MoInd 📰

The unprecedented steps Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft took to verify signatures to place a marijuana legalization initiative petition on the ballot were outside the scope of his authority, attorneys for an anti-drug activist argued Thursday. Cole County Judge Cotton Walker faces a Sept. 13 deadline to decide whether an initiative petition to legalize […]

The post Hearing on Missouri marijuana initiative scrutinizes unprecedented signature process appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Cedar County judge Wednesday ordered Agape Boarding School to be shut down after years of allegations of sexual and physical abuse of students — though the order remains on pause until after a hearing Thursday afternoon.

The post Court order would close Agape Boarding School after years of abuse allegations appeared first on Missouri Independent.

TOPEKA — Alex Tretbar scratched Lou Reed lyrics into the concrete “rhomboid exoskeleton” of an Oregon jail’s solitary confinement hole, then found the strength to write about it. “Some people work very hard,” the song goes, “but still they never get it right.” Tretbar, a Wichita native and University of Kansas graduate, references the experience […]

The post Summoning inspiration from solitary, Missouri resident wins PEN America prison writing award appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is on track to vote on a bill codifying marriage equality as soon as next week with negotiators increasingly confident it could become law. Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins said Wednesday they’re close to getting at least 10 Republicans to back the same-sex marriage […]

The post Bill codifying same-sex marriage nears critical vote in U.S. Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former Missouri First Lady Sheena Greitens says she fully complied with a massive public records request for her work emails by a conservative news organization that once employed her ex-husband — and that it produced no evidence of political collusion.  In April, a reporter from Just the News filed an open records request with the […]

The post Sheena Greitens pans push for her emails by news org that used to employ her ex-husband appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Amid K-12 teacher shortages, book bans and attacks over critical race theory, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona at a meeting with reporters on Wednesday stressed the need for higher salaries to attract prospective educators to the profession. Cardona also touted the Biden administration’s recent student debt relief announcement in late August. The White House said President Joe Biden […]

The post U.S. education secretary urges boost in teacher pay, touts college debt relief appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Along with leaves turning colors, the fall in even-numbered years often features political campaigns sparring over who is and is not willing to debate. And this year, that biennial squabble is between the candidates seeking Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat. Attorney General Eric Schmitt, the Republican nominee, slapped first, with a tweet on Tuesday accusing […]

The post Missouri Senate hopefuls spar over debates, with press association forum set for next week appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Here’s something I think about all the time while working on our farm: Trash. Not “trash” as in how much manure is generated by animals (there is a lot, but we move our cattle and goats many times a week and they are on pasture 365 days a year, so there is no one spot […]

The post Talking trash: We don’t have to treat our farms like landfills appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri investigators over the last four months have substantiated 10 claims of physical abuse at Agape Boarding School, a Christian reform school in Stockton that faces mounting accusations of abuse, lawsuits and calls for its closure by former students.  According to records turned over to The Independent under Missouri’s Sunshine Law by the state Department […]

The post Missouri substantiated 10 claims of physical abuse at Agape in last four months appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Last week, President Joe Biden moved to codify Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals by finalizing a rule to transform DACA into a federal regulation, a move that would help strengthen the legality of the program and benefit many undocumented youths. As a formerly undocumented person, I know just how much DACA can change lives. My life was changed 10 […]

The post Ten years after DACA, undocumented youths in Missouri and across the nation need further change appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has lined up behind a U.S. Supreme Court case legal experts believe could radically reshape how federal elections are conducted by handing more power to state legislatures and blocking state courts from intervening.  Ashcroft announced last week that his office had filed an amicus brief in support of Republicans […]

The post Missouri secretary of state throws support behind controversial election theory appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story originally appeared in Investigate Midwest.  In the weeks prior to leaving his role as U.S. Department of Agriculture chief of staff in January 2021, Joby Young received emails from lobbyists with links to private-industry jobs with titles like “director of government relations,” “project manager, environmental stewardship” and “director of crop insurance.” Private-sector job openings […]

The post In Washington, agricultural policymakers circulate among Farm Bureau, USDA and industry appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In dripping black wetsuits and scuba masks, standing in the middle of a southern Missouri river last month, a state herpetologist and two zookeepers hugged each other and cheered. “Number 10,000!” That day, state herpetologist Jeff Briggler with the Missouri Department of Conservation and two Saint Louis Zoo keepers released into the wild the 10,000th […]

The post Conservationists celebrate milestone in effort to save Missouri’s endangered hellbenders appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As we pause this Labor Day, we should reflect on what the holiday means and remember that elected officials in our city, county, state, the U.S. Senate, and House of Representatives work for us, the people. We are the employer. What guide or criteria should we use to determine who we should hire or rehire […]

The post Elected officials work for us. What criteria should we use to hire them? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The recent photographs from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope mesmerized millions of Earth-bound mortals, myself included. On display was both the spectacular beauty of deep space and the power and creativity of science. Shortly after those photos arrived on our timelines did we learn of the uptick in cases of polio in the U.S. On […]

The post Hit me with your best shot of science appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A federal report released Thursday shows that Missouri ranks at or near the bottom nationally in terms of processing Medicaid applications in the federally-permitted time.

The post Federal report shows Missouri Medicaid application wait times among worst in nation appeared first on Missouri Independent.

President Joe Biden on Thursday issued a warning against what he described as “MAGA Republicans” and extremist threats to the nation, reminding Americans that democracy is not guaranteed. “We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us,” Biden said in his remarks, delivered outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. […]

The post Sounding the alarm on extremism, Biden says ‘MAGA Republicans’ pose threat to democracy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Many faculty on the University of Missouri’s Columbia campus see top leader Mun Choi as a man to be feared because he runs the campus through intimidation and bullying — driving away those who disagree with his priorities. And according to a faculty review of Choi’s performance as chancellor released Thursday by the campus Faculty […]

The post University of Missouri faculty survey scorches Mun Choi for poor morale on Columbia campus appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Whether or not Missourians will vote this November on legalizing recreational marijuana could be determined next week.  Cole County Circuit Court Judge Cotton Walker faces a Sept. 13 deadline to rule in a lawsuit seeking to block the marijuana initiative petition from the ballot.  The lawsuit, which was filed last month, argues the petition changes […]

The post Lawsuit seeking to knock marijuana legalization off Missouri ballot faces tight deadline appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When the attorney general’s lawsuit challenging St. Louis’ plan to use federal funds to support abortion access was moved to federal court, it didn’t draw much attention. The city requested the change in venue — from St. Louis Circuit Court to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri — in late July […]

The post Abortion-rights groups alarmed by St. Louis moving AG lawsuit to federal court appeared first on Missouri Independent.