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Efforts to eliminate lead in school drinking water got a huge boost on Friday, as Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed off on legislation requiring testing and also gave his approval to $27 million in federal funds to help schools install filters. The new law, which goes into effect Aug. 28, requires schools to test their […]

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The reaction to the Supreme Court stripping away a constitutional right to abortion has spurred many apocalyptic forecasts for the country. Most vivid, of course, is the fear that the United States will become a version of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” with a slave-class of women forced to bear children for a […]

The post Post-Roe, herding ourselves over politics will do nothing but further hurt us appeared first on Missouri Independent.

An avalanche of tax revenue is bulging Missouri’s treasury, but tax rebates approved by lawmakers won’t be coming to taxpayer bank accounts. The record surplus does, however, mean schools get more for transportation, college students get more money in scholarships and many Medicaid providers will see a rate increase in the fiscal year that begins […]

The post Missouri governor vetoes tax rebate plan from record $49 billion state budget appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Borne out of frustrations over healthcare facilities’ visitor restrictions during the pandemic, a pair of bills signed by Gov. Mike Parson Thursday will give patients’ caregivers and family clearer means to access their loved ones. Dubbed the “No Patient Left Alone Act” and “Compassionate Care Visitation Act,” the bills establish rules by which patients’ caregivers […]

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Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill into law Thursday that requires antiquated housing restrictions based on race, national origin or religion to be removed in all newly-recorded deeds. Beginning in 1935, the federal government required housing developers to sign agreements, or racial deed covenants, that they would not sell these homes to “non-Caucasians,” in order […]

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On the day that more than 119,000 acres of public land in Wyoming went out to bid for oil and gas leasing, 10 groups sued the Department of the Interior for not properly taking climate change into account in determining the lease sites throughout eight western states. Furthermore, in the federal government’s haste to resume […]

The post Environmental groups sue Biden administration for failing to consider climate change in oil leasing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

An attorney running as an independent for the U.S. Senate in Missouri says Congress’ inquiry into the Jan. 6 insurrection has turned up enough evidence to warrant a criminal investigation of former President Donald Trump by federal law enforcement.  John Wood, a Republican and former U.S. attorney who until last week served as senior investigative […]

The post Independent Missouri Senate hopeful says Trump should face criminal probe over Jan. 6 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A mother aboard a train derailment in Mendon, Missouri, on Monday climbed on top of the wreckage and went from train car to train car, yelling into each window while searching for her three children, according to her son, Dax McDonald. The Amtrak train was traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago when it struck a […]

The post Brother and sister recount ‘very traumatizing’ Amtrak derailment in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After at least one hospital system in Missouri stopped providing emergency contraception because of ambiguity in the state’s abortion ban, Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office clarified Wednesday that contraception is not prohibited under state law. “Missouri law does not prohibit the use or provision of Plan B, or contraception,” said Chris Nuelle, a spokesman for […]

The post Missouri AG says state abortion ban does not prohibit Plan B or contraception appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday signed legislation environmentalists fear will chip away at a year-old state law meant to encourage utilities to retire polluting coal plants.  One of the state’s largest utilities says the law is simply cleanup language.  Last year, Missouri and Kansas enacted laws allowing electric utilities to “securitize” aging coal plants […]

The post Bill environmentalists say could keep Missouri coal plants open signed by governor appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed sweeping legislation Wednesday making it a Class C misdemeanor for people experiencing homelessness to sleep on state-owned land. The law prevents some federal and state funds from being used to construct affordable housing, instead redirecting that money towards constructing temporary camps that provide substance abuse and mental health treatment.  It […]

The post New Missouri law makes sleeping on state land a crime for people experiencing homelessness appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Gov. Mike Parson has signed into law a bill to infuse over $60 million in state funding into charter schools. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Doug Richey, R-Excelsior Springs, aims to close a discrepancy in funding allocated to charter schools versus traditional public schools that was the result of outdated property values. The law will […]

The post Missouri charter schools will receive millions in state funds with governor’s signature appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Donald Trump had to be held back from joining his enraged, rioting supporters — even after the president was told they were armed — in their assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to astonishing testimony to the Jan. 6 committee Tuesday from a former top White House aide. Trump, spewing expletives, was so angry at […]

The post Trump had to be physically restrained from joining Jan. 6 mob, House panel told appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced he will sign a wide-ranging elections bill on Wednesday that would require voters to present government-issued photo identification to cast a ballot.  The bill includes a litany of election law changes, ranging from prohibiting touch-screen voting machines to requiring election authorities to conduct cybersecurity reviews. It also will do away […]

The post Gov. Parson to sign sweeping elections bill enacting new voter ID rule in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For the first time in Missouri’s history, the state has a team of attorneys dedicated to defending people on the verge of having their parole revoked and facing more prison time.  Missouri is the third state in the country to establish a parole revocation defense team, following Connecticut and New York.  “We’re on the cutting […]

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I read the announcement in January with mixed emotions: The Biden administration would soon require health insurers to pay for eight at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests per person, per month, it said. What a helpful move to improve testing access for Americans whose jobs, schooling and daily lives expose them to the virus, I thought. Especially […]

The post The Biden administration said insurers must cover home COVID tests. It didn’t say how appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In 2018, a rash of students were dying by suicide in southwest Missouri. The Neosho School District wasn’t immune. “We were averaging about a suicide-and-a-half a year,” said Jim Cummins, the district superintendent. “And we knew that that couldn’t continue.” The district of roughly 4,600 students launched “a full frontal assault” to address the issue, […]

The post Missouri AG, Georgia nonprofit communicated for months before school subpoenas appeared first on Missouri Independent.

With Eric Greitens continuing to lead in most polls, Republicans worried he could cost the party a Senate seat this fall are planning to spend $1 million tearing him down before the Aug. 2 GOP primary. But is it too little, too late?  The former Missouri governor’s standing in polls of potential primary voters has […]

The post Group to spend $1M attacking Eric Greitens in Missouri. Will crowded primary save him? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When Eric Greitens posted his April 25 tweet, I thought, “this is the craziest thing I have ever seen.” He was on a shooting range with Donald Trump, Jr., first firing what appeared to be an AR-15, next a handgun with the audio messages, “Striking fear in the hearts of liberals,” and, “Liberals beware.” May […]

The post Let’s fix our toxic politics appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Angela Huntington’s phone was constantly ringing off of the hook. When Texas’ fetal heartbeat ban on abortions went into effect last September, the number of patients calling Planned Parenthood Great Plains jumped overnight. In August, about 150 patients received financial assistance and help. In September, that increased to roughly 850. “I remember my inbox would […]

The post Abortion is illegal in Missouri. Providers look to next frontier to ensure access appeared first on Missouri Independent.