This blog features news and commentary from Randy Turner, a former teacher, newspaper reporter and editor. Send news items or comments to rturner229@hotmail.com
Former Republican 161st District state representative candidate Thomas Ross waived the reading of his indictment and pleaded not guilty this morning in U. S. District Court in Springfield.
Ross, 36, Joplin is charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and amphetamine, distribution of cocaine and amphetamine and unlawful use a communication facility (a telephone) in connection with the conspiracy.
The charges are all related to an alleged plot by Ross to plant drugs on his primary opponent Louise Secker.
After his arrest last month, Ross dropped out of his campaign and the Jasper County Republican Central Committee selected Secker as his replacement.
Tierall Devean Sherrick, 30, Joplin, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute during a hearing this afternoon in U. S., District Court in Springfield.
As part of a plea agreement, two weapons charges were dismissed.
The crime took place in October 2025.
Jasper County Circuit Court records indicated Sherrick was charged with multiple felonies, including two counts of domestic assault, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and property damage, stemming from arrests by the Joplin and Carl Junction police departments.
(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)A Guatemalan national pleaded guilty before Federal Chief Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps, Jr., to the sole count of the indictment charging him with illegally reentering the United States after being previously deported with a prior subsequent felony conviction.
Tomas Paxtor-Paxtor, 29, pleaded guilty to illegal reentry by a previously deported alien, who had been convicted of another felony offense. On March 8, 2026, Paxtor was contacted by officers with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
During the contact, Paxtor admitted that he had illegally reentered the United States on an unknown day in 2025, after he had been previously deported. Paxtor also admitted that he was illegally present in the United States. On Aug. 26, 2026, Paxtor was found voluntarily in the United States after being previously deported on Dec. 9, 2024. Paxtor was previously convicted of a felony offense in Newton County Circuit Court for driving while intoxicated that resulted in serious physical injury.
Under federal statute, illegally reentering into the United States after being previously deported is in direct violation of existing federal immigration law and is subject to a sentence of up to ten years imprisonment. The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations and the Missouri Department of Conservation.
WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday defended before a U.S. Senate panel his past investigations of President Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents and alleged role in attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Judiciary Committee Republicans repeatedly dissected Smith’s work and accused him of weaponizing the Department of Justice. In a heated exchange, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., labeled Smith a “total dirtbag” and alleged he had perjured himself when Schmitt asked if Smith was in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024, during a separate sensitive election investigation development in Fulton County, Georgia. Smith said he was not there.
But it became clear Schmitt had bungled the accusations against Smith by mixing up the names of the Atlanta Hawks and Iowa Hawkeyes basketball teams, and the back-and-forth went viral on social media. Smith had attended a University of Maryland Terrapins game against the Hawkeyes, not a Hawks game, on the date in question.
Smith said in his opening statement he “will not be silenced” by threats, including Trump’s calls for his prosecution.
“I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump,” Smith said. “I made those decisions without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.”
“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation,” Smith said.
Grassley: not ‘normal prosecution’
The hearing comes nearly two years after committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, alleged the former special counsel improperly collected phone records of dozens of members of Congress during his probe of Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The insurrection followed Trump’s alleged conspiracy to create fake electors to swing the 2020 presidential election in his favor.
Smith denies any wrongdoing.
In his opening remarks, Grassley argued Smith’s investigation “ultimately wasn’t just about Trump.”
“It was about partisan agents and prosecutors mapping out the Republican apparatus,” Grassley said.
“This wasn’t a normal prosecution by any means. Yet today, you will certainly hear from Democrats that it was. Importantly, Mr. Smith has claimed his focus was on January 6, but his own conduct contradicts that,” Grassley said moments later, citing subpoenas for records before and after the date of Jan. 6, 2021, and those that included Republican interest groups.
Durbin says ‘nothing untoward’
Democrats dismissed the hearing’s premise and repeatedly evoked memories of evacuating the U.S. Senate while a mob of Trump supporters violently overran law enforcement and attacked the U.S. Capitol.
Ranking member Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said attacks on Smith “are nothing but a smokescreen to distract from the president’s own clear unlawful conduct.”
The U.S. Senate hearing room where former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 29, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
“Let me be clear: there was nothing untoward about special counsel Smith and his fellow prosecutors conducting this investigation. The aspersions cast on Mr. Smith nonstop are petty, personal, and political,” Durbin said.
Sen. Cory Booker, who is speculated to be eyeing a presidential run in 2028, said the hearing amounted to “gaslighting the American people.”
The New Jersey Democrat said the scenario “should be chilling to every American that the commander-in-chief … did everything he could to undermine the legal transfer of power, incited a riot, which several Republicans said he did, and we’re now persecuting the prosecutors who followed the evidence.”
Kennedy, Cruz attack Smith
But Senate Republicans maintained accusations that the Biden administration targeted Trump for prosecution just days after he announced he would challenge then-President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election.
Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, asked Smith if he told then-Attorney General Merrick Garland that he intended to prosecute the former president.
“I did so twice,” Smith answered.
“And the attorney general checked with President Biden. Is that right?” Kennedy asked.
“I have absolutely no idea,” Smith said, adding that he made an “independent decision” to prosecute.
“I made that decision on my own, consulting with my staff and reviewing the incredibly strong evidence that we had,” he said.
Kennedy also accused Smith of partisanship for only seeking phone records of Republicans during his investigation.
“The toll records that we sought were relevant to the investigation,” Smith told Kennedy, referring to historical logs that reveal time and duration of calls rather than content.
“Were you in the quad playing frisbee during (constitutional) law at Harvard Law School?” Kennedy asked, accusing Smith of violating the speech and debate clause that protects members of Congress.
“You make me want to throw up in my mouth,” Kennedy said.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is widely considered a potential 2028 Republican presidential candidate, also attacked non-disclosure orders Smith obtained to keep the phone record subpoenas confidential.
Smith maintains he sought the orders in compliance with the law.
“Let me say congratulations, because you have succeeded where Richard Nixon failed, which is weaponizing the Department of Justice and the federal government to go after your political opponents,” Cruz said.
Details on the ‘dirtbag’ back-and-forth
The viral exchange with Schmitt came about when he falsely accused Smith of being in Atlanta when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was prosecuting Trump on a separate election conspiracy case, admitted she had a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor.
As his proof, Schmitt’s aide briefly displayed a large poster containing alleged texts between staff members about Smith’s attendance at an NBA game between the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors.
Smith said he could not recall going to an NBA game in Atlanta, or even visiting the city during his time as special prosecutor.
“I don’t think you know that we have this stuff, so I’ll give you a moment to process it so you don’t perjure yourself,” Schmitt said.
“You just took it down really quick, if I could look at that again,” Smith said.
When Durbin requested Schmitt provide Smith with a copy of the alleged texts, the Missouri Republican moved on to his next question and said “I think you’ve already perjured yourself.”
Wrapping up his questioning, Schmitt said, “You may think you’re a hero in this story, but let me tell you something, you’re a villain. … You will go down as a total dirtbag.”
Booker, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., prodded Schmitt to display the poster board again and provide a copy.
Smith said he recalled being at a University of Maryland women’s basketball game against the University of Iowa to see the popular Iowa player Caitlin Clark.
“Could it be the Iowa Hawkeyes then … Perhaps you should have looked at it more carefully?” Klobuchar said to Schmitt.
Schmitt criticized Klobuchar for interjecting before being officially called on for questioning.
“I’m gonna begin my questioning now, but I think that people should have their facts straight before they accuse someone of being a dirtbag,” Klobuchar said.
How the Trump cases turned out
Trump fought Smith’s prosecutions and claimed in court he was entitled to presidential immunity for any of his actions surrounding the 2020 election.
Smith dropped the election conspiracy case after Trump won the presidential election in November 2024.
Months prior, a Florida federal judge dismissed Smith’s case alleging Trump hoarded sensitive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office in 2021.
Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the case in July 2024 on the grounds that the Biden administration illegally appointed Smith.
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.
(From Missouri Southern State University) Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) will celebrate the grand reopening of its renovated Dianne Mayes Student Life Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon on October 7.
On the lower-level of the Dianne Mayes Dining Hall near the university’s residence halls, the newly renovated 13,920-square-foot space offers students more opportunities to relax, study, and socialize.
The updated center features a dedicated electronic gaming area, pool tables, modern study rooms, and a theater. The renovation also includes upgraded lighting, new furniture, and repairs to flooring and ceilings. Students across campus had an opportunity to give feedback on what they would like to see in the new center.
“The gaming area has expanded a little, but one of the major differences is the glassed-off space for electronic gaming,” said Dr. Lisa Toms, MSSU Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.
“Students will have more privacy to take online tests in computer rooms. And there are different types of seating areas with charging stations for socializing and studying.”
The grand reopening will give students, faculty, staff and other members of the campus community an opportunity to tour the renovated space and experience the upgrades firsthand.
(From CBL Properties)Today CBL Properties (NYSE:CBL) announced that it has closed on two additional land sales at Harford Mall in Bel Air, Maryland, and Friendly Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. The transactions support the development of more than 515 class-A multifamily units and bring CBL’s year-to-date gross proceeds from land sales to mixed-use developers to more than $30 million.
At Harford Mall, CBL sold a 3.9-acre parcel of land in the middle of the campus to Maryland-based Cohere Development for the development of a 249-unit luxury residential complex. The project is expected to break ground in the coming weeks with an estimated opening in fall 2028.
At Friendly Center, CBL sold approximately 7 acres to Hines, a leading global real estate investment manager, for the development of a 270-unit Class A multifamily location adjacent to Whole Foods.
“The sale of these two parcels is consistent with CBL’s ongoing strategy of unlocking value from underappreciated land and asset sales while enhancing the long-term value of our portfolio through complementary mixed-use and multifamily development,” said Stephen D. Lebovitz, chief executive officer of CBL Properties. “With more than $30 million of land sales completed this year, we are demonstrating the embedded value of our real estate and the quality of our locations.”
Earlier this year, CBL sold more than 10 acres of land including the former Macy’s parcel at Harford Mall to SJC Ventures for future mixed-use development. At CoolSprings Galleria in Franklin, Tennessee, CBL sold approximately 6 acres to Greystar for a Class A multifamily project. Construction on that project began in June and it is expected to be completed in 2028.
(From Gov. Mike Kehoe)Today, to support Missouri's agriculture industry amidst rising input costs, Governor Mike Kehoe signed Executive Order 26-19, authorizing a temporary suspension of motor vehicle fuel restrictions and a temporary increase in agricultural allowable weight limitations.
With extraordinary conditions this year having greatly increased input costs such as fertilizer and diesel fuel, the harvesting and transportation of agricultural products has become severely cost-inefficient and placed an immense economic burden on Missouri producers and livestock haulers.
The Governor’s executive order declares a State of Emergency, allowing farmers and haulers in commercial vehicles licensed for farm use to use dyed diesel fuel on state highways for agricultural purposes and adjusts commercial vehicle weight limitations to increase capacity for agricultural transportation.
“Missouri farmers are working hard to bring in this year’s harvest while facing higher costs at nearly every turn,” said Governor Kehoe. “Our administration is taking targeted action where we can to help address the unique fuel and transportation needs of harvest season. This executive order gives our producers and agricultural haulers some commonsense flexibility to lower transportation costs and keep Missouri agriculture moving. When we can reduce unnecessary costs for our farmers, that ultimately benefits families across our state.”
Dyed diesel is off-road fuel marked red to be used in agricultural operations and sold without a motor-fuels tax. Because of its tax status, Missouri law bars its use on public roadways. The executive order suspends state restrictions and associated statutory penalties for vehicles traveling on Missouri-operated highways engaged in agricultural operations, and prohibits any state agency, department, or law enforcement officer from assessing taxes, administrative, civil, or criminal penalties against any owner or operator operating within the scope of this exemption.
Many Missouri farm operations maintain on-farm and on-site storage of dyed diesel fuel for nontaxable off-road agricultural use, and allowing that fuel to be temporarily utilized in motor vehicles on public highways engaged exclusively in agricultural operations will increase fuel availability and provide immediate economic relief.
The executive order will be available at this link.
Former Neosho businessman Blake Altman's is headed back to prison.
Judge Beth Phillips revoked Altman's supervised release and sentenced him to one year in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release during a hearing today in U. S. District Court in Springfield.
Revocation proceedings against Altman began after he was arrested January 13 by the Newton County Sheriff's Office on a Montgomery County, Texas warrant for promotion of child sexual abuse material.
The charges against Altman were almost identical to the possession of child pornography charge that led to a grand jury indictment in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in 2015.
Altman was sentenced to six years in prison on November 29, 2017, to be followed by 10 years under supervised release.
The Missouri Supreme Court turned down a Joplin child molester's efforts to get a new trial.
Robert William Shields has already filed two appeals with the Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals. The first one was rejected outright while the second one tossed Jasper County Circuit Court Judge Dean Dankelson's 99-year sentence, instead sentencing him to life.
Shields was also sentenced to 15 years for child molestation, a life sentence for statutory rape and seven years on a second statutory rape charge with the sentences to run consecutively.
The crimes were committed over a 9-year period beginning when the girl was five years old.
(From the City of Joplin)The City of Joplin and SkyWest Airlines have officially submitted their separate requests to the U.S. Department of Transportation proposing that one of the Joplin Regional Airport’s connecting hubs be changed from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (IAH).
The recommendation follows a Joplin City Council presentation Sept. 22, in which Jeremy Hagerman, assistant director of Public Works - Engineering, outlined the changes Joplin travelers will experience for flights to and from Chicago, as well as hub alternatives.
With the support of City Council, the City of Joplin (through its consultant Volaire as well as Skywest), will now consult with the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration, and await their decision.
While these conversations don’t guarantee the change to Houston, the formal recommendation moves the Joplin airport one step closer. Starting December 1, flights to Chicago will leave Joplin at 5 a.m., and flights returning from Chicago will depart O’Hare at 7:40 a.m.
These early-morning flights are a result of current conditions at O’Hare, including construction work that is complicating flight schedules and an order from the FAA requiring that fewer flights travel in and out of Chicago at peak times.
Flights to and from Denver, Joplin’s other connecting hub, are not affected.
While the Joplin Regional Airport Board and City Council could opt to stay with Chicago as the eastern flight hub and adapt to the new flight times, the opportunity to request Houston as a new hub was recommended by SkyWest and makes sense due to more flyers traveling for leisure, Hagerman said.
“After looking at the data, we do believe Houston will be an attractive hub for our flight population,” he told City Council. “The conversations have also included negotiations about better flight times coming in and out of Joplin, which makes it easier for travelers who need that morning connection to Houston before traveling into Joplin.”
Hagerman said that while Joplin travelers will see those earlier flight times to and from Chicago beginning December 1, the timing for a potential hub change to Houston is estimated to be March 2027.
The proposed departure times (seven days a week) would be 7:40 a.m. from Joplin to Houston, and closer to mid-day from Houston to Joplin.
With the City’s formal recommendation now in place, the hub decision will be made by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The City will share updates regarding flight schedules to and from JLN as we receive word from the relevant authorities.
