MoInd 📰

A day after preliminary test scores showed Missouri students’ performance on standardized tests have not bounced back from the pandemic, education advocacy groups and parents urged state lawmakers to take a comprehensive approach at crafting accountability measures for schools. On Tuesday, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released preliminary test scores for the 2021-22 […]

The post Missouri student test scores still lag behind pre-pandemic levels appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Ameren Missouri may restart natural gas burners to offset the court-ordered shuttering of a coal-fired power plant that violated federal law, the company told state regulators Wednesday.  The St. Louis-based electric utility announced late last year that it would retire its Rush Island Energy Center in early 2024 after a federal court found in 2019 […]

The post Ameren may turn to natural gas to make up for shuttering Rush Island coal plant appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A study released last year found that more than 80% of Missouri children had some level of lead in their blood.  Across the Midwest, in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, the data painted a similar picture — children with elevated levels of lead in their blood far above the national average.  Over the last six months, […]

The post Missouri Independent, Midwest Newsroom co-hosting community discussion on lead appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced Wednesday that he will file a lawsuit against the state of Missouri arguing a new law requiring the city to spend more on police is unconstitutional.  The law, approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Mike Parson this year, raises the portion of Kansas City’s budget that must […]

The post Kansas City mayor sues to block Missouri law requiring higher police spending appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed his party’s signature climate, health care and tax package into law Tuesday, capping off more than a year of tumultuous negotiations that saw his original proposal to Congress slimmed down considerably. Flanked by a handful of Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and […]

The post Biden signs into law Democrats’ wide-ranging climate change, health care and tax bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is hoping to avoid any special session drama.  As he prepares to reconvene the legislature next month to debate a $700 million tax cut — with details about the plan expected to be announced as early as this week — Parson is hoping to avoid pitfalls that undermined a pair of […]

The post Missouri governor pushing hard to sell lawmakers on his $700 million tax cut plan appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A software integration company’s six-year legal saga against the state reached a resolution last week, when it was awarded a little over $23 million in its lawsuit alleging contract breaches over extra work to implement a Department of Social Services’ case management system. On Wednesday, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem granted a directed verdict […]

The post Former state vendor awarded $23M in lawsuit over Missouri Medicaid system implementation appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The first unexpected bill arrived in December, just weeks before Tara Lovell’s husband of 40 years died from bladder cancer. Lovell worked as an ultrasound technologist at the local Audrain Community Hospital, in Mexico, Missouri, and was paying more than $400 a month for health insurance through her job. The town’s struggling hospital, the sole […]

The post Collapse of private equity-backed Missouri hospitals mired employees in medical bills appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This may come as news to many Republicans:  The Federal Bureau of Investigation is a law enforcement agency. So is the Internal Revenue Service. Most people already think of the FBI as an elite policing agency. But the IRS also investigates crime beyond tax evasion and fraud. Organized crime, drug trafficking, illegal gaming, money laundering and public […]

The post Don’t claim to support law enforcement if you demonize the FBI and IRS appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After more than two years of warring with Republican leaders, the Missouri Senate’s conservative caucus will disband, the group announced Monday afternoon. In a statement released to the media, five incumbent members of the caucus said it was no longer needed after the outcome of the Aug. 2 GOP primaries.  “The Republican primary electorate decisively […]

The post Missouri Senate conservative caucus disbands after two years of ugly GOP infighting appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by ProPublica. One of the nation’s biggest residential “clean energy” lenders has suspended making loans to homeowners in Missouri, citing economic conditions and a new state law that mandated more consumer protections and oversight. Ygrene Energy Fund, based in California, said it will also stop lending in California, but will […]

The post Clean energy lender will stop making high-interest PACE loans in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In its first days of operation in July, a newly revamped, national mental health hotline was already exceeding Missouri providers’ expectations as a wave of people dialed three numbers: 9-8-8. They ranged from the curious to those seeking help, and several providers across Missouri told The Independent calls had already increased by 50% within a […]

The post Missouri crisis centers see wave of calls since the 988 suicide hotline’s launch appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Journalists have a problem with “conspiracy theories.” I put the phrase in quotes because writers, editors and headline writers have a problem with those consecutive words — “conspiracy theories” — in their writing. It’s not because they are being duped into believing farcical truths about the world. Journalists are lumping all kinds of gaslighting, misinformation, […]

The post Elaborate lies spreading through U.S. can’t be dismissed as ‘conspiracy theories’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Friday cleared Democrats’ long-sought climate, health care and tax package, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The roughly $750 billion measure is much smaller than the $2 trillion reconciliation package the House originally sent to the Senate in November. The final product left out dozens of […]

The post U.S. House Democrats send sweeping climate, health and tax legislation to Biden appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday unsealed the warrant that allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to search former President Donald Trump’s property at Mar-a-Lago in Florida earlier this week, revealing he’s under investigation for possibly violating the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice. The seven-page document, which includes a brief description of everything the […]

The post Search warrant shows Trump under investigation for possible Espionage Act violations appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. On weekdays, Melissa Douds catches the 35th Street bus at 5:48 a.m. to get to her job as a facility worker at the Bartle Hall Convention Center. Starting at the Armour and Gillham stop in Hyde Park, she is only seven minutes from work by […]

The post Zero bus fare does not equal easy commutes for Kansas City riders appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The sweeping Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats in the U.S. Senate on Sunday takes on an issue that Americans have been screaming about for years: The high cost of prescription drugs. But while it will bring immediate relief to millions of seniors, several experts have said it may dampen development of new drugs and […]

The post Experts say drug measures in inflation bill are good for seniors, but there are downsides appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Ahead of the first hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, I had the opportunity, — due to my more than 40 years in law enforcement — to share my thoughts as part of a panel discussion about what had happened on that terrible day and […]

The post On Jan. 6, I was bewildered. Now, I’m outraged appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The locations of lead service lines seem like the sort of thing someone would know, Congresswoman Sharice Davids said Thursday.  But as cities and counties across the U.S. grew, water utilities didn’t keep track of them all.  Now, they’re finally required to find them. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s updated lead and copper rule requires […]

The post Kansas Congresswoman Sharice Davids touts federal funds for lead pipe replacement appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Over the course of the next year, lawmakers on the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture committees will draft a new federal farm bill that will shape food, farm, conservation and nutrition programs across the country for the next five years. The omnibus law that began 90 years ago as crop supports now has […]

The post Farm bill season arrives: What’s the outlook for 2023? appeared first on Missouri Independent.