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WASHINGTON — Roughly 9.4 million Americans have already voted in the midterm elections, casting a combination of in-person early votes and mail-in ballots, according to data compiled by the United States Elections Project. Florida as well as Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania are among the top states in terms of early voting so far. The initiative, headed […]

The post More than 9 million voters across the country have cast ballots in November elections appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WILMOT, New Hampshire — Voters in this swing state are among the relatively few Americans who will decide control of Congress during November’s midterm elections, shaping domestic and foreign policy for the next two years and delivering a verdict on Joe Biden’s presidency. Granite Staters interviewed by States Newsroom, during a mid-October week trailing U.S. […]

The post How claims about a federal abortion ban are roiling one state as the midterms near appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Republicans have had super majorities in both chambers of the Missouri legislature for the past decade. And every election cycle, Democrats vow to begin crawling out of the legislative wilderness. This year is no different. But a new legislative map — drawn by a bipartisan redistricting commission — has created more potentially competitive districts, giving […]

The post More Missouri legislative races could be competitive this year thanks to a new map appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Cough syrup. Dishwashing liquid. Salt. That’s what the Suprep bowel prep kit I drank tasted like – not that I really know what dishwashing liquid tastes like – as I prepared for my colonoscopy. When my doctor first suggested some years ago that I have a colonoscopy to screen for colorectal cancer, I told her about a […]

The post I delayed my colonoscopy during the pandemic. Don’t make the same mistake appeared first on Missouri Independent.

If Missouri voters approve Amendment 4 in the Nov. 8 general election, Kansas City will be required to increase funding for its police department.  But many voters may not understand that from the language they’ll see on the ballot.  Amendment 4 reads: “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to authorize laws, passed before December 31, […]

The post Missouri voters to decide if the state can dictate increased Kansas City police funding appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Across the country, states are inking agreements with neighbors or striking out on their own to pursue billions in federal funding to set up “hydrogen hubs,” clustered centers for production, storage and use of the gas that many see as a crucial piece of the puzzle for decarbonizing the U.S. economy. How broad a role […]

The post States are vying for money to start ‘hydrogen hubs.’ What are they? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Environmental and consumer advocate groups, individuals and even the city of Kansas City are pushing back against a proposed double-digit rate hike by Missouri’s largest natural gas utility. Spire, which serves almost 1.2 million customers in Missouri, hopes to boost its natural gas rates to bring in $152 million. It needs approval from the Missouri […]

The post Spire Missouri’s proposed rate hike draws ire of Kansas City officials, residents appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Like most people, McDonald County Clerk Kimberly Bell had never heard of a “cast vote record” before this summer. It’s not a report she’s ever generated after an election in the small county in southwestern Missouri, where she has administered elections for eight years.  But like many county clerks and election officials across the country, […]

The post Election deniers ramp up public records requests in Missouri, across the country appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Emily Withnall caught COVID-19 from her teenager in July 2020. In the more than two years since, the 40-year-old has suffered from debilitating fatigue, spinal pain and heart palpitations.  In addition to her primary care doctor, she regularly sees a cardiologist and says her acupuncturist and craniosacral therapy help relieve her pain and the trouble […]

The post Millions of workers are dealing with long COVID. Advocates call for expanding social safety net appeared first on Missouri Independent.

An agency charged with conserving groundwater in arid western Kansas plans to truck thousands of gallons of water from the Missouri River nearly 400 miles almost to the Colorado border. Half of the 6,000 gallons drawn from the river will be poured onto a property in Wichita County. The other half will be taken into Colorado. Groundwater […]

The post Officials plan to truck 6,000 gallons of water from Missouri River across Kansas appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Boston biotech company was paid over $16 million in Missouri for its work operating a little-used COVID testing program that only 25 school districts opted into. Ginkgo Bioworks was originally contracted by the state last year to operate a screening COVID testing program backed by nearly $185 million in federal funds. The program had […]

The post Few Missouri school districts used a COVID testing program. Vendor was paid over $16 million appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon.  On Oct. 7, a terrified 22-year-old Black woman escaped from a home in Excelsior Springs. She told police she had been locked up there for about a month, after being abducted from Prospect Avenue in Kansas City by a man who lives in the home. […]

The post Spotlight is on Kansas City and its problem of missing black women appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This commentary was originally published by Investigate Midwest.  For the last several years Big Agriculture has tried, with some degree of success, to bamboozle the public into believing it’s all in when it comes to combating climate change when in fact it ain’t. It’s nothing new. Big corporations have been playing the misinformation game for […]

The post Big Ag has misled the public when it comes to fighting climate change appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Outside groups poured money into Missouri in the weeks leading up to the Aug. 2 U.S. Senate primary, with political action committees spending nearly $20 million on television ads boosting or tearing down candidates.  Since then, they’ve all gone silent.  Fall ad spending in the Senate showdown between Republican Eric Schmitt and Democratic nominee Trudy […]

The post Missouri Senate race spending slows after heated primary contests appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Early in 2019, Ed Galbraith faced a crowd of some 200 unhappy Springfield, Missouri residents. He wanted to make amends. Galbraith, then director of Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ environmental quality division, acknowledged that the state agency in charge of protecting the environment should have announced sooner that contaminated water had spread from an old […]

The post Missouri knew of contamination in Springfield’s groundwater decades before anyone told residents appeared first on Missouri Independent.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The majority of public opinion already sides with Democratic candidates on issues like expansion of Medicaid, legalized medical marijuana and protection of kids from discrimination, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during a stop Wednesday in Kansas City, Kansas. Who wins the midterms, he said, may come down to the turnout. […]

The post Pete Buttigieg touts Democrats, blasts Republicans for focus on culture wars at KC rally appeared first on Missouri Independent.

I often joke that 75% of my job involves aimlessly wandering the Missouri Capitol in the hopes of bumping into news.  But the only funny part of that bit is that it’s not really a joke.  Look: I’ve covered statehouses around the Midwest for nearly 20 years, and there has never been a day when […]

The post Two years after launching The Missouri Independent, we’re still detectives for the people appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Joey Gilbert, a Reno-based attorney, lost the GOP primary for Nevada governor by roughly 26,000 votes in June, a margin of around 11 points. But he wasn’t ready to admit defeat. Empowered by former President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud after the 2020 election, Gilbert refused to concede. He offered a $25,000 reward […]

The post Prolonged challenges by losing candidates could overshadow November election results appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — New monkeypox cases have been trending downward nationwide for more than two months, giving some hope the decades-old virus that had its first major outbreak in the United States this year is nearly under control, or even on its way out. However, experts caution that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data broken […]

The post Monkeypox cases are in sharp decline. Could the outbreak be over? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Jon Turner isn’t shy about sharing his opinion. An associate professor at Missouri State University in Springfield, Turner’s personal social media is typically filled with articles he shares about education or about his research focus of four-day school weeks. But occasionally Turner dips into politics, especially after Attorney General Eric Schmitt began suing, subpoenaing and […]

The post ‘Attempted intimidation’: Missouri AG sent five requests for MSU emails, records appeared first on Missouri Independent.