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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate took an important step Tuesday toward passing the nation’s annual defense policy bill, but the legislation did not include provisions aimed at compensating victims of radioactive contamination in St. Louis and around the country. The reliably bipartisan legislation is expected to hit the same hard-right opposition in the U.S. House […]

The post Federal defense bill advances without compensation for St. Louis victims of nuclear waste appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The board overseeing Missouri’s largest state employee pension fund voted Tuesday to  sell most of its investments in Chinese-owned companies, reversing a decision it made last month. The divestment by the Missouri State Employees Retirement Fund will take place over the next 12 months, with an allowance to stretch that to 36 months to avoid […]

The post State board votes to divest Missouri pension fund from China appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struggled Tuesday to convince members of Congress to approve billions in additional aid to his country at a crucial moment in the nearly two-year war with Russia. But the outlook was grim as lawmakers remained deadlocked on another piece of a supplemental spending bill under debate in the Senate […]

The post Zelenskyy pitches Congress on Ukraine military aid, but it’s tied to stalled border talks appeared first on Missouri Independent.

There are 285 people in Missouri jails waiting to be moved to state psychiatric hospitals for treatment, the Department of Mental Health told lawmakers Monday. There were 229 people waiting for treatment in March, 253 in September, 260 in October and 272 in November. These individuals were arrested, deemed unfit to stand trial and ordered […]

The post 285 Missourians waiting in jails to be moved to hospitals for mental health services appeared first on Missouri Independent.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. — After an Orange County resident flushes her toilet, the water flows through the Southern California community’s sewer system, meanders its way to the sanitation plant, has its solids removed, is piped to a wastewater recycling facility next door and undergoes three different purification processes until it is clean enough to drink. […]

The post From flush to faucet: More places look to turn sewage into tap water appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The overturning of Roe vs Wade last year has created massive fallout, with abortion-rights advocates scrambling to react. Voters in states like Kansas, Michigan and most recently Ohio have resoundingly supported ballot initiatives to protect abortion rights in their constitutions. Similar initiatives are being pursued in Florida, Arizona and my home state of Missouri. However […]

The post Any abortion initiative on Missouri ballot must end political interference in medical care appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Several states this year have reported lower rates of recidivism, showing that fewer convicted criminals are being re-arrested after leaving prison. But those statistics hardly tell the full story. Recidivism rates across the country can vary greatly because of how they’re defined, how the data is collected and how it’s presented to the public. So […]

The post How many inmates return to prison? Inconsistent reporting makes it hard to tell appeared first on Missouri Independent.

While he was in the Missouri Senate, Bob Onder earned a reputation as one of the most vocal members of the self-styled conservative caucus, upending the chamber by filibustering a litany of bills, including congressional redistricting, needle exchanges for addicts and Medicaid financing. As he left the Senate in 2022 due to term limits, Onder, […]

The post Former state Sen. Bob Onder officially joins race for Missouri lieutenant governor appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The proposed takeover of Liberty Hospital in Missouri by the University of Kansas Health System is being greeted with scorn by lawmakers from both sides of the state line and both political parties. Leading the charge against the takeover in Missouri is Kansas City Democratic state Sen. Greg Razer, who said the idea of KU […]

The post University of Kansas deal with Missouri hospital feels ‘terribly wrong’ to lawmakers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade believes abortion can win on the ballot in Missouri. And Planned Parenthood, which announced its endorsement of the Springfield Democrat’s campaign for governor on Monday, believes Quade can win, too. Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes is endorsing Quade, who announced a campaign for governor in July. In a state where […]

The post Planned Parenthood backs Crystal Quade with abortion a focus of Missouri governor race appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As the year draws to a close and a new legislative session dawns, what presents do you hope Santa will leave under the Christmas tree at the Missouri Capitol? Each of us can help Santa out as he is making his list and checking it twice. What do you hope legislators will find when they […]

The post What Christmas presents does the Missouri legislature need this season? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

With little discussion and just a short period after receiving a list of staff recommendations, the Missouri Housing Development Commission on Friday approved 24 low-income housing projects financed by roughly $380 million in state and federal tax credits. As expected, experienced developers who also make large political donations to statewide officers who serve on the […]

The post Commission awards $380 million in tax credits for Missouri low-income housing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Posing as shoppers, a team of researchers from the University of Mississippi called nearly 600 pharmacies across the state and asked a simple, yes-or-no question: “Do you have naloxone that I can pick up today?” Mississippi enacted a law authorizing pharmacists to sell the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone — often sold under the brand […]

The post States strive to get opioid overdose drug to more people appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former members of Congress are deeply concerned about political violence ahead of the 2024 presidential election, former Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama and former Rep. Barbara Comstock of Virginia said at a Thursday joint appearance sponsored by the liberal Center for American Progress and the nonpartisan McCain Institute. Jones, a moderate Democrat who lost reelection […]

The post Growing threat of political violence looms over 2024, former members of Congress warn appeared first on Missouri Independent.

School leaders are feeling the toll of the teacher shortage, and it’s evident with every school site visit and conversation with a teacher that students are feeling that stress, too. Compared to the previous five years, Missouri teacher retention was at its lowest in the 2021-22 school year. with the greatest rates of teachers leaving […]

The post Retaining teachers is the best gift we can give Missouri kids this year appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress left the Capitol on Thursday without a deal on sought-after changes to immigration policy that’s tied to aid for Ukraine and Israel — leaving them just one week to resolve the dispute before lawmakers depart for a three-week holiday break. Negotiations among a small group of senators are expected to […]

The post With time growing short, U.S. Senate talks extend on immigration overhaul appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In December 2017, following years of complaints about high costs and political influence in Missouri’s low-income housing tax credit program, then-Gov. Eric Greitens engineered a vote that shut it down. It took Greitens’ resignation due to an unrelated scandal and nearly three years for the state tax credit program to be restarted. It now has […]

The post Campaign cash continues to flow from Missouri low-income housing tax credit industry appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey alleged in a counterclaim filed Thursday that the federal government may be involved in Washington University’s refusal to give his office access to patient records.  Bailey’s request for records is part of an investigation into the university’s Transgender Center. The counterclaim points to a perceived change in the university’s requests […]

The post Missouri AG alleges federal involvement in Washington University investigation appeared first on Missouri Independent.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said Thursday he would do everything he could to stop a federal defense spending bill after a provision offering compensation to Americans exposed to decades-old radioactive waste was removed.  Speaking on the floor of the Senate, the Missouri Republican called the decision to remove compensation for Americans who have suffered rare […]

The post Compensation for St. Louis victims of nuclear waste stripped from federal defense bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday that would make it easier for tribal nations to access and invest federal funding on their own terms. “It’s hard work to heal the wrongs of the past and change the course and move forward,” Biden said. “But the actions we are taking today are key steps […]

The post Biden meets with leaders of tribal nations, signs order easing access to federal funds appeared first on Missouri Independent.