This week Missouri Soybeans hosted the Missouri Soybean Association board in Jefferson City, MO for their annual meeting. During the meeting, the Association unanimously selected several farmer-leaders to step up in leadership positions to serve Missouri’s soybean growers. To lead MSA, Matt Wright was voted to serve as the president for 2022. Wright is a […]
The United States Attorney’s Office reports that Joshua J Damon, age 35, was sentenced today to serve 148 months (12.3 years) in federal prison following his guilty plea to attempted enticement of a minor. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Stephen R. Clark at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. According […]
A German national was sentenced in federal court for methamphetamine trafficking and illegally possessing firearms. Manuel Poludenyj, 36, of Springfield, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 23 years in federal prison without parole. On June 24, 2021, Poludenyj pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine to distribute and one […]
A Missouri woman previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment and ordered to pay $7,520,779.00 in restitution. Brandy McKay, 42, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri appeared before United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark on January 18, 2022. According to the plea agreement, between 2017 and 2019, McKay owned or managed multiple […]
United States District Judge Rodney W. Sippel sentenced Nicholas M. Ray to a term of 15 years in federal prison. Ray previously pleaded guilty to attempting to persuade or coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity and distribution of child pornography in a court appearance held in October 2021. In 2014, Ray was convicted […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri state employees counting on seeing a big raise in their February paychecks may be disappointed, as lawmakers fiddle with a $5.4 billion spending bill pushed by Gov. Mike Parson. When the Republican governor in December proposed a 5.5 percent pay raise for all state workers, he said he wanted it in effect by […]
(Missouri Independent) – St. Louis hospitals straining to keep up with a record-breaking number of COVID-19 cases will get some relief in the form of a military medical team. A 40-member team will begin arriving at BJC-Christian Hospital in North St. Louis County on Wednesday, a news release from BJC HealthCare stated. The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic […]
(Missouri Independent) – A bipartisan group of senators is exploring legislation to overhaul how Congress counts Electoral College votes, but backers of stalled voting rights legislation are lukewarm on the effort as a substitute. The Electoral Count Act is an obscure law that has come under recent scrutiny, a year after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. […]
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for carjacking. Robert J. Rule, 38, of Grandview, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Rule to pay $500 in restitution to his victim. On July 9, 2021, Rule pleaded guilty to one count […]
A Missouri woman who was arrested with 19 firearms and quantities of illegal drugs in her home was sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing a firearm. Robin A. Graham, 38, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to nine years in federal prison without parole. On June 22, 2021, Graham […]
(Missouri Independent) – Tracie Engelmeyer was among hundreds of bus drivers who were furloughed in St. Louis County in March 2020 because of the pandemic. School-district authorities told them that even though drivers are contracted labor, they would qualify for unemployment benefits and urged them to apply. Engelmeyer recalled the conversation she had with a […]
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for possessing methamphetamine to distribute when officers found large amounts of illegal drugs in his room at a Camdenton, Mo., hotel. Anthony Martinez Harris, 49, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison without […]
A former Kansas man pleaded guilty in federal court to embezzling $3.1 million from his employer and failing to pay nearly $1 million in taxes owed to the federal government and the state of Kansas. Richard Scott Simkins, 56, now residing in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty […]
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for growing marijuana and illegally possessing dozens of firearms. Darrin Dale Smithee, 56, of Auxvasse, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 10 years in federal prison without parole. On Aug. 31, 2021, Smithee pleaded guilty to one count of manufacturing marijuana and one […]
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for attempting to meet a law enforcement officer, posing online as a 14-year-old girl, for illegal sexual activity. Darren Wade Lasley, 33, Columbia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 10 years in federal prison without parole. On Aug. 18, 2021, Lasley was found […]
The Spickard R-2 Board of Education approved changes to the COVID-19 Contingency Plan on January 17th. Regarding a COVID-19 positive or household COVID-19 positive case, the contingency plan says students and staff should refrain from attending school for five days. If they are symptomatic, the positive case time frame may be extended five more days […]
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson proposed massive new spending on infrastructure and college buildings, and still found money to set aside for pensions and future revenue shortfalls, in the budget submitted Wednesday to lawmakers. Missouri will enter the new fiscal year with nearly $3 billion in surplus general revenue, an anticipation of record future tax collections, […]
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson praised his administration’s handling of the still-unfolding COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday, telling a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly that the state has emerged ready to make long-term investments in its future. “The bottom line is Missouri’s economy is strong,” Parson said in his annual State of the State […]
A Kansas man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a heroin trafficking conspiracy. Solomon B. Hawthorne, 31, of Kansas City, Kansas was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 12 years and one month in federal prison without parole. The sentence includes a term of two years for violating his federal […]
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for methamphetamine trafficking and illegally possessing a firearm. Jason A. Hamann, 48, Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 13 years and five months in federal prison without parole. On June 23, 2020, Hamann pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute […]
