Whoās funding a stateās tax credit program for private school tuition is no longer available through Missouriās transparency portal, following a decision by the State Treasurerās Office to permanently remove the information. Donors and their contribution amounts were available July 2, 2024, when The Independent accessed the information and published a report three days later […]
The majority of Missourians can vote for something, but the elected officials we send to Jefferson City are bold and brazen enough to cave to special interests, lobbyists or their own self-interests and undo the peopleās votes. Why should we let them undo the laws and policies we approve? Left unaddressed, it gives tacit approval […]
WASHINGTON ā President Donald Trump and European Union leaders announced a trade framework over the weekend, just days ahead of Trumpās self-imposed Friday deadline to increase import taxes and his emergency tariffs come under scrutiny in federal appeals court Thursday. Under the agreement, a 15% tariff will be applied to all products, with some exceptions, […]
Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide are once again protected from a ādefundingā provision passed by Congress after a federal judge in Massachusetts granted an emergency request for a new preliminary injunction. The order from U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama, comes one week after an initial injunction blocked only certain […]
Twenty-eight-year-old Michaela Bonner has been working 12-hour shifts as an emergency medical technician in Norfolk, Virginia, for the past four years, while attending and paying for college to finish her prerequisites for medical school. But now that President Donald Trumpās signature tax and spending law bars students from borrowing more than $50,000 annually in unsubsidized […]
By limiting large-scale water exports from the state, experts and farmers said Missouri has taken forward-thinking measures to protect one of its most vital resources. According to them, it will benefit agriculture, industry and municipal services in the coming years. Governor Mike Kehoe signed new legislation into law on July 14 that limits large-scale water […]
Kevin Wehner has been there for Missourians as they have dealt with unanswered questions, long wait times and the confusion as they enrolled for government insurance. He was there as the Affordable Care Act marketplace came online, and as Missouri slowly expanded its Medicaid program, known as MO HealthNet. Heās witnessed Missouri struggling for years […]
Republican lawmakersā decision to overturn a voter-approved expansion of paid sick leave means benefits Missouri workers accrued in recent months will disappear on Aug. 28.Ā They also placed a question on the 2026 ballot rolling back abortion rights that voters enshrined in the state constitution in November.Ā Itās not the first time the GOP-dominated legislature […]
This July marked 80 years since the U.S. government detonated the first atomic bomb in the desert of southern New Mexico, marking the start of the nuclear age ā and an ongoing nightmare for the people who call the area home. That test, known as Trinity, blanketed rural communities in radioactive fallout. No one was […]
The Trump White House is ratcheting up pressure on Missouri Republicans reluctant to pursue a new map that could give the GOP seven of the stateās eight seats in Congress. Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem Chad Perkins of Bowling Green said he received a call Friday afternoon from the White House after staff read his […]
WASHINGTON ā The Trump administration said Friday itāll soon release billions in Education Department funding that has been frozen for weeks, delaying disbursements to K-12 schools throughout the country. The funding ā which goes toward migrant education, English-language learning and other programs ā was supposed to go out before July 1, but the administration informed schools […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has submitted a proposal to scrap a years-old finding that greenhouse gas emissions threaten the environment and public health, a move that former agency officials say would gut the EPAās authority to reduce emissions and is sure to end up in the courts. The EPA sent a draft proposal to […]
Despite Trump administration rhetoric accusing Democrats of protecting violent criminals and drug-dealing immigrants, the administrationās arrests have been catching a smaller share of criminals overall, and a smaller share of people convicted of violent and drug crimes, than the Biden administration did in the same time frame. While the Trump administration has caught more immigrants […]
Amid recent political rhetoric about rising crime and violence in American cities, a new analysis shows that violent crime has continued to decline this year. Homicides and several other serious offenses, including gun assaults and carjackings, dropped during the first half of 2025 across 42 U.S. cities, continuing a downward trend that began in 2022, […]
The Trump administrationās termination of work permits for more than 530,000 immigrants could have far-reaching economic consequences for the countryās agricultural sector, potentially deepening labor shortages and leading to higher food prices. According to a recent analysis by FWD.us, a bipartisan immigration advocacy group, the rollback of humanitarian parole programs and other immigration policies could […]
The Missouri State Board of Education has an empty seat, chronically vacant since lawmakers created a position for a teacher to advise the board seven years ago. Like the other board members, the spot is appointed by the governor. But former Gov. Mike Parson, who took office shortly before the seat was created, never chose […]
In 2022, Mylissa Farmer arrived at a Missouri emergency room, bleeding and in pain. She was nearly 18 weeks pregnant. Her water had broken, and her pregnancy was no longer viable. Her condition was deteriorating. Doctors knew she needed emergency care. Instead of treating her, they called lawyers. She was turned away from two hospitals […]
WASHINGTON ā The fallout over President Donald Trumpās handling of financier and Florida sex offender Jeffrey Epsteinās case files permeated business on Capitol Hill Thursday, as Senate Democrats urged release of the information. Meanwhile, in Tallahassee, Florida, a top Department of Justice official interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, Epsteinās former girlfriend and a key figure in the […]
WASHINGTON ā U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday slammed the āassaultā on public education by President Donald Trumpās administration, underscoring the impact of billions of dollars in funds still frozen for K-12 schools and ongoing efforts to dismantle the Education Department. Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, who hosted a forum alongside several Democratic colleagues that also heard […]
As Texas embarks on a special legislative session that includes revising that stateās congressional districts to help Republicans, President Donald Trump is reportedly asking for Missouri to do the same. The reaction among legislative leaders, however, is decidedly negative. Asked by text about a report from Punchbowl News on a new redistricting effort, state Senate […]