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Missouri law doesn’t officially recognize Black History Month — a fact that surprised several Black state lawmakers this week.  “I had to double and triple check it because I thought I was seeing things incorrectly at first,” said Rep. Mark Sharp, D- Kansas City, during a Monday meeting of the House Special Committee on Urban […]

The post Missouri could become the seventh state to recognize Black History Month appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A controversial Missouri gun law that penalizes police for enforcing federal gun laws is facing a new legal challenge from the U.S. Justice Department. On Wednesday, the department filed suit to prevent Missouri from enforcing its Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), a law that allows citizens to file suit for up to $50,000 if they […]

The post U.S. DOJ sues Missouri over law blocking enforcement of federal gun regulations appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday that nearly 16,000 student borrowers would receive millions in loan repayments, after the department found that four private for-profit institutions made misleading claims about their job placement rates. “The Department remains committed to giving borrowers discharges when the evidence shows their college violated the law and […]

The post Students defrauded by for-profit colleges to get millions in loan repayments appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt told lawmakers Wednesday it’s not his office’s job to advise local public health agencies on what mitigation measures they still have the authority to pursue — even after numerous departments ceased such efforts following the attorney general’s threats of legal action. “We represent the state,” Schmitt said. “We don’t represent the […]

The post Missouri AG says it’s not his job to clarify ruling’s impact on public health authority appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A southwest Missouri senator was stripped of most of his committee assignments Wednesday as punishment for wearing overalls to the chamber floor and other alleged violations of decorum. Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, received word of his dismissal from all but one standing and two joint committees on Wednesday just before the Gubernatorial Appointments Committee […]

The post After wearing overalls in the Missouri Senate, GOP lawmaker loses committee spots appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Back in September I asked: If each U.S. Senate primary candidate held a Texas Hold ‘Em starting hand, what would they be, and why? Five months later, it’s time for an update.  But first, the rules. In Texas Hold ‘Em, two cards are dealt face down to each player, while five “community cards” are dealt […]

The post Missouri’s GOP Senate primary as a hand of Texas Hold ‘Em, part two: The flop | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The state of Missouri is planning an official end to the COVID-19 pandemic as a public health crisis and will transition to treating the virus as endemic, much like it does the seasonal flu. The target date for when Missouri’s public health agencies would begin treating COVID-19 as endemic is mid-March, the two-year anniversary of […]

The post Missouri plotting official ‘end’ to COVID-19 pandemic as soon as March, document says appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State employees anticipating a raise should be patient and it will arrive as soon as possible, Gov. Mike Parson wrote in a memo Monday to workers waiting for the pay boost he wanted to begin this month. But for some, stretched by working overtime to complete work that would go to unfilled jobs and considering […]

The post Gov. Parson holds out hope for $15 state worker minimum wage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When Susan Klotz heard the governor had announced he would be allowing the COVID-19 state of emergency to expire at midnight on New Year’s Eve, it sent her and her patients into a panic. Klotz, a family nurse practitioner, started her own clinic in Ash Grove with her husband during the pandemic. To help deal […]

The post ‘A shock’: Healthcare orgs kept in the dark when Missouri ended COVID emergency order appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On the Friday before a drawn-out confirmation battle ended with his ouster from office, Missouri state Health Director Donald Kauerauf wrote an impassioned letter meant to convince conservative legislators who were on the fence about his appointment.  The message: While he believed in vaccines and data and science, he didn’t believe in vaccine mandates. Missourians, […]

The post Before ouster, Missouri health director drafted a letter to senators that was never sent appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published as a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “voice of agriculture,” a slogan it trademarked in 2007. But as the divide between agribusiness and small farmers has grown in recent decades, a unified voice of agriculture has become harder to […]

The post American Farm Bureau Federation claims it’s the ‘voice of agriculture.’ Others beg to differ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Spire Missouri’s warnings that St. Louis customers could be left without heat this winter if the company’s affiliated pipeline shut down were misleading, left out key context and heightened public panic, an investigation by state regulators concluded.  But staff of the Missouri Public Service Commission won’t pursue a complaint against the natural gas utility because […]

The post Spire ‘created unnecessary panic and confusion’ with warnings of gas outages, regulators say appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News. The Biden administration and state officials are bracing for a great unwinding: Millions of people losing their Medicaid benefits when the pandemic health emergency ends. Some might sign up for different insurance. Many others are bound to get lost in the transition. State Medicaid agencies for […]

The post Why millions on Medicaid are at risk of losing coverage in the months ahead appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Missouri lawmaker facing a 23-count federal indictment for allegedly selling fake stem-cell treatments and fraudulently using federal pandemic relief funds has settled with the state health department, resulting in a three-year probation of her narcotics license while admitting to illegally purchasing and prescribing pharmaceutical drugs. The administrative settlement, signed Jan. 28 with the Missouri […]

The post Missouri lawmaker admits illegally selling prescription drugs, says it was unintentional appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In June 1961, DeVerne Calloway sat down at her typewriter to write a column about the uncertain future of the Freedom Rides organized by the activist group Congress of Racial Equity (CORE). For almost two months, the Freedom Riders had faced severe beatings and harsh arrests in their efforts to challenge segregated interstate buses.  Calloway, […]

The post DeVerne Calloway’s legacy in Missouri politics celebrated during Black History Month appeared first on Missouri Independent.

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler scored a major victory on Saturday in her quest for Missouri’s open Senate seat, winning the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley in the crowded GOP primary. Hawley made the announcement at the Missouri GOP’s annual Lincoln Days event in St. Charles. Hartzler is part of a six-way primary, with former […]

The post Josh Hawley endorses Vicky Hartzler in GOP primary for Missouri U.S. Senate seat appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When the Missouri Senate recognizes “special guests,” it is normally a pleasant diversion, announcing visits from school groups, constituents or perhaps family. Not on Thursday. Instead, it was another vehicle for airing the Republican factionalism that has shredded this year’s session.  Sen. Mike Cierpiot read prepared remarks about former Sen. Jim Lembke, a political consultant […]

The post Tempers fray as Missouri Senate Republicans fight over Congressional map appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter targeted by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson for uncovering a security flaw in a state-run website won’t face criminal charges. The decision comes after the governor spent months publicly labeling the reporter a “hacker” for discovering the flaw and notifying the state about it. Parson asked the state highway patrol to […]

The post Prosecutor isn’t pressing charges against reporter who found flaw in state website appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Federal government funding runs out in just a week, Congress hasn’t cleared a short-term measure to avoid a shutdown, despite broad bipartisan support — and the latest holdup is over claims the Biden administration wants to pay for crack pipes as part of  “safe smoking” kits. The stopgap spending bill passed the U.S. […]

The post Short-term federal spending patch held up by Tennessee senator over crack pipe controversy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A handful of Republican lawmakers lashed out at the state’s medical marijuana industry Thursday, lobbing accusations of corruption into a Missouri House debate over whether to make it harder to amend the state’s Constitution.  On a mostly party-line 98-53 vote, the Missouri House signed off on legislation Thursday that would require a two-thirds vote of […]

The post Criticism of Missouri medical marijuana system seeps into initiative petition debate appeared first on Missouri Independent.