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A legislative fix to a donor privacy law blamed for impeding public access to state contract information is sitting on Gov. Mike Parson’s desk.  The Personal Privacy Protection Act received bipartisan support on its way to being signed into law last year. The aim was to shield nonprofits from having to disclose their donors to […]

The post Changes to Missouri donor privacy law would restore access to state contracts appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When then-state Rep. Tricia Derges was indicted in 2021 for selling fake stem cell treatments at her southwest Missouri clinics, it put a spotlight on the licensing process that allowed her to set up shop as an M.D. with a degree from an unaccredited offshore medical school. In February Derges began serving a six-year federal […]

The post Missouri bill tightens licensing rules in wake of GOP lawmaker’s medical fraud conviction appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Congressional leaders negotiating a deal to avoid a catastrophic default on the nation’s debt are talking about including an overhaul of how the federal government reviews projects for their environmental impact. There is bipartisan support for changes to the lengthy environmental approval process among climate-minded Democrats eager to speed construction of renewable energy projects, as […]

The post Overhaul federal permitting as part of the debt limit deal? Not as easy as it sounds appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Republicans at a U.S. House hearing aired frustration with the Department of Justice this week for what they contended is a lack of enforcement of a Clinton-era law that protects access to reproductive health care at anti-abortion pregnancy centers and abortion clinics. GOP lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee expressed anger the Federal […]

The post Lawmakers debate violence against abortion clinics, anti-abortion pregnancy centers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A nonprofit governed by civic leaders and politicians from Kansas and Missouri will oversee preparations for Kansas City to host part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, officials announced Thursday. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas joined civic leaders at Arrowhead Stadium to announce the formation of […]

The post Kansas, Missouri officials tout nonprofit to oversee 2026 World Cup preparations appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As much as two thirds of North America could face shortages of electricity this summer in the event of severe and protracted heat, according to the regulator in charge of setting and enforcing standards for the electric grid. “Increased, rapid deployment of wind, solar and batteries have made a positive impact,” said Mark Olson, manager […]

The post With summer coming fast, regulator issues electric reliability warning appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In a Columbia parking lot on Wednesday afternoon, there was a reminder of Christmas. It wasn’t leftover decorations or early preparations for a summer “Christmas in July” sale. It was the temporary tag on the back of a Jeep Cherokee that expired on Christmas Day. Handed out by an auto dealer at the time of […]

The post Missouri bill would shift sales tax collection to car dealers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A legislative push to extend the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil action failed this year — despite mounting evidence in Missouri and nationally that abuse can take years to come to light.  The bill, sponsored by Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, would have extended the amount of time survivors […]

The post Bill inspired by sexual abuse allegations at Kanakuk Kamps dies in Missouri legislature appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The end of a pandemic-era policy that allowed U.S. border authorities to quickly turn back some migrants has prompted a mixed reaction from state and local governments, including new restrictions on immigrant workers, beefed up border enforcement and entreaties for more federal help. But unlike the 2010s, when conservative states such as Alabama, Arizona and […]

The post Expiration of Title 42 border rule prompts much rhetoric, less action appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Research has long shown that Black people live sicker lives and die younger than white people. Now a new study, published Tuesday in JAMA, casts the nation’s racial inequities in stark relief, finding that the higher mortality rate among Black Americans resulted in 1.63 million excess deaths relative to white Americans over more than two decades. […]

The post Study reveals staggering toll of being Black in America: 1.6M excess deaths over 22 years appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A few days before the unofficial marijuana holiday of April 20, as retailers prepared for the biggest sales day since legalization, Austin Monroe says he was fired by Shangri La South dispensary in Columbia. Monroe is one of 16 employees of the cannabis dispensary who signed an organizing petition seeking union representation by Local 655 […]

The post Workers picket Columbia dispensary in push to unionize Missouri marijuana workers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Tuesday grilled the secretary of education about student debt cancellation and protections for transgender student athletes during a lengthy hearing on the president’s proposed budget request for the Department of Education. While the subject of the five-hour House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing was the fiscal 2024 budget […]

The post U.S. House GOP questions education secretary on transgender athletes, student loans appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and congressional leaders struggled to find common ground on the debt ceiling during a Tuesday meeting, though lawmakers said afterward there was some progress toward a deal. Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will become the two primary negotiators on a bipartisan debt limit bill that could include other […]

The post Some movement reported in debt limit talks as Biden cuts short overseas trip appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey terminated his emergency rule on gender-affirming care Tuesday — less than a week after the state legislature sent a ban on minors starting treatment to the governor’s desk. The ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit in late April seeking to block Bailey’s emergency rule, alleging the attorney general didn’t have […]

The post Missouri attorney general withdraws emergency rule banning transgender health care appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Lone Jack Police Chief Tim Cosner was confused.  His state senator, Mike Cierpiot, was on the line asking him about a request to fund radio equipment in the state budget. He needed details, Cierpiot told Cosner, in order to pass them along to Senate Appropriations Chairman Lincoln Hough. Cosner had no clue what Cierpiot was […]

The post Lawmakers pack Missouri budget with earmarks for local agencies, building projects appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Linda, Pat and their 15-year-old son Alex describe themselves as refugees of Missouri. Alex, which is a pseudonym to protect his privacy, is transgender. He’s lived his entire life in Missouri, and though his family imagined him leaving state for college, they truly believed Missouri would always be home.  It wasn’t until March, when Democrats […]

The post ‘There’s no point in staying’: Transgender Missourians describe toll of legislative session appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Thirty-five states, including Missouri, have fewer children than they did five years ago, a situation caused by declining birth rates nationwide, but also by young families migrating across state borders in search of cheaper housing. Even in the 15 states that gained children, all but North Dakota experienced greater growth in the adult population, meaning […]

The post Low fertility rates, high housing prices mean fewer children in most states appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After two years of drama and gridlock, the Missouri Senate showed up in January determined to put the conflict between the conservative caucus and GOP leadership in the past.  Submerged but ever-lurking, factionalism finally torpedoed the apparent comity in the session’s final week, and the Senate sank into the depths of filibusters and procedural hijinks. […]

The post Winners and losers of Missouri’s 2023 legislative session appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The deadliest outbreak of bird flu in U.S. history is prompting growing concern in Congress, and Department of Agriculture researchers are awaiting the preliminary results of four trials of vaccines for poultry. Some lawmakers are warming to the idea of a vaccination campaign, long considered a fringe idea due to the cost and […]

The post The U.S. is undergoing its worst bird flu outbreak ever. Is a poultry vaccine the answer? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For Mother’s Day this year, I don’t want chocolate or jewelry.  For Mother’s Day this year, I want us to finally focus on making this country a better, safer place for mothers. We’re coming up on the first Mother’s Day since a variety of draconian restrictions on abortion access have gone into place, which means […]

The post On Mother’s Day, keep your cards. Invest in moms appeared first on Missouri Independent.