(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on December 1, 2021, in a case that threatens to overturn decades of abortion protections established under the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade. The upcoming case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, stems from a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 […]
Tag: color
Groups see Missouri proposals as voter-suppression attempts
As lawmakers in Congress work to expand access to voting, members of the Missouri Legislature are proposing laws their critics say would limit people’s ability to vote. State legislative committees on elections convened last week to discuss measures that would impose a stricter voter ID law, require election officials to purge voter rolls more frequently, and others. Luz […]
New report says “Restricting abortion access brings big financial trouble”
Limiting women’s access to abortion and other reproductive health care can have a devastating impact on state economies. According to new data from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, restrictions on the books in Nebraska cost the state $1 billion annually in lost income, productivity, and state revenues. Andi Curry Grubb, Nebraska state director for Planned […]
Find the best places to see fall foliage with Missouri Department of Conservation’s fall color forecast
Missouri is blessed with a variety of trees, shrubs, and vines that make the fall season come alive with color. You can find the best places to view the changing foliage using the Missouri Department of Conservation’s fall color report at this link. “Our fall color report is updated weekly from MDC foresters all over […]
Latest judge announced for Missouri Days Marching Festival
William Stevenson graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Master of Science degree in Fashion Merchandising and Textiles, with a special emphasis in ballet costume design. William is a founding member of Eklipse Winter Guard (2001 WGI finalist), and a featured performer with Ubiquity Winter Guard 2004. During graduate school, he spent time as […]
Missouri Republicans vow to push again for voter ID law
(Missouri Independent) – With several months to go before state lawmakers return for the 2022 legislative session, Republicans are promising to once again push to require photo identification to vote. Committees in the Missouri House and Senate held hearings Tuesday dominated by discussions of requiring a government-issued ID for both in-person and absentee voting. Secretary […]
Food insecurity rose for single moms, families of color in 2020
The rate of people experiencing hunger in Colorado and across the U.S. remained statistically steady overall during 2020, according to initial data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But people of color and low-income workers experienced food insecurity at dramatically higher rates during the pandemic. Geri Henchy, director of nutrition policy at the Food Research […]
Study to probe how black parents, kids in Missouri discuss racial violence
More than a year after the police killing of George Floyd that sparked nationwide protests, a professor in St. Louis is taking on a project to figure out what support systems Black parents have to talk with their kids about racial violence. Missouri has been a central point of the movement against police brutality after […]
USDA invests $464 million in renewable energy infrastructure to help rural communities, businesses and ag producers reduce energy costs
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Department is investing $464 million to build or improve renewable energy infrastructure and help rural communities, agricultural producers, and businesses lower energy costs in 48 states and Puerto Rico. “USDA continues to prioritize climate-smart infrastructure to help rural America build back better, stronger and more […]
Audio: Stage performances announced at Chautauqua in the Park in Chillicothe
Performers of various genres will provide stage entertainment at Chautauqua in the Park at Simpson Park in Chillicothe this weekend. Chillicothe Area Arts Council Administrator Mary Lou VanDeventer says the first thing to be on the stage in the center of the park on September 11th will be a 20th-anniversary tribute of the September 11th terror […]
Virginia’s black farmers push lawmakers to provide debt relief, end lawsuits delaying USDA loan forgiveness
Farmers of color are urging Congress to end a slew of lawsuits delaying a loan-forgiveness program designed to make amends for years of loan discrimination against minority farmers. White farmers are claiming in court Congress’s $4 billion debt relief for Black farmers, part of a COVID-19 stimulus package, amounts to reverse discrimination. John Boyd Jr., president of […]
House reconciliation package would provide path to citizenship for millions
(Missouri Independent) – A provision tucked in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package would direct Congress to chart a path for citizenship for millions of undocumented people. If passed, the House provision would provide a pathway to citizenship for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, often referred to as Dreamers, farmworker workers; those […]
Supreme Court rejection of eviction ban increases pressure to dole out rental aid money
(Missouri Independent) -The U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of the Biden administration’s last-ditch effort to extend a federal ban on evictions has put hundreds of thousands of American renters at risk of losing their housing — and is increasing pressure on states and localities to get rental assistance dollars distributed faster. In an eight-page majority opinion […]
Bob Ross Cherrywood Challenge quilt exhibit on display at Missouri Quilt Museum in Hamilton
The 2020 Bob Ross Cherrywood Challenge quilt exhibit is now on display at the Missouri Quilt Museum. Each year, Cherrywood Fabrics of Brainard, Minnesota, conducts a themed quilting challenge. Quilters are provided a color palette of fabric, a theme, and a deadline. The theme of the 2020 challenge was the artist Bob Ross. Quilters must […]
Chautauqua on the square returns for 2021 run in Gallatin
Chautauqua on the Gallatin Square is back this year after not being held in 2020. The event is scheduled for September 17th and 18th. The Caldwell Family Band will perform that Friday evening at 6 o’clock. Spokesperson Kelle Lawson says Fievel Goes West will be shown on the lawn at 8 o’clock. Saturday’s activities will […]
Five Points Festival slated for August 28 in Trenton
Multiple activities are planned in Downtown Trenton on August 28, 2021, as part of the Five Points Festival. The Throwdown for Downtown Cornhole Tournament will be held on Main Street that morning, with warm-ups at 10 o’clock and the first toss at 11 o’clock. Cash prizes will be awarded for the first through third-place teams […]
Meatpacking plants have long relied on immigrant labor. Some now turn to foreign visa workers
(Missouri Independent) – Colored hard hats distinguish different roles and jobs at Seaboard Foods, a major meatpacking plant in Guymon, Oklahoma. Senior management have green. Supervisors wear dark blue. Foreign workers on visas don yellow-green. But Seaboard is part of a small but growing trend in the meatpacking industry, which already largely relied on an […]
Iowa woman sentenced to 304 months in prison for hate crimes; Attempted to kill two children because of their race
An Iowa woman was sentenced on two hate crimes charges for attempting to kill two minor victims because of their race and national origin. Nicole Poole Franklin, 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephanie M. Rose to 304 months in federal prison on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently to each other […]
Third judge announced for 2021 Missouri Days Marching Festival
The third announced judge for the 2021 Missouri Days Marching Festival is Greg Marquis, a graduate of Western Illinois University and both a Ballroom and Latin Dancesport Instructor and competitor. Greg has been a member of the Central States Judges Association since 1986, where he served as both Visual Caption Head and Color Guard Caption […]
U.S. House Democrats unveil new voting rights bill named for John Lewis
(Missouri Independent) – At the base of the bridge in Selma, Ala., where the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia almost died while marching for civil rights, congressional Democrats announced Tuesday the introduction of legislation that aims to protect voting rights across the country. Rep. Terri Sewell, an Alabama Democrat, unveiled what will be […]