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With the passing of Amendment 3 in November, parents in Missouri now have a new conversation to navigate: Adult cannabis (marijuana) use. As someone who works in alcohol and drug education, I’ve seen firsthand the impacts of substance use disorder in our communities, particularly on young people. Talking about drugs and alcohol with your kids […]

The post Recreational cannabis is now legal in Missouri. Here’s how to talk to your kids about it appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Whew… what a year. If you closely follow ag doings, you know there’s plenty to talk about. If not, well let me get you caught up. First, three stories that fall just a wee bit short of the most impactful agricultural story of 2022. The question of what waters the Environmental Protection Agency can regulate […]

The post The most impactful agricultural story of 2022 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The fall of 2023 will be the 50th anniversary of the legislative birth of Missouri’s Sunshine Law that provides the public with sweeping rights to documents, voting records and meetings of state and local governments. The Sunshine Law’s foundation has a long history. The 1972 Watergate scandal of President Richard Nixon contributed to election of […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: The 50th anniversary of Missouri’s Sunshine Law appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Most Missourians have never heard of Alan Pratzel or the system he led for 15 years. To lawyers in Missouri, however, Pratzel was often considered the profession’s top cop.  But that’s not how he looked at his role of chief disciplinary counsel, a job focused on making sure the state’s lawyers abided by legal ethics […]

The post Alan Pratzel urged education and diversion as Missouri’s chief disciplinary counsel appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When he read the news back in September that Missouri had moved to shut down Agape Boarding School, Allen Knoll felt a sense of vindication.  ”For me personally,” he said, “but also for current victims.”  It was over a year and a half after Knoll had traveled to Missouri from Washington state to testify in […]

The post ‘Emotional roller coaster’: Delays in effort to shut down Agape dishearten former students appeared first on Missouri Independent.

There have been more bills prefiled for Missouri’s 2023 legislative session regarding transgender athletes than there are transgender athletes currently competing according to their identity in public schools. Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate have combined to file 10 bills seeking to restrict the ability of transgender minors to play in youth sports. […]

The post Missouri GOP renews push to limit transgender athlete participation in school sports appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the midst of holiday festivities with family and friends — and the anticipation of a new year — it is unlikely we are able to totally escape the sense of unease about our personal situations, or feelings that our nation and the world seem unmoored. While the holiday season offers a brief respite from […]

The post During the holiday season, make time to assess, adjust and commit appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Jan. 6 committee late Thursday published its findings in a nearly 850-page report that accused former President Donald Trump of inciting an insurrection and recommended Congress consider how to determine whether those found to be insurrectionists should be barred from holding office ever again. The report caps 18 months of work for […]

The post U.S. House Jan. 6 panel report finds Trump incited insurrection, demands accountability appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Of the 20 states that have failed to raise the minimum wage above the federal $7.25 an hour standard, 16 have more than 12% of their children living in poverty, according to a States Newsroom analysis of wage and poverty data. Anti-poverty advocates say that’s a sign that there’s an urgent need for lawmakers to […]

The post More children live in poverty in states that haven’t raised minimum wage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri will be required to provide year-long, continuous coverage for anyone under age 19 enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, as part of a $1.7 trillion spending package approved by Congress Friday.  In a move advocates have long pushed for as a way to avoid unnecessarily forcing children off the rolls, all […]

The post Federal spending bill ensures one year continuous coverage for Missouri kids in Medicaid, CHIP appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion funding package Thursday that carries emergency aid for natural disaster recovery and the Ukrainian war effort, pushing past disputes over immigration policy and barely meeting a Friday deadline when current funding runs out. The bill, supported by both Democrats and Republicans, now goes to the U.S. House, […]

The post Huge $1.7 trillion spending package passes in U.S. Senate, backed by both parties appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Federal environmental enforcement, as measured by Environmental Protection Agency civil cases closed against polluters, hit a two-decade low in 2022, per a report released last week by a national environmental group that blames budget cuts, staff shortages and the U.S. Senate’s failure to confirm key leaders. The Environmental Integrity Project said the 72 civil enforcement […]

The post Environmental enforcement has fallen off under Biden, report says appeared first on Missouri Independent.

St. Louis Judge David Mason was exasperated — again. “There’s so many documents here,” he said last week to Assistant Missouri Attorney General Miranda Loesch, pointing to the stack of evidence files in front of him.  “You will almost have to be saying that they’re all fake documents in order to get anywhere,” he said, […]

The post Missouri AG takes outsized role opposing prosecutors in wrongful conviction cases appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Less than two weeks after gunfire damaged two Duke Energy substations in Moore County, N.C., knocking out power to about 45,000 people, federal regulators ordered a review of security standards at electric transmission facilities and control centers. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently ordered the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) — which sets and enforces reliability […]

The post After electrical substation shooting, federal regulator orders review of security standards appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy evoked images of the “great American soldiers” of World War II as he appealed to Congress Wednesday night to continue U.S. assistance in defending Ukraine from deadly Russian shelling and targeting of civilian infrastructure. The historic and surprise visit to the United States by the wartime Ukrainian leader marked his […]

The post Zelenskyy pledges a fight for ‘common victory’ against Russian tyranny in visit to U.S. appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, testified to an Alaskan judge on Tuesday that efforts to postpone the certification of the 2020 presidential election were a “counter-revolution,” not an insurrection. “My perspective is that we’re preserving the Constitution, and it’s — I wouldn’t even call it insurrection, I would call it a counter-revolution against […]

The post Oath Keepers founder testifies his group was acting in ‘counter-revolution’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Agape Boarding School’s longtime director once again won a court order Wednesday keeping his name off Missouri’s central registry for child abuse and neglect.  Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe granted Bryan Clemensen’s request for a preliminary injunction against Missouri’s Department of Social Services on Wednesday morning, the second time Clemensen has won a […]

The post Judge grants injunction keeping longtime Agape director off Missouri child abuse registry appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A ban on federal employees using TikTok on their government-issued phones is on track to become law after Congress included the provision in the year-end government funding bill released early Tuesday. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s legislation barring the popular social media platform from federal devices was one of several bills attached to the spending measure, the last major action […]

The post TikTok ban for federal workers close to becoming law, following flurry of state bans appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Any last hopes of resurrecting the expanded child tax credit as part of Congress’ massive spending package were dashed early Tuesday when the 4,155-page bill was released without a mention of the tax benefit. The temporary expanded child tax credit, part of a COVID-19 relief deal in 2021, allowed more low-income families, including […]

The post Child tax credit expansion left out of congressional omnibus package appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Gov. Mike Parson has named Vivek Malek to serve as state treasurer, the first Indian American to hold a statewide office in Missouri.  Malek, 45, will replace Republican Scott Fitzpatrick, who was elected state auditor in November.  “We interviewed a lot of great candidates for state treasurer, all of which have promising and rewarding careers […]

The post Missouri governor taps political newcomer to serve as next state treasurer appeared first on Missouri Independent.