Springfield News-Leader
JEFFERSON CITY If anyone is planning to protest the presidential inauguration from the Missouri Capitol this week, they took Sunday morning off.
At about 11 a.m., the only people on the South Lawn were residents snapping photos of themselves in front of the landmark building and news photographers talking shop.
The peaceful scene continued into the lunch hour as some light precipitation began to fall.
Federal law enforcement has warned of “an armed march on Capitol Hill & all state capitols” Sunday to protest President Trump’s re-election defeat, so law enforcement is maintaining a watchful eye.
Hundreds of thousands of Missourians making minimum wage are getting another raise.
Thanks to Proposition B, a ballot initiative voters approved in 2018, the wage floor rose another 85 cents on Jan. 1 to reach $10.30 per hour.
Missouri Jobs with Justice, an advocacy group that pushed the ballot initiative, estimates the change will directly affect 282,000 workers, including 63,000 frontline workers in the health care field.
The organization says the increase will indirectly support another 250,000 workers.
The law does not apply to government employees, certain agricultural workers and people working at retail and service businesses with less than $500,000 in gross annual sales.
Missouri legislators have tried to broaden or eliminate some of those exemptions in recent years.