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MoInd šŸ“°

Missouri legislature ends 2026 session marked by GOP wins, fewer meltdowns

4 months 2 weeks ago
The Missouri General Assembly adjourned Friday without the factional warfare and late-session meltdowns that have come to define the Capitol in recent years, ending a 2026 session marked less by dysfunction than by a return to legislative basics. Republicans used their supermajorities to advance major pieces of Gov. Mike Kehoe’s agenda, including a proposed constitutional […]
Jason Hancock

Trump elections order would create chaotic ā€˜nightmare,’ Democrats and allies tell court

4 months 2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — Democrats and advocacy groups urged a quick rejection of President Donald Trump’s latest executive order on compiling citizenship lists and creating traceable mail-in ballots in a federal court hearing Thursday. Lawyers for the Democratic National Committee, Democratic minority leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and interest groups argued […]
Ashley Murray, Jonathan Shorman

US House members scrutinize ā€˜big, beautiful’ law’s loan limits for nursing degrees

4 months 2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon took heat Thursday over forthcoming changes toĀ the federal student loan system that will impose new borrowing limits for professional and graduate students.Ā Ā  Lawmakers took specific aim at stricter loan caps set to be established for students pursuing advanced programs that do not fall under the department’s ā€œprofessionalā€ classification, such […]
Shauneen Miranda

Missouri senators vote to remove private school voucher program from treasurer’s officeĀ 

4 months 2 weeks ago
The Missouri Senate on Thursday voted to strip oversight of the state’sĀ  private school voucher program from State Treasurer Vivek Malek, moving it to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The change was included in a wide-ranging education bill that also expands eligibility for MOScholars, the state’s tax-credit-funded voucher program.Ā  The plan still needs […]
Annelise Hanshaw

Missouri clerks say they still can’t update voter rolls for gerrymandered map

4 months 2 weeks ago
Missouri election officials can’t revise voter rolls to reflect the state’s gerrymandered congressional map because Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ office has not opened the statewide voter registration system to accept the changes, the president of Missouri’s county clerks association said Thursday. Miller County Clerk Clinton Jenkins, a Republican who serves as president of the […]
Rudi Keller

US House rejects constraint on Trump action in Iran, one day after Senate

4 months 2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Thursday rejected a proposal to rein in President Donald Trump’s months-long military actions in Iran that have left more than a dozen U.S. military members dead, while killing thousands of civilians and displacing millions in the Middle East, according to third-party monitors.Ā  The measure, known as the War Powers Resolution, […]
Ariana Figueroa

Healthcare bill expanding maternal care, contraception access heads to Missouri governor

4 months 2 weeks ago
The Missouri House gave final approval Thursday to a wide-ranging healthcare bill expanding women’s and maternal health coverage, increasing access to telehealth and requiring licensed childcare facilities to maintain allergy treatment policies. The House voted 116-21 to send the legislation to Gov. Mike Kehoe in one of its final actions before the end of the […]
Steph Quinn, Anna Spoerre

Good Day Farm faces second Missouri antitrust lawsuit in two weeks

4 months 2 weeks ago
Missouri’s largest marijuana company is facing a second antitrust lawsuit in two weeks, this time from a Kansas City consumer who alleges Good Day Farm and more than 40 affiliated LLCs used a web of dispensary licenses to limit competition and inflate prices. Damon Frost Jr., a general contractor in Kansas City, filed the class-action […]
Rebecca Rivas

US Senate votes to freeze members’ pay during future shutdowns

4 months 2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved a resolution Thursday that will prevent lawmakers in that chamber from receiving their paychecks during any government shutdowns that begin after this year’s midterm elections.Ā  The voice vote on the measure from Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy will not impact members in the House of Representatives since each chamber […]
Jennifer Shutt

States demand transparency as businesses get billions in Trump tariff refunds

4 months 2 weeks ago
The fiscal leaders of several states are demanding transparency and consumer fairness as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to refund billions in international tariffs following a recent Supreme Court loss.Ā  In a February decision, the high court dealt a blow to the president’s trade agenda, ruling by a 6-3 margin that the tariffs he issued […]
Kevin Hardy

Southern, midsized cities lead population gains between 2024 and 2025

4 months 2 weeks ago
Large, immigrant-rich cities saw population fall back between mid-2024 and mid-2025 after nation-leading increases the year before.Ā  Mid-sized cities led the pack in U.S. Census Bureau estimates to be released May 14. The largest numeric increases for the year were in Charlotte, North Carolina (up 20,731); Fort Worth, Texas (up 19,512); the Dallas suburb of […]
Tim Henderson

New construction reduces housing shortage in most states

4 months 2 weeks ago
Housing shortages have eased in most states since 2020, as new construction has made apartments and houses more affordable. Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island are the only states that have lost housing units per capita since 2020, according to a Stateline analysis of housing data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Most other […]
Tim Henderson

Lawsuit challenges Missouri ballot plan to phase out income tax, expand sales tax

4 months 2 weeks ago
A lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks to knock a proposed constitutional amendment off Missouri’s 2026 ballot that would give lawmakers new power to expand sales taxes to eliminate the income tax, arguing legislators bundled too many subjects into one proposal and wrote misleading ballot language. The lawsuit, filed in Cole County Circuit Court by attorney Chuck […]
Jason Hancock

Missouri ā€˜born-alive’ abortion bill heads to governor after contentious House debate

4 months 2 weeks ago
Healthcare providers could face the death penalty if they don’t provide life-saving care to a baby born after an attempted abortion under legislation headed to Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe. The legislation — approved by the House Wednesday on a 102-46 vote — has been a top priority of Republicans this year and was the only significant anti-abortion […]
Anna Spoerre

Bill requiring porn sites to verify user ages heads to Missouri governor

4 months 2 weeks ago
A bill requiring pornography websites to conduct age checks before granting access is headed to Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe. Commercial websites and platforms must already verify that users are at least 18 if more than a third of their content is sexually explicit as part of a rule enforced by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway […]
Steph Quinn

US Speaker Johnson wants Secret Service funding but noncommittal on Senate bill

4 months 2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday pressed for increased funding for the Secret Service, arguing most of the money Senate Republicans included for the agency in their immigration enforcement bill is for security needs, not building a new ballroom at the White House.Ā  But the Louisiana Republican added during a morning press […]
Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa

Trump taps former career ICE official to lead agency

4 months 2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — Long-time federal immigration official David Venturella will lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency spearheading President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. Venturella will replace outgoing ICE acting Director Todd Lyons, who last month announced he would leave his position by May 31, the DHS […]
Ariana Figueroa