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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 […]

The post Missouri Gov. Parson proposes $15 minimum pay for state employees appeared first on Missouri Independent.

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 […]

The post Women would sign up for the military draft under defense bill in Congress appeared first on Missouri Independent.

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 […]

The post Spire STL pipeline can keep operating through the winter, regulators decide appeared first on Missouri Independent.

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 […]

The post Spire files appeal to U.S. Supreme Court in pipeline dispute appeared first on Missouri Independent.

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.

Under pressure from Missouri regulators, and with assurances from federal regulators that certainty would come soon, Spire Missouri ratcheted down its campaign warning St. Louis area customers they could experience outages this winter.  Spire was widely criticized by state and federal regulators and environmental groups when it sent an email to St. Louis area customers […]

The post Under pressure from regulators and elected officials, Spire tones down pipeline messaging appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Spire Missouri customers will see big hikes in their natural gas bills this winter, with residents in the Kansas City area hit the hardest, as the energy market continues to struggle following February’s deep freeze.  The utility, which serves nearly 1.2 million customers around Missouri, says natural gas prices are up almost 60% compared to […]

The post Bills for Spire customers in Kansas City spike 40%, St. Louis 25% appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — State health officials on Thursday welcomed the Biden administration’s plan to require private health insurers to reimburse Americans for the cost of rapid, at-home COVID-19 tests — though the officials also raised questions about whether the process will be burdensome. Making those tests more accessible will allow Americans to get results quickly and […]

The post At-home COVID tests to be covered by insurance — but details still to come appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Democrats on the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday encouraged President Joe Biden to take stronger action to limit oil and gas production, while Republicans said reducing domestic production would only increase global emissions from overseas suppliers. In a hearing less than a week after the U.S. Interior Department released a report that called for fiscal […]

The post Biden’s oil and gas policy falls short on climate goals, House Democrats say appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt will not appeal a consequential court ruling that strips powers from local health departments, despite a request from Missouri’s state health director to do so. In an email to The Independent, Schmitt’s spokesman said the attorney general’s office notified the Department of Health and Senior Services of its decision. “We have […]

The post Missouri health director wanted to appeal judge’s COVID ruling. AG Schmitt refused appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As the delta variant ran rampant this summer, Missouri officials pleaded with the federal government to allow a $100 gift card program to incentivize COVID-19 vaccines. But months later, just 20 of the 115 eligible local health departments have opted into the vaccine incentive program, an investigation by The Missouri Independent and the Documenting COVID-19 […]

The post Missouri allocated $11M for vaccine gift cards. Most health departments said no thanks appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is weighing potentially sweeping changes to the right to an abortion, after two hours of arguments Wednesday morning on a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The court’s conservatives, who hold a 6-3 majority, appeared through their questions to be sympathetic to Mississippi’s arguments that its […]

The post U.S. Supreme Court considers new limits on abortions in Mississippi case appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Lucia Ruta remembers a time when abortions were illegal. A native of Washington, D.C., she says she received an abortion in a back alley when she was 16, in the 1960s.  “The doctor told me that if I made as so much a whimper, he was going to stop and kick me out,” […]

The post Protesters rally at U.S. Supreme Court as justices hear landmark abortion case appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Mask mandates saved lives and prevented COVID-19 infections in Missouri’s biggest cities during the worst part of the delta variant wave, an analysis by the state Department of Health and Senior Services shows. But the analysis, conducted at the request of Gov. Mike Parson’s office in early November, was never made public and was only […]

The post Missouri health department found mask mandates work, but didn’t make findings public appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The state saw a historic number of Missourians apply for unemployment benefits in 2020. About 639,000 Missourians filed in the first three months of the COVID pandemic, as businesses shut down to stave off the virus’ spread. “They were encouraged to apply,” said Jim Guest, director of the volunteer lawyers program at Legal Services of […]

The post Missouri bill seeks to forgive mistakenly overpaid unemployment benefits appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In April, when I received my first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, I was hopeful for the first time in over a year that my life was going to return to normal. However, seven months later, I tested positive for COVID-19 and it was as if the isolating feeling of the early months of the […]

The post After a breakthrough COVID infection, I believe in the vaccine more than ever | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.