School buses wait Tuesday outside Thomas Hart Benton Elementary School in Columbia (Photo Credit Rudi Keller Missouri Independent

Confusion around COVID ruling swirls as two Missouri school districts end semester early

(Missouri Independent) – As a growing number of Missouri school districts drop COVID mitigation measures under threat from Attorney General Eric Schmitt, at least two closed the doors on their fall semester early due to large numbers of staff and students out sick. Meanwhile, local public health departments said Tuesday they still have not heard […]

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Audio: Missouri counties challenging judge’s ruling that mask mandates are unconstitutional

St. Louis and County and Jackson County are returning legal fire after Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued to have the mask mandates effectively outlawed.     A Missouri judge last month invalidated many orders, including mask mandates, from the state Department of Health and Senior Services. The counties are appealing the ruling. If an […]

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Missouri man who crashed stolen car into house, sentenced to six years in prison for Illegally possessing a firearm

 A Missouri, man who crashed a stolen car into a house after smoking methamphetamine was sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing a firearm. William T. Bryand, 29, Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to six years in federal prison without parole. On July 15, 2021, Bryand pleaded guilty to […]

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Missouri man who contacted hundreds of children through a teen dating website indicted on child sexual exploitation charges

A Missouri, man who contacted hundreds of children through a teen dating website was indicted by a federal grand jury on child sexual exploitation charges. Kody Ryan Kelso, 30, Springfield, was charged in a five-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. The superseding indictment replaces the original indictment that was […]

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (Photo Courtesy Missouri AG Office)

Missouri’s largest counties seek to appeal ruling overturning local health orders

(Missouri Independent) – Jackson and St. Louis Counties requested Monday that they be permitted to intervene and appeal a recent court ruling that they argue has “upended the longstanding public health framework” in Missouri. In a filing submitted Monday afternoon and obtained by The Independent, the two counties asked Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel […]

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Former Kansas City Chiefs player sentenced to more than three years in prison for COVID-19 relief fraud

A former National Football League player, who played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2012, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining over $1.2 million through a Paycheck Protection Program loan guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. According to court documents, Joshua […]

Crime and Courts

Associate Division of Grundy County Circuit Court news for Thursday, December 9, 2021

Several defendants received prison sentences or probation on Thursday in Grundy County Circuit Court. Mercer County Associate Judge Matthew Krohn was appointed to preside during the proceedings in Division One of Circuit Court. Princeton resident James LeRoy Houk saw his probation revoked on two drug-related counts and was sentenced to four years with the Missouri […]

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt

Missouri Attorney General issues statement on St. Louis County rescinding their “Illegal mask mandate”

Counsel for County Executive, Sam Page, and St. Louis County announced at a court hearing that the defendants are “rescinding” their illegal mask mandate in St. Louis County. “My Office has been on the forefront of fighting mask mandates across the state, and we have vigorously litigated against St. Louis County’s illegal mask mandates. Attorneys […]