MoInd 📰

If a podcast episode titled “The audit of Ray County and the mystery of the 76 hams” seems worth listening to, then Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick has succeeded. Unbeknownst to many, “The World’s Greatest Audit Podcast,” is recorded here in the Show-Me State. “Well, you know, it’s a low bar,” said Fitzpatrick, whose team’s […]

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services issued an advisory Tuesday warning consumers of health risks it says are associated with a product called 7-OH. The name, 7-OH, is short for 7-hydroxymitragynine, and it’s made by chemically converting the main opioid-inducing element in kratom. Products containing it are sold in smoke shops, gas stations, […]

A coalition of Democratic state officials sued the Trump administration Tuesday, asking a federal judge to force the release of food assistance funds for 42 million people that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has said cannot be paid during the ongoing government shutdown. Attorneys general representing 22 states and the District of Columbia and three […]

This report has been updated. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Tuesday failed for the 13th time to advance a stopgap spending bill that would fund the government until Nov. 21 and end the nearly one-month government shutdown. Tuesday was also the day when air traffic controllers, who are working without pay, missed their first full […]

Racial health disparities may widen as states, universities and nonprofits grapple with federal funding cuts to programs that were aimed at filling gaps in care, public health experts say. As part of its federal restructuring and crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, the Trump administration has been shuttering federal offices and rescinding grants […]

For Whitney Jackson and her four children, not knowing if her family will receive federal food assistance next month means trying “to make the most of a smaller meal so we can save the food stamps.” Jackson, a single mother from Columbia working as a certified medical assistant, said she has $44 of her family’s […]

WASHINGTON — Funding for scores of Head Start programs hung in the balance as the government shutdown continued Monday without an end in sight. Unless a deal is reached to end the ongoing funding lapse that began Oct. 1, more than 65,000 children in 140 local Head Start programs across 41 states and Puerto Rico […]

WASHINGTON — Some members of Congress are asking for their salaries to be withheld during the government shutdown, while federal workers on Friday missed their first full paycheck since many operations closed on Oct. 1. With no movement toward a deal to end the shutdown, the House remained on a prolonged break from Capitol Hill, […]

WASHINGTON — The stakes of the ongoing government shutdown rose Monday as the U.S. Department of Agriculture doubled down on its position that food benefits for November could not be paid and a union for federal workers implored lawmakers to pass a stopgap measure. As the government shutdown entered day 27, President Donald Trump’s administration […]

A ballot summary describing a proposed amendment to Missouri’s Constitution as “limiting parental choice in education” is sufficient, a Cole County judge ruled last week. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins must only correct a drafting error for his description of the initiative petition to be “concise, neutral and sufficient,” Judge Cotton Walker wrote. The lawsuit, […]

WASHINGTON — More than 200 Democratic lawmakers and one Republican are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down President Donald Trump’s sweeping global emergency tariffs. The 207 members of the U.S. House and Senate argued in an amicus brief late Friday that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not authorize the president […]

A recent economic study on THC beverages found the industry has the potential to reach between $9.9 billion and $14.9 billion in national sales.  In Missouri — where the product faces attacks from law enforcement, state legislators and local governments who say it’s part of a public health crisis — that potential is $75.4 million […]

A man jailed on felony drug possession charges has been waiting 469 days in the Clay County Detention Center for mental health services that could allow his case to move forward. It took him 75 days just to get a court-ordered evaluation from the Department of Mental Health, according to Sarah Boyd, spokesperson for the […]

Missouri is currently facing a diabetes crisis. Over 598,000 adults — about 10.6% of our state’s population — live with diabetes, and the numbers keep increasing. Each year, more than 31,000 Missourians receive a new diagnosis, adding to the already heavy burden on our health care system. Diabetes impacts communities unevenly. Rural residents, low-income families […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a memo Friday the agency’s contingency fund cannot legally be used to provide food assistance benefits for more than 42 million people in November, as the government shutdown drags on. The position is a reversal from the department’s earlier stance, according to a since-deleted copy of the USDA’s […]

“Man, don’t let them put you back in there.”  Oshoosi Size is living with his older brother, Ogun, after being released from prison. Ogun wants his little brother to get his life together and stay out of trouble. That’s not easy to do with a criminal record — even if you don’t do anything wrong. […]

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration Friday identified the West African nation of Liberia as the location for the removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, noting his deportation could come as soon as Oct. 31.  In a Friday court filing in the District of Maryland, the Department of Justice argued that Liberia is a close partner with […]

The 75 million Americans who receive Social Security benefits will see a 2.8% increase in payments next year, the Social Security Administration said Friday.  The cost-of-living adjustment is just below the inflation rate of 3% announced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, also on Friday.  The adjustment is lower than the average over the past decade, but […]

The biggest unresolved question after a months-long study of the Missouri parole system is arguably the most important — what portion of a sentence must be served before an incarcerated person is eligible for release?  Some members of the Parole Working Group established by Gov. Mike Kehoe wanted to require more than the current system, […]

Last year, Cing Cing Hlamyo and four other Burmese families in Missouri pooled their money to join Welcome Corps. Launched by President Joe Biden’s administration in 2023, Welcome Corps allowed people in the United States to sponsor refugees. “When it opened, all the Burmese, they were so excited,” she said.  The group put money in […]