(Missouri Independent) – Missourians who qualify for benefits under Medicaid expansion can begin enrolling. Still, it may take up to two months until they will find out if their eligibility has been verified and their application has been approved. In a news release Wednesday, Gov. Mike Parson announced that in response to a Cole County […]
Tag: democrat
Commentary: COVID brings front and center the tug between individual rights and the public good
This article is a commentary. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, the staff, management or webmaster. (Missouri Independent) – It seems that getting control of the coronavirus has brought front and center the question: When should an individual’s right […]
Senator Hawley announces 15 amendments to budget, calls to pass parent tax credit, hire 100,000 new police, and reopen schools
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he will introduce 15 amendments to the Democrats’ newly-proposed $3.5 trillion budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2022. Senator Hawley’s amendments would allow for the hiring of 100,000 new police officers, restrict federal funding for K-12 schools that refuse to fully reopen, fight back against critical race theory, and protect the […]
Missouri seeks to boost prizes in local vaccine incentive program
(Missouri Independent) – Prizes awarded through a vaccine incentive program offered by local public health departments in Missouri may get boosted to $100-per-person under a new federal allowance. After previously rejecting Missouri’s proposal to exceed a $25 limit on prizes paid for with federal funding to incentivize immunizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently […]
Fight over mask orders growing at rate to rival Missouri Delta variant cases
(Missouri Independent) – Politicians are fighting over masks. Public health officials are begging people to get vaccinated. And meanwhile, the Delta variant continues to spread almost unchecked in the state. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones defended their mask mandates during separate appearances Wednesday. Page held a press conference […]
Audio: State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick announces bid for State Auditor in 2022
State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick is running for State Auditor in 2022. Fitzpatrick is a numbers guy – a former Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman. The state auditor’s job is to be a watchdog over government money. Fitzpatrick is the first known candidate to announce his bid for the seat. He says he has […]
U.S. Senate agrees to move ahead on $550 billion in new infrastructure spending
(Missouri Independent) – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators say they have worked through the sticking points on a major infrastructure package, and the Senate agreed on a procedural vote on Wednesday night to advance to debate on the proposal. That announcement came a week after Republicans blocked a test vote on the deal, with GOP […]
Missouri Supreme Court rules voter-approved Medicaid expansion is constitutional
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri must expand Medicaid to 275,000 eligible people who were expecting coverage under a constitutional amendment that took effect July 1, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous opinion, the court overturned a trial court ruling that the amendment, passed in August 2020 was unconstitutional because it may increase the state’s cost for […]
Vaccine hesitancy in Missouri is more complicated than just party affiliation
This article is a commentary. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, staff, management, or webmaster. (Missouri Independent) – No doubt, what is happening to sections of our state is absolutely heartbreaking. Currently, the Delta variant of COVID-19 is […]
Fate of Missouri Medicaid expansion in the hands of the state Supreme Court
(Missouri Independent) – After an eight-year fight over Medicaid expansion, the arguments are over. The question of whether 275,000 people will receive state-paid health care coverage is in the hands of the Missouri Supreme Court. Oral arguments took place Tuesday in an expedited appeal. The seven judges must decide whether Medicaid eligibility will expand, as directed by the […]
Governor Parson makes appointments to House and Senate Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commissions
Governor Mike Parson announced 40 appointments to the House and Senate Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commissions. On April 26, 2021, the United States Census Bureau delivered the 2020 Census Apportionment Results to the President of the United States. Consistent with the Missouri Constitution, this started the 60-day window for the Democrat and Republican state and congressional […]
Sara Walsh joins growing field in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District
(Missouri Independent) – A crowded Republican primary is emerging in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District, a solidly GOP seat that is also the only one of the state’s eight districts certain to have a new lawmaker at the end of 2022. State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, on Wednesday became the latest candidate to enter the race […]
Bob Griffin, longest-serving Missouri House speaker, has died at age 85
(Missouri Independent) – Bob F. Griffin, who served as speaker of the Missouri House for 15 years until he was forced to resign in the face of a federal criminal investigation, died Wednesday in Columbia. He was 85. Griffin was the longest-serving speaker in the state’s history. During his tenure as speaker from 1981 to 1996, the […]
Audio: Missouri labor officials will review Federal unemployment overpayments for possible waiver
Missouri Labor officials have announced that they’re starting a process for Missourians who received unemployment overpayments to apply for a potential waiver. The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations emphasizes that this involves non-fraud FEDERAL unemployment overpayments. St. Louis Democratic State Representative Peter Merideth has been urging DOLIR to waive the federal portion: […]
Missourians need to make their voices heard about the future of the farm and food system
This article is a commentary. The views expressed in this article are those of the author, Tim Gibbons, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, management, or staff. (Missouri Independent) – Missouri Rural Crisis Center recently sent in comments to the Biden Administration and USDA in response to their request […]
Missouri House passes Medicaid provider tax bill, preventing major budget cuts
(Missouri Independent) – With fewer than 12 hours to spare before the start of a new fiscal year, the Missouri House on Wednesday approved a bill extending medical provider taxes essential to balancing the budget, forestalling more than $700 million in cuts planned by Gov. Mike Parson. Divisions over how and whether to add provisions sought by […]
U.S. House votes to remove bust of Supreme Court justice who wrote Dred Scott decision
(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. House voted Tuesday to remove from the Capitol a bust of the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, who in 1857 wrote the Dred Scott decision (Dred Scott pictured above article) that stripped all Black Americans, free or slave, of their citizenship. The legislation passed on a vote of 285-120 with only 67 […]
Missouri Supreme Court: State can’t charge attorney fees for Sunshine Law requests
(Missouri Independent) – In a win for transparency advocates, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that government agencies cannot charge for time attorneys spend reviewing public records that are requested under the state’s Sunshine Law. In a 6-0 decision, the judges ruled that a lower court erred by siding with Gov. Mike Parson in a lawsuit […]
Relief payments to black farmers on hold amid lawsuits backed by former Trump aides
(Missouri Independent) – Former Trump administration officials and conservative and libertarian nonprofits have launched lawsuits to block federal relief funds aimed at Black and minority farmers—a development that House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott of Georgia calls “an evil system at work here.” Suits have been filed in Florida, Wisconsin, and Texas that says it’s […]
Missouri Senate approves FRA, rejects push to ban Planned Parenthood from Medicaid
(Missouri Independent) – A bipartisan coalition handed anti-abortion activists a rare defeat in the Missouri Senate Friday night, rejecting a push to ban Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider as it passed a bill to secure billions for the state’s Medicaid program. And only a restatement of the state’s already existing ban on using public funds to […]