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U.S. House Republicans are continuing to use government spending bills to engage in culture war battles, with legislation debated during the past week that would ban pride flags on some federal buildings, strip funding from a new museum for Latino history and target certain LGBTQ and racial equity policies and programs. The hot-button provisions in […]

The post U.S. House GOP in spending bills takes aim at federal LGBTQ, racial equity policies appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Whether Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher can survive the storm of scandals that has engulfed him over the last month could start to come into better focus after two meetings this week.  The first is on Wednesday, when Plocher will for the second time be the subject of a hearing of the Missouri House Ethics […]

The post Ethics hearing, GOP caucus could determine fate of embattled Missouri House speaker appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When the Taliban overtook Kabul in 2021, Qasim Rahimi went into hiding at a neighbor’s house. Meanwhile, U.S. troops withdrew and took nearly 90,000 Afghan evacuees who were in danger of persecution. Rahimi knew he had to leave, too. “I was a journalist and a director in (the) Afghanistan government when the government fell, so […]

The post Afghan refugees still adjusting to life in Kansas City — and wondering if they can stay appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek is refusing to turn over information about a state-sponsored education savings plan to an investment company he accuses of having questionable ties to China and an anti-Israel bias. Malek expressed his concerns about Morningstar in a letter to the company refusing its request for information about MOST 529, the Missouri-sponsored […]

The post Missouri treasurer refuses Morningstar data request, accusing company of anti-Israel bias appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Congress will need to pass a second stopgap funding measure before Thanksgiving if lawmakers want to avoid a government shutdown, though pushing off final decisions on full-year spending bills until next year would put lawmakers smack dab in the middle of what’s expected to be a contentious 2024 primary season. During election years, […]

The post Spending mess in Congress could arch over into pivotal 2024 election year appeared first on Missouri Independent.

With a $750 million budget surplus on hand, there was little doubt whether North Dakota lawmakers would cut taxes earlier this year — the question was how much. “The surplus was strong, and we believe it’s going to be sustained into the future,” said state Rep. Craig Headland. “So, it just made sense to cut […]

The post Blue and red states slash taxes despite warnings of hard times ahead appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In July, Florida became the first state to allow schools to incorporate instructional videos with a conservative viewpoint from vendor PragerU into their classroom materials. Oklahoma and Montana rapidly followed. New Hampshire in September approved the use of online PragerU videos to satisfy financial literacy requirements in public schools. PragerU and one state education board […]

The post Controversial PragerU videos gain educational foothold in a handful of states appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are pushing back on Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade of hundreds of U.S. military promotions as the upper chamber fills the remaining vacancies on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Senators on Thursday approved Adm. Lisa Franchetti in a 95-1 vote to be the first woman to lead the U.S. Navy. Gen. David W. Allvin’s […]

The post U.S. Senate GOP colleagues fight Tuberville hold as top military nominees trickle through appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Inside every major contract Missouri signs with a business sits a clause about boycotting Israel. All but the smallest companies have to agree not to participate in any movement that aims to boycott, divest from or sanction companies in Israel. Missouri isn’t alone. At least 36 other states have anti-BDS (boycott, divest or sanction) measures […]

The post Missouri uses power of the pocketbook to prevent divestment in Israel  appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Operators and promoters of outdoor recreation companies said at a U.S. Senate hearing that small tourist businesses like theirs are a critical part of the rural U.S. economy facing multiple challenges. Witnesses before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on Wednesday listed climate change, inflation, high gas prices and a potential […]

The post Problems plaguing small outdoor recreation businesses explored at U.S. Senate hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

More than two dozen people lined up outside a state public assistance office in Montana before it opened to ensure they didn’t get cut off from Medicaid. Callers in Missouri and Florida reported waiting on hold for more than two hours on hotlines to renew their Medicaid coverage. The parents of a disabled man in […]

The post Medicaid ‘unwinding’ breeds chaos in states as millions lose coverage appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Treasure Dowell has called Missouri’s social services department three times a day for nearly a month and has yet to speak to a human being. Sometimes she is automatically disconnected hours before the call center closes because it has reached capacity for the day. Other times she waits hours, her phone on speaker atop the […]

The post ‘Broken system’: Call center backlogs impede Missouri families seeking food assistance appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State and local election officials face threats and intimidation, driving experienced workers out of the profession, a panel of election officials told a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday. Conspiracy theories have fueled a more hostile environment for election workers, which has led many to quit, creating more challenges for the inexperienced new leaders, the top election […]

The post State and local election workers quitting amid abuse, officials tell U.S. Senate panel appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission can give employees big raises to cut job turnover and attract new workers, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday. In a long-awaited decision, Circuit Judge Cotton Walker decided that the commission’s plan for a “market adjustment” is authorized by constitutional language controlling the State Road Fund. In his ruling, […]

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Justin Brown, a father of a 2-year-old who lives with his wife in the St. Louis area, has $20,000 in student loan debt. Before the pause on loan payments at the start of the pandemic in 2020, he paid $300 a month. But now that Brown has a family, his financial responsibilities have grown — […]

The post Borrowers weigh personal, professional options as student loan payments resume appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The state rolled back its recall of nearly 15,000 cannabis products last week and allowed them to return to the dispensary shelves, after requiring Missouri companies to keep them in storage since early August.  The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation said in an Oct. 20 notice that after a review of product-tracking records, regulators can […]

The post Missouri rolls back part of its cannabis product recall appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Residents of some Midwestern and Mountain states gained the most income per capita during the past four years, a Stateline analysis shows, as competition for workers drove up wages in relatively affordable places to live. With the COVID-19 pandemic now in the nation’s rearview mirror, Stateline’s analysis offers a more complete understanding of how some […]

The post Residents of Midwest, Mountain West see biggest pay bumps appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft wrote ballot titles for six proposals to restore abortion rights that were “replete with politically partisan language,” a Missouri appeals court unanimously ruled Tuesday. In an expedited decision issued a day after hearing arguments, a three-judge panel of the Western District Court of Appeals upheld, with only minor revisions, the […]

The post Appeals court swats down Ashcroft arguments on Missouri abortion rights petitions appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Congress must approve funding for both Israel and Ukraine if it wants to avoid being dragged into a direct conflict with Russia or emboldening terrorist organizations, two top Biden administration officials told senators Tuesday. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken both testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee that there […]

The post Ukraine and Israel aid must be bound together, two Cabinet secretaries tell U.S. Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri education leaders knew establishing social-emotional learning guidelines for public schools would draw controversy, with some celebrating the idea and others decrying it as government overreach. So when the Missouri State Board of Education decided earlier this month to change course and pursue social-emotional learning as an optional framework instead of a statewide standard, the […]

The post Missouri education leaders say social-emotional learning guidelines an ‘ongoing discussion’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.