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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education unveiled a proposal Tuesday that would overhaul a federal student loan income-driven repayment plan, and, if implemented, could help millions of low-income borrowers. However, it’s unclear how the agency would be able to finance the program. Many student debt relief advocates also criticized the proposal for leaving out […]

The post New federal student loan repayment plan aimed at low-income borrowers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon.  Kansas City is the only major city that lacks control over its own police department. The oft-stated rationale for state control is to prevent local partisan politics from interfering with the workings of the department. Champions of the unusual setup often cite the political corruption under […]

The post State control of Kansas City’s police has roots in the Civil War appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Marijuana companies will be able to deduct business expenses on their state taxes for the first time this year, a Missouri Department of Revenue spokeswoman confirmed to The Independent.  Missourians voted to legalize medical marijuana in 2018. But under federal law, growing, transporting or selling marijuana remains a crime. Because of this dynamic, marijuana companies […]

The post Missouri marijuana companies can now deduct business expenses on state income taxes appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Christopher Dunn has served over 30 years in prison for a murder he vehemently claims he did not commit. He stands not only on his word but on evidence that supports alibi witnesses and the recanted statements of trial witnesses in his case. However, the most substantial support for Dunn’s case may come from the […]

The post In Missouri, the truth doesn’t always set you free appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Newly inaugurated State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said Monday that auditing federal COVID-19 relief funds and how local school districts spend money will be his top priorities during the coming four years. Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Shell Knob in southwest Missouri, was sworn in at noon Monday to replace Nicole Galloway, a Democrat who did not […]

The post Scott Fitzpatrick says COVID relief, school spending will be focus as Missouri auditor appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A handful of proposals to raise the state’s minimum wage have been submitted to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office to potentially put the issue on the 2024 ballot.  Other proposals would guarantee paid sick leave for Missouri’s workers or establish ranked-choice voting. And rumblings of a possible constitutional amendment that would roll back Missouri’s […]

The post With abortion fight likely looming, Missouri GOP looks to raise bar to change constitution appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Ask around the Missouri Capitol, and there is one trait people bring up over and again to explain how Cindy O’Laughlin became one of the most influential lawmakers in the state. “She has the ability to tell me I was an idiot,” said Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, “and tell those guys they were […]

The post ‘She doesn’t have a tribe’: Cindy O’Laughlin’s new role tests ability to bridge factions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

While our two-party system of government has never functioned perfectly, in recent years it has become more and more dysfunctional — not only in Washington but in many state houses. Why? Have both the Republican and Democratic parties been weakened and crippled by extreme ideological factions in their ranks? Has each party lost its core […]

The post Our two-party system is broken. Can anything fix it? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House elected Kevin McCarthy speaker early Saturday after most of the chamber’s Republicans finally gathered behind him, ending a four-day stalemate that led to the most rounds of voting for a speaker since before the Civil War. The California Republican was able to clinch the gavel on the 15th ballot by turning many of the 20 conservative […]

The post U.S. House GOP backs McCarthy as speaker after tense and chaotic late-night session appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — On the second anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, President Joe Biden on Friday awarded citizen medals to 14 Americans who protected democracy and law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol. “Two years ago on Jan. 6 our democracy was attacked,” Biden said at the White House. “Our democracy held because […]

The post Biden honors more than a dozen Americans for upholding democracy on Jan. 6 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Americans watched with horror as insurrectionists tried to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election. It was also a day that the Republicans set themselves up for not only their 2022 electoral shortcomings, but the coming chaos of 2023. The unprecedented length it is taking to pick a […]

The post How the Jan. 6 insurrection led the GOP to the 2023 House Speaker vote mess appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Marine veteran Lucas Kunce announced Friday that he plans to challenge Republican Josh Hawley in the 2024 race for U.S. Senate in Missouri.  Kunce, 40, chose the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection to make his announcement. Hawley received fierce criticism for his actions on the day of the insurrection, from pumping his […]

The post Democrat Lucas Kunce says he’ll challenge Josh Hawley in 2024 Missouri Senate race appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Investigate Midwest.  Lance Lillibridge, a farmer in east central Iowa, knows farming’s ups and downs. He has been in this business since he was “knee-high to a grasshopper” and is the first of a family of farmers to own his land. But he said the sharp increase in fertilizer […]

The post Farmers endured a rough year, but fertilizer companies cashed in appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Thursday announced dual immigration strategies that would increase expulsions of migrants who attempt to cross the Southern border, while also expanding opportunities for migrants from several countries to legally enter the United States. But the sweeping new immigration plan brought condemnation from advocates who said he should not broaden […]

The post Biden administration to rapidly expel more migrants at the border, add legal pathways appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House adjourned Thursday again without a speaker, racking up five more ballots throughout the day before members left the floor shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern, with some decamping to closed-door negotiations and others leaving the Capitol. “I am not a part of any negotiations,” Colorado’s Lauren Boebert, a leading opponent of […]

The post U.S. House stuck for a third day as Republicans struggle to unite around a speaker appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON – On the eve of the second anniversary of the U.S. Capitol insurrection, congressional Democrats and dozens of veterans on Thursday in a press conference called on incoming House Republican leaders to condemn political violence and hold their members who supported the attack accountable for their actions. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is scheduled on […]

The post D.C. nears Jan. 6 anniversary with warnings about extremism, awards for courage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

St. Louis Judge David Mason is still reviewing Lamar Johnson’s wrongful conviction case and working toward a decision on whether or not to set aside his 1995 murder conviction, a court spokesman told The Independent Wednesday. “There’s no date set yet to issue his ruling, but he is planning to set a hearing to provide […]

The post St. Louis judge in Lamar Johnson innocence case still reviewing evidence appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Political prognosticators fill thousands of column inches and hours of airtime making predictions, and love to say “I told you so” when they’re right.  It would be helpful if more pundits stepped up to confess – and reckon with – their misfires.  In that vein, here are five of my mistaken predictions from the 2022 […]

The post Five things I got wrong in 2022 — and what (if anything) my mistakes mean for 2024 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The $1.7 trillion federal spending bill President Joe Biden signed last week ushers in expanded protections for workers who are pregnant or nursing. Proponents of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act — both included as amendments to the spending bill — say the measures clarify rights for these workers, who weren’t […]

The post Here’s what you need to know about new workplace protections for pregnant, nursing workers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the final weeks of 2022, the Democrat-led U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, attack on the Capitol disclosed thousands of pages of transcripts of interviews the panel’s members and staff conducted with key witnesses. The transcripts were central to a committee report released in December that held Donald Trump responsible for the 2021 […]

The post Trump fixation on Wisconsin, Ginni Thomas text regrets and more from the Jan. 6 panel appeared first on Missouri Independent.