Capitol Report 9/25/2026

Missouri News Network: Statehouse News for MPA Members

This report is written by Missouri School of Journalism students for publication by MPA member newspapers in print and online.

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Missouri News Network this week looked at the latest on gerrymandered congressional districts and the state attorney general’s move to crack down on prediction market companies.

If you have thoughts or questions, contact Fred Anklam at anklamf@missouri.edu.

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TUESDAY

Missouri's congressional map fight isn't over. What happens next?

By Anika Austvold and Jae Jepsen, Missouri News Network

Missourians may have already started casting ballots for the November election, but in which congressional districts their votes will count is still up in the air.

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Missouri must use the Republican-drawn 2025 congressional map in November’s election, changing course after election officials had already begun preparing ballots under the map used since the 2022 elections.

But, the map isn’t changing just yet.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put its own ruling on hold until Monday, giving opponents such as People Not Politicians one week to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to step in.

Here’s what Missouri voters need to know until then:

U.S. Supreme Court appeal

People Not Politicians said in a news release Monday night that it would file an immediate appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, citing logistical difficulties in switching the map back.

“Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted,” the release said. “Thousands more will vote before this order seeks to take effect.”

“Officials should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on pointless legal action and instead focus on administering our elections,” the statement continued. “Missourians are already voting and will continue to vote no on Proposition A through November 3.”

The group is expected to ask the Supreme Court to keep the 8th Circuit’s ruling from taking effect while the election moves forward.

“The ask is really, we need you to pause the 8th Circuit Court’s ruling until after the election because it is too late to make these changes,” Truman School of Public Affairs associate professor Scott LaCombe said.

The Supreme Court already intervened earlier this month to temporarily block enforcement of a federal district court order requiring Missouri to use the 2025 map. Earlier, when the Missouri Supreme Court first ruled the 2025 map was illegal, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to get involved in the case. That left the state court’s ruling intact.

Potential Supreme Court outcomes

There are a number of potential actions the high court might take.

If the Supreme Court refuses to take the case or does not intervene before the 8th Circuit’s stay expires, the appeals court decision to use the 2025 map would stand.

In this case, Missouri election officials will need to restructure an election already underway.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said making these major changes to the election would put a strain on her office, taking considerable time and resources, as they have already completed several steps of the election process using the 2022 districts.

“We would have to reprogram the entire election,” she said. “We’ve already tested our absentee voting machines. We’ve already approved our ballots, and our printer has them ready to go, so it will delay us on redoing all of that, and it’ll also require us to reprint and mail out the absentee ballots that we’ve already sent out.”

The Supreme Court could instead put the 8th Circuit’s ruling on hold, allowing the 2022 map to remain in place while the legal fight continues and the election is held.

Jayne Woods, an associate law professor at the University of Missouri, said if the Supreme Court agrees to review the case, it would likely grant some form of temporary relief alongside that decision as election officials could continue using ballots prepared under the 2022 districts.

Finally, the court could agree to hear the broader case and eventually issue a ruling. LaCombe said fully resolving the case before the election would require the court to move faster than usual.

“You need to submit briefs. You need to have arguments,” he said. “The courts typically do not work on that speed.”

Instead, LaCombe said the more immediate decision will likely center on whether the 8th Circuit’s ruling takes effect while the case continues.

Voting in Boone County

Until the high court makes a final decision on the case, Missouri officials must stand by.

Military and overseas ballots have already been mailed using the 2022 congressional districts, raising questions about what happens to voters who have already cast ballots if the 2025 map ultimately takes effect.

“We have a real question now,” LaCombe said. “Ballots have already been sent out. Some voters have already returned their ballots or are in the process of doing so.”

If the map changes, LaCombe said some voters who already cast ballots could potentially be disenfranchised in the U.S. House race because their ballots would list candidates from a different congressional district.

For example, Columbia residents who already cast ballots in the 4th District could be moved into the 5th District, raising questions about whether their congressional votes will remain valid.

Lennon is urging voters to refrain from voting in the short term as her office prepares for potential district changes.

“We want to caution voters that they might want to wait until the litigation is resolved to cast their ballot,” Lennon said.

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WEEKEND

Prediction market companies ordered to end sports 'event contracts' in Missouri

By Danny Jimenez, Missouri News NetworkTop of Form

The Missouri attorney general’s office has ordered several prediction market companies to stop all “sports-related event contracts,” according to a news release from Attorney General Catherine Hanaway.

Polymarket, Kalshi, Crypto.com, Novig, Underdog and Robinhood were all directed through cease-and-desist letters to stop offering sports event contracts.

The letters accuse the companies of operating sports wagering outside of the framework established by voters in 2024.

“Missourians voted for a safe, well‑regulated sports wagering market that supports public education and addresses problem gambling,” Hanaway said in the release. “Companies cannot repackage sports bets as ‘event contracts’ to avoid Missouri law. We will enforce the rules voters approved and protect consumers.”

Hanaway urged the companies to comply with state law and desist from offering sports event contracts in the state without license from the Missouri Gaming Commission.

Hanaway said licensed sports betting operators in Missouri pay a 10% tax on adjusted sports betting revenues and pay a five-year license renewal fee of up to $500,000. She said these six companies are not contributing their required amount to the state as outlined in the 2024 framework.

The attorney general said the six companies have a timeline of 30 days from Sept. 16 to comply or the state will take “enforcement action.”

Federal courts have previously ruled that online sports wagering platforms, like those offered by these prediction market operators, are subject to state gambling laws.

Missourians approved Amendment 2 in 2024. That amendment legalized and regulated sports betting, placing oversight with the Missouri Gaming Commission and required that no one under 21 be able to place a bet.

The attorney general’s office alleges that Polymarket, Kalshi, Crypto.com, Underdog and Robinhood all lack adequate safeguards to prevent Missourians under 21 from participating in sports wagering.

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Advocacy group can continue to challenge data centers being built in Montgomery County, judge rules

By Missouri News Network

An advocacy group opposing data centers in Montgomery County can continue to pursue its claims that the county did not adequately involve or inform the community about the impact of the centers.

Google and Amazon are both building data centers that cover a total of 1,900 acres on opposite sides of Interstate 70 east of New Florence in Montgomery County.

In February, the advocacy group Preserve Montgomery County filed a lawsuit against the county and the Missouri Department of Economic Development in an effort to halt the Amazon data center. Attorneys for the county and the Department of Economic Development filed a motion to dismiss their lawsuit in March.

On Friday, Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker denied the motion to dismiss most of the lawsuit. In his order, Walker determined that the advocacy group does have standing to assert its claims and can move forward with the case.

He did, however, dismiss the group’s claim that the Department of Economic Development failed to properly monitor and administer a grant agreement involving American Rescue Plan Act funds. He thus dismissed the department as a party in the lawsuit.

Walker took the matter under advisement in August after listening to arguments on the motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs argue that both the county and the state failed to post a proper public notice of the project or adequately provide information about water and electricity usage by the data centers. They also claim they weren’t fully apprised of the terms of the tax abatement.

Attorneys for the state and county countered that there is no factual evidence to support the claims.

No future hearings on the case have yet been scheduled.