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In 2018, the Supreme Court handed down the Carpenter decision. That decision built on the one declaring phones off limits without a warrant — one delivered four years earlier. The rationale was this: phones are always on, all-knowing, and everywhere all the time. Given the amount of data generated by everyday smartphone use, the Supreme […]

Little Treasures Child Development Center received unsettling text messages on a business phone on September 20, 2023, at approximately 1:10 p.m. These messages did not contain specific threats, and the daycare operates across multiple counties.

WASHINGTON DC - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) celebrated the progress of their Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument Act after the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources today favorably reported the bill out of committee. This bill now can be considered by the full Senate, bringing this legislation closer to becoming law and preserving this critically important moment in American history as a national monument. “We are pleased the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument Act moved closer to becoming law today because it means we are that much closer to protecting and preserving this critical historic site,” the Senators said. “We have been dedicated to preserving these important parts of our state and nation’s history and are committed to seeing the process through. Ensuring our National Park System honors civil rights events of extraordinary cultural and historical importance,

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The balloon race results from last week show that the winners are as follows: 1st place: Kurt Vitense, 2nd place: Walt Rudy, and 3rd place: Aaron Gebhart.

Here are a few of our staff picks for things to do Sept. 22-28.

Missouri's Auditor said in a statement that the allegations about the St. Louis City Justice Center are “extremely concerning and warrant intense scrutiny.”

The fallen leaves, if used properly, could provide a huge benefit to your lawn, landscaping and garden.

In my previous review, I delved into the intricate world of hash rosin and my first encounter with a "doughnut" joint, also known as a "hash hole" or, in other words, hash rosin rolled into flower and then into a joint, which first gained popularity on Instagram. So I was thrilled to come across a premade version, a product that is truly unique in the Missouri cannabis market: the Tropicana Cookies x Mimosa hash hole by VIBE Cannabis.

by Tony Schick, Oregon Public Broadcasting

This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published.

The Biden administration agreed Thursday to spend more than $200 million to fully fund Native tribes’ plans to reintroduce salmon in the upper Columbia River basin — more than 80 years after construction of the Grand Coulee Dam rendered the fish extinct in parts of Washington, Idaho and British Columbia.

The unprecedented show of federal support is a course correction from the previous efforts of some federal agencies to resist tribal salmon restoration, which were documented in an August 2022 investigation by Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica.

“This agreement is the start of fixing a wrong,” Greg Abrahamson, chair of the Spokane Tribe of Indians, said during the announcement of the agreement. “Grand Coulee Dam allowed the desert to bloom, and many faraway cities enjoyed the cheap electricity it produces, at my people’s expense.”

The announcement is also a recognition of the federal government’s long-standing violations of the fishing rights of sovereign tribes, some of whom have signed treaties with the U.S. government. Construction of Grand Coulee Dam destroyed the Columbia River fishing site of Kettle Falls, a regional trading hub and sacred site for many salmon-dependent tribes. It cut off hundreds of miles of river habitat for salmon, who migrate to the ocean as young fish and return to their home waters to spawn as adults. Salmon and other oceangoing fish once accounted for an estimated 60% of the historic diet for Northwest Indigenous people. After the construction of Grand Coulee and other dams in the upper Columbia basin, those fish disappeared.

After nearly 80 years without those fish, a coalition of tribes along the upper Columbia River developed in 2015 a multiphase plan to reintroduce salmon into areas where they’d been blocked.

The tribes’ long-term plan involves building hatcheries, releasing fish into waters above Grand Coulee, tracking their migration and developing plans to pass fish safely around the dams through techniques like trapping them and trucking them up or downstream. They designed the plan to ensure it does not interfere with hydropower generation at the federal government’s biggest dam on the Columbia.

Grand Coulee Dam, and Chief Joseph Dam farther downstream, together produce roughly half of all the federal hydropower on the Columbia River. Those two dams don’t currently have to accommodate salmon, which has cut into revenues at other federal dams.

Two salmon swimming at Chief Joseph Dam (Chona Kasinger for ProPublica)

As OPB and ProPublica found, tribal efforts faced resistance from the Bonneville Power Administration, the agency in charge of selling hydroelectricity from the dams and funding salmon restoration using the revenue. Tribes told Bonneville in 2019 that the federal agency’s lack of funding and stonewalling” put their reintroduction efforts at least three years behind schedule.

Restoration above Grand Coulee is about more than the tribes’ own fishing. The coldwater rivers and streams above the dam are thought to offer a bastion for the fish as the climate turns warmer. Reintroduction has been endorsed by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, a government body that oversees the fish and wildlife program funded by Bonneville, and more recently by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees endangered species recovery for salmon.

The next phase of the tribes’ plan, which this agreement funds, will cost an estimated $208 million. Under the agreement announced Thursday, which doesn’t require congressional approval, Bonneville will put $200 million toward implementing the tribes’ plan over the next 20 years. That money will come from electricity ratepayers in the Northwest. During that span, the tribes agreed to pause an existing lawsuit over the federal government’s dam operations. Bonneville executive John Hairston lauded the opportunity to use the money on “meaningful actions for fish rather than costly litigation.”

The Department of the Interior will add $8 million from the Bureau of Reclamation.

“We will bring salmon back where they belong — to the waters of the upper Columbia,” Jarred-Michael Erickson, chair of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in northeast Washington, said in a statement. “The Colville Tribes look forward to our children celebrating a Ceremony of Joy when salmon are permanently restored to their ancestral waters.”

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe of Idaho described the agreement as a “180-degree reversal for the federal agencies.”

This agreement over fish reintroduction in the upper Columbia was part of a larger negotiation over the fate of the river, in which tribes and environmental advocates agreed to a pause in litigation for the past two years after the Biden administration vowed to find a solution.

“The Columbia River and its tributaries are the life spring of the Pacific Northwest, stewarded since time immemorial by tribal nations,” Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said during the announcement. “Today’s historic announcement builds on the Biden-Harris Administration values of honoring long-standing commitments to tribal nations.”

The most contentious issue remains the potential breaching of four dams on the Snake River in southeast Washington; tribes and advocates have urged dam removal for years, and federal scientists now say it’s necessary to allow salmon to recover.

Negotiators have a deadline at the end of October.

Missouri now ranks No. 3 among states that have banned books in schools over the last year, according to a PEN America report released Thursday.

ALTON - Marquette Catholic High School will be holding its annual Homecoming dance on Saturday, Sept. 23. This year's Homecoming Court is Ava Heinz, Caleb Thomeczek, Elizabeth Wills, Justin Fears, Layla Lincoln, Eli Waters, Ava Sanders, Braden Kline, Katie Johnson, Duarell Blocker, Emma Baggio, Nicholas Cardinale, and Abigail Taylor. The Homecoming Court will take part in a short parade on Friday, Sept. 22 before Marquette's home football game against Althoff Catholic. The parade will leave from Johnson's Corner at 6:50 p.m. The football game will follow starting at 7 p.m.

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Monarch butterflies, a species on the endangered list, are currently migrating across the St. Louis metro area on their way to Central Mexico.

The federal pandemic-era child tax credit expansion lifted millions of children out of poverty in the second half of 2021. But Congress allowed it to expire at the end of that year, and new U.S. census data shows the child poverty rate more than doubled in 2022, erasing the record gains that were made. “It […]

The post As child poverty doubles, states launch or expand their own tax credits appeared first on Missouri Independent.

GRANITE CITY - Over 50 teachers from three counties (Madison, St. Clair & Macoupin) gathered Wednesday for a workshop targeting Culinary Arts and Science teachers at the GCSD9 Board Office. The title was The Science Behind Food and Flavor. Topics covered were: What is food science, What is Flavor, Food Industry Overview, Industry trends, Careers, and Roundtable discussions. The event was sponsored by Madison County CTE System , St. Clair CTE, and Macoupin CTE.

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GODFREY - BJC Medical Group Convenient Care at Godfrey, formerly Alton Memorial Convenient Care, will move to a new, larger location at 5213 Godfrey Road on Sept. 25. Only one mile from its current location, the BJC Medical Group Convenient Care at Godfrey – part of the BJC Outpatient Center at Godfrey that will open later this year -- will offer three full-time providers and a staff of 10 to serve the Alton community with walk-in and scheduled care for minor injuries, common conditions, and illnesses. “The Convenient Care clinic has become a big part of health care in our area in recent years, and we’re happy to give it a new home,” said AMH President Dave Braasch. “As always, we will continue to look for ways to improve the health of the communities we serve.” Patients can reserve a time online to schedule an appointment HERE.

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Comedian Cedric The Entertainer is now an author with the release of his new novel.

In his role as music advisor for the Blues, Knox has also recorded an original song to be featured in the pre-game intro video for the 2023-24 season.