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This story was originally published by Investigate Midwest. Foreign investment in U.S. cropland has nearly tripled in the past decade, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. The total cropland controlled by foreign interests in 2020 was 10.9 million acres, up from 4.1 million acres in 2010. This increase has been largely driven by foreign-owned […]

The post Foreign investment in U.S. cropland nearly tripled in past decade, USDA data shows appeared first on Missouri Independent.

What started as a bipartisan effort to improve Missouri’s literacy rates through a children’s book has evolved into legislation that lawmakers hope will boost students’ reading success. A bill heard Tuesday in the House Education Committee would require schools to start assessing students on their reading levels in kindergarten and ensure students who are behind […]

The post Student literacy bill winning bipartisan support among Missouri lawmakers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A year ago, a movement of organizers hoping to curb police violence and transform public safety claimed a major victory – helping Tishaura Jones get elected mayor of St. Louis. In her first week, she signed an executive order to close loopholes in the civilian oversight process of police misconduct investigations and redirected $4 million […]

The post St. Louis mayor vowed to transform public safety. Her first year saw progress, pushback appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Bryant Wilks was a bright and driven 17 year old in Columbia. Already a manager at Dairy Queen, he was on track to graduate high school early and attend college to study business. But he became one of 14 people killed in the central Missouri college town in 2020, a record year for homicides. For […]

The post ‘We are at a standstill’: Columbia residents fed up with little action on gun violence appeared first on Missouri Independent.

With the end of the legislative session only weeks away, and organizers of an initiative petition campaign sounding the alarm about an even more pressing deadline, dueling efforts to legalize marijuana in Missouri face uncertain fates. In the legislature, GOP state Rep. Ron Hicks is sponsoring a bill to legalize possession and use of marijuana for […]

The post Time running short for dueling Missouri marijuana legalization efforts appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On one end of the Missouri Capitol last week, Sen. Greg Razer was making yet another unsuccessful attempt to convince his colleagues to enact legal protections in state law for LGBTQ Missourians. “I’m still perceived as controversial,” Razer, a Kansas City Democrat who is one of just six openly LGBTQ lawmakers in the legislature and […]

The post LGBTQ protections languish while Missouri lawmakers push transgender sports bans appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After 28 hours of labor, Adrianne Blakemore remembers the incredible joy she felt when her first son came into the world in 2017.  But she also felt completely exhausted. She wished she would’ve had a doula – someone dedicated to caring for the mother during and after pregnancy. Last year, Blakemore decided to take doula […]

The post Missouri House advances funds for doula training program named after Cora Faith Walker appeared first on Missouri Independent.

How long are we willing to tolerate the obstructionism, stonewalling, half-truths and downright lies that are being used to pass detrimental legislation — or no legislation at all — in state legislatures and in Congress? We, the people, have the power to change things, beginning with the upcoming 2022 midterm elections. If only we use […]

The post The 2022 midterms give voters power to change state legislatures, Congress | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

There are several millionaires seeking Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat, financial disclosure reports show. But voters won’t see the finances of the only likely billionaire in the race until July. Trudy Busch Valentine, a Democrat and Anheuser Busch beer heiress who jumped into the race during the final days of filing, on Monday filed for […]

The post In Senate race full of millionaires, Missouri must wait to see finances of newest entrant appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News.  As the midterm election season ramps up, the Biden administration wants rural Americans to know it’ll be spending a lot of money to improve health care in rural areas. It has tasked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack with delivering the message that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed long-standing […]

The post Biden administration announces boost for rural health care in midterm election push appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A week after senators celebrated a compromise to increase funding for charter schools, the estimated cost of the proposal stalled its progress — at least temporarily. Before the Senate can take a vote, the bill would need to be passed out of the Senate Committee on Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight, where the chairman has […]

The post Despite concerns over cost, Missouri charter school funding boost still expected to move appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After so many decades covering the legislative process, I’ve gained an appreciation about Senate filibusters. So many times, I’ve seen benefits from the power of a senator or two to speak for as long as possible to delay hasty action. Filibusters can be effective tools to forge compromises that sometimes involve other issues before the […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Rethinking Missouri Senate filibusters appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Trudy Busch Valentine says she sought advice from a lot of people before she decided last month to jump into politics by running for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat.  But what sealed the deal, she said in an interview Wednesday, was a conversation with women Democratic U.S. senators, including Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. “When I […]

The post ‘More acts of kindness’: Busch Valentine sees Senate race as a chance to heal divisions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

TOPEKA, Kansas — The U.S. Department of Justice agreed Wednesday to return all cash seized from an armored car company used by legal marijuana dispensaries during several traffic stops in California last year. The California seizures occurred based on what authorities learned in Kansas during a May traffic stop of an Empyreal Logistics car. Conversations […]

The post Company stopped for hauling Missouri marijuana funds across Kansas settles federal suit appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The United States has made many contributions to the world in science, technology, medicine and the arts. We’ve exported the key ideas that serve as the framework of self-government and personal freedom around the world. By my reckoning, however, the greatest contribution of the United States to the world is the idea of legitimate opposition. Put simply, this […]

The post The loyal opposition is a key element of democracy, and we’re losing it | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Environmental advocates are raising concerns that a Missouri law enacted last year to speed up utilities’ transition to renewable energy may soon be changed to make it easier for companies to keep coal plants partially open.  Last year, Missouri and Kansas enacted laws allowing electric utilities to “securitize” aging coal plants and retire them early […]

The post Missouri environmentalists worry bill undermines law meant to boost renewable energy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A constitutional amendment asking Missourians to let lawmakers decide year-to-year whether the state will offer Medicaid to working-age adults moved closer to passage on Wednesday. By an 8-5 vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee sent the House-passed proposal to the full Senate for debate. Only Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, voted with Democrats to oppose the measure, […]

The post Senate committee approves bill that could overturn Missouri Medicaid expansion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State Rep. Ed Lewis had just hours to say goodbye. In March 2020, his 89-year-old mother had to go to the hospital after suffering from a fall. Lewis’ sister was their mother’s primary caregiver, but in the pandemic’s first days as hospitals restricted visitors, family members weren’t allowed to stay with her. Lewis and his […]

The post Legislators weigh blocking COVID visitor restrictions at Missouri hospitals, nursing homes appeared first on Missouri Independent.

MENLO, Iowa — In response to rising gas prices, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that fuel stations may sell cheaper, higher-ethanol blend fuels through the summer. “I’m here today because home-grown biofuels have a role to play right now… as we work to get prices under control and reduce the costs for families,” Biden told […]

The post Biden: Biofuels ‘have a role to play’ in easing gas prices appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As debates over school curriculum rage nationwide, the Missouri House granted initial approval Tuesday to a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” that would allow for lawsuits and funding to be withheld from schools that repeatedly violate the proposed law. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho, aims to “to empower parents to enforce” rights laid […]

The post Amid curriculum debates, sweeping ‘parents’ bill of rights’ wins initial House approval appeared first on Missouri Independent.