A massive project aimed at developing a long-term water resource reservoir for TEN northern Missouri counties is backed by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman. The Cosby Republican is urging the Legislature to approve a resolution supporting a long-term commitment of state funding for the project. Under Hegeman’s resolution, the state’s total annual […]
Tag: Republican
Audio: Missouri could soon require online retail businesses from out-of-state to pay state sales tax
Missouri could soon require online retail businesses from out-of-state to pay state sales tax. State Senator Andrew Koenig, a Republican from eastern Missouri’s Manchester, is sponsoring a so-called Wayfair bill. He tells Missourinet his goal is to make the state’s businesses more competitive. Koenig says his bill could bring in roughly 80 to […]
Audio: Missouri bills would move some local races and issues to a later election
Legislation has been filed this session that would move some local races and issues, such as fire department and tax increase proposals, from April to later in the year. During a Missouri House Budget Committee hearing this week, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft says he has not taken a position on the idea. However, he […]
Audio: MoDOT director Patrick McKenna says 645 MoDOT employees currently have COVID
Missouri’s transportation director says more than 600 of his employees currently have the coronavirus. State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) director Patrick McKenna testified before the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight on Monday in Jefferson City, delivering MoDOT’s annual report. “As of this moment (Monday afternoon), we’re at about 645 cases of COVID within MoDOT, MoDOT alone,” McKenna […]
Audio: Former Missouri State Senator launches bid for Blunt’s U.S. Senate seat
Former Missouri State Senator Scott Sifton has announced today his bid for the seat currently held by Republican U.S. Senator Roy Blunt. Sifton unveiled his decision today in a launch video critical of both Missouri U.S. Senators. “Our country is at a critical point in its history,” Sifton says in a press release. “We just […]
Audio: Missouri congresswoman wants $2,000 monthly coronavirus payments for Americans
Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush wants Congress to give Americans monthly checks of $2,000 until the pandemic is over with. Bush, a Democrat from St. Louis, says the payments should be retroactive – from the beginning of the pandemic. During an appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, she says she wants people to get […]
Audio: Federal gun law nullification bill passes Missouri House
A gun law bill that passed the Missouri House Wednesday would punish a police department through civil lawsuits if an officer enforces federal gun laws. A twin of the bill is also moving through the Senate. The “Second Amendment Preservation Act,” sponsored by Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, is aimed at disregarding any federal firearms actions by the […]
Audio: Parson accuses own members of his party of “insider stunt and petty show of arrogance”
Governor Parson has fired off a three-page letter criticizing House Republican leadership for disrupting his plans to hold last week’s State of the State address in the lower chamber. Parson, a fellow Republican, said four hours before the start of his speech, the House Leader informed him the address could only be given […]
Missouri State Lawmaker indicted for stem cell fraud scheme, illegally distributing prescription drugs
An elected Missouri State Representative has been indicted by a federal grand jury for a fraud scheme in which she made false claims about a supposed stem cell treatment marketed through her clinics in southern Missouri, and for illegally providing prescription drugs to clients of those clinics. Derges, a Republican, represents Christian County (District 140) […]
Audio: The Missouri Senate could bring up controversial education package this week
The Missouri Senate could debate this week a wide-ranging education package. Senate Bill 55, sponsored by Republican Cindy O’Laughlin of northeast Missouri’s Shelbina, is a controversial measure that could change the landscape of K-12 public education. The plan could expand charter schools to any Missouri city with a population greater than 30,000 people. […]
Audio: Senator Blunt defends Josh Hawley for questioning election results
Senator Roy Blunt is coming to the defense of his Missouri Republican colleague, Senator Josh Hawley, who has been criticized for questioning the results of the presidential election. Several Senate Democrats filed an ethics complaint against Hawley and Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, is asking the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate whether their actions played […]
Audio: Missouri Senator Roy Blunt says impeaching Trump would be unconstitutional
Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt asserts the effort to impeach former President Donald Trump is unconstitutional. Blunt was one of the 45 Republican senators who voted for a measure declaring the House effort to impeach Trump fell outside of its constitutional powers. Five Republicans joined the 50 Democrats in the US Senate to […]
Hawley wants an ethics probe of U.S. Senate Democrats who filed complaint against him
(Missouri Independent) – Seven U.S. Senate Democrats urged the chamber’s ethics panel last week to investigate Sen. Josh Hawley’s role in the pro-Trump assault on the Capitol. Now Hawley is calling for an ethics probe of the Democrats. In a Monday letter, Hawley argued that the Democrats filed an improper complaint last week against him and Sen. […]
Audio: Trump pardons ex-U.S. Congressman who lived in northeast Missouri
Former President Donald Trump has granted a partial pardon to a former U.S. Congressman from the state of California who lived in Missouri for many years. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a Republican from the Shelbina and Columbia areas, served in Congress for 14 years until 2005. He resigned after pleading guilty to receiving $2 million in […]
Biden immigration overhaul would open a door to citizenship for 11 million people
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden is poised to send a sweeping immigration reform bill to Congress Thursday that would lay out a path for nearly 11 million undocumented people to obtain citizenship within eight years. Immigration has been one of the toughest issues for Congress to tackle, and the legislation’s fate is unclear in […]
Audio: Missouri Senate committee to hear about controversial K-12 education bills
Two contentious K-12 education topics will be front and center Tuesday at the state Capitol in Jefferson City. The Missouri Senate Education Committee will consider Manchester Republican Andrew Koenig’s proposal that would let parents use tax credits to pay for things like private school tuition, tutoring, and school supplies. Supporters refer to this type of […]
Audio: Missouri Congressman Jason Smith says “Impeaching Trump would fuel more hate and fire”
The U.S. House has voted today to impeach President Trump for the second time. House Democrats have led the effort after Trump urged rally supporters last week to march to the U.S. Capitol and “pressure” lawmakers to object to the election certification process. On the House floor today, southeast Missouri Republican Congressman Jason Smith, a […]
Audio: Missouri House votes to censure member for allegedly having sex with an intern
For the first time in state history, a Missouri House member has been censured. The House voted 140-3 to publicly condemn St. Louis Democratic state Representative Wiley Price, who is accused of having sex with a capitol intern. Representative Jered Taylor, a Republican from southwest Missouri’s Republic, failed to get two-thirds of members to support […]
Josh Hawley stands his ground despite Missouri officials calling for his resignation and donors pulling support
Calls for the resignation of Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley continue to trickle in, along with some Republican allies and corporate donors pulling their support for him. The political backfire follows his efforts to challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory and the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol that followed last week. “I will never […]