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A state investigation of the Washington University Transgender Center in St. Louis expanded to include therapists and social workers across the state who work with minors seeking gender-affirming care. Documents made public as part of various lawsuits show that Attorney General Andrew Bailey has obtained a collection of unredacted and loosely redacted records of transgender […]

The post Therapists, social workers face scrutiny in Missouri AG investigation of transgender care appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This column is a suggestion to both college student protesters and higher education officials to find a better approach to the pro-Palestinian student protests. Those protests and university reaction are so different from the 1970 student demonstrations on the University of Missouri’s Columbia campus in protest to the Vietnam War and the deaths of four […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: The value of tolerance to college protests appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The University of Missouri, on behalf of St. Louis Public Radio, is making an unprecedented legal claim of sovereign immunity in the defamation lawsuit filed against it by former general manager Tim Eby. Eby maintains he was defamed by stories quoting station employees accusing him of upholding “white supremacy.” The university’s legal filings describe the […]

The post St. Louis Public Radio makes unprecedented sovereign immunity claim in defamation case appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Cole County Circuit Court judge has scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. Friday in a lawsuit filed by Democrat Stephen Webber seeking to block Republican James Coyne from appearing on the ballot as a candidate for the Missouri Senate. Webber claims Coyne is ineligible to run because the local Republican nominating committee missed a […]

The post Democrat files lawsuit to keep GOP candidate off Missouri Senate ballot appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Eight Republican candidates for county office – including four GOP incumbents – will be on the ballot in Vernon County in August, at least until a lawsuit plays out at the Missouri Court of Appeals. An order issued Wednesday by the Western District Court of Appeals stayed a trial court decision directing Vernon County Clerk […]

The post GOP candidates will remain on Vernon County ballot pending review by Missouri appeals court appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Students at the University of Missouri have called on the UM System to divest money in its endowment pool now invested in Israel and weapons manufacturers. The UM System’s total investments into companies within Israel is just under $500,000, making up just over 0.02% of the endowment. Sadia Moumita, one of the students demanding divestment, […]

The post Students call on University of Missouri to divest from Israeli companies, weapons manufacturers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Groups that assist crime victims across the United States are bracing for significant financial pain after the amount available from a major federal victim services fund plunged $700 million this year. Congress recently lowered spending to $1.2 billion from the fund, which provides grants to nonprofit and local programs across the country. This latest round […]

The post Crime victims may get fewer services as federal aid drops. States weigh how to help appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Senators from both political parties at a Wednesday hearing appeared to be on the same page about limiting presidential emergency powers, striking a bipartisan agreement that Congress should take steps this year to rework a decades-old law. The National Emergencies Act, approved during the 94th Congress, provides the president with powers they wouldn’t […]

The post Wide scope of presidential emergency powers could be reined in by Congress this year appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on a call with reporters Wednesday strongly criticized a farm bill draft written by U.S. House Republicans, saying it would damage the coalition that traditionally has united behind farm bills and “raises the real possibility of being unable to get a farm bill through the process.” The massive five-year […]

The post USDA chief voices ‘deep concerns’ over U.S. House GOP farm bill’s nutrition cuts appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Legislation that would have banned Missouri from seizing the Social Security benefits of foster children was on the precipice of passing during the final days of the legislative session, but died when GOP infighting caused the state Senate to adjourn early.  That means the state will continue to take millions of dollars in the next […]

The post Lawmakers adjourn without banning state from seizing benefits from Missouri foster kids appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A group of advocates and progressive Democratic lawmakers called on the U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday to end its contract with MOHELA, a Missouri-based student loan servicer. U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Greg Casar of Texas and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts urged the department to cut […]

The post Progressives push Biden administration to cut ties with Missouri student loan servicer appeared first on Missouri Independent.

James Coyne was selected as the GOP candidate for an open Boone County seat in the Missouri Senate by the Republican 19th Senatorial District Committee two days before the nomination deadline. Coyne is the owner of health insurance company Coyne Agency. In the 2020 state Senate race, Coyne ran as an independent write-in candidate. During […]

The post Republicans pick James Coyne to run in Boone County state Senate race appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Just days before workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama began voting last week on whether to unionize, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed a new law that would claw back state incentives from companies that voluntarily recognize labor unions. Alabama’s move follows similar efforts in Georgia and Tennessee, where GOP leaders also have passed laws […]

The post As a key labor union pushes into the South, red states push back appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators will go on record next month with whether they support legislation from Democrats that would guarantee access to contraception — a right currently upheld by two Supreme Court cases, but one that has been singled out by a conservative justice. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, announced Wednesday […]

The post Members of the U.S. Senate face a vote on whether they support contraception access appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Ken Simard mainly slept under the Blue Parkway bridge near railroad tracks along Brighton Avenue for the seven years he was homeless, numbing himself with meth and weed. “If it were not for the drugs that I did, I would have been suicidal,” he said. “I would do anything to take my mind and put […]

The post Neighborhood blocks a low-barrier shelter some see as key to solving homelessness in KC appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In recent years, Michigan has spent tens of millions of dollars to limit residents’ exposure to the harmful “forever chemicals” called PFAS. And some cities there have spent millions of their own to filter contaminated drinking water or connect to new, less-polluted sources. “We’ve made significant investments to get up to speed,” said Abigail Hendershott, […]

The post States need to keep PFAS ’forever chemicals’ out of the water. It won’t be cheap appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The end of the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president is in sight as Donald Trump’s defense team rested its case Tuesday in Manhattan, where jurors have heard weeks of testimony from nearly two dozen witnesses about Trump’s alleged reimbursement of hush money meant to silence a porn star before the […]

The post Trump declines witness stand as testimony in his first trial concludes appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday $300 million in funding for more than 60 groups seeking to diversify American agricultural exports. “USDA is pleased to be able to provide the startup capital to tap into these opportunities,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on a call with reporters Monday night previewing the announcement. […]

The post U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund $300 million in grants to boost exports appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to announce in New Hampshire on Tuesday that 1 million claims have been granted for benefits under the toxic exposure law that Congress approved less than two years ago, following the military’s use of open air burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq. The law, approved with broad bipartisan […]

The post Biden to announce 1 million claims granted for VA benefits under toxic exposure law appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In March, the phone in state Rep. Deb Lavender’s office in Jefferson City started ringing constantly, but the calls weren’t for her. They were for her interns, Santino Bono and Alanna Nguyen. The interns, along with Dylan Powers Cody, who was interning for state Rep. Peter Merideth, had spent months cross-checking spreadsheets to pinpoint school […]

The post Legislative interns help Missouri school districts claim over $1 million in federal funds appeared first on Missouri Independent.