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A bill that aims to soften the steep drop-off in public benefits that low-income Missourians face when their earnings increase won initial approval in the Missouri Senate Monday evening after pushback from conservative Republicans. The Senate still needs to vote one more time before the bill is sent to the House for consideration. Sponsored by […]

The post Missouri Senate advances bill to prevent loss of public benefits over small pay bump appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Lamar Johnson was exonerated less than a week ago after serving three decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.  He walked out of prison with little more than the clothes on his back.  “Having been home just a few days, the difficulties of starting a new life after a wrongful conviction are fresh […]

The post Missouri legislators seek to expand law providing restitution for wrongful convictions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON – State agriculture officials from across the country sought this month to remind a new crop of lawmakers in Congress of their states’ needs for a robust farm bill to address a host of food issues. Members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture gathered in Washington for their annual winter meeting […]

The post State ag officials push for on-time farm bill to fund slew of programs appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Donald Lloyd, CEO and president of St. Claire HealthCare in Morehead, Kentucky, has spent more than a year dealing with higher costs for food and medical supplies for his regional hospital. Now he’s trying to prepare for another financial hit — the loss of Medicaid reimbursements for treating people in rural Appalachia. “We are all […]

The post Rural hospitals gird for unwinding of pandemic Medicaid coverage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In a series of digital ads focused on Chinese farmland and taxes, state Sen. Bill Eigel has launched the opening salvo of a likely contentious 2024 Republican gubernatorial primary. Eigel, a two-term GOP legislator from St. Charles County, began running ads on Facebook this month criticizing two of his fellow Republicans — Lt. Gov. Mike […]

The post State senator throws first punches of 2024 Missouri governor’s campaign appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Whether in a grocery store, a place of worship, a shopping mall, a community celebration, at work or in school, you are at risk for becoming a victim of senseless gun violence. Why is America the only industrialized nation in the world that is plagued by frequent mass shootings? Has our form of democracy allowed […]

The post America is the world’s most powerful democracy. Why is it impotent to stop mass gun violence? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert and a medical adviser to seven U.S. presidents, will address graduating students at Washington University School of Medicine in May, the school announced Thursday. But the speech by Fauci — who became a figure of scorn among some Republicans for his actions during the coronavirus pandemic […]

The post As Wash U faces renewed GOP criticism, Anthony Fauci to deliver commencement address appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON – Members of the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee split along party lines on Thursday as they tussled over financial accountability in farm bill nutrition programs. The main point of contention was the Department of Agriculture’s 2021 changes to the Thrifty Food Plan, one of four food plans the USDA develops to […]

The post U.S. Senate panel spars over elevated food assistance spending in upcoming farm bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri is confronting a nightmarish crisis in child welfare. According to the Missouri Children’s Division, there are over 13,300 children currently in foster care. The Missouri Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline Unit received over 54,000 reported incidents involving over 77,000 children throughout 2021. At a recent hearing of the state House subcommittee overseeing the budget for the […]

The post The foster care system is overburdened. Missouri leaders should invest in prevention appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — In his first address since the U.S. military shot down three unidentified flying objects last weekend, just days after taking down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the actions and said the skies above the U.S. will now be more closely scrutinized. Biden, who was under increasing pressure […]

The post Biden says no evidence yet that unidentified flying objects were tied to China spying appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A federal task force wrestled with the costs and benefits of better shielding the nation’s tens of thousands of electric substations from a growing number of attacks, like a neo-Nazi plot the FBI says it foiled earlier this month in Maryland, another that knocked out power to thousands in North Carolina in December and more in the Pacific Northwest. […]

The post Federal-state task force grapples with grid protection appeared first on Missouri Independent.

If it seems that the issue of Social Security reform roared back into our living rooms this past week after lying dormant for a long time, that perception is pretty close to reality.  The last time this country made major changes to Social Security policy was forty years ago, in 1983. Coming out of the […]

The post Social Security debate rages back after lying dormant for 40 years appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Biden administration officials at a U.S. Senate hearing Wednesday on the deadly illicit drug fentanyl said they need more money for better screening technology at ports of entry at the Southern border. They also said the U.S. needs to keep pressure on China due to its role in the sale of chemicals used […]

The post Funding needed to curb fentanyl smuggling at ports of entry, administration officials say appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Black legislators and community leaders stood on the Missouri Capitol steps Wednesday to rally against GOP-backed bills seeking to expand state control over the police and prosecutor in St. Louis. The group of nearly 100 people gathered in Jefferson City — which included lawmakers in the Legislative Black Caucus alongside leaders of various organizations — […]

The post Black leaders rally to speak out against bills to take away local control from St. Louis appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators on Tuesday voiced frustration and outrage that Congress has been unable to pass legislation bolstering protection for children online, including adding guardrails to social media platforms. During a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats and Republicans pledged to keep working together to pass several bipartisan bills that didn’t make it […]

The post Lack of action by Congress to protect kids online criticized at U.S. Senate hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden at an annual meeting with county leaders on Tuesday said there is much more work to be done on gun control legislation —  such as banning assault-style weapons, which are typically used in most mass shootings. The call again for gun control came after a school shooting at Michigan State University late […]

The post Biden renews a call for action on gun control following Michigan State mass shooting appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Senate passed a sweeping education bill to the House on Tuesday that would create transparency requirements for school districts and ban them from teaching some diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum. The bill also seeks to add a patriotism course for teachers, open transportation funding to intradistrict transfer programs and increase funding for districts […]

The post Missouri Senate conservatives stray from party on sweeping education bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Republican leader in Missouri’s Senate confirmed Tuesday her chamber will debate legislation seeking to ban transgender children from seeking gender-affirming care. Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, assured Sen. Mike Moon that his legislation will get time in front of the full Senate.  Moon, R-Ash Grove, is sponsoring one of three bills seeking to […]

The post Proposed ban on medical transitions for minors gains renewed traction in Missouri Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After spending nearly 30 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, a St. Louis judge on Tuesday ruled Lamar Johnson should be set free. “I spent quite a bit of time on this, and these questions are not easy,” said St. Louis Circuit Judge David Mason, when he announced his decision in the […]

The post Lamar Johnson to be set free after decades in Missouri prison for murder he didn’t commit appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Several survivors of childhood sexual abuse, including from Kanakuk and Boy Scouts of America, testified at a House judiciary hearing Monday night in support of a bill that would extend the civil statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

The post Kanakuk abuse survivors urge Missouri lawmakers to extend statute of limitations appeared first on Missouri Independent.