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State lawmakers tasked the Missouri Veterans Commission with a new mission.  They’ve mandated the commission to make it a top priority to understand why the suicide rate among Missouri’s veterans is nearly double the state rate and one of the highest in the country. After three years of trying, Republican state Rep. Dave Griffith of […]

The post Bill designed to lower suicide rate of Missouri veterans awaits action by governor appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Since recreational weed was legalized in 2022, it has led to more than $19 million going towards three causes — supporting veterans, expanding substance use treatment programs and adding to the Missouri Public Defenders System’s budget. “It is so rewarding to see the impact of this voter-approved program on organizations that provide vital services to […]

The post Legal cannabis in Missouri has generated $19 million for veterans, treatment, public defenders appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Cole County Circuit Court judge ruled Friday that Republican James Coyne cannot be blocked from the August primary ballot by Democrat Stephen Webber. Both are seeking the 19th District state Senate seat now held by Republican Caleb Rowden, whose term expires this year. Coyne was selected Tuesday by the Boone County GOP candidate selection […]

The post Court ruling keeps Boone County state Senate candidate on August GOP primary ballot appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Since being elected Boone County Clerk in 2018, Brianna Lennon’s job verifying initiative petition signatures has been pretty easy, with only a few hundred pages to sort through at most.  That changed after state lawmakers cut her county in half when they redrew Congressional maps.  In 2022, after long-fought battles and filibusters over the new […]

The post Boone County new focus of Missouri initiative petition campaigns following redistricting appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Here is a tidbit from my years as a newspaper reporter and editor: I never voted in a primary election, never stuck a candidate’s sign in my yard, never had a bumper sticker on my car, never signed a petition, never donated to a campaign. When Sue and I married, she got something more in […]

The post Justice’s distress signal should distress us all appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Over the course of half a dozen trips to Washington, D.C., Dawn Chapman has become accustomed to long days of congressional meetings and questions about St. Louis’ decades-long struggle with radioactive contamination. Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms STL, wraps her feet with duct tape to keep her shoes from giving her blisters, and she and […]

The post Missouri advocates push for compensation for radioactive waste victims as deadline looms appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s legislative session closed with a sad and stunning display of how little the loudest lawmakers identifying as “pro-life” care about helping children and families — or governing at all. Even in a session that was historic for its dysfunction and rancor, there were a handful of bipartisan bills that would have made life somewhat […]

The post Missouri lawmakers chose anti-abortion antics over helping children and families appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Three members of Congress introduced a resolution Thursday that’s intended to bring attention to the experiences and challenges people with disabilities face when it comes to reproductive rights. Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley announced the resolution during a press conference with advocates just steps from the U.S. Capitol, saying that under a Supreme […]

The post Forced sterilizations for people with disabilities decried by members of Congress appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has given no indication his name will ever appear on a ballot again after he leaves office at the end of this year.  But the political action committee set up by his supporters to bankroll his political career continues raising and spending money.  During the first three months of 2024, the […]

The post PAC backing term-limited Missouri governor keeps raising, spending campaign cash appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — As Democrats continue to ramp up their push against the oil industry, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others on Thursday called out big oil companies and their executives for high gas prices heading into the heavily traveled Memorial Day weekend. Republicans in turn have blamed President Joe Biden’s energy policies for high […]

The post Congress, campaigns engage in tug-of-war over gas prices as summer travel begins appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate failed Thursday to advance a border security bill as both parties seek to hone their messages on immigration policy in the runup to November’s elections. The Senate bill failed to advance on a 43-50 procedural vote. The chamber already rejected the measure as part of a broader foreign aid package […]

The post Bipartisan border bill loses support, fails procedural vote in U.S. Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

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.