News
St. Louis health leaders warn COVID threatening hospital capacity
Leaders of the St. Louis area’s fight against COVID-19 warned Monday that hospitals are reaching capacity, doctors and support staff are worn down by overwork and harsh steps may be necessary to get control of the pandemic. In a briefing broadcast on Facebook, Dr. Alex Garza, head of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, […]
Missouri FOP revokes endorsement of Republican whose children say he abused them
The Missouri Fraternal Order of Police has rescinded its endorsement of Rick Roeber, a Republican candidate for the Missouri House accused by his two adult children of physically and sexually abusing them when they were young. In a letter from Missouri FOP President Rick Inglima to Roeber obtained by The Independent, Roeber was informed that […]
KC Freedom Project’s Latahra Smith answers call for justice from wrongfully convicted
TOPEKA — KC Freedom Project founder Latahra Smith savors the rare court victory overturning a conviction and freeing someone falsely thrown in prison. There is an inevitable celebration of newfound liberty with hugs from family and smiles for cameras, Smith said. Everything seems good, Smith said, but she also appreciates that years of unwarranted incarceration […]
Missouri AG’s office denies allegations it broke law in medical marijuana lawsuit
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office dismissed accusations that his office and the state department of health illegally concealed records and violated the Sunshine Law during the course of a medical marijuana lawsuit, calling the charges “frivolous” and “baseless.” The accusation arose last week in a motion seeking sanctions against Schmitt’s office and the Missouri […]
Missouri county stops COVID social media posts over ‘negative, insulting’ comments
A Missouri county enduring the state’s fourth-highest rate for new COVID-19 infections will stop posting local data on Facebook because of responses that attack its work and raise conspiracy theories about the disease. Ste. Genevieve County, a southeast Missouri county with 17,894 people, has added 195 new cases since Sept. 30 and 93 in the […]
The Missouri governor who was never governor
In early October 1864, Major General Sterling Price was poised to strike at Jefferson City with a force of about 12,000 men who had marched from the Arkansas border through the state in a last-ditch attempt to turn Missouri to the Confederate side. Accompanying Price was Thomas C. Reynolds, a native of South Carolina who […]
Spire Missouri program will help customers catch up on gas bills during COVID pandemic
The natural gas supplier for more than 1 million Missouri customers will create a payment assistance program and allow up to 18 months to pay bills that have accumulated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the plan approved Thursday by the Missouri Public Service Commission, Spire Missouri will help customers who have lost […]
High COVID case counts sending some Missouri students into virtual classrooms
Missouri continued its string of days reporting 1,000 or more new coronavirus infections on Friday, adding 1,811 new infections amid growing difficulties for school districts trying to maintain in-class instruction. While one of the state’s largest districts, Columbia Public Schools, opened doors for elementary students for the first time on Monday, the small Maries County […]
Trump in final debate slams pandemic aid as a ‘big bailout’ for blue cities and states
WASHINGTON — Asked during Thursday’s final presidential debate about why another round of economic relief hasn’t been approved to aid unemployed Americans and struggling local governments, President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, pointed fingers at opposite ends of the U.S. Capitol. Trump blamed House Democrats for the stalemate over another coronavirus stimulus […]
Medical marijuana lawsuit: Missouri health department illegally concealed documents
A Missouri family that sued after being denied a medical marijuana license is alleging the state department of health and Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office illegally concealed documents and violated open records laws in order to undercut their lawsuit. The allegations — which are included in a 28-page motion seeking sanctions against the state that […]
Nearly half of Missouri’s COVID deaths occurred in nursing homes
Nearly half of all coronavirus deaths in Missouri have occurred in nursing homes, with the highest total coming in St. Louis County, according to a new analysis of federal data from Saint Louis University researchers. At least 24 facilities around the state have reported 100 or more cases among residents and staff, and at least […]
Barrett nomination advances to U.S. Senate floor with a GOP-only vote
WASHINGTON — Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, as Democrats boycotted the markup in a show of protest. The 12 Republicans on the panel speedily voted on Barrett’s nomination and sent it to the Senate floor. The full Senate will […]