MoInd 📰

Ballot measure fights are consuming the big money in Missouri elections this summer, with more than $27 million raised for proposals on the Aug. 4 ballot, according to reports filed this week with state and federal authorities. There’s no hotly contested statewide candidate race on the primary election ballot, but there are four constitutional amendments, […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries rallied a key group for his party Thursday, telling the American Federation of Teachers’ national convention that, if successful in November’s midterm elections, a Democratic majority in the House would pursue several progressive policies.  The New York congressman addressed affordability, voting rights and what he called “the […]

WASHINGTON — Republicans on the U.S. House Budget Committee approved their budget resolution Thursday, marking one small step forward in the complicated process that could allow the party to enact a third party-line bill.  The 20-14 vote followed hours of debate over amendments from Democrats that sought to roll back pieces of the earlier Republican […]

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin called New York’s recently announced statewide moratorium on data centers an “easy way to cop out” during an appearance at the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Infrastructure Summit Tuesday. Data centers — which house the computer servers and storage that power the internet, cloud computing and artificial […]

WASHINGTON — A major legislative package that would put into law President Donald Trump’s push to greatly reduce the responsibilities of the U.S. Department of Education advanced out of a U.S. House panel on Wednesday.  The U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce approved — nearly along party lines — each of the package’s 10 bills that […]

A teenager charged with the same crime can face dramatically different consequences depending on where they live. In one state, a young person accused of a serious offense may be sent to a juvenile facility focused on treatment and rehabilitation. In another, they could face adult criminal proceedings, a permanent record and the possibility of […]

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn’t appear to secure the support needed to take over the public health agency during a lengthy and often tense confirmation hearing Wednesday.  While Dr. Erica Schwartz told lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Committee that oversees health policy she would […]

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to resume traffic stops Wednesday, reversing a one-day pause on the policy after officers killed two immigrants who were in their vehicles in Texas and Maine. In a post to social media, Trump called the practice of federal immigration officers conducting enforcement during traffic […]

For much of the Republican primary race for Missouri’s 10th District state Senate seat, state Rep. Tricia Byrnes of Wentzville has sought to make the accelerating development of large-scale data centers a decisive campaign issue. The district, which comprises Callaway, Lincoln, Montgomery, Pike and northwestern St. Charles counties, has been a flashpoint of public outcry […]

WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche vowed Wednesday to lawmakers on Capitol Hill that if he is confirmed for the top post, the Justice Department would not oppose an effort in Congress to permanently ban a controversial “anti-weaponization” fund. Blanche also said he would consider any new information brought forward to the government about […]

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, issued an executive order Tuesday that puts a moratorium on the construction of large-scale data centers. The pause, which will last up to a year, is the nation’s first statewide ban on data centers, which have drawn increasing concern from lawmakers and citizens based on their impact on […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans released their latest budget resolution Wednesday, the first step in a long and complicated process that could allow Congress to approve a third party-line bill.  The 47-page document, once adopted by both chambers, would send instructions to four House committees to draft bills that would be bundled into a roughly $95 […]

Recently appointed members of the Missouri State Board of Education’s probed the board’s power at its annual retreat Tuesday, repeating a discussion from last year’s workshop but with a new tone. Under new leadership, the board is seeing how far its authority reaches, intending to test it through rulemaking. “I do not think there’s a […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted Tuesday to make daylight saving time permanent nationwide in a bipartisan move that pushes the country one step closer to ending the long-contested ritual of semiannual clock changes.   The House passed the measure, called the Sunshine Protection Act, 308-117. Its future in the Senate is uncertain. Introduced by Republican Rep. Vern […]

Consumers are unlikely to see any relief in gas and electric bills as utilities proposed more than $18 billion in rate hikes across the country over the first half of the year. The consumer advocacy group PowerLines reported that utilities asked regulators for a record $9.2 billion in cumulative rate increases during the second quarter […]

The two Republican lawmakers competing to succeed Missouri Senate Majority Leader Tony Luetkemeyer seem to agree on almost everything. State Reps. Sean Pouche and Mike Jones voted the same way more than 80% of the time during this year’s legislative session, according to analysis of House floor votes by The Independent. Both are endorsed by […]

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security Tuesday ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to cease vehicle-related enforcement stops, following the deadly shootings of two men in their vehicles, according to multiple media reports.  A DHS spokesperson did not respond directly to States Newsroom’s question about what was characterized in some reports as a new […]

ST. LOUIS — Missouri healthcare advocate Leslie Ortbals and her husband want to start a family, but she worries they can’t afford it. The 27-year-old said she takes 10 medications daily to manage multiple chronic illnesses. Now she worries the cost of those drugs could rise — not because of price increases, but because of […]

MARYVILLE — At a shrimp boil on a farm south of town July 1, Missouri Soybean Association President Casey Wasser stood before a crowd to explain why Kansas City Councilman Nathan Willett is the only candidate the association has endorsed in the race for Missouri’s 6th Congressional District. He cited Willett’s curiosity — the questions […]

Kansas City Councilmember Andrea Bough made one of the most revealing statements about Kansas City’s economic development policy I’ve read in years. In a story about $235 million in taxpayer subsidies for an expansion of the KC Current stadium, Bough said, “We can’t say how much economic development has provided in benefits to the city. […]