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Organizations representing homeschool families raised concerns about legislation debated Monday seeking to expand a tax credit program that helps pay for students to attend private and religious schools.  A dozen bills proposing changes to the tax-credit program, dubbed MOScholars, have been filed this legislative session in both the House and Senate. On Monday, a House […]

The post Expansion of tax-credit scholarships faces criticism of Missouri homeschoolers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Liberty Hospital would be at risk of falling into the hands of a for-profit chain and losing important services if Missouri lawmakers block a proposed takeover by the University of Kansas Health System, a board member for the Northland hospital argued last week.  Speaking to a Missouri Senate committee, Liberty Hospital board president Dennis Carter […]

The post Missouri lawmakers debate blocking University of Kansas deal with Liberty hospital appeared first on Missouri Independent.

So far this year, state Rep. Mazzie Christensen has filed 11 bills, ranging from changes to statewide education and public health policy to narrow legislation designed to help a small county in her district.  State Rep. Adam Schwadron has filed 12 bills, including his top priority to create a state fund to defray costs of […]

The post ‘I’m absolutely being punished’: Dean Plocher accused of retaliating against GOP critics appeared first on Missouri Independent.

While many of us may not take time to celebrate love or Black history during the month of February, they both hold a lot in common and offer some valuable aspects we might want to consider. Among them: Understanding. Hope. Unity. In love, when we really want to know about a person or thing, we […]

The post Love and Black history sharing the same month is instructive appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The bipartisan tax package passed by the U.S. House last month is not a done deal, but the proposal’s supporters say it could restore some poverty-reducing benefits that reached millions under the pandemic-era child tax credit expansion. A majority of low-income families who do not currently qualify for the full credit would see some increase […]

The post Congress is looking at expanding the child tax credit again. Who would benefit? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Until COVID-19, tuberculosis was the world’s deadliest infectious disease, killing about 1.5 million people annually. Contrary to public perception, the disease is still active in the United States. The number of TB cases in the U.S. briefly dropped at the start of the pandemic, but there was a 5% increase in cases in 2022, according to the […]

The post Tuberculosis cases rise, but public health agencies say they lack the resources to keep up appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Last month, city council members in Fort Worth, Texas, decided developers that received massive tax breaks to build affordable housing would no longer be able to buy their way out of the obligation by paying a $200 annual fee in lieu of each unbuilt low-income unit. In Columbus, Ohio, leaders voted in December to expand […]

The post Desperate for affordable housing, some cities sweeten tax breaks for developers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missourians voted in 2013 to return control of the St. Louis police department to local officials, ending more than 150 years of state oversight. And almost immediately, state lawmakers began pushing to get control back. That effort is back again this year, with proponents arguing the experiment with local control has failed, leaving the city […]

The post Effort to place St. Louis police under state control returns in Missouri legislature appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When Andrew Gallamore clocks out of work at his job in Bonner Springs, he clicks on his phone. Sometimes, to bet. His DraftKings app makes dropping $5 or $10 on a prop bet so easy. And once he’s back home in Missouri, having even a few dollars riding on how many yards a player may […]

The post With a casino on their phones, more Kansas City gamblers risk addiction appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The coroner of Cape Girardeau County — who admitted to journalists in 2021 that his office simply “doesn’t do COVID deaths” and that he didn’t personally investigate deaths himself, despite being legally required to do so — was charged Thursday with stealing from a dead person and lying on multiple death certificates. Missouri Attorney General […]

The post Missouri coroner charged with stealing from the dead, lying on death certificates appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate moved past a procedural hurdle Thursday to begin work on a $95 billion emergency spending bill that would provide military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The strong 67-32 vote, which could predict eventual approval, came after a tense week on Capitol Hill that began Sunday evening when […]

The post US Senate advances $95.3 billion bill that includes emergency funding for Ukraine, Israel appeared first on Missouri Independent.

U.S. Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments Thursday in a landmark case over whether former President Donald Trump should be barred from the 2024 presidential ballot. A majority of the justices, including liberal members of the court, expressed skepticism about a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court that said Trump, the GOP presidential frontrunner, is […]

The post US Supreme Court appears skeptical of Colorado ruling in Trump disqualification case appeared first on Missouri Independent.

One of two campaigns hoping to amend the state constitution to roll back Missouri’s abortion ban is giving up its push to reach the 2024 ballot.  Jamie Corley, a longtime GOP Congressional staffer, is withdrawing an initiative petition she helped craft that would have added rape and incest exceptions to Missouri’s abortion ban and legalize […]

The post One abortion-rights initiative petition is ending in Missouri as another kicks into gear appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Some Boone County Republicans — as well as some state and party officials — are voicing concerns about the party’s March 2 presidential caucus, the first of its kind in Missouri since 2012. Voters face a confusing landscape as the state’s major political parties are being forced to find new ways of nominating presidential candidates […]

The post Presidential caucus has some Missouri Republicans worried about accessibility appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Republicans thwarted an effort to add rape and incest exceptions to Missouri’s near-total abortion ban on Wednesday but were unable to push a bill to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements to a vote. Under Missouri law, abortion is illegal except in cases of a medical emergency when “a delay will create a serious […]

The post Republicans block attempt to add rape, incest exemptions to Missouri’s abortion ban appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The number of people languishing in county jails for court-ordered mental health treatment before trial is a problem that must be addressed, both for the well-being of the inmates and their communities but also to make sure justice is fairly administered, Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Russell told a joint session of the state […]

The post Missouri chief justice calls for action as hundreds wait in jails for mental health services appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the weeks following the Colorado Supreme Court’s historic 4-3 decision barring former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot under a Civil War-era insurrection clause, the case was formally appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court twice, presenting the court’s justices with two different frameworks for its widely anticipated review. The “questions presented” by the Colorado Republican […]

The post Here are the key issues facing Supreme Court in Trump 14th Amendment case out of Colorado appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Legislation boosting teacher recruitment and retention in Missouri is once again a priority of the Missouri House, with a hearing Wednesday morning on a pair of Republican-backed bills. Rep. Ed Lewis, a Republican from Moberly, is sponsoring legislation based on the findings of the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s blue ribbon commission. It […]

The post Missouri lawmakers want to raise teacher pay but anticipate Senate resistance appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Mining cryptocurrency requires enormous amounts of computing power and electricity, both to keep the digital calculations going and to cool the machines doing the work. A legislator from St. Charles County wants to make it easier for entrepreneurs to set up their mines in Missouri, proposing legislation that prevents local governments from limiting the locations […]

The post Missouri lawmaker hopes to shield cryptocurrency mining from state and local regulation appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Apparently not everyone is thrilled with the prospect of Kansas City returning to the Super Bowl against San Francisco. “Bleh. How uninspired. How anti-climatic. How disappointing,” is how a USA Today story summed up fan reaction outside of the Chiefs Kingdom and the Bay area. Sorry, not sorry. We here in Kansas City believe we […]

The post Sorry to conspiracy theorists. Kansas City loves the Chiefs — and so does most of Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.