Morning Newscast for April 30, 2026

From the KBIA newsroom in Colombia, I'm Amina Jenkins. The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to efforts to create minority-majority congressional districts. But as Jason Rosenbaum reports, the decision won't likely have an impact on Missouri this election cycle, but could in 2027. The court made it much easier for states, especially in the south, to convert largely black congressional districts into wider Republican-leaning seats. But that's not likely to happen this year in Missouri, which has had a majority black first district in the St. Louis area for decades. But Denise Lieberman of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition says there's nothing stopping future legislatures from going after the first district. It's unlikely that those district lines can change before this year's elections, but that doesn't mean that the rights of these voters are not impacted going forward. Missouri Republicans do not have enough House members to make a new map go into effect.

before this year's August primary. I'm Jason Rosenbaum. Ahead of the FIFA World Cup this summer, Amtrak is adding more capacity to their trips between St. Louis and Kansas City. The Missouri River Runner will have space for 25% more passengers during its daily round trips across the state this summer. The Missouri Department of Transportation will pay for the additional cars, which will be transferred from Illinois and Michigan. The expansion will begin by June 15th and will go until July 12th, after the final World Cup match. in Kansas City. Thousands of high school students will be at the University of Missouri for the next few days

for the Missouri State High School Activities Association State Music Festival. KBIA's Volodymyr Zelensky has more on the importance of performance opportunities for young musicians. High school musicians from across Missouri will have the chance to perform solo and small ensemble pieces for School of Music staff this weekend. They will receive comments on aspects of their performances, such as technique and musical expression. Sylvie is the interim director of the MU School of Music. He says receiving feedback from professionals helps young musicians grow in their capabilities. A lot of these students come from rural areas where if it's not their band director, they're not getting any feedback. And so to be

able to get that at the state level from people and who recognize as experts is really helpful in helping shape their music performance skills. Mizzu will host Misha today, Friday, and Saturday. There will be no road closures in Columbia, but parking garage space could be more limited. I'm Volodymyr Zelensky. KBIA News. Senator Josh Hawley is calling on FEMA to speed up its recovery efforts in the wake of Monday storms in central Missouri. The Columbia, Missouri reports an EF2 tornado touchdown Monday, causing significant damage to homes, down to trees,

and knocked out infrastructure in several communities. Holly says Missourians affected by the storm need immediate federal support, and he's urging FEMA to act without delay to provide resources and assistance. FEMA warned that some of its recovery efforts may be delayed because of the ongoing congressional deadlock regarding Department of Homeland Security funding. FEMA is part of DHS, and Democrats are refusing to fund the agency until immigration agents are put on stricter guidelines. I'm Amina Jenkins, KBIA News, Columbia.