues in historically underserved parts of the state.

The money for these grants comes from 25% of the tax revenue the state collects from recreational marijuana sales.

It’s part of Illinois’ Restore, Reinvest and Renew program, known as R3, which aims to fund local projects around civil legal aid, economic development, re-entry from prison, violence prevention and youth development.

This initial funding is one of the first indications of how Illinois plans to help address longstanding issues in underserved communities, which was key to the success of passing cannabis legalization.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/illinois-dedicates-marijuana-tax-dollars-underserved-areas

The number of people without health insurance has grown by an estimated 100,000 in Missouri and 186,000 in Illinois since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the nonprofit Families USA.

Coronavirus-related job losses have meant families are living without health care during a time they need it most, the researchers said. Many fearing high hospital bills are forgoing medical care and putting their lives at risk, doctors said.

“Many, many people, millions of people, have lost their job, said Rachel Garfield, co-director of the Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “And for many Americans, health insurance is tied to their employment.”

An estimated 613,000 adults are now without health insurance in Missouri, according to Families USA.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/tens-thousands-missourians-lose-health-insurance-after-coronavirus-job-losses

Alarmed about a growing number of coronavirus cases, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page on Monday will announce a new round of restrictions aimed at keeping the virus from spreading rapidly.

Since March, more than 42,000 people in Missouri have tested positive for the virus. In the bi-state St. Louis region, more than 25,000 have. The number of coronavirus cases in the St. Louis region is up by more than 27% since last week.

Page said in a statement Sunday that members of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task and other health experts are concerned about the increase.

“New restrictions must be put in place to slow the community spread of this virus,” he said.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/page-announce-new-restrictions-help-keep-coronavirus-spreading?

I command you in Jesus Christ's name to get off this aisle!'

An unmasked woman demonstrated a woeful misunderstanding of the biblical accounts of Jesus Christ casting out demons when she invoked the Lord’s name to force people out of a grocery store aisle.

The public tantrum took place at a Fred Meyer grocery store in Longview, Washington, according to TikToker @fiftyshadesofwhey, who uploaded the video yesterday. (They uploaded a longer version to Twitter as well.) The video shows a woman, hereby known as “Holy Karen,” bellowing at several masked shoppers to get out of her aisle so she can shop and ignore proper pandemic etiquette in peace.

https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/karen-grocery-store-jesus-demon-video/?

ELSBERRY — Bruno's multi-state journey has come to an end.

Bruno, a black bear whose travels in recent weeks gained a following on social media, was tranquilized by the Missouri Department of Conservation as he wandered into the St. Louis metro region, according to a statement late Sunday by Elsberry police.

Police said Bruno was tranquilized for the safety of the public and for the bear, Elsberry police said in a Facebook post.

Bruno had become something of a sensation on social media as people spotted him trekking hundreds of miles through Illinois and into Missouri over the span of a month. He started his journey in Wisconsin in early June.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/after-traveling-hundreds-of-miles-brunos-journey-comes-to-end-in-st-louis-metro-region/article_24b787d0-6391-5195-9658-09f05a4e8c77.html