Prescription Drugs in Missouri

Audio: New law compels Missouri to join rest of nation and create a statewide prescription drug monitoring program

Missouri will no longer be the only state in the nation without a statewide prescription drug monitoring program.  A new state law has begun that will allow the creation of the database – for doctors to check for cases of suspected drug misuse. State Senator Holly Rehder has sponsored the legislation for nine years. Rehder, […]

Farm Scene news graphic

Struggle over tax break for inherited farmland churns below surface in reconciliation bill

(Missouri Independent) – Agricultural groups and farm-state lawmakers notched a significant win when U.S. House Democrats chose not to touch a big tax break for inherited property, avoiding, for now, a confrontation. But opponents remain wary that the idea could come back at any time as Democrats shape their massive $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, and […]

Prison Sentence news graphic

Missouri trucker sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole, for transporting minors across state lines and sexually assaulting them

A Missouri, truck driver was sentenced in federal court for transporting two Missouri teenagers across state lines and sexually assaulting them. Cleveland Lee Crumsey, 38, of Republic Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 25 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Crumsey to spend the rest of his […]

Republican Times

New owners of Trenton Republican-Times, Green Hills Weekly Shopper speak at Trenton Rotary Club meeting

The new owners of the Trenton Republican-Times and Green Hills Weekly Shopper spoke at the Trenton Rotary Club meeting on September 16th. Jamey and D’Anna Honeycutt took ownership of the two on September 1st. They also own the Clinton County Citizen newspaper in Plattsburg. The Honeycutts have been in the newspaper business for about 20 […]

Missouri Senate Chamber from Visitors Gallery (Photo Courtesy Missouri Senate)

‘Clown show’ vs. ‘tyranny’: Missouri Senate GOP divide on display during veto session

(Missouri Independent) –  On one side were tyrannical oligarchs. On the other, petulant children.  Or at least that was the takeaway from the Missouri Senate’s day-long rules debate Wednesday. Gathered for the legislature’s annual veto session, the demons that have haunted the upper chamber for more than a year didn’t take long to reappear.  The […]

Amtrak Missouri River Runner train#313 pulling into Kirkwood Missouri Amtrak Station

U.S. House Democrats add more mass transit, high-speed rail into infrastructure bill

(Missouri Independent) – The U.S. House transportation panel early Wednesday passed along party lines the panel’s $60 billion slice of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget plan, adding nearly $20 billion for a new transit program and high-speed rail development in the states. Chairman Peter A. DeFazio of Oregon had considered these and other items underfunded in […]

Voter ID Law

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 […]

The Board of Public Buildings, chaired by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, met on Sept. 13, 2021 (Photo courtesy Jason Hancock/Missouri Independent)

LGBTQ history exhibit goes unmentioned by Missouri Board of Public Buildings, governor cited for its removal

(Missouri Independent) – When news broke that an LGBTQ history exhibit was suddenly and without warning removed from the Missouri Capitol, Gov. Mike Parson contended the reason was that it didn’t get pre-approval from a board he chairs, but at that board’s first meeting in more than a year on Monday, neither the exhibit nor the […]

Missouri GOP vow to push back against Biden’s announced vaccine mandate

(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Republicans assailed President Joe Biden’s push to require employees of private businesses to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing, vowing a legislative response and legal action. Gov. Mike Parson promised to “fight back against federal power grabs and government overreach” in a tweet Thursday afternoon, calling Biden’s plan “an […]

Disaster Relief

White House seeks at least $24 billion to aid states struck by natural disasters

(Missouri Independent) –  The White House is urging Congress to approve at least $24 billion — and likely more — for disaster relief costs, saying that the aid should be included in a short-term spending bill expected this month. That tally includes $14 billion for recovery costs related to extreme weather events, including hurricanes, floods, and wildfires during […]

Medical Marijuana and Veterans

Veterans Administration sending mixed messages to vets about cannabis use to treat PTSD

(Missouri Independent) – Despite increasing legal access to medical and recreational cannabis in states across the U.S., veterans face unfair treatment and stigmatization because the U.S.  refuses to recognize marijuana as a viable treatment option.  While the VA has embraced the federally illegal status of the drug, agency policy does not allow discrimination against veterans […]

Citizenship Graphic Version 2

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 […]

Mask Mandate News Graphic

Biden administration opens civil rights investigation into states banning school mask mandates

(Missouri Independent) – Federal education officials have launched civil rights investigations in five Republican-led states that have prohibited school districts from mandating mask-wearing, saying those policies could amount to illegal discrimination against students with disabilities. The Biden administration notified the education chiefs in Iowa, Tennessee, South Carolina, Utah, and Oklahoma of the investigations through formal letters Monday. The new investigations will examine […]

Missouri Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Audio: Missouri pediatricians group responds to attorney general’s lawsuit about school masking requirements

The Missouri Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics is responding to Attorney General Eric Schmitt suing to block mask mandates in Missouri’s K-12 public schools. Schmitt, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, says a mask mandate “flies in the face of science, especially given children’s low risk of severe illness and death and their […]