Photos courtesy of (clockwise from top left) St. Louis Post Dispatch, Meals on Wheels, and Ayaz Sayeed/Flickr

Morning Minutes: Missouri faces Grain Belt choice, Monsanto battles GMO labeling

MBA Staff June 15, 2015 0 Comments Morning Minutes

Photos courtesy of (clockwise from top left) St. Louis Post Dispatch, Meals on Wheels, and Ayaz Sayeed/Flickr — Photos courtesy of (clockwise from top left) St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Meals on Wheels, and Ayaz Sayeed/Flickr

Here are this morning’s top business headlines from across Missouri:

Regulators face choice between renewable energy, property rights

Missouri regulators are on the verge of a difficult decision pitting property rights against the renewable energy that could help turn the tide in the fight against climate change. Three members of the five-person Missouri Public Service Commission signaled earlier this month they may vote against the Grain Belt Express transmission line, which would carry wind energy from Kansas to cities in the east.

Monsanto at center of congressional fight over GMOs

Monsanto and other big biotechnology and agricultural companies are lining up in support of a bill that would create national standards for genetically engineered crops. Supporters say it would eliminate the problem of inconsistent state laws regarding genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, but critics say it’s toothless legislation designed to prevent more meaningful regulation.

Bill protecting seniors from scams signed into law

Gov. Jay Nixon has signed into law a bill designed to help keep senior citizens from losing their savings to scams and con artists.

Lottery likely to fall short again on education funding

The Missouri Lottery projects it will transfer $270.7 million to public education for the fiscal year that ends later this month. That would be a $3.4 million increase over last year’s total, but it would still fall $28 million short of the total projected in the state budget.

Despite painless re-election effort, challenges await KC’s James

Kansas City Mayor Sly James appears likely to breeze his way to re-election next week, but that doesn’t mean an easy second term awaits James. The future of Kansas City International Airport, Kemper Arena and the city’s nascent streetcar line are issues with which Kansas City’s mayor will have to contend over the next four years.