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Mask mandates saved lives and prevented COVID-19 infections in Missouri’s biggest cities during the worst part of the delta variant wave, an analysis by the state Department of Health and Senior Services shows. But the analysis, conducted at the request of Gov. Mike Parson’s office in early November, was never made public and was only […]

The post Missouri health department found mask mandates work, but didn’t make findings public appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The state saw a historic number of Missourians apply for unemployment benefits in 2020. About 639,000 Missourians filed in the first three months of the COVID pandemic, as businesses shut down to stave off the virus’ spread. “They were encouraged to apply,” said Jim Guest, director of the volunteer lawyers program at Legal Services of […]

The post Missouri bill seeks to forgive mistakenly overpaid unemployment benefits appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In April, when I received my first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, I was hopeful for the first time in over a year that my life was going to return to normal. However, seven months later, I tested positive for COVID-19 and it was as if the isolating feeling of the early months of the […]

The post After a breakthrough COVID infection, I believe in the vaccine more than ever | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri lawmakers trained their focus Tuesday on how school boards interact with the public and the ways in which history is taught in schools. For over three hours, the Joint Committee on Education discussed how social studies curriculum makes its way into the classroom, raising questions about whether the Sept. 11 attacks are taught and […]

The post Ahead of session, lawmakers scrutinize Missouri social studies standards, school boards appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A waning delta variant summer surge gave way to a spike of cases in November, as infections and hospitalizations rose amid concerns about a new variant spreading out of South Africa. The omicron variant hasn’t been detected in Missouri, but public health officials are watching. The first place it is likely to be detected is […]

The post Delta variant cases spike again in November as health officials watch for arrival of new strain appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Nearly three months after being removed from the Missouri Capitol by Gov. Mike Parson’s administration, an exhibit on the history of the LGTBQ movement will now be on display in several St. Louis locations.  Called “Making History: Kansas City and the Rise of Gay Rights,” the exhibit documents the early days of LGBTQ activism in […]

The post After being booted from Missouri Capitol, LGBTQ history exhibit headed to St. Louis appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton liked to say that the minute you put your name on a ballot, you lose 50 IQ points. Trust me: He was only half-kidding. It’s not just that political neophytes do dumb things once they decide to run for office. It’s that ambition often clouds the thinking of even […]

The post The biggest threat to Missouri’s 2022 legislative session? Ambition | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Enforcement of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for millions of health care workers was blocked in 10 states on Monday, after a ruling by a federal judge in Missouri. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp affects the states involved in the lawsuit, including Missouri. The others are Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire, […]

The post Federal vaccine mandate for health care workers in 10 states blocked by judge appeared first on Missouri Independent.

An effort to do away with partisan primaries in Missouri and replace them with a “ranked choice” method got a big boost last week, receiving roughly $670,000 from a Virginia-based nonprofit hoping to put the idea on the 2022 statewide ballot. A group called Better Elections is pushing an initiative petition that would amend Missouri’s […]

The post Group hopes to amend Missouri constitution to enact ranked-choice voting appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon. A new Missouri law allowing employers to continue paying some people with disabilities less than minimum wage has positioned the state at the forefront of a national debate over disability rights in the workplace. Part of a wide-ranging piece of legislation signed by Gov. Mike Parson in […]

The post Amid debate over sheltered workshops, Missouri pays people with disabilities less appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When people are checked into the Clay County Detention Center, they all have to pay an intake fee of $8. But for women on their periods, entering the jail used to cost them extra. Incarcerated women at the facility used to be charged about $6 for two packages of 12 pads. If they didn’t have […]

The post With new law and state funds, some Missouri jails lift fees for tampons and pads appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As we begin to resume some sense of normalcy in our lives during this holiday season, and as we gather with family and friends, it behooves us to think about and discuss a not so simple question: “Who are we?” Who are we becoming, as a nation, as a city, as a community or as […]

The post A time to think about who we are and who we are becoming | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For years now we’ve been subjected to an endless stream of nonsense from those who deny the inescapable reality that our planet is overheating due to human-caused pollution in the atmosphere. It’s now apparent that the cascading effects of global baking — and the concurrent lack of action by our politicians and lawmakers — are […]

The post Climate change is killing our future | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A thick blanket of fallen leaves completely covered the hikers’ feet on Turkey Ridge Trail in St. Louis County.  A leafless forest is great for spotting Missouri’s largest bird — the wild turkey — this time of year, said Ed Leutwiler, a longtime volunteer with Missouri Department of Conservation. But unfortunately, the loud crunching sounds […]

The post Conservationists work to keep Missouri’s wild turkey numbers up appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Four of the five members on Evergy’s finance committee, tasked with recommending management and investment decisions to the board of directors, were selected by activist hedge funds that critics worry are asserting undue influence over the electric utility. That involvement, consumer advocates say, could drive up rates for Evergy’s 1.6 million customers in Kansas and […]

The post Consumer advocates fear hedge funds’ influence could mean rate hikes at Evergy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Marshall Klimasewiski and his nine-year-old daughter, Amna, were among hundreds of runners and walkers who lined up for the Race for Refugees in St. Louis on Saturday morning. The International Institute, the city’s refugee resettlement agency, has aided thousands of people fleeing their countries during its 100 years of service, Marshall said. And the agency […]

The post Missourians come together to welcome Afghan refugees appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri has so much money, coming so fast, from federal COVID-19 relief bills that it is in danger of losing almost $2 billion dedicated to schools. As Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven last week sought support for projects to improve teacher retention, members of the legislature’s Federal Stimulus Spending Subcommittee wanted to know how a key […]

The post Looming deadline leaves Missouri at risk of losing $2 billion in federal education funding appeared first on Missouri Independent.

If we were not still in the grip of a deadly pandemic, with the seven-day average U.S. death toll from the coronavirus hovering just over 1,100 a day, I probably would not have thought of giving thanks this year for the medical researchers who have given this country protection against many life-threatening illnesses. Back in […]

The post Giving thanks to America’s medical community for life-saving vaccines | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Green on Tuesday ruled that health orders designed to stop the spread of COVID-19 that were issued by local health departments violated the Missouri Constitution. At issue in the case were regulations issued by the Department of Health and Senior Services allowing directors of local health agencies to issue […]

The post Missouri judge strikes down local health officials’ power to impose COVID-19 orders appeared first on Missouri Independent.

One day earlier this month, a company called Phoenix Home Care cut $120,000 worth of checks to six different Missouri political action committees.  A few months earlier, a pair of companies suing the state to block a crackdown on unregulated slot machines combined to drop $350,000 into the same six PACs.  The companies and all […]

The post ‘Exploiting a loophole’: PACs tied to Missouri lobbyist draw new criticism  appeared first on Missouri Independent.