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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.

To backers of initiatives intended to enshrine abortion rights in Missouri’s constitution, the proposed ballot titles written by Secretary of State Jay Aschroft are poison intended to lead to certain defeat at the polls. But an attorney for Ashcroft, arguing Monday to keep the ballot title intact, said the ballot language that begins by saying […]

The post Cole County judge hears case challenging ballot title for Missouri abortion initiatives appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When someone with a medical emergency calls 911, they expect an ambulance to show up. But sometimes, there simply isn’t one available. Most states don’t declare emergency medical services (EMS) to be an “essential service,” meaning the state government isn’t required to provide or fund them. Now, though, a growing number of states are taking […]

The post You might need an ambulance, but your state might not see it as ‘essential’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Social isolation during the pandemic put Missouri’s Black moms in greater danger that their partner would kill them. A report from the state’s maternal mortality review board found that from 2018 to 2020, homicide was the third-leading cause of death for Missouri moms. Black women made up 75% of those deaths. Among those homicides, guns […]

The post The pandemic put Missouri mothers at greater violence risk — especially if they were Black appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Richard Batenburg Jr. feels deceived and cheated.  His cannabis brand, Colorado-based The Clear, has been partnering with a licensed Missouri manufacturer to produce pre-rolled joints. Some were infused with a THC concentrate, or distillate, purchased from a Robertsville-based company called Delta Extraction. When the state issued a recall last month of all products made with […]

The post Missouri company at center of cannabis recall used hemp instead of marijuana in products appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Marijuana dispensaries and warehouses across Missouri are holding on to more than 62,000 products in special vaults.  The state suspects that they were infused with a questionable THC concentrate, or distillate, purchased from a Robertsville-based licensed marijuana manufacturer called Delta Extraction.  Delta Extraction is fighting to get the Aug. 14 recall overturned — and one […]

The post Did recalled Missouri cannabis products pose health risks? Regulators aren’t sure  appeared first on Missouri Independent.

It can take hours for a sexual assault victim to undergo the multiple swabs, hair samples, blood and urine collections, and other invasive procedures of a sexual assault examination. And then it can take months, sometimes years, for investigators to process that evidence kit. But now, responding to demands from survivors and their advocates, more […]

The post Sexual assault survivors can now track their rape kits in most states appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri inmates will no longer be able to receive books from friends or family under a new policy adopted by the state Department of Corrections. These new restrictions arose after a decision last year to ban all physical mail from entering DOC facilities. The DOC cites contraband and illicit substances arriving through these channels as […]

The post Missouri prison officials restrict inmate access to books from friends or family appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Two counties in Missouri’s Bootheel suffer from cancer mortality rates drastically higher than the state or national average.  On the border between them lies a manufacturing facility in Portageville that for more than 50 years has pumped out parts for cars — and according to some residents, also released carcinogenic metals and chemicals into the […]

The post Missouri manufacturer faces accusations it polluted drinking water in the Bootheel appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s Supreme Court will once again determine whether the state has the authority to restrict public funds from going to Planned Parenthood, after the attorney general formally filed its appeal last week of a December ruling that deemed the effort unconstitutional. After the state legislature voted to block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements last […]

The post State push to defund Missouri Planned Parenthood clinics continues in appeal appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When being discharged from the hospital after a severe illness or injury, most seniors prefer to return home and receive home healthcare. However, Medicare’s ongoing cuts to the home health program threaten access to care for millions of older Americans and patients with disabilities in need of post-acute care who want to go home when leaving […]

The post Medicare cuts to home health impede patient care for Missouri seniors appeared first on Missouri Independent.