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This story was originally co-published by KCUR and Kaiser Health News.  When Russell and Sharis Lewis want to unwind, they pack up their guns and drive from their home in a suburb north of St. Louis to an indoor range called the SharpShooter on the city’s south side. Russell dons big protective headphones, carefully lays […]

The post More Black Missourians are buying guns. Is it driving up Black suicide rates? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats in Congress can agree on sleep, or more precisely, the inconvenience of losing or gaining an hour of it each year thanks to going on and off daylight saving time. “I believe that any justifications for springing forward and falling back are either outdated or are outweighed by the serious […]

The post Congress hates changing the clocks just like everyone else appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A bill meant to tie the hands of St. Louis-area officials who want to require building owners to install electric vehicle chargers cleared the Missouri House Thursday.  If passed, it would prohibit cities from passing building codes requiring businesses to install chargers unless the municipalities pay. “I’m all for electric cars. Bring them on. I […]

The post Bill targeting St. Louis-area EV charging mandates clears Missouri House appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Thursday against Missouri’s Department of Social Services, alleging the agency unlawfully plans to restrict Medicaid payments to the provider. A March 4 notice sent to Planned Parenthood of St. Louis Region cites a supplemental budget bill lawmakers passed last month that bars abortion providers or their affiliates from being reimbursed […]

The post Planned Parenthood sues Missouri social services agency over restricted Medicaid funds appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A new study being conducted by Kansas State University researchers is looking at ways to reduce the risk of exposure to lead in soil in the hopes of finding affordable methods that could be replicated around the country. Ganga Hettiarachchi is a professor of soil and environmental chemistry and is leading the research with her […]

The post Kansas State to study cost-effective ways cities can reduce exposure to lead in soil appeared first on Missouri Independent.

If there were any doubts that the Missouri Senate was broken, they were put to rest on Wednesday. After yet another night of GOP infighting — this time over a bill pertaining to sexual assault survivors and an amendment banning “obscene material” in schools — Senators returned to the Capitol Wednesday to take turns blaming […]

The post ‘Begging for civility’: GOP infighting in Missouri Senate boils over yet again appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A pair of education bills supported by school-choice advocates narrowly passed out of the Missouri House Wednesday, overcoming a diminished GOP majority that had threatened to doom their chances earlier in the legislative session.  The bills, which deal with charter school funding and establishing an open enrollment system, both earned 85 votes in support — […]

The post Missouri House narrowly sends open enrollment, charter funding bills to the Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Regulators ordered an industrial hog farm in northern Missouri to pay more than $18,000 for spilling 300,000 gallons of manure into miles of nearby streams.  An advocate for environmentally responsible agriculture called that “pathetic,” noting the fine amounted to less than $0.04 per gallon of waste spilled.  “You’re talking about a multi-billion dollar, multinational company […]

The post Missouri fines CAFO $18,000 for polluting streams with 300,000 gallons of waste appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Its effort to deny Planned Parenthood a license to perform abortions in Missouri was unsuccessful, but the state health department argued Tuesday in court that it still shouldn’t have to pay the clinic’s legal fees.  An administrative hearing commission ruled in May 2020 that the state wrongly denied Planned Parenthood’s St. Louis clinic, the state’s […]

The post Missouri argues it shouldn’t pay Planned Parenthood’s legal fees in licensing dispute appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Abe Givins sunk into a leather armchair at the Cola Private Lounge in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon, where his company hosted a panel of doctors speaking about medical marijuana. Givins is co-owner of Village, which advertises itself as the only vertically-integrated medical marijuana company in Missouri that’s 100% minority owned — meaning they have […]

The post With legalization looming, Black Missourians worry about losing out in marijuana industry appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When the Kansas City Chiefs open their 2022 season in early September, it may be possible for fans in the stands to bet on who will win, how many touchdown passes Patrick Mahomes will throw and even whether the coin toss will be heads or tails. But before that happens, backers of sports wagering will […]

The post Sports wagering bills moving toward Missouri House debate amid efforts to boost tax rates appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News.  Democrats in the Senate are primed this month to make their first attempt at salvaging one of the most popular elements of President Joe Biden’s stalled Build Back Better plan — the proposal to cap insulin costs at $35 a month. It might not go well. […]

The post $35 insulin cap is welcome, popular and bipartisan. But Congress may not pass it anyway appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In 2020 the price of oil crashed, even falling to less than zero one day. Traders actually had to pay buyers to get them to take oil contracts off their hands. Oil companies would prefer not to sell oil unless they can make money off it. Oil companies are just funny that way. So U.S. […]

The post Partisan policies didn’t raise gas prices, and partisan sniping won’t lower them | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Heather Fleming, sitting on a bench in St. Louis’ Forest Park, takes in the view on a warm early afternoon in February.  Behind her is the Jewel Box, the giant glass-paneled greenhouse that’s a park emblem. Before her are rows of tall trees, their branches stripped bare. And further on, on nearby walkways and trails, […]

The post Former St. Louis teacher helping lead coalition pushing back on book bans appeared first on Missouri Independent.

It was just after 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10, when the forms arrived from the state treasurer’s office. Without warning, and with little explanation, school superintendents discovered they were now required to certify their district had complied with Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s demands to drop any and all COVID-19 mitigation measures, such as mask […]

The post Schools left ‘scrambling’ after Missouri treasurer tied bond deals to AG’s COVID demands appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Most Americans who want to own a house – and can afford it – follow a fairly straightforward path to their dreams. They start with a loan from a bank or mortgage company, institutions that are subject to state and federal regulations. When buyers close on the home they want, the agreement is registered with […]

The post Contract for Deed: A promise of homeownership that can leave Midwest buyers out in the cold appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A cursory review of American history shows the central role God and religion played and continue to play in our politics. From the Revolutionary War to the formation and drafting of our most sacred national documents, God and religious principles are boldly infused throughout. The phrase “separation of church and state” is not found in […]

The post Faith plays an integral role in American politics. We can’t ignore that | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A GOP lawmaker is once again working to reel in what he sees as overly aggressive enforcement of hazardous waste laws by Missouri regulators he contends are “terrifying” small businesses in his district. But critics say the change would put Missourians at greater risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals.  “The people of Missouri are not […]

The post Missouri bill that would weaken hazardous waste rules returns for another year appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, four men affiliated with the Kansas City chapter of the right-wing Proud Boys gathered on the west side of the U.S. Capitol, along with thousands of others urged on by then-President Donald Trump. The crowd pushed ahead and overwhelmed the few Capitol Police officers guarding the entrance, toppling […]

The post Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol lives on in hundreds of court cases appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s governmental and political discourse on several major issues has descended from words of inspiration into hateful partisan and ideological rhetoric that leaves little room for compromise. The hateful language we have heard from the Senate congressional redistricting filibusters and the objections from women senators about the animosity is just one example. “I pleaded with […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Diminishing words of inspiration appeared first on Missouri Independent.