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Child care providers who accept a subsidy from the state to serve low-income families will see a boost in payments next month, thanks to a $78.5 million funding increase approved by Missouri lawmakers earlier this year.  The funding hike, included in the state budget signed by the governor, went into effect July 1. It won’t […]

The post A $78 million boost to Missouri’s child care subsidy slated to reach providers next month appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Much of what we are witnessing in local and national politics goes beyond typical partisan policy differences and divides. There are real efforts to dismantle what America has purported to be about — A land where all of its citizens have the same rights under the Constitution. Some of the rhetoric and proposed policies in […]

The post America is treading in perilous and unprecedented historical waters appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Marcella Roberson is ready to move. She and her 17-year-old son have been looking for a new apartment for four years because, she says, they’ve suffered domestic violence in their current living situation in Camden, New Jersey. She hopes her federal housing voucher can bring them a new home and a chance at safety. But […]

The post Some states protect Section 8 renters, but enforcement is elusive appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The fentanyl epidemic is getting worse in Missouri, with record numbers of overdoses in the last four years and 2023 on course to be another record year. Data points to a nearly 75% increase in overdoses in Missouri since 2019, and last year was the second consecutive year that fentanyl accounted for over two-thirds of […]

The post Fentanyl epidemic is getting worse in Missouri with record numbers of overdoses appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday approved a proposal to impose a code of ethics for the U.S. Supreme Court, amid revelations that justices failed to disclose luxury travel and real estate deals, as well as directing staff to promote book sales. The panel split along party lines, in an 11-10 vote, […]

The post Ethics rules for Supreme Court justices approved on party-line vote by U.S. Senate panel appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration for five years, including a big increase in subsidies for airlines providing flights to smaller markets. The chamber voted 351-67 to approve the bill, which would authorize $104 billion for the agency through 2028, increase authorized spending levels for rural aviation programs and […]

The post Federal aviation bill passed by U.S. House, with boost for smaller airports appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Members of a national anti-abortion religious organization called Operation Save America are in Atlanta this week to protest at a local abortion clinic and to discuss new strategies for achieving a national prohibition on abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Operation Save America began as Operation Rescue in 1986 and became more well known in […]

The post National abortion ban eyed as group marks ‘Siege of Atlanta’ protests 35 years ago appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senate committee approved legislation Thursday that would update how the federal government prepares for and then responds to pandemics and natural disasters. The broadly bipartisan legislation moved through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee following a 17-3 vote after members adopted two bipartisan amendments. Republican Sens. Rand Paul of […]

The post Preparation for pandemics, natural disasters updated in bill passed by U.S. Senate panel appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s efforts to inflate the cost of an abortion-rights initiative petition were unanimously rejected by the state Supreme Court Thursday, just two days after judges heard arguments in the case.  The quick verdict, which was written by Judge Paul Wilson, was scathing in its opinion of Bailey’s refusal to sign off […]

The post Missouri Supreme Court rejects AG’s push to inflate cost of abortion-rights amendment appeared first on Missouri Independent.

News that the Missouri legislature has authorized $500,000 for urban farming grants ought to be welcomed by small growers like Darian and Nicolette Davis, who run an orchard in Kansas City’s Swope Park to provide fresh fruit to their community. The couple hatched the idea of the Kansas City Urban Farm Co-op during the unrest […]

The post Missouri has a $500k incentive for urban farmers — if growers can figure out how to get it appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Wednesday night passed a bill to bar the use of public K-12 school facilities to provide shelter for migrants seeking asylum. The bill, approved 222-201, is known as the “Schools Not Shelters Act” and is a rebuke of the Biden administration’s immigration policy. If enacted into law, public schools […]

The post Public schools banned from sheltering migrants under bill passed by U.S. House appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When Gov. Mike Parson announced his appointment of Gabe Gore as St. Louis circuit attorney, he declared that “crime anywhere affects Missourians everywhere, and for too long, dysfunction has plagued the circuit attorney’s office.” Now six weeks into the job, Gore says the office has taken steps that will make St. Louis safer and that […]

The post Gabe Gore touts his first six weeks as St. Louis prosecutor after taking over for Kim Gardner appeared first on Missouri Independent.

“Atomic Fallout” is a historical re-investigation of the St. Louis region’s 75-year history with nuclear waste, conducted by a consortium of newsrooms, including The Missouri Independent, MuckRock and The Associated Press. It relies on thousands of pages of federal government documents, most of which were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Many of the […]

The post Read the thousands of documents journalists used to investigate St. Louis radioactive waste appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After fears of a “she-cession” during the pandemic, women have returned to the workforce at unprecedented rates. Much of the gain reflects a boom in jobs traditionally held by women, including nursing and teaching.  Many good-paying jobs in fields such as construction and tech management are still dominated by men, a continuing challenge for states […]

The post A ‘she-cession’ no more: After COVID dip, women’s employment hits all-time high appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — A panel on the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Tuesday grilled a Biden administration official about the White House’s decision to allow undocumented people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to enroll in Medicaid or private insurance provided under the Affordable Care Act. The chair of the subcommittee, Republican […]

The post DACA recipients’ Medicaid eligibility slammed by U.S. House Republicans appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A legal showdown between a pair of Republican statewide elected officials found its way to the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday, as the judges heard arguments over whether a behind-the-scenes push to increase the cost of an abortion-rights initiative petition was illegal.  Attorney General Andrew Bailey is defending his unprecedented decision to reject a fiscal […]

The post Fight over cost of abortion-rights initiative petition reaches Missouri Supreme Court appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Millions of American workers have breathed in dangerous levels of air pollution this year as smoke from Canada’s record wildfire season blankets cities across the Northeast. Now experts are calling on federal regulators to adopt standards protecting outdoor workers from worsening air quality, potentially modeled after the few states that have such standards, including California […]

The post Workers lack protections when wildfire smoke makes the air dangerous appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri environmental regulators warned the federal government in 2021 that radioactive contamination of groundwater from a uranium processing site near St. Louis wasn’t improving despite cleanup efforts, according to documents reviewed by The Independent and MuckRock. Officials with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy in May […]

The post Missouri warned feds in 2021 radioactive contamination of groundwater wasn’t improving appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The popular Seresto flea and tick collar will remain on the market, but with new mitigation measures, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week. The EPA announced the measures on the collar after a multi-year analysis of the product’s safety. The agency limited the approval of the collar to five years and required Elanco — […]

The post EPA rules popular Seresto flea collar stays on the market, with more reporting requirements appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As artificial intelligence finds its way into aspects of everyday life and becomes increasingly advanced, some state legislators feel a new urgency to create regulations for its use in the hiring process. Artificial intelligence, commonly known as AI, has been adopted by a quarter of businesses in the United States, according to the 2022 IBM […]

The post As employers expand artificial intelligence in hiring, few states have rules appeared first on Missouri Independent.