[5] In 1972, fresh out of high school, Kinder worked for former U.S. Sen. Jack Danforth's re-election bid for Missouri attorney general.

[10][11] After graduating from law school at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, Kinder managed Bill Emerson's successful 1980 campaign for U.S.

[5] Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau dedicated its Department of Pediatrics to his father two months before he died in an automobile accident on July 1, 2000.

[5] On August 4, 2010, Missouri voters passed Proposition C, rejecting the federal law's mandate to purchase health insurance, by 71%.

[22] In August 2011, The Riverfront Times published an article where Tammy Chapman, a former exotic dancer, and 1992 Penthouse Pet, claimed she met Kinder at a political event at a gentleman's club around 1994.

[26] Kinder stated that he always paid the government rate, typically $105/night, during his stays at the Chase Park Plaza, the Four Seasons, the Ritz-Carlton and elsewhere.

"[26] Kinder defended the stays as fulfillment of official government duties as Lt Governor; meetings, events, and state business that he routinely scheduled during his weekly drive home to Cape Girardeau from Jefferson City.

He acknowledged that on occasion he attended campaign or personal events the same days he was in the area as a practice of good financial stewardship.

Kinder announced that he would repay the state $35,050 for hotel costs incurred while traveling in the St. Louis area, to avoid "the slightest taint or suspicion" associated with his name or public service.

[28] In reference to the period after the shooting of Michael Brown by police in August 2014, Kinder said in March 2015 that President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder had engaged in "incitement of the mob" and "encouraging disorder in Ferguson.

"[29] Kinder also repeatedly accused Missouri Governor Jay Nixon of reckless disregard and lack of leadership during the Ferguson riots.

[33] Results of a transportation union funded poll from April 2016 showed Kinder as the only Republican candidate close to Koster, yet trailing; its margin of error at 3.8% with 95% confidence.

[41][42] When his term as lieutenant governor expired in January 2017, Kinder went out of public office for the first time since his election to the state Senate in 1992.

[44] In August 2017, President Trump appointed Kinder as a co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority, a federal economic development board serving over 250 counties and parishes in eight states near the Mississippi River.

[46] Kinder acted as head of the DRA until Chris Caldwell of Arkansas was confirmed and sworn in to its higher co-chairman role in January 2018.