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Read more Stateline coverage of how communities across the country are trying to create more affordable housing. An unprecedented surge in the nationwide construction of new housing — mostly apartments — may finally be making a dent in fast-rising rents that have been making life harder for tenants. More than 1.65 million housing units were under […]

The post A historic housing construction boom may finally moderate rent hikes appeared first on Missouri Independent.

There is a new member of the legal team defending the ballot language Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft wrote for proposed initiatives that would add abortion rights to the Missouri Constitution – Ashcroft himself. Ashcroft, who was an engineer by trade until earning his law degree in 2008, rarely appeared in court on behalf of […]

The post Jay Ashcroft joins legal team defending his summary of Missouri abortion amendment appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Two St. Louis-area school districts will return to full local governance after years of state education officials overseeing their boards. The Missouri State Board of Education decided Tuesday that Riverview Gardens School District and Normandy Schools Collaborative had shown enough progress to return to traditional school-board elections. The state currently has appointed board members at […]

The post Missouri education board returns St. Louis-area school districts to local control appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden assured Israel that the U.S. will replenish defense stockpiles and also announced new humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza during his historic visit Wednesday to the war-torn region where thousands have died in just a dozen days, including 31 Americans. Biden plans to ask Congress later this week for an […]

The post Biden in Tel Aviv pledges U.S. support for Israel, humanitarian aid for Gaza appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan in his second bid for U.S. House speaker on Wednesday failed to win enough support from his fellow Republicans, leaving the party deadlocked with no clear path to govern the chamber. Jordan’s 200 votes on a first ballot on Tuesday dropped Wednesday to 199, a signal from centrist Republicans […]

The post U.S. House stalled again after rejecting Jim Jordan as speaker a second time appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and his backers are in the best financial position in the Republican race for Missouri governor, new reports show, while Democratic candidate Crystal Quade used the summer to build a bank balance for the fall 2024 race with the GOP winner. Kehoe raised more than $500,000 for his official campaign committee […]

The post Kehoe leads fundraising for Missouri governor in latest campaign filings appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s proposed social-emotional-learning standards are being refined to focus on student behavior after the State Board of Education reviewed over 1,800 public comments on the program. Some board members referred to the current draft as a “beginning,” and the board decided not to vote on passing the standards during its meeting Tuesday. The public was […]

The post Missouri Board of Education seeks to clarify social-emotional learning appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate leaders called Tuesday for a bipartisan aid package for Israel’s counteroffensive against Hamas that also includes assistance for Ukraine and Taiwan, with possible border funding sought by Republicans, as President Joe Biden prepared to leave Tuesday evening for a trip to Israel. Meanwhile, an explosion killed hundreds Tuesday at al-Ahli Arab […]

The post Republicans push for border funding to be wrapped into Israel, Ukraine aid package appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — College athletic officials testified Tuesday in support of nationally standardized name, image and likeness regulations at a U.S. Senate hearing. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to discuss policies governing name, image and likeness, known as NIL, in college sports. The witnesses in attendance — such as National Collegiate Athletic Association […]

The post College athletes’ name, image and likeness rights debated by U.S. Senate committee appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House rejected Ohio’s Jim Jordan as a candidate for speaker on Tuesday, though he vowed to secure the votes needed in the days ahead. Jordan’s decision to try to rally roughly 20 holdouts to his side leaves the House frozen, unable to take up legislation to fund the government ahead of […]

The post Ohio’s Jim Jordan fails in bid for U.S. House speaker, leaving chamber paralyzed again appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A plan to build a silica mine in southeast Missouri suffered yet another setback on Tuesday when an appeals court ruled state regulators were within their authority to deny the project a permit.  The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District sided with the Missouri Mining Commission, which denied NexGen Silica a permit in […]

The post Proposed Missouri silica sand mine loses appeal of its denied permit appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Cleaning up Coldwater Creek and other radioactive waste sites in St. Louis County will cost more than twice what federal officials thought six years ago, a new federal report finds.  A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office released Tuesday finds the government’s financial liability at the sites ballooned from $177 million in 2016 to […]

The post Cost of Coldwater Creek radioactive waste cleanup tops $400M, federal agency finds appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Marijuana prices rose in many parts of Missouri on Oct. 1 as new local taxes took effect. Lawsuits filed in Buchanan and St. Louis counties argue that some of those taxes are illegal. The constitutional amendment that legalized recreational cannabis  sales included a 6% statewide excise tax and authorized local governments to charge a sales […]

The post Pair of lawsuits challenge whether Missouri counties can ‘stack’ tax on marijuana sales appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan swayed several Republican opponents to his side Monday, moving the Ohio Republican closer to the speaker’s gavel ahead of a crucial Tuesday afternoon vote. Jordan, who has been a polarizing figure in American politics for much of his time in Congress, will need the backing of nearly all the […]

The post Jim Jordan gains support as vote nears for U.S. House speaker, but outcome still in doubt appeared first on Missouri Independent.

President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday in a show of solidarity with the Middle East ally, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday. Biden will “reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security,” send a message to other groups and powers in the region not to […]

The post Biden will visit Israel to demonstrate U.S. support following Hamas attack appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. congressional Democrats are frustrated with the White House’s decision to allow for the construction of additional border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. “Walls don’t work. It’s that simple,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal of Washington state wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “If we really want to take steps to solve the situation […]

The post Biden’s go-ahead for added border wall draws criticism from Democrats in Congress appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the middle of a storm, 911 call centers often find themselves inundated with reports of fallen trees, flooded roads and panicked residents. Every call matters, but with multiple reports of the same incident pouring in, the pressure on emergency services can become overwhelming. Amid the chaos, a technological ally has emerged: artificial intelligence. In […]

The post AI bots are helping 911 dispatchers with their workload appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The freezing of property tax assessments for Missourians 62 and older looks, at best, fuzzy. The state adopted a law this year that lets counties give that property tax assessment freeze when homeowners become eligible for Social Security. And it allowed counties to throw in a yearly tax credit to give older residents even more […]

The post Missouri counties want to freeze seniors’ property assessments, but aren’t sure they can appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s board of education will decide Tuesday whether to implement social emotional learning standards for K-12 students. But though board members praised the potential guidelines during an August meeting as teaching “the basics of what it means to be human,” the proposal has also inspired plenty of negative feedback among the 1,800 public comments submitted […]

The post Missouri education board set to discuss social-emotional learning standards appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Once upon a time there was a Republican Party that was identifiable and recognizable by its policy positions and political principles. Whether at the state or national level, what defines the Republican Party today? During its history, it has been known and identified as the party of Abraham Lincoln, and more recently the party of […]

The post The Republican Party has reached a critical crossroads appeared first on Missouri Independent.