Missouri Independent
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Business
Missouri medical marijuana companies win tax relief
Missourians voted in 2018 to legalize medical marijuana. But under federal law, growing, transporting or selling marijuana remains a crime.…
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Opinion
Opinion: What’s behind the CDC’s decision to drop masks for fully vaccinated
In other times, a “masks off” announcement might have been celebrated. Instead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stepped…
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Politics
Missourians, health care providers pause plans as Medicaid expansion heads to court
Nina Canaleo wishes she could have known years ago that she would one day be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Maybe…
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Politics
Electric buses, asphalt, bridges: Politicians jostle for federal transportation cash
WASHINGTON — The nearly $1 billion that U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., is seeking through Congress’ revamped earmarks process isn’t a…
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News
Residents grapple with utility costs as shutoffs resume
The pandemic has been hard on Louise Lynch’s family. Her daughter caught COVID-19 as the virus first took hold, and nearly…
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Education
Homeless students slipping through cracks, congressional panel told
WASHINGTON — Witnesses before a U.S. House panel on Wednesday advised lawmakers on how federal relief aid can help bridge…
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Politics
Lawsuit seeks to force Missouri to enact voter-approved Medicaid expansion
The least surprising lawsuit of the year, to force Missouri to provide Medicaid coverage to 275,000 people eligible under a 2020…
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Politics
Ashcroft urges Missouri Senate to shut down debate for Medicaid funding
Republicans in the Missouri Senate should move to shut down debate if a filibuster blocks anti-abortion lawmakers from putting their stamp…
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Health
Free testing aims to curb sexually transmitted infections ignored as COVID-19 spread
As the case counts of the COVID-19 coronavirus began to tick up across Missouri in March 2020, providers who offer…
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Business
Court orders state to release records on medical marijuana program
A state appeals court ruled Tuesday that Missouri regulators were wrong to withhold copies of successful medical marijuana applications from litigants…
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Politics
Group wants to send gas tax hike passed by Legislature to Missouri voters
A conservative anti-tax group wants Missourians to decide whether they will pay extra for gas starting in October as a bill…
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News
Homeless crisis looms with federal eviction moratorium on shaky legal ground
At least once a day, housing advocate Melissa Pashia speaks to someone who is living in a car. Once the situation…
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Opinion
Opinion: A most unusual legislative session
The 2021 Missouri legislative session was one of the most unusual and unpredictable of the legislative gatherings I’ve covered in…
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Politics
Republicans hope to counter calls to ‘defund the police’
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Republicans have pushed through a bill that would penalize cities that cut police budgets and bolster protections for officers under…
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Coronavirus
Bill to shield businesses from most COVID lawsuits heads to governor
In the last hour of the 2021 legislative session, the Missouri House sent a sweeping bill that would shield businesses…
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Politics
Legislative season ends without passing bill crucial to Medicaid funding
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri lawmakers ended the 2021 legislative session with a $2 billion question left unanswered. For the first time…
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Politics
Dropping emissions testing could prompt U.S. to slap sanctions on Missouri
JEFFERSON CITY – With just hours left in their 2021 session, Missouri lawmakers passed legislation removing several St. Louis area…
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Business
Online retailers face paying Missouri sales tax
In legislative jargon, it’s called the Wayfair fix. What it means is a change in state law that makes online…
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Business
State bill to speed move to clean energy wins approval
Legislation that would allow Missouri utility companies to speed their transition to renewable energy is on its way to Gov. Mike…
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Crime
Missouri lawmakers close to approving bill targeting protesters who block traffic
A push to crack down on protesters who block roads, to penalize cities that cut police budgets and to bolster…
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Politics
Parson abandons plans to implement voter-approved Medicaid expansion
Missouri will not expand Medicaid coverage to working-age adults on July 1 because lawmakers refused to include funding for the health care…
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Politics
Lawmakers strike deal on crime bill after Parson’s veto threat
JEFFERSON CITY – House leadership backed off its insistence that a wide-ranging crime bill include stiffer penalties for lying under…
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Business
Secrecy around ownership raises questions about marijuana networks
The Missouri House voted Tuesday afternoon to require state regulators to turn over ownership information for businesses granted medical marijuana…
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Politics
Prescription drug monitoring program bill heads to governor
JEFFERSON CITY – In a historic vote, the Missouri House signed off Tuesday on legislation to establish a prescription drug monitoring…
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Politics
Parson vows to veto crime bill if it has penalties for lying
JEFFERSON CITY – The fate of a wide-ranging crime bill was called into question on Tuesday over a provision that…
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Coronavirus
FDA green-lights Pfizer vaccine for ages 12-15; CDC still to act
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has signed off on expanding the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to…
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Health
Rep. Bush tells Congress of Black pregnancy complications, maternal deaths
WASHINGTON — When U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri was pregnant with her first child, Zion, she saw a sign…
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Police Accountability
Ferguson movement is on cusp of revolutionizing political power
April 6, election night in St. Louis, was a defining moment for the Ferguson movement. The race was close. Kayla…
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News
Push to put benefit limits on Missouri unemployment debt goes down in House
A bill to forgive mistakenly paid unemployment benefit from 2020 will include a waiver for debts to the state but won’t include…
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Politics
Parson’s office won’t release resignation letter of second key official
The same day as Randall Williams’ sudden resignation as Missouri’s top health official, another key member of the executive branch…
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