Freeman physicians come through for Nichols in first campaign report

Nearly $70,000 was spent during the first three months of 2026 on the 32nd District State Senatorial race between incumbent Jill Carter and challenger Ellen Nichols, according to disclosure statements filed today with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Carter reported receiving $7,400 during the period and spending $27,555.16, leaving her with $32,763.65 in the bank

Nichols received $273,479.53 and spent $41,875.10, with $250,000 coming from a personal loan to her campaign, according to her report. She had $231,604.43 in the bank at the end of the reporting period.

Carter campaign

Those contributing at least $500 to the Carter campaign were:

Friends of Missouri State University $1,000

Phillip Slinkard, H. E. Williams CFO $2,400

John Maupin, St. Louis, $2,400

HBS MO State PAC $500

Among Carter's expenditures:

Leadbelt Strategies, Jefferson City, fundraising $4,070

Infinite Productions, Galena, Kansas- video production, $5,000

KSN- TV ads- $7,990

Newton County Republicans, Lincoln Day tables, $3,120

Nichols campaign

Those contributing at least $500 to the Nichols campaign were:

Missouri State Orthopedic Association $1,000

Cherylon Yarosh, Freeman physician $500

Joshua Sweeney, Freeman physician $1,000

Larry McIntire, retired, $1,000

Gene Baker, retired $2,400

Paula Baker, former Freeman CEO $2,400

John Scorce, farmer, $1,000

Shari Smith, pediatrician, $2,400

Brian Curtis, Freeman physician $2,400

Laurie Behm, Freeman physician $2,400

Richard Teff, Freeman physician $2,400

Freeman Physicians Group PAC $2,400

John Holds, Clayton MO physician $500

Among the expenditures:

Lamar Advertising $22,957

Victory, Davenport, Iowa, fundraising services $12,117.27

Club 1201, event venue $1,600

Binky Guy Textiles, T-shirts $680.62

Judge dismisses lawsuit over $50 million in Missouri private school voucher funding

By Annelise Hanshaw

Missouri Independent

A Cole County Circuit Court judge ruled Tuesday that Missouri can use public funds to pay for private school scholarships even though state law doesn’t explicitly authorize it.

In a 57-page ruling, Judge Brian Stumpe wrote that lawmakers could directly appropriate funds to the MOScholars program because state law does not “expressly prohibit” it.






The Missouri National Education Association, which filed the lawsuit in June, said Wednesday in a press release that it plans to appeal the decision to the Missouri Supreme Court.

“This ruling doesn’t change the facts: (the budget bill’s) voucher scheme is unconstitutional,” MNEA President Rebeka McIntosh said. “Missouri NEA’s 45,000 union-represented educators believe families deserve a simple guarantee: if a school takes your tax dollars, it must welcome your child.”

In 2021, lawmakers set up MOScholars to run on donations that can be claimed for a 100% tax credit up to a half of a donor’s tax liability. Nonprofits act as intermediaries, accepting the donations and distributing the money to eligible students.

Last year, lawmakers approved a budget request from Gov. Mike Kehoe to direct $50 million in general revenue to the program’s fund — which up until then, was only used for marketing and administration purposes.

The Missouri NEA and two of its leaders challenged the funding, arguing that state law does not allow the legislature to use a budget bill to dramatically change the program’s framework.

But Stumpe rejected all of Missouri NEA’s claims and ruled that the association and its members have no standing to sue because they are not harmed by the use of general revenue for private-school scholarships.

“The General Assembly’s choice to spend money on a scholarship program does not inflict harm on public schools when the legislature has not diverted funds from public schools to cover the scholarship program,” his judgment says.

Stumpe erroneously states in his ruling that MOScholars pulls from “entirely separate funding streams” than public schools, writing that the education budget has separate funds. However, while there are dedicated revenue sources, like lottery proceeds, that fuel public education — a majority of school funding comes from general revenue.

Even if Stumpe believed that the association had standing, his ruling sides with the state on multiple key issues with repeated reference to a lack of “clear prohibitions” on the use of general revenue.

“Plaintiffs have not shown that an appropriation into a statutorily created fund, even when underlying statutory framework is silent about appropriations, is impermissible,” he wrote.

He rejected the notion that the direct appropriation to MOScholars violates a state law that limits bills to a single subject and requires legislative authorization.

Stumpe points to a 1992 Missouri Supreme Court decision that states when “conflict between two statutes is less than direct… then such a conflict may be resolved by relying upon the appropriation as strong evidence of the legislature’s intention in adopting the general statute.” He must “interpret the preexisting statute in light of a later appropriation,” based on this precedent, his ruling says.

He concludes by speculating on the harm that could come if he put a stop to the funding at this point.

“Ordering the cessation of payments would risk putting families in a truly impossible situation — not receiving scholarship proceeds they believed were coming in the midst of the academic year,” he wrote. “This could leave families financially liable to unpaid education providers.”

Advocates for the voucher program and Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway heralded Stumpe’s ruling as a victory in news releases Tuesday evening into Wednesday.

“The court’s ruling is a clear win for Missouri families and for educational opportunity,” Hanaway said in a press release. “Parents, not special interests, are trusted to decide what education best fits their children. Our office will continue to defend families’ freedom to choose.”

Missouri educators push back on bill forcing struggling readers to repeat 3rd grade

By Annelise Hanshaw

Missouri Independent

State Rep. Cathy Jo Loy, a Republican from Carthage, said her bill seeking to automatically retain Missouri third-grade students who are struggling to read is a “tourniquet” to “stop the bleed of children who are not reading.”

But speaking to the Senate Education Committee Tuesday morning, school administrators said literacy rates are showing improvement three years into the state’s implementation of a teacher training program on phonics-based reading instruction. Loy’s bill, they argue, could disrupt that momentum.

“We are seeing progress,” said Taneyville Superintendent Brandi Turner. “However, meaningful, systematic change requires time, consistency and sustained support.”

In 2022, state lawmakers passed a bill to mandate “evidence-based reading instruction” with interventions for struggling readers. In response, the state’s education department launched its “Read, Lead, Exceed” initiative, with resources for educators and a teacher training program. In three years, over 10,000 educators have completed the training.

Turner said lawmakers should “allow time to fully implement” the 2022 law.

“Retention does not address the root cause of reading difficulties,” she said. “It simply delays progression without guaranteeing improved outcomes. While the intent is to support struggling readers, the practice itself does not remedy the underlying challenges students face.”

Many states have become interested in mandated retention following Mississippi’s adoption of the policy in 2013 as part of a larger literacy law.

Since 2013, Mississippi’s fourth-grade reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress have improved from 49th in the nation to ninth. Educators have pointed to the data as a sign of, at least, short-term gains for students, but it is harder to discern whether the policy leads to long-range success.

While Mississippi’s fourth grade scores have leapt upwards over the past decade, eighth grade students have more modest gains. In 2013, the state scored 50th in the eighth grade reading assessment, compared to 41st in 2024.

Troy Lentz, superintendent of Mexico School District, told the committee he didn’t see enough evidence that making students repeat 3rd grade will help them long-term. He worried about students who excel in some subjects while struggling with reading.

“There are things that kids are good at, and they’re not able to advance forward (if retained),” he said. “I do believe that our schools provide intensive reading support for kids who are behind.”

But for the committee’s chairman, state Sen. Rick Brattin, a Republican from Harrisonville, letting struggling readers move to the 4th grade is “a recipe for disaster.”

“Passing them on is not a help or benefit or anything,” he said. “It probably will lead to, in my opinion, more disastrous results.”

Craig Carson, assistant superintendent of learning for the Ozark School District, said retention should remain an option left to a student’s guardians to decide.

“We look at a kid holistically and help a parent decide, is this a good idea or not,” he said. “Sometimes it is the best idea, and when that happens, then I absolutely support it.”

“I don’t think the mandatory trigger is good,” he added.

As it stands, the bill would automatically retain students who score “at risk” on a reading screener administered at the end of third grade. Students with disabilities, English language learners and those who have already been held back once can qualify for an exemption.

Otto Fajen, the Missouri National Education Association’s director of legislative policy, said the bill should “at a minimum” have options for students to sign up for a program like tutoring or summer school to avoid being forced to repeat a grade.

“It is difficult for us to see the law changed to take away parental agency in these decisions about retention,” he said. “Especially since, as it stands, it is basically going to rest on a single event score.”

(Photo by Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications)

Guatemalan national indicted on weapons charge

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A Guatemalan National has been indicted by a federal grand jury for illegal possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, and illegal entry into the United States.

Edilberto Gonzalez-Barrera, 40, was charged in a two-count indictment on April 14, 2026. The indictment alleges Gonzalez-Barrera illegally entered the United States without being properly admitted to the country, and illegally possessed of a Sig-Sauer P365X, 9mm firearm.

Under federal statutes, illegal possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(5)(A) and 924 (a)(8) is subject to a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Further, under federal statute, illegal entry in the United States without being properly admitted to the country, pursuant to Title 8, United States Code, Section 1325, is subject to a sentence of up to 6 months imprisonment. The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security-Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Carthage, Missouri, Police Department.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

Carl Junction sex offender charged with child molestation

Cody Gailen Parsons, 46, Carl Junction, pleaded not guilty today during his arraignment in Jasper County Circuit Court on a third-degree child molestation charge.

According to the probable cause statement, the girl was 11-12 years old on October 7, 2025, the date of the alleged crime.

Parsons is being held in the Jasper County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond.

At the time, the latest charge was filed, Parsons was already behind bars, charged with being a sex offender and living within 1,000 feet of a child care facility and for violating conditions of his lifetime supervision.

The details of the latest allegation were provided in the probable cause statement:

The juvenile stated that one time, while alone in the shed behind the residence with Cody Parsons, he placed both of his hands down her pants and under her underwear. She stated that his hands first touched her genital area on the outside and then moved to the inside of her genital area. She described his hands moving while inside her pants.

The juvenile further disclosed that Parsons pressed his penis against her buttocks while pushing her against a wall between storage totes inside the shed. She stated she was scared and attempted to back away until he let her go.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol Sex Offender Registry indicates Parsons was convicted in 2010 of the forcible rape of a 29-year-old woman in Barry County.

Joplin police, fire departments investigate arson fires at 205 W. 21st

(From the Joplin Fire Department)

At 12:40 AM, April 14, 2026, the Joplin 911 center received a call regarding a structure fire located at 205 W. 21st Street. Joplin Fire units arrived on scene to find smoke and flames visible from a 2-story residential structure. 

 During initial fire suppression efforts, smoke was seen coming from the house next door (2030 S. Joplin Ave). Crews were divided, and both buildings were searched for victims, and the fire was extinguished. No victims were located and no injuries occurred to civilians or firefighters.

The Joplin Fire Marshal’s office was requested to respond and conduct a cause and origin investigation into the two fires. It was determined that there were no accidental causes to the fires and both fires have been determined to be incendiary in nature. The Joplin Police Department is working with the Joplin Fire Department to investigate the fires.

Individuals with information concerning this incident are encouraged to contact Detective Tiffany Osborne with the Joplin Police Department at 417-623-3131 ext.1649. Information can also be given to the Missouri Arson Hotline at 1-800-392-7766. There is a $ 5,000 reward fund for any information reported to the Missouri Arson Hotline that leads to the arrest of suspects in arson cases.

Missouri income tax repeal plan’s first-year cost jumps to $4.2 billion in Senate

By Rudi Keller

Missouri Independent

The first-year cost of a House-passed proposal to eliminate the Missouri income tax ballooned to $4.2 billion under revisions made in the state Senate that were called “drafting errors” Monday during a committee debate.

Despite the potential costs, and misgivings of some Republican members of the Senate Fiscal Oversight Committee, the bill passed Monday afternoon on a 6-3 party-line vote. The proposal would place a constitutional amendment on a ballot later this year asking voters if they want to give lawmakers the power to increase and expand sales taxes to replace the income tax.

The committee debate was a preview of what is expected when the bill reaches the full Senate. Democrats focused on maintaining services like public schools, while Republicans focused on the growth of state government.

“It is not hyperbolic to say we are going to be in tight straits,” said state Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas CIty Democrat. “I do not know how we are going to pay the bills.”

Families will find it easier to pay the bills without a state income tax, said state Sen. Rick Brattin, a Republican from Harrisonville.

“It is incumbent on us to make the tough decisions that every single family has to make every single day,” Brattin said.

Eliminating the income tax is Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe’s top priority for the year. It has generated opposition from a wide-spectrum of advocacy organizations, including business groups like Associated Industries of Missouri and the Missouri Association of Realtors.

When the proposal left the Missouri House, the only potential cost for the coming fiscal year was the $9 million estimated to be the price for adding it to a statewide ballot. If approved, the potential cost for the following fiscal year was $49 million as provisions take effect, with the first big hit — up to $1 billion — on the $13.4 billion in annual general revenue receipts would come in the year ending June 30, 2029.

The cost exploded under the Senate version because the first tax cut would take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, as revenue in the first six months of the fiscal year is compared to the revenue from the entire previous year. The result would be an immediate reduction in the top income tax rate from 4.7% to 3.1% and the loss of $4.2 billion.

By the end of fiscal 2029, the income tax would be almost eliminated and the reduction in general revenue would be approximately $8.5 billion.

State Sen. Rusty Black, a Republican from Chillicothe who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the language that compares a half of a year of revenue to a full year of revenue a “drafting error” that “will have to be fixed, in order for this to be passed.

The intent, he said, is to allow lawmakers time to write a new sales tax law that would raise the revenue necessary to replace the income tax.

“I do not want to be in charge of the appropriations committee that’s losing $8 billion dollars, and I don’t believe that’s what the plan is,” Black said.

Under the language that will go to the full Senate for debate, the top income tax rate would be cut by one-one-hundredth of a percentage point for every $20 million of revenue that the state received in a base year that was in excess of the revenue received in the following six months of a new fiscal year.

The maximum rate cut of 1.6 percentage points would occur when the difference is $3.2 billion or more.

When the measure passed the House, it included a three-year window for lawmakers to write new tax laws that raise revenue to replace the income tax. It would exempt the new law from constitutional provisions prohibiting sales tax on real estate transactions, goods and services currently not subject to the sales and that taxes on gasoline and diesel must be spent on highways.

The exemption that would allow a sales tax on fuel purchases — the first time in Missouri that fuel has been taxed by price instead of volume — was also called a “drafting error” by House sponsors but the provision was not removed.

To obtain the revenue raised by the income tax without adding new items to tax, lawmakers would have to increase the sales rate — currently 3% for general revenue — by as much as 8.5%. To maintain the sales tax rate at the current level, lawmakers would have to expand its coverage to find another $300 billion of economic activity to tax.

Democrats on the committee warned that the immediate revenue reduction under the Senate version would result in devastating cuts to services while at the same time taxing Missourians for every marketplace transaction.

This will create the most massive tax increase in the state’s history,” said Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, a Democrat from Affton. “It will shift the burden to the middle class and the lower middle class and those who can’t afford it.”

Drug trafficking scam targets doctors

(From Missouri Division of Professional Registration)

The Missouri Division of Professional Registration, a division of the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI), is alerting medical providers of a drug trafficking scam targeting doctors and other individuals licensed with the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts.

The scam involves fraudulent documents claiming a provider’s license has been suspended for illegal drug trafficking and requesting payment of a government security bond via wire transfer. 

The documents falsely include official-looking letterhead, seals and stamps from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Missouri Division of Professional Registration Central Investigations Unit. The documents also make fraudulent use of DCI Director Angela Nelson’s signature.

Any unexpected notice of license suspension or a request for payment should be treated as suspicious:If any provider receives an unexpected communication regarding license suspension due to drug trafficking or otherwise, stop immediately. 

Do not submit payment in response to any suspicious communications or requests. 

If there is any doubt about the legitimacy of a document or other communication, contact the board at healingarts@pr.mo.gov.

The mission of the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts is to protect the citizens of the state through the licensing of physicians and other health-designated professionals, assessing their competence to practice and their moral character. It is also the board's duty to investigate all complaints against its licensees in a fair and equitable manner.

New Highway Patrol trooper identified as JPD sniper who accidentally killed Clesslyn Crawford

 

Following a two-year court battle, KCUR, a Kansas City public radio station, revealed today that Keaton Siebenaler, who left the Joplin Police Department in August 2025 was the sniper who accidentally killed 2-year-old Clesslyn Crawford March 26, 2002 in Cherokee County, Kansas.

Siebenaler graduated from the Missouri State Highway Patrol Academy last week and has been assigned to Troop D where he is patrolling Barton and Vernon counties.

The release of Siebenaler's name was part of an agreement with KCUR, according to a statement released last week by the station's attorney, Bernard Rhoads.

The City of Joplin was scheduled to release the officer's name in response to a Sunshine Law request when "John Doe" filed a request November 20, 2023 for a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction.

The sniper was with a JPD contingent that was called in for assistance March 26, 2022 for a standoff at 340 Wyandotte Avenue in Baxter Springs. A female caller told Baxter Springs dispatch she needed helped and when officers arrived, the woman, Taylor Dawn Shutte, 27, was shot to death by Eli Crawford, 37, who then went back into the house with their 2-year-old daughter, Clesslyn Crawford.

Crawford began shooting at officers from the Baxter Springs Police Department and the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, who called in additional assistance from the Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Joplin Police Department SWAT including John Doe.

According to a report issued in September 2023 by the Cherokee County District Attorney's office and including the conclusions of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Eli Crawford fired more than 90 rounds from the trailer window.

Crawford offered a deal to negotiators, according to the report.

"Send my sister and get my baby and everything is fine. Other than that, I have hand grenades and fully automatic weapons that I am getting ready to use. Do you hear me? If you don't do this, then you are going to have a bunch of dead people on your hands."

Negotiations continued for the next 20 minutes interspersed with shots from the trailer. At that point, Siebenaler took the fatal shot.

After that, Crawford fired another shot, killing himself.

Following an investigation, the Cherokee County District Attorney's office determined no charges would be filed against Siebenaler and that he was justified in using deadly force against Eli Crawford, the person he thought he was shooting.

Siebenaler was also cleared in the Joplin Police Department internal investigation.

Fairview man charged with child molestation

A bond reduction hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. April 28 for Cortoney Demetrice Rogers (DOB 1983), Fairview, who pleaded not guilty on a first degree child molestation charge today in Newton County Circuit Court.

Rogers is being held without bond in the Newton County Detention Center.

Rogers was charged with crimes that allegedly took place at his home sometime around 2007 or 2008, according to the probable cause statement.

An interview was conducted with V1 who disclosed that around the years 2007-2008 she went to the home where Cortoney Demetric Rogers resided, which is located in Fairview, Missouri. 

V1 disclosed that during the night she went to sleep on what she referred to as a love seat. V1 disclosed that after falling asleep she woke to hear Cortoney Rogers enter the house through the front door and walk to the love seat where she was sleeping. 

After that, the statement said, Rogers began spooning with her and thrusting and grinding himself against her until she moved away from him.