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An Edgar Springs woman won a partial victory Tuesday in her long-running dispute with her city when a judge ruled local officials violated her constitutional rights and the state’s Sunshine Law. The small Phelps County city must pay Rebecca Varney a fine of $600 plus her legal costs for “knowing and purposeful” violations of the […]

The post ‘Not a new or novel policy’: Judge rules Missouri town cannot ban woman seeking records appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When she was 13, Dakota Hommes felt scared and alone. She was having a crisis, didn’t feel she could talk to her parents about it and worried about her future. “At 13, I wasn’t sure that I would make it,” she said. Then, at a library, she found the novels “Parrot Fish” by Ellen Wittlinger […]

The post Opposition growing to Missouri Secretary of State rules on library materials for children appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. Senate on an investigation panel on Tuesday grilled federal immigration officials about a bipartisan report that detailed how migrant women at an immigration detention center in Georgia underwent questionable gynecological procedures. The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Permanent Investigations released an 18-month bipartisan report that found migrant women who were detained at Irwin […]

The post Migrant women endured medical mistreatment at Georgia ICE facility, U.S. Senate report finds appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former President Donald Trump, whose lies about his reelection loss in 2020 precipitated an insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol, said Tuesday he will make another run for the White House in 2024. His announcement came only a week after a disappointing showing by Republicans — especially those who endorsed his false claims about 2020 […]

The post Trump announces a third bid for the presidency, even as GOP reels from midterm setback appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Missouri judge on Monday ruled staff in the attorney general’s office, while it was being run by now-U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, used private email accounts to “knowingly and purposefully” subvert the state’s open records law.  Cole County Judge Jon Beetem determined the attorney general’s office violated the Sunshine Law by taking steps to conceal […]

The post Missouri judge rules AG’s office under Josh Hawley ‘knowingly’ violated transparency laws appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Missouri judge Monday dismissed the City of St. Louis’ effort to block a 2021 law bolstering protections for police under investigation for misconduct.  The city sued in December asking Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem to toss out the “Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights,” a list of new requirements that includes giving officers […]

The post St. Louis challenge to police ‘bill of rights’ dismissed by Missouri judge appeared first on Missouri Independent.

MEMPHIS, Missouri – In March, Scotland County Hospital’s auditors delivered a stark warning. After five consecutive years of losses, only federal COVID-19 payments received over the previous year had kept the 25-bed hospital’s bank account solvent. In the fiscal years covered by the audit, accounting firm BKD reported, the hospital lost $7.9 million — $2.3 […]

The post Ten rural Missouri hospitals closed since 2012. Scotland County hopes to avoid that fate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When pro-Trump extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,  they probably weren’t thinking about the next election. But maybe they should have. Because the long shadow of former President Donald Trump, and the behavior of the rioters, may have helped contribute to a relatively good night for the Democrats. Historically, the party in […]

The post How the GOP’s expected red wave crashed on the rocks of the insurrection appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Monday issued a nationwide injunction indefinitely blocking the Biden administration’s student debt relief program in response to a challenge by six GOP-led states. The unanimous ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis came after the six states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina […]

The post Six GOP-led states win national injunction against Biden student debt relief plan appeared first on Missouri Independent.

MEMPHIS, Missouri – Joni Lloyd was in her pajamas when the call came. Lori Fulk, chair of the Scotland County Hospital District Board of Directors, was calling. She asked Lloyd, the vice-chair, to come to her house to talk. When Lloyd arrived the evening of Aug. 15, she found Fulk was not alone. An emergency […]

The post Firings, corruption accusations create turmoil at struggling north Missouri hospital appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When a country’s sovereignty or well-being is threatened, it mobilizes to protect itself even if means going to war. Defeating the threats, dangers and possible annihilation of the earth and life as we know it will require the same. This past week, more than 100 world leaders gathered for the Climate Summit to continue their […]

The post We must wage war on climate change to save the Earth appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada will win reelection, according to Associated Press projections late Saturday, ensuring Democrats will remain in the majority next year no matter what happens in a runoff election in Georgia next month. After days of vote counting, U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Cortez Masto were both […]

The post Democrats projected to retain U.S. Senate control after winning Nevada seat appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Congress returns to Capitol Hill and a lengthy to-do list next week, following a six-week midterm elections break that saw Democrats outperform expectations and Republicans barely inch toward the U.S. House majority. On the agenda are same-sex marriage legislation, a huge defense bill, changes in how presidential electoral votes are counted and more. […]

The post Congress heads back to D.C. for a hectic lame-duck session appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Late Thursday a federal judge in Texas struck down the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan, ruling that the program is unlawful, in a blow to 16 million student debt borrowers already approved for relief. The U.S. Department of Education now is no longer accepting applications for the program, according to the student […]

The post Biden student debt relief plan thrown out by Texas judge; new applications halted appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Investigate Midwest.  Amid growing concern about Chinese investment in U.S. agriculture, there has been a renewed push to limit and more closely monitor foreign ownership of farmland across the country. At least eight states considered implementing a new limit on foreign control of agricultural land, and one, Indiana, passed […]

The post Citing concerns about China, states mull limits on foreign ownership of farmland appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Young Black and Latino voters were critical in holding off the Republican “red wave” in several battleground states for U.S. Senate seats and in tight U.S. House races in the midterm elections, according to analyses by researchers and grassroot organizations. Young, diverse voters between the ages of 18 and 29 had the second-highest youth […]

The post Young Black and Latino voters seen as key in turning back midterm ‘red wave’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Republicans remained on pace to likely wrest control of the U.S. House, even as Democrats picked up a few more victories in close races late Wednesday and into the day Thursday. As of about 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, The Associated Press had called 209 races for Republicans. That put them ahead of Democrats’ 191, […]

The post GOP on track to control U.S. House, but dozens of races still undecided appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Republican state senators made history Thursday by selecting Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin as majority leader, making her the first woman from either party to hold the second most powerful job in the upper chamber. O’Laughlin, of Shelbina in northeast Missouri, defeated Sen. Mike Bernskoetter of Jefferson City in a vote held in a closed-door caucus. Current […]

The post Missouri Senate Republicans pick Rowden, O’Laughlin for leadership in 2023 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON —  The United States’ ceiling for female governors was shattered this week, with voters in 12 states electing women to the role, breaking the prior record of nine set for the first time back in 2004. While not all of the gubernatorial campaigns have been called as of Thursday afternoon, Arizona and Oregon voters had two […]

The post Record-setting number of women elected as governors in midterms appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Democrats exulted Wednesday in outperforming expectations in the midterm elections, even as vote-counting was still in progress and control of both chambers of Congress remained unknown. The U.S. Senate will go to the winner of two of the last three races where party control is still in doubt in […]

The post Which party controls Congress? It could be days or weeks before we know appeared first on Missouri Independent.