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In 2020 the price of oil crashed, even falling to less than zero one day. Traders actually had to pay buyers to get them to take oil contracts off their hands. Oil companies would prefer not to sell oil unless they can make money off it. Oil companies are just funny that way. So U.S. […]

The post Partisan policies didn’t raise gas prices, and partisan sniping won’t lower them | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Heather Fleming, sitting on a bench in St. Louis’ Forest Park, takes in the view on a warm early afternoon in February.  Behind her is the Jewel Box, the giant glass-paneled greenhouse that’s a park emblem. Before her are rows of tall trees, their branches stripped bare. And further on, on nearby walkways and trails, […]

The post Former St. Louis teacher helping lead coalition pushing back on book bans appeared first on Missouri Independent.

It was just after 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10, when the forms arrived from the state treasurer’s office. Without warning, and with little explanation, school superintendents discovered they were now required to certify their district had complied with Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s demands to drop any and all COVID-19 mitigation measures, such as mask […]

The post Schools left ‘scrambling’ after Missouri treasurer tied bond deals to AG’s COVID demands appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Most Americans who want to own a house – and can afford it – follow a fairly straightforward path to their dreams. They start with a loan from a bank or mortgage company, institutions that are subject to state and federal regulations. When buyers close on the home they want, the agreement is registered with […]

The post Contract for Deed: A promise of homeownership that can leave Midwest buyers out in the cold appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A cursory review of American history shows the central role God and religion played and continue to play in our politics. From the Revolutionary War to the formation and drafting of our most sacred national documents, God and religious principles are boldly infused throughout. The phrase “separation of church and state” is not found in […]

The post Faith plays an integral role in American politics. We can’t ignore that | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A GOP lawmaker is once again working to reel in what he sees as overly aggressive enforcement of hazardous waste laws by Missouri regulators he contends are “terrifying” small businesses in his district. But critics say the change would put Missourians at greater risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals.  “The people of Missouri are not […]

The post Missouri bill that would weaken hazardous waste rules returns for another year appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, four men affiliated with the Kansas City chapter of the right-wing Proud Boys gathered on the west side of the U.S. Capitol, along with thousands of others urged on by then-President Donald Trump. The crowd pushed ahead and overwhelmed the few Capitol Police officers guarding the entrance, toppling […]

The post Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol lives on in hundreds of court cases appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s governmental and political discourse on several major issues has descended from words of inspiration into hateful partisan and ideological rhetoric that leaves little room for compromise. The hateful language we have heard from the Senate congressional redistricting filibusters and the objections from women senators about the animosity is just one example. “I pleaded with […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Diminishing words of inspiration appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Parents at a Thursday congressional hearing about missing and murdered women of color detailed their frustrating attempts to get the attention of law enforcement and adequate media coverage. “This is a crisis that is hiding in plain sight,” said Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat and chair of the U.S. House Oversight Subcommittee […]

The post ‘A crisis that is hiding in plain sight’: Missing and murdered women of color appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri State Employees Retirement System will dump investments tied to Russia and bar investment managers from making future purchases of Russian securities, the Board of Trustees decided Thursday. The board held a special meeting in response to the call from state Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick to divest. After a brief discussion, including a presentation from […]

The post MOSERS board votes to divest pension fund of Russia-linked investments appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday once again refused to accept the conclusions of an investigation by the highway patrol and Cole County prosecutor surrounding a reporter who uncovered a security flaw in a state website.  Speaking to a gathering of reporters and editors in the governor’s mansion for Missouri Press Association Day, Parson restated his […]

The post Parson digs in against evidence absolving reporter he accused of being a ‘hacker’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As the race to replace retiring Sen. Roy Blunt continues to heat up, it’s important to remind the public that disgraced former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has not been “completely exonerated,” as he often likes to profess. To review: in January 2018, Greitens admitted to having an extramarital affair and was subsequently investigated for blackmail and assault. The following month, he was formally charged, and […]

The post Reminder: Eric Greitens was never exonerated | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson began the arduous Senate confirmation process Wednesday, meeting on Capitol Hill with four key senators. Jackson, who would become the first Black woman on the court if confirmed, started her morning with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat. Schumer said he expects Republicans […]

The post Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson meets with top members of U.S. Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The House gave initial approval Wednesday to a bill that would allow newborns to remain with their incarcerated mothers for the first year-and-a-half of the baby’s life. The bill would permit the Missouri Department of Corrections to establish nurseries within the state’s correctional facilities, allowing children born to incarcerated women to stay with their mothers […]

The post House grants initial approval to bill that would allow prison nurseries in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

With a change of just a few words, a bill to expand the sales tax exemption for food purchases became a bill virtually ending the exemption, infuriating its sponsor and forcing a Missouri House committee to give it another look. On Monday, the House Rules – Administrative Oversight Committee voted to send state Rep. Mary […]

The post Change to bill cutting Missouri sales tax on food transformed it into massive tax hike appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A bill that would decriminalize needle exchange programs that aim to reduce the spread of infectious diseases was voted out of the Senate General Laws Committee Tuesday. Needle exchange programs allow drug users to swap out used syringes with clean, new ones in an effort to decrease the chances of contracting or spreading diseases like […]

The post Bill that would decriminalize needle exchange programs passes Missouri Senate committee appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night to reassert America as a leading global voice for democracy and condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting an “unprovoked” war in Ukraine. “Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price for […]

The post Biden in State of the Union urges ‘unmistakable’ support for democracy in Ukraine appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Gov. Mike Parson announced Tuesday that Missouri health department veteran Paula Nickelson will be the agency’s new acting director, after his original pick for the job was ousted by conservative lawmakers and Missourians opposed to mandates. Nickelson, a longtime Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services employee, will assume the role of acting health director […]

The post Missouri governor picks new acting health director after ouster of his original choice appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Every year, Missouri makes what it calls a “feasible effort” at spending 10% of state agencies’ expenditures with minority-owned businesses. In the past three decades, the state has only reached that goal four times. In fiscal year 2021, minority contractors earned 8.2% of the $1.5 billion that Missouri spent in contracts, according to an annual […]

The post Missouri has only met minority participation goal for contracts four times in 30 years appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick wants Missouri to join other states that are dumping Russian investments from retirement funds. In a news release Tuesday, Fitzpatrick called for an emergency meeting of the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) Board of Trustees for votes to block future purchases of Russian securities and consider how to divest from […]

The post Treasurer calls on Missouri pension funds to sell Russian investments in wake of Ukraine war appeared first on Missouri Independent.