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On the edge of the Mississippi River, the small historic city of Kimmswick, Mo. has an archaeological site with mastodon bones, Levee High Apple Pie at its famous Blue Owl Restaurant, and a volunteer mayor, Phil Stang. What it doesn't have right now is money. "They think I'm kidding but I'm not," Stang says. "I [will] have to go and do crazy electronic stuff like GoFundMe pages, or start a lemonade stand ... something." (Sullivan, 6/8)

The U.S. government has granted contracts worth as much as $25 billion as it races to address the COVID-19 public health crisis. NPR reviewed a database of thousands of contracting actions and found more than 250 companies that got contracts worth more than $1 million without going through a fully competitive bidding process.Some of the companies, such as Baul's, had little or no experience with personal protective equipment. Others had never worked in the medical field at all. Contractors also included a company that imported vodka and a school security consultant. (Thompson, Rose and Benincasa, 6/9)

Members of Senate GOP leadership said on Monday that they do not expect to be able to pass another coronavirus relief bill until mid-to-late July. The Senate is in session for more than three weeks before they leave Washington for a two-week July 4 recess. But several members of GOP leadership said on Monday that they do not expect to pass a bill before the break, delaying a fifth round of coronavirus relief until after they return on July 20. (Carney, 6/8)

Senate Democrats are calling on the Trump administration to release more details about an alleged criminal operation designed to defraud state unemployment programs across the country, fearing these systems remain vulnerable to attack amid the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The lawmakers’ concerns stem from a memo the U.S. government circulated in May indicating scammers may have harnessed stolen Social Security numbers and other personal information to obtain weekly jobless benefits. (Romm, 6/8)

After distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in the past three months, states and cities don’t have much money left to help struggling renters, leaving officials with an uncomfortable question: Who gets prioritized for help? COVID-19 is forcing local governments to make tough decisions about rental assistance: Some programs are relying on lotteries to ensure all applicants have a fair shot, while others are focusing on specific populations, such as workers ineligible for federal relief. (Wiltz, 6/9)