The director of Missouri's Medicaid health care program is out of a job.

Ian McCaslin confirmed to The Associated Press that as of Tuesday, he is no longer the director of the MoHealthNet Division of the Department of Social Services.

McCaslin declined to say whether he resigned or was dismissed by Gov. Jay Nixon's administration.

A Nixon spokesman had not responded Tuesday to questions about McCaslin's departure. A department spokeswoman also had no immediate response. 

Hundreds of thousands of American workers are paid the minimum wage.  It’s $7.25 nationally and $7.35 in St. Louis.  While the perception may be that minimum and low wage jobs are mostly held by teens, the vast majority, 75 percent, are adults over the age of 20.

Recent local news reports have highlighted protests by minimum wage earners.  They are demanding that their pay be nearly doubled.  The campaign is called “St. Louis Can’t Survive on $7.35.”

Note: Next week, we will be having a live recording of the podcast to wrap-up the legislative session, and to take questions from listeners. If you're interested in attending, you can find more information about the event here.

Every week, St. Louis Public Radio’s Chris McDaniel joins the St. Louis Beacon’s Jo Mannies and Jason Rosenbaum to talk about the week’s politics.

The Missouri House and Senate have passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee farmers and ranchers the right to farm and ranch.

It appears that Democrats in the Missouri Senate have successfully stopped legislation that would have redefined what constitutes a maintenance project and exempted those being done on public property from the state's prevailing wage requirement.

The Missouri House has given final passage to legislation that would limit labor unions' ability to deduct dues and fees from the paychecks of public employees.

A ruling is expected Tuesday morning related to the Missouri Attorney General's lawsuit against the owners of the Bridgeton Landfill.

UC Berkeley Journalism Professor Michael Pollan has devoted a good deal of his career to examining the food we eat in today’s society and the hazards of much of it.  Four of his books are New York Times Bestsellers and have received many other accolades: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World.

Although it wasn't the "environmentally preferred" alternative of the National Park Service, federal officials have given a thumbs-up to a plan to change the Arch grounds.