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A bill that would allow religious and other belief-based organizations to refuse membership to certain students raised concerns Wednesday evening that it could open the door to discrimination on college campuses. The legislation, sponsored by Republican Rep. Brad Hudson of Cape Fair, would prohibit public colleges from denying funding to “belief-based” groups based on their […]

The post Debate over allowing Missouri campus groups to limit membership focuses on discrimination appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Senate General Laws Committee heard testimony Wednesday about a bill that would create the Anti-Red Flag Gun Seizure Act. Red flag gun laws allow courts, when petitioned, to bar individuals deemed a threat to themselves or others from owning firearms. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, seeks to prevent federal […]

The post Red-flag gun laws targeted by bill pushed Missouri Republican legislator appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In Jefferson City, the fight over whether or how to expand gambling – sports wagering, video lottery games, or both – is a test of political power. But prevailing in the political contest isn’t important to April Kabrick, a co-owner of Boozers Bar & Grill in Liberty. She just wants to keep her restaurant in […]

The post Sports wagering, video lottery compete for attention in Missouri Senate hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

An effort to reimburse Missouri employers for helping to expand the skills of their workers was inspired by the success of an Ohio program. Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted told the Missourian that TechCred, Ohio’s upskill credentials program, has funded over 57,000 awards since its inception in 2019. Husted is the director of the Ohio […]

The post Missouri House advances workforce bill modeled on Ohio’s TechCred appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Missouri House committee heard testimony Tuesday on three bills that would ban discrimination based on hair texture in some settings. Three Black state lawmakers — Democratic Reps. Raychel Proudie of Ferguson, LakeySha Bosley of St. Louis and Ashley Bland Manlove of Kansas City — presented versions of a national bill called the CROWN Act […]

The post Black lawmakers ask Missouri House committee to ban discrimination based on natural hair appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As one of the last abortion providers in Missouri, I was part of the fight to preserve reproductive freedom, a fight that was siloed, isolated and othered in the practice of medicine. Today, the same medical institutions that stayed silent on abortion are now the targets of attacks we, as abortion providers, long ago warned […]

The post It’s time for Missouri hospitals to find their voice and fight back appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Lawmakers and statewide elected officials wouldn’t get a raise next month from a supplemental spending bill moving toward passage. But a provision of the state Constitution means legislators may see a pay boost on July 1. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill providing an 8.7% pay raise for all state employees, […]

The post Missouri lawmakers may be in line for pay raise despite rejection of governor’s proposal appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Missouri House committee on Tuesday debated legislation that would establish several tax credits designed to improve access to affordable child care and stabilize the industry.

The post Missouri legislator proposes tax credits aimed at mitigating child care ‘crisis’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Members of the U.S. Congress should take a look at Missouri’s legislature on how to deal with New York U.S. Rep. George Santos who is facing a number of allegations. Santos campaigned falsely portraying himself as Jewish, that his mother was at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and other claims subsequently proven as false. […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Dealing with legislative misbehavior appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A bill that aims to soften the steep drop-off in public benefits that low-income Missourians face when their earnings increase won initial approval in the Missouri Senate Monday evening after pushback from conservative Republicans. The Senate still needs to vote one more time before the bill is sent to the House for consideration. Sponsored by […]

The post Missouri Senate advances bill to prevent loss of public benefits over small pay bump appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Lamar Johnson was exonerated less than a week ago after serving three decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.  He walked out of prison with little more than the clothes on his back.  “Having been home just a few days, the difficulties of starting a new life after a wrongful conviction are fresh […]

The post Missouri legislators seek to expand law providing restitution for wrongful convictions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON – State agriculture officials from across the country sought this month to remind a new crop of lawmakers in Congress of their states’ needs for a robust farm bill to address a host of food issues. Members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture gathered in Washington for their annual winter meeting […]

The post State ag officials push for on-time farm bill to fund slew of programs appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Donald Lloyd, CEO and president of St. Claire HealthCare in Morehead, Kentucky, has spent more than a year dealing with higher costs for food and medical supplies for his regional hospital. Now he’s trying to prepare for another financial hit — the loss of Medicaid reimbursements for treating people in rural Appalachia. “We are all […]

The post Rural hospitals gird for unwinding of pandemic Medicaid coverage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In a series of digital ads focused on Chinese farmland and taxes, state Sen. Bill Eigel has launched the opening salvo of a likely contentious 2024 Republican gubernatorial primary. Eigel, a two-term GOP legislator from St. Charles County, began running ads on Facebook this month criticizing two of his fellow Republicans — Lt. Gov. Mike […]

The post State senator throws first punches of 2024 Missouri governor’s campaign appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Whether in a grocery store, a place of worship, a shopping mall, a community celebration, at work or in school, you are at risk for becoming a victim of senseless gun violence. Why is America the only industrialized nation in the world that is plagued by frequent mass shootings? Has our form of democracy allowed […]

The post America is the world’s most powerful democracy. Why is it impotent to stop mass gun violence? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert and a medical adviser to seven U.S. presidents, will address graduating students at Washington University School of Medicine in May, the school announced Thursday. But the speech by Fauci — who became a figure of scorn among some Republicans for his actions during the coronavirus pandemic […]

The post As Wash U faces renewed GOP criticism, Anthony Fauci to deliver commencement address appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON – Members of the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee split along party lines on Thursday as they tussled over financial accountability in farm bill nutrition programs. The main point of contention was the Department of Agriculture’s 2021 changes to the Thrifty Food Plan, one of four food plans the USDA develops to […]

The post U.S. Senate panel spars over elevated food assistance spending in upcoming farm bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri is confronting a nightmarish crisis in child welfare. According to the Missouri Children’s Division, there are over 13,300 children currently in foster care. The Missouri Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline Unit received over 54,000 reported incidents involving over 77,000 children throughout 2021. At a recent hearing of the state House subcommittee overseeing the budget for the […]

The post The foster care system is overburdened. Missouri leaders should invest in prevention appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — In his first address since the U.S. military shot down three unidentified flying objects last weekend, just days after taking down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the actions and said the skies above the U.S. will now be more closely scrutinized. Biden, who was under increasing pressure […]

The post Biden says no evidence yet that unidentified flying objects were tied to China spying appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A federal task force wrestled with the costs and benefits of better shielding the nation’s tens of thousands of electric substations from a growing number of attacks, like a neo-Nazi plot the FBI says it foiled earlier this month in Maryland, another that knocked out power to thousands in North Carolina in December and more in the Pacific Northwest. […]

The post Federal-state task force grapples with grid protection appeared first on Missouri Independent.