Lori Rook defeats Curtis Trent for state senate seat

By Jason Hancock

Missouri Independent

Missouri Republicans ousted a sitting state senator and split their verdict among insurgents and establishment-backed candidates in a Tuesday primary that reshaped the likely balance inside a GOP caucus already facing significant turnover.

Springfield elder law attorney Lori Rook defeated state Sen. Curtis Trent 53% to 47% in southwest Missouri’s 20th Senate District, ending Trent’s bid for a second term — and his campaign to become Senate majority floor leader next year.

Elsewhere, House Speaker Jon Patterson easily turned aside a conservative challenger in suburban Kansas City, while state Rep. Greg Sharpe won a three-way race in northeast Missouri despite an organized effort to punish him for opposing a major Republican tax proposal that voters overwhelmingly rejected Tuesday.

In all, voters settled 11 competitive Senate primaries profiled this summer by The Independent — nine Republican and two Democratic.

Rook’s victory was the night’s biggest upset.

Trent entered the race with years of experience representing southwest Missouri, support from much of the Republican establishment and a substantial financial advantage. The 20th District was the most expensive Senate contest of the primary, with candidates and outside groups spending $2.4 million.

The 417 PAC, aligned with Trent, spent $838,000, including more than $500,000 attacking Rook.

Senate Republican primary carries stakes beyond southwest Missouri

But Rook ran against the advantages Trent accumulated in Jefferson City, portraying his campaign for majority leader and support from lobbyists and political action committees as evidence he had become disconnected from the district.

“People outside the echo chamber of this establishment group just want somebody that’s going to go up to Jefferson City and fight for them,” Rook told The Independent during the campaign.

Rook also attacked Trent over his support for a 2025 utility law allowing electric companies to charge customers for power plants while they are under construction and his sponsorship of Amendment 5, the income tax overhaul that lost Tuesday by more than 60 percentage points.

Amendment 5 was an issue in several other Republican primaries, though Tuesday’s results offered no simple verdict on candidates who supported it.

In northeast Missouri’s 18th District, Sharpe won with 47% of the vote, defeating political newcomer Dusty Blue, who received 29%, and state Rep. Ed Lewis, who had 22%.

Sharpe was one of only three House Republicans who opposed Amendment 5 every time it came up for a roll call. The Republican Accountability Project PAC, funded by the group promoting the amendment, spent more than $91,000 opposing him.

Lewis supported Amendment 5 and sponsored Amendment 4, the initiative petition proposal that also lost by nearly 60 points Tuesday. He also had the endorsement of outgoing Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin.

Blue ran as an anti-establishment candidate promising to push the Senate to the right and make Senate debate available by video livestream.

Missouri governor’s tax plan draws skepticism in crowded state Senate GOP primary

In central Missouri’s crowded 6th District, Jake Vogel, president of Jefferson City Coca-Cola Bottling Company, won with 26.6%.

State Rep. Rudy Veit finished close behind with 24.6%, followed by Camden County Presiding Commissioner Ike Skelton with 22.7%. Former Jefferson City Councilman Derrick Spicer received 12.6%, former state Rep. Lisa Thomas had 10.8% and restaurant owner Amber Buckles finished sixth.

Veit was also targeted for opposing Amendment 5, with the Republican Accountability Project spending more than $46,000 against him while backing Vogel.

But skepticism of the tax proposal extended well beyond Veit. Four of the six candidates opposed Amendment 5 or questioned its details during the campaign. Veit and Skelton, who both campaigned against the amendment, together drew 47.3% of the vote.

Vogel, who was endorsed by Gov. Mike Kehoe, supported putting the proposal before voters but was circumspect about its merits during the campaign, telling The Independent: “It is a plan.”

Other prominent Amendment 5 supporters won comfortably.

Patterson defeated former state Rep. Dan Stacy 62% to 37% in the 8th District, which covers Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs.

Patterson helped shepherd Amendment 5 through the House and entered the final stretch of the primary with roughly $2.9 million between his campaign and aligned PAC. Stacy had $43,000 and made the disparity part of his argument that Patterson represented “The Establishment.”

The race also tested Patterson’s occasional breaks with his own party. As speaker, he was the lone House Republican to vote against putting a new abortion ban before voters and had previously opposed Republican efforts to repeal voter-approved minimum wage and paid sick leave requirements.

Stacy ran to Patterson’s right, portraying the speaker’s relationships with major business groups and lobbyists as liabilities. Patterson’s decisive victory keeps one of the House’s most powerful figures on track to move to the Senate next year, though he’ll have to get through a well-funded Democratic opponent in November, state Rep. Keri Ingle, in one of the few Senate general election races considered competitive this year.

In south-central Missouri’s 16th District, state Rep. Bill Hardwick won with 43%, followed by former state Rep. Hannah Kelly with 30% and state Rep. Don Mayhew with 22%.

Hardwick was one of Amendment 5’s strongest legislative supporters, but gambling drew much of the outside money in his race.

J&J Ventures, an Illinois gambling company seeking to legalize video lottery terminals in Missouri, gave $422,000 to Legio XIII PAC, a committee with no other donor that financed radio ads attacking Kelly. The company separately gave $95,000 to a PAC aligned with Hardwick, the House sponsor of legislation that would legalize the machines, and the maximum $4,000 to his campaign.

Gambling company bankrolls attacks in Missouri Senate District 16 GOP primary

Kelly and Mayhew both opposed legalizing video lottery terminals. Kelly also opposed Amendment 5, while Mayhew voted to put it on the ballot before later souring on the proposal.

In the 28th District, emergency room physician and farmer Sam Alexander defeated state Rep. Brad Pollitt, winning 54% to Pollitt’s 28%.

Alexander ran as an outsider against Pollitt’s argument that eight years in the House and relationships in Jefferson City made him more effective.

The race turned bitter when a PAC aligned with Pollitt sent mailers attacking Alexander over a decades-old trespassing case. The negative campaign sparked a backlash among some people who had originally agreed to help organize the PAC.

Alexander opposed Amendment 5. Pollitt repeatedly voted to put it on the ballot but declined during the campaign to say how he planned to vote Tuesday.

Data center development dominated much of the contest in the 10th District, where Missouri Cattlemen’s Association executive Mike Deering defeated state Rep. Tricia Byrnes 56% to 44%.

Amazon and Google are building enormous data centers along Interstate 70 in the district, and Byrnes tried to make opposition to the developments a defining issue, accusing Deering of being too closely aligned with politicians and business interests that had welcomed the projects.

Deering rejected Byrnes’ portrayal of him as a data center ally, telling The Independent that large projects need “massive, massive guardrails” protecting natural resources and preventing utility customers from absorbing additional costs.

The campaign’s closing weeks were dominated by attacks on Byrnes over her 2025 test of Missouri’s 988 suicide and crisis lifeline. A PAC aligned with Deering accused her of falsely claiming to be suicidal, while Byrnes argued the episode was used by political opponents to distract from problems she identified with the hotline.

In southwest Missouri’s 32nd District, incumbent state Sen. Jill Carter easily turned aside a challenge from neurosurgeon Ellen Nichols, winning 70% to 30%.

Carter survived almost $90,000 in spending by AFC Victory Fund, a national school-choice group that attacked her for missing the final vote on a sweeping 2024 education bill.

The group also spent nearly $150,000 opposing Hardwick and $36,000 opposing Rook. All three won Tuesday.

Family ties create tag-team rematch in Missouri’s 32nd District state Senate primary

The 32nd District race was also a rematch by proxy. Carter won the seat four years ago by defeating incumbent Sen. Bill White, the only Republican Senate incumbent to lose a primary that year. Nichols is White’s wife.
In northwest Missouri’s 34th District, state Rep. Mike Jones defeated fellow state Rep. Sean Pouche 62% to 28%. St. Joseph restaurant and pub owner Ryan Gerster finished third.

Jones and Pouche voted alike more than 80% of the time during this year’s legislative session but offered different arguments about how they would serve in the Senate.

Pouche emphasized deliberation and his experience working through the legislative process. Jones ran with a harder conservative edge, touting his support for President Donald Trump and arguing he would take a more aggressive approach in Jefferson City.

Democrats also decided two competitive Senate primaries.

Former state Rep. Gina Mitten defeated state Rep. Steve Butz 66% to 33% in the St. Louis-area 4th District, where no Republican filed.

Mitten said Butz’s record on abortion rights prompted her to enter the race. Butz, who personally opposes abortion but supports exceptions, emphasized public safety and his support for returning control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to a state-appointed board.

Mitten opposed the police takeover and argued the overwhelmingly abortion-rights district needed a senator voters could depend on to consistently support reproductive rights.

In north St. Louis County’s heavily Democratic 14th District, state Rep. Raychel Proudie won a four-way primary with 43%.

St. Louis County NAACP President John Bowman finished second with 27%, followed by former federal health official Joe Palm with 16%. Nonprofit founder and political consultant Shante Duncan was also on the ballot.

Proudie, who is leaving the House because of term limits, ran on her legislative record and argued the district needed a senator willing to use a more aggressive style to deliver results for St. Louis County.

Many of Tuesday’s winners will be heavily favored in November, meaning the primaries effectively selected the next senator in much of the state.

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.

Sarcoxie man pleads guilty to child molestation, sexual misconduct

(From the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney's Office)

A Sarcoxie man has entered a guilty plea to a Class B felony of Child Molestation in the Second Degree and the Class D Felony of Sexual Misconduct Involving a Child on Wednesday August 5, 2026.

Glenn Scott Jump, 64, entered the plea in front of Judge Kevin Selby of the 40th Judicial Circuit, admitting to his acts.

According to the investigation, Glenn Scott Jump repeatedly sexually abused his family member over a period of several years beginning when the child was approximately 10 or 11 years old.

Investigators believe Jump manipulated the victim through gifts, money, alcohol, marijuana,  and exposure to pornography, while encouraging and soliciting sexual activity. A second juvenile family member also disclosed that Jump provided alcohol, marijuana, and pornography while at his residence. 

During an interview with law enforcement, Jump allegedly admitted to writing notes soliciting sexual activity from the victims and acknowledged engaging in sexual acts with the child.

"I’m thankful that the justice system will have the opportunity to put this man behind bars,” said
Prosecuting Attorney William Lynch. "Prosecuting child sex crimes always requires a courageous
act by a victim to be willing to come forward, be patient through a burdensome criminal process, and hold their abuser accountable. The particular defendant has victimized more than just these young men – he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for similar acts in 1995. Of course, he wasn’t cured of pedophilia in the Missouri Department of Corrections."

Sentencing is scheduled to occur on September 16, 2026. Because Taylor was not offered a plea
agreement, he will face the full range of punishment of 5 to 15 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

The case was investigated by Daniel Martin of the Newton County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Nate Dally and William Lynch of the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Roberts, Nicholas, Hensley, Holcomb win Jasper County races

Prosecuting Attorney- Michael Roberts 8,933, Theresa Kenney 6,083

Division 4 Judge- John Nicholas 9,467, Tracey Martin 5,571

Recorder of Deeds- Brent Hensley 6,228, Annie Harkrader Golden 4,537, Rylee Hartwell 4,093

Circuit Clerk- Melissa Holcomb 9,761, Kimberly Clinton 4,729

Jill Carter wins in a landslide

 

32nd District voters returned Jill Carter to the State Senate in resounding fashion today, as she barely missed receiving 70 percent of the vote.

According to final unofficial statistics, Carter more than doubled challenger Ellen Nichols receiving 18,289 votes or 69.7 percent to 7,940 votes for 30.3 percent for Nichols.

DNR thanks voters for passing Amendment One

(From the Missouri Department of Natural Resources)

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources would like to thank Missouri voters for their continued support of the Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax.

“We are very honored Missouri voters demonstrated their confidence in the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to protect their state parks, historic sites, water quality and soil resources,” said Kurt Schaefer, director of the department. “Because the Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax sunsets every 10 years, voters are familiar with it and understand how the money is spent. I would like to extend our thanks to the voters and the numerous supporters and partners as well as to Governor Mike Kehoe for supporting the Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax.” 

The Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax is a statewide one-tenth of 1% sales tax providing dedicated funding for Missouri’s 93 state parks and historic sites and soil and water conservation efforts. The revenue generated by the sales tax is split equally, with half going to support Missouri state parks and historic sites, and half going to soil and water conservation practices.

“As a proud first-generation farmer and supporter of Missouri’s state parks and historic sites, I appreciate Missourians’ continued backing of this important investment,” said Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe. “Supporting state parks and soil conservation through funding that is not subject to the ups and downs of general revenue benefits all Missourians. Thank you to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the many agriculture and conservation partners for their work in advocating for this extension of the Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax.”

Missouri’s Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax generates $136 million annually. Missourians benefit from the sales tax in a number of ways.

Missouri is one of only eight states that allows free access into its 93 state parks and historic sites. More than 20 million people, including 1.3 million overnight guests, visit Missouri’s state park system annually. The system, routinely ranked among the top four in the country, consistently receives a 96% approval rating from guests.

A recent economic impact analysis conducted by the University of Missouri revealed Missouri’s state park system is a powerhouse for the state’s economy, generating about $1.5 billion in total business sales and supporting nearly 12,000 jobs. The system operates on a $68 million annual budget but brings a much bigger economic benefit to Missouri citizens and our visitors. Tourism, outdoor recreation and cultural interpretation remain as popular today as they’ve ever been.

Also, thanks to the Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax, the state has saved 195 million tons of soil from eroding off Missouri farmland since 1984. A portion of the tax is used for Missouri landowners to install soil and water conservation practices through the state cost-share program. Through fiscal year 2025, Missouri farmers implemented almost 295,000 conservation practices for cropland, hayland, pastureland and woodlands. These practices were supported by more than $1 billion from the Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax since 1984.

“Now that we have the assurance to move forward to completion, we are setting our sights forward to the next 10 years,” said Schaefer. “Our vision is a future where Missouri’s natural and cultural resources only continue to improve over the next decade, thanks to the passage of the Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax.”

For MoDNR’s Division of State Parks, the next 10 years will include:

Completing 28 revenue bond projects across 22 state parks in 21 counties.

Completing $15 million in capital improvement projects, including Montauk State Park campground loop 5, renovating lodging units at Thousand Hills and Bennett Spring state parks and the museum gallery renovation at Missouri Mines State Historic Site.

Opening Shepherd of the Hills and Eleven Point State Parks to public use.

Celebrating 100-year anniversaries at Roaring River, Meramec and Washington state parks. 

Continuing its focus on public safety by installing additional storm warning sirens in campgrounds across the state. 

Upgrading playgrounds across the state to expand play opportunities to encourage younger generations to enjoy the great outdoors.

Also looking forward, MoDNR’s Soil and Water Conservation Program is committed to furthering the department’s mission of stewardship. The program will continue to provide Missouri farmers the tools they need to sustain the productive power of agricultural land. This will help landowners continue to provide fuel, food and fiber while enhancing water quality for the benefit of all current and future Missourians. Program goals include: Advancing innovative conservation solutions through ongoing research and monitoring partnerships with Lincoln University, the University of Missouri-Columbia, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Missouri Corn Grower Association and the Missouri Soybean Association.
Continuing to evaluate practices that improve farmers’ resilience to drought and floods.
Increasing state and local capacity for technical assistance, reducing reliance on federal inputs.
Streamlining processes to get conservation practices on the ground faster.

First passed in 1984, Missouri’s Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax requires voter approval every 10 years. It would have expired in 2028 if voters had not renewed it this year.

More information is available at Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax | Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

 

Missouri redistricting referendum blocked by secretary of state

By Rudi Keller 

Missouri Independent

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins blocked a public vote on the state’s new congressional map Tuesday, declaring a referendum petition unconstitutional a few hours before polls closed in the primary election.

He refused to tell reporters at a Jefferson City press conference whether the petition had enough valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot. It didn’t matter, he said, because the Missouri Constitution does not allow a referendum on redistricting.

“Whether they had one signature or 500 million signatures doesn’t really matter because they are unconstitutional,” Hoskins said at a news conference.

The political action committee People Not Politicians turned in more than 300,000 signatures in December, and local election authorities spent hundreds of hours verifying whether the people who signed were registered voters.

Hoskins also rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to limit legislative power to change measures passed by initiative. That proposal, which would have been Amendment 6 on the Nov. 3 ballot, violates the requirements that ballot measures be limited to a single subject and amend only one article of the constitution, he said. The Respect MO Voters committee also submitted more than 300,000 signatures, and Hoskins declined to disclose that count as well.

Local election officials go with Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map despite uncertainty

Hoskins’ decision brought an immediate court challenge from People Not Politicians. It will be the final case in the seemingly endless litigation over whether Missouri’s gerrymandered redistricting plan will be subject to a referendum.

The Missouri Constitution’s referendum power does not contemplate a vote on redistricting plans, Hoskins said. The U.S. Constitution, he said, gives state legislatures the power to set the rules for congressional elections, and a referendum would violate it.

Hoskins’ announcement came on the last day he had legally to rule on whether measures submitted by petition will be on the Nov. 3 ballot.

He said he waited because he wanted every possible bit of information before making a decision.

“According to Missouri state law, I had until today at 5 p.m. to certify those signatures,” Hoskins said. “As a certified public accountant, I want to make sure all my ‘i’s are dotted and T’s are crossed.”

After meeting with reporters, Hoskins released opinion letters from Attorney General Catherine Hanaway laying out the legal reasoning for rejecting the petitions. On the referendum, Hanaway wrote that the state constitution is silent on authority for a referendum.

“In order to authorize such referenda, the Missouri Constitution would need to speak through a clear statement divesting the legislature of its authority under the U.S. Constitution’s Elections Clause,” Hanaway wrote. “But the Missouri Constitution includes no such clear statement.”

People Not Politicians executive director, Richard von Glahn filed the lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court late Tuesday.

“Secretary of State Hoskins is making a last desperate attempt to silence the people’s voice in Missouri,” von Glahn said in a news release. “We’ve fought back against politicians for the last year, and we won’t stop now.”

The petition has enough signatures to make the ballot and the courts will uphold the referendum power for redistricting, von Glahn said.

“People will have the final say in November and the chance to vote no to politicians desperate power grabs,” he said.

The Democratic leader in the Missouri House, state Rep. Ashley Aune of Kansas City, said Hoskins is showing he is a Republican partisan, not an impartial official.

“Every step of the way, Denny Hoskins has engaged in obstruction and dishonesty to stop Missourians from exercising their constitutional right to decide whether the mid-decade partisan gerrymander Republicans forced through last year should become law,” Aune said. “As a result, his latest act of contempt against Missouri voters should surprise no one and provides further proof that he is unfit to serve as the state’s top election official.”

The lawsuit filed Tuesday is simple — it argues that Hoskins is wrong and the Constitution does not prohibit a referendum. Only appropriation bills and laws enacted on an emergency basis are exempt, the petition states.

The redistricting plan “falls into neither of those categories,” it argues.

In previous litigation over the congressional map, the Missouri Supreme Court has upheld Gov. Mike Kehoe’s power to convene the legislature in a special session, the legislature’s authority to revise the map at any time and the constitutionality of the map as a basis for elections.

It has not ruled on the question of whether the Constitution allows a referendum. In a May ruling, the court hinted that if it finds the referendum power applies, the map would have never taken effect — meaning Tuesday’s primary was conducted in district boundaries that were never legal. 

“Because the secretary’s certification process…is ongoing and has not been finally determined, it is impossible to say as of this opinion whether the Dec. 9 referendum petition filing was ‘legal, sufficient, and timely’ and, therefore, whether (the 2025 map) went into effect on Dec. 11 or whether (the map) was referred to the people as of Dec. 9 and can only go into effect when approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon,” Judge Ginger Gooch wrote.

In the case over the legislature’s authority to revise the map, opponents said that because the Constitution doesn’t explicitly allow it, lawmakers did not have that authority. The high court rejected that argument.

Hoskins said the same silence in the constitution cuts the other way on referendums — that the absence of explicit authority means one is not allowed. He said he did not see a parallel between the two provisions of the Constitution and its silence on a key point.

“Here we’re trying to compare apples and oranges,” Hoskins said. “Also the Constitution doesn’t say that Denny Hoskins should make a million dollars a year absent that. So I would disagree with that analysis, and I would say that the Constitution does not specifically say that a referendum or an initial petition can be done on congressional redistricting.”

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.

Missourians vote down Amendment 4, Amendment 5

By Rudi Keller

Missouri Independent

Missouri voters resoundingly rejected major Republican priorities on Tuesday as proposals to eliminate the income tax and change the way initiative petition majorities are counted lost by large margins across the state. 

The Associated Press called the race for both amendments at 8:15 p.m., with Amendment 4 losing by 63 percentage points and Amendment 5 down 67 percentage points.

Two other statewide ballot questions, Amendment 1 and Amendment 2, were projected to pass easily.

Amendment 1 extends the 0.1% sales tax that supports state parks and soil and water conservation. Amendment 2 will require that all county tax assessors be elected officials and affects only Jackson County.

Gov. Mike Kehoe, while projecting optimism about the chances for both amendments after voting Tuesday morning, said defeat was not the end, especially for the project to eliminate the income tax embodied in Amendment 5.

“I’m going to always look for ways to make the burden of government less on Missouri families and let them keep more of their own money,” Kehoe said.

Any discussion of tax changes needs input from across the political spectrum, people attending an election-night party in Jefferson City at the Missouri Association of Realtors office. The Realtors spearheaded the coalitions that defeated the two amendments, 

At the Ashland Optimist Club in Boone County, there was a steady stream of voters but little in the way of the usual jungle of campaign signs with a last appeal for candidates. There were some candidate primaries, but none that have generated wide interest and most voters wanted to talk about Amendments 4 and 5 as their motivation to vote.

Alan Helland said he opposed Amendment 4 because the initiative process is a way to check unlimited political power.

“It’s necessary, especially in a very partisan environment,” he said. 

Voter Steve Morton said he didn’t like the prospect of higher sales taxes that could have been the result of Amendment 5 passing.

“It’s going to tax away more than what my property tax and stuff is going to be expensive,” he said. “So I don’t want to pay more for everything else.”

The idea of eliminating the state income tax and raising revenue through sales tax appealed to Chad Cole, who said he voted for Amendment 5.

Cole said he expects to pay less in new sales tax than he would in income tax and that will boost the economy.

“I’ll have more money to spend,” he said.

The election was important enough that it brought Macie Reynolds, 18, to the polls for the first time. Outside the Optimist Club building, she hugged her father, Jason Reynolds, as they took a selfie to record the moment and her mother, Dana Reynolds, looked on.

They studied the ballot to prepare, she said.

“We just kind of talked through it and decided what priorities mattered to us, and kind of went with that,” Reynolds said.

What they decided, however, she would not say.

“I’ll keep that to myself,” she said.

The defeat of both amendments was engineered by the Missouri Association of Realtors and coalitions of activist groups on the left and right. During legislative deliberations on both measures, the Realtors made clear their group would provide funding and organizational strength to the opposition campaigns.

The Realtors have used the initiative petition process twice to amend the constitution. In 2010, the organization spent $4.3 million to pass a ban on taxing real estate transactions and, in 2016, $5.6 million later to ban any expansion of goods or services subject to sales tax.

“If we were willing to spend that much a decade ago, we are certainly going to fight to protect it,” Realtor lobbyist Jason Zamkus said after testifying against the income tax replacement bill that became Amendment 5.

Proponents of Amendment 5 came to the fight prepared and outspent opponents by a more than 2-to-1 margin and by an almost 4-to-1 margin in broadcast ads, according to The Independent’s tracking of state and federal campaign reports.

Missouri Promise PAC, the pro-Amendment 5 political action committee funded entirely by groups that do not disclose their donors, doubled its ad spending in many markets in the final week of the campaign in an effort to close the gap.

Opponents of Amendment 4 had the field almost to themselves in terms of big campaign spending. In addition to the group funded by the Realtors,  another opposition committee, Protect Majority Rule Missouri, raised $6.8 million and shared a website with the Realtors-backed committee.

The Realtors contributed $2.8 million to Missourians for Fair Taxation for the campaign to defeat Amendment 5 and $4.4 million of the $4.5 million in cash donations to Missourians for Fair Governance to defeat Amendment 4.

The funding for both campaigns generated some last-day sniping as Kehoe complained about the source of money for the opposition groups. Asked for a response, Scott Charton, a spokesman for both opposition campaigns, said Kehoe should be more careful with his criticism.

“No. 1, it’s easy to say no to anything,” Kehoe said. “No. 2, whoever’s putting a lot of money into that campaign obviously has some tax benefits and things that they like right now. I’m not saying that’s good or bad, but that’s usually how that works.”

Promoters of Amendment 4 tried to make it a grass-roots campaign, Kehoe said. 

The opposition to Amendment 4 came from “the outside interest groups who like to change our constitution, and we’ve seen it happen in 2020, 2022, 2024, where lots of outside money came to change our state’s constitution,” Kehoe said. “The whole point about Amendment 4 is our constitution should not be for sale.”

Asked if the Realtors are an “outside group,” Kehoe said they are “a special interest group, but there’s other funding coming from outside of the state for both of those questions, (Amendments) 4 and 5.”

Charton disputed the label.

“Helping working Missourians achieve the American Dream of homeownership for all is hardly a special interest,” he said. “It is everyone’s interest.”

The money the Realtors put into the campaigns against Amendments 4 and 5 came from the 25,000 Realtors throughout the state, Charton said. 

The money funding Missouri Promise is not disclosed.

“The source of Realtors’ money is Realtors,” Charton said, “but I cannot speak for the dark money groups who never recorded a single individual human donation from a Missourian.”

This story will be updated. 

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.

MoDOT sets public meeting in Joplin to determine potential future work

(From MoDOT)

Public Invited to Discuss High-Priority Unfunded Transportation Needs
MoDOT and Regional Planning Partners Work to Determine Potential Future Work

SOUTHWEST DISTRICT – The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is inviting the public to join the discussion on high-priority unfunded transportation needs at an upcoming meeting.

MoDOT, working with its regional planning partners, has outlined a draft High-Priority Unfunded Needs listing, which identifies $1.3 billion in annual unfunded transportation needs for the system. The list was created to guide the development of needs into funded projects as state and federal transportation funds become available in future years.

The public is invited to review the list and provide feedback on the order of priorities and additional needs that could be funded in the future. A meeting to discuss the draft High-Priority Unfunded Needs list in Southwest Missouri will be held during August at the following times and dates:

August 19, 4-5:30 pm; Joplin Public Library, 1901 East 20thStreet, Joplin 64804.

August 26, 4-5:30 pm; Library Center, 4653 South Campbell, Springfield 65810.

August 27, 4-5:30 pm; State Fair Community College, 1701 N. 2nd St., Clinton 64735.

The presentation materials and a comment form are also available online at: https://www.modot.org/high-priority-unfunded-needs-public-meetings.

MoDOT staff worked with regional planning partners throughout the state to develop a list of $4.7 billion of high priority unfunded road and bridge needs, divided into three tiers. Tier one includes $541 million of needs that could be accomplished in the time of the current five-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) as federal and state funding is available. These needs have more refined estimates. 

Tier two outlines $2.1 billion of needs and includes those beyond the current STIP timeframe with broader estimates. Tier three includes $2.1 billion of needs, also beyond the current STIP timeframe with broader estimates. In addition, the list identifies $1 billion in multimodal needs. This year’s list also identifies $1.1 billion in statewide maintenance and operations needs. Working in conjunction with statewide planning partners, MoDOT has moved 20 needs worth $186 million from the unfunded needs list to the FY 2027-2031 STIP, which was finalized in July.

MoDOT’s High-Priority Unfunded Needs Dashboard allows users to filter and see the needs broken down by tier, district, legislative district or county. The dashboard is available on MoDOT's external website.

The draft document and comment forms will be available online through Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, at https://www.modot.org/unfundedneeds. For more information, call MoDOT in Springfield at 417-895-7600 or visit www.modot.org/southwest. To receive the latest news and text alerts, sign up for e-updates.

Grand jury indicts four, including one from Jasper County, for illegal reentry

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

Four individuals were indicted by a federal grand jury in separate cases this week for illegally re-entering the United States after they were previously deported.

Honduran National charged with Illegal Re-Entry After Being Previously Deported and Convicted of a Prior Aggravated Felony Offense

According to an indictment returned today, Mario Robert Mejia-Valledares, 49, was charged with illegal re-entry by a previously deported alien who had been previously convicted of an aggravated felony offense. On July 27, 2026, Mejia-Valledares was found voluntarily in the United States after being previously deported on January 29, 2010, September 23, 2011, and February 4, 2023. Further, Mejia-Valledares’ aggravated felony offense was because of his conviction in Houston, Texas for discharging a firearm at an occupied dwelling, building or vehicle.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick. It was investigated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HIS) and the Christian County, Missouri Sheriff’s Department.

Honduran National Charged with Immigration Offense

Fredy Rolando Rivera-Gonzalez, 31, was indicted today with one count of illegal re-entry by an alien. The indictment alleges Rivera-Gonzalez had been previously deported from the United States on November 6, 2019, from Huntsville, Texas.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and the Pulaski County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office.

Guatemalan National Charged in Indictment with Illegal Re-Entry After Being Previously Deported and Convicted of a Prior Aggravated Felony Offense

Yalex Rodas-Rodas, 25, was indicted today by a Federal Grand Jury for illegally re-entering the United States after being previously deported and convicted of a prior aggravated felony offense. On July 3, 2026, Rodas-Rodas was discovered by law enforcement voluntarily and illegally within the United States after having been deported on October 21, 2010, on April 26, 2012, and October 21, 2020.

Rodas-Rodas has an aggravated felony conviction for forgery on August 18, 2010, in Jasper County, Missouri. Rodas-Rodas has also been previously convicted of the felony offense of illegal re-entry after being previously deported on April 1, 2012, in the Federal District Court for the Western District of Missouri. 

 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) and the Jasper County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office.

Mexican National charged with Illegal Re-Entry After Being Previously Deported

Lorenzo Castillo-Rivera, 32, was indicted today by a Federal Grand Jury charging him with illegal re-entry into the United States by a previously deported alien. On July 20, 2026, Castillo-Rivera was found voluntarily within the United States, specifically Stone County, Missouri, after being previously deported on April 18, 2022, November 14, 2023, and September 18, 2024.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), the Stone County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office, and the Reed Springs, Missouri, police department.

The charges contained in these indictments 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 man killed in UTV accident

A Carl Junction man was killed in a one-vehicle accident 12:50 p.m. today on Locust Road, two and half miles west of Purcell.

According to the Highway Patrol report, a 2013 John Deere Gator driven by a 71-year-old Carl Junction man traveled off the right side of the roadway, struck a barbed wire fence and a fence post and overturned.

The driver was pronounced dead at Mercy Joplin at 1:52 p.m.

The fatality was the 73rd this year for Highway Patrol Troop D.