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A Democrat running for the same statewide office as Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher will not participate in a House Ethics Committee inquiry into the speaker. House Assistant Minority Leader Richard Brown of Kansas City, who is running for lieutenant governor, was replaced Tuesday on the committee by Rep. David Tyson Smith of Columbia. In […]

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For residents in some Pennsylvania communities, flushing the toilet has suddenly gotten much more expensive. In many townships and counties, rates have spiked as private water companies have bought up wastewater systems from local governments. The new push to privatize sewer services follows the passage of a state law in 2016 that allows the dollar […]

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Missourians spend billions every year in pursuit of instant riches. They buy lottery tickets, play casino games and dab bingo cards.  And increasingly in recent years, they play games of questionable legality in convenience stores, truck stops and small gaming parlors. Everyone involved in the industry thinks people would spend more, if given the chance. […]

The post Players in Missouri gambling debate chase stakes worth billions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Branson-area Christian summer camp accused of covering up years of sexual abuse of its students is suing its insurance company, claiming it threatened to deny coverage if information about abuse was made public. Kanakuk Kamps filed a cross claim last month against ACE American Insurance Co. as part of a 2022 lawsuit filed by […]

The post Missouri-based camp blames its insurance company for withholding info about sexual abuse appeared first on Missouri Independent.

MARION — Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody enlisted the support of local and state law enforcement officials in the days before he led raids on the local newspaper office, the publisher’s home and the home of a city councilwoman. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas Department of Revenue, Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Office of the […]

The post Kansas officials downplayed involvement in Marion newspaper raid. Here’s what they knew appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As older adults begin to outnumber young people in the United States in the coming decade, advocacy groups are challenging states to shift away from single-family zoning in favor of housing solutions that allow older adults to “age in place.” By 2035, the U.S. will have more people over the age of 65 than under […]

The post Older adults want to ‘age in place,’ but their options are limited in most states appeared first on Missouri Independent.

U.S. House Republicans are continuing to use government spending bills to engage in culture war battles, with legislation debated during the past week that would ban pride flags on some federal buildings, strip funding from a new museum for Latino history and target certain LGBTQ and racial equity policies and programs. The hot-button provisions in […]

The post U.S. House GOP in spending bills takes aim at federal LGBTQ, racial equity policies appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Whether Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher can survive the storm of scandals that has engulfed him over the last month could start to come into better focus after two meetings this week.  The first is on Wednesday, when Plocher will for the second time be the subject of a hearing of the Missouri House Ethics […]

The post Ethics hearing, GOP caucus could determine fate of embattled Missouri House speaker appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When the Taliban overtook Kabul in 2021, Qasim Rahimi went into hiding at a neighbor’s house. Meanwhile, U.S. troops withdrew and took nearly 90,000 Afghan evacuees who were in danger of persecution. Rahimi knew he had to leave, too. “I was a journalist and a director in (the) Afghanistan government when the government fell, so […]

The post Afghan refugees still adjusting to life in Kansas City — and wondering if they can stay appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek is refusing to turn over information about a state-sponsored education savings plan to an investment company he accuses of having questionable ties to China and an anti-Israel bias. Malek expressed his concerns about Morningstar in a letter to the company refusing its request for information about MOST 529, the Missouri-sponsored […]

The post Missouri treasurer refuses Morningstar data request, accusing company of anti-Israel bias appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Congress will need to pass a second stopgap funding measure before Thanksgiving if lawmakers want to avoid a government shutdown, though pushing off final decisions on full-year spending bills until next year would put lawmakers smack dab in the middle of what’s expected to be a contentious 2024 primary season. During election years, […]

The post Spending mess in Congress could arch over into pivotal 2024 election year appeared first on Missouri Independent.

With a $750 million budget surplus on hand, there was little doubt whether North Dakota lawmakers would cut taxes earlier this year — the question was how much. “The surplus was strong, and we believe it’s going to be sustained into the future,” said state Rep. Craig Headland. “So, it just made sense to cut […]

The post Blue and red states slash taxes despite warnings of hard times ahead appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In July, Florida became the first state to allow schools to incorporate instructional videos with a conservative viewpoint from vendor PragerU into their classroom materials. Oklahoma and Montana rapidly followed. New Hampshire in September approved the use of online PragerU videos to satisfy financial literacy requirements in public schools. PragerU and one state education board […]

The post Controversial PragerU videos gain educational foothold in a handful of states appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are pushing back on Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade of hundreds of U.S. military promotions as the upper chamber fills the remaining vacancies on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Senators on Thursday approved Adm. Lisa Franchetti in a 95-1 vote to be the first woman to lead the U.S. Navy. Gen. David W. Allvin’s […]

The post U.S. Senate GOP colleagues fight Tuberville hold as top military nominees trickle through appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Inside every major contract Missouri signs with a business sits a clause about boycotting Israel. All but the smallest companies have to agree not to participate in any movement that aims to boycott, divest from or sanction companies in Israel. Missouri isn’t alone. At least 36 other states have anti-BDS (boycott, divest or sanction) measures […]

The post Missouri uses power of the pocketbook to prevent divestment in Israel  appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Operators and promoters of outdoor recreation companies said at a U.S. Senate hearing that small tourist businesses like theirs are a critical part of the rural U.S. economy facing multiple challenges. Witnesses before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on Wednesday listed climate change, inflation, high gas prices and a potential […]

The post Problems plaguing small outdoor recreation businesses explored at U.S. Senate hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

More than two dozen people lined up outside a state public assistance office in Montana before it opened to ensure they didn’t get cut off from Medicaid. Callers in Missouri and Florida reported waiting on hold for more than two hours on hotlines to renew their Medicaid coverage. The parents of a disabled man in […]

The post Medicaid ‘unwinding’ breeds chaos in states as millions lose coverage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Treasure Dowell has called Missouri’s social services department three times a day for nearly a month and has yet to speak to a human being. Sometimes she is automatically disconnected hours before the call center closes because it has reached capacity for the day. Other times she waits hours, her phone on speaker atop the […]

The post ‘Broken system’: Call center backlogs impede Missouri families seeking food assistance appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State and local election officials face threats and intimidation, driving experienced workers out of the profession, a panel of election officials told a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday. Conspiracy theories have fueled a more hostile environment for election workers, which has led many to quit, creating more challenges for the inexperienced new leaders, the top election […]

The post State and local election workers quitting amid abuse, officials tell U.S. Senate panel appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission can give employees big raises to cut job turnover and attract new workers, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday. In a long-awaited decision, Circuit Judge Cotton Walker decided that the commission’s plan for a “market adjustment” is authorized by constitutional language controlling the State Road Fund. In his ruling, […]

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