MoInd 📰

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, McLean County, Illinois, was known mostly as the home of State Farm Insurance in Bloomington and Illinois State University in Normal. Now, the area illustrates a trend that’s bringing more factories to small cities with lower costs of living: It has thousands of new jobs manufacturing Rivian electric vehicles and a […]

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is making demands of the next Senate Republican leader ahead of a closed-door election this week, writing on social media that whoever is chosen should recess the chamber early next year so he can appoint whoever he wants without having to go through the confirmation process. “Any Republican Senator seeking […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republican leaders said Tuesday voters have given them a “mandate” to enact as much conservative policy as possible once they gain unified control of the federal government in January, but declined to provide details about exactly what policies they’d seek to enact. “The American people want us to implement and deliver […]

A panel of Missouri appellate judges ruled Tuesday that the constitution’s “plain, unambiguous” language means cities and counties cannot stack marijuana sales taxes. The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District’s decision reversed a lower court’s ruling in May that allowed both Florissant and St. Louis County to impose a 3% sales tax on marijuana products.  […]

After decades of plunging enrollment, Kansas City Public Schools is setting a new trend. The number of students is ticking upward. For the third year in a row, the district’s enrollment count in late September ran higher than the previous year. Preliminary figures show KCPS added 570 K-12 students since the official count day last […]

Donald Trump’s first term as president brought sweeping change to environmental regulations, trade policy and a host of issues that impact America’s agriculture sector. After winning his return bid on Tuesday, Trump’s second term is likely to once again have a sizable impact on the nation’s farms and ranches. Here are four ways Trump’s next […]

WASHINGTON — Two days before a key meeting with President Joe Biden, President-elect Donald Trump has not yet signed the necessary paperwork to unlock resources for a smooth transfer of power from one presidential administration to another. Trump’s transition spokesperson Brian Hughes told States Newsroom Monday that “The Trump-Vance transition lawyers continue to constructively engage […]

In the days before Missourians voted to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, incoming House Speaker Jon Patterson declared lawmakers should respect the people’s choice, whatever the outcome.  Now, with abortion set to become legal in Missouri, Republican Rep. Justin Sparks of Wildwood is mounting a long-shot challenge seeking to block Patterson […]

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump late Sunday announced he will appoint Tom Homan as “border czar” in his administration as Trump seeks to carry out his campaign commitment of mass deportations of immigrants who lack permanent legal status. Homan is the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the previous Trump administration who […]

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has several choices to make in the coming months about whether his second administration will keep access to contraception and abortion as it is now or implement changes. While Trump cannot on his own enact nationwide laws or abortion bans without Congress, he and the people he picks for key […]

Election night at BlaqOut in Kansas City was always going to double as a launch party for the organization’s fight for policy and attitude changes toward the Black LGBTQ+ community. As vote results came in, a particular sense of urgency followed. “We have to continue to organize beyond Election Day,” said D. Rashaan Gilmore, the […]

In less than two years of selling legal recreational weed, Missouri’s cannabis market has grown to $1.4 billion — outperforming states with a longer history of marijuana legalization like Arizona, Colorado and Nevada. “Those are mature marketplaces, and you are surpassing them,” said Laurie Parfitt, CEO at LKP Impact Consulting. “Missouri is doing amazing things, […]

A judge on Friday found a northeast Missouri hospital board guilty of “gross violations” of the Sunshine Law and voided all the actions taken during illegal closed meetings in August 2022. Circuit Judge Rick Roberts also ruled that Scotland County Hospital must also pay a civil fine of $5,000 and attorneys fees to its former […]

We are not going back. Kamala Harris’ campaign staffers slipped those words into the first speech she gave as the presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidency, after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race in July. It was a vow not to return to a Donald Trump presidency, and all the damage that could bring. […]

Most people agree that actual facts matter – in such activities as debate, discussion and reporting. Once facts are gathered, verified and distributed, informed decision-making can proceed in such important exercises as voting. But what happens when important, verified facts are published and broadcast widely, yet the resulting impact proves underwhelming – or even meaningless? […]

WASHINGTON — A federal judge late Thursday struck down a White House policy that created a pathway to citizenship for people in the country lacking permanent status who were married to a U.S. citizen. Eastern District of Texas Judge J. Campbell Barker ruled that the Biden administration overstepped its authority and the program “stretches legal interpretation […]

The Federal Reserve cut its key rate on Thursday — one of many factors that will decide what kind of economy Americans remember from President Joe Biden’s final days in office and what  President-elect Donald Trump is left with at the start of his second term. The Federal Reserve cut the rate by a quarter […]

Racist text messages received this week primarily by Black students nationwide — including in Missouri — are under investigation by federal authorities. The FBI said in a statement issued Thursday it “is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.” Locally, groups have condemned the attacks, and college campuses are […]

Republican and Democratic lawmakers gathered in Jefferson City this week to choose new leaders for the upcoming legislative session in January.  In the Senate, where GOP infighting has caused unending gridlock for the last few years, Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin was chosen by her caucus to be president pro tem — the highest ranking job in […]

WASHINGTON — Immigration advocates and civil rights groups are preparing to take on President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promises to  crack down on immigration, from reviving controversial policies of his first term to enacting mass deportations.   Trump has pledged to end, immediately after retaking office, parole programs that have allowed immigrants to work and live in […]