This blog features observations from Randy Turner, a former teacher, newspaper reporter and editor. Send news items or comments to rturner229@hotmail.com
Gov. Mike Kehoe on Sunday signed the new Missouri congressional district map intended to bring Republicans another seat, and opponents responded with a new lawsuit challenging the plan.
Lawmakers, acting at the insistence of President Donald Trump, finished a special session on Sept. 12 by passing a bill targeting the 5th District in Kansas City and placing a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot to make it more difficult to pass constitutional proposals by initiative petition.
The new lawsuit, like others filed previously, contends that no authority exists in the Missouri Constitution allowing lawmakers to revise congressional districts in the absence of new census data. The new case also argues that the districts are not legal because they stretch for hundreds of miles across the state.
The law will take effect Dec. 11, in time for candidate filing in the 2026 elections, unless blocked by the courts or a referendum petition.
To bring enough voters into the 5th District, which currently includes portions of only Jackson and Clay counties, the drafters destroyed the idea that districts should be as compact as possible, the new lawsuit filed in Jackson County contends.
U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat, has represented the 5th District since 2005.
Kehoe, who has said the courts will decide if what lawmakers did was legal, said in a news release that he signed the bill to make the state’s districts align with voter views overall.
“We believe this map best represents Missourians, and I appreciate the support and efforts of state legislators, our congressional delegation, and President Trump in getting this map to my desk,” Kehoe said.
Opponents have argued that the new map disenfranchises a large portion of Missouri voters. Democrats currently hold two of the state’s eight districts, or 25%, while statewide elections show about 40% of voters support Democratic candidates.
Filed by the National Redistricting Foundation, the legal arm of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the lawsuit enlists voters from around the state as plaintiffs, raising objections to changes in other districts as well the lines in the Kansas CIty area.
“Missouri’s mid-decade gerrymander is in clear violation of the state constitution,” Marina Jenkins, executive director of the foundation, said in a news release. “It was not prompted by the law or a court order; it was the result of Republican lawmakers in Missouri following partisan directives from politicians in Washington, D.C.”
The constitutional standards for redistricting include districts that are compact, contiguous, as equal as possible in population and do not split communities of interest.
“Every redistricting plan since the 1950s has placed as much of the Jackson County portion of Kansas City as possible in a single district, and more recently, also brought in a substantial portion of the Clay County parts of Kansas City as well,” the lawsuit states. “In fact, the Jackson County portion of Kansas City has not been split in more than 50 years.”
Under the new map, the lawsuit states, Kansas City’s central business district is in three separate districts. The new 4th District stretches from downtown Kansas City to Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County, 200 miles away.
Eastern portions of the city that remain in the 5th District are now in a district with Rolla, in southeast Missouri, also 200 miles away, while the remaining downtown portions are part of the 6th District, which runs across northeast Missouri to the Mississippi River.
“The configuration of congressional districts in the Kansas City area under (the redistricting bill) violates the mandatory compactness requirement on nearly every level,” the lawsuit contends.
The National Redistricting Foundation lawsuit is the fourth filed since Kehoe announced plans for the special session.
The first was filed by the NAACP of Missouri, which contends that Kehoe did not have authority to call lawmakers into session for redistricting or to change initiative majority requirements. That case is in the hands of Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh, who heard arguments Sept. 15.
The other lawsuits are in their early procedural stages.
One, filed Sept. 12 in Jackson County makes similar arguments to the new case about the compactness of the new districts, while also questioning whether the bill mistakenly places the same precinct in two different districts.
Another, filed Sept. 12 in Cole County, is based on an argument common to all four cases — that the state constitution doesn’t allow mid-cycle redistricting.
Only once since the current constitution was written have lawmakers altered congressional districts between censuses, and that was in the 1960s when a U.S. Supreme Court decision forced a national reexamination of districts to balance populations.
The redistricting provision of the constitution says that after receiving census data, lawmakers “shall by law divide the state into districts corresponding with the number of representatives to which it is entitled…”
The section is silent on the power to do it at any other time and that, the new lawsuit contends, means it is prohibited.
“The General Assembly ignored the state constitution’s procedural limitation authorizing congressional redistricting to take place only when new decennial census results are certified to the governor,” the lawsuit states.
There are still 13 months to campaign before Missouri residents will be called back to voting booths to decide the fate of abortion rights, exactly two years after voters legalized the procedure.
But this time, efforts both supporting and opposing the proposed constitutional amendment are getting a head start.
The 2026 ballot measure, which was approved by the Republican supermajority of lawmakers in May, would repeal the constitutional right to an abortion but allow exceptions for medical emergencies, fatal fetal anomalies and for survivors of rape and incest in the first 12 weeks of gestation.
In the past week, the campaign opposing the proposed amendment, called Stop the Ban, raised nearly $850,000. (Prior to that — as of a quarterly finance report published in July — it raised $500, all through individual donations of $100 or less.)
The contributions include six-figure donations from several of the main financial backers of the 2024 abortion rights campaign, including The Fairness Project based in Washington, D.C., Abortion Action Missouri, Planned Parenthood Great Rivers Action, Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes and Global Impact Social Welfare Fund, a Virginia-based nonprofit.
Campaigns are required to report contributions over $5,000 within 48 hours of receiving them. Any smaller donation is made public as part of quarterly finance reports through the Missouri Ethics Commission.
The 2024 abortion-rights amendment was spearheaded by a campaign called Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, which included the ACLU of Missouri, Planned Parenthood, Abortion Action Missouri, the Fairness Project and Action STL.
A new campaign called Stop the Ban, formed in May to oppose the 2026 abortion ban amendment, also includes PROMO Missouri, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization.
The campaign in a statement Friday accused Missouri Republicans of attempting to overturn the will of the people, a message that’s been echoed by Democrats in the statehouse and attorneys for abortion rights groups in courthouses in Jefferson City and Kansas City as legal battles over abortion access continue.
“Missourians won’t let that happen,” campaign leaders said.” We’re building a grassroots effort to fight for what we know Missourians from every corner of our state and every political party want: the freedom to make our own decisions for ourselves and our families.”
Stop the Ban will be up against a new campaign launched this month called Her Health, Her Future. That PAC is backed by the governor’s office.
Claudia Kehoe, wife of Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, is the campaign’s treasurer. Her education and career includes a background in banking and finance.
“We think it’s important to protect innocent life,” the governor said last week. “This measure will go on the ballot in November of ‘26, and so I’m excited that (Claudia) wanted to continue what her heart believes in. And that’s her mission, to protect the unborn.”
House parties
Abortion Action Missouri began laying the foundation for this latest grassroots campaign last week when the organization hosted more than a dozen house parties across the state to talk about abortion.
Among the hosts was Maryellen Picker, a retired 76-year-old school teacher who on Thursday evening gathered 16 women in the living room of her Clayton home.
Decades earlier, Picker’s sister had an abortion at the age of 16. They were living in Missouri, but their mother had to fly with her sister to New York to have the procedure.
“The stigma was horrible, and I don’t want it to be like that,” Picker told 30-year-old Lena Woods as they broke into small groups to talk about abortion.
Woods, who volunteers as a clinic escort, said while the 2024 election felt like a “huge hill” to climb, the path to victory was clear to her.
“Last time I felt like we were guaranteed to win,” she said.
This time around, facing a new gerrymandered map and ongoing legal battles over the ballot language, it feels different.
“This time I’m like, ‘oh no, I need to do more,’” Woods said.
The woman lounged barefoot on mismatched chairs and a long couch beneath pieces of abstract art, sipping on wine and cucumber water for what Jess Dewes, 51, a volunteer with Abortion Action Missouri, called a “power party.”
Dewes asked what brought everyone together that evening.
Anger, one woman said. Fear, added another.
“They’re counting on us being tired and counting on us quitting,” Dewes said.
“Because we are already a very gerrymandered state, we have very little power right now in Jefferson City,” she added. “The supermajority in Missouri, they have a lot of power right now. They’ve got a lot of people, they’ve got a lot of money, they’ve got a lot of political strongholds. So building power is our best way to take back some of the control that we’ve lost so that we don’t keep voting and then winning and then losing again.”
Before they parted ways, Dewes reminded the women to ditch the “Yes on 3” merch that proliferated the St. Louis area last year and still remains in some yards. This elicited groans as some of the women learned that the new legislative proposal is called Amendment 3, the same name held by the previous abortion rights amendment.
Most of the women gathered at Picker’s home were over the age of 50.
Dewes said they match the demographics of many of the volunteers she’s worked with in signature gathering efforts for the abortion rights campaign. Many looked old enough to be her mother.
“Their anger about having to fight for it again is so multidimensional, and their purpose is tied to generations,” Dewes said.
Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri, said the goal is to grow the abortion rights movement “block by block.”
“This harnessed so much attention last year and so much energy, and people are mad that they went immediately to interfere and overturn the will of the people.”
While Stop the Ban has raised almost $1 million, as of Monday, Her Health, Her Future has received one reportable donation: $50,000 from Drury Displays Inc., a St. Louis based digital billboard advertising company.
Mike Hafner, a former advisor to Kehoe’s gubernatorial campaign who is now an advisor for Her Health, Her Future, said the campaign is focused early on fundraising.
“Our opposition has proven to be very well-funded and very well-organized,” Hafner told The Independent last week, saying the campaign hopes to avoid the same fundraising gulf that existed last year.
Ahead of the November 2024 election, the campaign in support of the abortion rights amendment raised more than $31.5 million. At the same time, fundraising efforts among the anti abortion movement were split among a handful of campaigns totaling less than $4 million in donations.
Abortion access remains fragmented in Missouri as courts decide what abortion restrictions should remain in place under the 2024 abortion rights amendment. As of Monday, procedural abortions were available by appointment at Planned Parenthood clinics in Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis. Medication abortion remained inaccessible.
The Independent’s Rudi Keller contributed to this report.
(From the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney's Office)A Neosho man was found guilty by a jury on Tuesday, September 30, at the conclusion of a two-day jury trial. The jury deliberated for just over forty-five minutes.
Aaron Matthew Whitley, 44, was convicted on counts of Domestic Assault in the First Degree, Armed Criminal Action and not guilty on Kidnapping in the First Degree, Sodomy in the First Degree, and Property Damage in the First Degree in front of Judge Charles Genisio of the 40th Judicial Circuit. Sentencing is scheduled for November 17, 2025.
According to a probable cause statement filed with the case, Whitley rammed his truck into the victim’s vehicle, then proceeded to punch the victim, slam her head into a wall, and threaten to kill her and held her at knifepoint. When police arrived on scene, they observed a laceration on the victim’s head and that she was bleeding from her mouth.
At trial, the victim testified that Whitley grabbed and ripped out handfuls of her hair, grabbed a knife and cut off her hair, and then shoved the hair into her mouth to the point that she couldn’t breathe. She testified that she was in fear for her life and followed Whitley’s instructions to clean herself up, while cleaning herself, the defendant sodomized her with his finger and continued to physically assault her.
Two of the defendant’s relatives, witnesses to a portion of the assault, also testified for the state, corroborating the victim’s recollection of events. One relative testified about calling 911 after hearing the victim scream for help and seeing her covered in blood.
At closing argument, the state pointed out that the defendant was eight inches taller and 50 pounds heavier than the victim. The state asked the jury to consider how much force had to be used to pull out the victim’s hair by the roots.
Before sending the jury back, the state showed the body cam footage of the victim screaming for help when police arrived on scene.
“I have full faith in our criminal justice system. While it’s not perfect, I believe it to be the best in the world. We tried our case before a jury of Newton County citizens and we are pleased with the outcome,” said William Lynch, Newton County Prosecuting Attorney.
“Our victim showed incredible courage in facing her abuser in court. No justice would be served without her brave participation and I’m very thankful to her.”
This case was investigated by the Newton County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
(From the Joel Mace Campaign)David “Joel” Mace, a veteran detective with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office and lifelong Southwest Missouri resident, announced his candidacy for the Missouri House of Representatives to replace term-limited Rep. Dirk Deaton. With over a decade in law enforcement, Joel is running to champion conservative values, protect families, and restore law and order.
“As a detective, I have seen the challenges our communities face,” said Joel. “I am running to defend faith, family, and freedom by reducing crime, protecting Second Amendment rights, and ensuring that government serves We the People—not unelected bureaucrats.”
Joel’s career includes service as a patrol officer in Diamond and Granby before joining Newton County in 2013. He is treasurer of the Southwest Missouri Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #27 and an active member of the McDonald County Republican Club, Missouri Narcotics Officers Association, Missouri Firearms Coalition, and the NRA. Joel also serves as a research analyst and personality for the Mancave Caucus Podcast.
A lifelong conservative, Joel prioritizes the right to life, fiscal responsibility, and support for local agriculture. He and his wife, Cheyenne, live in rural McDonald County, where they raise their four children, attend Splitlog Baptist Church, and have a small farm. Cheyenne also works in the local poultry industry.
“Southwest Missouri was built on agriculture, and I am committed to making sure it stays strong for the next generation,” Joel said. “I will fight for the needs of rural families, support our farmers and producers, and ensure Jefferson City never loses sight of the rural values that make our communities thrive.”
Joel looks forward to engaging with District 159 voters to hear their concerns and discuss their priorities. He will appear on the Republican primary ballot in August 2026.
(From Gov. Mike Kehoe)Governor Mike Kehoe announced today that he has authorized the Missouri National Guard (MONG) to assist with administrative, clerical, and logistical duties at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing facilities within the State of Missouri. This decision comes in response to a request for assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to the Department of War (DOW) to ensure the resources and personnel needed to effectively enforce immigration laws and maintain operational control of the border.
Missouri National Guard service members will provide support starting October 1, 2025, by assisting with tasks such as data entry, case management, and logistical support, enabling ICE personnel to focus on core enforcement and security functions. MONG personnel who have been assigned to this mission were selected on a volunteer basis.
“Public safety, keeping Missourians safe, and upholding the rule of law is our administration's top priority,” said Governor Kehoe. “The Missouri National Guard is uniquely equipped to provide this essential administrative support, and we are confident their contributions will be invaluable to immigration enforcement efforts. Missouri is proud to join in the Trump administration's efforts to keep our state and nation secure.”
On July 25, 2025, the Secretary of War Pete Hegseth approved the duty status of DOW military personnel providing support at ICE processing facilities allowing for Title 32 duty status, which is a federally funded status under authority of the Governor. The Missouri National Guard regularly works alongside local, state, and federal agencies in support roles to ensure the safety and security of communities.
Military personnel are authorized to be on duty for this mission through September 30, 2026.
A Jasper couple filed a malpractice lawsuit against Mercy Joplin, Mercy Clinic Joplin, and David C. Bendorf, M. D. alleging a botched colon resection surgery.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in Jasper County Circuit Court, a series of mishaps during the preparation for the surgery and the surgery itself left Tammy Klenklen with "permanent and -progressive harms," including "prolonged hospitalizations, medicines, surgeries, therapies, and doctor’s visits, all at substantial cost."
In addition to Klenklen's allegations of medical negligence, Klenklen's husband, Kevin Klenklen, is suing for lack of consortium.
On or about November 13, 2023, Plaintiff Tammy Klenklen presented to the emergency department of Mercy Hospital with a chief complaint of abdominal pain and distention.
A CT scan of Plaintiff Tammy Klenklen’s abdomen/pelvis revealed a circumferential colonic mass in the sigmoid colon. Plaintiff Tammy Klenklen was admitted to Mercy Hospital for further workup, including a colonoscopy that was planned for the next day.
Plaintiff was given bowel prep the day before the planned colonoscopy, but due to significant nausea and vomiting she was unable to tolerate the bowel prep. Therefore, the colonoscopy was performed without prep.
A partial colonoscopy was performed the next day, November 14, 2023, wherein it was reported that the “the quality of the bowel preparation was poor.” The findings of the colonoscopy were that the sigmoid colon was grossly redundant and strictured, and a surgical consultation was recommended.
Defendant David Bendorf, MD, a general surgeon, evaluated Plaintiff Tammy Klenklen on November 14, 2023, and recommended surgical resection of the sigmoid stricture in the colon. Defendant Bendorf ordered another course of bowel prep in anticipation of the resection surgery.
Plaintiff began taking the bowel prep around 7:00 p.m. on November 15, 2023. Defendant Bendorf examined Plaintiff preoperatively at or around 10:15 a.m. on November 16 and noted that while Plaintiff was able to get the bowel prep down, her bowel movements were still “pretty brown.” Dr. Bendorf planned to proceed with robotic colon resection surgery as scheduled.
During the bowel resection surgery, Defendant Bendorf transected through the bowel to create two open segments of bowel. While preparing for anastomosis (reconnection) of the two open bowel ends, the anvil for the EEA stapler became lost in Plaintiff Tammy Klenklen’s proximal colon.
Defendant Bendorf left one end of the bowel open while he attempted to search for the missing anvil. During the search for the anvil, peristalsis of the open bowel caused a large amount of frank stool to leak into the abdominal cavity.
Due to the large leakage of stool, Ms. Klenklen developed intra-operative hypotension requiring multiple pressors; therefore, the surgery was abandoned without attempting the anastomosis to reconnect the ends of the open bowel. Instead, a colostomy was created by rerouting the bowel up through an incision in the abdomen.
Postoperatively, Plaintiff Tammy Klenklen quickly became severely septic in response to the fecal contamination of her abdomen that occurred during surgery. Rapid Response was called early on the morning of November 17 and Plaintiff Tammy Klenklen was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit.
Plaintiff Tammy Klenklen developed septic shock, causing significant renal failure requiring dialysis, respiratory failure, and volume overload requiring noninvasive ventilatory assistance with BiPAP, among other complications. Her colostomy became necrotic and she had to undergo surgical debridement.
Plaintiff Tammy Klenklen also developed an extensive necrotizing infection involving the skin and subcutaneous tissues down to the fascia of her lower abdomen.
Plaintiff Tammy Klenklen remained hospitalized at Mercy Hospital Joplin until January 4, 2024. Following her discharge, she required extensive follow-up care including surgery to take-down her colostomy.
The Klenklens are represented by Patrick Martucci of Johnson, Vorhees and Martucci.
The last signature needed to force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to release files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will arrive in Washington this week, but most Republican members of the Missouri delegation are silent on how they will vote.
On Tuesday, voters in Arizona elected Adelita Grijvala to Congress to fill a seat vacant following the death of her father, Raúl Grijalva. Both Grijvala, a Democrat, and her Republican opponent had said they would sign a discharge petition to force the House vote.
The petition needs 218 signatures — a majority of the House — to bring a resolution sponsored by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, to the floor. The resolution would lead to a vote on a bill requiring the Department of Justice to “publicly disclose all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in its possession that relate to Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell,” Epstein’s longtime associate now being held in federal prison.
So far the petition, which Massie co-sponsored with U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, has 217 signatures — every Democrat in the House, including U.S. Reps. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City and Wesley Bell of St. Louis — and four Republicans.
Only U.S. Rep. Mark Alford of Raymore among Missouri’s six Republicans told The Independent how he would vote for the measure if it makes it to the House floor. While he opposes the discharge petition, he said, if the bill it seeks to advance comes up for a vote, he will support it.
“The Epstein case has cast a long shadow over our institutions, fueling distrust among Americans,” Alford said in a statement sent by email. “By releasing the files, we can begin to ensure justice for the victims and restore faith in our criminal justice system. Transparency is not a partisan issue; it’s a moral one.”
Alford said he was opposed to the discharge petition because it doesn’t allow for measured consideration of legislation.
“The discharge petition process bypasses regular order, skips the committee process, and prevents the people’s elected representatives from having a say until an up or down floor vote—that’s wrong and is not how our legislature should operate,” Alford said.
The only other Republican member of the Missouri delegation to respond to an inquiry about the discharge petition was U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner of Ballwin. Her emailed statement did not say whether she would vote for the measure if it reaches the floor or why she had not signed the petition.
“As I have strongly stated previously, Jeffrey Epstein was evil and I hope he rots in hell for what he did to so many innocent children,” Wagner said. “I have called for total transparency, to the extent the courts will allow, and ensuring victims are always protected.”
Wagner said she has voted in favor of investigations by the House Oversight Committee and that has already resulted in the release of thousands of documents.
“Any criminal activity must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Wagner said.
Seven days after the 218th signature is recorded on the discharge petition, any member who signed can call for House Speaker Mike Johnson to schedule a vote on the petition, which must come within two days.
The tumult over releasing records related to the Epstein investigation has created turmoil in Congress all summer. His death in 2019 in a New York City jail cell while awaiting trial on federal charges for sex trafficking minors has become the focus of many of the questions surrounding the case.
In 2007, a plea deal with then-federal prosecutor Alexander Acosta, who went on to be secretary of labor in the first Trump administration, ended an FBI investigation into Epstein. He was accused, the Miami Herald reported in 2018, “of assembling a large, cult-like network of underage girls — with the help of young female recruiters — to coerce into having sex acts behind the walls of his opulent waterfront mansion.”
President Donald Trump and his supporters, including some now working in his administration, dealt in conspiracy theories for years on the information surrounding the Epstein case, including whose names turned up during the investigation and the circumstances of his death.
The clamor for more transparency in the case, especially about Trump’s friendship with Epstein, has resulted in various attempts by Republican leaders in Congress to keep a lid on rebellious members.
In July, Johnson, the house speaker, sent members home early for their August break because of the pressure to release the files.
And at home in Kentucky, Massie told reporters he and the other three Republicans who signed the discharge petition are being pressured to remove their names following the election of Grijvala.
Johnson and “some of the powers that be in DC are in full panic right now” about it, Massie said, according to reporting by Semafor.
The other Republicans who have signed are U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
“They asked some of my colleagues who are co-signers,” Massie said. “And they actually threatened them politically, not physically.”
Among the Missouri delegation, The Independent did not receive responses from the offices of U.S. Reps. Sam Graves of Tarkio, Jason Smith of Cape Girardeau, Bob Onder of Lake St. Louis or Eric Burlison of Springfield.
The Independent could not find any sources for statements by Graves at any time on the Epstein files.
Smith, in a statement reported by KRCG in July, said more documents should be unsealed.
“The more transparency we can have the better,” Smith said.
In a July panel discussion on right-wing news outlet Real America’s Voice, Onder said the delays in releasing full details of the Epstein investigation are a symptom of “this idea that ‘deep state’ insiders control the levers of power.”
Epstein used influence to escape justice, Onder said.
“I think it’s very much the question of whether, if you’re wealthy enough, powerful enough, well-connected enough, you can get away with anything,” Onder said.
In an interview with Missourinet in July, Burlison said the American people are “sick and tired of being lied to by their government or the government holding these secrets that they deserve to know the truth on.”
(From Gov. Mike Kehoe)Today, Governor Mike Kehoe and the Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) announced that the State of Missouri has submitted a waiver request to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to alter Missouri's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to refocus the program and support the purchase of healthy foods.
Governor Mike Kehoe signed Executive Order 25-30, ordering the Director of DSS to prepare and submit a waiver to FNS to alter Missouri's SNAP program in a manner that prioritizes healthy foods and nutritional value, discourages foods that are high in added sugar and ultra processed, and supports Missouri agriculture.
“Healthy and nutritionally secure Missouri families are critical to supporting a path to self-sufficiency and, ultimately, a thriving state,” said Governor Kehoe. “Under the Trump administration, states are taking action to ensure that taxpayer dollars are better used to promote healthy, nutritious food purchases. With approximately $1.5 billion in annual SNAP benefits issued in Missouri, we must refocus our SNAP program to maximize nutritional health for families while also supporting the abundant agricultural output of our state.”
The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is administered by the State of Missouri to provide food assistance for low-income Missouri families to supplement their grocery budgets and encourage the consumption of nutritious food essential to health and well-being.
“With this waiver request, we are looking to refocus Missouri's SNAP program to further prioritize healthy foods that truly benefit the well-being of Missouri families,” said Director Jess Bax, Missouri Department of Social Services. “I appreciate Governor Kehoe's leadership in advancing the health of Missourians and supporting Missouri agriculture. Our department is eager to begin working alongside key stakeholders, including public health and nutrition experts, SNAP beneficiaries and administrators, and related business and industry representatives on the implementation process and further incentivizing healthy food purchases.”
Governor Kehoe's executive order also calls for the Director of DSS to explore and recommend strategies to further incentivize the purchase of fresh fruits, vegetables, and Missouri-produced meats and dairy products within the SNAP program by utilizing and enhancing existing Missouri healthy food education and access programs, such as the "Double Up Food Bucks" initiative, which provides additional financial benefits for healthy food purchases.
Governor Kehoe's executive order calls for modifications to Missouri’s SNAP program designed to refocus the program to support the purchase of a wide variety of whole and minimally processed healthy food categories, including, but not limited to:
Fresh fruits and vegetables Meat, fish, poultry, and other proteins Dairy products Whole grains and bread products Legumes
Governor Kehoe has also committed to exploring an additional waiver request to allow for the purchase of hot, ready-to-eat rotisserie chicken – an affordable source of protein.
Missouri is a leading national agricultural producer in a variety of food commodities that provide healthy, sustainable dietary options for Missourians.
“Incentivizing the purchase of nutritious, locally-sourced agricultural products through the SNAP program will not only support a healthier population but also strengthen Missouri's agricultural industry,” said Director Chris Chinn, Missouri Department of Agriculture. “From farmers markets and local produce stands to grocery stores across the state, Missouri farmers and ranchers are proud to play a role in this effort to better the health and well-balanced diets of families.”
Missouri's waiver request was sent to USDA today, opening a 30-day public comment period in Missouri. As this is the first step in this process, Governor Kehoe and his cabinet welcome stakeholder engagement throughout the year-long process to refocus the SNAP program.
The estimated implementation date of Missouri's waiver, following USDA approval and extensive stakeholder engagement, would be October 1, 2026.
To view Governor Kehoe's Executive Order 25-30, click here. A copy of the waiver request with additional details is available here.
As a school counselor in Neosho, Missouri, Tracy Clements was skeptical that an AI tool could help her students’ mental health, or make any dent in the school's suicide prevention efforts.
She entered the Neosho School District in the fall of 2012. Over the years, she started to notice a trend.
“I was an elementary building-level counselor for probably six years, and we just kept having all these suicides.” Clements said. “I was like, ‘Why is nobody doing anything about this?’ And nobody seemed to know what to do.”
She became the director of counseling for the district, and started developing a communitywide mental health task force to try to chip away at the problem.
After a few years, she was approached with a new tool: a beta version of an AI software that would monitor student activity on their school computers. It could flag signs a student could be in crisis.
That software and others like it were booming as students were confined to their homes during the COVID pandemic, with the objective of keeping students safe while they weren’t physically in school.
“I was like, you know, ‘I don’t have time to play with your toys,’” she said. “‘Have fun with it, but I have real work to do.’”
Within weeks, Clements said, she got an alert that a student had searched how much of a medicine it took to kill someone. She tried calling the student’s parents and couldn’t reach them. So she drove to the student’s home, where she saw pills and a glass of water on the kitchen table.
“We got all the services in place, and then I just cried the whole way home,” she said.
The close call changed her mind about how effective the program could be. And at the time, Neosho needed help.
In 2020, 31% of students in Newton County — home to Neosho — reported to the state Department of Mental Health that they were always or often very sad in the past 30 days, compared to 25% of other surveyed Missouri students. Newton County students also reported slightly higher feelings of hopelessness, appetite and sleep changes, which can all be linked to mental health struggles.
That year, the district adopted GoGuardian Beacon, a version of student activity monitoring software that focuses specifically on mental health and student safety. It sends different types of alerts to school administrators based on how urgent situations seem. In the case of after-hours alerts, districts often use relationships with local law enforcement to check on students and ensure their safety.
GoGuardian Beacon claims that since 2020 their software has protected nearly 20,000 students nationwide from physical harm, and counties that use their software have 26% lower youth suicide rates.
In Neosho, there were an average of two student suicides a year before the program was adopted. Now, the company credits their efforts with student suicides dropping to zero for the past four years.
There are no studies showing exactly how effective GoGuardian’s program and others like it — such as Bark, Gaggle or Securly — are at keeping students safe. While GoGuardian focuses on mental health flags, other programs flag for things like hate speech, gender expression, bullying or harassment.
Despite indications that such software can help stem suicides, it also raises questions. Privacy experts warn of the potential downsides of the software. And student mental health advocates say schools must find ways outside of these programs to ensure students experiencing crises have other tools to address their needs.
Does suicide prevention outweigh privacy concerns?
Clements said she was most surprised by the program’s ability to catch students who may be at risk, and found it was flagging students much earlier than other metrics the district was using.
GoGuardian Beacon “was catching things sooner, before their behavior started to change on the outside, because kids are more honest with Google,” Clements said. “Those high-flyer kids who have good social skills and can mask when they are struggling — those kids we were able to catch further upstream and get services in place.”
When Neosho was rolling out the program, the school district held a sparsely attended informational meeting for parents to learn more about the software. They had little public feedback, but consenting to the program became part of the district’s technology release forms – by allowing your student to use this school-supplied laptop, parents were signing off to have their activity monitored.
The AI software flags certain search terms, but GoGuardian also has trained the staff screening the alerts behind the scenes before they are sent to school officials. The school can also give feedback about how accurate the alert was, to help the system continue learning.
“I think we have kids that are able to stay at school and successfully complete school because they’re getting the services they need,” said Tim Lewis, Neosho School District’s chief of police. “I’ve been a part of it for the last four or five years, and it has grown, and it is getting better and better every day,”
The New Franklin School District in Howard County, Missouri, uses a free version of a program called Bark to scan student activity in a similar way. The district has about 400 students, but has generated hundreds of thousands of alerts since 2022.
“It scans their emails, documents, slides, presentations, sheets, all of those kinds of things,” said Jackie Starke, a former teacher who is now a consulting technology director for New Franklin.
“Sometimes our kids are dealing with issues that we don’t realize,” Starke said. “It has helped us identify some students who may have considered self-harm and get them routed.”
“Sometimes our kids are dealing with issues that we don’t realize. It has helped us identify some students who may have considered self-harm and get them routed.”
Jackie Starke, a former teacher who is now a consulting technology director for New Franklin School District
From 2020 to 2022, Missouri was ranked 28th nationwide for its youth suicide rate.
In 2024, 21.5% of Missouri students surveyed about their mental health said they attempted to harm themselves in a deliberate but not suicidal way. The numbers have slightly improved since 2021, when 22% of high school students said they had seriously considered suicide, compared to 11.7% of students in 2024.
Still, about 56% of students surveyed in 2024 said they were sometimes, often or always “very sad.” And the numbers are consistently higher for female students compared to their male counterparts.
How are suicide prevention digital monitoring tools applied across student groups?
New Franklin and Neosho both have access to every alert that has been generated across their districts since they adopted these programs. Schools say the programs help keep students safe, but privacy experts have concerns about how they’re being used and what could be done with that data.
“Ultimately, the tool is available to the school, and there are many ways to customize your use of these tools,” said Kristin Woelfel, policy counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology’s civic technology team. “All it takes is for somebody to decide, ‘We want to find all students who fit into this category, or we want to flag this particular content.’ That in itself is a little scary.”
The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) runs an annual survey of students, parents and teachers whose schools use student surveillance programs. In their 2024 survey, 88% of teachers said their school uses some form of technology to track students’ online activity.
It’s a booming industry. An ACLU research report found that lobbyists by 2023 had secured more than $300 million in federal funding to improve school safety through these software products. In 2021, K-12 schools and colleges across the U.S. spent about $3.1 billion on these security software types, up from $2.7 billion in 2017.
But the way those programs are applied, Woelfel said, changes across demographics.
For example, CDT found that students with an individualized education program or a 504 plan to accommodate students with disabilities were more likely to get in trouble for how they respond to school staff when their online activity was flagged. Of that group, 33% of students got in trouble for how they responded, versus 27% of students without an IEP or 504 plan.
They also found that LGBTQ+ students were more likely to experience adverse effects. CDT found that 55% of LGBTQ+ students said they got in trouble or know someone who got in trouble as a result of their activity that was flagged, versus 41% of non-LGBTQ+ students.
Another 18% of LGBTQ+ students said they were outed by the software, or know of someone who was.
That concern has been addressed by some companies. In early 2023, Gaggle announced it would no longer flag students who use words like “gay” and “lesbian” in school assignments and chat messages.
The ACLU report also found that algorithms have been shown to be worse at recognizing and categorizing Black dialects, and tools used to screen online comments for hate speech and cyberbullying disproportionately flag posts from Black students.
The CDT survey found that Black and Hispanic students were more likely than white students to report content being filtered or blocked: 42% of Black students and 33% of Hispanic students said content associated with students of color was more likely to be blocked or filtered, compared to 28% of white students.
“There are particular students who find themselves a little bit more vulnerable when these technologies are being used,” Woelfel said.
When surveyed, 42% of parents said they’d like to opt their child out of AI use for student safety purposes, and 81% of parents said they thought it was important they were given the chance to give input on how the software was used.
How school devices are used for different demographics of students is another element Woelfel worries about. If a student has access to a personal computer at home, that could provide them with more privacy. But if they rely on their school computer, their risk could be higher, she said.
“Should privacy be reserved to people who can pay for it?” Woelfel said. “I think that’s a valid question.”
The districts told The Beacon that they hadn’t talked with the state about these software products and how they should be used. There’s no estimate of how many Missouri school districts are using these digital tools for student safety purposes.
When contacted, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said that schools that accept federal e-rate money for internet connectivity and equipment are required to follow the Children’s Internet Protection Act, which calls for safety policies and the use of technology to filter obscene and harmful content.
Beyond technology, how can schools keep students safe in the digital age?
In New Franklin, administrators use the data and their knowledge of the student to assess how much of a threat an alert may be, Starke said.
“I can see if there is a pattern, or maybe somebody who hits an alert a little more often,” she said. “There are some kids, if they hit an alert, they go up the priority list … because there are potential issues that could have been serious.”
“We can’t go without it,” she added. “There are just too many things that students have access to compared to before they had phones and computers in their hands all of the time.”
Starke and the district have discussed upgrading to the paid version of Bark, which would allow parents to see alerts. But she questions if total access to the alerts would be helpful for every student.
“I would want to investigate that more,” Starke said. “That can be a tricky situation, because sometimes parents are the biggest part of the issue.”
Clements, the former Neosho counselor, doesn’t give GoGuaridan Beacon full credit for helping catch students in crises. She pointed to all of the previous communitywide work that taught students coping skills and what resources they had access to, if they needed them.
And mental health experts urge districts to ensure students are getting the support they need outside of digital monitoring.
But Missouri’s lack of mental health resources is pervasive, both in rural and urban areas, said Keith Herman, a curators’ professor in educational psychology at the University of Missouri.
He and his colleagues developed an early identification system for schools to assist students who may be at risk of experiencing mental health crises. The system included a student survey and a path for support for students that doesn’t rely on technology, which can’t pick up on all of the subtleties of mental health.
“They lack some of the more nuanced focus on identifying kids early with emerging risks, and then getting them the support and services in school or the community to prevent some of the things that threat detection software systems are detecting much farther downstream,” Herman said.
But especially in rural schools, monitoring software can help pick up some of the slack when districts may be understaffed or have less access to nearby resources.
“In those communities, often there’s not enough mental health providers to refer kids to when they do have needs that are outside the scope of the school,” Herman said.
And connecting students with resources, or knowing how to follow up to make sure they’re safe, is often the hardest part.
“It’s not enough to give tools like detection systems,” Herman said. He said schools need robust training on how to handle the systems, how to tailor them to their needs, and how to properly respond to students. And they need the tools to help students out, even if their mental health doesn’t seem to be in an urgent crisis.
But many schools don’t have sufficient resources to seek out that training for their teachers, Herman said, which can be a barrier to using these tools as safely and effectively as possible.
Ultimately, he said, a school and communitywide lens, not focused on individual students, is the best way to try and address student mental health.
“Getting adults in a school or community to think about … ‘What can we do differently in our environment to have fewer kids having these types of concerns?’” Herman said. “That type of thinking centers mental health as not something to be ashamed of … but more of something that we have a collective responsibility for thinking through.”
A sexual harassment lawsuit filed today in Jasper County Circuit Court alleges the Joplin Housing Authority did nothing to curb a supervisor who was allegedly sexually harassing the only female employee in the maintenance department.
The lawsuit, which was filed by Jamie Miller-Price, lists the Housing Authority and the supervisor, Earnest Charles, as defendants
On or about March 12, 2024, Plaintiff was sitting in her parked vehicle on Housing Authority property during business hours.
The driver’s side window of her vehicle was rolled down and she was speaking with Mr. Charles about work. Mr. Charles reached his hand through the open window and caressed Plaintiff’s cheek with his hand in a sexual manner.
Mr. Charles began breathing heavily, appearing as though he was receiving sexual gratification from this conduct. Plaintiff froze up and was unable to move. She did not know what to do.
Subsequent to this interaction, Plaintiff reported Mr. Charles’ conduct to Debra Valdivia who was the operations manager at the Housing Authority.
In a later interaction, Plaintiff was seated while on duty. Mr. Charles’ approached Plaintiff from behind and pulled the elastic lining of her underwear and let go, making a pop sound.
Mr. Charles would make inappropriate comments during working hours such as calling Plaintiff “my girl”, telling her she should wear earrings to work, and telling her she had pretty eyes.
Subsequently, Mr. Charles again approached Plaintiff while she was sitting in her truck. He again reached his hand through the window and caressed Plaintiff’s cheek just as he had done previously during the March 2024 encounter.
Again, Plaintiff froze up, was unable to move, and did not know what to do. Plaintiff again reported this situation to operations manager Debra Valdivia.
On or about August 8, 2024, Mr. Charles poured water down the front of Plaintiff’s shirt. Plaintiff reported this situation to operations manager Debra Valdivia.
On or about August 23, 2024, Mr. Charles came up to Plaintiff while on duty at a property operated by the Housing Authority and again caressed Plaintiff’s cheek in a sexual manner similarly to the two prior sexual assaults.
Plaintiff again reported this situation to operations manager Debra Valdivia.
After the August 23, 2024 occurrence, Plaintiff began receiving less desirable assignments. She would be tasked to complete jobs by herself which typically were jobs assigned to two or more employees. Similarly situated male employees were not required to perform these same jobs alone.
On October 8, 2024, Plaintiff reported to the executive director that Mr. Charles was giving her more difficult assignments and treating her differently than her male co-workers. Mr. Moran, the executive director, reminded her that when she started working for the Housing Authority he warned her there may be issues and that he told her that “boys will be boys.”
Mr. Charles continued to treat Plaintiff differently than other male employees.
Mr. Charles failed to inform Plaintiff she was to be on-call, which resulted in Plaintiff missing a call to respond to a maintenance issue on October 29, 2024.
It became clear to Plaintiff that nothing was being done about Mr. Charles’ treatment of her and that Mr. Charles was retaliating against Plaintiff because she had reported his conduct to Ms. Valdivia.
On or about November 13, 2024, Plaintiff reported to executive director Matt Moran that she had experienced sexual harassment by Mr. Charles and that he was treating her differently than male employees.
By this point, Plaintiff had begun treatment with a physician for mental health issues she began suffering because of her treatment at work. Specifically, Plaintiff was diagnosed with PTSD as a result of Mr. Charles’ sexual assault and harassment at work.
Plaintiff requested from Mr. Moran a reasonable accommodation for her condition which included no direct, in-person contact with Mr. Charles and any communications from Mr. Charles to be in text message.
It was Plaintiff’s understanding this request would be put in place.
Subsequently, Mr. Charles attempted to call Plaintiff on multiple occasions and attempted to speak with her in-person.
On November 22, 2024, Plaintiff was placed on administrative leave with pay. On information and belief, Mr. Charles was allowed to continue working.
Miller-Price is represented by Nicolas William Allen, Springfield.
A Carthage man with a long history of violence was charged Friday in Jasper County Circuit Court with domestic assault, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful use of a weapon after allegedly holding a gun to the mother of his children at her Joplin home.
An arrest warrant was issued for Michael Andre Hernandez (DOB 1995) with bond set at $35,000 cash or surety.
I contacted V1, On 09/20/2025, at approximately 1040 PM V1 was in the bathroom giving V2 a bath.
When V1 was finishing up, she was cut off by her "baby daddy" Michael Andre Hernandez. Michael is the biological father to V2 and V3. V1 observed Michael balling up his fist and attempting to punch V1.
Michael then pulled back and drew what V1 described to be a "black 9mm handgun" from his waistband and point it at V1's chest area. V1 knew the gun was loaded due to comments made by Michael stating, "what's the point of having a gun if it's never loaded."
V1 was terrified and frozen in place afraid if she were to make a wrong move that Michael would shoot her. V1 was holding V2 in her arms while V3 and V4 were in the room watching the altercation progress.
After pointing the firearm at V1, Michael then brought the firearm to his head and continued to argue with V1.
The probable cause statement detailed Hernandez' past crimes.
I believe that the defendant poses a danger to (_) a crime victim / (X) the community or to any other person because: Michael has multiple weapon charges from Miami-Dade Florida in 2014 and in 2015 with an additional charge of Battery.
In 2016 and 2017 Michael then again charged with Domestic Battery and Battery in Florida. In 2018 Michael was charged with Kidnapping. Michael has an alert for violence in NCIC. Michael is known to carry firearms by the victim.
The case was investigated by the Joplin Police Department.
In a sentencing memorandum filed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, the U. S. Attorney's Office sought a 15-year sentence for Uriah Behl, 40, Carthage, who pleaded guilty May 27 to sexual exploitation of a child.
Behl's sentencing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. October 6 in Springfield.
Behl, a long-time employee of the Tarzan Zerbini Circus, admitted to secretly recording a naked child in the circus showers.
In the memo, the government said the 15-year sentence was a just and fair one, something it said Behl had acknowledged.
The memorandum detailed Behl's difficult childhood something it said explained Behl's actions, but did not excuse them.
Uriah had a difficult childhood due to his father’s mental health, alcohol abuse, and domestic violence he inflicted on the entire family. His father, a tugboat captain, was a terrible alcoholic who was often away from the household for months. That left Uriah’s mother to care for all five children on whatever meager money his father left her before leaving again.
When Uriah’s father did come home, he would drink himself into a rage. He would verbally abuse his children while throwing furniture and objects against the walls. At night, all the children would fearfully listen to their father going after their mother. Uriah remembers listening to his mother’s screams as his father struck her. His father’s rage was exacerbated further after he lost his tugboat license and work became scarce. He was a tempest that made everyone at home constantly fear when he would explode next.
As Justice Rehnquist stated in Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 789 (1982), “A stable, loving home life is essential to a child’s physical, emotional, and spiritual well- being. It requires no citation of authority to assert that children who are abused in their youth generally face extraordinary problems developing into responsible, productive citizens.”
At school, it was discovered very early on that Uriah had a severe learning disability, and he was placed in special education classes for the duration of his academic career. He had problems reading, often having to reread sentences repeatedly before comprehending what he had just read. He had both short and long-term memory loss issues that further compounded his learning disability. Eventually, he graduated with the assistance of an individualized education plan.
At some point during his elementary school years, he suffered from a double-ear infection during a time when a hurricane struck the coast near his hometown of Golden Meadow, Louisiana. The hurricane delayed Uriah’s medical treatment to the point that he suffered severe scarring, permanently reducing his hearing by 10-15% in both ears.
Uriah had other physical health issues that further isolated him from his peers in school. Asthma prevented him from participating in many activities and sports while growing up. Uriah’s vision also began deteriorating. He is both near and far sighted, and a particular stigmatism causes him to see double-images. He has problems looking at an electronic screen or watching television because the bright light causes pain after thirty minutes or so, often leading to migraines. The medical staff at Ozark County jail has had. to administer eye drops to him at least twice per day as his eyes become extremely bloodshot throughout the day. He also struggles with high blood pressure, arthritis, and migraines.
Despite all these many issues, Uriah has been able to support himself financially. At first, Uriah did factory and construction work. Later, he found a full-time job with the Tarzan Zerbini Circus. While a manual labor job at the circus won’t impress many, it is impressive that he has had the fortitude to stay gainfully employed for the last 15 years at the same job.
Uriah understands that all these mitigating circumstances of his childhood are facts that do not excuse his criminal conduct in this case, but they may provide some underlying reasons for his actions in the first place. His childhood was anything but normal or nurturing.
Now, Uriah has a strong understanding of his behavior and the need for counseling to make long-term improvements in his life skills and decision making. For any sentence to be effective in this situation there must be adequate sex offender counseling and treatment. A sentence of 180 months will be sufficient for this purpose.
Mr. Behl has accepted responsibility for his actions in this case. He regrets his actions and has expressed remorse for any difficulties his actions have inflicted on others. He also pled guilty knowing he would receive a long sentence. As a result of his admissions, he has saved the government from having to expend any further resources in his prosecution.
In addition to a sentence of imprisonment, this Court must order a sentence of supervised release of five years to life with very strict supervision restrictions. In addition to the mandatory and standard conditions of supervision, Uriah will have additional special conditions as a sex offender on federal supervision.
These restrictions and conditions, in combination with his federal and state registration requirements, will continually remind Uriah of his responsibility to be diligent in his compliance with the treatment and supervision requirements.
Uriah is receiving his first felony conviction, but he is already determined that it will be his last conviction. The last 11 months in county jail have been extremely tough for him, especially with his many physical issues. A sentence of 180 months is the just and fair one in this case. Any further imprisonment would be greater than necessary to satisfy the goals of the Sentencing Reform Act. It is a sentence that protects the public, provides a lengthy punishment, and provides sufficient time for Uriah to complete all sex offender programs available in the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
