Government

By Stephen Koranda, KPR

Topeka, KS – Governor Mark Parkinson is firing back at political watchers. Parkinson recently asked for the resignation of Department of Health and Environment head Rod Bremby. Some pundits have guessed that was because of a pending permit for a coal-fired power plant. KPR Statehouse Reporter Stephen Koranda has more.

Kansas City, Missouri – As the election week comes to a close, experts and analysts are just beginning the process of sorting through the data from a season that changed the political landscape in the country.

In Missouri and Kansas, the statehouses added to their Republican majorities, mirroring a national trend. The National Conference of State Legislators reports that a dozen states saw their legislatures flip from Democratic to Republican. Hundreds of Republicans got elected.

Kansas City, MO – Kansas City government snatched some relief from Tuesday's earnings tax repeal referendum. The Public Safety Sales Tax passed and was noted in Council Committees the day after.

By Bill Raack, St. Louis Public Radio

St. Louis, MO – One question that Democrats in Missouri are asking themselves today -- how did U-S Senate candidate Robin Carnahan lose so badly to Republican Roy Blunt Tuesday? St. Louis Public Radio's Bill Raack reports.

Blunt beat Carnahan by 14 points in the race to replace retiring Senator Kit Bond. University of Missouri-St. Louis professor David Robertson says Carnahan's loss may have been due largely to her family.

By Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio

St.. Louis, MO – Congressman Russ Carnahan says he'll continue his efforts to reach bipartisan agreement on issues, even as a member of the minority party next year.

Speaking on the morning after his closest re-election contest, Carnahan says voters sent a message Tuesday night that politicians need to work together.

Jefferson City, MO – The Republican majority in the Missouri General Assembly has grown larger, particularly in the (Missouri) House. St. Louis Public Radio's Marshall Griffin reports.

Republicans picked up 17 seats in the State House, beating ten incumbents and winning seven open seats held by departing Democrats. That means they'll now hold 106 seats to the Democrats' 57. The new GOP caucus has also elected new leaders, choosing Steven Tilley of Perryville as the next Speaker of the House.

By Bill Raack, St. Louis Public Radio

St. Louis, MO – At least one political expert says Missouri can no longer be called a bellwether state. University of Missouri-St. Louis political science professor David Robertson says Missouri is now a swing state that's trending Republican.

Kansas City, MO – Republican challenger Tom Schweich beat Democratic incumbent Susan Montee in yesterday's election. Schweich got 51% of the vote; Montee got 45%.