MoInd 📰

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is set to approve a sweeping bill in the coming days that would expand health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits overseas — though a few final details linger. Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill were negotiating behind the scenes Wednesday to determine how many amendments will […]

The post Bipartisan U.S. Senate bill aiding veterans exposed to burn pits edges toward passage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Gov. Mike Parson plans to sign legislation requiring electrical transmission line developers to pay farmers more for easements on their land, his office announced Wednesday. Parson will be in Sedalia Saturday for a Missouri Cattlemen’s Association steak fry and plans to sign the legislation, requiring that landowners be paid 150% of fair market value for […]

The post Missouri governor to sign compromise legislation after efforts to stymie Grain Belt Express appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Content Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions related to gun violence.  WASHINGTON — A fourth grader who survived the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting where 19 students and two teachers were murdered told lawmakers Wednesday that she is afraid to go back to school. “I don’t want it to happen again,” 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo said in […]

The post Fourth grade survivor of Uvalde shooting tells Congress: ‘I don’t want it to happen again’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced Wednesday that he’s issued subpoenas to seven school districts across the state as part of his ongoing investigation into school districts’ curriculum and practices. Schmitt, who is running in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate, said in a news release that the subpoenas target student surveys that his office characterized […]

The post Missouri attorney general subpoenas school districts over student surveys appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol will launch the first in a series of public hearings Thursday night in the hopes of drawing a major prime-time national television audience. The Democratic-led committee, which includes two Republicans who defied their party leadership to join, has been tight-lipped about […]

The post What to know about Thursday’s public hearing on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Sheena Greitens’ attorney thinks the governor’s office may have proof to bolster claims that her client’s ex-husband, Eric Greitens, was prone to violence.  As part of the couple’s child custody battle in Boone County court, attorney Helen Wade filed a records request with the governor’s office asking for documents regarding Eric Greitens losing access to […]

The post Eric Greitens’ ex-wife seeks records from governor’s office detailing ‘abusive’ behavior appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When the voices of 70 elementary school students flooded the speakers of Busch Stadium in St. Louis last week, I was haunted by the ghosts of my own childhood fears. Four days earlier, 19 children about the same age were murdered in their own classroom, along with two teachers, at Robb Elementary School in Texas.  […]

The post Growing up with school shootings hardened my generation in ways you don’t understand | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The son of a Black woman shot and killed by a white supremacist begged members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to take action against such domestic terrorism. The gunman in Buffalo, New York, was motivated by the “great replacement theory,” a racist conspiracy theory that claims growing numbers of immigrants and people […]

The post ‘My mom’s life mattered’: Son of Black shooting victim urges Congress to act appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Though the use of self-destructing text-messaging apps has the practical effect of “side-stepping the reach of Missouri’s Sunshine Law,” their use by former Gov. Eric Greitens and his staff was not illegal, a panel of appeals court judges ruled Tuesday. While Greitens was still serving as governor, he and his staff used a text-messaging app […]

The post Appeals court finds Greitens’ use of self-destructing text message app wasn’t illegal appeared first on Missouri Independent.

SEDALIA – Gov. Mike Parson waded into the crowded 4th Congressional District Republican primary Monday, citing long-time family friendship and past political support for backing Kalena Bruce. Bruce, an accountant and cattle farmer from Stockton, is making her first bid for public office, and the help from Parson will boost her profile in the seven-candidate […]

The post Missouri Gov. Mike Parson backing Kalena Bruce in crowded 4th District GOP primary appeared first on Missouri Independent.

I love farming and have been doing it all my life, but I told my kids not to come back to the farm, because there’s no future in it. That’s the sad truth. Over the last year on Capitol Hill, there have been multiple hearings and bills and even an executive order to address what […]

The post The elephant in the room is destroying family farms, rural communities and our democracy | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by ProPublica. In the final days of Missouri’s legislative session in May 2019, lawmakers turned their focus to a bill that would outlaw abortion in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade. The abortion ban passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Mike […]

The post How Missouri helps abortion opponents divert state taxes to crisis pregnancy centers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Investigate Midwest. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is requiring JBS, one of the largest meatpacking companies in the country, to take steps to prevent future disease outbreaks at seven of its plants. The settlement announced Friday signals the resolution of two OSHA citations issued to JBS for failing to protect […]

The post OSHA requires JBS to implement disease preparedness measures at seven plants appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In 2017, in two different state government agencies, Missouri’s Sunshine Law was put to the test. Just weeks after Josh Hawley was sworn in as attorney general that year, his staff began using private email accounts — instead of government-issued addresses that are automatically subject to the Sunshine Law — to discuss public business with […]

The post Pair of lawsuits expose a potentially massive hole in Missouri’s Sunshine Law appeared first on Missouri Independent.

HIAWATHA, Iowa – A walk-in freezer about two stories high sits in one corner of a warehouse owned by a food bank called Hawkeye Area Community Action Program Inc.   Chris Ackman, the food bank’s communication manager, points to the shelving racks where any donated venison the organization receives is typically stored. Known as the Help […]

The post Midwest states vary in how they handle risk of lead in venison donated to food banks appeared first on Missouri Independent.

America’s form of democracy supposed to be one where the consent of the majority rules. But is it? This question could not resonate any louder than when it comes to passing sensible gun control measures to stop the mass killing of unsuspecting citizens with military style weapons. The devastating tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, where the […]

The post A democracy where the minority often rules | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On Friday morning, stones quarried more than 100 years ago performed one last service for Missouri. Until recently, the dense white Burlington limestone pieces were part of the state Capitol Building completed in 1917. They provided surfaces for sidewalks and staircases, and formed rims for the three fountains that have attracted thousands of art students […]

The post ‘A piece of history for your house’: Missouri auctions stone salvaged from Capitol Building appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In 2020, amid the worst wave of violent crime in almost 15 years, Missouri lawmakers set up a new witness protection program proponents said would break down barriers of silence that left perpetrators unpunished. But since its creation, the program has gone almost unused. Despite being authorized to spend $2 million annually, only $14,647 has […]

The post $2M Missouri witness protection fund finds few takers in second year of operation appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass gun control legislation in a speech at the White House Thursday evening, following mass shootings in New York, Texas and Oklahoma during the last three weeks. “This isn’t about taking away anyone’s rights. This is about protecting children,” Biden said. “How much more carnage are […]

The post Biden urges assault weapons ban, as U.S. House Democrats advance gun control bills appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A federal grand jury indicted three St. Louis aldermen, including the board’s president and longest-serving member, on charges of accepting bribes in exchange for the aldermen’s support on property tax abatements. Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed, Ward 22 Alderman Jeffrey Boyd and former Ward 21 Alderman John Collins-Muhammad, who resigned last month, were indicted […]

The post St. Louis Board President Lewis Reed and two aldermen indicted on federal bribery charges appeared first on Missouri Independent.