In the summer of 2023, a third of the fire engines owned by the fire department in Kansas City, Kansas, were unusable. Five of 15 pumper trucks were out of commission, and the department was waiting on parts from the manufacturer. So Kansas City fire officials went on a nationwide hunt for trucks. But their […]
The number of refugees admitted to the United States during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is on pace to hit its lowest level on record, according to a new analysis. The new numbers reflect a steep decline in refugee admissions since President Donald Trump began his second term, according to a new […]
For more than three decades, researchers have been tracking ticks, mice, oak trees and other wildlife in a New York forest to better understand what makes Lyme disease more likely to spread. Their latest findings challenge some long-held assumptions — including the idea that deer are a major driver of Lyme disease risk. Researchers at […]
The two proposals denied a spot on the Nov. 3 ballot by Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins have the required signatures, data Hoskins has provided online shows. Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green will hold a trial Tuesday afternoon on whether the proposal limiting legislative changes to measures passed by initiative will be on […]
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 […]
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