MoInd 📰

In contrast to highly partisan debates over many other issues, state lawmakers of all political stripes are joining forces to pass legislation to increase the supply of housing. The policies attracting support range from requiring cities to allow manufactured homes in areas with single-family homes to easing regulations for accessory dwelling units to allowing housing […]

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump agreed Tuesday evening to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, at least delaying his threat of a catastrophic attack on the country’s civilian population as he said the countries were near a long-term peace agreement. The ceasefire was negotiated with Pakistani leaders as intermediaries, Trump said in a post to his social […]

University of Missouri administrators’ decision to end direct university funding for student organizations representing minority groups drew fierce backlash Monday night, with group leaders warning the change could devastate programs that help students find community and support on campus. “What the university wants from us is to fizzle out,” Asher McFerran, vice president of LGBTQ+ […]

For more than 20 years, Republicans have won every Missouri House race in St. Charles County. It is one of two counties in Missouri with more than 150,000 people — the other is Jefferson — with no Democrats in the local legislative delegation. And it is one of the places Democrats need to win to […]

This week, as wait times at American airports stretched beyond four hours in some cases, I got a text message from a fellow Kansan who was worried about flying this week. OK. It was my mom. She clipped and texted a bit of a New York Times article that explained why wait times were so […]

The promise and peril of artificial intelligence have been a recurring theme for Missouri lawmakers this year, as they debate safeguards on campaign advertisements, companion chatbots and mental health therapy that use the technology. But efforts to enact regulations in Missouri stalled last week in the state Senate amid fears the legislation could jeopardize nearly […]

CINCINNATI — For four years, Kimberly Dudley has worked on the front line of the Affordable Care Act as a navigator, helping Ohioans solve the puzzle of buying private insurance on the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace. But the job is harder now, the answers scarcer. In one of its first acts, the second Trump administration cut […]

As the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week about the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, Justice Sonia Sotomayor seemed skeptical. The order as written applies only to babies born in the future, and the Trump administration has asked the court to exclude current citizens from any decision. Still, […]

MIAMI — Midwife Sheila Simms Watson leaned to gently press on the pregnant woman’s belly. Me’Asia Taylor lay on a bed fitted with tie-dyed purple printed sheets in the corner of the RV. Far from a typical camper, this RV houses a mobile midwifery clinic for prenatal, postpartum and women’s general health care. “Roll when […]

Shelby Twigger hates to miss work. After attending a retirement event with her dad, Doug, in summer 2024, she insisted on going back for the final hour and a half of her shift at Christian County Enterprises in Nixa, where about 60 Missourians with disabilities take on contract work for businesses across the state. Shelby, […]

Rural hospitals are closing across Missouri at a pace that should concentrate every lawmaker’s attention. According to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, 50% of Missouri’s 58 remaining rural hospitals are at risk of closure. Another 21% are considered at immediate risk of closure.  For many communities, these are the emergency room, the […]

The Missouri Senate unanimously passed a bill last week aimed at curbing meritless lawsuits filed to chill speech through the threat of a long and expensive legal fight. The bill, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Mike Henderson of Desloge, would broaden Missouri’s limited protections against so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs, and create […]

The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is getting involved in Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s lawsuit against a nonprofit governing body for high school sports and activities, accusing the organization of sex and race discrimination for denying a board position to a white man. U.S. attorneys cite key civil rights cases, like Loving v. […]

WASHINGTON — A U.S. fighter jet went down over Iran Friday and one crew member has been rescued, according to several media reports. Iranian state media reported the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was responsible.   The attack marks the first time Iran has shot down U.S. military aircraft since the war’s start. Reuters and the New York Times […]

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration released its fiscal 2027 budget request Friday, asking Congress to increase spending on defense programs by 43% and decrease funding for non-defense accounts by 10%.  The proposal kicks off what will be a monthslong process on Capitol Hill as lawmakers write the dozen annual government funding bills ahead of the […]

Before Wyoming elections, the state’s League of Women Voters tries to get voter registration information into the hands of residents at events and gatherings. But under state law, League volunteers can’t sign up voters themselves — only local election officials can do that. “It’s been tough,” said Linda Barton, president of the League of Women […]

The Missouri House gave bipartisan approval Thursday to legislation that would help Medicaid recipients get healthy, locally grown food if they have been diagnosed with chronic diet-related illnesses. One bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Holly Jones of Eureka, passed 121 to 18. Most of its provisions are also included in a wide-ranging bill sponsored […]

A wide-ranging health care bill that includes a provision expanding doula services for low-income families across the state passed out of the Missouri House on Thursday. The legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Tara Peters, a Rolla Republican, would expand coverage of doula support for women enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program from six to 16 […]

The Missouri House on Thursday voted to advance a package of tax credits designed to boost access to affordable child care and stabilize the industry. The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Brenda Shields of St. Joseph, passed with 50 Republicans and all Democrats in support.   It’s the fourth year the chamber has sent the […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats this week blasted the Trump administration’s attempts to shift management of federal student loans from the Education Department to the Treasury Department, saying it would contribute to dysfunction in the student loan system. In a Wednesday letter, the ranking members of five Senate panels — the committees covering banking, finance, education, federal […]