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TOPEKA, Kansas — Sports wagering in Kansas will launch Sept. 1, state officials said Thursday, allowing bets to be placed at the start of football season. Lawmakers in April passed legislation to greenlight sports wagering in the state under the administration of the Kansas Lottery. The action was estimated to generate revenues of up to $10 million […]

The post Kansas plans Sept. 1 ‘soft launch’ of sports wagering for start of football season appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Stateline.  Nothing has been able to kill scam robocalls — not federal regulation, not individual state lawsuits, not private software. Each effort has made a dent, but the unwanted calls keep on coming, much to the consternation of Americans on the receiving end. Now, all 50 state attorneys general, […]

The post State attorneys general unite against robocalls appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Investigate Midwest.  Estimates vary on how much greenhouse gas agriculture emits into the air. The Environmental Protection Agency puts it at 11% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. But that doesn’t include a whole host of other emissions associated with the industry. The percentage could be higher. Last year, the United Nations estimated the food […]

The post SEC proposal could shine a light on Big Ag companies’ supply chain emissions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Why conspire with your competitors when you can just merge? Over the last two years, giant corporate meat companies have been settling lawsuits to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars that allege they conspired with each other to fix prices, lower workers’ and farmers’ pay and raise the price of meat for both […]

The post Merger of Sanderson Farms and Cargill is a bad deal for farmers and consumers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A day after preliminary test scores showed Missouri students’ performance on standardized tests have not bounced back from the pandemic, education advocacy groups and parents urged state lawmakers to take a comprehensive approach at crafting accountability measures for schools. On Tuesday, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released preliminary test scores for the 2021-22 […]

The post Missouri student test scores still lag behind pre-pandemic levels appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Ameren Missouri may restart natural gas burners to offset the court-ordered shuttering of a coal-fired power plant that violated federal law, the company told state regulators Wednesday.  The St. Louis-based electric utility announced late last year that it would retire its Rush Island Energy Center in early 2024 after a federal court found in 2019 […]

The post Ameren may turn to natural gas to make up for shuttering Rush Island coal plant appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A study released last year found that more than 80% of Missouri children had some level of lead in their blood.  Across the Midwest, in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, the data painted a similar picture — children with elevated levels of lead in their blood far above the national average.  Over the last six months, […]

The post Missouri Independent, Midwest Newsroom co-hosting community discussion on lead appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced Wednesday that he will file a lawsuit against the state of Missouri arguing a new law requiring the city to spend more on police is unconstitutional.  The law, approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Mike Parson this year, raises the portion of Kansas City’s budget that must […]

The post Kansas City mayor sues to block Missouri law requiring higher police spending appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed his party’s signature climate, health care and tax package into law Tuesday, capping off more than a year of tumultuous negotiations that saw his original proposal to Congress slimmed down considerably. Flanked by a handful of Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and […]

The post Biden signs into law Democrats’ wide-ranging climate change, health care and tax bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is hoping to avoid any special session drama.  As he prepares to reconvene the legislature next month to debate a $700 million tax cut — with details about the plan expected to be announced as early as this week — Parson is hoping to avoid pitfalls that undermined a pair of […]

The post Missouri governor pushing hard to sell lawmakers on his $700 million tax cut plan appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A software integration company’s six-year legal saga against the state reached a resolution last week, when it was awarded a little over $23 million in its lawsuit alleging contract breaches over extra work to implement a Department of Social Services’ case management system. On Wednesday, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem granted a directed verdict […]

The post Former state vendor awarded $23M in lawsuit over Missouri Medicaid system implementation appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The first unexpected bill arrived in December, just weeks before Tara Lovell’s husband of 40 years died from bladder cancer. Lovell worked as an ultrasound technologist at the local Audrain Community Hospital, in Mexico, Missouri, and was paying more than $400 a month for health insurance through her job. The town’s struggling hospital, the sole […]

The post Collapse of private equity-backed Missouri hospitals mired employees in medical bills appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This may come as news to many Republicans:  The Federal Bureau of Investigation is a law enforcement agency. So is the Internal Revenue Service. Most people already think of the FBI as an elite policing agency. But the IRS also investigates crime beyond tax evasion and fraud. Organized crime, drug trafficking, illegal gaming, money laundering and public […]

The post Don’t claim to support law enforcement if you demonize the FBI and IRS appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After more than two years of warring with Republican leaders, the Missouri Senate’s conservative caucus will disband, the group announced Monday afternoon. In a statement released to the media, five incumbent members of the caucus said it was no longer needed after the outcome of the Aug. 2 GOP primaries.  “The Republican primary electorate decisively […]

The post Missouri Senate conservative caucus disbands after two years of ugly GOP infighting appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by ProPublica. One of the nation’s biggest residential “clean energy” lenders has suspended making loans to homeowners in Missouri, citing economic conditions and a new state law that mandated more consumer protections and oversight. Ygrene Energy Fund, based in California, said it will also stop lending in California, but will […]

The post Clean energy lender will stop making high-interest PACE loans in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In its first days of operation in July, a newly revamped, national mental health hotline was already exceeding Missouri providers’ expectations as a wave of people dialed three numbers: 9-8-8. They ranged from the curious to those seeking help, and several providers across Missouri told The Independent calls had already increased by 50% within a […]

The post Missouri crisis centers see wave of calls since the 988 suicide hotline’s launch appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Journalists have a problem with “conspiracy theories.” I put the phrase in quotes because writers, editors and headline writers have a problem with those consecutive words — “conspiracy theories” — in their writing. It’s not because they are being duped into believing farcical truths about the world. Journalists are lumping all kinds of gaslighting, misinformation, […]

The post Elaborate lies spreading through U.S. can’t be dismissed as ‘conspiracy theories’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Friday cleared Democrats’ long-sought climate, health care and tax package, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The roughly $750 billion measure is much smaller than the $2 trillion reconciliation package the House originally sent to the Senate in November. The final product left out dozens of […]

The post U.S. House Democrats send sweeping climate, health and tax legislation to Biden appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday unsealed the warrant that allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to search former President Donald Trump’s property at Mar-a-Lago in Florida earlier this week, revealing he’s under investigation for possibly violating the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice. The seven-page document, which includes a brief description of everything the […]

The post Search warrant shows Trump under investigation for possible Espionage Act violations appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. On weekdays, Melissa Douds catches the 35th Street bus at 5:48 a.m. to get to her job as a facility worker at the Bartle Hall Convention Center. Starting at the Armour and Gillham stop in Hyde Park, she is only seven minutes from work by […]

The post Zero bus fare does not equal easy commutes for Kansas City riders appeared first on Missouri Independent.