Missouri Politics & News
The Daily Signal covers Missouri politics with reporting on state government, urban-rural divides, Second Amendment rights, and conservative policy battles in the Show-Me State.
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- News
Missouri School Offered ‘Sweet Prize’ to Students for Reading Sexually Explicit Books
A Missouri high school offered prizes to students who read books featuring sexually explicit LGBT material, critical race theory, and transgender education. The high school librarian in the Webster Groves School District, located in the suburbs of St. Louis, encouraged students to check out books from her commonly banned book list to enter a raffle…Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell -
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Missouri Issues Emergency Rule Restricting ‘Inhumane Science Experiments’ on Children
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Tuesday issued an emergency regulation on gender transition treatments to protect children from what he calls “inhumane science experiments.” Gender transition interventions are covered by existing Missouri law governing unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable business practices, including in administering health care services, according to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. Bailey’s…Fred Lucas -
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Missouri Schools Took Kids to a Drag Show Without Informing Parents. AG Bailey Is Working to Prevent It From Happening Again.
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Missouri's attorney general sent a letter to the state's association of school boards, urging it to adopt a resolution mandating that parents and guardians receive advance notice and the ability to opt their children out of sexual instruction, following news that a middle school took students to a drag show without…Tyler O’Neil -
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Incoming Missouri State Auditor Outlines Plans to Combat ESG Policies
A newly elected official in Missouri says his emphasis in his role as state auditor will be to focus on combating left-wing “environmental, social, and governance”—or “ESG”—policies with respect to investments. “Well, as the state treasurer, I’ve gained … a lot more exposure to ESG issue than pretty much anybody in elected office in Missouri….Samantha Aschieris -
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‘Massive Fiduciary Breach’: Missouri Pulls $500M Worth of Pension Funds From BlackRock’s Control
Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick announced on Tuesday that the state’s pension fund is selling all of its assets that are managed by BlackRock, a move that will divest up to $500 million from the asset manager. The Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System is withdrawing its assets from BlackRock’s control because the state believes that…Jack McEvoy -
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Vaccine Mandates Will Worsen Police Shortage as Crime Spikes, Missouri Attorney General Warns
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, warned that vaccine mandates nationwide could lead to a greater police officer shortage even as crime surges. Schmitt, Missouri’s chief law enforcement officer, said he is worried that mandates will only worsen the wave of police officer retirement triggered by the “defund the police” movement last year. “You’ve got police…Thomas Catenacci -
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2 Employees Sue Missouri School District Over ‘Equity’ Training
Public school employees Brooke Henderson and Jennifer Lumley have had it with the racially discriminatory training sessions taking place in their school district in Springfield, Missouri. The women filed suit Wednesday in federal court, arguing that Springfield Public Schools violated their right to free speech under the First Amendment by forcing them to affirm beliefs…Sarah Parshall Perry -
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Missouri Planned Parenthood Prioritizes Agenda Over Women’s Health
Protecting the health of women should be apolitical. Unfortunately, the nation’s largest abortion business is more interested in pursuing its own agenda than in protecting patients. Lawyers for Planned Parenthood sought, and just obtained, an administrative ruling to allow its abortion business in St. Louis, Missouri, which didn’t meet the state’s safety standards and violated state law, to…Jeanne Mancini -
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What You Need to Know About Missouri’s Lawsuit Against China Over COVID-19
The devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is compounded by the possibility—some would say likelihood—that it could have been averted or its impact mitigated. If, for example, China failed in a timely manner to disclose the threat of the new coronavirus or misrepresented its cause or severity, there could be political or economic consequences. But…Thomas Jipping -
- Opinion
Missouri Lawmaker Attacked for Wanting Parents to Have Say in Drag Queen Story Hours
Ben Baker is used to getting pushback. A conservative in the Missouri Statehouse, he’s been on the wrong side of the fringe left before. But nothing compares to this. The dad of four is getting death threats at his office, violent messages on his phone—all for trying to give parents a say on Drag Queen…Tony Perkins -
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Missouri Has One Abortion Clinic. Here’s What’s Going On in Planned Parenthood’s Fight to Keep It Open.
Planned Parenthood is fighting to keep the last abortion clinic in Missouri open as health officials say that the clinic violated mandated health requirements and that the clinic refused to cooperate with mandated inspections. Planned Parenthood maintains that anti-abortion government officials seek to eradicate the Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri…Mary Margaret Olohan -
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Pro-Choice Groups File Lawsuit Over Missouri Abortion Ban
Abortions rights activists filed a lawsuit against Missouri government officials over the state's new ban on abortions after eight weeks. Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Paul, Weiss law firm filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, and other state officials in an attempt to block abortion legislation…Mary Margaret Olohan -
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Missouri Abortion Clinic Licensing Fight Due Back in Court
Planned Parenthood and the state of Missouri are still at odds over whether or not the state’s only remaining abortion clinic will be allowed to stay open. The state of Missouri says that it won’t renew the license of the St. Louis abortion clinic after three failed abortions that resulted in “additional surgeries and another…Rachel del Guidice -
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Judge’s Decision Means Missouri’s Last Abortion Clinic Remains Open
A judge in St. Louis, Missouri, ruled to temporarily block the state from preventing the state’s only Planned Parenthood from performing abortions on Friday. Judge Michael F. Stelzer issued a temporary restraining order in favor of Planned Parenthood, according to NBC. The state would have been the first without one abortion clinic. The clinic would have closed…Henry Rodgers -
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Missouri Could Become the First State Without an Abortion Clinic
Attorneys for the state of Missouri and Planned Parenthood met in court Thursday in a battle over whether or not Planned Parenthood’s only remaining abortion clinic in the state would be able to remain open. The license for Planned Parenthood’s last Missouri abortion clinic expires Friday, and in a press briefing on Wednesday, Missouri Gov….Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
Planned Parenthood Says It Puts Women First. This Missouri Clinic Proves Otherwise.
Planned Parenthood claims to put women first, yet the atrocious health code violations found at a Missouri clinic earlier this month suggest otherwise. The abortion giant was campaigning against newly proposed regulations on Missouri abortion clinics when state inspectors discovered a clinic in Columbia, Missouri, was already in violation of existing state regulations. The clinic’s…Monica Burke -
- Opinion
Former Missouri Law, Which Required 1,000 Hours of Training to Legally Braid, Shows Problem With Occupational Licensing
The U.S. Supreme Court wrote a fitting conclusion last week to a four-year challenge to Missouri’s licensing requirements for braiding hair. The high court’s order, in the case of Niang v. Tomblinson, directed the district court to dismiss the case, recognizing that the Missouri General Assembly effectively resolved the challenge when it passed new, less…John-Michael Seibler -
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Missouri Tried to Discriminate Against a Church for No Good Reason. How the Supreme Court Leveled the Playing Field.
In a 7-2 decision on Monday in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, the Supreme Court overturned a Missouri policy that discriminated against a church simply because of its religious character. Citing a provision in its constitution that bars aid to religious organizations, Missouri had disqualified Trinity Lutheran Church’s preschool from a competition…Emilie Kao -
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What We Should Learn After Religious Liberty Fight in Missouri
By now you’ve likely read or heard of the knock-down, drag-out fight that we had at the Missouri Legislature on Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 39. If passed by simple legislative majorities, SJR 39 would have placed a ballot question on either the August or November ballot pertaining to religious liberty. Missouri voters would then decide…Gregg Keller -
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Attempt to Send Religious Liberty Bill Straight to the People Fails in Missouri
A measure that attempted to take the power away from Missouri lawmakers and give it to the people to decide how to handle the marriage and religious liberty debate died in committee Wednesday after three Republicans voted against it. “It is unfortunate that Republican representatives who typically campaign as conservatives refused to govern that way,”…Kelsey Bolar