Missouri’s Head Start programs reach only about 13% of the infants and toddlers eligible for them. The Trump administration says part of the problem is the program’s rulebook in Missouri and nationwide. Federal officials want to eliminate more than 1,400 requirements governing Head Start, arguing that less money spent complying with Washington’s rules could help […]
In the weeks and months ahead, as we approach the midterm elections, we will hear a lot of political labels used to frame, define, categorize and box in candidates and their affiliated political groups — positively and negatively. What label defines you? Are you a Democrat, Republican, independent, Libertarian, Green, progressive, socialist, liberal, conservative, leftist, […]
When young children and teenagers get into trouble, the question often comes quickly: Where were their parents? That question is again shaping public policy in communities across the country, as state and local lawmakers and prosecutors increasingly look for ways to respond to concerns about youth crime and public disorder. Some proposals would strengthen enforcement […]
Families who believe local officials prematurely ruled their loved ones’ deaths suicides or accidents — rather than investigating whether domestic violence played a role — are pushing lawmakers in a growing number of states to require additional scrutiny. Advocates call the deaths “hidden homicides” — killings they say may be staged to look like suicides, […]
Flock Safety is tightening privacy and oversight controls for its nationwide network of automated license plate readers as more communities pull back from the technology and lawmakers across the political spectrum push for new restrictions. The company announced Thursday that it will recommend that police agencies retain license plate reader data for seven days, down […]
JOPLIN — Ashley Allen had worked almost four years as a child abuse and neglect investigator for the Missouri Children’s Division when she quit in April. Some days it seemed like the printer in her Jasper County office never stopped churning out reports from the state’s child abuse and neglect hotline, Allen told The Independent. […]
Roughly $75 million in large-dollar donations poured into Missouri politics this year. That’s a lot of cash for an election year with no governor or U.S. Senate race. Where did all that money go? More than $42 million flowed to committees fighting over constitutional amendments, referendums and other ballot measures. Amendments 4 and 5, the […]
The Democratic National Committee on Saturday approved by voice vote its lineup of six early primaries for the 2028 election cycle, kicking off with South Carolina and Nevada. DNC Chair Ken Martin said during Saturday’s meeting that the early lineup reflects the diversity of the party’s electorate. “Our 2028 nominee, whoever they are, will have […]
May 21, 2026, is the day I became a certified biology teacher in Missouri, and I love my job. I wish others would join me. Sadly, the pathway to teacher licensure is a frustrating waste of time and money that is a barrier to talented people, especially career switchers. My alternative certification process cost over […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday to intervene in a lower court decision that halts his $400 million White House ballroom construction unless he receives authorization from Congress. The administration requested the justices grant an immediate stay to a 2-1 federal appeals court decision that sided with historic preservationists who argued Trump […]
Democratic lawmakers proposed nearly 250 bills in state capitols this year seeking to limit federal immigration efforts as they sought to push back against what they view as federal government overreach. In a new report tallying 2026 action, State Futures, a nonprofit coordinating hundreds of Democratic lawmakers across the states, tracked 242 pieces of such […]
Licensed clinical social worker Anne Bethune had been treating trauma clients in Kansas City for several years when, in 2017, her agency asked her to get an additional certification. At the time, Bethune was working primarily with rape victims, using a range of therapies, including traditional talk therapy. Her clients would improve, she noticed, and […]
State Democratic officials are preparing for chaos at the polls this November, as President Donald Trump casts doubt on election security and pushes for more federal involvement in local voting. “We’re no longer talking about hypothetical situations,” said Nick Brown, Washington state’s Democratic attorney general, noting the president’s push to nationalize election administration and to […]
Kansas City officials are looking to cut a ballpark deal within weeks that will define the city for decades. Publicly, at least, the details remain sparse. City officials are scrambling to finalize plans to help finance the Royals’ proposed $1.9 billion ballpark at Crown Center before the end of the month. If things had gone […]
While the nation faces various stress tests for the rule of law upon which our country was built, Missouri courts are facing their own stress test in the hot mess of our current congressional redistricting. Our Legislature redrew our congressional maps in 2025 at the insistence of President Donald Trump. The chief aim was to […]
Abortion access in Missouri continues to expand under the constitutional amendment voters approved in 2024 — less than three months before they’ll be asked to undo it. The latest expansion is in Springfield, where Planned Parenthood began offering in-clinic procedural abortions Thursday. Just a few weeks earlier the clinic began prescribing abortion medication, returning abortion […]
A new federal rule will end Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming hormone therapies and procedures for kids under age 18. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Tuesday a rule that prohibits state Medicaid plans from covering gender-affirming procedures for minors and using federal Medicaid dollars for such care. The rule also prohibits Children’s Health […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice has sued New York, Connecticut and Vermont over laws that allow immigrants in the country without permanent legal status to pay in-state college tuition in the states where they live. The suits, filed Aug. 10, are part of a larger push from the Trump administration to go after states […]
A largely overlooked part of the executive order President Donald Trump issued this week scaling back the schedule for childhood vaccines threatens legal action against the four states that don’t allow personal or religious exemptions to school vaccine requirements. Those states — California, Connecticut, Maine and New York — are among the states with the […]
The organization that led the 2024 campaign to raise Missouri’s minimum wage and require paid sick leave is launching a $1 million grassroots campaign to defeat Republican lawmakers who helped repeal the paid leave requirement. Missouri Jobs with Justice Action has joined Progress Missouri, the Missouri Voter Project — State PAC, Missouri Workers Power, Abortion […]
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