Rowan Ford's stepfather's fundraising page removed from Go Fund Me

The attempt by David Spears, the stepfather of 9-year-old murder victim Rowan Ford to raise money through a Go Fund Me page, appears to have run into an obstacle.

A check of the Go Fund Me link shows the message "Fundraiser not found."

Spears was trying to raise at least $5,000 using the headline "Help My Family Rebuild After Unjust Job Loss."

Spears was fired after working several years for the Missouri State Public Defender's Office following an investigation by KSNF/KODE showed that Spears, who at one time confessed to the 2007 murder of Rowan Ford, and later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, was working at a taxpayer-financed job.

The report came to the attention of Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, who strongly criticized Spears' $42,000 a year job with the state. The House Budget Committee, with Republicans and Democrats supporting the position, threatened to create serious problems with the Public Defender's Office budget if Spears wasn't fired.

The idea of Spears raising money by claiming he had been unjustly fired did not sit well with area residents after they learned of it through area media, with KSNF/KODE once again breaking the story.

Readers contacted Go Fund Me to let them know about Spears' background and what actually caused him to lose his job.

Today would have been Rowan Ford's 28th birthday.

Shell Knob, Exeter residents killed in crash south of Purdy

Two people were killed and two injured in a two-vehicle collision 12:45 p.m. Friday on MO 37 a half mile south of Purdy.

According to the Highway Patrol report, a 2009 GMC Envoy driven by a 65-year-old Shell Knob woman hydroplaned into the southbound lane, with the passenger side striking the front of a 2005 Honda CRV driven by a 46-year-old Noblesville, Indiana woman.

The Shell Knob woman and a passenger in her vehicle, a 41-year-old Exeter woman were pronounced dead on the scene by Barry County Coroner Gary Swearingen.

The Indiana woman and a passenger in her vehicle, a 40-year-old Columbia woman, were treated for serious injuries at Cox South Hospital, Springfield. 

World champion KC Royals infielder Christian Colon named head baseball coach at McDonald County

(From McDonald County Athletics)

We would like to welcome the next Head Coach of Mustang Baseball—Christian Colón!

Coach Colón brings a wealth of experience including coaching stops at the NWA Naturals (AA), Arkansas Travelers (AA), KC Monarchs (Independent), and most recently Fayetteville HS. 

Remembered for his contributions on the 2014 ALCS and 2015 World Series Champion Royals teams, his mission to make an impact on the younger generation of players, combined with his purpose-driven vision, makes him a perfect fit for MC!

We are excited to welcome the Colón family to Mustang Nation!

Agenda posted for Carthage City Council meeting

 

Twenty-three establishments pass Joplin Health Department inspections

The Joplin Health Department inspected 23 establishments this week and all 23 passed, according to information posted on the department's website. 

Rapid Roberts, 4549 S. 43 Highway

St. Mary's Catholic School, 3025 S. Central City Road

Sleep Inn Breakfast, 4100 S. 43 Highway

Dover Hill Elementary, 1100 N. Main Street

Downstream Q-Store, 4777 W. Downstream Boulevard

Papa John's Pizza, 1931 S. Main Street

Days Inn Breakfast, 3500 S. Range Line Road

Zinc Coffee and Food, LLC, 1825 S. Main Street

Lion Shop, 3525 Newman Road

Braum's, 3501 N. Range Line Road 

Stop N Shop, 1631 E. 4th Street

Stop N Shop, 1503 S. Range Line Road

Martin Luther Christian School, 2616 S. Connecticut Avenue

Bricktown Brewery, 3030 S. Range Line Road

Beef-A-Roo, 1641 W. 7th Street

Chipotle Mexican Grill, 631 S. Range Line Road

Dollar General 1502 E. Zora Street

Dollar General 817 E. 15th Street

Walgreen's, 2001 S. Main Street

Dollar General 1221 E. 32nd Street

Joe Muggs Cafe at Books-A-Million, 424 S. Range Line Road

Aldi Food Market, 

How Trump’s SAVE America Act could make it harder for married women to vote

By Jonathan Shorman

Missouri Independent

Millions of women could face new challenges to voting under President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act, which would require voters to prove their citizenship before casting a ballot.

The federal legislation would mandate that most Americans show a birth certificate or passport to register to vote. But people with names that don’t match their birth certificate in some instances could have to produce additional documents like a marriage certificate or divorce decree linking their past and current identities.

The proposal holds potentially outsized consequences for millions of married and divorced women, transgender individuals and others who have changed their names.

As many as 69 million American women have birth certificates that don’t match their current name, according to an analysis by the liberal Center for American Progress.

“The fact that the majority of women upon marriage do change their name already means that this is going to be completely unequal in how the law is applied,” said Letitia Harmon, senior director of policy and research at Florida Rising, a racial and economic justice nonprofit.

Harmon, 43, has personal experience with the issue because of state proof-of-citizenship laws, which have become more common in recent years.

The Florida resident used to live in Kansas, which required individuals to show documents like a birth certificate or passport to register to vote until federal courts struck down the law as unconstitutional. Ahead of the 2014 election, Harmon was unable to locate her birth certificate before the registration deadline and couldn’t vote.

More recently, Florida, Mississippi, South Dakota and Utah have all enacted proof-of-citizenship measures this year, in addition to Wyoming in 2025. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Florida SAVE Act last week.

A dozen years later, Harmon worries she could again face additional hurdles to voting — this time because of multiple name changes. Harmon, who changed her name when she married but later divorced and changed it back, voiced concern that if election officials ever check her registration, it will be flagged.

“It’s heartbreaking and it’s infuriating. It feels like we’re going backwards,” Harmon said.

Debate in D.C.

In Washington, the U.S. Senate has been debating the SAVE America Act, Trump’s signature elections initiative, after a version of the legislation passed the House. The bill doesn’t appear to have enough support to survive a filibuster, but Trump and his allies have pressured senators to end the filibuster to pass it before the midterm elections.

Supporters of the bill describe it as an election integrity measure and say it’s necessary to prevent noncitizen voting, though studies have shown that’s extremely rare. The measure reflects a long-running effort by Trump to assert more federal control over elections that includes a campaign by the Department of Justice to obtain sensitive state voter data and an executive order signed last week restricting mail-in voting.

Opponents condemn the legislation as unneeded and poorly drafted. If enacted, the bill would take immediate effect, throwing the election process into chaos in a midterm election year as millions of people registering to vote attempt to prove their citizenship. The new requirements would risk disenfranchising American voters struggling to obtain the documents they need in time.

Disproportionate effect on married women

Critics have especially focused on the disproportionate effect the legislation could have on women. Eighty-four percent of women in opposite-sex marriages take either their husband’s last name or hyphenate their name, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey. By contrast, less than 6% of men took their wife’s last name or hyphenated their name.

“Given that 85% of American women change their name when they get married, the impact on women is going to be huge and it’s going to be very problematic,” Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, said in a February interview.

The House-passed version of the bill says that when individuals applying to register have names that don’t match the name on their proof-of-citizenship documents, they could provide “additional documentation as necessary to establish that the name on the documentation is a previous name of the applicant” or sign an affidavit affirming that the name on the documents is their previous name.

According to the bill, each state would establish a process to carry out this provision, in line with guidance from the federal Election Assistance Commission, a bipartisan independent commission that aids election officials.

Affidavit provision unclear

Some election and legal experts have said the affidavit provision is unclear. It comes immediately before another provision that allows individuals without proof-of-citizenship documentation to register if they sign an attestation that they are a citizen and an election official signs an affidavit saying the person has sufficiently established citizenship. The Election Assistance Commission would create a uniform affidavit for use in that situation.

“Who knows what sort of process they’ll say,” said Alison Gill, director of nominations and democracy at the National Women’s Law Center, a progressive legal advocacy group. “So there is language there, but it’s still very vague and conflictual.”

Because states would be responsible for setting procedures to vet those with different names on their documents, Gill said some states would probably try to make the process easier than others. But election officials would likely err on the side of strict enforcement because they could be prosecuted for registering individuals who don’t provide citizenship documents.

“Ultimately, this puts the burden on election officials, who face criminal and civil liability under the bill, potentially to decide whether to risk registering a person with mismatching documents,” Gill said.

‘Frankly insulting’

White House officials and some congressional Republicans have denied that individuals who change their name would face greater difficulty registering to vote. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in March that there was “zero validity” to claims that the legislation would stop women from voting or make it harder for them to vote.

Married women who have changed their name and are already registered to vote would be unaffected by the legislation, Leavitt said. She added that for the “small fraction” of individuals who go on to change their name or their address, they would have to go through their state’s process to update their documentation.

“I think it’s frankly insulting that the Democrats are saying that there are certain groups of people in this country who aren’t smart enough to update their documentation to allow them to vote,” Leavitt said.

But Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski has raised concerns about how the SAVE America Act would affect married women. Murkowski, who opposes the bill, said in a floor speech that an estimated 155,000 female citizens in Alaska age 15 and older have names that don’t match their birth certificates.

“Again, is it impossible? No,” Murkowski said. “Is it going to be really challenging? Absolutely, yes.”Lawsuits ensured

The SAVE America Act would almost certainly face legal challenges if it became law and the Supreme Court would come under immense pressure to weigh in because of the sweeping, nationwide changes in the legislation.

Some federal courts have ruled against proof-of-citizenship voter registration requirements. In 2020, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Kansas’ law, finding that it violated federal voting laws as well as the Constitution’s equal protection clause. The Supreme Court at the time declined to take the Kansas case.

The provisions on name changes alone could face their own legal challenges.

Tracy Thomas, a constitutional law professor at the University of Akron School of Law in Ohio, said opponents could argue the bill’s impact on people who change their name amounts to voting discrimination in violation of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law.

Courts have affirmed some election restrictions, like requirements to show a photo ID at the polls, as acceptable rules that don’t overly burden voters. However, Thomas suggested the SAVE America Act may go too far if it delays people from registering, requires multiple steps and forces them to pay for needed documents.

“That starts to sound like more than minimal inconvenience,” Thomas said.

Five troopers assigned to Highway Patrol Troop D

(From Highway Patrol Troop D)

Captain Dale O. Jinkens, commanding officer of Troop D, Springfield, is pleased to announce the assignment of five new troopers to Troop D. The following troopers were members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s 125th Recruit Class that graduated from the Patrol Academy on April 10, 2026.

Trooper Joseph DeMasi (left) will be assigned to Zone 1, which serves the citizens of Greene County. DeMasi is an Eagle Pass, TX, native who graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 2016. 

Trooper Austyn Mendoza will be assigned to Zone 15, which serves the citizens of Stone and Taney counties. Mendoza is a native of Conway, AR, who graduated from Two Rivers High School in 2015. Mendoza also served in the United States Air Force for five years.

Trooper Aaron Powell will be assigned to Zone 1, which serves the citizens of Greene County. Powell is a native of St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, who graduated from Republic High School in 2017. 

Trooper Keaton Siebenaler (left), Webb City,  will be assigned to Zone 8, which serves Vernon and Barton counties. Siebenaler is a native of Wickenburg, AZ, who graduated from Stockton High School in 2010. Siebenaler also attended Missouri Southern State University.

Trooper Roy Wommack will be assigned to Zone 16, which serves the citizens of Hickory and Dallas counties. Wommack is a native of Springfield, MO, who graduated from Buffalo High School in 2012. Wommack also served in the United States Marine Corps for five years.

Joplin, Galena residents arrested, meth lab seized after search warrant execution

(From the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office)

On 04/09/2026 members of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Galena Police Department, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigations conducted a narcotics search warrant at 602 E. 24th Street Galena, Kansas. 

While executing the search warrant, evidence associated with manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and stolen property was seized from the residence.

Several individuals were taken into custody while serving the Search Warrant. They are Danny Watkins (41) of Galena KS, (top photo) Doug Ashley (58) of Galena KS (next to last photo),Kevin Poindexter (51) of Joplin MO (left) and Stanley Watkins (49) of Joplin MO (bottom photo).

This case remains an open investigation and additional arrests and charges are expected. 

This is Cherokee County’s third clandestine laboratory seized in 2026. Additionally Cherokee County Detectives have served eight narcotic search warrants in the last month. 

These investigations along with others are the result of a committed response to being proactive against criminal activity. 

We ask the citizens of our community to remain vigilant and report any suspicious behaviors. We encourage anybody with concerns about illegal drug activity to contact the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office at (620) 429-3992. Tips can also be made through our website or the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office App, which is available on the App Store. 

All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Kehoe: Operation Relentless Pursuit has led to arrests of 1,585 fugitives

(From Gov. Mike Kehoe)

Today, Governor Mike Kehoe reported that in its first year of operations, Operation Relentless Pursuit (ORP) task force officers arrested or assisted in the arrests of 1,585 fugitives wanted for outstanding felony warrants. 

The total includes individuals arrested in connection with a total of 26 murder or homicide charges. The arrests resulted in clearing 2,699 outstanding arrest warrants across 83 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis. Additional arrests have taken place in the states of Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. A total of 119 illegally possessed guns were also seized by ORP officers, who began field operations on April 7, 2025. All totals are through April 6, 2026.

“We launched Operation Relentless Pursuit last year because Missourians in cities, suburbs, and small towns want action taken to reduce crime. From day one, our administration made public safety our top priority, and ORP is a critical piece to our efforts,” Governor Kehoe said. “ORP officers hit the ground running and have made an incredible impact because of the relentless work of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Sheriffs’ Deputies, along with many other Missouri law enforcement agencies that are committed to tracking down wanted felons who escaped justice for too long.”

ORP, established on Governor Kehoe's first day in office through Executive Order 25-02, is a regional anti-crime effort that emphasizes intelligence-led policing and cross-jurisdiction collaboration to apprehend the most dangerous fugitive felons. Data analysis showed there were over 17,600 active felony arrest warrants across Missouri in January 2025. Studies show individuals evading felony warrants are likely to engage in additional criminal activities, further endangering Missourians.

“Instead of slowing down, our ORP officers are actually continuing to increase the pace of their arrests of individuals wanted for violent felonies,” Department of Public Safety Director Mark James said. “In just the first three months of 2026, ORP officers have made arrests in 13 murders or homicides, equaling the total of 13 for those crimes in nine months of operations last year. The tremendous arrest figures are the result of ORP and assisting officers across the state who are sharing intelligence data and fully committed to working together to protect our communities.”

Over the last year, ORP officers have also made the following number of arrests or assisted in arrests that include these crimes: Rape, 24; Sex Trafficking, 14; Sex Trafficking of a Child Under 18, 5; Sexual Misconduct Involving a Child, 23; Possession of Child Pornography, 17; Kidnapping, 10; Manslaughter, 142; Domestic Assault, 106; Assault, 117; Felony Stealing, 18; Burglary/Robbery, 122; Unlawful Use of a Weapon, 70; Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, 58; Persistent DWI Offender, 14; Arson, 9; Drug Trafficking, 152; Possession of a Controlled Substance, 389; Miscellaneous Drug Charges, 430; Probation Violation, 196.

Apprehending dangerous criminals intent on avoiding arrest often requires extraordinary efforts including the use of confidential informants, surveillance, search warrants, license plate readers, SWAT team activations, breaching tools, explosives, chemical munitions, flash bangs, Highway Patrol aircraft, remotely controlled robots, and surveillance drones.

There are nine regional ORP teams composed of a Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control officer and a local Deputy Sheriff in each of the nine Patrol troops. These co-leaders act as liaisons with local law enforcement in the regions. A state appropriation funds the salary and benefits of the Deputy Sheriff in each Patrol troop along with overtime costs of participating local law enforcement agencies. Each of the regional liaisons received training from the U.S. Marshals Service, which often works alongside ORP officers to bring fugitives to justice. 

 

“Operation Relentless Pursuit is succeeding because of the incredible investigative efforts and collaboration between ORP Deputy Sheriffs and Highway Patrol co-leaders in each of the nine regions and their local Sheriffs and police departments,” Christian County Sheriff and Operation Relentless Pursuit Co-Coordinator Brad Cole said. “The network of partnering law enforcement agencies is continuing to grow and that means our dedicated ORP teams will be able to capture even more wanted felons.”

“April 6 marked one year of Operation Relentless Pursuit,” Missouri State Highway Patrol Colonel Michael A. Turner said. “A year of focused, unwavering commitment by the Patrol and our law enforcement partners for a safer Missouri. We’re proud of the work accomplished but our mission continues. We will not slow down, and we will remain relentless in our pursuit of holding offenders accountable and standing up for victims.”

Members of the public with information that could lead to the capture of a Missouri fugitive can share it with the ORP team at this link.

Additional questions on ORP can be directed to the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

Alba man charged with four felony sex counts involving 16-year-old girl

An Alba man is being held without bond in the Jasper County Detention Center on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, statutory rape, statutory sodomy and child molestation.

Cory Alan Dowty, 30, was arrested following an investigation by the Jasper County Sheriff's Office into a runaway 16-year-old girl from rural Joplin.

From the probable cause statement:

When deputies located and spoke to the victim she disclosed she has been picked up from her
address by a 30 year old male. The victim also made the statements that the male had videos of her
and was worried he would disseminate the videos. Deputies obtained the name for the male as Cory
Dowty. Her phone was seized and information was extracted.

The juvenile's cell phone contained 28 videos that showed Cory Dowty and the juvenile involved in
sexual contact. These videos showed the victims vagina being penetration by Cory's penis, the
victim performing oral sex on Cory. Cory performing oral sex on the victim. Cory recording sexual
interactions. There were multiple photos that showed Cory and the victim laying on a bed and
interactions.There were multiple photos that showed Cory and the victim laying on a bed and
cuddling. There was one image where the victim had her tongue sticking out towards Cory and he
was kissing her tongue. The three dates I was able to pull from meta-data were January 19, 2026,

March 22, 2026, and March 27, 2026.

The Victim later disclosed to the Juvenile Office that she and Cory had been in a sexual relationship.
A Forensic Interview was conducted and the Victim stated that she would spend time at Cory's
house and she looked at him as a father figure. The Victim also made statements that she was high
on Methamphetamine when contacted by law enforcement.

According to the probable cause statement, a consent search of Dowty's Alba home showed that the room he stayed in matched the room in the videos.

On April 9, 2026 I conducted an interview of Cory at the Barton County Sheriffs Office. Cory admitted he has talked to the victim over the phone and in person. When asked about the videos and if the two had sex Cory requested a lawyer.