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St. Louis County abandoned its effort to maintain a mask mandate Thursday as Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s crusade to crush out all such orders statewide continued. Some school districts said they would not comply with “cease and desist” letters from Schmitt after his office began soliciting complaints about mask rules, citing their legal authority. But […]

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A bipartisan pair of senators on Wednesday called for Congress to approve billions in new funding for states to manage wildlife recovery work.  At a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Sens. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said a bill they introduced this year would help protect 1,600 threatened species, […]

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — President Joe Biden on Wednesday visited the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority to tout the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill he signed into law last month, expected to bring billions in spending on roads and bridges, clean water, public transportation, high speed internet and more to Kansas and Missouri. The president said […]

The post ‘Americans always rebuild’: Biden promotes infrastructure investments in Kansas City speech appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Missouri state lawmaker frustrated by delays receiving records from the Department of Social Services filed a complaint Monday with Attorney General Eric Schmitt. In a Monday letter to the attorney general’s office, Rep. Sarah Unsicker, D-Shrewsbury, detailed a series of Sunshine Law requests she sent to the Department of Social Services, with the oldest […]

The post Lawmaker seeks help from Missouri Attorney General on open records requests appeared first on Missouri Independent.

St. Louis-based Centene, the nation’s largest Medicaid managed care provider, has settled fraud allegations with a fifth state, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced Monday. The $27.6 million Kansas settlement comes after Mississippi, Illinois and Arkansas announced settlements totaling $154 million. All of those follow a settlement with Ohio — the only state to sue […]

The post St. Louis-based Medicaid giant Centene settles fraud allegations with Kansas for $27.6M appeared first on Missouri Independent.

“Pacific Ablaze” read Australian papers on December 8 1941, as the world learned about the monumental events that unfolded only hours before. Japan had simultaneously declared war against the United States and Great Britain, then immediately launched stunning attacks spanning 6,400 kilometers (and the international date line) from Singapore to Hong Kong, Malaya, Bangkok, Guam […]

The post 80 years on, the attack on Pearl Harbor offers lessons for today | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt instructed school districts and local public health departments to immediately stop enforcing health orders a judge ruled unconstitutional last month, and warned Tuesday they may face legal action if they fail to do so. In separate letters sent Tuesday to school districts and health departments across the state, Schmitt pointed to […]

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The cheers and ringing bells were deafening at Wesley Bell’s watch party for the August 2018 Democratic primary election in St. Louis County. Shocking the country, Bell had handed a stunning defeat to then-incumbent St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch ― the longtime prosecutor who had been sharply criticized by the Black community for his […]

The post Black Dems say nonpartisan elections in St. Louis County would dilute Black political power appeared first on Missouri Independent.

I begin this column with a confession. We journalists are reluctant to report about ourselves because under journalism ethics, a reporter should avoid covering something in which the reporter has a conflict of interest. But Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s continuing attacks against news organizations and specific reporters are so unprecedented that I feel compelled to […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Missouri Gov. Parson’s unprecedented attacks on journalists appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon.  It’s been 13 years since Kansas City passed its first climate protection plan. At the top of the list: drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Now the city is preparing a new plan, and emission reductions remains a focus. In 2008, the city set a goal […]

The post Kansas City declared a climate emergency. Now what? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Faced with over a year’s delay from the state social services department on implementing extended mental health care for new moms, a bipartisan effort now aims to expand health care coverage more broadly for low-income pregnant women. Legislation filed last week by Sens. Elaine Gannon, R-De Soto, and Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, would extend health […]

The post Bipartisan Missouri legislation aims to provide a year of health care for new moms appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Gov. Mike Parson wants to tap Missouri’s enormous budget surplus to provide immediate raises to state employees and enact a new $15 an hour minimum pay for all state jobs. In a news release issued Monday, Parson said he will ask lawmakers to speed a supplemental budget bill to his desk to provide a 5.5 […]

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WASHINGTON — As the Senate works to finalize a major annual defense measure, there is a bipartisan push to include a requirement that all young Americans — including women — for the first time register for the military draft. The $777.9 billion measure, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022, also would allocate millions to […]

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Two years ago, a company led by an influential Republican businessman faced off with the state’s environmental regulators over whether it needed to do additional testing for a chemical health officials worried could pose a cancer risk to the company’s workers.  The Moberly manufacturing facility, Orscheln Products LLC, is owned by the family of businessman Barry […]

The post Controversial bill would have aided Missouri company under scrutiny for contamination appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In 1984, I was arrested for felony possession of marijuana for a half-pound of marijuana, for which I served five years of probation. In 1991, I was arrested for possession of two ounces of marijuana, for which I served 60 days in county prison. Finally, in 1993, I was arrested as an accessory in a […]

The post Missouri lawmakers must take action to legalize marijuana | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Reverence for U.S. Sen. Bob Dole’s service as a soldier in World War II, a longtime senator and fixture in Washington, D.C., was evident Sunday morning following the announcement of his death. In the hours after the Elizabeth Dole Foundation announced Dole, 98, had died following a battle with lung cancer, […]

The post ‘Statesman,’ ‘hero,’ ‘favorite son’: Well wishes pour out after death of Sen. Bob Dole appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The embattled Spire STL Pipeline serving St. Louis-area natural gas customers will be allowed to keep operating through the winter, federal regulators decided Friday. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order after weeks of building tension as the pipeline’s current temporary authorization to operate came close to expiring. The commission’s order grants Spire STL […]

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The City of St. Louis filed a lawsuit Friday asking a judge to strike down a wide-ranging bill that passed in May bolstering protections for police under investigation for misconduct. The city’s lawsuit targets a portion of a bill called the “Law Enforcement Bill of Rights,” a list of more than 15 new requirements that […]

The post St. Louis asks judge to rule ‘police bill of rights’ law unconstitutional appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Spire STL Pipeline appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to overturn a lower-court ruling that outlined evidence of self-dealing in its construction of a controversial natural gas pipeline in the St. Louis area.  The pipeline has been in operation since 2019. But this summer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit […]

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This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News. Temp worker James Dickerson applied for Medicaid because it will be cheaper than his current health plan. Home health aide Sharon Coleman looks forward to having coverage that will cover a hospital stay. Incoming medical student Danielle Gaddis no longer worries a trip to the doctor […]

The post A tale of two Medicaid expansions: Oklahoma jumps in, while Missouri lags appeared first on Missouri Independent.