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A record state operating budget that a top legislative Republican said “has a little bit of something for everyone” is heading for final votes in the Missouri General Assembly as tax revenue continues to pour into the treasury in historic amounts. Final figures weren’t available Wednesday, but the spending plan that emerged from a day […]

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TOPEKA — The stakes for the August vote over a Kansas constitutional amendment on abortion access were made clear by the leak of a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion striking down federal abortion protection rights. The draft opinion rejecting the landmark Roe v. Wade decision is not final and does not necessarily set in stone the opinion of Supreme […]

The post Overturn of Roe v. Wade raises stakes for Kansas abortion rights battle in August appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon.  William Jewell College brands itself as “The Critical Thinking College.” Three “key questions” are central to the curriculum of the Liberty, Missouri, institution: What is real? What can we know? How should we live? But as a student- and faculty-led group called the Slavery, Memory and Justice Project applied critical […]

The post William Jewell has two groups doing slavery research. Some say that’s a problem appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday pledged a new vote codifying the right to an abortion after publication of a draft court ruling that showed the Supreme Court on track to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision. Democrats, who likely won’t have the votes to advance that bill, also predicted that abortion […]

The post U.S. Senate to try again on abortion rights after bombshell disclosure of draft opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri lawmakers will try one more time before they adjourn for the year to reach agreement on a new Congressional redistricting map. If they fail, the job will likely fall to the courts. But with three pending lawsuits – one in federal court and two in state court – it is uncertain where a map […]

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If a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade holds true, nearly all abortions in Missouri would become illegal. But anti-abortion advocates worry the ban would be swiftly met with lawsuits. They hope the leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe will jumpstart efforts to place a proposal on the statewide ballot declaring […]

The post GOP eyes amending Missouri constitution to ensure no right to abortion exists post-Roe appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A bipartisan bill aimed at improving student literacy morphed into an omnibus education package after it was passed out of the House Monday night with amendments dealing with open enrollment, school protection officers and school board meetings. Senate Bill 681, sponsored by Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, initially aimed to boost students’ reading comprehension by requiring […]

The post Bipartisan literacy bill grows to include open enrollment after Missouri House passage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Republican lawmaker pushing legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in Missouri says his bill is in jeopardy because of stall tactics by his GOP colleagues and the insistence of the House floor leader that it include license caps. Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Defiance, said he was initially told his marijuana legalization bill would come up for debate […]

The post Lawmaker says GOP resistance may doom Missouri marijuana legalization bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Opponents of a new cross-state recreation trail along the old Rock Island Railroad corridor have the upper hand in the General Assembly after the state Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday cut the funds needed to develop it for use. The committee approved four spending bills for the coming year to pay for new construction, repair […]

The post Missouri Senate committee slashes funds for building Rock Island Trail appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House committee looking into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol sent letters Monday to Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Mo Brooks of Alabama and Ronny Jackson of Texas, asking them to share information about meetings and conversations they had in the days and weeks leading up to the insurrection. “The […]

The post Jan. 6 panel asks three GOP members of the U.S. House to cooperate in probe appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s legislature enters its final days of the 2022 legislative session facing an unusually large pile of partisan and ideological divisive issues. In an election year, it is not unusual that some legislators seek to highlight issues that will inspire their party’s loyalists to vote. This year’s partisan issues include requiring a photo ID to […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Divisive ideological fights in Missouri’s legislature appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For almost a half hour Thursday afternoon, the Missouri Capitol hallways echoed with the familiar tones and gently stated voice calling state senators to the floor: “The absence of a quorum has been noted.” Inside the chamber, Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, waited. His top priority bill, to ban transgender youth from participating on sports […]

The post Fractured Missouri Senate enters final two weeks of the legislative session appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Three months after Attorney General Eric Schmitt launched a legal blitz against 47 school districts across the state, nearly all the cases have petered out as COVID infection rates plummeted and mask mandates were lifted. But four cases live on. While he’s moved to drop nearly every lawsuit he filed, Schmitt has opposed attempts by […]

The post Few mask lawsuits remain as Missouri AG asks legislature to clarify law behind legal blitz appeared first on Missouri Independent.

With higher gas prices, rising food costs and near record inflation as we emerge from the worst pandemic in a 100 years, many of us may be struggling to make ends meet or move forward in any way — finding it difficult to see what government is doing to make our lives better. But as […]

The post Now is the time to remember the good our government does for us | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The odds are growing longer on whether Missourians will be able to bet on Kansas City Chiefs games from within the state this year.  And if Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signs a sports wagering bill passed early Friday, the odds of the Chiefs jumping the state line to a new stadium will grow shorter. Wednesday […]

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The “machinery of death” is back to work in Missouri as the Missouri Supreme Court has issued an execution date of May 3 for Carman Deck.  James and Zelma Long were fatally shot during a robbery in their home in Desoto in 1997. Deck and his sister went to the Long home with the intent […]

The post Missouri should end the death penalty and spare Carman Deck | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to use the framework of a World War II-era program to allow the federal government to lend and lease military equipment to Ukraine as it resists Russian troops. The legislation, called the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act, would remove red tape and require the White House to […]

The post U.S. to lend and lease military supplies to Ukraine under bill cleared by Congress appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Amid a wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation pushed nationwide, the Missouri House passed a pair of bills Thursday that would limit transgender students from participating on the sports teams that match the gender they identify with. One bill, which originally dealt with school transportation, would restrict transgender students to only participating on high school sports teams […]

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The record profits for meatpackers in the past two years were the result of market conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, along with increased consumer demand, according to leaders of the country’s four large meatpacking companies. The meatpacking executives defended their business practices during a lengthy congressional committee hearing on Wednesday. U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Georgia, […]

The post Meatpackers deny price fixing for beef during U.S. House agriculture committee hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri lawmakers are pushing to ease state regulations on so-called “advanced recycling,” a process proponents say diverts hard-to-recycle plastics from landfills and makes them into new products.  The bill’s sponsor hopes to bring the massive facilities into the state to create jobs while saving the environment from plastic.  But the promise made by advanced recycling […]

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