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With a change of just a few words, a bill to expand the sales tax exemption for food purchases became a bill virtually ending the exemption, infuriating its sponsor and forcing a Missouri House committee to give it another look. On Monday, the House Rules – Administrative Oversight Committee voted to send state Rep. Mary […]

The post Change to bill cutting Missouri sales tax on food transformed it into massive tax hike appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A bill that would decriminalize needle exchange programs that aim to reduce the spread of infectious diseases was voted out of the Senate General Laws Committee Tuesday. Needle exchange programs allow drug users to swap out used syringes with clean, new ones in an effort to decrease the chances of contracting or spreading diseases like […]

The post Bill that would decriminalize needle exchange programs passes Missouri Senate committee appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night to reassert America as a leading global voice for democracy and condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting an “unprovoked” war in Ukraine. “Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price for […]

The post Biden in State of the Union urges ‘unmistakable’ support for democracy in Ukraine appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Gov. Mike Parson announced Tuesday that Missouri health department veteran Paula Nickelson will be the agency’s new acting director, after his original pick for the job was ousted by conservative lawmakers and Missourians opposed to mandates. Nickelson, a longtime Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services employee, will assume the role of acting health director […]

The post Missouri governor picks new acting health director after ouster of his original choice appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Every year, Missouri makes what it calls a “feasible effort” at spending 10% of state agencies’ expenditures with minority-owned businesses. In the past three decades, the state has only reached that goal four times. In fiscal year 2021, minority contractors earned 8.2% of the $1.5 billion that Missouri spent in contracts, according to an annual […]

The post Missouri has only met minority participation goal for contracts four times in 30 years appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick wants Missouri to join other states that are dumping Russian investments from retirement funds. In a news release Tuesday, Fitzpatrick called for an emergency meeting of the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) Board of Trustees for votes to block future purchases of Russian securities and consider how to divest from […]

The post Treasurer calls on Missouri pension funds to sell Russian investments in wake of Ukraine war appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Approving video lottery would produce more than 10 times the new state revenue of sports wagering and drive cash-prize video games of debated legality out of Missouri, a newly updated report contends. The report, prepared by Morowitz Gaming Advisors LLC and Global Gaming & Hospitality Capital Advisors LLC and paid for by companies that hope […]

The post Push for expanded Missouri gambling puts casinos, video operators in opposing camps appeared first on Missouri Independent.

There’s a lot of talk these days about leadership, but damned little of the stuff to be found. Never have we needed effective leadership more than now, as we watch Russian tanks rumble into Ukraine, in the biggest military offensive since World War II. The number of troops, estimated at up to 190,000, is about […]

The post Europe is again at war. The example Ike set is more important than ever | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address is set to focus significantly on the economy, with the former member of the U.S. Senate calling on Congress to pass much of the agenda stalled in the so-called Build Back Better bill. During the Tuesday night speech, which begins at 9 p.m. ET, […]

The post Here’s what you will hear Biden talk about in his debut State of the Union appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published on The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. Water is critical to America’s meat habit. Cows, pigs and chickens drink it. Farmers clean barns and cool animals with it. Meatpackers sanitize plants and wash their product with it. But, most importantly, water grows the crops needed to feed the millions of […]

The post Meat companies lag behind other corporations in the food industry on sustainable water use appeared first on Missouri Independent.

SLSCO, a Texas-based construction company, made lofty promises to Missouri’s state health department over the summer that, if hired, it could immediately send hundreds of healthcare workers to aid struggling hospitals. As evidence, the company pointed to filling a request within 36 hours for 200 intensive care unit nurses and staff in California, and indicated […]

The post Missouri spent $25 million to aid hospitals. Contract marked by no-shows, high costs appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A week ago, I was talking to an educator whose job it is to run training programs for students and adults in higher education. She told me that around a dozen different companies and groups were sponsoring training courses for things like nursing assistants, medical workers, electricians and truck driving. All of the courses were […]

The post Making the simple impossible: We don’t want to admit the real worker shortage problem | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The City of St. Louis is asking a panel of federal judges to reconsider a January decision to allow a lawsuit against city police officers to go to trial.  Short of that, the city is asking for a rehearing in front of the entire U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Eighth District to stop […]

The post St. Louis tries to block lawsuit against police officers from going to trial appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Local election officials want new state Senate district maps as soon as possible, Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller told the Judicial Redistricting Commission Friday. But when the panel’s public hearing was over, no one would say when it must be finished. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office provided clarity a few hours later – the […]

The post Judges must produce Missouri Senate map before candidate filing closes appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Americans may be tempted to view the war in Ukraine as an unfortunate, but far away, crisis. As an economist, I know the world is too connected for the U.S. to go unaffected. On Feb. 22, 2022, President Joe Biden warned Americans that a Russian invasion of Ukraine – and U.S. efforts to thwart or punish it – […]

The post How the Ukraine invasion could affect you: Higher food, gas prices, risk of recession | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The United States and Western allies stepped up economic sanctions on Russia following its escalated attack on Ukraine, President Joe Biden said at the White House on Thursday. Biden had for weeks pledged to impose significant sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin followed through on plans to invade Ukraine. As the invasion ramped […]

The post New U.S. sanctions on Russia target banks, high-tech imports appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The first bill sent to Gov. Mike Parson from this year’s legislative session includes a pay raise for state employees, money to fund Medicaid through the end of the fiscal year and federal COVID-19 recovery funding for schools. The Missouri House on Thursday voted 133-12 to pass the $4.6 billion supplemental spending bill approved Wednesday […]

The post Governor signs $4.6B spending plan, House approves bill targeting Medicaid expansion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Three men pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges after admitting plans to attack the power grid “in furtherance of white supremacist ideology,” according to documents unsealed Wednesday. Christopher Brenner Cook, 20, of Columbus, Ohio; Jonathan Allen Frost, 24, of West Lafayette, Indiana, and of Katy, Texas; and Jackson Matthew Sawall, 22, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, each pleaded […]

The post Three men plead guilty to plotting a white supremacist attack on power grid appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden Thursday vowed a “united and decisive” wave of sanctions against Russia after the country’s leaders ordered a military assault on Ukraine. Russian military forces began attacking several cities and towns throughout the country, according to multiple news reports. The Washington Post reported that a senior U.S. defense official said the incursion is taking […]

The post Waves of Russian forces launch assault on Ukraine and U.S. prepares added sanctions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon. Robert Petrie takes pride in his job. The 38-year-old started working as a Walmart cart attendant in Sedalia, Missouri, nearly two years ago. He made the move when he said his old job with McDonald’s wasn’t challenging enough anymore – the same reason he decided […]

The post Sheltered workshop or community jobs? Missouri debates disabled adults in the workforce appeared first on Missouri Independent.