Mo. Rev. Stat. § 493.080
In all such cities a board consisting of the judges of the circuit court of such city or of the judicial circuit in which the city is situated, or a majority of them shall on or before the first day of January, 1942, and every two years thereafter, cause to be published in some daily newspaper of said city a notice for at least twenty days announcing and designating the time and place when and where said board shall hold a hearing to determine what newspapers in such cities are qualified to publish public notices and advertisements under the provisions of section 493.070; and all newspapers in the cities desiring to publish such public notices and advertisements shall, on or prior to the date of each such hearing, file with the board a petition verified by the affidavit of one of the publishers thereof, that such newspaper has the qualifications set forth in said section and desires to be designated as a qualified newspaper under the provisions of section 493.070, and a majority of the board at such time and place shall determine what newspapers so petitioning are qualified under the provisions of that section and shall make a record thereof and shall file a copy thereof with the clerk of all courts of record within such cities, and thereupon such newspapers shall be deemed and considered by all courts and officers of this state to be qualified under the provisions of that section; provided, however, that there shall not be charged by or allowed to any such newspaper for such publications a rate that exceeds the rate provided in section 493.030; provided, however, that the petition shall be accompanied by a good and sufficient bond, in a sum to be fixed by the board, conditioned for the correct and faithful publication in the newspaper of all public notices and advertisements, in manner and form as required by law, and at rates not in excess of the rate fixed herein; provided, further, that the board of judges of any such city, if the board shall deem it in the public interest, shall, in the manner herein prescribed, qualify any daily newspaper of general circulation for the publication of public notices and advertisements at rates higher than the maximum rates herein established, though such newspaper shall not file bond hereunder.
§ 493.080, RSMo