(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 […]
A bill that went into effect over the weekend makes the first reforms to Missouri’s HIV criminalization laws since they were passed in the 1980s. Among other measures related to prosecutors and police, the bill requires prosecutors to prove someone knowingly exposed someone who contracted HIV before getting a felony conviction and reduces the minimum sentence […]
(Missouri Independent) – Attorneys who successfully sued to force Missouri to enact voter-approved Medicaid expansion argued in a letter to state officials Thursday that delays in implementation violate not only the court order but also federal law. The plaintiffs’ attorneys, Chuck Hatfield and Lowell Pearson joined with Joel Ferber, director of advocacy for Legal Services […]
The Department of Health and Senior Services has published its second annual report of the Missouri Medical Marijuana Regulatory Program. DHSS is required to annually submit a report to the Governor regarding the efficient discharge of its responsibilities under Article XIV Section 1 of the Missouri Constitution. Reported activities are based on the program year […]
The Missouri Department of Transportation is accepting proposals until the end of this year for the reuse of the Pony Truss, Warren alternating vertical bridge on Livingston County Route C over Shoal Creek, currently located 1.4 miles northwest of Dawn. The Shoal Creek Bridge is a 1933, rigid-connected, 178-foot long bridge with a 100-foot Warren […]
In light of the massive surge of illegal border crossings reported last week, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), joined by Senators Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting critical information on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s record of apprehensions during the Biden Administration. Interior […]
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reminds school personnel, parents, and students the Courage2ReportMO program provides a safe and confidential way to report any concerns regarding their safety or the safety of others. These concerns may include assault, bullying/repeated harassment, cyberbullying, fighting, guns, homicide, human trafficking, knife, planned school attack, imminent school shooting, school shooting threat, […]
A new report finds Missouri lags behind many other states in voting access. The Campaign Legal Center graded states on whether they have 10 key voting practices, from no-excuse absentee voting to online tracking of mail-in ballots and ballot drop boxes. Missouri received a score of four out of 10. Denise Lieberman, director of the […]
The Department of Economic Development announced that it will award $17.7 million in 50% and 70% tax credits through its Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) and Youth Opportunities Program (YOP) Special Cycle to 104 nonprofits across Missouri. “Missouri nonprofits have gone above and beyond to provide critical services to Missourians throughout the past year,” Governor Mike […]
(Missouri Independent) – Unlicensed youth residential facilities across Missouri are expected to submit materials notifying the state of their existence by mid-October, but background checks for facility staff required under a new law likely won’t be completed by that time. That’s because the Department of Social Services (DSS) is still working to make hires in […]
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Global Force Management Oversight Act. This legislation will ensure Congress has the information it needs to help the Department of Defense (DoD) balance between combatant commanders’ seemingly unlimited requests for forces and the need to stay focused on China and the Indo-Pacific. “The Department of Defense says it’s prioritizing the […]
We’ll learn new details Friday in Jefferson City about how Missouri will proceed with voter-approved Medicaid expansion. The Missouri Supreme Court’s 14-page ruling includes a conclusion, which requires Friday’s hearing in Cole County Circuit Court. “For the reasons set forth above, the circuit court’s judgment is affirmed only insofar as it overruled the […]
Wright Memorial Physicians’ Group in Trenton and Saint Luke’s Mercer County Clinic in Princeton announced they are currently hosting COVID-19 vaccination clinics one day each week. The Mercer County Clinic will be offering Johnson & Johnson vaccinations each Thursday, and Wright Memorial Physicians’ Group will be offering Moderna vaccinations each Friday. The vaccination clinics are […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt today filed a lawsuit to halt the recently imposed mask mandate in Kansas City. The suit, which was filed this afternoon in Jackson County, argues that the mask mandate imposed is unreasonable, unconstitutional, and arbitrary, and capricious. The suit names Mayor Quinton Lucas, the Kansas City, Missouri Health Department, and […]
(Missouri Independent) – Eight months after her son was born, Webster Groves High School teacher Jaime Adamski broke down in tears at her doctor’s office. Her breast milk had declined significantly since she had gone back to work. “I was depressed, angry, frustrated,” she said. “I felt like I was not a good enough mother […]
Three people accused in spray painting incidents July 5 in Trenton appeared Tuesday in the Associate Division of the Grundy County Circuit Court. Twenty-two-year-old Kelli Danielle Corrigan of Trenton pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second-degree property damage – a misdemeanor. Imposition of sentence was suspended, and Corrigan was placed on two years probation. […]
A new state task force is seeking comments and suggestions from the public on how to strengthen protections and services for Missouri sexual assault victims. Comments and suggestions are being gathered through an online survey at this link. The survey closes on September 30, 2021. The Missouri Rights of Victims of Sexual Assault Task Force […]
(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 […]
Missouri Attorney General joins a coalition of 26 states to protect Americans’ right to self-defense at the United States Supreme Court. The states filed an amicus brief in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, urging the justices to declare New York’s subjective-issue, or “may issue,” firearm license regime unconstitutional and reverse the […]
As part of the ongoing response, agencies across the U.S. government announced new resources and initiatives to protect American businesses and communities from ransomware attacks. The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, together with federal partners, have launched a new website to combat the threat of ransomware. The Stop Ransomware […]
