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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 […]

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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.

Mary Holmes says she subsisted on hardly any food for over a month as she struggled to recertify her eligibility for federal food assistance earlier this year. She spent hours on the phone trying to speak to someone at Missouri’s Department of Social Services (DSS) for her mandatory interview, as her prepaid phone minutes dwindled. […]

The post Missouri judge denies state’s request to dismiss federal SNAP lawsuit appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The political action committee backing independent Senate candidate John Wood is “in it to win it,” former Sen. Jack Danforth said a day after the PAC spent another $750,000 on TV ads to run before the Aug. 2 primary. Danforth contributed $5 million on June 6 to Missouri Stands United, and by June 24 ads […]

The post Danforth PAC backing independent Senate candidate in Missouri adds $750K to TV ad buy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

SALEM, Mo. — Everyone hoping to be the GOP nominee to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt has scrambled to win the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Vicky Hartzler wasn’t immune. But while six-term congresswoman from Harrisonville courted the former president, it was never as intense as some of her rivals. And while she […]

The post Vicky Hartzler battles headwinds of Trump anti-endorsement as Senate race reaches climax appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — More than a dozen members of Congress were arrested Tuesday alongside abortion rights activists after they sat down and blocked an intersection between the U.S. Capitol building and the Supreme Court to protest conservative justices’ decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The act of civil disobedience came as backers of abortion rights urge more […]

The post Cori Bush among members of Congress arrested after abortion rights protest in D.C. appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Trudy Busch Valentine was the only one against Medicare For All.  Spencer Toder wants to investigate the U.S. Supreme Court justices who said they would uphold abortion rights and then overtuned Roe v. Wade.  Lucas Kunce suggested far more incremental policies than most candidates to curb gun violence.  And nearly all of the nine candidates […]

The post Missouri Democrat Senate hopefuls discuss abolishing the filibuster, Medicare for all appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Claims made by campaigns for and against a constitutional amendment undoing Kansans’ right to an abortion look like descriptions of two different realities. The Value Them Both amendment, according to proponents, reverses the state’s “nearly unlimited ‘right’ to abortion.” The campaign’s website says “every reasonable regulation of abortion in Kansas may soon be struck down.” […]

The post Anti-abortion groups make dubious claims as Kansas amendment vote nears appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The biggest spender in the Missouri Senate race is a political action committee that won’t disclose its donors until Wednesday. Show Me Values PAC, which is running ads opposing former Gov. Eric Greitens, was formed June 2 and told the Federal Elections Commission it intends to file monthly reports. Every candidate and other outside groups […]

The post Anti-Greitens PAC tops spending as Missouri U.S. Senate race cost approaches $30M appeared first on Missouri Independent.

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — Lucas Kunce’s life story seems built for a populist Senate campaign in Missouri.  He grew up in a modest neighborhood in Jefferson City where a local grocer let his mother float checks when his family couldn’t afford the bill. He attended Yale University on grants, came back to Missouri for law school […]

The post Lucas Kunce is betting outspoken populist message can turn Missouri Senate seat blue appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Whether Missouri voters will get a chance to legalize recreational marijuana in November is still in question.  The latest incomplete tabulations from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office, obtained under a Sunshine Law request, show the Legal Missouri 2022 initiative is short of the necessary signatures in four of the six Congressional districts necessary to make the […]

The post Fate of Missouri marijuana initiative petition unclear as signature count continues appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News.  Through a wave of pandemic-related litigation, a trio of small but mighty conservative legal blocs has rolled back public health authority at the local, state, and federal levels, recasting America’s future battles against infectious diseases. Galvanized by what they’ve characterized as an overreach of COVID-related health […]

The post Conservative blocs unleash litigation to curb public health powers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Dave Schatz hopes his achievements speak for themselves. He sponsored the first gas tax increase since the early ‘90s that will infuse about $1.8 billion toward Missouri’s crumbling highways and roads and helped shepherd the passage of Missouri’s trigger law banning nearly all abortions. Even if Missourians may not know his name, they’ve likely felt […]

The post Dave Schatz expects results will trump rhetoric and push him to front of U.S. Senate pack appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Facts and accurate information matter. But disinformation has been and continues to be front and center, negatively impacting our political process. Somehow during the last several years in the public square, among our political leaders, some media outlets and social media platforms, often complete truth, facts and accurate information seem hard to find. The adage […]

The post They say information is power. Wrong. Accurate information is power appeared first on Missouri Independent.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III on Friday held open the prospect of Congress passing significant climate legislation yet this year, denying reports he’s tanked the effort by walking away from talks with leadership. The reports have brought a flood of criticism for Manchin from fellow members of Congress, who say the very survival of the […]

The post Climate change legislation still could pass Congress this year, Manchin insists appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former Gov. Eric Greitens will give testimony next week for the first time about allegations of spousal and child abuse made by his ex-wife in a child custody case. During a brief hearing Friday morning, Associate Circuit Judge Leslie Schneider ordered both Eric Greitens and his ex-wife, Sheena Greitens, to appear for depositions in a […]

The post Judge orders Eric Greitens to give testimony in child custody case over lawyer’s objections appeared first on Missouri Independent.