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Doctors would no longer be required to test young children living in high-risk areas for lead poisoning under a Missouri House bill heard in committee Tuesday. But supporters of the bill, including the Missouri chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, say the legislation would increase access to lead testing and education and streamline requirements […]

The post Missouri bill eliminates mandatory childhood lead testing in hopes of increasing access appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. District Court judge who could end more than two decades of legal access to medication abortion underwent extensive questioning about LGBTQ equality at his December 2017 confirmation hearing — and very little about his views on abortion. Matthew Joseph Kacsmaryk, appointed by former President Donald Trump earlier in 2017, spent much […]

The post How the judge who could ban the abortion pill won confirmation in the U.S. Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

An episode of GOP infighting in the Missouri Senate this week may be a squall that melts in the spring sunshine or the first flurry of a storm that once again immobilizes the chamber. On Tuesday, Sen. Mike Moon used a parliamentary maneuver to take control of the floor to vent frustration over the short […]

The post Dispute over transgender care bill brings factional fights to the surface in Missouri Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The majority conservative wing of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical Tuesday that the Biden administration had the authority to implement a federal student debt relief program that was estimated to potentially aid millions of borrowers. The conservative justices, who hold a 6-3 majority on the court, questioned whether the Department of Education […]

The post Biden student debt relief plan met with skepticism from Supreme Court conservatives appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The nominee for archivist of the United States made her second appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee Tuesday, after the panel blocked her last Congress following a high-profile probe into records at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Colleen Shogan, an executive for the nonprofit White House Historical Association […]

The post Josh Hawley grills President Biden nominee over her social media posts appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri must issue a medical marijuana cultivation license to an applicant who was not informed that a key piece of paperwork was missing from its submission, the Eastern District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. Mo Cann Do Inc., which sought a license for a growing facility in Cuba, is one of the rare instances where […]

The post Missouri appeals court orders state to issue medical marijuana growing license appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Rhonda’s bedroom was small.  She did not have much stuff but I knew we had to triage: dispose of, give to Goodwill, or keep. Dad opened the three white garbage bags so it was easy to sort. Suddenly I heard this guttural noise behind my back and turned to see Dad staring into the large […]

The post Losing my sister in a mass shooting appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A pair of veteran prosecuting attorneys panned legislation targeting the authority of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner Monday, with one calling the bill “unnecessary and counterproductive.”  Instead, Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said, lawmakers should let the courts deal with the question of Gardner’s competence now that a lawsuit intended to remove her […]

The post Missouri prosecutors decry bill to supplant Kim Gardner as St. Louis circuit attorney appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Missouri House committee on Monday debated a pair of bills seeking to fix issues with a donor privacy law that critics argue have undermined key activities of certain government agencies.  The bills — sponsored by Republican state Reps. Sean Pouche of Kansas City and Ben Baker of Neosho — seek to address concerns raised […]

The post Missouri lawmakers seek to remedy concerns with donor privacy law appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Forty million people in the U.S. are having difficulty affording household expenses, and a little more than 25 million people say they sometimes or often do not have enough to eat, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Household Pulse survey data. The survey is designed to collect data on household experiences during the pandemic as […]

The post Families are taking a hit as pandemic aid ends, inflation continues appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Nearly five years after voters amended the state Constitution to require the legislature to abide by transparency laws, the Missouri Senate is advancing a bill allowing lawmakers to withhold a wide swath of records from the public.  Any record of a state lawmaker or their staff pertaining to “legislation or the legislative process” would be […]

The post Bill carving some legislative records out of Missouri Sunshine Law advances in Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State Rep. Lane Roberts is not someone most would deem a “RINO,” or Republican In Name Only. The three-term Joplin Republican served as the director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety and as Joplin’s police chief, having previously led police forces in cities throughout Washington and Oregon, where he served as president of the […]

The post Debate over minors carrying guns has implications beyond the Missouri House appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration announced an additional $2 billion in weapons and a host of new sanctions targeting Russia’s key industries and government officials. The Friday announcement came on the heels of President Joe Biden’s historic and surprise visit to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, where […]

The post White House unveils $2B in weapons for Ukraine on one-year anniversary of Russian invasion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — As the Biden administration prepares to defend its student debt cancellation program before the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 28, data shows that Black borrowers have the most to lose should a majority conservative court strike down the policy. Black borrowers hold a disproportionate share of student loan debt, and many likely were […]

The post Black student loan borrowers at risk as U.S. Supreme Court weighs forgiveness plan appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Two years after Winter Storm Uri, which caused a massive power failure in Texas that caused more than 200 deaths, and just two months after another storm, Elliott, forced blackouts in parts of the South, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved new extreme cold reliability standards for power plants. However, the vote last week on […]

The post After a series of winter storms, regulators approve new standards for power plants appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urged the private sector and government officials to address inequity and promote innovation in what he called a “pivotal moment” in the nation’s history at an industry conference Thursday. In the opening session of the 99th USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum, Vilsack said new income streams and markets will be […]

The post Market innovation a path to economic equity in farming, USDA chief tells ag conference appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Action in the Missouri Senate briefly ground to a halt Thursday morning, after a Republican lawmaker used procedural maneuvers to gum up the legislative process in retaliation for one of his bills dying in committee. Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, staged a filibuster for most of Thursday morning after a Senate committee voted down his bill […]

The post Missouri Senate dysfunction reappears after committee votes down gambling bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Embattled St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner let a noon deadline for her resignation pass without action, triggering an effort by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to remove her from office through the courts. At a news conference Thursday with Gov. Mike Parson, Bailey said he would file a quo warranto petition – an action […]

The post Missouri AG moves forward with effort to remove St. Louis prosecutor from office appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A push to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage in Missouri could face hurdles to federal approval after an abortion-related provision was added by Senate conservatives. The bill, which would extend postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to one year, seeks to lower Missouri’s maternal mortality rate. The state had the 12th highest maternal mortality in the […]

The post Federal approval of Missouri postpartum extension could be at risk over abortion amendment appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Anti-abortion senators proposed several ways on Wednesday to limit state funding for reproductive health care and enshrine anti-abortion language in the state constitution. SJR 8 proposes a constitutional amendment, which would require a statewide vote, that would prevent the Missouri government from funding abortion providers or their affiliates. SB 160 proposes a similar concept, though in statute, not […]

The post Missouri Republicans propose constitutional amendment to strengthen abortion ban appeared first on Missouri Independent.