(St. Louis, MO) — The heat is growing on St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner after one of her prosecutors failed to show in court. When that happened, Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser wrote a critical order dropping the murder charges and releasing accused killer Brandon Campbell. The chairman of the St. Louis Aldermanic Public Safety Committee wants to call Gardner in and demand an explanation. The prosecutor who was assigned to the case had been on maternity leave for three months and Gardner’s office hadn’t replaced her. A spokesperson for the office admitted a big mistake was made.

(Jefferson City, MO) — Governor Mike Parson is holding a press conference at the Missouri Capitol today (Wednesday) to announce a new Department of Health and Senior Services Director. In April, Parson said he “parted ways” with former state Health Director Randall Williams. Parson is also announcing a new vaccine incentive program. It comes after the state’s COVID-19 cases continue to climb as a result of the Delta variant targeting unvaccinated people. About 40-percent of Missourians have been fully vaccinated. The governor has said he is not a huge fan of offering incentives but if it moves the needle on the state’s vaccination rate, he thinks the idea is worth a try.

(Jefferson City, MO) — Many Missouri homes have been selling like hotcakes since the start of the pandemic. Janet Judd, the president of Missouri Realtors, says some homes are selling for more than the asking price and multiple bids on one home are common. She says we are in a seller’s market. Many homeowners would rather remodel than sell during the pandemic, leading to a lack of houses on the market. So far this year, about 34-thousand homes have been sold in Missouri. That’s compared to nearly 88-thousand all of last year.

The state has issued an advisory today for Laclede, Phelps, and Pulaski counties and their surrounding areas in southern Missouri. The state Department of Health and Senior Services says these counties are experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. The disease is expected to move east from southwest Missouri along Interstate-44. Missouri reports nearly two thousand new COVID-19 cases and nearly 14-hundred coronavirus patients are being treated in a Missouri hospital. Health leaders have pointed to the delta version of the virus creating the climb in cases, mostly among unvaccinated people.

(Undated) — The National Bridge Inventory ranks Missouri 14th among the states for its number of structurally deficient bridges. Engineers have identified more than 46 hundred bridges that need to be fixed – an almost 27 hundred should be replaced. A little under nine percent of the 24-thousand-500 bridges in Missouri are rated structurally deficient. West Virginia has the highest percentage of bridges needing attention – more than 21 percent. The experts say the five most-traveled structurally deficient bridges in Missouri are all located in St. Louis County and City.

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