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The Missouri Senate voted against allowing video lottery games Wednesday evening, but it was unable to get a bill authorizing sports wagering to a vote. A Senate impasse on expanded gambling has blocked bills legalizing sports betting in each of the past two legislative sessions. In both years, as it did again this year, the […]

The post Missouri Senate once again unable to reach a deal on sports wagering legislation appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Marijuana will soon be more expensive in dozens of municipalities around the state following Tuesday’s elections where almost all of the local sales tax measures passed handily. Many voters around the state saw an extra question on their ballots, asking if they wanted to add a 3% tax to marijuana and other items sold by […]

The post Local marijuana sales taxes pass easily in most communities in Missouri elections appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri legislators heard testimony Tuesday night urging them to remove an anti-abortion provision from a bill that seeks to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage out of concern it could put federal approval at risk. The House Committee on General Laws heard a bill passed out of the Senate in February that would extend postpartum Medicaid coverage […]

The post Lawmakers weigh removing abortion language from Missouri bill extending postpartum care appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The U.S. Department of Energy issued a draft report in February that found a “pressing need” for new electric transmission infrastructure across the country to improve reliability, connect a rapidly growing number of solar, wind and battery storage projects, supply increasing electric demand and alleviate scattered pockets of consistently high prices across the country. To […]

The post Inside the battle over who gets to build the grid of the future appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 New York state felony offenses related to what prosecutors say were hush money payments to an adult film star. In a brief but historic appearance in a Manhattan trial court, Trump, the first former president to face criminal prosecution, learned he was charged with falsifying […]

The post Trump hit with 34 felony counts of falsifying New York state business records appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Missouri Senate committee heard testimony Tuesday on a bill that would allow a school district to  accept transfer students from outside its boundaries. The bill narrowly passed the Missouri House last month on a 85-69 vote. “Providing access to instructional programs and classes that may not be available in every resident district. [Open enrollment] […]

The post Open enrollment gets hearing in Missouri Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Not all of us have the capacity or opportunity to save a life.  Many Americans would strongly consider sacrificing themselves to help a fellow American. There’s a simple way each reader could do that, and it wouldn’t cost much at all.  It’s about becoming an organ donor. Donating your organs is something most people don’t […]

The post Have a heart: Please consider becoming an organ donor appeared first on Missouri Independent.

All 10 Democratic members of the Missouri Senate signed a letter Monday urging Gov. Mike Parson to remove the chair of the Missouri Commission on Human Rights over his recent public statements in opposition to LGBTQ-rights legislation. Timothy Faber, a lobbyist for the Missouri Baptist Convention, testified in a Senate committee hearing last week about […]

The post Democrats call for the removal of Missouri Commission on Human Rights chair appeared first on Missouri Independent.

DUBUQUE, Iowa — As Old Man River slowly awakens from its winter slumber, eagles work the edges of the opening channels and marina docks groan as the slow current wrestles the ice. Anglers — and an occasional whitetail deer — tread cautiously on the big river. Just like any other early spring on the Upper […]

The post Spring brings commerce, concerns for states along Mississippi River appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s ban on lawmakers and legislative staff working as lobbyists for two years after leaving office is a reasonable limit that does not overly burden free speech rights, a federal judge ruled last week. First enacted in 2018 as part of a voter-approved initiative called “Clean Missouri,” the law is designed to prevent corruption and […]

The post Judge rejects ex-Missouri lawmaker’s push to overturn revolving-door lobbying ban appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Marcus Kerr was running his own food truck in California in 2018, when he parked by a marijuana dispensary one day. “I just ended up meeting the owner of this company, and they had my food,” he said. “They said, ‘Hey, can you infuse this?’ Then I started working for the big guys.” Kerr began […]

The post Missouri sees surge in cannabis jobs after legalization vote appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Early on in his administrative career, longtime Missouri educator Chris Belcher had what he called the worst experience of his life. “The kid screamed, and I felt awful,” he said. He didn’t want to do it, but he had to. It was the 1980s, and Belcher was told to paddle a student who was enrolled […]

The post Passing the paddle: Some Missouri school districts cling to corporal punishment appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Parents have the right to drop off or send their children to safe schools. Teachers have the right to educate them in safe classrooms. Their rights are just as important as the rights of gun owners, if not more so. So where is the outcry for the rights of parents and teachers? Here we are […]

The post Parents and teachers: Use your power to get assault weapons banned appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A lawsuit filed Friday in St. Louis accuses Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey of a “politically motivated” investigation of transgender care provided by Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri. The attorney general demanded Planned Parenthood turn over a litany of records earlier this month as part of his investigation into allegations […]

The post Planned Parenthood sues Missouri attorney general over transgender care investigation appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s House took an unusual step this year in an effort to bring more order to the legislative process. The House adopted a rule that limits a member next year from sponsoring more than 20 bills in a session, with a few exceptions such as the House Budget chair who sponsors all the governor’s budget […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Bringing order to the Missouri House appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A New York criminal grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office confirmed following news reports. A former president has never been indicted before. Trump is also a Republican candidate in the 2024 race for the presidency. “This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender […]

The post Donald Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON – U.S. House Judiciary Committee Republicans decried what they described as a partisan “weaponization” of the federal government over issues of free speech during a highly contentious Thursday hearing surrounding a lawsuit filed by the Missouri attorney general’s office. Democratic committee members objected strongly to the hearing as spreading “false narratives” and lies about […]

The post U.S. House members battle over ‘weaponization’ of government in hearing on Missouri lawsuit appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Democrats argued Thursday that restrictive language barring the state from spending tax dollars on diversity and inclusion initiatives threatens to close charter schools, interrupt delivery of medical services and could even force the Capitol Building to go dark. Each of the 13 bills spending $45.6 billion to run state government in the year beginning […]

The post Diversity debate dominates House action on Missouri state budget appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House on Thursday approved a bill packed with Republican energy priorities meant to counteract the Biden administration’s approach and boost U.S. oil and gas production. Numbered H.R. 1 as a signal that energy policy is the House majority’s top legislative priority, the bill includes a package of GOP proposals, ranging from reforming the […]

The post U.S. House passes sweeping energy bill pushing back against Biden climate policies appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Health insurance companies may no longer need to cover a wide swath of preventive health care services that were required by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, under a federal judge’s ruling issued Thursday in Texas. The decision could affect millions of Americans’ access to no-cost preventive health care — including pregnancy-related care, cancer screenings, […]

The post U.S. judge rules insurers don’t have to cover many free preventive health services appeared first on Missouri Independent.