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This story has been corrected since it was first published.  Missouri House Democrats had their best election night in years Tuesday, adding three seats to increase their caucus to its highest total in a decade.  The party also successfully defended a St. Louis County state Senate seat that saw massive spending by Republicans. Democrats went […]

The post Democrats prevail in hotly contested Missouri legislative races appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missourians voted Tuesday to become the 21st state to legalize recreational marijuana, approving a constitutional amendment that also establishes a process to clear nonviolent marijuana-related charges from Missourians’ criminal records. Though down from the 66% of voters who approved medical cannabis in 2018, the recreational marijuana amendment on Tuesday received 53% of the vote. “Today’s […]

The post Missouri voters amend state constitution to legalize recreational marijuana appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick won the race to become Missouri’s next auditor Tuesday, easily defeating former state Rep. Alan Green. With 56% of precincts reporting, Fitzpatrick, a Republican, held a 62% to 34% lead over Green, a Democrat who previously represented Florissant in the Missouri House.  The auditor’s office, tasked with the impartial review of […]

The post Republican Scott Fitzpatrick wins Missouri auditor election appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Republican Eric Schmitt will be Missouri’s next U.S. Senator, cruising to an easy victory Tuesday over Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine.  With roughly 70% of precincts reporting, Schmitt led Valentine 56% to 41%.  “Missourians have always been suspicious of a federal government 1,000 miles away telling us how to run our lives,” Schmitt told supporters Tuesday […]

The post Eric Schmitt defeats Trudy Busch Valentine in Missouri U.S. Senate race appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As of midday Tuesday, voting across the country has largely gone smoothly without any major issues or incidents of voter intimidation, voting rights advocates said. In counties that did experience problems, which were typical of any Election Day, the incidents were largely attributed to faulty technology and human error. In Maricopa County, Arizona, one of […]

The post Midterm voting mostly problem-free in battleground states, voting advocates report appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon.  Missourians have been casting ballots for nearly two weeks, and election officials have been preparing for months, following intricate state laws associated with the election administration and certification process. So what does happen to the votes of Missourians once they leave their polling places? Secretary […]

The post How does election certification work in Missouri? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In an election, all the attention is on the winners. That’s normal. Our expectations are focused on what candidates will do if they win. But this year, maybe for the first time, we need to be clear about our expectations for the candidates who fall short on Election Day. These would-be public servants have a […]

The post We have to raise our expectations for election losers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For years, electric vehicles posed something of a chicken-and-egg problem.  Mass adoption, seen as critical to cutting the largest single source of U.S. carbon emissions, couldn’t happen until the infrastructure to allow drivers to recharge wherever they were heading was in place. And those charging stations weren’t coming until more drivers switched to plug-in electric […]

The post Amid major federal investment in electric cars, it’s time for states to step up, advocates say appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the wake of major coal ash spills from power plant containment ponds in Tennessee and into the Dan River along the North Carolina and Virginia border, the federal Environmental Protection Agency in 2015 laid out the first federal rules for managing the ash, one of the nation’s largest waste streams, and the toxins it contains. But more than […]

The post Coal plant operators shirking responsibilities on ash cleanup, report contends appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Within seven minutes of receiving a 911 call about an active shooter in a St. Louis high school, police and armed security guards were already in the building and engaging the suspect in gun fire.  The immediate response by police and school security on Oct. 24 at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School has […]

The post Missouri Republican explores legislative push to require schools to have armed security appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Voters around the state have been taking advantage of Missouri’s first ever no-excuse early voting period the last two weeks.  The early voting period ends at 5 p.m. Monday, and polls will be open for everyone else from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.  Among the races on the statewide ballot this year include […]

The post Missouri election guide: The big questions voters will face on Tuesday’s ballot  appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the last two decades, hundreds of thousands of U.S. cattle producers have gone out of business, and we are currently losing 40 operations per day by some estimates. Just in the last two years, around 1,700 small feedlots run by independent family farmers were put out of business because of corporate consolidation. This has […]

The post Just four meatpackers control 85% of the market. Missouri cattlemen like me need a voice appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On Sunday evening, the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Tennessee Titans in a game essential to both teams’ hopes to enter the NFL playoffs with the best record in their conference. With Election Day approaching on Tuesday, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Schmitt is targeting the enormous hometown audience expected to tune in with […]

The post Eric Schmitt pays $75,000 for ad during Chiefs game to close out Missouri Senate race appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Republicans who may be taking control of Congress in next week’s midterm elections have not been very specific about many policy goals—but the farm bill is an exception. Members of the GOP in the U.S. House and Senate are sending strong signals they want to strip climate funding from the massive legislation in 2023 […]

The post Climate funding could suffer in the farm bill under GOP control of Congress appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A close ally of Republican Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano has a plan that she claims will help win him the election and prevent voter fraud: She wants voters to cast their ballots “as late in the day as possible” on Election Day. Conspiracy theorist Toni Shuppe, who has ties to QAnon and who is rumored […]

The post Conspiracy theorists urge voting as late as possible on Election Day to ‘stop the steal’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the first four months of Missouri’s fiscal year, the state earned $42.8 million in interest for the general revenue fund, more than in the past two full years combined. The enormous increase is due to two factors — a record surplus in the fund and the rapid rise in interest rates. On Tuesday, voters […]

The post Missouri ballot measures put state investments, National Guard before voters appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News.  On Nov. 2, 2021, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s reelection campaign received 10 separate $10,000 contributions from what appeared to be unrelated health insurance plans from across the country. The Buckeye Community Health Plan of Ohio, Louisiana Healthcare Connections, and Peach State Health Plan of Georgia were […]

The post Centene showers politicians with millions as it courts contracts, settles overbilling allegations appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A traveling variety show of Christian Nationalism, anti-vaccine rhetoric and election conspiracies will make its final stop before the midterm elections this weekend in Branson. Headlined by Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and Eric Trump, the ReAwaken America Tour co-opts Christian language and worship to push profane politics designed to undermine our democracy. As a Baptist minister who […]

The post Missouri leaders should condemn this weekend’s Christian nationalist rally in Branson appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Democratic candidates in tough legislative races around Missouri were holding their own in fundraising against their Republican opponents heading into the campaign’s homestretch. But the tide quickly turned. Groups like the House Republican Campaign Committee, or HRCC, and the pro-school choice Missouri Federation for Children PAC have been spending big to protect GOP incumbents and […]

The post Outside spending boosts Republicans in swing legislative races around Missouri  appeared first on Missouri Independent.

PHOENIX — The two outdoor ballot drop boxes in Maricopa County are both unassuming — secure metal boxes, about the size of blue mailboxes, located just outside county buildings. But in recent weeks, they’ve at times been monitored by volunteers with far-right organizations, prompted by former President Donald Trump’s claims of widespread fraud and misinformation […]

The post Concerns grow that voter intimidation could disrupt midterm elections appeared first on Missouri Independent.