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Home-based child care providers are permitted to exempt up to two children related to them from being counted toward their maximum capacity under a new law that went into effect this month. That means providers like Debbie George, who has operated a daycare in Hallsville for nearly 36 years, won’t have to leave two slots […]

The post Licensed home daycares can exempt related kids from max capacity under new Missouri law appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When state Sen. Rick Brattin sent three large postcards to his constituents, his taxpayer-funded staff made sure they went to people most likely to vote in the Aug. 2 primary. Missouri Senate records obtained through a Sunshine Law request by Vernon County Republican Party Chairwoman Cyndia Haggard and provided to The Independent detail the development […]

The post Rick Brattin official postcards targeted Missouri voters likely to cast primary ballots appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When she arrived Monday night to hear former Gov. Eric Greitens campaign for U.S. Senate in downtown Kansas City, Christine Thompson was on the fence.  It wasn’t the accusations of child abuse — made in a sworn affidavit by his ex-wife — that gave her pause about Greitens. Nor was it the accusations of sexual assault that […]

The post Abuse allegations hanging over Senate race get little mention at Greitens event in KC appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Faced with court rulings that say a Trump administration directive doesn’t protect Tyson Foods from liability caused by workers’ deaths due to COVID-19, the food giant is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter. Arguing that recent court rulings against the company will have “drastic consequences for the next national […]

The post Tyson asks U.S. Supreme Court to shield it from COVID-19 lawsuits in state courts appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Five years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Yet I’m the lucky one. I could afford to get treatment. Too many people in America don’t have the health care they need, even today. The 2021 American Rescue Plan included subsidies to make health insurance more affordable than ever, resulting in a record-breaking […]

The post Lives hang in the balance as time runs out for action on health insurance appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. Studies show that students of color  and students with disabilities are suspended and referred to police more often than their peers in schools across Missouri. This disproportionate rate of discipline can disrupt their education and push these students into the criminal justice system. A new Missouri grant […]

The post A Missouri council is looking to combat school-to-prison pipeline for students with disabilities appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A vintage military-style trunk she bought at an eastern Michigan flea market when she was a teenager became a staple of Jennifer Poupard’s life. Poupard, now 37, originally bought it to store her CDs. Over the years the trunk — styled with leather handles and metal buckles — served as a container for shoes, a […]

The post Items with lead are easy to find at antique shops, discount stores. They’re also toxic  appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The U.S. Senate primary in Missouri will likely be over before there is a resolution in the child custody case that has dominated headlines with allegations of child and spousal abuse against former Gov. Eric Greitens. At the end of seven hours in a closed-door deposition hearing Wednesday, Associate Circuit Judge Leslie Schneider ordered the […]

The post Resolution of Eric Greitens court case over allegations of abuse unlikely before Missouri primary appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The first two weeks of July saw an avalanche of spending in the Missouri Senate race, with new political action committees joining the fray and the two top-spending Democrats expanding the markets they are mining for votes. Pre-primary reports to the Federal Election Commission, covering the period from July 1 to July 13, were due […]

The post Pace of Missouri Senate spending accelerates as total approaches $43 million appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Republicans, hoping to flip control of Congress in the November elections, appear to have decided against campaigning on a unified abortion platform that would specify exactly what conservatives plan to do if given control of the U.S. House and Senate. Yet Republicans in Congress have written dozens of proposals that, if passed, would […]

The post Republicans in Congress shy away from campaigning on national abortion platform appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Sheets of rain wrapped around the playground shelter in North St. Louis’ Fairground Park on July 9, where canvassers for Congresswoman Cori Bush’s re-election campaign huddled together.  The event’s organizer, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, took advantage of the captive audience. “Even in the rain, we have the faithful few who are out here because […]

The post Cori Bush, Steve Roberts primary in 1st District more than simply moderate vs. liberal appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the sixth chapter of Isaiah God poses a compound question, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”  Isaiah answers, “Here am I, send me.”  Isaiah’s willingness to accept the assignment speaks to who he is. We generally think of elections as about candidates, but actually elections are about communities. Really, they […]

The post 1st District Democratic primary will be an expression of what the St. Louis community values appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Donald Trump ignored White House staff, family members and outside advisers who urged the president to call off the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to testimony before the U.S. House panel investigating the insurrection at its eighth and final hearing of the summer Thursday night. Instead, Trump sat in the […]

The post Trump ‘chose not to act’ as U.S. Capitol underwent attack, Jan. 6 panel says appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Hours after St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones signed a bill Thursday that would direct $1 million in federal relief funds to support access to abortions, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed suit to block the new law. Schmitt’s lawsuit and motion for preliminary injunction argue that Board Bill 61 violates state laws that prohibit public […]

The post Missouri AG sues to block St. Louis from using public money to ensure abortion access appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson issued drought alerts in nearly half of Missouri counties Thursday, where exceptional heat and lack of rain threaten the state’s farmers and ranchers.  “Unfortunately, we don’t anticipate conditions improving soon,” Parson said in a news conference.  Fifty-three counties along or south of the Missouri River are affected by the alert. About […]

The post Gov. Mike Parson issues drought alert for almost half of Missouri counties appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Judiciary Committee late Wednesday passed  legislation that would ban certain semi-automatic weapons, in a renewed push to ban the guns most commonly used in recent mass shootings. The party-line 25-18 vote followed recent mass shootings in which AR-15 style rifles were used — in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and […]

The post U.S. House panel advances assault weapons ban on party-line vote appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted mostly along party lines Thursday to send the Senate legislation that would guarantee people the right to use contraception without government interference. The legislation from North Carolina Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning, approved 228-195, is part of the Democrats’ response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned the constitutional right to an […]

The post U.S. House passes bill guaranteeing contraception access, with eight GOP votes appeared first on Missouri Independent.

At first, Robert Bucklin was optimistic. A former student of Agape Boarding School in Stockton, Bucklin is among numerous students who have accused the Christian boarding school and its staff of physical and sexual abuse. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt launched an investigation into the school and ultimately recommended 65 criminal counts against 22 staff. […]

The post Candidates’ ties to Missouri reform schools facing abuse allegations draw fresh scrutiny appeared first on Missouri Independent.

No one seems to be having more fun running for U.S. Senate in Missouri than Billy Long. The six-term Congressman’s Twitter feed is a parade of shots at his GOP rivals, jabbing Eric Schmitt (who Long refers to as “Chicken Schmitt”), Vicky Hartzler (“Mini Liz Cheney”) and Eric Greitens (“Snidely Whiplash”) for what he feels […]

The post Billy Long’s chances in Missouri GOP Senate primary depend on Donald Trump appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens was in a closed courtroom with his ex-wife Sheena Greitens for more than seven hours Wednesday in their child custody case, and both declined to talk about what was said when pressed by reporters afterwards. It was the first time Eric Greitens made statements under oath about the child and […]

The post Eric Greitens gives closed deposition in child custody case appeared first on Missouri Independent.