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Another 12,833 children were removed from the state’s Medicaid program in August  — more than three-quarters of whom were terminated because of paperwork issues rather than being determined ineligible. August was the third month of the state reassessing the eligibility of every Medicaid participant, after a three year COVID-era pause on the practice. The process […]

The post Nearly half of all Missouri Medicaid terminations in last three months have been children appeared first on Missouri Independent.

SEARCY, Ark. — In the decarbonized future envisioned by many states, utilities and the federal government, expect more power plants like Entergy Arkansas’ facility here, where thousands of gleaming panels and banks of batteries spread across 800 acres about 50 miles northeast of Little Rock. The Searcy Solar Energy Center, a 100-megawatt solar and storage […]

The post Battery storage seen as ‘backbone’ of reliable electric grid but adoption uneven across U.S. appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Harry Castilow said his family did “all the things you’re supposed to do” when his teenage son Jay came out as transgender. Jay began his social transition in 2021 when he was 15, choosing his name and living as a teenage boy. He went to therapy throughout that first year and got appointments with a […]

The post As Missouri providers halt transgender care for minors, some feel duped by legislative deal appeared first on Missouri Independent.

One of the most effective ways to make sure someone shows up at their trial is to send them a text reminder with their court date. But instead of texting criminal defendants, Kansas City spends millions of dollars every year to hold people in jail while they await trial. Like nearly all other American cities, […]

The post Does Kansas City overuse jails? Commission looks for better solutions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Parents in Boone County, Kentucky, were outraged this past January when a ninth grader who had been suspended a year earlier for threatening violence against his fellow students returned to class as soon as his punishment time was up. The parents packed a school board meeting, excoriating the county superintendent and other officials for the […]

The post Shaken by post-pandemic disruptions, some states take a harder line on school discipline appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Cole County judge rewrote the ballot titles for six initiative petitions seeking to enshrine the right to abortion in the Missouri Constitution, ruling that 13 phrases in the summaries written by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft are “argumentative” or unfairly biased. In a ruling issued Monday morning, Circuit Judge Jon Beetem wrote that the […]

The post Missouri judge rejects secretary of state’s ‘problematic’ summary of abortion initiative petitions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

At the center of Missouri’s massive marijuana recall is a THC concentrate, or distillate, made partially from hemp. Robertsville-based marijuana manufacturer Delta Extraction has denied accusations that it illegally imported marijuana into the state by arguing it actually imported a non-psychoactive hemp product that was converted into THC once in Missouri.  The commissioner overseeing Delta’s […]

The post Confusion continues over how hemp was processed in recalled Missouri cannabis products appeared first on Missouri Independent.

American confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court has plunged to historic lows. It’s not so much because of their rulings, but the behavior of individual justices, and their method of selection. Without serious judicial reform, such mistrust of our highest court is going to trickle down to lower levels of the judiciary with consequences too […]

The post Restoring America’s confidence in our court system with a code of conduct appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WENTZVILLE — Adam Purfeerst has been standing along the edge of Highway A in Wentzville for hours, lifting his picket sign and waving to passing drivers, whose staccato honks and loud blares punctuate the Thursday afternoon.  “We’re fighting for the working class in general,” said Purfeest, a General Motors assembly line worker for the last […]

The post ‘Trying to set the example’: Wentzville GM strike enters its second week appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The federal pandemic-era child tax credit expansion lifted millions of children out of poverty in the second half of 2021. But Congress allowed it to expire at the end of that year, and new U.S. census data shows the child poverty rate more than doubled in 2022, erasing the record gains that were made. “It […]

The post As child poverty doubles, states launch or expand their own tax credits appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The top Republican in the Missouri House is facing allegations he threatened to terminate the employment of a nonpartisan legislative staffer who resisted his monthslong push to hire a private company to manage constituent information.  House Speaker Dean Plocher vehemently denies the accusations, which were uncovered through public records obtained by The Independent under Missouri’s […]

The post Missouri lawmaker accused of ‘unlawful’ conduct in push for contract, drawing FBI scrutiny appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers to reiterate the need for continued aid to support his country’s fight against the Russian invasion, even as the U.S. faces a partial government shutdown as soon as the end of the month. “If we don’t get the aid, […]

The post ‘If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war’: Zelenskyy asks Congress to help Ukraine appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The health-focused targets are referred to as “95-95-95.” It means 95% of people living with HIV knowing their status;  95% of people with HIV taking anti-viral medicine; and 95%  who are being treated are virally suppressed. It’s a lofty goal, but for local governments around the globe — and some in Missouri — it’s one […]

The post St. Louis city and county see progress as part of global push to end HIV epidemic by 2030 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans were unable for a third time Thursday to begin debate on the Defense funding bill, throwing another wrench into Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership tenure. The 212-216 vote that rejected the rule for the $826 billion Defense spending measure was unexpected, coming less than a day after House GOP lawmakers gathered in a […]

The post Shutdown inches closer as U.S. House GOP fails to pass defense bill, lawmakers exit D.C. appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Jared Johnson hasn’t paid rent in four months. The trouble started when his car got towed. That cost him his job delivering groceries for Instacart. He’s been able to hold off an eviction — for now. At his eviction trial, his landlord agreed to give him until the end of September to pay his back […]

The post Rising rents leave more Kansas City tenants facing eviction appeared first on Missouri Independent.

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump defended his position on abortion following criticism from some Republicans, saying that GOP politicians need to learn how to “properly talk” about the issue in order to win elections. The former president made two stops in northeast Iowa Wednesday afternoon. After speaking in Maquoketa, Trump held a rally at […]

The post Donald Trump defends abortion position, ramps up Iowa campaign plans appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Leavenworth County officials voted unanimously Wednesday to halt discussions over whether to convert a former private federal jail into a detention center for immigration enforcement.  For years, CoreCivic, the nation’s largest private prison operator, ran a federal pretrial detention center in Leavenworth for individuals charged with — but not convicted of — federal crimes from Kansas, […]

The post Kansas county scuttles talk of converting Leavenworth jail to ICE detention center appeared first on Missouri Independent.

  The U.S. Senate confirmed a nominee for a high-ranking military post Wednesday night and advanced another, the first votes on military nominations or promotions since Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville started blocking them seven months ago to protest Defense Department abortion policies. Tuberville did not object to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York […]

The post U.S. Senate confirms a military nominee, the first since Tuberville blockade began appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Independent recently reported on the modest decline in the number of children in Missouri’s formal foster care system. Beneath the headline, however, the story revealed the urgent need to regulate the disturbing practice of hidden foster care — which Missouri’s Children’s Division has effectively admitted to practicing. That practice violates parents’ and children’s […]

The post Missouri must reduce family separations, not only formal foster care numbers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans led by Ohio’s Jim Jordan on Wednesday grilled U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland about how the Justice Department has handled its investigation and prosecution of Hunter Biden on felony gun charges. The questions about the president’s son came after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week asked several committees, including the […]

The post U.S. attorney general defends Hunter Biden investigation under questioning by House GOP appeared first on Missouri Independent.