Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states : Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska to the west. In the south are the Ozarks, a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. The Missouri River, after which the state is named, flows through the center into the Mississippi River, which makes up the eastern border. With more than six million residents, it is the 19th-most populous state of the country. The largest urban areas are St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia; the capital is Jefferson City.
The Katy Trail State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Missouri that contains the Katy Trail, the country's longest recreational rail trail. It runs 240 miles (390 km), largely along the northern bank of the Missouri River, in the right-of-way of the former Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad. Open year-round from sunrise to sunset, it serves hikers, joggers, and cyclists. Its hard, flat surface is of "limestone pug".
The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and the national Grand Lodge. The organization attempts to improve the working conditions of law enforcement officers and the safety of those they serve through education, legislation, information, community involvement, and employee representation.
Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 55th Governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the governorship in 2008 and reelected in 2012. Prior to his tenure as Missouri Governor, he served as the 40th Missouri Attorney General from 1993 to 2009. After leaving public office he joined the Dowd Bennett law firm in St. Louis. As of 2022, he is the most recent Democrat to serve as the Governor of Missouri.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol(MSHP) is the highway patrol agency for Missouri and has jurisdiction all across the state. It is a division of the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Colonel Eric T. Olson has been serving as the 24th superintendent since March 15, 2019.
Education in Missouri is provided by both public and private schools, colleges, and universities, and a variety of public library systems. All public education in the state is governed by the Missouri State Board of Education, which is made up of eight citizens appointed by the Governor of Missouri and confirmed by the Missouri Senate.
The Independence Police Department serves the citizens of Independence, Missouri, a city of approximately 117,213 inhabitants located in Jackson County, Missouri, just east of Kansas City. According to the department, its mission is "to protect life, individual liberty and the property of all people within the City of Independence; to develop and maintain a positive relationship with members of the community; and to foster a positive work environment for police employees." The department is also under the jurisdiction of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.
The Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving Kansas City, Missouri. Missouri Supreme Court justice W. Brent Powell swore in Richard C. Smith as the 45th chief of police of the KCPD on August 15, 2017. Smith, who served as head of the KCPD's Central Patrol Division, became the city's 45th police chief on August 15, 2017.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) persons in the U.S. state of Missouri as of late have most of the same legal rights as non-LGBT persons have, but nonetheless face some legal challenges not experienced by other residents throughout the state, excluding St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Missouri.
Gun laws in Missouri regulate the sale, possession and use of firearms and ammunition in the state of Missouri in the United States.
Leon Mercer Jordan was an African-American police officer, politician, and civil rights leader from Kansas City, Missouri. Jordan was "one of the most influential African Americans in Kansas City's history" and, at the time of his assassination in 1970, the "state's most powerful black politician".
Same-sex marriage in Missouri has been legal since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which struck down state bans on marriages between two people of the same sex on June 26, 2015. Prior to the court ruling, the state recognized same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions pursuant to a state court ruling in October 2014, and certain jurisdictions of the state performed same-sex marriage despite a statewide ban.
The 2016 Missouri State Treasurer election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the State Treasurer of Missouri, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The Rock Island Spur of Katy Trail State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Missouri that is 47-mile (76 km) rails to trails hiking and biking trail. Work on the trail was completed and the trail was opened on December 10, 2016. The trail provides residents of the Kansas City region direct trail access to the 240 mi (390 km) Katy Trail State Park, the longest rails to trails trail in the U.S. The Rock Island Trail uses "abandoned" right-of-way of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad between Pleasant Hill in Cass County and Windsor in Henry County where it meets the Katy Trail.
Tony Luetkemeyer is an attorney and the state senator for the 34th Senatorial District of the Missouri Senate, representing Buchanan and Platte Counties in Northwest Missouri. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Police unions in the United States include a large number and patchwork variety of organizations. Of those unions which conduct labor negotiations on behalf of its police members, 80% are independent and have no affiliation to any larger organized labor groups. There were a reported 800,000 sworn officers in the United States as of 2017, and an estimated 75-80% of them belonged to a union.
The general election of Missouri State Auditor occurred during the 2022 United States midterm election, along with the 2022 United States Senate election in Missouri, on November 8, 2022. Incumbent State Auditor Nicole Galloway, Missouri's only statewide elected Democrat did not seek re-election to a second full term in office. Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick won the election, leaving Democrats with no statewide seats in Missouri.
The 2024 Missouri gubernatorial election will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect the governor of Missouri, concurrently with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Mike Parson is term-limited and cannot seek re-election to a second full term in office.
On May 27, 2022, Leonna Hale, a 26-year old black woman, was shot five times by the Kansas City Police Department at a Family Dollar parking lot, in response to a suspected carjacking. She told officers she was pregnant before being shot.
On January 19, 2020, a mass shooting occurred outside 9ine Ultra Lounge in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. After an altercation with patrons, 29-year-old Jahron Swift opened fire on people waiting to enter the club, killing a 25-year-old woman and wounding 15 people. The shooter was shot dead by an armed security guard.
