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Within weeks of taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order — hailed by voter advocates as potentially transformative — that for the first time committed the U.S. government to registering new voters at federal agencies. But just over two years later, most of the 10 agencies examined in a recent report had made […]

The post Federal agencies lag in registering voters despite Biden executive order, advocates say appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri House on Tuesday gave initial approval to bills that would ban certain medical procedures for transgender minors and prohibit transgender athletes from competing in school sports according to their gender identity. The legislation is similar to a pair of Senate bills that chamber approved last month.  A House committee held a public hearing […]

The post Missouri House advances limits on health care, sports participation for transgender minors appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri House Budget Committee will debate a plan for major construction spending that includes Gov. Mike Parson’s full request for money to widen three sections of Interstate 70. Rep. Cody Smith, the committee’s chairman, released his revisions to the capital improvements appropriation bills on Tuesday and scheduled a committee debate Thursday on the four […]

The post Missouri governor’s plan for widening I-70 fully funded in proposed capital budget appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Jason Nelson just wants to get as close to “fairly normalized business banking” as possible. But as the owner of Swade dispensaries and Sinse Cannabis cultivation, that’s much harder than it sounds. He’s a customer at Triad Bank in St. Louis, one of the few banks in Missouri willing to work with cannabis businesses.  His […]

The post Banks remain wary of marijuana industry, even after Missouri legalization vote appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Kansas City is down to the final details of its ambitious effort to host this year’s NFL Draft, an event that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to its main downtown site and other events around the area for three days beginning April 27. A giant stage is under construction in front […]

The post What you need to know about the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City appeared first on Missouri Independent.

There’s a bitter fight underway in Jefferson City between the agency that manages the main retirement fund for state employees and an investment manager it accuses of dirty dealing. The main arena is a Cole County courtroom, where the Missouri State Employees Retirement System accuses Ontario-based Catalyst Capital Group Inc. of mismanaging $175 million entrusted […]

The post Lawsuit involving Missouri state employee pension losses spurs side fight over budget appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This past week, American healthcare took a backseat to American politics. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of Texas sided with the conservative Christian legal advocacy group, Alliance Defending Freedom, and issued an injunction on the Federal Drug Administration’s 2000 approval of mifepristone on the grounds that the FDA did not adequately evaluate its safety before approval. If […]

The post Abortion pill ruling puts politics ahead of medical evidence appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democratic leaders vowed to defend reproductive rights and abortion access Saturday, less than a day after a federal judge in Texas ruled the federal government needs to pull the abortion pill off the market within a week. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, and Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the […]

The post Democratic leaders warn abortion pill ruling could endanger other FDA-approved drugs appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Barb Anderson, director of Haven House in Jeffersonville, Indiana, works with homeless people to place them into housing. It’s a job that has shown her firsthand the severe health issues facing unhoused people in southern Indiana, where many people live in tents in the woods and under bridges. She is currently working with an older […]

The post High mortality rate of homeless highlighted in new report appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Ladbrokes, the London gambling house where bets can be placed on anything from badminton matches to whether Ron DeSantis will be elected vice president in 2024, isn’t offering odds on Missouri adopting sports betting. But the top Republican and Democrat in the state Senate agreed last week that the chances are slim with only five […]

The post Sports wagering bill remains mired in Missouri Senate split over gambling expansion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — As some in the Republican Party call for halting aid to Ukraine, other GOP members of Congress are doubling down on supporting the war-torn nation and even criticizing the Biden administration for not doing enough. Several Republican members of the U.S. House traveled to Ukraine during a congressional recess in early April to […]

The post Not all Republicans feel ‘Ukraine fatigue,’ as GOP splits over continued aid appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Late last month, Missouri’s House passed a budget that would strip all state funding for public libraries — $4.5 million in total. Republican lawmakers say they are doing this to retaliate against a lawsuit by Missouri librarians, who hope to see a new law against “explicit sexual material” in schools — in reality, a book […]

The post Missouri’s new effort to punish libraries is vindictive and harmful appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In a press release and tweets announcing his amicus brief in a Texas abortion case, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey describes a relatively limited objection to a recent FDA policy change, which allows for medication abortion to be dispensed at pharmacies.  After summarizing the brief’s claims that medication abortion is unsafe, the press release states: […]

The post Missouri AG doesn’t want the public to know he’s pushing wild legal theories in abortion cases appeared first on Missouri Independent.

 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice launched an appeals process Friday that will likely put a landmark decision about access to medication abortion in front of the Supreme Court.  The notice of appeal was filed less than three hours after a federal judge in Texas revoked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s two-decade-old approval […]

The post Biden administration appeals judge’s ruling ordering abortion pill off U.S. market appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in 11 states have either passed or introduced laws to roll back child labor laws — a push that’s come from industry trade organizations and mostly conservative legislators as businesses scramble for low-wage workers.  In the past two years, those states have moved to extend working hours for children, eliminate work permit […]

The post Kids at work: States try to ease child labor laws at behest of industry appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Biden administration will advance a rule to make it more difficult for schools to exclude transgender youth athletes from competition based on their gender identity, a senior U.S. Education Department official told reporters Thursday. The proposed rule would prohibit blanket bans of transgender athletes competing in sports consistent with their gender identity. But it […]

The post Biden rule on transgender athletes would set conditions on school sports bans appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Senate passed two separate tax relief bills Thursday as part of a bipartisan compromise effort. SB 143, sponsored by Sen. Doug Beck, D-Affton, is a combination of tax credits and exemptions pushed for by Democrats. The bill raises the tax credit limit for food pantry donations, exempts diapers and feminine hygiene products from […]

The post Missouri Senate reaches deal on GOP tax cut for guns, Democrat tax cut for diapers and tampons appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Senate committee heard proposed legislation Wednesday that would enshrine the role of county sheriff’s departments into the state constitution. The resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 42, was introduced to the Senate Committee on General Laws by Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby. If enacted into law, it would make it impossible for a sheriff’s department to be shut […]

The post Missouri Republicans push for ‘constitutional sheriffs’ amendment to go to voters appeared first on Missouri Independent.

More than 200,000 lead service pipes carry drinking water to Missouri families, according to a new estimate from the Environmental Protection Agency.  New lead water pipes have been banned for more than 30 years. But the EPA estimates that 9.2 million American households still get their water through aging lead pipes.  Just over 2% of […]

The post EPA estimates more than 200,000 lead pipes remain in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Jay Ashcroft, Missouri’s secretary of state and son of one of the most successful Republican politicians in state history, announced Thursday morning he was joining the 2024 race for governor. In a statement announcing his candidacy on social media, Ashcroft said Missouri “stands at a crossroads.” “Red states like Florida, Texas, Tennessee, even Indiana and […]

The post Jay Ashcroft makes it official: He’s running for Missouri governor in 2024 appeared first on Missouri Independent.