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A Louisiana federal judge has put a hold on President Joe Biden’s mandate that Head Start workers be vaccinated against COVID-19. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, who previously ruled against a vaccine mandate for health care workers, issued a preliminary injunction on New Year’s Day restricting the executive branch from enforcing in 24 states a mandate for […]

The post Federal judge blocks vaccine mandate for Head Start workers in 24 states, including Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The night before the anniversary of a mob incited by false claims of a stolen election storming the U.S. Capitol, one of the main peddlers of the so-called “big lie” is scheduled to be in Missouri.  Rep. Ann Kelley, R-Lamar, sent out invitations late last month for a dinner in Jefferson City with Douglas Frank, […]

The post A year after Jan. 6 Capitol riot, a key purveyor of the ‘big lie’ is heading to Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After the issue ground legislative work to a halt last year, Missouri Republican lawmakers plan to renew their efforts to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving taxpayer dollars when they return to the state Capitol this week. More than half a dozen bills have been filed so far that aim to strip abortion providers or their […]

The post GOP lawmakers renew effort to bar Planned Parenthood from Missouri Medicaid program appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Marijuana reform in Missouri has been a hotly contested topic since at least 2016, as thousands of entrepreneurs and commercial entities have competed for access to commercial licensing. In 2018, the New Approach Missouri campaign won the support of 66% of Missouri voters to put a medical marijuana program into the state’s Constitution. In 2020, […]

The post Missouri’s marijuana legalization efforts should learn from the legal hemp industry | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

It was never a question.  As the St. Louis region began to close schools and issue stay-home orders due to the pandemic, Rebeccah Bennett knew that the most vulnerable — the Black community, the unhoused and immigrant populations — would bear the brunt of this deadly virus.  And Bennett, founder of the consulting group Emerging […]

The post Rebeccah Bennett was ‘spiritual center,’ strategist in St. Louis’ COVID-19 response appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For the state commission drawing new Missouri House districts, the work began in acrimony but seems likely to end in harmony. For the commission in charge of new Senate maps, the opposite is true. When the House Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission met for the first time in August, the 20 members spent hours arguing, locked […]

The post Commission sets Monday public hearing for competing Missouri House district maps appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s election year legislative session begins with many of the bills filed raising partisan disputes. Proposed limits on COVID-19 restrictions are a major focus. Well more than two dozen bills were pre-filed to restrict COVID-19 mandates. Some would block mandating a test, mask or proof of vaccination. One measure even would make any employer, including […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: A possible partisan legislative food fight appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On the day Missouri surpassed 1 million COVID-19 cases and recorded the highest single-day tally of infections for the pandemic, Gov. Mike Parson announced he would let the state of emergency for responding to the disease expire at midnight Friday. The decision was immediately criticized by Missouri Hospital Association spokesman Dave Dillon, who said it […]

The post Gov. Parson declares end to COVID emergency as Missouri cases soar to record levels appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Anita and Gary Burney moved to Back Acres Homestead — or as they jokingly call it, “Back Ache-rs’ Homestead” — in southwestern Missouri three years ago to find a quieter life.  Just a few miles from both the Arkansas and Oklahoma borders, the Burneys’ homestead features a lovely stone house, chickens roaming, a garden, some […]

The post Couple creates food hub in southwest Missouri to help families during ‘difficult times’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

It was spring of 1989, and Colleen Coble had been working as a lobbyist in Jefferson City for just a few months.  She stood in the gallery of the Missouri House of Representatives, waiting for a bill regarding protections for domestic violence victims to come up for a vote.  It had to pass out of […]

The post After 33 years advocating for victims of domestic violence, Colleen Coble is retiring appeared first on Missouri Independent.

TOPEKA — U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Roy Blunt of Missouri expressed outrage at evidence of bias in the United Network for Organ Sharing’s policy of distributing livers from states with high donor rates to areas of the country underperforming in donation of lifesaving organs. The Republicans said UNOS’ policy resulted in patients […]

The post Moran, Blunt denounce ‘disgusting’ collusion, bias in national liver transplant policy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

 A stack of boxes sitting in attorney Gina Chiala’s garage reminds her of how devastating evictions can be on families.  A woman had called her in 2014, a couple years before Chiala co-founded the Heartland Center For Jobs and Freedom nonprofit law group to provide legal support to the movement of fast-food workers fighting for […]

The post Kansas City residents will soon have the right to an attorney in eviction proceedings appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s two largest counties will continue their efforts to overturn a court ruling that severely limits the powers of local health departments at the same time health officials warn the omicron variant will bring thousands of new COVID-19 cases. Missouri reported almost 10,000 new coronavirus infections Monday, making December the second-worst month of the pandemic […]

The post Omicron’s rapid spread puts Missouri on track for COVID cases ‘worse…than it has ever been’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As a new year dawns, many of us may find it difficult to be very hopeful about anything as we continue to see so many negative forces impacting our daily lives. But we all have choices. We can choose to be resigned and discouraged, or we can choose to do something about it. The New […]

The post Next year will not be better unless we get involved | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The women of the Missouri Senate are telling their own stories through a forthcoming children’s book that chronicles the journeys of lawmakers past and present. Titled, “You Can, Too!,” the book recounts the stories of the 36 women who have served in the state Senate over the course of the chamber’s history. The book is […]

The post ‘The Eleven’: Women in Missouri Senate see new book as example of bipartisanship forged appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As a chemist and immigrant from Vietnam, Linh Nguyen never thought she could have a role in U.S. politics. But then Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 and he “unknowingly inspired minority leaders, women of color like me, to be more actively engaged in politics,” she said. She joined the nonpartisan League of Women […]

The post Candidates fighting 2020 misinformation run to administer local elections appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Cole County judge on Wednesday denied local health departments and the state’s two largest counties from intervening and appealing a recent court ruling that has upended restrictions put in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The ruling, issued by Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green the same day that his Nov. 22 order […]

The post Judge denies effort by local health agencies to intervene, appeal Missouri COVID ruling appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Thousands of Missouri school buildings are likely not testing their water for lead. A Missouri House bill would require them to start filtering.  Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin. Medical professionals say there is no safe amount of lead for children to inhale or consume. But Missouri residents drink water supplied by lead pipes at rates […]

The post Missouri bill would require schools to filter drinking fountains for lead appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In Cape Girardeau County, the coroner hasn’t pronounced a single person dead of COVID-19 in 2021.  Wavis Jordan, a Republican who was elected last year to serve as coroner of the 80,000-person county, says his office “doesn’t do COVID deaths.” He does not investigate deaths himself, and requires families to provide proof of a positive […]

The post Uncounted: Inaccurate death certificates across the country hide the true toll of COVID-19 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged that COVID-19 vaccine doubters stop “peddling lies” on TV and online, as the nation grapples with a rising number of cases due to the highly transmissible omicron variant. Biden also announced new federal help for testing and treatment in the states, including 500 million at-home rapid test […]

The post Biden slams COVID-19 vaccine ‘lies,’ announces free at-home tests appeared first on Missouri Independent.