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For six straight years, Democratic state Rep. Gretchen Bangert has filed a bill that would require cursive handwriting to be taught in Missouri public schools. The bill has failed each time, never making it out of the House and only twice getting initial approval. Yet Bangert, of Florissant, isn’t letting the issue go. In December, […]

The post Lawmaker makes final bid for cursive writing requirement in Missouri schools appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Legislation to add a new barrier to amending the Missouri Constitution by initiative petition passed the state Senate Thursday on a party line vote. With 22 Republicans in favor and nine Democrats opposed, the Senate sent the House a proposal that would require a statewide majority and a majority vote in five of the state’s […]

The post Missouri Senate passes bill making it harder for voters to amend the constitution appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Crime is shaping up as a potent election issue, and one of the key points of debate is over bail: Which suspects should be jailed before trial, and which ones should be released on bond — and for how much money? Some conservatives argue that lenient bail policies put suspects who are likely to commit […]

The post Bail clampdowns don’t match what research says about suspects, experts say appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After weeks of flirting with the idea, state Sen. Lincoln Hough of Springfield jumped into the Republican Primary for lieutenant governor on Thursday. Hough, who is serving his second term in the Missouri Senate, joins a field that includes a colleague, state Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder of Scott City, House Speaker Dean Plocher, Franklin County […]

The post Springfield Sen. Lincoln Hough joins race for Missouri lieutenant governor appeared first on Missouri Independent.

President Joe Biden expanded his push to eliminate student loan debt Wednesday, saying during a speech the initiative is part of a campaign promise to address the “broken” system. “While a college degree is still a ticket to a better life, that ticket is too expensive,” Biden said. “And too many Americans are still saddled […]

The post Biden unveils latest round of student loan cancellation to aid 153,000 borrowers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A southwest Missouri lawmaker blasted state Treasurer Vivek Malek Wednesday for refusing to answer questions about new ads for the state Unclaimed Property Program appearing on unregulated games that offer cash prizes. Malek declined to appear at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Appropriations – General Administration, angering Chairman Scott Cupps.  Cupps said he […]

The post Missouri Treasurer faces scrutiny over state advertising on unregulated slot machines appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As sports stadiums built in the 1990s show their age, many professional sports teams are looking for new facilities — and public money to pay for them. “We are just in the heating up phase of the next stadium construction wave,” said J.C. Bradbury, a Kennesaw State University economics professor who has researched the issue. […]

The post More taxpayer money benefits pro sports owners amid ‘stadium construction wave’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Inflation is slowing and job growth has surged, but many Americans still feel the burden of expensive housing — fueled in part by high demand, low inventory and mortgage rates. Home prices across the U.S. rose 5.5% over the past year in December 2023 and they are projected to increase 2.8% year over year by […]

The post When will housing affordability improve? Spoiler alert: It will take some time appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Built in 1910, James Elementary is a three-story brick school in Kansas City historic Northeast neighborhood, with a bright blue front door framed by a sand-colored stone arch adorned with a gargoyle. As bustling students and teachers negotiate a maze of gray stairs with worn wooden handrails, Marjorie Mayes, the school’s principal, escorts a visitor […]

The post How tax breaks siphoned millions from Missouri public schools that serve poor students appeared first on Missouri Independent.

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Robert Tracy’s appointment as St. Louis’ police chief came with a sweetener: In addition to a $175,000 annual salary from the city, a nonprofit organization made up of local business leaders pays […]

The post St. Louis police chief gets third of pay from foundation, raising concerns of divided loyalties appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Democratic filibuster that stretched more than 20 hours ended Tuesday when Senate Republicans stripped provisions critics derided as “ballot candy” from a proposal to make it harder to pass constitutional amendments proposed by initiative petitions. By an 18-12 vote, with nine Republicans joining nine Democrats in the majority, language that stated non-citizens could not […]

The post Democrat filibuster forces removal of ‘ballot candy’ from Senate initiative petition bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday again urged U.S. House Republican leaders to hold an up-or-down vote on military assistance for Ukraine and said a new sanctions package against Russia is on the way, citing the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as placing new pressure on Western democracies to rally against the […]

The post White House preps new sanctions package against Russia after Navalny death appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Local governments in the St. Louis area could request radioactive waste testing from the state under a Missouri House bill that would appropriate money to a long-unfunded program.  The Missouri House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee on Monday heard testimony on a bill that would transfer $300,000 to a radioactive waste investigations fund created six […]

The post Missouri House bill would allow further testing for St. Louis radioactive waste appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Republicans are shelving bills allowing concealed weapons in churches and exempting firearms from sales tax to avoid a public “freak out” in the wake of Wednesday’s mass shooting during the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration, Missouri House Democrats said Monday. During his weekly news conference Monday, House Majority Leader Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit […]

The post Democrats hope to put gun safety measure on ballot following Kansas City mass shooting appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Boone County Republican said Monday he will emphasize national security experience, avoiding intra-party fights and that he actually lives in the district he wants to represent in a GOP primary for the 3rd Congressional District. Taylor Burks of Hartsburg, a former Boone County clerk, became the third Republican seeking the nomination to replace U.S. […]

The post Central Missouri Republican joins race for 3rd District congressional seat appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The burst of gunfire that killed a young mother and wounded almost two dozen others could have turned out even deadlier. But one critically injured young man made it to the operating room at University Health Kansas City within minutes after being hit. Had he not been triaged at the scene and rushed to the […]

The post Kansas City hospitals had plan for tragedies like the Chiefs parade mass shooting appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the coming years, a nuclear power plant on the shores of Lake Michigan could become the first in the country to restart operations after shutting down. The Palisades plant in southwest Michigan could be revived by a $1.5 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, Bloomberg reported. Federal officials have not yet confirmed […]

The post Federal money could supercharge state efforts to preserve nuclear power appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Federal law enforcement and cybersecurity officials are warning the nation’s state election administrators that they face serious threats ahead of November’s presidential election. Secretaries of state and state election directors must be ready for potential cyberattacks, both familiar and uncomfortably new, according to the feds. And they must remain vigilant about possible threats […]

The post Feds deliver stark warnings to state election officials ahead of November appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In the months before the Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia was forced to stop providing abortions in 2018, Emily Wales spent long nights calling patients to make back-up plans.  The clinic’s license was in jeopardy as it faced a court battle over hospital admitting privileges. Wales was among the staff calling women across Missouri as […]

The post ‘Uncharted territory’: How would abortion-rights amendment impact Missouri TRAP laws? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Hundreds of pages of recently released documents provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Services affirm what the overwhelming majority of the public has known for decades: Marijuana is therapeutically useful. And its harms are not on par with those of heroin — which federal regulations currently consider it akin to — or even alcohol. […]

The post Will the DEA finally abandon its ‘flat earth’ cannabis policy? appeared first on Missouri Independent.