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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.

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Friday put forward their second nominee this week for speaker, though lawmakers departed Capitol Hill for the weekend without unifying enough to hold a floor vote and with a highly uncertain outcome when they return. Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan won the conference nomination in a closed meeting, defeating […]

The post Ohio’s Jordan the latest U.S. House GOP nominee for speaker after days of turmoil appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Four weeks into the United Auto Workers strike against the Detroit Three automakers, union President Shawn Fain announced in a livestream that the union would no longer wait until Fridays to expand its strike to new plants. “We’re entering a new phase of this fight, and it demands a new approach,” Fain said Friday. While […]

The post UAW ‘changes the rules’ as strike drags on, tells members to prepare for walkouts at any time appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State regulators gave final approval Thursday to the owners of the Grain Belt Express transmission line to drop off thousands of megawatts of clean power in Missouri.  The decision by the Missouri Public Service Commission was the final regulatory approval Chicago-based Invenergy needed to begin the first phase of the line, to be built in […]

The post Grain Belt Express transmission line wins final approval in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ decadeslong friendship with real estate tycoon Harlan Crow and Samuel Alito’s luxury travel with billionaire Paul Singer have raised questions about influence and ethics at the nation’s […]

The post We don’t talk about Leonard: The man behind the right’s Supreme Court supermajority appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As the death toll in Israel rises, the Biden administration will provide charter flights to help U.S. citizens leave the country and continued Thursday to pledge unconditional support for the Middle East ally in the aftermath of an attack by the militant group Hamas. The number of Americans killed in Hamas’ attack that began Saturday […]

The post With violence raging in Israel, U.S. citizens to be flown out on charters appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On Oct. 12, National Farmers’ Day, Americans honored the hardworking people who keep the world fed and clothed. But the farming labor force has a problem: It’s aging rapidly. The average American farmer is 57 and a half years old, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s up sharply from […]

The post America’s farmers are getting older, and young people aren’t rushing to join them appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise stepped into a closed-door meeting at the U.S. Capitol Thursday to negotiate with more than a dozen holdout Republicans in his quest to become the next speaker of the House, though dissent only seemed to grow following the three-hour session. On Thursday night, Scalise announced he was dropping […]

The post There’s still no speaker of the U.S. House. Could Patrick McHenry be the solution? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

An infusion of federal money has helped Louisiana plug nearly 500 abandoned oil and gas wells this year. That number doesn’t come close to the 4,500 abandoned wells that pock the state’s terrain, leaving the potential for groundwater contamination and the near-certainty of greenhouse gas emissions. But the money has allowed the state to nearly […]

The post Billions of dollars to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells will only make a dent appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When she tried to find help for her daughter’s depression, Michelle Romero was frantic, panicked and heartbroken. She searched and searched for mental health clinicians within her daughter’s insurance coverage network. But the Houston-area mom of three couldn’t find a psychiatrist nor a psychotherapist who accepted her daughter’s health insurance and was close enough to […]

The post Insurers often shortchange mental health care coverage, despite a federal law appeared first on Missouri Independent.

I am an invader. Actually, the son of “invaders.” But with presidential hopefuls Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis having taken aim at the 14th Amendment’s explicit creation of birthright citizenship, it’s clear that “invader” by association is enough to lump me in. I’m the U.S.-born son of Mexican immigrants. My parents emigrated separately, met in this country, married […]

The post Confessions of a birthright citizen appeared first on Missouri Independent.

U.S. officials are working to recover American hostages from the Middle East and provide aid to Israel as violence continues in the region following last weekend’s attack by Hamas, administration and congressional leaders said Wednesday. Speaking to Jewish community leaders at the White House late Wednesday afternoon, President Joe Biden said the administration was working […]

The post Biden administration working to recover U.S. hostages held by Hamas appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher ended months of speculation about his political future Wednesday, officially announcing his candidacy for lieutenant governor. Plocher, a Republican attorney from Des Peres, joins state Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, Franklin County Clerk Tim Baker and St. Louis County resident Paul Berry in the GOP primary. All four are vying to […]

The post Dean Plocher officially joins GOP primary for Missouri lieutenant governor appeared first on Missouri Independent.