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WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on a call with reporters Wednesday strongly criticized a farm bill draft written by U.S. House Republicans, saying it would damage the coalition that traditionally has united behind farm bills and “raises the real possibility of being unable to get a farm bill through the process.” The massive five-year […]

The post USDA chief voices ‘deep concerns’ over U.S. House GOP farm bill’s nutrition cuts appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Legislation that would have banned Missouri from seizing the Social Security benefits of foster children was on the precipice of passing during the final days of the legislative session, but died when GOP infighting caused the state Senate to adjourn early.  That means the state will continue to take millions of dollars in the next […]

The post Lawmakers adjourn without banning state from seizing benefits from Missouri foster kids appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A group of advocates and progressive Democratic lawmakers called on the U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday to end its contract with MOHELA, a Missouri-based student loan servicer. U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Greg Casar of Texas and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts urged the department to cut […]

The post Progressives push Biden administration to cut ties with Missouri student loan servicer appeared first on Missouri Independent.

James Coyne was selected as the GOP candidate for an open Boone County seat in the Missouri Senate by the Republican 19th Senatorial District Committee two days before the nomination deadline. Coyne is the owner of health insurance company Coyne Agency. In the 2020 state Senate race, Coyne ran as an independent write-in candidate. During […]

The post Republicans pick James Coyne to run in Boone County state Senate race appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Just days before workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama began voting last week on whether to unionize, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed a new law that would claw back state incentives from companies that voluntarily recognize labor unions. Alabama’s move follows similar efforts in Georgia and Tennessee, where GOP leaders also have passed laws […]

The post As a key labor union pushes into the South, red states push back appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators will go on record next month with whether they support legislation from Democrats that would guarantee access to contraception — a right currently upheld by two Supreme Court cases, but one that has been singled out by a conservative justice. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, announced Wednesday […]

The post Members of the U.S. Senate face a vote on whether they support contraception access appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Ken Simard mainly slept under the Blue Parkway bridge near railroad tracks along Brighton Avenue for the seven years he was homeless, numbing himself with meth and weed. “If it were not for the drugs that I did, I would have been suicidal,” he said. “I would do anything to take my mind and put […]

The post Neighborhood blocks a low-barrier shelter some see as key to solving homelessness in KC appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In recent years, Michigan has spent tens of millions of dollars to limit residents’ exposure to the harmful “forever chemicals” called PFAS. And some cities there have spent millions of their own to filter contaminated drinking water or connect to new, less-polluted sources. “We’ve made significant investments to get up to speed,” said Abigail Hendershott, […]

The post States need to keep PFAS ’forever chemicals’ out of the water. It won’t be cheap appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The end of the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president is in sight as Donald Trump’s defense team rested its case Tuesday in Manhattan, where jurors have heard weeks of testimony from nearly two dozen witnesses about Trump’s alleged reimbursement of hush money meant to silence a porn star before the […]

The post Trump declines witness stand as testimony in his first trial concludes appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday $300 million in funding for more than 60 groups seeking to diversify American agricultural exports. “USDA is pleased to be able to provide the startup capital to tap into these opportunities,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on a call with reporters Monday night previewing the announcement. […]

The post U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund $300 million in grants to boost exports appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to announce in New Hampshire on Tuesday that 1 million claims have been granted for benefits under the toxic exposure law that Congress approved less than two years ago, following the military’s use of open air burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq. The law, approved with broad bipartisan […]

The post Biden to announce 1 million claims granted for VA benefits under toxic exposure law appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In March, the phone in state Rep. Deb Lavender’s office in Jefferson City started ringing constantly, but the calls weren’t for her. They were for her interns, Santino Bono and Alanna Nguyen. The interns, along with Dylan Powers Cody, who was interning for state Rep. Peter Merideth, had spent months cross-checking spreadsheets to pinpoint school […]

The post Legislative interns help Missouri school districts claim over $1 million in federal funds appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The line of children filing down the hallway of George Melcher Elementary School in Kansas City seemed endless. “This is one first grade class,” Principal LaKeisha Paul said. “How many kids do you have?” she called to the teacher. The answer was 32. It’s hard to keep track. New students have continued to pour into […]

The post Kansas City talked about shutting these schools down. Now, they’re growing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

NEW YORK — New York state prosecutors rested their case against Donald Trump Monday after four days of testimony from their key witness, Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen, who says the former president was well aware of a hush money cover-up. The defense paints Cohen as a liar. The Manhattan criminal trial, the first ever […]

The post Prosecution rests in Trump hush money trial, after former fixer Cohen is grilled appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri taxpayers will not cover the costs of damages that may result from defamation lawsuits filed against three state senators who incorrectly identified a Kansas man as the shooter at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade, Gov. Mike Parson said Monday. In a letter to the commissioner of the Office of Administration, the state agency that […]

The post Parson orders state agency not to pay legal expenses for legislators facing defamation suit appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Agriculture Committee Friday released the draft bill text of the long-awaited $1.5 trillion farm bill, which is likely to face opposition in the Senate from Democrats because of disagreements over federal anti-hunger programs and climate change requirements. The chair of the committee, GOP Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania, said […]

The post Farm bill text released in U.S. House, setting up fight with Senate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

JANE — Nestled along a bubbling creek at the base of a rolling hill is the Flora Farms Stateline Dispensary — just a third of a mile from the Arkansas border.  On a Sunday afternoon, cars in the drive-thru line wrap around the building and about 20 cars are parked out front. Inside, budtenders at […]

The post Flora Farms cannabis dispensary flourishes at location near the Arkansas border appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The final day of the 2024 legislative session lasted less than 10 minutes in the Missouri Senate.  The lightning-quick adjournment was aimed at avoiding bitter flare ups that plagued the previous day, when a member of the Freedom Caucus tried to amend the Senate Journal to say a “stampeding herd of rhinoceroses” had rumbled through […]

The post Winners and losers of Missouri’s 2024 legislative session appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The initiative petition process is the means by which we as citizens can directly participate in our democracy. Preserving that right could not be more important than when it comes to amending our state constitution. Being able to continue to do that without hurdles and encumbrances survived — at least until the next Missouri legislative […]

The post Missourians must remain vigilant to protect our initiative petition process appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Arguments over the validity of banning non-citizen voting in Missouri, which is already illegal, were part of what ultimately killed an initiative petition bill prioritized by Republicans this session. But in the final hours of the legislative session on Friday, the House approved a non-citizen voting provision as part of a Senate bill which will […]

The post Missouri House puts questions of ranked-choice, non-citizen voting on the 2024 ballot appeared first on Missouri Independent.