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Students are returning to the classroom around Missouri this week, and new laws go into effect Monday. But state officials are still not clear on how they will enforce restrictions on transgender athletes – one of the most controversial new laws approved by Missouri legislators this year. Neither the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education […]

The post Enforcement unclear as Missouri approaches transgender athlete restrictions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s history offers a stark contrast to the limited criticism by Republican members of Congress to Donald Trump’s criminal charges. The defenses by Republican officials to Trump’s indictments are quite different from Missouri’s legislature during the last several decades when there was strong support for removal of officials from the same party who faced charges […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Missouri courage in holding officials accountable appeared first on Missouri Independent.

TOPEKA — Affidavits signed by a police chief and magistrate to warrant the raid on the Marion County Record were supposed to provide evidence that a reporter committed a crime. Instead, they serve as evidence that the local officials abused their power. Police Chief Gideon Cody received approval from Magistrate Judge Laura Viar to conduct […]

The post ‘Completely unjustified’: Affidavits point to abuse of power in raid on Kansas newspaper appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the marijuana industry, they say potency is king.  Producers all over the country are competing to put the most intoxicating product on the shelves. And that can leave the labs who test these products in a tough spot. At least, that’s been the case in California and other states where marijuana is legal, said […]

The post Missouri cannabis regulators target ‘lab shopping’ in new rules appeared first on Missouri Independent.

It is August, a time for new beginnings, infused with hope even amid anxiety and trepidation. August is rarely thought of as a time of new beginnings and reflection. But just think about it. Vacations are ending. It’s harvest time for farmers. Kids, young and old alike, are beginning or returning to school. August is […]

The post What you hope for determines what you work for appeared first on Missouri Independent.

America’s pharmaceutical giants are suing this summer to block the federal government’s first effort at drug price regulation. Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act included what on its face seems a modest proposal: The federal government would for the first time be empowered to negotiate prices Medicare pays for drugs — but only for 10 very […]

The post A peek at big pharma’s playbook that leaves many Americans unable to afford their drugs appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After Kansas Reflector reported on the ignominious and unconstitutional raid of the Marion County Record on Aug. 11, news outlets and commentators from across Kansas and the nation followed suit throughout the weekend. The voices of those who value a free press and free expression were overwhelming in their force and intensity. Eight days later, […]

The post Kansas newspaper raid draws plenty of attention, but journalists defy threats across U.S. appeared first on Missouri Independent.

MARION, Kansas — Joan Meyer, surrounded by flowers and escorted to her gravesite by the same police force that may have had a hand in her death, was honored by the community in a Saturday service. “Joan was the epitome of knowing ‘small town’ does not have to mean ‘small mind,’ ” said the Rev. Ron […]

The post Co-owner of Kansas newspaper, who died amid stress from police raid, honored in funeral service appeared first on Missouri Independent.

PACKWOOD, Wash. — Last year, Don Pratt fled from his home as a wildfire swept down the mountainside here in Washington’s Cascade Range. “Heading out, I thought it was the last time I was going to see the house,” he said. As residents evacuated and smoke engulfed the small mountain community, fire crews with bulldozers […]

The post Towns could save themselves from wildfire — if they knew about this money appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When Rebecca Uccello got a call that her daughter’s Medicaid coverage was in jeopardy, she said it “sent me into a tailspin.” Her 13-year-old daughter, Izabella, has been on Medicaid since age two because of severe developmental disabilities, including a birth defect which prevents her spinal cord from properly developing and a neurological condition which […]

The post Paperwork issues meant more than 16,000 Missourians lost Medicaid coverage in July appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri campaign finance laws exist so voters know who is involved in and supports a campaign, as well as how the campaign spends its money. Ballot measures, candidates and committees are regulated by the state’s campaign finance laws  — Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 130 — which are enforced by the Missouri Ethics Commission. Individuals have been known […]

The post Library tax vote in Cole County shows why Missouri campaign disclosure laws are vital appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As former President Donald Trump faces his fourth indictment in Georgia, his previous running mate former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday disputed Trump’s claims that the Georgia election was “stolen” while still criticizing the federal justice system. Pence is one of many candidates competing against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination who are […]

The post 2024 Republican candidates weigh in on Trump’s Georgia indictments appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The state of North Carolina and the North Carolina Farm Bureau are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down news-gathering activities that generally have been afforded First Amendment protection. In its writ of certiorari, North Carolina is asking SCOTUS to specifically uphold two paragraphs of its 2015 Property Protection Act: North Carolina maintains that the Fourth […]

The post SCOTUS should take up an ag-gag vs. the First Amendment case appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Finance professor Jocelyn Evans first encountered a cryptocurrency ATM on the way to talk about financial education with students last fall. Evans stopped at a gas station on her way to Sumner Academy in Kansas City, Kansas. She came across the machine with the word “BITCOIN” on the screen. Store staffers weren’t familiar with the […]

The post Kansas City has over 100 high-fee crypto ATMs, mostly in low-income neighborhoods appeared first on Missouri Independent.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said this week that his office has given “high priority’ to reviewing the 1990 murder conviction of Christopher Dunn — a case that finds the Midwest Innocence Project arguing for Dunn’s release from state prison after two prosecution witnesses recanted their testimony and legal experts have cited a lack […]

The post St. Louis prosecutor says review of Christopher Dunn conviction ongoing, a ‘high priority’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

MARION, Kansas — Marion County Record staff worked through the night to publish the paper’s weekly edition as scheduled Wednesday, days after police raided the newsroom and confiscated computers, cellphones and other items. A single word screamed across the top of the paper in 200-point bold type — “SEIZED” — followed by a defiant statement: […]

The post Kansas newspaper publishes in defiance of police raid — and gets seized property back appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The debt limit law Congress approved earlier this year included a much-publicized provision that would cut all federal spending by 1% if Republicans and Democrats fail to reach agreement on the dozen government funding bills before Jan. 1. That sounds pretty threatening. But, the across-the-board automatic spending cut wouldn’t actually have any real-world […]

The post That 1% cut in federal spending in the debt limit law? It’s complicated appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When Cristian Dubon Solis was getting ready to graduate from a Boston high school in 2020, he started planning to apply to college. It was only then he realized that as an immigrant lacking permanent legal status, he wouldn’t qualify for in-state tuition at Massachusetts state universities, nor for state-sponsored financial aid. With no way to […]

The post Nearly half the states now allow in-state tuition for immigrant students appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Twice this summer, Andrew Mullins emailed state marijuana regulators to make sure they knew about a potential problem. Mullins, the president of the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, feared that licensed Missouri cannabis companies may be tempted to add illegal marijuana products brought in from other states to their own products in order to keep their […]

The post State faces pushback from Missouri marijuana industry over product recall appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri State Board of Education unanimously approved an exemption for 19 districts and one charter school to measure student achievement using alternative assessments instead of the state’s prescribed methods. Students in these districts will begin to see changes this fall as districts in the Success Ready Students Network implement their plan. “Progress monitoring during […]

The post Missouri education board approves ‘innovation waivers’ for districts to opt out of state tests appeared first on Missouri Independent.