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Of the many challenges confronting the nation’s aging, straining electric grid, the need for a lot of new transmission capacity is among the most pressing, experts and policymakers say. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy said the nation will need thousands of miles of new lines to better link regions to handle extreme […]

The post Federal, state regulators prod utilities to consider technology for grid upgrade appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Several months after President Joe Biden ended the national emergency for COVID-19, preliminary health data indicates the historic degree to which the pandemic increased death rates nationwide — not just because of the virus itself, but also through the pandemic’s reverberating effects on society. Deaths from vehicle crashes, homicides, suicides and overdoses spiked in many […]

The post Death counts remain high in some states even as COVID fatalities wane appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Even as low-income families across most of the country are receiving federal food aid for this summer, thousands of Missouri families are still waiting for last summer’s benefits. Missouri still needs to issue food benefits to around 177,000 children for a federal program that were designed to help cover costs from last summer, Mallory McGowin, […]

The post More than 170,000 Missouri kids waiting for last summer’s food aid appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former President Donald Trump is lapping his challengers among Missouri Republicans, Sen. Josh Hawley is the most polarizing politician in the state, and children shouldn’t discuss gender identity or sexual orientation in elementary school, a new poll released Wednesday suggests. The latest St. Louis University/YouGov poll, which surveyed 900 likely Missouri voters from July 27 […]

The post Missouri voters back Trump, show little middle ground on Hawley, new poll shows appeared first on Missouri Independent.

INDIANAPOLIS — For years, Indiana’s GOP-controlled legislature has focused on creating a business-friendly climate by pushing favorable tax rates and regulations, aiming to foster the creation of good-paying jobs across the state. The way Republican state Sen. Michael Crider sees it, those moves have worked: Companies such as Amazon and Walmart have built new warehouses […]

The post ‘Who’s going to work there?’: Lawmakers grapple with labor shortages appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For thousands of families who lived and worked near top-secret nuclear testing sites or uranium processing facilities in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, the road to getting an official apology from the federal government — and financial help for medical bills related to cancers and other diseases — might be coming to an end. The U.S. […]

The post Was your family affected by radiation from the Manhattan Project? We want to hear your story appeared first on Missouri Independent.

TOPEKA — Marion County Record co-owner Joan Meyer leaned into her walker and stood up to at least six law enforcement personnel executing a search warrant in her living room during a bizarre series of legally questionable raids of her residence, the newspaper’s office and a city council member’s home. Meyer, 98, died of cardiac […]

The post ‘You’re an ***hole, police chief’: Kansas newspaper owner defiant in video of home invasion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Over the past decade, ranked choice voting has become increasingly popular. From conservative Utah to liberal New York City, 13 million American voters in 51 jurisdictions — including all of Alaska and Maine — now use the system, under which voters rank candidates based on preference, leading to an instant runoff in a crowded race. […]

The post As ranked choice voting gains momentum, parties in power push back appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Students are returning to the classroom around Missouri this week, and new laws go into effect Monday. But state officials are still not clear on how they will enforce restrictions on transgender athletes – one of the most controversial new laws approved by Missouri legislators this year. Neither the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education […]

The post Enforcement unclear as Missouri approaches transgender athlete restrictions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s history offers a stark contrast to the limited criticism by Republican members of Congress to Donald Trump’s criminal charges. The defenses by Republican officials to Trump’s indictments are quite different from Missouri’s legislature during the last several decades when there was strong support for removal of officials from the same party who faced charges […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Missouri courage in holding officials accountable appeared first on Missouri Independent.

TOPEKA — Affidavits signed by a police chief and magistrate to warrant the raid on the Marion County Record were supposed to provide evidence that a reporter committed a crime. Instead, they serve as evidence that the local officials abused their power. Police Chief Gideon Cody received approval from Magistrate Judge Laura Viar to conduct […]

The post ‘Completely unjustified’: Affidavits point to abuse of power in raid on Kansas newspaper appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the marijuana industry, they say potency is king.  Producers all over the country are competing to put the most intoxicating product on the shelves. And that can leave the labs who test these products in a tough spot. At least, that’s been the case in California and other states where marijuana is legal, said […]

The post Missouri cannabis regulators target ‘lab shopping’ in new rules appeared first on Missouri Independent.

It is August, a time for new beginnings, infused with hope even amid anxiety and trepidation. August is rarely thought of as a time of new beginnings and reflection. But just think about it. Vacations are ending. It’s harvest time for farmers. Kids, young and old alike, are beginning or returning to school. August is […]

The post What you hope for determines what you work for appeared first on Missouri Independent.

America’s pharmaceutical giants are suing this summer to block the federal government’s first effort at drug price regulation. Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act included what on its face seems a modest proposal: The federal government would for the first time be empowered to negotiate prices Medicare pays for drugs — but only for 10 very […]

The post A peek at big pharma’s playbook that leaves many Americans unable to afford their drugs appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After Kansas Reflector reported on the ignominious and unconstitutional raid of the Marion County Record on Aug. 11, news outlets and commentators from across Kansas and the nation followed suit throughout the weekend. The voices of those who value a free press and free expression were overwhelming in their force and intensity. Eight days later, […]

The post Kansas newspaper raid draws plenty of attention, but journalists defy threats across U.S. appeared first on Missouri Independent.

MARION, Kansas — Joan Meyer, surrounded by flowers and escorted to her gravesite by the same police force that may have had a hand in her death, was honored by the community in a Saturday service. “Joan was the epitome of knowing ‘small town’ does not have to mean ‘small mind,’ ” said the Rev. Ron […]

The post Co-owner of Kansas newspaper, who died amid stress from police raid, honored in funeral service appeared first on Missouri Independent.

PACKWOOD, Wash. — Last year, Don Pratt fled from his home as a wildfire swept down the mountainside here in Washington’s Cascade Range. “Heading out, I thought it was the last time I was going to see the house,” he said. As residents evacuated and smoke engulfed the small mountain community, fire crews with bulldozers […]

The post Towns could save themselves from wildfire — if they knew about this money appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When Rebecca Uccello got a call that her daughter’s Medicaid coverage was in jeopardy, she said it “sent me into a tailspin.” Her 13-year-old daughter, Izabella, has been on Medicaid since age two because of severe developmental disabilities, including a birth defect which prevents her spinal cord from properly developing and a neurological condition which […]

The post Paperwork issues meant more than 16,000 Missourians lost Medicaid coverage in July appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri campaign finance laws exist so voters know who is involved in and supports a campaign, as well as how the campaign spends its money. Ballot measures, candidates and committees are regulated by the state’s campaign finance laws  — Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 130 — which are enforced by the Missouri Ethics Commission. Individuals have been known […]

The post Library tax vote in Cole County shows why Missouri campaign disclosure laws are vital appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As former President Donald Trump faces his fourth indictment in Georgia, his previous running mate former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday disputed Trump’s claims that the Georgia election was “stolen” while still criticizing the federal justice system. Pence is one of many candidates competing against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination who are […]

The post 2024 Republican candidates weigh in on Trump’s Georgia indictments appeared first on Missouri Independent.