Thomas Ross released on bond

Former 161st District state representative candidate Thomas Ross was released on bond today following a 16 minute preliminary hearing and detention hearing in U. S. District Court in Springfield.

The judge, relying on the probable cause affidavit filed by the U. S. Attorney's office ordered the case to move forward to a "grand jury or other proceedings."

Ross was represented by Springfield attorneys Joseph Passinise and Thomas Carver.

Ross is charged with conspiring to plant cocaine on his opponent in the Republican primary Louise Secker. Ross defeated Secker by 32 votes. After his arrest, Ross withdrew from the race and the Jasper County Republican Central Committee selected Secker to be his replacement.

Jason Smith: I'm fighting for working families

(From Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith)

Fighting for the working class for small businesses and rural areas is what I am passionate about. My father was an auto mechanic and a pastor, and my mother worked in a factory so we could have health insurance. 

I was raised in a single-wide trailer before we eventually upgraded to a double-wide when I was in junior high school. I am fighting for the working class because I’m a product of the working class. When it comes to letting people keep the money they earn and ensuring people have access to health care, these are the policies I think of when supporting the working class.

As Ways and Means Committee chairman, I authored the Working Families Tax Cuts to bring relief directly to families across southeast and south central Missouri. Because of that law, 97 percent of tax filers got a tax cut this year, and a family of four earning less than $73,000 now owes zero dollars in federal income tax. More than 7.5 million workers claimed No Tax on Tips, saving an average of over $7,000, and nearly 29 million claimed No Tax on Overtime. More than 35 million seniors claimed the new senior deduction, and nearly 40 million families claimed the enhanced Child Tax Credit, which we increased to $2,200. We also created Trump Accounts, giving every eligible child a $1,000 head start toward their future, and more than 7 million children are already enrolled. This is what tax relief for the working class should look like.

Our work includes health care, where affordability begins with accountability and transparency. Families are tired of being slapped with hidden prices at hospitals and insurance companies using loopholes to deny their claims. To that end, I recently summoned the CEOs of the nation’s largest insurers and hospital systems to testify before the Ways and Means Committee to demand answers on why they continue to prioritize profits over patients. Following that hearing, I fought to advance legislation through my committee to bring real transparency to health care pricing, because families deserve to know what care costs before they owe a dime for it.

But anyone from a rural area knows that the cost of health care doesn’t matter if you can’t access health care near you. In the Working Families Tax Cuts, I included the Rural Health Transformation Program to ensure our rural hospitals have what they need to stay open. And in the last week, I secured a $1.7 million grant for Salem Memorial Hospital through this program, ensuring this hospital, which serves thousands of families across Dent County, doesn’t close and force folks to travel even further. That’s what fighting for families looks like, and every Democrat voted against that relief for hospitals like Salem Memorial, which in total represents the largest investment in rural health care in American history.

Democrats try to claim that they’re the party of the working class, but as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Every Democrat voted against tax relief like No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime and No Tax on Social Security, and voted in favor of allowing the largest tax increase in American history to go into effect. Now more than ever, we need to ensure the policies we’re pursuing benefit the people we represent, and I’ll continue fighting so more families can afford to put food on their tables, clothes on their back, and gasoline in their cars.

Missouri GOP still sees path for gerrymandered congressional map

By Jason Hancock 

Missouri Independent

Republican officials aren’t giving up on the congressional map they pushed through the Missouri legislature last year, despite two setbacks at the U.S. Supreme Court and a state Supreme Court ruling that the map never became law.

Their next chance comes Thursday before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

But the legal path to getting the map back in place for November appears exceedingly narrow.

Even if the federal appeals court sides with Republicans challenging the use of Missouri’s old congressional districts, a U.S. Supreme Court order blocking the 2025 map would remain in effect unless the justices themselves lift it.

And there is another problem: The Missouri Supreme Court has already ruled that the map Republicans want to use never took effect under state law.

Former Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff described that as an “insuperable obstacle.”

“The Supreme Court of Missouri is the final authority on what Missouri law is,” he said, “and the court has said that (the 2025 map) is not the law and never was, because it has not been approved by a vote of the people.”

For the Republican plaintiffs to prevail, he said, the 8th Circuit would effectively have to order Missouri to conduct an election using districts that the state’s highest court has determined are not legally in effect.

And even then, Wolff said, the U.S. Supreme Court’s stay would stand in the way.

“The chances,” Wolff said, “are between zero and zero.”

Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch there is virtually no chance an 8th Circuit ruling will ultimately change the map used in the November election.

“The war’s over,” he said, “but there’s still soldiers fighting.”

Republican leaders see it differently.

Gov. Mike Kehoe, who called lawmakers into a special session last year to redraw Missouri’s congressional districts at President Donald Trump’s request, said after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened last week that he still hopes the appeals court will revive the map.

“I look forward to the 8th Circuit’s consideration of the merits of the Missouri First Map and remain confident in the legal process moving forward,” Kehoe said. “Voters deserve certainty and clarity.”

The 8th Circuit has set remote oral arguments for 10 a.m. Thursday, two days before the federal deadline for Missouri to send ballots to military and overseas voters.

The case was filed by U.S. Rep. Bob Onder, state Sen. Rick Brattin and two Missouri voters after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Sept. 3 that a referendum petition challenging the new map was legal, sufficient and timely.

That unanimous decision put the map on the Nov. 3 ballot as Proposition A and held that the 2025 districts never took effect because a successful referendum petition suspends the challenged law until voters decide its fate.

The practical result is unusual: Missouri held its Aug. 4 congressional primaries under the 2025 map but is now preparing to hold the general election under the districts used in 2022 and 2024. Onder, Brattin and the other plaintiffs argue that switching maps between the primary and general election violates the U.S. Constitution by effectively nullifying votes already cast in the primary.

Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark in St. Louis agreed they were likely to prevail on that argument and on Sept. 8 issued a temporary restraining order preventing Secretary of State Denny Hoskins from using any congressional map but the 2025 plan.

That set off two days of legal whiplash.

The 8th Circuit initially declined an appeal of Clark’s order, noting that appeals courts generally lack jurisdiction to review temporary restraining orders.

People Not Politicians, the group behind the referendum, then went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which Thursday morning stayed Clark’s order without any noted dissents.

The high court said its stay will remain in effect while the case is before the 8th Circuit and through any timely petition asking the justices to review the appeals court’s eventual ruling.

That means an 8th Circuit decision favoring Onder and the other plaintiffs would not, by itself, put the 2025 map back in place.

After the U.S. Supreme Court intervened, the 8th Circuit moved quickly, ordering expedited briefs and scheduling Thursday’s argument.

Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court acted, Hoskins reversed a directive he had issued to local election officials and told them to use the 2022 map. The Missouri Supreme Court found Hoskins had been in contempt of its Sept. 3 order but said he purged the contempt by reversing course.

During the contempt hearing, Chief Justice W. Brent Powell repeatedly pressed lawyers for Hoskins on a question that could hang over Thursday’s federal argument: Whatever the federal courts decide, can they change the Missouri Supreme Court’s conclusion that the 2025 map never became state law?

“(The 2025 map) never went into effect, right?” Powell asked William Seidleck, an assistant attorney general representing Hoskins.

“Per this court’s holding, yes,” Seidleck replied.

Powell returned to the point later, asking whether a future federal ruling could change the fact that the map had never taken effect.

“As a matter of state law,” Seidleck said, it could not.

Chuck Hatfield, an attorney for People Not Politicians, told the judges he believed the U.S. Supreme Court’s intervention had largely eliminated the immediate stakes of the federal appeal.

“I think we’re done, judge, as a practical matter,” Hatfield said, though he acknowledged the litigation could continue.

One of the biggest unanswered questions heading into Thursday is what position Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s office will take.

Hanaway represents Missouri and Hoskins in the federal litigation. Her office sided with the Republican plaintiffs before Clark and urged him to block use of the 2022 map. It later asked the U.S. Supreme Court to leave Clark’s order in place.

But after the U.S. Supreme Court stayed that order and Hoskins agreed to follow the state court’s directive, Hanaway was less definitive about what comes next.

“As far as our strategy for the 8th Circuit, I don’t know, because it’s a very confusing posture,” Hanaway told reporters last week.

Asked whether any path remained to revive the 2025 map, she told reporters: “As I stand here today, no.”

Military and overseas ballots must be sent by Sept. 19. Local election officials spent much of last week waiting for the courts to decide which congressional districts they should use before Hoskins’ Thursday directive put them back on the 2022 map.

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

Carthage father charged with felonies after 8-year-old flown to Springfield with severe burns

A Carthage man is being held in the Jasper County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond after one of his children was flown to Mercy Springfield with serious injuries Wednesday.

Christopher James Albin (DOB 1988) is charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child after he allegedly awakened to find the child on fire and then did not call 911 after he extinguished the fire.

At the time of the fire, Albin was supposed to be caring for children ages 8, 6 and 5, with intellectual or developmental needs, according to the probable cause statement filed in Jasper County Circuit Court.

From the probable cause statement:

On September 9, 2026, officers of the Carthage Police Department responded to 615 E. Airport Drive, 

Apartment 3F, in reference to a juvenile who had sustained severe burn injuries. Upon arrival, officers located Victim 1, who had sustained extensive burn injuries requiring immediate medical treatment. 

Victim 1 was subsequently transported by medical helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, for treatment.

There were three children present in the residence at the time of the incident, with Victim 1 being the child who sustained the burn injuries. 

Christopher James Albin, the father of the children, was present inside the residence when the incident occurred. Victim 1 is eight years old, Victim 2 is six years old, and Victim 3 is five years old.

During the initial investigation, Albin stated that he had been asleep and awoke to find Victim 1 on fire. Albin stated he attempted to extinguish the fire after discovering Victim 1. Evidence located at the scene included burned pieces of clothing and portions of burned skin. 

Albin then stated he put Victim 1 into the tub so he could wash the burn or attempt to ease the pain that Victim 1 was experiencing.

Albin was subsequently transported to the Carthage Police Department, where I conducted an interview with him regarding the incident. 

Prior to the interview, I read Albin his Miranda rights. Albin stated he understood his rights, agreed to speak with me, and signed a written waiver of those rights.

During the interview, Albin provided an account of his activities earlier in the day. Albin stated he awoke at approximately 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. and changed the children's diapers. He stated he then prepared breakfast for the children, which he described as Pop-Tarts and candy. 

Albin stated that at approximately 10:00 a.m., he changed the children's diapers again.

Albin stated that later in the morning, he went back to his bedroom with Victim 1, where Victim 1 laid in bed with him while they watched television. Albin stated the other two children remained on the floor watching television.

Albin stated he became relaxed and eventually fell asleep. He stated he subsequently awoke to find Victim 1 on fire.

Albin stated that on the evening prior to the incident, he had been using a lighter to light a candle and had left the lighter out. I specifically questioned Albin regarding whether any other items capable of causing a fire had been left within the children's reach, including additional lighters, a torch, or other items associated with the lighting of the candle. 

Albin initially stated there was nothing else left out. Albin stated that he normally keeps such items stored in a backpack in a closet.

During the investigation, information obtained from investigators who processed the scene established that additional items had been left out in the residence, including butane fuel containers and an additional torch. These items were not initially disclosed by Albin during my questioning.

When confronted with this additional information during the interview, Albin acknowledged that he had left the butane and another torch out in the residence. Albin stated that he understood that leaving those items out was his fault but maintained that the incident was accidental and was not intentional.

During my investigation, I also observed one of the children appeared to have dried fecal matter on their bodies. The children's diapers also appeared as though they had not been changed for an extended period of time. I questioned Albin regarding the condition of the children and their diapers. Albin stated that he had changed their diapers and suggested that the children may have defecated themselves during or following the incident due to the traumatic experience. The fecal matter appeared to be dried at the time it was observed.

Albin also stated that, after the fire occurred, he did not immediately call 911. Instead, he contacted the children's mother. Albin stated that after speaking with her, he experienced an asthma-related issue and administered an asthma treatment to himself before calling 911. As a result, emergency services were not immediately contacted by Albin following the incident. Emergency services were eventually contacted by the reporting party, a nearby church employee.

During the interview, Albin acknowledged that he has smoked THC in the presence of the children. He also acknowledged that he had previously lit candles in their presence and that the children had observed him using lighters. When questioned about whether he had ever taken a lighter away from one of the children or instructed them regarding the dangers of lighters, Albin stated that he had never caught any of the children with a lighter and had never taken a lighter away from them. Albin also stated that he had never specifically explained the dangers of lighters to the children.

Albin stated that the children would watch movies or other programming in which fire may be depicted, and that when the children would see someone catch on fire or similar situations, he would tell them that fire was bad and that they should not play with fire. However, Albin stated he had never specifically instructed the children about the dangers of lighters because he had never caught them with a lighter.

The three children in the residence were eight, six, and five years old, respectively, and information available during the investigation indicated that the children had intellectual or developmental needs.

 

The investigation established that lighters, butane fuel, and a torch had been left accessible within the residence where the children were present.

Victim 1 sustained extensive burn injuries as a result of the incident, including singed hair and burns to multiple areas of the body. The severity of Victim 1's injuries required Victim 1 to be transported by medical helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Springfield for further treatment.

Subsequently, Albin's oldest child, identified as J4, was interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center. During the interview, J4 disclosed that Albin would use a bong or THC rig approximately 10 to 20 times per day. J4 further disclosed that he would routinely care for the younger children because Albin would become intoxicated, sluggish, and difficult to wake after using THC.

Based on the totality of the circumstances, including Albin's presence in the residence, his admission that he left a lighter, butane fuel, and a torch accessible in the residence, his initial failure to disclose the presence of the butane and additional torch when specifically questioned about items capable of causing a fire, the condition of the children and their diapers, his failure to immediately call 911 following the incident, and the resulting severe injuries sustained by Victim 1, I determined there was probable cause to arrest Albin.

Nancy Hughes: Everyone needs a hiding place- where is yours?

  “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7 (NIV)


“Come find us, Grandma! Bet you can’t find us!” the voices giggled, followed by immediate silence. I stood at the back door of my daughter’s house and looked around the yard. Not in the playhouse. Not behind the shed or in the loft of the swing set.

I scanned once more, and then I saw it: a small chunk of dirt at the top of the huge dirt pile that my son-in-law had deposited by the fence, tumbling to the ground, evidently knocked loose by an “unseen force.” 

I pulled back the green lid from the sandbox that had been moved over the dirt pile to find a rather large hole and two dirty little faces grinning at me. “How do you like our hiding place?” they asked me together. “I love it!” I replied. “Tell me how you did it.”

Ella and Jude explained that they had used two small buckets and a shovel to dig a hole wide enough for them both to fit in, and then pulled the lid to their sandbox up the side of the “mountain” to cover the hole.

“You know why we did that? It’s ‘cause of that crazy dog that keeps coming around. We know we can hide in there, and we are safe from that dog!” explained Ella. “And bad guys! Don’t forget the bad guys!” Jude chimed in. “They can’t find us in our hiding place!”

I love Psalm 32:7. The Lord is my hiding place. I know without a doubt that I am safe with Him and that He will protect me. He delivers me from “crazy dogs” and “bad guys” every single day of my life.

What is your hiding place? Where do you take refuge when tough times slam into your life? Some will hide in their careers or their wealth; others will choose drugs, including alcohol. Still others will hide behind an outward appearance of indifference to whatever is going on around them. These hiding places may seem to help for a while, but they are just temporary and will only protect from the “crazy dogs” and “bad guys” for a short time.

On the other hand, a permanent hiding place with the Creator of the Universe will provide a refuge for us to heal, receive His mercy, and give us strength for what lies ahead.

Don Moen wrote a song based on Psalm 32:7 that begins this way: “You are my hiding place. I run to You. I need Your mercy and grace to see me through. So I run to You.” Where is your hiding place?

Lord, I long to hide in the shelter of your wings when everything around me seems to be falling apart. Thank you for covering me with your love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

When situations come up that are difficult, where or to whom do you turn first?

Is that refuge temporary or permanent?

Apply

Memorize Psalm 32:7 and sing it as praise to the Lord.

Journal Scriptures that talk about the hiding place that the Lord has offered to you, each and every day.

Power

Psalm 32:7 (NIV) “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”

Psalm 31:19 (NIV) “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.”

Psalm 31:2 (NIV) “Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.”

(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)

Stella woman cited for felony DWI after injury crash near Granby

A Stella woman was cited for felony driving while intoxicated following a one-vehicle accident 4 p.m. today on W Highway north of U. S. 60, two and a half miles east of Granby.

According to Highway Patrol accident and arrest reports, a 2004 Ford F-150 driven by Keisha N. McCracken, 42, Stella, crossed the center of the roadway and struck a fence.

McCracken, who was also cited for driving while revoked, no insurance and careless and imprudent driving, was treated for serious injuries at Mercy Joplin.

Latest Missouri poll finds another razor thin margin ahead of November vote on abortion

By Anna Spoerre

Missouri Independent

Just 10 days ago, Steven Rogers says he would have predicted Missourians were set to reinstate an abortion ban this November.

Then the latest polling results landed in his inbox. Now the professor of political science at Saint Louis University says he’s not so sure.

Of 900 likely Missouri voters surveyed in August by the SLU/YouGov Poll, of which Rogers is director, 44% opposed the abortion ban and 43% supported it. The remaining 13% were unsure, according to the latest survey released Thursday. The poll took place between Aug. 13 and Aug. 24 and has a margin of error of roughly 4 percentage points. 

In November, Missourians will be asked if they want to repeal a reproductive rights amendment voters approved in 2024 and reinstate an abortion ban with limited exceptions for survivors of rape and incest and medical emergencies. That proposal, placed on the ballot by the legislature, will be listed on the statewide ballot as Amendment 3, the same name as the 2024 abortion rights amendment. 

In the latest poll, the abortion ban garnered more support among men, with 46% of those surveyed in support compared with 40% of women in support. Republicans were three times more likely to vote in support of the amendment than Democrats. Only 20% of Democrats said they planned to vote in favor of the ban; 65% of Republicans expressed support.

The strongest support for the abortion ban amendment came from Missourians in southeast and northwest Missouri. Those polled in the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas expressed the greatest opposition.

“The path is there. Let’s get it done,” Tom Estes, a leader with Her Health, Her Future, the campaign advocating for the abortion ban amendment, said of the poll results on social media. 

The August results erased a gap that had favored the amendment several months earlier.

Polling done in February, with the latest results updated after YouGov changed its weighting strategy, showed an 11 percentage point margin between the “yes” and “no” votes, with 50% of those surveyed saying they planned to support the abortion ban amendment and 39% saying they planned to oppose it. 

“Politicians made it abundantly clear that Amendment 3 was designed to overturn the will of voters and ban abortion,” Tom Bastian, a spokesman for Stop the Ban, the campaign effort to defeat the amendment, said in a statement. “As more Missourians are tuning in to the election, it’s not surprising to see a growing number of voters saying NO to Amendment 3 to stop the abortion ban and protect reproductive freedom in our state.”

The 2024 vote that overturned the state’s 2022 near-total abortion ban and created a constitutional right to the procedure up to the point of fetal viability passed with support from 51.6% of the nearly 3 million Missourians who cast a vote.

A few months before the 2024 vote, a SLU/YouGov survey found that 52% of Missourians polled planned to vote for the reproductive rights amendment; 34% planned to vote to keep a ban in place.

Rogers said he doesn’t foresee the polling results lining up as perfectly this time. But he was able to compare responses from 305 people who took the survey in both February and August. Among that sample, 17% of the people who supported the abortion ban in February flipped to opposition, and 14% flipped from oppose to support. 

While the August poll only asked for Missourians’ view on Amendment 3, the February poll asked more specific questions around both abortion and gender-affirming care for minors. The survey found that 59% of Missourians support abortion access through at least 8 weeks of pregnancy. 

The same survey also found a majority of Missourians opposed access to gender-affirming healthcare for minors, with 66% of those surveyed opposing hormone therapy or medications for minors and 72% opposing gender transition surgeries. 

This matters because November’s Amendment 3 would also place a ban on gender-affirming care for minors into the state constitution. This type of healthcare has been banned in state law since 2023. The Missouri Supreme Court upheld the ban earlier this year. 

Proponents of Amendment 3 say a more permanent ban is needed, noting that the ban on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones expires in 2027, though the ban on surgeries is permanent. Those opposed to the abortion ban amendment decry the ban on gender-affirming care as ballot candy meant to bring more people to the polls in favor of the amendment and distract from the effort to reinstate an abortion ban.

When comparing the latest polling results with those from August 2024, Rogers said they found both Democrats and Republicans are less-supportive of the reproductive rights amendment this go-around. That was also the case for non-white voters.

He suspects that Republicans’ decision to attach a ban on gender-affirming care for minors to the proposed abortion ban accounts for some of that shift. 

But the increase in opposition to the proposed abortion ban between the February poll and August poll came from several groups, including young, elderly and male Missourians, he said. 

In general, he said the latest poll results points to increasing discontent with those in power. 

Trump, Kehoe post first negative approval ratings in new Missouri poll

The August SLU/YouGov poll also found both President Donald Trump and Gov. Mike Kehoe’s approval ratings among Missourians took a hit since February.

In that span of several months between surveys, voters shot down a few major Republican policy proposals, including an attempt to make it more difficult to amend the constitution using citizen-led initiative petition process, which is how the reproductive rights amendment currently in place was passed.

“A general theme of the (August) poll is that people are upset,” Rogers said, noting that most of the Republican establishment didn’t fare well in the latest survey, nor in the primary. “If that carries over into November, then this Amendment 3 may fail.” 

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

Detention hearing set for former 161st District Rep candidate, new high-powered lawyers hired

A detention hearing for former 161st District House of Representatives candidate Thomas Ross, who is charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance will be held 1 p.m. Monday in U. S. District Court in Springfield.

The hearing, which was originally scheduled for September 9, was pushed back when Ross, who had been represented by a public defender at his own request, hired the high-powered Springfield firm of Wampler and Passanise to defend him.

Three attorneys from that firm, Joseph S. Passanise, James R. Hayes and Thomas D. Carver are representing Ross, according to court documents.

The probable cause affidavit claims Ross asked his campaign manager to plant cocaine on his primary opponent Louise Secker. Ross defeated Secker by 32 votes in August, but quit the race after charges were filed against him.

The Jasper County Republican Central Committee selected Secker as his replacement.

Probable cause: Thomas Ross asked campaign manager to plant cocaine on Louise Secker 

Quality Inn Breakfast fails Joplin Health Department inspection

Quality Inn Breakfast, 3325 S. Arizona Avenue, failed its Joplin Health Department inspection Wednesday, according to information posted on the department website.

The restaurant received three priority violations and one core violation.

The priority violations were for the following reasons:

-Employee food was stored with and above customer food.

-Yogurt, cream cheese and eggs in a cooler were being cold held above 41 degrees.

-Yogurt and cream cheese spread in a mini-refrigerator were being cold held above 41 degrees.

The core violation was for using the handwashing sink to store dish brushes.

Establishments that passed their inspections this week were:

Ghetto Taco (mobile)

Don Juan's Tacos and More

It's Greek to Me, 101 N. Range Line Road (re-inspection)

Maverick, 5002 S. Main (re-inspection)

Franklin Tech; Culinary Arts Kitchen, 2220 S. Indiana Avenue

Kelsey Norman Elementary School, 1323 E. 28th Street

Chick-fil-A, 101 N. Range Line Road

Logan's Roadhouse, 208 N. Range Line Road

Nice Guys, 101 N. Range Line Road (re-inspection)

Le Nail Bar, 925 S. Range Line Road

Bricktown Brewery, 3030 S. Range Line Road

Speedy Burritos, 1710 S. Maiden Lane

Cecil Floyd Elementary School, 2201 W. 24th Street

Eastmorland Elementary School, 1131 S. Highview Avenue

Arkansas officials seeking information from public on accident that killed MSSU professor

Arkansas officials are asking for the public help in tracing how the accident happened that killed Missouri Southern State University professor Dr. Alla Barry on Beaver Lake September 4.

The following message was posted on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Facebook page:

Law enforcement is seeking the public’s help with information about a fatal accident on Beaver Lake around 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, when a swimmer was struck by a boat in the vicinity of War Eagle Marina. 

Anyone with information about the accident is encouraged to contact AGFC Game Warden Levi Bingham at 501-607-6770. 

Authorities are interested in speaking with anyone who was in the area around the time of the accident, anyone who witnessed the accident and anyone who assisted at the scene before emergency personnel arrived. 

Information may also be sent to Levi.Bingham@agfc.ar.gov.