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Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt wants to know what four Democratic executives in Missouri’s largest metro areas said in emails, texts and other communications about mask mandates to fight the spread of COVID-19. His office said Friday seeking the records is part of Schmitt’s determination to fight “tyrannical government overreach.” A spokesman for St. Louis […]

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Is it safe to say that most Americans are sick and tired of all the partisan fighting dominating the national political landscape, causing gridlock and preventing virtually any progress in the halls of Congress? No matter what side of the political spectrum you land, you must be feeling at least a sigh of relief, if […]

The post Celebrate the bipartisan infrastructure bill for more than new roads, bridges, jobs | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Denial, said Missouri’s greatest export to the world, Mark Twain, ain’t just a river in Egypt. It’s also a problem plaguing major factions of both of our political parties. A lie that a politician tells publicly can be dangerous, as we all witnessed on January 6. But lies that politicians tell themselves — wishcasting, if […]

The post The biggest lies Missouri politicos tell themselves (and others) | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

With $6.5 billion on the way from the federal infrastructure bill and a newly increased gas tax, Missouri is ready to take a big bite out of $4.5 billion in unfunded highway needs, Patrick McKenna, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, said this week. But that doesn’t mean the state is ready to tackle […]

The post Billions headed to Missouri transportation fund from gas tax hike, infrastructure bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As federal energy regulators prepare to decide the fate of a St. Louis natural gas pipeline, Spire Missouri is warning customers their gas service could fail this winter.  Business industry groups and the utility maintain it’s their responsibility to keep customers informed. But environmental groups and some local elected officials — who note federal regulators seem […]

The post Spire Missouri’s warning of natural gas outages a ‘manufactured crisis,’ critics say appeared first on Missouri Independent.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Mo. — It was already 1 p.m., and Sheri Noble’s Monday was just getting started. There were prescriptions to call into the pharmacy, times to coordinate for people to pick up donated supplies, and a schedule of about 30 patients she had to prepare for.  In many ways it was business as usual […]

The post After more than 17 years, a free health care clinic in southern Missouri shuts its doors appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Violence against Indigenous women in the U.S. is a crisis, but the extent of the problem remains unknown, according to a report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. “There’s no one single database that has all this information,” said Gretta Goodwin, the director of GAO’s Homeland Security and Justice team. “So the full scope […]

The post Violence against Indigenous women is a crisis in the U.S., report finds appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill isn’t just about roads and bridges — it also spends billions to address wildfire, drought, flooding and other effects from climate change, Interior Department officials said Wednesday. The $1.2 trillion measure, which is awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature after the House cleared it last week, includes pay raises for wildland […]

The post Climate funds in infrastructure bill aimed at drought, wildfires, floods appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Today, people across America will thank veterans and active-duty military personnel for their service. But many members of the public don’t have a clear understanding of what service means to people in the military. How do they honor their own? What kind of spaces and activities help them reflect and remember — beyond one day […]

The post Veterans Day: How crosses and mementos help these Marines remember fallen comrades appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A pair of political action committees connected to a Missouri lobbyist under FBI scrutiny have begun taking steps to account for nearly $170,000 in cash that went unreported on disclosures to the state ethics commission. The discrepancies with PACs connected to Steve Tilley, a former lawmaker and longtime adviser to Gov. Mike Parson, were first […]

The post PACs tied to controversial Missouri lobbyist scramble to account for missing cash appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As entry restrictions lifted on Monday on U.S. border crossings for some tourists from Mexico, the Biden administration is continuing to deny entry to asylum-seekers from Mexico and Central America under a Trump-era emergency public health rule. Lisandro, a migrant from southern Mexico using a pseudonym to protect his identity, tried to request entry to […]

The post American borders reopen to tourists, but remain closed for those seeking asylum appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Federal officials on Tuesday offered details about how money from the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill would be spent, emphasizing the pending law’s potential to add clean energy capacity. Department of Transportation officials highlighted the $1.2 trillion bill’s record funding for public transit like buses and subways, as well as for Amtrak. They […]

The post White House touts clean energy, transit, rail projects in sprawling infrastructure bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Workers accusing management of a St. Louis nursing home of unfair labor practices returned to work Tuesday morning after walking out last week.  Their union, SEIU Healthcare Missouri, released a statement following the end of the strike, which sought to secure higher wages and levels of staffing and stronger safety protocols for workers at Blue […]

The post St. Louis nursing home workers back on job following strike over wages, safety appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Back in June, with the prospect of my 8-year-old daughter returning to full-time, in-person schooling fast approaching, I took the opportunity to enroll her in the pediatric Pfizer vaccine trial.  While there was only a 50% chance of her receiving the vaccine vs. a placebo, I figured that 50% was better than nothing. As a […]

The post Kids can finally get vaccinated. This is how we know it’s safe | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News. No one knows exactly how many lead pipes deliver water to homes, schools and businesses throughout America — or even where they all are. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates at least 6 million lead service lines exist. Environmental groups say it’s probably many more. What is […]

The post ‘Drinking through a lead straw’: Infrastructure bill includes $15B to fix dangerous water pipes appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Returning to the world stage on climate change, former President Barack Obama on Monday told world leaders and young people gathered in Glasgow, Scotland, that time is running out to prevent life-threatening degradation of the planet’s climate, and he called on the world’s young people to demand better. “Collectively and individually, we are still falling […]

The post Obama at world climate conference: We are falling short appeared first on Missouri Independent.

CLAYTON, Mo. — A group of nursing home workers have been on strike for days to protest unfair labor practices and what they say are dangerous violations and deficiencies at three understaffed St. Louis-area facilities.  On Monday, Blue Circle Rehab and Nursing workers and union members protested outside their employer’s corporate office, calling on St. Louis […]

The post Workers on strike at St. Louis nursing home plagued by understaffing, deficiencies appeared first on Missouri Independent.

CVS Health and other massive corporations often use their pharmacy middleman subsidiaries to force people to get the most expensive class of drugs from the businesses’ own mail-order pharmacies. Some call the practice “patient steering.” CVS and companies such as UnitedHealth and ExpressScripts/Cigna say the arrangements save patients money. But some patients, oncologists and other […]

The post CVS sometimes forces people to use its pharmacies. Now the Supreme Court will weigh in appeared first on Missouri Independent.

It’s clear that lead exposure is a problem for Missouri’s children. An estimated 4.5% have elevated levels of lead in their blood, more than almost any other state in the country. What’s far more difficult is figuring out where children are getting exposed to lead, said Carlton Waterhouse, President Joe Biden’s pick for one of […]

The post New funds, strategy may boost ‘massive task’ of reducing lead exposure for Missouri kids appeared first on Missouri Independent.

They say outer space has a smell, and it stinks. Astronauts who have come back from space walks have described the smell as oily meat. Or gunpowder and gym socks and rum. Or welding fumes. The space walkers have a hard time describing exactly what the smell is like because, reportedly, it’s not like anything else […]

The post We’ve never been here before. We’ll be judged on what we do next | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.