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There was no evidence of any criminal intent by a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who was targeted by the governor after finding a security flaw in a state website, Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson said in an interview Monday.  If any crime was committed, Thompson said, it was in the “fringes” of an overly-broad state […]

The post Prosecutor: No ‘criminal intent’ by reporter Missouri governor accused of hacking appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In mid-December, Texas’ highest criminal court revoked the state attorney general’s ability to use his office to prosecute election-related cases without the request of a district or county attorney. In an 8-1 opinion, the all-Republican court weakened Attorney General Ken Paxton’s power to independently go after perpetrators of voter fraud, a problem he says is rampant but […]

The post State judges across the U.S. face growing GOP pushback against rulings in election cases appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The questions from state senators hadn’t even begun, and Donald Kauerauf’s staff were already in a panic. Chants from protesters opposing his nomination as state health director echoed through the hearing room, and as she sat with Kauerauf waiting for his turn to testify, Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior […]

The post ‘It’s a nightmare’: Texts reveal last-ditch efforts to save Parson’s health director appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In 1932, after Missouri lost three congressional seats and state lawmakers deadlocked over redistricting, all candidates for the U.S. House ran on a statewide at-large ballot. In the August primary, there were 56 Democratic candidates, 29 Republican candidates and 13 Socialist Party candidates seeking nomination for the 13 available seats. All 16 incumbents ran for […]

The post Legislative deadlock, commission failure creates uncertainty for Missouri candidate filing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

We are the United States of America. At least, that is who we have always claimed to be. But are we? Have we ever been? Considering where we are today, and the state of our public discourse, it begs the questions. The brazen and hateful divisions playing out in almost every aspect of American life […]

The post If you think you are living in a divided America, it’s nothing new | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former Sen. Jack Danforth is looking for a centrist Republican to run an independent race for the U.S. Senate this year in Missouri  — and said Friday there would be “a lot of resources” to help the campaign. Danforth, who left the Senate in 1994 after three terms, enlisted a polling firm, Miami-based Bendixen & […]

The post Jack Danforth wants to find an independent candidate to run for U.S. Senate in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was originally published by Kaiser Health News.  Aneka French applied for Medicaid in October, not long after Missouri became the 38th state to expand eligibility for the program. But her application sat for months in a backlog with tens of thousands of others. While she waited, French, 45, an uninsured medical technician from […]

The post Missouri takes months to process Medicaid applications — longer than law allows appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On a recent Tuesday evening in southeastern Missouri, John Freeze stood in front of yet another angry group of constituents.  Some here believe the number of COVID-19 deaths are being purposefully inflated for financial gain. Among the culprits, in their mistaken view:  Hospitals seeking Medicare reimbursements; The federal government, led by Dr. Anthony Fauci and […]

The post Misinformation fuels false belief that Missouri COVID death figures are being inflated appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The extended Missouri Senate filibusters about congressional redistricting is a reminder about how bitter and divisive this issue can be. This year it has involved an historically long Senate filibuster, objections by women legislators about the tone of the debate, a tweet by the governor’s communications director that escalated the gender issue and repeated arguments […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Missouri Congressional redistricting appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s state health department has applied to oversee federal family planning funds, a move reproductive health advocates fear would give the state power to cut off funding for providers who refer patients for abortion services. During his confirmation hearing late last month, former Department of Health and Senior Services Director Donald Kauerauf’s testimony focused on […]

The post Missouri state health agency seeks control of Title X funds that go to Planned Parenthood appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri law doesn’t officially recognize Black History Month — a fact that surprised several Black state lawmakers this week.  “I had to double and triple check it because I thought I was seeing things incorrectly at first,” said Rep. Mark Sharp, D- Kansas City, during a Monday meeting of the House Special Committee on Urban […]

The post Missouri could become the seventh state to recognize Black History Month appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A controversial Missouri gun law that penalizes police for enforcing federal gun laws is facing a new legal challenge from the U.S. Justice Department. On Wednesday, the department filed suit to prevent Missouri from enforcing its Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), a law that allows citizens to file suit for up to $50,000 if they […]

The post U.S. DOJ sues Missouri over law blocking enforcement of federal gun regulations appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday that nearly 16,000 student borrowers would receive millions in loan repayments, after the department found that four private for-profit institutions made misleading claims about their job placement rates. “The Department remains committed to giving borrowers discharges when the evidence shows their college violated the law and […]

The post Students defrauded by for-profit colleges to get millions in loan repayments appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt told lawmakers Wednesday it’s not his office’s job to advise local public health agencies on what mitigation measures they still have the authority to pursue — even after numerous departments ceased such efforts following the attorney general’s threats of legal action. “We represent the state,” Schmitt said. “We don’t represent the […]

The post Missouri AG says it’s not his job to clarify ruling’s impact on public health authority appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A southwest Missouri senator was stripped of most of his committee assignments Wednesday as punishment for wearing overalls to the chamber floor and other alleged violations of decorum. Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, received word of his dismissal from all but one standing and two joint committees on Wednesday just before the Gubernatorial Appointments Committee […]

The post After wearing overalls in the Missouri Senate, GOP lawmaker loses committee spots appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Back in September I asked: If each U.S. Senate primary candidate held a Texas Hold ‘Em starting hand, what would they be, and why? Five months later, it’s time for an update.  But first, the rules. In Texas Hold ‘Em, two cards are dealt face down to each player, while five “community cards” are dealt […]

The post Missouri’s GOP Senate primary as a hand of Texas Hold ‘Em, part two: The flop | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The state of Missouri is planning an official end to the COVID-19 pandemic as a public health crisis and will transition to treating the virus as endemic, much like it does the seasonal flu. The target date for when Missouri’s public health agencies would begin treating COVID-19 as endemic is mid-March, the two-year anniversary of […]

The post Missouri plotting official ‘end’ to COVID-19 pandemic as soon as March, document says appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State employees anticipating a raise should be patient and it will arrive as soon as possible, Gov. Mike Parson wrote in a memo Monday to workers waiting for the pay boost he wanted to begin this month. But for some, stretched by working overtime to complete work that would go to unfilled jobs and considering […]

The post Gov. Parson holds out hope for $15 state worker minimum wage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When Susan Klotz heard the governor had announced he would be allowing the COVID-19 state of emergency to expire at midnight on New Year’s Eve, it sent her and her patients into a panic. Klotz, a family nurse practitioner, started her own clinic in Ash Grove with her husband during the pandemic. To help deal […]

The post ‘A shock’: Healthcare orgs kept in the dark when Missouri ended COVID emergency order appeared first on Missouri Independent.

On the Friday before a drawn-out confirmation battle ended with his ouster from office, Missouri state Health Director Donald Kauerauf wrote an impassioned letter meant to convince conservative legislators who were on the fence about his appointment.  The message: While he believed in vaccines and data and science, he didn’t believe in vaccine mandates. Missourians, […]

The post Before ouster, Missouri health director drafted a letter to senators that was never sent appeared first on Missouri Independent.