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A decade ago, Missouri lawmakers passed legislation that was celebrated as lifting the lifetime ban from food stamp benefits for people with a drug felony on their record. But that legislation created a host of restrictions and requirements to be eligible for and access benefits, modifying the ban rather than eliminating it outright. Now, two Missouri […]

The post Missouri legislators hope to fully lift felony drug ban from food assistance program appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As Missouri legislators begin their 2024 session, they might want to consider a recent Missouri Supreme Court decision striking down a significant bill lawmakers passed in 2022. The decision, issued just days before the 2024 legislative session, invalidated the 2022 law because state lawmakers and the governor violated a pretty simple restriction in the state’s […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Ignoring Missouri’s Constitution appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Casey Johnson stepped into the bathroom of a Westport bar recently and immediately sensed something was off. She saw two still legs and hair grazing the floor in a neighboring stall. Johnson knocked on the stall door. She yelled. But when Johnson got no response, she grabbed the naloxone she always carries, crawled under the […]

The post Narcan saves lives but can be hard to find in Kansas City appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri has made the tentative decision to participate in a federal food assistance program for kids, potentially opening the door for millions of dollars in aid through a program called Summer EBT.  However, the decision is not binding and Missouri still has to submit a detailed plan to the federal government on how it plans […]

The post Missouri opts into summer EBT federal food benefits program appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri lawmakers return to Jefferson City on Wednesday afternoon for the start of the 2024 legislative session, and expectations aren’t high.  GOP infighting has mired the Missouri Senate in gridlock the last three years, and the wounds at the center of the turmoil seem to have only gotten worse. Across the Capitol rotunda in the […]

The post GOP infighting, election year politics could shape 2024 Missouri legislative session appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A lot can change in just under three years — a flip in control of the House of Representatives, four new iPhone models, a once-groundbreaking vaccine now offered alongside annual flu shots. For one fourth-generation farmer, almost everything has changed. “It was time,” Darvin Bentlage said, referring to his decision to significantly downsize his farming […]

The post Boom or bubble? High Missouri farmland prices encourage investors, concern farmers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Communities bordering the southern stretch of Kansas City and their state legislators are gearing up once again to fight developers’ plan to build a landfill near a high-end golf course subdivision.  State Rep. Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, pre-filed a bill ahead of the Missouri legislative session, set to begin in January, aimed at stopping the […]

The post Fight over proposed Kansas City landfill will return to Missouri legislature appeared first on Missouri Independent.

With U.S. democracy plagued by extremism, polarization and a growing disconnect between voters and lawmakers, a set of reforms that could dramatically upend how Americans vote is gaining momentum at surprising speed in Western states. Ranked choice voting, which asks voters to rank multiple candidates in order of preference, has seen its profile steadily expand […]

The post How a new way to vote is gaining traction in states — and could transform US politics appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri lawmakers return next week to Jefferson City for their annual session with a new fight brewing between House and Senate Republicans that may have hastened a change in duties for long-time House GOP political strategist Jonathan Ratliff. Ratliff, who leveraged his success building a legislative supermajority into a political consulting firm with a variety […]

The post Missouri House GOP changes campaign leader amid row with Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The great philosophers in history have often asked, what is a community without a proper education? In St. Louis, our public schools have always provided a quality education through professionally trained teachers, a caring staff and adequate support resources. For more than a few years, the St. Louis Public School District has faced a host […]

The post Public dollars should be focused on funding Missouri’s public schools appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Republican state senator has filed legislation to renew last spring’s failed effort to regulate intoxicating hemp products in Missouri, such as Delta-8 drinks and edibles. Delta-8 THC products can be sold in stores in Missouri because the intoxicating ingredient, THC, is derived from hemp, not marijuana which is a controlled substance. And hemp is […]

The post Missouri lawmakers renew push to regulate ‘delta-8 THC’ hemp products appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A bill to allow home-educated students to participate in Missouri public school activities is back for the upcoming legislative session — and has been coupled with provisions rolling back state oversight of homeschooling families. Sen. Ben Brown, a Washington Republican, pre-filed a 52-page bill that largely resembles the version he sponsored that cleared the Senate […]

The post Bill would open Missouri public school sports to homeschool students appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After the holiday celebrations and respite, hopefully we will be ready to face the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities the new year will bring. It often boils down to our perspective. Given any challenging situation, do we perceive the glass as half empty or half full? Do we believe in the power of […]

The post The new year offers us a time to recharge and get ready for what’s ahead appeared first on Missouri Independent.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Taya Sullivan, 20, is a freshman at West Virginia University, double majoring in neuroscience and Spanish. She also has a campus job in a linguistics lab, building on her majors and earning money she needs to continue her studies. Next semester, both her Spanish major and her job will be gone. Sullivan […]

The post Flagship public universities likely to cut more humanities, staff — especially in rural states appeared first on Missouri Independent.

HOUSTON — When a lightning storm knocked out power in Doris Brown’s Northeast Houston neighborhood this summer, her solar-powered home suddenly became a refuge for frantic neighbors left without electricity. The impromptu guests were able to charge their cellphones, power up their CPAP and portable oxygen machines, and take hot showers. A party vibe prevailed […]

The post Solar energy and its cheaper bills are coming to more disadvantaged communities appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Christmas is a special time of year, but it can be difficult for political professionals. While normal people are out shopping to find that perfect gift for their very special someone or touring wondrous Christmas light displays with their children, political pros are often privately occupied with more profane thoughts. “If I can just get […]

The post A Christmas gift guide: What do you get for the Missouri politico who has it all?  appeared first on Missouri Independent.

SPRINGFIELD — Angela Crawford was desperately trying to get pregnant when her niece was born.  The first time she held the infant, a cascade of tears fell. She quickly handed the baby back to her mother, fled to the bathroom and became catatonic. Loved ones tried to console her with well-meaning platitudes, but it was […]

The post ‘Not alone’: Missourians experiencing infertility say insurance is a major hurdle to care appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Eight months after states started dropping millions of low-income families from Medicaid rolls, grassroots groups say they are leading the push to re-enroll people denied coverage for bureaucratic reasons. Nationwide, more than 12.5 million people have lost coverage since April. That’s when the federal pandemic provision that had required states not to drop anyone from the rolls expired and states […]

The post Grassroots groups across the country help Medicaid recipients regain lost coverage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri education and social services officials have not yet made a decision on whether to participate in a federal food assistance program next summer, weighing their ability to execute it after years of administrative challenges and delays. Participating in the program, called Summer EBT, would provide approximately $51.5 million in food benefits to 429,000 Missouri […]

The post Deadline approaching for Missouri to opt in to federal summer food program appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For four years, state Rep. Mike Stephens occupied prime real estate on the third floor of the Missouri Capitol. His office in room 306B certainly wasn’t the biggest in the space-starved statehouse, where staff often work out of musty, windowless rooms, and many lawmakers are stacked on top of each other in non-ADA compliant mezzanines.  […]

The post In a statehouse short on space, Dean Plocher converted an office into a liquor ‘pantry’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.