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SEDAN, Kan. — James Rainbolt typically can tackle most problems at his rural water plant with some extra time or money. But he can’t fix this. “I just can’t make it rain,” he said. Like others across Southeast Kansas, Rainbolt remains helpless as he watches a persistent drought dry up the local water supply. He […]

The post ‘It’s an emergency’: Midwest towns scramble as drought threatens drinking water appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A recent report by an international human rights group ranked Missouri in the bottom third of all states for child rights, in part because Missouri still allows child marriage and corporal punishment in schools. The report, published by the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch, measured every state’s laws against the standards of the Convention on […]

The post Missouri lags behind most states for children’s rights, advocacy group finds appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Amid rising tensions and an approaching hard deadline, the U.S. House and Senate ended their work week on Thursday without a deal to fund the federal government past the end of the month. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has been struggling to build consensus among the members of his Republican Conference, pledged that […]

The post With two weeks until the money runs out, Congress grinds to halt on spending bills appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri students and teachers returned to the classroom this month facing a sobering reality. Missouri students are now worse at reading and math than the average American student. At a time when our students need and deserve a world-class education, we are actually falling further behind. According to the nation’s report card, NAEP, as of […]

The post Turning Missouri education around begins with transparent school performance appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A disability-rights advocate pleaded with Missouri mental health officials Thursday not to implement a policy change that could freeze pay rates for at-home caregivers relied upon by more than 3,000 individuals around the state. At issue is a decision by the Missouri Department of Mental Health to change how it calculates rates for a program […]

The post Missouri mental health department urged to abandon at-home care funding freeze appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri lawmakers greeted a proposed $300 million increase to the formula that funds the state’s public schools with questions Wednesday, with some believing the figure seemed appropriate and others wondering if a change to the state’s accountability system drove estimates too high. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education unveiled its proposed budget for fiscal […]

The post Lawmakers consider boosting Missouri public education funding by $300 million appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Wednesday outlined to the Senate Judiciary Committee how she has sought improvements in the nation’s troubled prison system, and fielded questions from Republicans about transgender inmates. “Developing meaningful change throughout the agency is not something that happens in a moment,” Colette Peters, the director […]

The post U.S. prisons chief insists to Senate panel there’s been ‘visible change’ in the system appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The White House is lambasting the House GOP’s decision to open an impeachment inquiry into unproven allegations that President Joe Biden profited from his son’s international business scheme during his time as vice president in the Obama administration. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday that he directed several of the chamber’s committees to […]

The post White House slams ‘baseless’ House GOP impeachment inquiry as ‘political stunt’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Gov. Mike Parson prevailed on all his vetoes Wednesday when the state Senate refused to consider any of the 14 budget overrides approved by the Missouri House. The House achieved two-thirds votes to override vetoes on 10 budget lines providing raises for the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Capitol Police Department. The other successful […]

The post Governor’s budget vetoes survive despite overrides in the Missouri House appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Missouri-based agricultural giant is helping fuel rapid deforestation in Brazil’s eastern savanna, a report by environmental activists claims. Bunge Limited, headquartered in Chesterfield, is the world’s largest soybean producer and sells the overwhelming majority of inputs to Brazilian soy farmers.  The report, released Tuesday by a trio of environmental and human rights groups, says […]

The post Missouri company faces criticism over alleged role in Brazilian deforestation in new report appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The state Senate district map is constitutional despite its splits to political subdivisions in St. Louis County and northwest Missouri, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled Tuesday. In a 21-page decision, Beetem rejected a challenge to the districts drawn last year by a panel of appeals court judges. The choices made by the Judicial […]

The post Judge rules against challenge to Missouri Senate district map appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The development of artificial intelligence presents far-reaching challenges for virtually every aspect of modern society, including campaigns, national security and journalism, members of a U.S. Senate panel said at a Tuesday hearing. Technology experts invited to testify at a hearing of the Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security Subcommittee of the Senate […]

The post Congress starts trying to figure out how to set AI ‘rules of the road’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri House leaders want to flex their muscles, state Senate leaders want to limit chances for personality clashes and Gov. Mike Parson reportedly expects his vetoes – $555 million in spending and one statutory enactment – to survive Wednesday’s gathering of lawmakers. Except for the administration of Gov. Jay Nixon – a Democrat who faced […]

The post Budget vetoes may face override in Missouri House, but Senate vote unlikely appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Leaders of Missouri’s child welfare agency on Tuesday touted a reduction in the number of children in the state’s overburdened foster care system, telling lawmakers it represented progress toward building a more preventative system. But they also acknowledged that Children’s Division continues to face major challenges, fielding questions from the House Committee on Children and […]

The post Number of kids in Missouri foster care drop, though officials admit challenges persist appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators at a committee hearing Tuesday discussed the consequences of book bans and parents’ desire to control what their kids read — though they also acknowledged it’s not an issue for Congress to settle. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony about book bans, focusing on how censorship limits liberty and literature. The […]

The post U.S. Senate hearing on book bans probes censorship attempts in local libraries appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The largest utility in western Missouri has requested permission to allow customers to opt out of controversial time-of-use pricing plans imposed by state regulators. Evergy is expected under an order from the Missouri Public Service Commission to implement time-of-use pricing, which places a premium on electricity prices at times of high demand, starting next month. […]

The post Evergy asks Missouri regulators to let customers opt out of time-of-use pricing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House and Senate are both back in D.C. on Tuesday following a long summer recess, facing an overwhelming agenda of unfinished work — funding the federal government and reauthorizing major programs set to expire at the end of the month. Congressional leaders and President Joe Biden have only a few weeks […]

The post Battles over spending, farm bill, Ukraine and yet more loom over a divided Congress appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After students pulled her fifth-grade daughter’s hair, hit and groped her, Wendy Rodas asked to talk with higher-ups in the Center School District. The Spanish-speaking mother hoped the meeting would help resolve the bullying. But technical difficulties with the district’s phone interpretation service nearly derailed the conversation. If she hadn’t brought along bilingual staff members […]

The post Families who rely on interpreters find Kansas City area schools can come up short appeared first on Missouri Independent.

According to a recent report, roughly 35% of rural hospitals in Missouri are at risk of closing as a result of inadequate revenue and low financial reserves. This comes as no surprise as hospitals continue to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, face an increased demand for care, and still see rising supply and […]

The post Rural hospitals rely on the 340B drug pricing program appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Washington University in St. Louis joined University of Missouri Health as the latest provider of care to transgender minors to announce it is canceling pre-existing prescriptions for puberty blockers or hormone-replacement therapy. A new state law restricting access to gender-affirming care bars those under 18 from beginning new treatments. But in a compromise with opponents […]

The post Washington University the second Missouri provider to stop transgender care for minors appeared first on Missouri Independent.