Missouri State Government
Until they get in touch with him, organizer TJ James says, many people with a felony conviction have no idea that they have the right to vote. And it’s not for a lack of interest, said James, an organizer with the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, or MORE2. “I’ve had people that I…
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Nearly 8,000 seniors and Missourians with disabilities could lose at-home care over the next year after a new eligibility algorithm went into effect this week, a spokesperson for the state health department told The Independent. Starting Oct. 1, Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services implemented a change in the scoring algorithm they use to…
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The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is asking for over $174 million in supplemental funding for this school year after receiving $1 billion less in appropriations compared to the previous year. When the State Board of Education reviewed the budget bill approved by lawmakers in May, Board Chair Charlie Shields predicted that “the mother…
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Missourians will have the opportunity to vote to enshrine abortion in the state constitution this November, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. In a decision published less than three hours before the constitutional deadline to remove a question from the ballot, the Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s ruling that recommended the measure be stripped…
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The Missouri Supreme Court will decide whether an abortion-rights will end up on the Nov. 5 ballot after a Cole County judge ruled the proposed amendment violated state law. The case bypassed the court of appeals over the weekend and headed straight to the state’s highest court, which scheduled oral arguments for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday…
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SEDALIA — On a hot and humid afternoon in the Swine Barn of the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, brothers Cole and Ty Murphy keep watch over their two hogs. Ty, 14, said he likes the hard work caring for pigs requires. “Every night we’re walking them for five to 10 minutes, working hair, cleaning…
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Families flock to McDonald County in southwest Missouri each summer to float down the Elk River, visit the caves where Jesse James took refuge and stay in a rustic cabin. The county is a vestige of old, wild Missouri charm — and a place where restaurants and bars still ask, “Smoking or non?” People in…
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Independent U.S. Senate candidate Jared Young won an endorsement Thursday from a Republican stalwart and former mentor of current Sen. Josh Hawley. Republican John Danforth, who served three terms in the U.S. Senate representing Missouri from 1976-1995, announced his endorsement of Young, a Webb City resident, in a written release. Young is a conservative and running…
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Marijuana companies face a hard deadline to meet Missouri’s new plain packaging requirements on Sept. 1 — more than a year after the rule was initially put in place. For decades, there’s been a global movement urging “plain packaging” on tobacco products — or packaging with limited colors and frills — after numerous studies found it makes…
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SEDALIA, Mo. — A confrontation between U.S. Senate rivals Thursday on the Missouri State Fairgrounds may be the closest thing to a live debate in the 2024 campaign. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican seeking his second term, arrived at the Governor’s Ham Breakfast looking for Lucas Kunce, the Democrat hoping to unseat him. He…
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State regulators issued two cannabis recall notices last week involving 135,000 marijuana products — more than double Missouri’s first massive cannabis product recall exactly one year ago. “I’ve never seen recalls of this magnitude in any other state,” said Nick Rinella, CEO of Hippos Cannabis. “This is kind of unprecedented.” Since the announcement, Rinella and facility owners…
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An end run around the Missouri General Assembly has the nation’s two largest sports books driving hard to their goal of crossing home plate with a big payday. A constitutional amendment to legalize sports wagering will be Amendment 2 on the Nov. 5 ballot, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office said Tuesday, after finding that backers had…
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Walking into Total Wine stores in Missouri this summer, it was impossible not to see the display for hemp-derived THC infused beverages. Total Wine, the country’s largest liquor retailer, set the tone for the alcohol industry in June when it began carrying the products at its seven Missouri stores. “It has been amazing for us,”…
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BOONVILLE – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said Thursday that he will participate in moderated television debates with Democrat Lucas Kunce, but first he wants Kunce to agree to debate without moderators at the Missouri State Fair. In response, Kunce said he will take part in the Lincoln-Douglas style debate Hawley wants, but first the incumbent…
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Patrick McKenna, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, on Wednesday said he will leave his post after almost nine years on the job. McKenna announced his decision near the end of a meeting of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission in Poplar Bluff. He did not give a date for his departure and did not return messages seeking…
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Missouri Republicans ratified Gov. Mike Parson’s choice of successor Tuesday by nominating Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, rejecting the scion of a veteran political family and the disruptive tactics of the GOP’s most vocal faction. Kehoe trailed Ashcroft in most polls until this summer, when the $16 million campaign warchest he amassed in his campaign fund and joint…
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ST. LOUIS – St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell defeated U.S. Rep. Cori Bush in the Democratic primary for Missouri’s 1st District Congressional seat on Tuesday, capping a showdown between the highest profile political figures to emerge from the Ferguson uprising 10 years ago. The Associated Press called the at 10 p.m. with Bell holding…
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Months of campaigning and TV ad wars will come to a close Tuesday, as Missouri voters head to the polls to pick their party’s nominee for Congress, the state legislature and nearly every statewide office. The Independent tried to answer some of the questions you may have about voting in Missouri’s primary. What time do…
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In the winter, Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin said she would vote to expel state Sen. Bill Eigel. This summer, a political action committee connected to O’Laughlin is working to stop him from becoming governor. On July 5, the NEMO Leadership PAC — which was created to support O’Laughlin — contributed $100,000 to the Great Northwest PAC…
Read Full Article With less than a week before Tuesday’s primaries, statewide elected officials are doing what they can to use their jobs to grab last-minute headlines. On Thursday in Jefferson City, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft went first, holding a news conference to announce he is suing President Joe Biden and 15 federal department heads over a 2021…
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COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri will eliminate its division focused on diversity, social equity and inclusion on the Columbia campus, completing the dismantling of administrative structures put in place after protests in 2015 brought national attention to issues of racial equality. The move coincides with the departure of division Vice Chancellor Maurice Gipson. It is designed to…
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A February poll of Republican primary voters showed Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft had the most recognizable name in the race for governor. That shouldn’t be surprising. Ashcroft has held statewide office for eight years, and his father John ran statewide seven times, winning five elections for state attorney general, governor and U.S. senator before becoming…
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Former President Donald Trump’s coveted endorsement in the Missouri GOP gubernatorial primary finally arrived Saturday night, with Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and state Sen. Bill Eigel forced to share the honor. All three quickly crowed to supporters about Trump’s endorsement, never mentioning the fact that it was split three ways.…
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CUBA, Mo. — Mike Kehoe wanted to make one thing perfectly clear to the several dozen supporters of his campaign for governor who gathered earlier this month at Cowtown USA. “I don’t scream and holler about politics,” said Kehoe, Missouri’s lieutenant governor. “I’m running against people who are of the ‘burn it down’ variety. I’m just…
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For most of his second term in the Missouri Senate, Bill Eigel has been a disruptor. First with a homegrown Republican faction called the Conservative Caucus, and then with a state chapter of the national Freedom Caucus, Eigel led a small group willing to torpedo legislation to make their points heard. It hasn’t won him many friends…
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