The U.S. Department of Agriculture will transfer a large office building to the General Services Administration in a step toward shrinking the department’s footprint in and around Washington, D.C., Secretary Brooke Rollins said Wednesday. More than 70% of offices at the USDA’s South Building, in Washington, sit empty on any given day, while deferred maintenance costs […]
State officials across the country are looking to crack down on fraud and mistakes in the nation’s largest food assistance program, spurred by looming federal rules that will force states with high error rates to pay more. But the Republican proposals mostly focus on more frequently verifying the eligibility of individual households that participate in […]
The Missouri Senate is one of only two legislative chambers in the country that does not provide a video livestream of its proceedings. A Senate committee debated a resolution Wednesday that would change that, though its prospects remain uncertain. State Sen. Mike Moon, an Ash Grove Republican, is sponsoring a rule change that would require […]
Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence former Missouri House Speaker John Diehl to two years in prison in his federal COVID relief fraud case, arguing his admitted misuse of nearly $380,000 in pandemic aid “should merit a significant punishment.” In a sentencing memorandum filed Monday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, Assistant […]
While a judge is rewriting the ballot summary for a proposal to put new barriers in front of Missouri initiative campaigns, opponents are focusing on a new line of attack — the measure cuts financial penalties for accepting foreign contributions or committing petition fraud. Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green on Thursday ruled that he […]
A bill that would prohibit state funds from going towards “low-earning” university degrees was discussed in the Missouri Senate Education Committee on Tuesday. The legislation would cut state funds for student financial aid and operational costs for students in programs where graduates do not earn more in their field than someone with only a high […]
The dining room table is the civic and moral hearth of our house on Constitution Street. Upon it rest a stack of utility and other bills to be sorted and paid (with cursing as necessary), issues of various magazines including “The New Yorker” and “Fortean Times,” a dog-eared paperback of a Tom Wolfe anthology, and […]
U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver was the first candidate to file for office Tuesday in Missouri, showing the 11-term Democratic incumbent will run for re-election despite uncertainty about the boundaries of the district he represents. Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, became a target when Missouri Republicans, acting at the urging of President Donald Trump, redrew the […]
As the Trump administration continues to focus on the legal immigration statuses of many across the country, a revived proposal by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could impact many families’ ability to receive rental assistance. The proposed rule would prohibit “mixed-status” families — those including U.S. citizens and people without legal immigration […]
When state Sen. Adam Schnelting and his wife ran the numbers on how much money their investments could generate for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, he began to think about how Missouri’s government could utilize investing, too. “We began to realize how powerful compound interest was,” Schnelting said. “So I got to thinking, ‘Why are we […]
After years of states pushing legislation to accelerate the development of data centers and the electric grid to support them, some legislators want to limit or repeal state and local incentives that paved their way. President Donald Trump also has changed his tone. Last year he issued an executive order and other federal initiatives meant […]
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats will spend billions of dollars and countless hours campaigning throughout the country ahead of November’s midterm elections, even though control of Congress likely will be decided by a relatively small number of toss-up races and the voters who actually turn out to cast a ballot for their preferred candidate. There […]
Each Kansas Citian has their own way of answering the tourist’s question: “Is Kansas City in Missouri or Kansas?” Some people curtly respond “Missouri,” knowing that Kansas City, Missouri, is larger in almost every way than Kansas City, Kansas. People with a bit more equanimity will explain that both states have cities with that name, […]
A bill that would make Missouri hunting and fishing permits free for military personnel and disabled veterans faced bipartisan criticism Monday. The legislation would require the conservation commission to remove costs for some service members’ hunting and fishing tags. The free permits would be given to 100% disabled veterans that are Missouri residents and any […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration took more steps Monday to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, announcing two additional interagency agreements with other departments that will transfer more of its responsibilities to those agencies. Under the agreements, the agency will partner with the State Department on foreign gift and contract reporting and with the […]
The Missouri House voted Monday to spend state general revenue to serve people enrolled under the Medicaid expansion program for the first time since it was passed by voters in 2020. The $76.7 million item is part of a $3.15 billion supplemental spending bill that would push total appropriations for the year ending June 30 […]
Missouri Senators raised privacy concerns Monday during a hearing on a bill that would put personal information about every registered voter on a state website. Under the legislation proposed by state Sen. Jill Carter, a Republican from Granby, the secretary of state’s office would be required to publish the full list of approximately 4.5 million […]
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear a significant climate lawsuit in which oil companies are seeking to avoid being tried in state court. The fate of several dozen climate lawsuits brought against oil companies by state and local governments could hinge on the decision, which could determine whether the cases can be […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a proclamation Monday to honor families whose loved ones were killed by noncitizens, but spent most of the event complaining about his approval ratings and amplifying the falsehood that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. While signed Monday, the proclamation designated the day earlier as one to honor […]
When Josh Hammann started having severe breathing problems in the spring of 2023, emergency room doctors were convinced he was having panic attacks. They gave him medication to treat anxiety, but his wife, Megan, said that only made him sicker. “Of course, that medication had alpha-gal in it,” she told The Independent. Hammann, of Cole […]
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