Month: August 2024

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has certified five initiative petitions for issues to appear on the November ballot.

Amendment 3 would remove Missouri’s ban on abortion.

Amendment 2 would allow sports betting and wagering in Missouri.

Amendment 6 will preserve funding for law enforcement personnel.

Amendment 7 will ban illegal immigrants from voting in Missouri.

Proposition A will increase the state minimum wage and require employers to provide sick leave to workers.

A ballot initiative to allow casinos on the Osage River at the Lake of the Ozarks failed to make the ballot because it did not have enough signatures.

A now-former Cedar County Sheriff’s deputy is in custody, accused of domestic abuse.

Troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol were contacted to conduct an investigation into the situation involving Jason Johnson for his alleged involvement in a domestic assault situation.

The investigation was initiated after the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office received a call, alleging domestic abuse by Johnson. They then turned things over to the MSHP for an unbiased look into the case.

Authorities found enough evidence to arrest him, and charge him with third-degree domestic assault, unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action, and harassment.

Sheriff James McCrary suspended Johnson after the initial call was made, and later relieved him of his duties after the arrest was made and charges were filed.

Two people are dead after a crash on Route E-E in McDonald County.

The Highway Patrol says a car driven by 21-year-old Kaden Rock of Lanagan ran off the road, struck a cement box culvert, and overturned.

Rock and a passenger, 20-year-old Emma Loding of Miami, Oklahoma, were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Two suspects have been arrested after a manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies in Polk County.

The Highway Patrol, Polk and Greene County deputies were searching for an armed, male suspect who fled officers near Missouri 13 and 350^th Road near Humansville.

The Highway Patrol used a helicopter, Polk County deputies used a drone and Greene County used a K-9 in the search.

The suspects are now in custody.

One person is dead following a single-vehicle crash with a motorcycle in Taney County near Protem.

Troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol say 62-year-old Steven Scott was riding along Highway 125 westbound Sunday afternoon when he lost control on a curve, ran off the right side of the road and hit a tree.

Scott, a native of San Miguel De Allende, Mexico, was pronounced dead at the scene.

MSHP reports this is the 62nd fatality for their area in 2024.

Six people are injured following a crash between a car and a city bus in Springfield.

Investigators say the accident occurred Sunday afternoon along Glenstone Avenue near Page Street.

Witnesses at the scene reported that the bus had stopped to pick up passengers, and was hit from behind by the car.

Authorities believe distracted driving may have played a factor in the crash.

Five passengers on the bus were hospitalized with a variety of injuries, as was the driver of the car, who was diagnosed with moderate injuries.

There were damage to both vehicles, but the city bus was able to drive away from the scene.

There has been no statement from Springfield Police that suggests any of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

Missouri State University is narrowing down its choices for who will be the next Director of Athletics for the Bears.

On Friday, university officials announced the three finalists for the position, and a timetable for a possible hiring.

Roger Denny, Patrick Ransdell, and Vince Volpe have been selected as the finalists, picked from a pool of 54 applicants.

Denny is currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director at the University of Illinois. He is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State, Saint Louis University, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Ransdell is the Deputy Athletics Director at Appalachian State University, and has a wealth of experience that includes time at Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Miami University, Central Florida, and others.

Volpe is the Associate Athletics Director at Arizona State University, and is a graduate of Indiana University, where he played baseball. He also has career experience at Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Oral Roberts, Connecticut, and others.

Each of the three candidates will have interviews over the next two weeks with several different groups, including coaches, student-athletes, athletics staff, and ultimately President Williams.

A final decision is said to be scheduled for early in the fall semester, if the committee feels comfortable with a choice among the finalists.

One man now awaits a potential prison sentence after pleading guilty in federal court to scamming soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood.

Investigators say Steven Gibson stole close to $800,000 from soldiers, mainly trainees, by pretending to be an officer and requesting money via CashApp for “payment issues” that needed to be resolved.

Some 2,000 service members were victimized by him, according to court records.

Authorities had been contacted regarding the possible fraud, and determined that the CashApp account receiving the funds belonged to Gibson.

They also discovered other bank accounts not tied to him, suggesting a possible conspiracy involving multiple people committing the fraud against these soldiers.

Gibson pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He has been ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution, and may be sentenced to time in prison.