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Missouri Independent
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Missouri Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization covering state government, politics and policy.
Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe must determine whether the use of state funds for MOScholars harms taxpayers and if state law permits the program to use general revenue. #moleg #mogov
Attorneys battle over future of taxpayer-funded private school vouchers in Missouri • Missouri Independent
A trial in Cole County Circuit Court questions whether the state's funding of private school vouchers is constitutional.
missouriindependent.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:04 PM
A federal lawsuit alleges a lack of reasonable action by the Missouri Department of Mental Health has turned jails into "de facto mental health wards." #moleg #mogov
‘Warehoused in jails’: State accused of denying mental health services to incarcerated Missourians • Missouri Independent
The lawsuit alleges a lack of reasonable action by the state to provide services has turned jails into ‘de facto mental health wards.’
missouriindependent.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Today kicks off The Missouri Independent’s year-end fundraising drive. We’re aiming to raise $15,000 to power our nonprofit news into the new year.

If our work has helped you understand Missouri better, consider supporting our journalism today. missouriindependent.com/donate/?oa_r...
Donate • Missouri Independent
missouriindependent.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Missouri has been working on updating its computer systems to improve how it administers social safety net programs since 2013. New federal rules mean that work will wait until at least 2028. #moleg #mogov
Federal changes delay long-overdue overhaul of Missouri’s troubled safety net systems • Missouri Independent
Plans to combine eligibility software for SNAP and Medicaid into a single, updated system are on hold due to sweeping federal changes.
missouriindependent.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Advanced Micro Targeting says it has not heard anything from Missouri AG Catherine Hanaway since she alleged, w/o providing evidence, that the company employed undocumented immigrants.

The company said every employee is a legal worker checked thru the federal E-verify system. #moleg #mogov
Lawsuit details alleged scheme to sabotage referendum on Missouri congressional map • Missouri Independent
A federal lawsuit accuses opponents of a referendum on Missouri's gerrymandered congressional map are poaching signature gatherers.
missouriindependent.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
A federal lawsuit accuses four consulting firms of offering thousands of dollars to signature gatherers to abandon their work, badmouth their employer and provide "intelligence" to opponents of the referendum campaign. #moleg #mogov
Lawsuit details alleged scheme to sabotage referendum on gerrymandered Missouri congressional map • Missouri Independent
A federal lawsuit accuses opponents of a referendum on Missouri's gerrymandered congressional map are poaching signature gatherers.
missouriindependent.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway on Thursday joined a growing number of government agencies investigating the makers and sellers of a product called 7-OH for engaging in what she called “unlawful” practices. #moleg #mogo
Missouri AG launches investigation into manufacturers of kratom, 7-OH • Missouri Independent
The Missouri health department issued a health advisory last month warning consumers of potential health risks it says are associated with 7-OH.
missouriindependent.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Trial set to begin in lawsuit challenging legality of Missouri private school voucher program #moleg #mogov
Trial set to begin in lawsuit challenging legality of Missouri private school voucher program • Missouri Independent
A trial over the constitutionality of Missouri's funding of private school vouchers could stop the outflow of state funds to MOScholars.
missouriindependent.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:17 PM
A St. Louis jury awarded a California cannabis consultant $3 million on Thursday, following a four-day trial where he argued a 2022 lab accident ended his career in the marijuana industry. #moleg #mogov
St. Louis jury awards cannabis consultant $3 million in injury lawsuit • Missouri Independent
Mark Avent had a heart attack due to a marijuana lab accident in 2022 at Blue Arrow Missouri's cultivation and manufacturing facility.
missouriindependent.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Missouri Independent
TRUMP ATTACKS DEM FORMER SERVICE MEMBERS: Trump accuses 6 Democratic lawmakers of 'seditious behavior, punishable by death' -- @ashleymurray.bsky.social for @statesnewsroom.com DC www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trum...
Trump accuses 6 Democratic lawmakers of 'seditious behavior, punishable by death'
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump accused six Democratic lawmakers of sedition on social media Thursday and threatened them with punishment as severe as death, after they appeared in a video message...
www.newsfromthestates.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Missouri AG Catherine Hanaway is asking a federal court to roll back the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision to approve a new generic brand of mifepristone, her first foray into a lawsuit filed by her predecessor to limit access to medication abortion nationwide. #moleg #mogov
Missouri challenges FDA approval of new generic mifepristone in push to limit abortion • Missouri Independent
The challenge to the latest form of generic mifepristone is part of a larger attempt to limit access to medication abortion at a national level.
missouriindependent.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Kansas, Missouri GOP officials agree to share voter registration details of 6 million people #moleg #mogov
Kansas, Missouri GOP officials agree to share voter registration details of 6 million people • Missouri Independent
Secretaries of state for Kansas and Missouri have signed a memorandum of understanding to exchange voter registration information.
missouriindependent.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Missouri will try to seize assets owned by China to collect a $24 billion default judgment in its case accusing the Asian nation of lying to the world about the COVID-19 pandemic that began in Wuhan, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said. #moleg #mogov
Missouri wants to seize Chinese assets to recover $24 billion judgment in COVID case • Missouri Independent
Missouri wants to seize assets owned by China to collect a $24 billion judgment in its case accusing China of lying about COVID-19.
missouriindependent.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Republicans have been trying since 2006 to enact the photo ID requirement in Missouri. Prior to the 2022 law, every attempt had been rebuffed by the courts. #moleg #mogov
Missouri Supreme Court reviews voter ID mandate, ban on paid registration efforts • Missouri Independent
The Missouri Supreme Court must decide the constitutionality of laws requiring voters to have government-issued ID cards.
missouriindependent.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Mark Avent says a mishandled vacuum at a St. Louis marijuana cultivation site sent marijuana dust into the air, triggering a medical emergency that ended his career in the cannabis industry. #moleg #mogov
Trial opens in consultant’s $5 million injury lawsuit against St. Louis marijuana company • Missouri Independent
A mishandled vacuum at a St. Louis marijuana facility sent dust into the air, triggering a medical emergency that Mark Avent says ended his career.
missouriindependent.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Missouri court strikes down 2022 law that pulled library books off shelves #moleg #mogov
Missouri court strikes down 2022 law that pulled library books off shelves • Missouri Independent
A Jackson County Circuit Court struck down a 2022 law that criminalized school employees for providing "sexually explicit material."
missouriindependent.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:44 PM
The fight over Missouri’s gerrymandered redistricting map is drawing millions in donations from dark money groups on the right and left — including $2 million over the weekend from a pair of Republican nonprofits. #moleg #mogov
Dark money groups pour cash into fight over gerrymandered Missouri congressional map • Missouri Independent
A mass text urging voters to drop their names from a referendum petition is the latest tactic in the fight over Missouri’s gerrymandered map.
missouriindependent.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Missouri babies and mothers continue to die at higher rates than the national average, a new March of Dimes report found. #moleg #mogov
Missouri still among worst states for infant, maternal health as new Medicaid cuts loom • Missouri Independent
Missouri again earned a “D” for its preterm birth rate, according to the latest report from the March of Dimes published Monday.
missouriindependent.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:45 PM
A Korean War veteran from Nebraska named Russell Wood made 35 donations totaling $1,050 over the last year to Bill Eigel’s campaign for St. Charles County executive.

The problem is, Wood, who is 92, has never heard of Eigel or set foot in St. Charles County. #moleg #mogov
How a Nebraska veteran unwittingly became a repeat donor to a Missouri county campaign • Missouri Independent
Former state Sen. Bill Eigel is fundraising for his campaign by tapping people who allowed recurring donations when he ran for governor.
missouriindependent.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:52 PM
A new political action committee funded by the national Republican Party won a delay Thursday in a trial over the effort to force a statewide vote on Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional district map. #moleg #mogov
Trial over referendum on Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map delayed again • Missouri Independent
A PAC funded by the national Republican Party won a delay in a trial over the effort to force a referendum on Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map.
missouriindependent.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Union mechanics at Boeing Defense in the St. Louis area approved a new contract Thursday, ending a three-month strike. #moleg #mogov
Boeing strike in St. Louis ends after union approves new contract • Missouri Independent
Fighter-jet mechanics, who've been on strike since August, will begin returning to work Sunday.
missouriindependent.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:16 PM
As petitioners gather signatures for a possible referendum on Missouri's gerrymandered congressional map, attorneys battled over the meaning of words that govern the redistricting process. One big dispute was over how to interpret words that are not in the Missouri Constitution. #moleg #mogov
Judge hears arguments over legality of gerrymandered Missouri congressional map • Missouri Independent
Attorneys argued Wednesday over the power of Missouri lawmakers to gerrymander congressional maps in the middle of a decade.
missouriindependent.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:53 PM
The off-and-on freeze of benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, that serves about 42 million people, was among the most consequential effects of the record-setting shutdown. Roughly 1 in 8 Americans use SNAP to help buy groceries. #moleg #mogov
The shutdown tug-of-war over SNAP benefits: a timeline • Missouri Independent
Payments for November for the nation’s main food assistance program have been delayed during the government shutdown.
missouriindependent.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:05 PM
State officials estimated last year that 40,000 food establishments and smoke shops and 1,800 food manufacturers were selling products that would be banned under the proposed federal regulations. #moleg #mogov
Missouri hemp businesses fear new federal THC limits will destroy the industry • Missouri Independent
Thousands of Missouri food establishments and stores would be impacted by federal THC limit on hemp products.
missouriindependent.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:39 PM
A summary of the bill says the new language would prevent “the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based or hemp-derived products, including Delta-8, from being sold online, in gas stations, and corner stores, while preserving non-intoxicating CBD and industrial hemp products.” #moleg #mogov
Deal ending government shutdown includes restrictions on intoxicating hemp products • Missouri Independent
A deal to end a government shutdown included an amendment that targets intoxicating hemp products across the country.
missouriindependent.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:20 PM