Joplin man with 72-page criminal record charged with seventh DWI

The Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office filed a felony driving while intoxicated charge today against at Joplin man with six previous DWI convictions.

Kevin Lee Weaver (DOB 1969) was also charged with driving while revoked and failing to maintain financial responsibility.

The Carthage Police Department stopped Weaver this afternoon at Central and Clinton on a Bates County warrant and for driving while revoked.

From the probable cause statement:

I contacted the driver, who was confirmed by his Missouri Non-Drivers identification as Kevin Weaver. Weaver had constricted pupils, bloodshot, watery eyes, speech was mumbled and hard to understand. Weaver’s eyelids were also droopy. 

Weaver was taken into custody for the warrant as well as driving while revoked. During a search of the vehicle, a burnt marijuana cigar was located in the drivers door panel. 

Once at the Carthage Police Department, I observed the following in standard field sobriety test (0HGN, 8WAT, 2OLS). During One Leg Stand, Weaver did it for 18 seconds and then said that he was not able to perform the test. 

During the Romberg test, Weaver estimated the passage of 30 seconds in 17 seconds. Weaver was not able to provide up to date insurance. 

The following are the active DOR actions: 

Chemical Revocation – Effective 10/29/1989 - Eligible 10/29/1990 

Chemical Revocation – Effective 9/20/1991 - Eligible 9/20/1992 

Chemical Revocation – Effective 12/20/1991 - Eligible 12/20/1992 

Administrative Alcohol Revocation – Effective 12/13/1986 - Eligible 12/13/1987 

Administrative Alcohol Revocation – Effective 12/20/1986 - Eligible 12/20/1987 

Administrative Alcohol Revocation – Effective 2/26/1989 - Eligible 2/26/1990 10 Year Denial – Effective 12/16/1986 - Eligible 12/13/1987 

Administrative Alcohol Revocation – Effective 12/20/1986 - Eligible 12/20/1987 

Administrative Alcohol Revocation – Effective 2/26/1989 - Eligible 2/26/1990 10 Year Denial – Effective 3/23/1992 - Eligible 2/7/2002 

10 Year Denial – Effective 4/28/2006 - Eligible 7/18/2015 

1 Year Point Revocation – Effective 4/28/2006 - Eligible 4/28/2006 

Chemical Revocation – Effective11/21/2003 - Eligible 11/21/2004 

1 Year Point Revocation – Effective 4/16/2007 - Eligible 4/16/2008 

10 Year Denial – Effective 4/16/2007 - Eligible 3/12/2017 

1 Year Point Revocation – Effective 12/6/1998 - Eligible 12/6/1999  

Administrative Alcohol Revocation – Effective 12/3/1993 - Eligible 12/3/1994 

Chemical Revocation – Effective 10/25/1998 - Eligible 10/25/1999 

Weaver’s criminal history showed he was charged with DWI on 9/8/1991, 1/2/1992, 2/7/1992, 10/10/1998, 11/6/2003, and 12/11/2006. 

Weaver’s DOR convictions showed he was convicted with driving while suspended/revoked on 4/25/1989, 8/4/1987, 7/7/1995, 4/17/2000, 12/12/2006, 7/18/2005, 10/14/1998, 12/12/2006, 1/14/2003, 3/5/1987, and 7/27/1989

I am requesting the issuance of an arrest warrant based on the following: 

I believe that the defendant will not appear in court in response to a criminal summons because: Weaver has been arrested for fail to appear warrants. I believe that the defendant poses a danger to a crime victim / the community or to any other person because: Weaver has a 72-page criminal history that includes charges of resisting arrest, possession of controlled substance, driving while suspended/ revoked, stealing, forgery, DWI, and fail to appear warrants.

Jill Carter offers update on legislative session

(From Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby)

With five weeks to go, the pace is picking up in Jefferson City. More than 2,000 bills have been filled. We have a 122 bills currently in our committee Families, Seniors and Health. Here is an update on our legislative priorities:SB60, relating to the endangerment of a child, was presented to the house committee on Crime and Public Safety.

SB360, establishing the "Education Freedom Act", was debated on the senate floor for a while on Tuesday. This bill was laid on the informal calendar, and we will hopefully have it brought up again in the following weeks.

SJR46, a resolution expanding tax benefits for veterans, was perfected in the senate this week and is waiting for a third and final reading before sending it over to the house.

 
SCR3, reworking this missions of MSSU, was voted "Do Pass" in the house committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development. 

As always, we love seeing all of you when you come! If you have concerns, join the Community Text Group, where I'm the only one that gets your texts but can send one out to all of you, to keep you informed: 417-216-6077

Springfield Police make arrest in 1989 rape, murder of teenager

(From the Springfield Police Department)

On April 17, 2025, the Springfield Police Department arrested Paul E. Bowles, 62, from Fulton, in connection to the 1989 rape and murder of Jennifer Williams, 18, from Springfield.

On Sept. 8, 1989, at approximately 10:30 p.m., Williams left work and was dropped off at her home at 710 N. Kansas Expressway. She told a friend she was going to walk to her husband's business but never arrived. Williams' husband reported her missing on Sept. 11, 1989.







On Sept. 20, 1989, three juveniles were walking in the 700 block of W. Chestnut Street and discovered Williams’ body. Evidence was located indicating Williams was sexually assaulted at the time of the murder.

In 2019, because of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, Williams' sexual assault kit was tested. The test revealed the DNA to be from a man, but it was insufficient for database searches. In 2024, new advances in DNA testing became available and, with funding provided by Season of Justice, Williams' sexual assault kit was tested again, identifying Bowles as the suspect.

Bowles was being held at the Fulton State Hospital in Callaway County, Missouri, on unrelated charges where he was contacted by Springfield Police detectives. On April 17, 2025, Bowles was booked into the Calloway County Jail for 2nd degree murder, forcible rape, and forcible sodomy in relation to this case.

Detectives continue to investigate and are asking anyone who has information about this incident to contact the Springfield Police Department at 417-864-1810 or make an anonymous call to Greater Springfield Area Crime Stoppers at 417-869-TIPS (8477) or online at p3tips.com.

Webb City R-7 Board hires 12 teachers, accepts resignation of middle school principal, Webster Primary counselor

During its meeting Tuesday, the Webb City R-7 Board of Education accepted the resignations of Middle School Principal Keith Robertson, who was recently hired as Carl Junction High School principal, and Webster Primary Center counselor Kiley Marti.

The retirement of Michelle Gannaway was accepted. Gannaway will remain as a teacher at Webster until the end of December.

The following teachers were hired:

– Heather Roush, second grade, Webster.

– Meaghan Lindsey, first grade, Webster.

– Durand Henderson, physical education/health at Webster after Gannaway retires. 

– Ruthie Bond, high school special education.

– Monica Pelham, speech language pathologist. 

– Mariah Newby, fourth grade, Harry S Truman Elementary.

– Sydney Chapman, second grade, Harry S Truman.

– Selena McCamish, kindergarten, Carterville Elementary.

– Rachel Price, fourth grade, Carterville Elementary.

– Logan Bell, junior high career explorations.

– Mary Landreth, junior high special education.

– Alex Pickett, high school social studies

Agenda posted for Carthage R-9 Board of Education meeting

 

Mark Alford: We must extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

(From Fourth District Congressman Mark Alford)

This past Tuesday was tax day. The April 15 deadline comes around each year as a due date for federal individual income tax returns and tax payments. It can be a tough season for all Americans, especially workers and small business owners.

This year, tax season collides with ongoing economic uncertainty. We know that rural small business owners and families crave predictability, and House Republicans know what we can do to provide that much-needed stability. We must extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

This bill was passed during President Trump’s first term and contains a large swath of provisions that have and will continue to provide widespread benefits for Americans at all income levels. Extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and enacting President Trump’s other tax policy initiatives will help the U.S. become the most competitive country in which someone can start, expand, and invest in a business.

Progressive Democrats have painted this bill as a handout for oligarchs and tax cuts for only the rich. This could not be further from the truth. In the aftermath of the 2017 tax cuts, middle-class families were the biggest winners. Even the left-leaning Tax Policy Center found that over 90% of middle-income earners received a tax cut.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was a vital, pro-growth tax reform that we will extend alongside our efforts to slash federal regulations and the bureaucracy that are holding back the American people. Together, we will empower economic expansion, financial security, and small business success for our nation.

If we don’t act swiftly and extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Missourians will face the largest tax hike in history. The relief that this bill provides has been a lifeline for so many, and we cannot afford to wait until the end of the year. Small businesses and everyday Americans are depending on us. That’s why we’re committed to getting this done for you.

Joplin man charged with attempted arson, kidnapping after allegedly trying to blow up house

A Joplin man has been charged with attempted arson and kidnapping after a domestic incident allegedly led him to attempt to blow up a house by turning on the gas, according to a probable cause statement filed Wednesday in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Bond has been set at $25,000 surety or $3,000 cash for Christopher Dale Henson (DOB 1991)

The allegations against Henson were detailed in the probable cause statement:

Officers were dispatched to 2517 E Trenton Ave in Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri in reference to Christopher Henson chasing his fiancé of two years, V1, around the yard and breaking windows. 

W1 then observed Mr. Henson pushed V1 into the residence against her will as she was yelling for help.

Officers attempted to make contact at the residence and could hear V1 inside crying. Forced entry was made into the residence where contact was made with V1 and Mr. Henson. V1 exited the residence, and Mr. Henson was lying on the bed with a knife to his throat stating he turned the gas on in the residence. 

As Officers were giving verbal commands to Mr. Henson, he failed to comply. Mr. Henson got off the bed and ran towards the kitchen area. 

At that time, Officers had already passed the threshold of the front door, with both feet inside the doorway. While standing in this position, Officers heard the sound of a stove being ripped from the wall. 

Immediately after, Officers noticed a strong odor of natural gas and could hear the igniter on the stove clicking repeatedly. 

In addition, Mr. Henson was making statements that he was going to blow up the house. 

After Mr. Henson was safely taken into custody; Officer entered the residence to ensure the scene was safe after the gas was shut off. While turning off the stove, Officers observed the electric spark from the igniter actively trying to ignite, and the smell of gas remained strong throughout the area. 

Mr. Henson committed the offence of Arson first degree by turning the gas on in the house and actively trying to ignite the gas while Officers were inside the residence.

Remembering Brownie McNeely

 

The last time I saw Brownie McNeely was at the Newtonia Fall Festival a couple of years ago. She greeted me with a smile and gave me a feeling like I was the one person in the world she wanted to see that day. I'm sure that wasn't the case.

It was just the magic of Brownie McNeely.

She made everyone feel that way. On that particular day, I felt like someone had bottled up sunshine and brought it to Newtonia.

When I heard yesterday that Brownie died at age 89, it was sad news but it was news I had been expecting. 

I had been told she wasn't doing well a few months back and I sent her a book I'd heard she wanted to read and a letter. A few days later, I received a thoughtful response. Though I had sent her the book and message to lift her spirits, she turned the tables on me. I was the one whose spirits were lifted.

That was the magic of Brownie McNeely.

It was a magic that she spread for more than 45 years at Citizens State Bank of Granby, including several years when she operated the bank's Newtonia branch in a corner of Carroll Gum's store.

It was a magic that the people of Granby Methodist Church and the entire Granby community.

What makes Brownie's warmth and cheerful disposition all the more remarkable is that she was able to hold on to those qualities after her family suffered the most horrible loss imaginable when her oldest child, Barbara, was murdered in a parking lot at Northpark Mall in 1977.

The horrific nature of the murder followed by a trial that saw Barbara's killer declared not guilty due to mental defect and placed into treatment instead of into a prison almost certainly devastated the McNeely family.

It was the type of tragedy that has torn many a family apart, but through a pain that is difficult for most of us to imagine, Brownie not only persevered, but held her family together and continued to be a positive presence in the community through the years.

That was the magic of Brownie McNeely.

A magic that will be sorely missed.

No operating permit causes Joplin restaurant to fail inspection, 7 others pass

 Zinc Coffee and Food, LLC, 1825 S. Main failed its Joplin Health Department inspection Wednesday while five other businesses and two schools passed, according to reports posted on the department website.

The only violation cited for Zinc Coffee and Food, according to the report was a lack of a valid operating permit. Owners will need to contact the city's finance department to get a permit.

Establishments that passed their inspections were:

New Heights Christian Academy, 4311 E. Newman Road

Han the Sushi Man, 2640 E. 32nd Street

Sleep Inn Breakfast, 4100 S. 43 Highway

Queen's Bee, 3106 Connecticut Avenue

Starbucks, 702 S. Maiden Lane

Martin Luther Christian School, 2616 Connecticut Avenue

Missouri governor’s plan for $50 million for private schools axed by Senate committee

By Rudi Keller

Missouri Independent

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s plan to rapidly enlarge a scholarship program for private and religious schools with an infusion of state tax funds was cut out of the budget Wednesday as the Senate Appropriations Committee finished revising spending plans for the coming year.

The $50 million request for the MoScholars program, which is supposed to be funded from donations and tax credits, was approved in the Missouri House as part of its budget proposal. But state Sen. Lincoln Hough, a Republican from Springfield and chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, stripped it out after boosting the foundation formula for public schools by $300 million the day before.

“I want to make sure that we’re fully funding our obligation to public schools before we start spending 10s of millions of general revenue dollars on private schools,” Hough told reporters after making the cut.

In his State of the State speech to lawmakers in January, Kehoe said he was not funding the foundation formula to the level directed by state law because it no longer fairly distributes the money. The extra money for the scholarship program, he said, would give parents more educational choices.

Public schools come first, Hough said Wednesday.

Kehoe “admitted we’re not funding K-12 to the level that it’s supposed to be funded.” Hough said. “And I think that’s an obligation that we have, especially when we have the money in the bank.”

Missouri has a healthy general revenue surplus, with $3.7 billion in the fund on March 31. There is another $1.5 billion that, like general revenue, is unrestricted. But revenue is declining in the current fiscal year and, while modest growth is projected for the future, the budget being prepared now will use at least $1.6 billion from the surplus.

The budget is based on a projection of $13.6 billion in general revenue. Kehoe proposed spending almost $16 billion, including construction and maintenance funding, and the House budget plan uses $15.2 billion.

The exact totals for the 13 budget bills funding state operations approved by the committee were not available Wednesday. But with the extra money for public schools, plus $107 million for child care subsidies and dozens of new earmarks, the total is sure to be substantially higher than the $47.9 billion from all funds approved in the House and could exceed the $50.1 billion total in Kehoe’s proposal.

Three more bills spending another $3.7 billion for construction and maintenance are awaiting a final House vote before the Senate committee can make its changes.

The greatest uncertainty for the upcoming year is whether substantial cuts will be made to federal spending. The largest single shared program is Medicaid, with Missouri paying 10- to 35% of the cost for each person enrolled and the federal treasury covering the rest.

The group made eligible by a 2020 constitutional amendment costs the state the least, only 10% of the expense. So far, Missouri has not spent any general revenue on the expanded group, using other sources of money, including federal aid banked during the COVID pandemic.

If Missouri were required to pay 20% of the cost, it would have to find $300 million to keep it in place for the 350,000 enrollees.

Hough has been warning that federal cuts could upset Missouri’s budget. But on Wednesday, he said the committee can only write a budget based on what is currently in place.

“To the extent that we can, we plan for this kind of stuff,” Hough said. “But how do you plan for a Medicaid reimbursement on an expanded population that goes down by, say, say, 20% and costs us $600 million?”

The $50 million cut to the scholarship line was the largest cut of the day but not the only one. The Senate committee took out $10 million the House included to hire an architect to prepare plans for expanding the Capitol. Another set of cuts targeted some of the earmarked items approved in the House.

And cuts were used to express lingering resentment for the factionalism that fractured Republicans in the state Senate for four years. State Sen. Mike Cierpiot of Lee’s Summit cut 25 employees and $684,000 from Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ budget, noting that the positions had been open for a long time and the office seems to function acceptably without them.

Hoskins was a member of the Freedom Caucus, which repeatedly tied the Senate up in filibusters to push its brand of Republicanism. And as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he argued often against retaining employee authorizations that departments were unable to fill within six to 12 months.

Hoskins, inaugurated in January, is authorized to employ 267 full time staff. During the fiscal year that ended June 30, his predecessor, Jay Ashcroft, used 205 of that amount.

Hoskins said he needs to study each position in his to determine if it is needed if the cut is made.

“I will comply with whatever they do,” he said.

Hough said he had no objections to cutting the unfilled positions.

“Sen. Hoskins, when he was on this committee with us,” Hough said, “was always kind of a hawk on that stuff.”

Ben Baker files paperwork for statewide office campaign

In an amended statement of campaign committee organization posted earlier this year, Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho, who is term limited, said he intends to seek statewide office in 2028.

Even though his paperwork indicates he doesn't have an election for three and a half years, Baker, who was re-elected in November to a fourth term in the House, spent $2,137.53 for seven meals during the first three months of 2025 including:

Sweet Smoke, Jefferson City, $132.86 January 14

Las Trojos, Jefferson City, $1,136.77, January 14

Wilder's Steakhouse, Joplin, $322.90, January 27

Honeypop's, Anderson, $146.22, February 24

Pappo's Pizzeria, Jefferson City, $111.28, March 13

Club 609, Joplin, $131.50, March 17

The Water Tower, Jefferson City, $156, March 28

Baker's quarterly disclosure form, filed April 5 with the Missouri Ethics Commission, shows $1,500 in contributions, $500 apiece from Hahn-DeBoef PAC, Missouri Cable PAC and Missouri Optometric PAC, all of Jefferson City.

Baker spent $10,668.40 during the quarter, leaving him with $73,474.09 in the bank.

Baker received $2,000 in contributions during the final three months of 2024, $1,000 apiece from Lance and Sharon Beshore, Joplin.

Frozen custard businesses, MSSU Lion's Den, pass inspections

Three businesses that recently received failing inspections from the Joplin Health Department passed their reinspections Tuesday, according to reports posted on the department website.

Shake's Frozen Custard, 1441 S. Range Line Road; MSSU Lion's Den, 3950 E. Newman Road and Andy's Frozen Custard, 2934 S. Range Line Road received passing grades, as did three other establishments.

Downstream Q-Store, 4777 W. Downstream Boulevard

Wendy's, 701 S. Maiden Lane

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

Push to block enforcement of federal gun laws debated by Missouri Senate committee

By Sterling Sewell

Columbia Missourian

Efforts to reenact a law preventing the enforcement of federal gun laws in Missouri found opponents from throughout the state Monday at a Missouri Senate Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety hearing.

In 2021, the legislature passed the “Second Amendment Preservation Act,” which prevented Missouri law officers from enforcing federal gun laws that were considered to be “infringements” on Second Amendment rights.

In 2024, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the act unconstitutional because it violated the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which establishes that federal laws take precedent over state laws.

The court’s decision said that while Missouri could withhold aid to federal enforcement, the language in the original act would negate federal laws directly.

Rep. Bill Hardwick, a Dixon Republican, proposed bringing the act back with House Bill 1175.

“This is a proposal I have to kind of address what the Eighth Circuit had held and then reenact the substantive provision at the heart of the Second Amendment Preservation Act,” Hardwick said.

Hardwick believes the language of his bill would not be considered unconstitutional. HB 1175 would restrict state agencies from enforcing or aiding in the enforcement of federal gun laws that differ from Missouri’s laws.

Hardwick’s bill would also allow Missourians the ability to sue law enforcement agencies for up to $50,000 per occurrence should they work to enforce or aid in the enforcement of federal gun laws.

“What (Missouri law enforcement) can’t do is be conscripts to the federal government,” Hardwick said, describing the bill.

The original law, as well as Hardwick’s reenactment, have drawn criticism from law enforcement agencies around the state. Police officers from Columbia, Nixa, Versailes, Rolla and Branson were in attendance at Monday’s hearing.

Some concerns presented by law enforcement include potentially frivolous lawsuits brought on by the bill and the potential loss of access to federal resources, like databases.

Aaron Dorr, a gun rights activist for the Missouri Firearms Coalition, attempted to dispel some of these concerns during his testimony. Dorr said the legislation would not affect agencies’ ability to access federal resources or to work with the federal government unless the primary subject of the work was in federal firearm enforcement.

Police Testimony

While many police who gave testimony agree with the sentiment of the bill, they voiced concern for the unintended consequences they believe could come from the bill.

Columbia Assistant Police Chief Lance Bolinger noted that even if the law does not technically impede agencies, attorneys for law enforcement agencies are likely to take a restrictive approach when dealing with a new Second Amendment law to avoid potential lawsuits.

“Regardless of what the intentions are when we pass these laws, it is how the attorneys for the police department interpret them, that’s what really matters,” Bolinger said, describing the effect of the original law. “Because what (the original law) did for us is it pretty much shut down all of our federal assistance.”

Bolinger said he is concerned that state agencies may stop using federal resources out of fear of litigation if a new Second Amendment act is approved.

When the original law was put into place, one of the things the Columbia Police Department lost was a machine that helps to identify shell casings, Bolinger said. This was because the machine was provided by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“This weekend in Columbia we had over 100 different shell casings that were dropped on our city,” Bolinger said regarding a shooting at Cosmo Park Saturday. “Trying to put those pieces together and figure out what gun fired what shell casing is going to be impossible without that kind of technology.”

Bolinger also noted that federal prison time for gun violations is often longer than state prison time, which means it’s sometimes advantageous to prosecute suspected criminals for federal charges instead of state.

Sean Fagen, the chief of police in Rolla, said he is an “avid supporter of the Second Amendment,” but voiced concerns about frivolous lawsuits that might arise because of the bill.

Fagen said these lawsuits could potentially stem from cooperation with federal law enforcement relating to narcotics.

“Usually when you have narcotics you have firearms involved,” Fagen said.

Fagen said he fears that if a narcotics case with state and federal cooperation was taken up by federal courts and gun charges were added, Missouri offices could be open to lawsuits.

An unlikely opponent to the bill was Ron Calzone, director of Missouri First, an organization that aims to protect Missouri’s legislative sovereignty from federal overreach. Calzone said he was a champion of the original law, but takes issue with the new proposal because it’s too broad and may interfere with an ongoing push to reinstitute the original law.

Calzone said the bill could potentially go beyond what he sees as federal “infringements” to the Second Amendment, instead applying to all federal laws pertaining to guns.

“The 2021 version of SAPA only forbade state involvement in federal laws we considered to harm the right to keep and bear arms,” Calzone said. “But (this bill) applies to all federal laws quote ‘regarding firearms.’”

Calzone said if the federal government passed a law increasing gun rights, Missouri police would be restricted from helping to enforce those laws under the proposed law.

Joan Haven, a volunteer for Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America, said she believes this legislation would make it harder for law enforcement to stop gun violence.

According to the most recent CDC data compiled in 2022, Missouri ranks fifth among the states in firearm mortality per capita.

New lawsuit seeks to hold Kanakuk summer camp responsible for Missouri staffer’s sexual abuse

By Annelise Hanshaw

Missouri Independent

Another survivor of sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by Kanakuk Kamps staff member Peter Newman is suing the camp’s leadership for allegedly concealing knowledge of Newman’s misconduct.

Jane Doe, who is concealing her name because of the sensitive nature of the allegations, filed the lawsuit Monday in Taney County Circuit Court. She is represented by the same attorneys who represented Logan Yandell, another survivor of Newman’s abuse.

Newman worked for the Branson-based Christian summer camp for over two decades. He was director of Kanakuk’s “K-Kountry” camp for ages 6 to 11 in 2009 before he was fired and later convicted of sexual abuse. Newman initially pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual abuse, but the case’s prosecutor estimated the number of survivors to be in the hundreds.

Doe was nine years old when she attended K-Kountry in 2008. She was placed in a cabin with older girls and was “bullied” and “taunted,” according to the lawsuit.

She met Newman, who began to “isolate her away from other campers.” He forced Doe into sexual acts, the lawsuit alleges, and told her “if she didn’t do such acts or (if she) said anything to anyone, she would not get to go home.”

Doe repressed what happened until 2024, when the memories came back. She began to question camp leadership’s responsibility in causing “severe emotional trauma.”

The timing of the discovery is important in personal injury claims. Missouri law limits claims to five years from the incident or five years from discovery of the injury, in some cases.

A Christian County Circuit Court judge ruled against Yandell in January in a fraud case he brought against Kanakuk alleged the camp’s CEO lied to his parents and pushed them to sign a settlement and non-disclosure agreement for $250,000 that they otherwise would have continued to fight. The judge ruled Yandell should have known about the camp’s misstatements more than five years prior to his lawsuit.

Newman’s abuse has been well documented, with reports in local and national news outlets and a page on Kanankuk’s website acknowledging the abuse and naming Newman a “master of deception.”

But according to Doe’s lawsuit, Kanakuk leaders knew about Newman’s misdeeds years before she attended camp. Parents had told the camp as far back as 1999 that Newman was behaving inappropriately, such as swimming and four-wheeling nude.

Years prior to Doe’s abuse, Newman’s supervisor recommended that he be fired, the lawsuit says. Instead, he was promoted in 2005.

In 2006, Kanakuk CEO Joe White learned that Newman was “ministering” to children in the evenings in his hot tub, the lawsuit states.

“White felt this was enough of a problem to issue a corrective action. The correction, however, was not to prohibit hot tub encounters, but merely an encouragement to Newman to assess the amount of time he was spending with his family,” says the lawsuit.

White and the camp had a duty to protect campers after repeated reports of sexual abuse, Doe’s attorney Reed Martens argues.

“Despite having explicit knowledge of the particular sexual danger Newman posed to (Doe) prior to the onset of his abuse,” Martens wrote, “Kanakuk defendants did nothing to supervise Newman’s interactions with (Doe), nothing to control Newman and nothing to protect (Doe).”

Kanakuk did not respond to a request for comment.

Proposed abortion ban amendment gets initial approval of Missouri House

By Anna Spoerre

Missouri Independent

A proposed constitutional amendment that would ban abortion is one step closer to the statewide ballot after it won initial approval of the Missouri House on Tuesday.

After four hours of floor debate, the House passed the proposed amendment with 94 in favor and 50 against. Two Republicans — Speaker Jon Patterson and state Rep. Bill Allen — joined with 48 Democrats in opposition.

(Photo- State Rep. Brian Seitz, a Republican from Branson, debates a proposed constitutional amendment banning abortion on Tuesday.-Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications).

As lawmakers prepared to vote, protesters with Abortion Action Missouri began chanting from the upper chamber, unfurling banners over the balcony protesting the proposed amendment.

 

“When abortion rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back,” they shouted before security moved them into the hallway.

The legislation needs to be approved one more time by the House before it goes to the Senate.

If approved by the Senate, and then by voters, the new amendment would reinstate a near-total abortion ban in Missouri with limited exceptions for medical emergencies, fatal fetal anomalies and for survivors of rape and incest in the first 12 weeks of gestation.

It would also protect women’s access to health care during miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and other medical emergencies. These protections are also in place under the current law.

In November, voters approved Amendment 3, which rolled back Missouri’s abortion ban and opened the door for clinics to begin performing the procedure for the first time since 2022.

The proposed constitutional amendment debated Tuesday was filed by Republican state Rep. Ed Lewis of Moberly and is being carried by state Rep. Brian Seitz, a Branson Republican. A previous proposed abortion ban was scrapped before making it to the full House, causing some to speculate about internal disagreements among GOP lawmakers causing roadblocks with a month left in the legislative session.

Seitz denies that there are any disagreements between GOP lawmakers, saying the current legislation before the House was the plan all along because it best matches with the language in a similar Senate proposal.

“We’re on the exact same sheet of music,” he said. “The timeline may appear long to the general public, but this is exactly the plan from the beginning.”



Seitz insists that Missourians, in approving Amendment 3 with just shy of 52% of the statewide vote, were signaling that some exceptions were needed in Missouri’s prior abortion ban.

Since abortion was legalized late last year, Missouri Republicans have made it a priority to undo or weaken the current law, forcing many lawmakers to contend with their beliefs around abortion exceptions, something many have opposed in the past.

“I make decisions from a Biblical worldview,” Seitz told The Independent last week. “I have to understand that others may not, so pragmatically, how do we, particularly we that profess Christ as savior, how do we justify even the possibility of these exceptions for rape and incest?”

His conclusion: Exceptions will still allow the GOP legislature to “save as many infants as possible and protect women.”

During a marathon House debate on Tuesday, however, Democrats dismissed that argument.

“You think you’re stopping abortions with these ridiculous bills? You’re not,” said state Rep. Raychel Proudie, a Democrat from Ferguson. “You’re stopping safe, legal abortions. People are still going to have abortions. So if you want to be pro-life, let’s try being pro quality-of-life first.”

Proudie noted that at a House committee hearing, some lawmakers advocated murder charges for rape and incest survivors who seek out abortions.

She was among several Democrats who shared stories of constituents who weren’t allowed to testify against the bill last week when state Rep. Holly Jones, who chairs the House Committee on Children and Families, limited testimony to only nine people, despite dozens more traveling to Jefferson City to oppose the legislation.



“My vagina is not mine,” Proudie said. “It belongs to the state of Missouri.”

If approved by both the House and Senate, Missourians could be asked to weigh in on reinstating an abortion ban as soon as a special election the governor could call this year, or during the 2026 midterm election.

 

The proposed ballot summary doesn’t mention banning elective abortions. Instead, Missourians would be asked if they want to amend the Missouri constitution to: 

“Guarantee access to care for medical emergencies, ectopic pregnancies, and miscarriages;
Ensure women’s safety during abortions;
Ensure parental consent for minors;
Allow abortions for medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape, and incest;
Require physicians to provide medically accurate information; and
Protect children from gender transition?”

Missouri state Rep. Mark Boyko, a Democrat from Kirkwood, said that no part of the ballot language “tells a voter that there will be fewer abortions allowed.”

Previous iterations of this proposed amendment included exceptions for survivors, but only if they first reported the rape or incest to police, a requirement that was highly criticized as dangerous by survivors and advocates.

While the current version eliminated those requirements, House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Democrat from Kansas City, remained skeptical of how survivors would be allowed to access the procedure.

“Who is the arbiter of whether or not she was raped or a victim of incest?” asked Aune, who is herself a survivor. “The honor system?”

 

After the passage of Amendment 3 in November, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU of Missouri sued the state, claiming that many of the TRAP laws on the books were rendered unconstitutional. A Jackson County judge agreed, striking down many of the current regulations as “discriminatory.”

This decision allowed Planned Parenthood to again begin offering some procedural abortions at three of its clinics. Medication abortions, however, remain inaccessible.

Jones said Amendment 3 was vague and “completely up to judicial interpretation” with unintended consequence.

State Rep. Cathy Jo Loy, a Republican from Carthage, pointed to language in Amendment 3 referring to a “treating health care professional.”

Could that include a dietician or a speech pathologist, Jo Loy asked.

“Absolutely,” Seitz replied.

State Rep. Jeremy Dean, a Democrat from Springfield who worked in health care for five years, including at an OBGYN office, disputed this.

“You ever heard of scope of practice? You ever heard of a licensure? A governing body?” he said. Those are all things that exist that didn’t go away when Amendment 3 passed.”

 

The proposed amendment also looks to require that any legal challenges to the state law around reproductive health care be heard in Cole County, a nod to the ongoing legal battle playing out between the state and Planned Parenthood in Jackson County.

Republican lawmakers on numerous occasions during Tuesday’s debate emphasized that the main goal of the amendment was to protect women.

“I ask that you stop trying to protect me or my constituents,” said state Rep. Jo Doll, a Democrat from St. Louis. “Because we can protect ourselves.”

State Rep. Becky Laubinger, a Republican from Park Hills, rejected any accusations that anti-abortion lawmakers don’t care about women.

Laubinger, who runs Monarch Family Resource Center in Ironton, said she’s gone out at all hours of the day to purchase diapers and pack n plays for families in need. She’s watched children so women could go to doctor’s appointments.

Democrats ultimately accused their GOP colleagues of attempting to undermine the will of the people.

“Sending this back to them is not a democratic exercise,” said state Rep. Eric Woods, a Democrat from Kansas City. “It’s an attempt to slap them on the wrist, tell them they were wrong and maybe they can do it better next time.”



The Independent’s Annelise Hanshaw contributed to this story.

Naked, masturbating Lamar man charged with sexual misconduct

A misdemeanor sexual misconduct charge was filed against a Lamar man who was naked and masturbating in the street in Lamar Friday, according to a probable cause statement filed in Barton County Circuit Court.

The arraignment for Cody Glen Smith (DOB 1990), who was also charged with resisting arrest, was held this morning.

From the probable cause statement:

On April 11, 2025, officers were dispatched to W. 1st Terrace and Walnut Stret regarding a male subject who was naked and touching himself. When driving near the area, officers located a male subject with short brown hair and a beard in a squatted position holding his genitalia in his hands while facing Walnut Street.

After many failed attempts, officers finally contacted the male subject. He was told multiple times that he was under arrest and to place his hands behind his back. He told the officers no and attempted to go into his home.

A less lethal tactic (mace) was used to prevent {him} from fleeing into the residence or away from the scene. He was then assisted to the ground and placed in handcuffs.

The case was investigated by the Lamar Police Department.

Neosho man ordered held without bond on meth, weapons charges

Following a detention hearing today in U. S. District Court in Springfield, a federal judge ordered Rusty Farley, 41, Neosho, held without bond on possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and two weapons charges.

According to the indictment, Farley committed the crimes December 12, 2024 in Newton County.

Carthage man sentenced to 10 years for murdering his wife

A Cherokee County District Court judge sentenced Gavino Macias, 24, Carthage, to 10 years and three months in prison Monday for the September 2024 murder of his wife, Kenia Lopez, 24.

Macias pleaded guilty to second-degree murder February 20.

Carthage Police Department discovered Lopez' body in an abandoned camper at 600 Main Street. Macias was charged with killing his wife in Miami County before returning her body to Carthage in his camper.

The discovery of Kenia Lopez was detailed in a probable cause statement for abandonment of a corpse.

At approximately 0750 hours a white 2009 Chevy Silverado bearing Missouri License Plate 31H4JX can be observed on video surveillance footage obtained from the 400 block of North Main Street.
The Chevy Silverado turns from Central Avenue and begins traveling north on North Main Street. The Chevy Silverado is towing a black/grey in color JAYCO camper. At approximately 0815 hours the Chevy Silverado leaves the area of 600 North Main Street without the camper in tow.

At approximately 1135 hours Jasper County Emergency Dispatch Center received a 911 phone call from MACIAS stating he called to report the deceased body of his wife at 600 North Main Street Carthage, MO in a camper.

The decedent was located in a black/grey in color JAYCO camper. During a subsequent interview with MACIAS, he acknowledged that the camper in question was his. He brought the camper to Carthage around 0700 hours with the decedent in the camper, knowing she was deceased. He left the decedent in the camper for approximately three and a half hours while he met with his family and handled other business without first notifying the proper authorities.

The probable cause statement includes a description of the murder as "violent."

Emanuel Cleaver: Americans know how to defeat a tyrant

(From Fifth District Congressman Emanuel Cleaver)

Earlier this month, I published an op-ed in The Washington Post, highlighting how history is littered with illustrations of citizens forcing the change they want to see from their government in the hopes of providing a playbook to pushing back against the lawlessness and creeping authoritarianism of the Trump Administration.

I believe that one of the beauties of America is that the power of the people is greater than the people in power. During these dark and dangerous times, I want every American who is troubled by what they are seeing to have confidence in knowing that, together, the people are the light that will guide us back toward the path of righteousness - just as they have throughout history.

I hope these words will inspire everyone in our community to continue the push to defend the values that have made American truly great over the centuries.

In our justifiable nervousness over what seems to be the first phase of our slide into a government where power rests in the greedy hands of a few exorbitantly wealthy oligarchs, we may be overlooking those who are best equipped to resist and reverse the MAGA-manufacture mess. The history of the past 150 years, during which humanity and liberty have made their most rapid advancements, offers a potential playbook.

Mohandas K. Gandhi, an Indian lawyer who became the nonviolent leader who successfully led the resistance to British colonialism, put his life on the line to peacefully demand India's independence and freedom during the early years of the 20th century. Millions faithfully followed the Mahatma ("great soul") and his dream of a secular, self-governing nation.

Beginning in the 1950s, a relatively new pastor in Montgomery, Alabama, adapted Gandhi's successful tactics of nonviolence and civil disobedience. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. aimed at redeeming "the soul of America."

In the winter of 1955, Montgomery was like every other sinfully segregated city across the South. Then, on Dec. 1, a seamstress named Rosa Parks was arrested for disobeying a racist Alabama law requiring African Americans to yield their seats to White passengers when all other seats were occupied.

King was asked to lead a boycott of the Montgomery public transportation company, whose bus ridership was almost 80 percent Black. After being elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, he set in motion a prodigious protest movement. Pastors, rabbis, labor leaders, independent activist groups and courageous college students came together with what they believe to be a preordained mandate to develop in the United States a system of equal justice for all.

As a result of their steadfast protests, over the course of a single decade, Uncle Sam overturned nearly a century of Jim Crow's tyranny, with historic legislation including the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and Fair Housing Act signed into law to bring America closer to the ideals espoused in our founding documents.

Finally, although few Americans can explain what began the United States' engagement in a senseless and protracted war in Vietnam, they remember how it ended. All over the United States, young Americans participated in sit-ins, conducted teach-ins on college and university campuses, and even burned draft cards. These were not just hippies and "flower people" but members of church groups, labor unions and civil rights organizations, calling upon Americans to bear witness to the fact that when war is waged, the wealthy get wealthier while the young and poor pay the price.

The thread that ties each of these points together is the collective power and influence wielded by large groups to provoke major reforms desired by the public at large. Such consequential change is scarcely made by politicians or political bodies alone. It is the people who control whether a republic sinks or survives. In this tumultuous time of MAGA-manufactured chaos, we elected officials certainly have a major role to play in the halls of Congress. And play it we must. But the people, not the politicians in Congress, are the architects of this nation's future, and they will ultimately decide whether we revive our democracy or slide further toward autocracy.

I like to remind my constituents that not one politician spoke at the 1963 March on Washington - but several organizers who spoke attended the singing of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the two years that followed.







Now, here we are at a time when, debatably, many in our nation believe these are the most politically perilous days since the Civil War. Simultaneously, parts of the world are literally on fire and looking to the United States to extinguish the flames before they widen and engulf much of the globe. We owe it to the American people and to our allies to quickly get it together. The best way to get beyond the present-day autocratic leaning of our government rests in our ability to follow the well-worn path of our ancestors.

Because of our forebears, we challenged a king and became a republic. Because of the abolitionist movement, we challenged the slaveholding elites and became a truly free nation. Because of America's greatest generation, we defeated the Nazis and upheld freedom around the world.

And because of the American people today, we will once again ensure liberty lives on for generations to come.

Nancy Hughes: There's no denying the taped conversation

“Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.”

Proverbs 21:19 (NIV)

That was it! I was done! Once again, even after repeated reminders, my husband had walked into the bathroom and dropped his socks b-e-s-i-d-e the clothes hamper. 

Not IN the hamper, but beside it! I could feel my jaw tighten as I scrolled through my mental list of zingers to throw his way. “Are you blind?” “How hard is it to open the hamper and drop in the socks? Too much effort?” “Do I look like your mother? Your maid? Your servant?”

Then I did what I believed all wives were required to do: I stored that incident in my mind along with all the other times that socks were dropped on the floor, anniversaries and birthdays were forgotten, the new toilet paper roll was replaced backward or, heaven forbid, an empty toilet paper roll was left in the bathroom and . . . you get the picture.

You probably know what came next, too. A little thing – my husband was 5 minutes late picking me up from work – and I hit him square in the heart with every single thing that I believed he had done wrong since the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, what I just described didn’t happen just once in our marriage but that scene was repeated over and over with few minor changes.

Then one day, the Lord had had enough of my behavior, and He placed in my life an older Godly woman who shared her marriage with me. She talked about being a newlywed and her determination to change her husband into her idea of perfection. That continued for years until the day she received an unexpected life-changing gift from her son.

He walked into the kitchen and said, “Mom, I’ve been teaching myself how to use my tape recorder, so I taped you and dad talking yesterday. Do you want to hear it?” She smiled as he hit “play,” but in an instant the tears flowed as she listened to the conversation with her husband and the tone of her voice.

She said that not only was her voice negative and her words accusing and absolutely horrible but she could not escape the hurt in her husband’s voice as he barely answered “yes” or “no” to her questions.

In that instant, she realized that instead of praising God for her husband and all the good qualities he brought to their marriage, she was literally ripping him and the marriage into pieces. “I went to my husband immediately and asked his forgiveness for my attitude,” she said, “and then I resolved to do everything I could to be the Godly wife that the Lord had called me to be.”

I have to tell you that I was completely convicted that day of my attitude of arguing and complaining toward my husband and our marriage and called him at work to ask his forgiveness. And I would love to tell you that the toilet paper roll was always full after that, and anniversaries were never forgotten again. Not true.

But somehow, socks next to the hamper were no longer as important as my acceptance and love of my husband, God’s gift to me. May it be the same with each of you.

Father, I thank you for the gift of my husband. Help me to treat him with the love and respect that he deserves. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

If someone were to tape record your conversations with your husband, would you be ashamed or embarrassed by what you say and how you say it?

Would the majority of your conversations be affirming and positive or demeaning and negative?

Apply

Praise God every day for your husband and all the unique, wonderful qualities he brings to your marriage.

Think of ways to praise and affirm your husband as an important part of your life, and then tell him.

Power

Proverbs 21:19 (NIV) “Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.”

Proverbs 21:9 (NIV) “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.”

Proverbs 31:10 (NIV) “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.”