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WASHINGTON — Late Thursday a federal judge in Texas struck down the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan, ruling that the program is unlawful, in a blow to 16 million student debt borrowers already approved for relief. The U.S. Department of Education now is no longer accepting applications for the program, according to the student […]

The post Biden student debt relief plan thrown out by Texas judge; new applications halted appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Investigate Midwest.  Amid growing concern about Chinese investment in U.S. agriculture, there has been a renewed push to limit and more closely monitor foreign ownership of farmland across the country. At least eight states considered implementing a new limit on foreign control of agricultural land, and one, Indiana, passed […]

The post Citing concerns about China, states mull limits on foreign ownership of farmland appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Young Black and Latino voters were critical in holding off the Republican “red wave” in several battleground states for U.S. Senate seats and in tight U.S. House races in the midterm elections, according to analyses by researchers and grassroot organizations. Young, diverse voters between the ages of 18 and 29 had the second-highest youth […]

The post Young Black and Latino voters seen as key in turning back midterm ‘red wave’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Republicans remained on pace to likely wrest control of the U.S. House, even as Democrats picked up a few more victories in close races late Wednesday and into the day Thursday. As of about 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, The Associated Press had called 209 races for Republicans. That put them ahead of Democrats’ 191, […]

The post GOP on track to control U.S. House, but dozens of races still undecided appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Republican state senators made history Thursday by selecting Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin as majority leader, making her the first woman from either party to hold the second most powerful job in the upper chamber. O’Laughlin, of Shelbina in northeast Missouri, defeated Sen. Mike Bernskoetter of Jefferson City in a vote held in a closed-door caucus. Current […]

The post Missouri Senate Republicans pick Rowden, O’Laughlin for leadership in 2023 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON —  The United States’ ceiling for female governors was shattered this week, with voters in 12 states electing women to the role, breaking the prior record of nine set for the first time back in 2004. While not all of the gubernatorial campaigns have been called as of Thursday afternoon, Arizona and Oregon voters had two […]

The post Record-setting number of women elected as governors in midterms appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Democrats exulted Wednesday in outperforming expectations in the midterm elections, even as vote-counting was still in progress and control of both chambers of Congress remained unknown. The U.S. Senate will go to the winner of two of the last three races where party control is still in doubt in […]

The post Which party controls Congress? It could be days or weeks before we know appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that even though midterm election results have yet to determine which party will control Congress, Democrats had a strong night defending their majority in both chambers. Control of both the U.S. Senate and House remained unclear Wednesday as more than 50 House seats have not been called and […]

The post Biden says midterm elections turned out to be ‘a good day’ for democracy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri House Republicans chose a Kansas City-area lawmaker as majority floor leader Wednesday and a southeast Missouri representative as the caucus nominee for speaker pro tem in a post-election meeting in the Capitol. State Rep. Jonathan Patterson of Lee’s Summit, who will be starting his third term in January, was chosen to serve as  majority […]

The post Missouri House GOP pick new floor leader, speaker pro tem at post-election caucus appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Voters in five states — including GOP-dominated Kentucky — backed abortion rights Tuesday, signaling that while the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority no longer believes the procedure is protected within the U.S. Constitution, many Americans want their states to do just that. California, Kentucky, Michigan , Montana and Vermont residents voted to support […]

The post Even red-state voters back abortion rights via ballot questions, rejecting court ruling appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Standing on the Missouri Capitol steps moments after being released from prison, Bobby Bostic said the first place he planned to visit was his mother’s grave in St. Louis — a city he’d last freely walked in 1995. “I’m a free man all because of you all who supported me,” Bostic, 43, said Wednesday morning […]

The post Bobby Bostic released on parole after being imprisoned in Missouri for 27 years appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s midterm election largely went according to script.  Every congressional race was won by the party that previously controlled it. Republicans now hold all statewide offices. Democrats took advantage of a new legislative map to pick up a few seats in the state House. But a lack of surprises doesn’t mean it was an inconsequential […]

The post Five takeaways from Missouri election night 2022 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story has been corrected since it was first published.  Missouri House Democrats had their best election night in years Tuesday, adding three seats to increase their caucus to its highest total in a decade.  The party also successfully defended a St. Louis County state Senate seat that saw massive spending by Republicans. Democrats went […]

The post Democrats prevail in hotly contested Missouri legislative races appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missourians voted Tuesday to become the 21st state to legalize recreational marijuana, approving a constitutional amendment that also establishes a process to clear nonviolent marijuana-related charges from Missourians’ criminal records. Though down from the 66% of voters who approved medical cannabis in 2018, the recreational marijuana amendment on Tuesday received 53% of the vote. “Today’s […]

The post Missouri voters amend state constitution to legalize recreational marijuana appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick won the race to become Missouri’s next auditor Tuesday, easily defeating former state Rep. Alan Green. With 56% of precincts reporting, Fitzpatrick, a Republican, held a 62% to 34% lead over Green, a Democrat who previously represented Florissant in the Missouri House.  The auditor’s office, tasked with the impartial review of […]

The post Republican Scott Fitzpatrick wins Missouri auditor election appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Republican Eric Schmitt will be Missouri’s next U.S. Senator, cruising to an easy victory Tuesday over Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine.  With roughly 70% of precincts reporting, Schmitt led Valentine 56% to 41%.  “Missourians have always been suspicious of a federal government 1,000 miles away telling us how to run our lives,” Schmitt told supporters Tuesday […]

The post Eric Schmitt defeats Trudy Busch Valentine in Missouri U.S. Senate race appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As of midday Tuesday, voting across the country has largely gone smoothly without any major issues or incidents of voter intimidation, voting rights advocates said. In counties that did experience problems, which were typical of any Election Day, the incidents were largely attributed to faulty technology and human error. In Maricopa County, Arizona, one of […]

The post Midterm voting mostly problem-free in battleground states, voting advocates report appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon.  Missourians have been casting ballots for nearly two weeks, and election officials have been preparing for months, following intricate state laws associated with the election administration and certification process. So what does happen to the votes of Missourians once they leave their polling places? Secretary […]

The post How does election certification work in Missouri? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In an election, all the attention is on the winners. That’s normal. Our expectations are focused on what candidates will do if they win. But this year, maybe for the first time, we need to be clear about our expectations for the candidates who fall short on Election Day. These would-be public servants have a […]

The post We have to raise our expectations for election losers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For years, electric vehicles posed something of a chicken-and-egg problem.  Mass adoption, seen as critical to cutting the largest single source of U.S. carbon emissions, couldn’t happen until the infrastructure to allow drivers to recharge wherever they were heading was in place. And those charging stations weren’t coming until more drivers switched to plug-in electric […]

The post Amid major federal investment in electric cars, it’s time for states to step up, advocates say appeared first on Missouri Independent.