Missouri primaries are today
Eight U.S. House members are asking voters for a chance at two more years in Washington. Thanks to new congressional district boundaries, at least one of those incumbents won't prevail. St. Louis Democrats Russ Carnahan and William Lacy Clay Jr. lead a three-way race for their party's nomination in Missouri's 1st District.
The pair spent eight years as congressional colleagues. But Carnahan's former 3rd District seat was eliminated by Missouri's Republican-led Legislature when the state lost a district after the 2010 Census. Carnahan chose to face Clay rather than seek the open seat in the 2nd District, where GOP Congressman Todd Akin decided to run instead for U.S. Senate.
Former state Republican Party Chairwoman Ann Wagner is considered the front-runner to replace Akin in the Republican-leaning district.
Polls close at 7 p.m. this evening.
- For the latest information and a voters' guide, explore our website BeyondNovember.org
Catholic sisters gather in St. Louis
The Leadership Conference of Women Religious are gathering in St. Louis this week to respond to accusations by the Vatican that the group is promoting "radical feminism."
The group represents about 80 percent of Catholic sisters in the United States. In a scathing report, the Vatican accuses the sisters of working to undermine Catholic positions on issues such as contraception, abortion and homosexuality.
Across the country, protests and vigils have taken place to show support for the sisters.
The sisters will announce how they will respond to the Vatican later this week. They are considering their options which include submitting to more direct Vatican oversight to forming a new organization independent of Vatican control.
Unionized workers to get raises after all
Hundreds of unionized workers at two Illinois state agencies will be getting the pay raises that Gov. Pat Quinn canceled last year. The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports the raises will go to almost 1,700 employees at the Department of Revenue and another 56 at the Criminal Justice Information Authority.
Quinn spokeswoman Kelly Kraft says the administration has determined those agencies have sufficient funding to pay the raises after seeing more retirements and attrition than expected. Kraft says the raises will cost more than $3 million.
Quinn last year canceled pay raises for about 30,000 unionized employees at 14 state agencies, saying the General Assembly didn't allocate enough money to honor the raises and meet payroll expenses for the entire year.
Follow St. Louis Public Radio on Twitter: @stlpublicradio
