MoInd 📰

For the third year in a row, Missouri Republicans are trying to place restrictions on drag performances. The effort has stalled in years past, clearing a House committee last year but never coming up for debate in the Senate. That changed Wednesday, when a Senate committee held a public hearing on legislation sponsored by state […]

A proposed constitutional amendment that would impose work and reporting requirements on Missouri Medicaid recipients was debated in a state Senate committee Wednesday morning.

Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an executive order Tuesday directing all Missouri state agencies to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The order bans agencies from using state funding for diversity training initiatives and from incorporating DEI into hiring and contracting practices. “Our state agencies must operate under a framework that ensures fairness, equal opportunity, and […]

The Missouri General Assembly is at a crossroads this legislative session as their constituents demand they do something, almost anything, to put a stop to violent crime. It’s no secret that Missouri ranks in the top 10 states in the U.S. for both violent crime and property crime, and several Missouri communities lead the nation with high crime rates. […]

A Missouri House committee spent 90 minutes discussing and hearing testimony earlier this month on legislation that would criminalize medical professionals who don’t provide life-saving care to any infants born during an unsuccessful abortion. Known as the “born alive abortion survivors act,” it won approval of the House Health and Mental Health Committee on Tuesday, […]

A bill to protect one of the world’s largest chemical companies from charges it didn’t warn customers that one of its most popular products causes cancer won first-round approval Tuesday in the Missouri House. The legislation, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Dane Diehl of Butler, would make the label required by federal pesticide regulators “sufficient […]

Republican leaders of the Missouri House on Tuesday joined the chorus of lawmakers blasting the state public defender’s office for employing a man who was convicted of two felonies in connection to the 2007 rape and murder of his stepdaughter.  In a joint statement issued Tuesday, House Speaker Jon Patterson and other members of the […]

Missouri’s homeschool families and those enrolled in private schools could receive a tax credit for their educational expenses under legislation debated Tuesday by the Senate Education Committee. The credit would be capped at the annual state adequacy target, a number determined by the per-pupil expenditure of the highest performing school districts in the state.  Currently, […]

A bill prohibiting Missouri agencies from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives was given initial House approval Monday evening. The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Ben Baker, a Republican from Neosho, argued that DEI goals do not lead to decreased bias and questioned their success. The state House can pass the bill with one […]

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the federal workforce have gutted the ranks of wildland firefighters and support personnel, fire professionals warn, leaving communities to face deadly consequences when big blazes arrive this summer. “There’s going to be firefighters that die because of this, there will be communities that burn,” said Steve […]

Only someone schooled in sarcasm pushes themselves away from a banquet table, pats their stomach and exclaims, “That sure was adequate!” when they have consumed a fine meal. Something adequate is acceptable, but it’s not something you go out of your way for. But adequate is what state law directs the legislature to attain in […]

Fifty years of anti-abortion laws in Missouri have been struck down as unconstitutional over the last two months, culminating Friday with a Jackson County judge blocking clinic licensing requirements. Three days later, Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion activists gathered outside Planned Parenthood locations across the state to say they have no intention of retreating.  “I’m here […]

Leaders of Missouri’s public defender system urged lawmakers on Monday to take action to reduce the growing number of people languishing in jails across the state who are in need of mental health treatment. As of last month, 418 people were in Missouri jails waiting to be transferred to a state mental health bed, up […]

Depending on how states respond, a Republican proposal circulating on Capitol Hill that would slash the 90% federal contribution to states’ expanded Medicaid programs would end coverage for as many as 20 million people — or cost states $626 billion over the next decade to keep them on the rolls, according to a new analysis. […]

FREDERICKTOWN — Jennifer Torr was at a coffee shop next door to the the Critical Mineral Recovery battery recycling plant when it caught fire in October, sending a tower of smoke into the air. She had no idea when she and her husband, Darin, bought their blueberry farm a few miles north of town that the […]

Donald Trump and Elon Musk do not care who gets hurt in their chaotic efforts to gut the government. Missouri’s Republican senators are doing nothing to stop them. When Trump’s first memo freezing federal funding came out, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley assured us that the White House had told him “Medicaid was categorically not covered” […]

A Missouri judge on Feb. 14 blocked a licensing requirement for abortion clinics that providers argued was a key obstacle to renewing access to the procedure across the state.  Hours later, Planned Parenthood clinics announced they would begin offering abortion services in Missouri.  “Abortion care will be restored immediately,” said Emily Wales, President and CEO […]

A Republican lawmaker is proposing to raise taxes on Missouri farmers who participate in wind or solar energy projects. As utilities and energy developers increase solar and wind power, people in rural areas across the nation have been offered opportunities to lease their land to house a wind turbine or a field of solar panels. […]

An influential GOP lawmaker upset with the rulings of a Republican judge in Cole County filed a bill trying to force him into a primary — or out of the Missouri judiciary altogether.  The proposal from House Speaker Pro Tem Chad Perkins of Bowling Green targets Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker, who was elected […]

Missouri lawmakers have rekindled a crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion programs with a handful of bills seeking to outlaw DEI in state-funded entities. In 2022, just two bills named DEI as a target. But the number grew to 14 in 2024. None have been signed into law. Within the first month of this year’s […]