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The Missouri Senate passed a proposal raising the threshold for passing constitutional amendments Thursday but rejected an alternative that would have quieted well-funded opponents. Under the measure sent back to the House, any constitutional amendment proposed by initiative would need 57% of the vote or a simple majority statewide and in five of eight congressional […]

The post Missouri Senate passes initiative petition changes certain to trigger strong opposition effort appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration Thursday announced the use of processing centers in Colombia and Guatemala to create legal pathways for migrants, in preparation for the ending of a pandemic-era tool used to expel migrants that is expected to cease in May. The migrant processing centers will open shortly and be run by international organizations. […]

The post Biden administration to use processing centers in Latin America to handle migration appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Commodity trade group leaders at a U.S. House Agriculture subcommittee hearing this week advocated for bolstered risk management programs and maintaining foreign market access as tools to support farmers amid volatile times. The industry representatives said supply chain disruptions and increased production costs have tightened margins for large-scale farmers, and decreased the effectiveness […]

The post Ag leaders lobby for better risk management programs at U.S. House farm bill hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

At the beginning of this month, the annual renewal began for Medicaid recipients. It sounds simple enough but prompts many questions, depending on how closely you have been watching the situation. How will that affect people on Medicaid? Why weren’t annual renewals being done? How do we get ahead of this and make sure the […]

The post It’s time for annual Medicaid renewal in Missouri. Here’s what you need to know appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s last-minute push to move a lawsuit challenging restrictions on transgender care to federal court was denied Wednesday, with a federal judge ruling the matter belonged back in state court. “You just can’t file something in federal court just because you want to be in federal court,” District Judge Henry Edward […]

The post Judge rejects push by Missouri AG to move transgender care lawsuit to federal court appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Senate on Tuesday night fell into an intramural fight among Republicans over whether to use the budget to put limits on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in state government. The heated argument continued over nearly six hours before a bipartisan vote defeated an amendment from Sen. Denny Hoskins that would have banned diversity, […]

The post Missouri Senate approves $50B budget plan after divisive diversity debate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Three of the four top agricultural leaders in Congress are emphasizing writing a farm bill that meets the needs of all rural Americans, but they diverge sharply over food assistance work requirements pushed by U.S. House Republicans as well as uses of Inflation Reduction Act conservation funds. Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, […]

The post Congressional farm leaders split over work requirements for food aid, climate funds appeared first on Missouri Independent.

At five months pregnant, Kayla Marmaud started putting her name on waiting lists for child care. But when her son was born in late 2021, she still hadn’t heard from any daycares. As her maternity leave drew to a close, Marmaud found herself in waitlist limbo. Leaving the workforce was not an option financially for […]

The post Missouri child care deserts include nearly half of kids 5 and under, new data shows appeared first on Missouri Independent.

MuckRock and The Missouri Independent analyzed the supply and demand of Missouri child care programs since 2019, drawing from public records and data provided by the advocacy group Child Care Aware.  Reporters sought to find what areas of the state have the least child care availability, how availability changed during the pandemic and whether several […]

The post Five things we learned about Missouri’s child care crisis appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office withdrew last week from a Cole County lawsuit accusing the Missouri State Highway Patrol of harassment and a “concerted campaign of threats” against companies that profit from video games offering cash prizes. Bailey, who is seeking a full term in office in 2024, has in recent months accepted large […]

The post Missouri AG drops out of gambling case after taking donations from companies suing state appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Cuando Adelaida, una guatemalteca, cruzó la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos en McAllen, Texas para solicitar asilo, los agentes de immigración poco le explicaron antes de colocarle un grillete en el tobillo.  “Ahí fue cuando me asusté, porque nunca en mi vida había visto yo un grillo”, dijo Adelaida, quien pidió que no se […]

The post Protesta en St. Louis se enfoca en el uso de grilletes para solicitantes de asilo  appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s emergency rule blocking access to certain medical procedures for transgender children and adults faces a lawsuit seeking to block implementation  days before it is scheduled to go into effect. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit Monday in St. Louis County calling Bailey’s rule […]

The post Lawsuit seeks to block Missouri attorney general restrictions on transgender health care appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The former case manager whose allegations against a St. Louis transgender clinic spurred an an inquiry by the attorney general says she stands behind her claims despite an internal investigation by her former employer concluding they are unsubstantiated.  Last week, Washington University released the findings of its investigation into allegations of misconduct made by Jamie […]

The post Former employee of St. Louis transgender clinic reaffirms allegations of misconduct appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When Guatemalan-native Adelaida crossed the Mexican-American border at McAllen, Texas, to seek asylum, immigration officials told her very little before they attached a GPS monitor to her ankle. “I was scared because never in my life had I seen an ankle monitor,” said Adelaida, who asked that her last name be withheld out of fear […]

The post St. Louis protest targets use of ankle monitors, passport confiscation for asylum seekers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — At the sprawling array of laboratories and test facilities in the southeastern Idaho desert where the U.S. nuclear power industry was born more than 70 years ago, past, present and future are converging. Not far from where the first reactor to ever produce usable electricity made history in 1951, Idaho National Laboratory nuclear engineer […]

The post With decarbonization, advocates see a bright future for nuclear after decades of dormancy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Sera Hart-Smith and her partner Kyle Kiera Hart are packing their belongings to leave Missouri before Hart-Smith runs out of her supply of estrogen. Hart-Smith has been taking estrogen since she was 19, and the couple is afraid state leaders may take that access away and push her back into the depression that she felt […]

The post Transgender Missourians consider leaving state after AG includes adults in emergency rule appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In a move with parallels across the country, conservative lawmakers in Jefferson City are advancing legislation to strip control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) from the city and give it to the state. The bill comes a decade after Missourians voted to reverse a Civil War-era system that had kept St. Louis law enforcement […]

The post Public safety in Missouri belongs to the people, not the state appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON —  Every public school kid in the United States was eligible for free school meals during the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of family income, thanks to the federal government. While that’s now ended, a growing number of states across the country are enacting universal school meal laws to bolster child food security and academic equity. […]

The post A pandemic experiment in universal free school meals gains traction in the states appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Allegations that physicians at the Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital failed to inform patients of potential side effects of treatment and overlooked their mental health needs are “unsubstantiated,” according to an internal investigation conducted by Washington University and released Friday. Washington University oversees the Transgender Center and has been under fire since Jamie […]

The post Washington University inquiry found allegations against Transgender Center ‘unsubstantiated’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Lisa Thomas wandered into an outdoor market celebrating 4/20 on Cherokee Street in St. Louis — and ended up with her very first marijuana plant. Actually two of them.  “I’m so excited,” she said. “I’ve never had a plant.” She and her husband Jerry had been passing by a tent showcasing trimming equipment for marijuana […]

The post With recreational marijuana now legal, 4/20 looked much different in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.