Mosaic Life Care officials say
there has been a dramatic increase in violence against its caregivers, and it
won’t be tolerated.

Mosaic CEO Mike Poore says the
increase in violence the last couple of years has no discernable common thread.

“We’ve had random acts of
violence in every department in the hospital,” Moore tells reporters during a
news conference at the St. Joseph hospital. “It’s increasingly frustrating.”

Those acts vary, according to
Mosaic Chief Nursing Officer Rebecca Bledsoe.

“Everything from verbal abuse,
mental abuse, and to physical abuse,” Bledsoe says. “And it’s every scenario
that you can imagine.”

While there appears to be no
common thread or discernable trend to the violence, it does seem to be on the
increase of late. &nbsp;Poore says assaults
have spiked the last two years and seem to only be increasing.

“In the last several weeks, I’ve
had a nurse punched in the face. I’ve had another caregiver who was grabbed by
the hair and her face was slammed into a table,” Poore says, adding that a security
guard suffered a broken knee cap responding to an assault.

“I’ve been in health care for 36
years. It’s just that we’ve seen it increase to a level that has not been seen
in my career,” Poore says.

Mosaic showed a video of some of the acts of violence. We have that video below.

Both Bledsoe and Poore say Mosaic
is encouraging nurses and others who are assaulted to report assaults to
police. Both add caregivers are reluctant to report.

“Deep down in their heart they
feel like it goes against what they are here to do and that’s just to provide
care to patients,” Bledsoe explains. “But the other thing is, we are very busy
in health care and there’s a lot of steps that goes into making sure we’re reporting.
And so, it is another burden that we have to go through.”

Bledsoe says Mosaic is helping
alleviate some of the burden of filing the paperwork to report workplace
violence.

The St. Joseph Police Department
pledges to investigate every report of workplace violence at Mosaic. Buchanan
County Prosecutor Michelle Davidson urges anyone assaulted to file a report.

Mosaic reports "dramatic" increase in violence in its hospitals

The Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences have published the 2023 Minnesota Field Crop Trials.

 Crops included in this year’s trial include barley, canola, corn grain, oats, soybeans, spring wheat, winter rye, and winter wheat. The University of Minnesota field crop trials are done every year to provide unbiased and trustworthy information to help farmers when they are ready to make seed choices. 

The annual Field Crop Trials are one of the key ways that the University of Minnesota works to bring valuable research into the hands of farmers and ultimately help improve farm profitability, improve the economy, and the overall quality of life for farmers and rural communities. Since the late 1880s, the U of M has published reports of crop variety trials, but it wasn’t until 1948 that the trials were combined into a single annual publication. Go to varietytrials.umn.edu.

Variety crop trial results are now available

Applications are now open for the School Food Systems Transformation Challenge Sub-Grants, which is a part of USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative. USDA says the grants will transform the K-12 school food marketplace by increasing collaboration between school districts, food producers, suppliers, distributors, and community partners. 

Students can expect to see improvements in the quality of food on their plates thanks to these new efforts. All eligible applicants are encouraged to consider applying for one or both of the grant opportunities. The first is the Supporting Community Agriculture and Local Education Systems (SCALES) Grant, and the second is Partnerships for Local Agriculture and Nutrition in Schools (PLANTS.) 

SCALES projects are designed to increase the procurement of locally sourced foods by developing partnerships between schools and producers as well as growers and processors. PLANT projects will support regional efforts to expand scratch-cooked meal programs and create sustainable change for all school districts.

Grant applications for improving school meals are open

A coalition representing farmers and ethanol producers responded to last week’s decision of the Fifth Circuit Court on Small Refinery Exemptions under the Renewable Fuels Standard. The Court remanded to the Environmental Protection Agency its rejection of six small refinery exemption requests. 

The coalition that includes the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, the American Coalition for Ethanol, and the National Farmers Union says they are disappointed by the decision and will continue to defend the Renewable Fuel Standard. “We will continue fighting the illegal abuse of small refinery exemptions,” the groups said in a statement. 

“As other federal courts have determined, the RFS does not impose an economic burden on oil refiners because any compliance costs are passed down the supply chain.” The groups also say the refiners’ lawsuit wasn’t about economic hardship but more about oil refineries doing everything they could to dodge legal obligations to blend renewable fuels.

Groups respond to small refinery exemptions decision

Greg Harden, a best-selling author and former associate athletic director of student counseling at the University of Michigan, will be the keynote speaker at the 2024 Farm Bureau convention.

He’ll address attendees during the closing session of the annual convention on Monday, January 22. Harden counseled more than 400 student-athletes, including names like Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, Heisman Trophy winners Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson, and Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps.

“Persistent, patient, and resilient are among the traits that professional athletes share with farmers and ranchers,” says Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. “That’s why Greg’s message about coaching and mentorship is so timely.” Duvall also says the lineup for the entire convention is outstanding.

In addition to guest speakers and exciting competitions, they’ll host important conversations about top priorities for U.S. agriculture, including the farm bill. The 105th AFBF convention is in Salt Lake City, Utah, January 19-24, 2024.

Farm Bureau Announces Keynote Speaker at 2024 Convention

An Illinois jury found that several of the country’s major egg producers conspired to limit America’s supply of eggs in order to raise prices in a case that began in a federal lawsuit 12 years ago.

Several large food manufacturing companies in the lawsuit filed in 2011 said producers used various means to limit the U.S. domestic supply of eggs to increase the price of eggs and egg products during the 2000s. “We are incredibly pleased that the jury held egg producers Cal-Maine Foods and Rose Acre Farms accountable alongside United Egg Producers and United States Egg Marketers for conspiring to inflate the price of eggs,” says Brandon Fox, an attorney for the food manufacturers.

Damages will be decided during a trial this week. The jury found the egg suppliers exported eggs to reduce the overall supply in the domestic market and limited the number of chickens available for laying eggs.

Jury Rules that Egg Producers Conspired to Fix Prices

Drought conditions these past two years have tested crop
herbicides more than ever with a representative of Syngenta stating farmers
need to look long-term when facing such adverse weather conditions.

Technical product lead for corn herbicide in the United States,
Mark Kit, says dry conditions don’t change the need for weed control.

“The biggest thing facing a lot of farmers, and you hear this
from a lot of university weed scientists, including Dr. Kevin Bradley
(University of Missouri), is still managing weed resistance, right? And
thinking about an integrated weed management plan,” Kit tells KFEQ/St. Joseph
Post.

Kit says Syngenta’s Storen has four active ingredients
designed to keep weeds from emerging in corn.

“And it is really imperative, too, to think about weed
management not only in the corn crop, but think about how it has implications
for rotational crops like soybeans,” Kit says.

Kit understands a key component to a corn herbicide is
activation, which he acknowledges has its challenges during dry weather.

“Most residual herbicides, including Storen, need a half inch
of rainfall for activation,” according to Kit. “And I know in the marketplace
there may be some frustration about activating residual herbicides.”

Still, Kit insists that if you want to successfully fight
weeds, get them before they emerge.

“By investing in a good residual herbicide in corn, you’re not
having as many weed seeds going into the soil seed bank which you’ll fight in
the next year’s rotational crop like soybeans.”

Kit advises farmers to think long-term during dry conditions,
sticking to their plan to control weeds.

The US Drought Monitor has much of the listening area in moderate
drought conditions with sections considered to be in severe drought.

Farmers need to think weed resistance, even during drought conditions

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says his agency is making investments to strengthen American food and agriculture supply chains, expand markets for producers, and lower food costs.

“We’re using these investments in agricultural producers and rural entrepreneurs to create better economic opportunities that bolster food supply chains across the country and increase competition,” Vilsack says. “This will result in more affordable prices and choices for consumers, as well as more opportunities and revenues for farmers.”

USDA is making investments in 185 projects worth nearly $196 million to create new and better market opportunities in states like Arizona, Illinois, New York, 34 other states, and Puerto Rico. Today’s announcement was made as part of the inaugural meeting of the new White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience.

The goal is to lower costs for American families and increase investments in American supply chains that are critical to economic and national security.

USDA Making Investments in U.S. Food Chains

Worries about the Farm Bill extend into next year when
Congress will make another run at approving nutrition programs as well as agricultural
policy.

Chief Economist Roger Cryan at the American Farm Bureau
Federation says the Bureau is pleased Congress didn’t allow the Farm Bill to
just run out, but insists a new Farm Bill must be passed, sooner rather than
later.

“We’re happy that there’s an extension, because it’s much
better than letting programs expire and stop working,” Cryan tells KFEQ/St.
Joseph Post. “It’s much better to have some certainty for planting season than
to have it all up in the air. But we really need those adjustments, those
updates and our hope is that we’ll get a Farm Bill early next year.”

Cryan says the focus cannot just be on extending the nutrition
program in the form of food stamps. It must, according to Cryan, be on the crop
commodity programs, providing farmers with a safety net now that inflation has
increased the cost of production without increasing the prices farmers receive.
Cryan says inflation makes extending current commodity price programs
problematic.

“I mean, inflation is what has essentially triggered the need
for more money for the Title 1 program (commodity programs),” Cryan says. “If
we hadn’t had the inflation, then the commodity prices wouldn’t have gone up as
much and there’d be a little easier to work with what we’ve got.”

Cryan says nutrition programs have gotten a boost, but several
agricultural programs now are outdated and are badly in need of revision.

“We support the nutrition programs. We support resources being
made available to folks to have enough to eat. It’s important,” Cryan says.
“But, for the world as a whole, you’ve got to keep production going. You’ve got
to maintain ag productivity and make sure there’s enough food being produced.
If nobody’s producing it, all the money in the world won’t buy it.”

Chairs of both the Senate and House agricultural committees
have pledged to pass legislation early next year in order to pass a Farm Bill
before presidential politics makes it impossible to find compromise. In fact,
Cryan says the conventional wisdom in Washington is that if legislation cannot
be passed early next year, it will have to be put off until 2025.

Farm Bureau: new Farm Bill needed, though extension is helpful

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ceilidhkern/">CEILIDH KERN</a>

On a small farm near Laddonia, Brian Willott waded through fields of dried corn stalks that had already been crushed into the ground.

He had just finished harvesting his corn and soybeans and was preparing his empty fields to plant cover crops, which will hold his soil together and replenish its nutrients over the winter.

Willott is among a new generation of farmers working to make their operations more environmentally friendly. Traditional farming practices such as tilling and monoculture — cultivating a single crop — have come under fire in recent years for their role in harming soil and exacerbating climate change.

Willott is part of the new Climate-Resilient Crop and Livestock Project, which gives farmers and ranchers needed funding and technical assistance to make their operations more climate-smart.

“We farmers get painted as the villain a lot on environmental issues, and we’re not,” he said.

“I think this is one of those programs where we really get to show everybody what we can do to help. We’re making things better on our own farm, and it’s also removing carbon from the atmosphere. We’re part of the solution, not the problem.”

Willott has been interested in being “part of the solution” since he was a kid. Growing up on his parents’ farm, he watched his father experiment with no-till farming and crop rotation to protect the soil before these practices were well-known.

In 2008, Willott’s father received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study cover crops, which are planted after the harvest to improve soil fertility by capturing excess nutrients.

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Back then, Willott said, almost no one in their community had heard of cover crops. But his father became a major advocate for the practice, and his son now recommends it to other farmers.

“Cover crops are a better way to farm, and I see mostly positives in it,” he said.

He registered both himself and his father for the Climate-Resilient Crop and Livestock programs so they could plant clover, cereal rye, turnips and radishes.

Not only will these crops help protect their soil, but they can combat climate change. Healthier soil stores more carbon and produces larger, healthier plants that draw more carbon dioxide from the air.

But for these benefits to be realized, the cover crops need to be carefully managed or they can actually be detrimental to fields, Willott said.

Kelly Wilson, the associate director of the MU Center for Regenerative Agriculture, said this is why the project’s educational resources are so important for long-term environmental and crop health.

“The other aspect of this is providing a lot more education and technical assistance to farmers,” Wilson said. “It’s one thing to receive financial assistance to offset your costs, but it’s also important to ensure that farmers can successfully implement these practices.”

The positives of planting cover crops include supporting the local environment and making crops more productive and climate-resilient. Thanks to cover crops, no-till and crop rotation, Willott said his farm still had a fairly good harvest despite this year’s drought, extreme heat and flooding.

“I think some of the reasons I had good yields this year and some other people didn’t is my father before me and I really have taken care of this soil” he said.

The Climate-Resilient Crop and Livestock Project, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is set to run for four more years. Applications for the regenerative grazing, nutrient management and climate-smart fieldscapes programs opened earlier this month and will close in January.

This story originally appeared in the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/farmers-adopt-practices-that-improve-their-land-support-environment/article_eaa8a95a-7cbf-11ee-99d9-9b78b3bda0e6.html#tncms-source=Featured">Columbia Missourian</a>. It can be republished in print or online.&nbsp;

Missouri farmers adopt practices that improve their land, support environment

The National Corn Growers Association and BASF have partnered for another year to provide scholarships to undergraduate students passionate about agriculture. 

Over the past sixteen years, more than 80 undergraduate students have received scholarship funds to aid them in pursuing higher education. “BASF has been a long-standing partner in support of this program, and we are grateful for the commitment to building up the next generation of leaders in our industry,” says Dan Nerud, chair of NCGA’s Member and Consumer Engagement Action Team. “Our grower members are passionate about this program, and we are excited for another year of supporting students who share our passion for agriculture.” 

The William C. Berg Academic Excellence Undergraduate Scholarship is open to NCGA members and their children pursuing an undergraduate degree in any field. A completed application must be submitted by January 31, 2024. Scholarships are for one year, and previous recipients may not apply.

NCGA, BASF announce 16th annual scholarship program

It appears a medical condition caused a crash in which a
vehicle plowed into a business on St. Joseph Avenue.

St. Joseph police report the crash late Tuesday night caused
damage to the front of Dick’s Bait and Tackle at 2604 St. Joseph Avenue.

Though a medical condition appears to have caused the
accident, the driver not only survived the wreck, but appears to have fully recovered.

Medical condition appears to have caused car-building crash on St. Joseph Avenue

Missouri’s child welfare agency already offers guidance to foster care providers asking them to use a child’s ‘preferred name and pronouns’ and provide ‘physically and emotionally safe and supportive care and resources regardless of one’s personal attitudes and beliefs’

By CLARA BATES&nbsp;AND&nbsp;ANNELISE HANSHAW&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey this week joined with 18 other states to oppose a proposed federal rule that aims to protect LGBTQ youth in foster care and provide them with necessary services.

The attorneys general argue in a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023.11.27-Alabama-et-al.-Foster-Care-Comment-SUBMITTED.pdf">letter</a>&nbsp;to the U.S. Department of Health &amp; Human Services that the proposed rule — which requires states to provide safe and appropriate placements with providers who are appropriately trained about the child’s sexual orientation or gender identity&nbsp; — amounts to religion-based discrimination and violates freedom of speech.

“As a foster parent myself,” Bailey said in a news release Tuesday, “I am deeply invested in protecting children and putting their best interests first.”

“Biden’s proposed rule does exactly the opposite by enacting policies meant to exclude people with deeply held religious beliefs from being foster parents.”

The rule is part of a package of federal proposals on foster care and is an extension of the Biden administration’s broader&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/15/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-sign-historic-executive-order-advancing-lgbtqi-equality-during-pride-month/">push</a>&nbsp;to protect LGBTQ kids in foster care.

“Because of family rejection and abuse,” the Biden administration&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/09/27/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-actions-to-support-children-and-families-in-foster-care/#:~:text=The%20proposed%20rule%20would%20require,on%20how%20to%20meet%20their">said in a September press release,</a>&nbsp;LGBTQ children are “overrepresented in foster care where they face poor outcomes, including mistreatment and discrimination because of who they are.”

State agencies would be required under the rule to provide safe and appropriate foster care placements for those who are “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex,” along with children who are “non-binary or have non-conforming gender identity or expression.”

A qualifying foster parent would need to be educated on the needs of the child’s sexuality or gender identity and, if the child wishes, “facilitate the child’s access to age-appropriate resources, services, and activities that support their health and well-being.”

An example of a safe and appropriate placement is one where a provider is “expected to utilize the child’s identified pronouns, chosen name, and allow the child to dress in an age-appropriate manner,” according to the proposal, “that the child believes reflects their self-identified gender identity and expression.”

The attorneys general characterize that as “forcing an individual to use another’s preferred pronouns by government fiat,” in violation of the First Amendment.

Robert Fischer, director of communications for Missouri LGBTQ advocacy organization PROMO, said the freedom of religion “doesn’t give any person the right to impose those beliefs on others, particularly to discriminate.”&nbsp;

“Any state official who claims to put ‘children’s interests first’ and in the same breath is willing to risk their well-being and opportunity to thrive in the name of religion — I think that speaks for itself,” Fischer told The Independent.&nbsp;

The rule prohibits retaliation against children who identify as LGBTQ or are perceived as LGBTQ.

Public agencies would need to notify children about the option to request foster homes identified as “safe and appropriate” and tell them how to report concerns about their placement.

Agencies would also have to go through extra steps before placing transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming children in group care settings that are divided by sex.

The “majority” of states, according to the proposed rule, would have to “expand their efforts” to recruit and identify providers who could meet the needs of LGBTQ children.

Laws and policies for protecting LGBTQ youth in foster care — relating to kids’ rights, supports, placement considerations, caregiver qualifications and definitions — currently vary by state.&nbsp;

According to a federal report published in January, which reviewed states’ laws and policies, Missouri&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/state/?CWIGFunctionsaction=statestatutes:main.getResults">does not have laws or policies</a>&nbsp;explicitly addressing any of those five categories.

Most states — 39 states and Washington, D.C. — have “explicit protections from harassment or discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression,” according to a federal&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/LGBTyouth.pdf">report</a>, as of January. Missouri is not one of them.&nbsp;

Twenty-two&nbsp; states and D.C. as of January, require agencies to provide tailored services and supports to LGBTQ youth, and eight states and D.C. offer case management and facilitate access to “gender-affirming medical, mental health and social services.”

Children’s Division, the agency within the Missouri Department of Social Services that oversees foster care, offers guidance on their website for&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dss.mo.gov/cd/foster-care/files/best-practice-guide-for-placement-providers.pdf">providers</a>&nbsp;and child welfare&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dss.mo.gov/cd/older-youth-program/files/best-practice-guide-for-staff.pdf">staff</a>&nbsp;in “supporting LGBTQ youth in foster care,” but still does not appear to have official policy on the issue.

A spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Social Services did not respond to a request for comment.&nbsp;

Those guidelines include using the child’s “preferred name and pronouns,” along with establishing a supportive environment and providing “physically and emotionally safe and supportive care and resources regardless of one’s personal attitudes and beliefs.”

The Department of Social Services is part of the administration of Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, and the guidelines were in place the entire time Bailey was serving as Parson’s general counsel — the second highest ranking job in the governor’s office.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Bailey’s spokesperson did not immediately respond when asked whether he raised any objections to the guidelines during his tenure with Parson.

The 19 attorneys general contend the federal rule would “remove faith-based providers from the foster care system” because of their “religious beliefs on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

They cite Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a U.S. Supreme Court case that ruled a public agency couldn’t force private, religious foster agencies to allow same-sex foster parents.

The proposed rule itself also acknowledges the Supreme Court case and alleges that by not requiring religious foster-care providers to welcome LGBTQ children, it is complying with the court’s precedent.

But the attorneys general do not believe this is enough. Their letter argues the proposal violates freedom of religion because those unwilling to support LGBTQ foster children “would be excluded from providing care to as many as one-third of foster children ages 12-21.”

“In addition to discriminating against religion, the proposed rule will harm children by limiting the number of available foster homes, harm families by risking kinship placements, and harm states by increasing costs and decreasing care options,” the letter says.

The rule would “discourage individuals and organizations of faith from joining or continuing in foster care,” the attorneys general argue, and “reduce family setting options.” Without faith-based foster parents, the attorneys general say, children would be more likely to be placed in congregate settings.

They also say the rule could disqualify family members who volunteer as placement, or kinship care, if the family member does not agree to support the child’s sexuality or gender identity with age-appropriate resources, as the rule entails.

Missouri AG opposes proposed federal rule supporting LGBTQ foster kids

The group behind a proposed ballot initiative that would add rape exceptions to Missouri’s abortion ban says a reporting requirement would give victims access to help. But some survivor advocacy groups worry it could cause further harm

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/annaspoerre/">ANNA SPOERRE</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

When Trish Mitchell got an abortion three decades ago in Missouri, she didn’t tell the doctor her pregnancy was a result of sexual assault.

It would be years before she told anyone that she had been raped.

“Speaking for myself, it was literally almost impossible,” said Mitchell, who was 21 at the time of the assault. “I wasn’t able to talk about what happened to me for many, many years.”&nbsp;

When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion, a near total ban on the procedure went into effect in Missouri. It doesn’t include exceptions for victims of rape like Mitchell.&nbsp;

An initiative petition effort to add an exemption for rape victims to Missouri’s abortion ban is officially underway, alongside provisions that would prohibit the government from interfering with access to an abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and provide immunity from prosecution for women who receive abortions and for those who help them.

But the proposed constitutional amendment would require women seeking an abortion following a rape to report the assault to a crisis hotline, an idea that has drawn criticism from some survivors and advocates who worry it will be a barrier to accessing care.&nbsp;

“If that’s what’s required, then I say yes, it’s better than telling someone ‘no, you can’t make this decision about your own body,’” Mitchell said. “But at the same time, I really wish they would talk with people who’ve had that experience and understand the amount of trauma that they actually go through before they even arrive at the decision to have an abortion.”

The initiative petition campaign is being led by Jamie Corley, a longtime Republican congressional staffer who formed a 501c4 nonprofit in June to jumpstart the effort.&nbsp;

When crafting the proposal, Corley and her team at the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.missouriwomenandfamilyresearchfund.org/">Missouri Women and Family Research Fund</a>&nbsp;decided a reporting element was necessary to establish a qualifying event for the rape exception. She believes it also makes for a stronger ballot initiative. The group has until May to garner enough signatures to get the proposed initiative on the ballot.

Corley said she studied reporting requirements in other states, including Florida, where victims have to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/florida-abortion-ban-approved-c9c53311a0b2426adc4b8d0b463edad1">provide proof of a police report or restraining order.&nbsp;</a>But she felt that was too “onerous,” since there are myriad reasons survivors may not report an assault to police.

“Our intention is to give crime victims access to care,” Corley said of the crisis hotline requirement, which she said is unique from any other state.&nbsp;

She pointed to 2019 numbers from the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dps.mo.gov/dir/programs/cvsu/documents/mo-rights-of-sexual-assault-task-force-final-report-123121.pdf">Missouri Rights of Victims of Sexual Assault Task Force</a>&nbsp;which showed more than three times as many people reached out to a crisis hotline as reported sexual assaults to police.

As she sees it, the reporting can be done confidentiality, anonymously, via text, call or email, and done locally or through national groups. It can be as simple as writing “I am a survivor of sexual assault,” to meet the reporting requirement, she said.&nbsp;

But Corley hopes it would also provide access to care for survivors that they might not have known about previously.&nbsp;

<a target="_blank" href="https://mocadsv.coalitionmanager.org/contactmanager/contact/publicdirectory">Dozens of crisis hotlines&nbsp;</a>are operated by victim agencies across Missouri. Many are 24/7 and don’t require survivors to share their identity. All are voluntary.

National hotlines are also plentiful. For example, the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.rainn.org/about-national-sexual-assault-telephone-hotline">National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline,</a>&nbsp;run by the Rape, Abuse &amp; Incest Network, is confidential and does not even record the caller’s full phone number.

Hotlines provide survivors a space to process what they are going through with an advocate who is trained to listen. From there, the advocate suggest information and services that could be helpful to the survivor, said Matthew Huffman, a spokesman for the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.&nbsp;

Huffman’s group has not taken a position on any of the initiative petitions at this point.

“I’m very hesitant to ever say that a survivor should have to make a decision in order to qualify for another service,” Huffman said of Corley’s proposal, adding that he also has concerns about asking someone to relive the trauma of a sexual assault.&nbsp; “It’s important that we are able to preserve the intent of what a hotline is, so that there isn’t a chilling effect where survivors feel like they would be uncomfortable calling a hotline for any reason.”

No one would be required to tell the story of their assault, Corley said, only required to report that it happened.&nbsp;

It can also be dangerous to call a hotline, Huffman said, as some survivors fear being found out by their abuser. During the pandemic, hotline calls were down in many states as victims remained stuck at home with abusers, unable to get help as easily.

Corley said if there are concerns about calling a hotline, those same concerns would exist in making the abortion appointment in the first place.&nbsp;

Huffman said he does see a benefit to the proposal, in that it could be a path to bodily autonomy for survivors.

“These conversations and these efforts are important for us to be having, but I think we also have to be cautious about how they aren’t actually implemented,” he said. “And so I take a very pragmatic “both/and” approach where we can see benefits, but we can also see risks.”

Mitchell was a young mother with two boys when she was raped on a first date.&nbsp;

She learned she was pregnant 12 weeks after the assault. Mitchell was already in survival mode, trying to stay present for her boys despite the rape playing on repeat in her head.

“I was very young and didn’t know how to begin to understand what happened to me,” she said.

Mitchell, who comes from a “very religious” upbringing, said the decision to seek out abortion care was met with much prayer and consideration. Calling a hotline was the last thing on her mind. Even if it was, Mitchell said did not have the mental or emotional capacity at the time to do so.&nbsp;

Mitchell has worked with the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;ved=2ahUKEwicl_DW2tyCAxVgnGoFHRRsAXQQFnoECA8QAQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fmocsa.org%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw1Cj5ciR_1Tg5D_lYvICqBR&amp;opi=89978449">Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault</a>. While she agrees calling a hotline is recommended and can be helpful, survivors should be able to seek those services on their own timeline.

Contacting a hotline is not as cut and dry as it seems on paper, she said. After her assault, Mitchell said she waded through guilt, shame and embarrassment, and that reaching out to a hotline would have been extremely taxing.

“Even to make a quick call to say, ‘hey by the way, I got raped and I need abortion care,’ it just feels so impersonal and uncaring,” Mitchell said.

After she was raped 30 years ago, Taylor Hirth said calling a rape crisis center was the furthest thing from her mind.&nbsp;

“This requirement adds one more thing to the extensive to-do list that further traumatizes survivors of sexual violence when they are just trying to move on with their lives,” said Hirth, a survivor and advocate who has occasionally written columns for The Independant and lives in the Kansas City area.&nbsp;

While Hirth said she will take any “scraps of bodily autonomy the government is willing to offer me,” she would rather do without the requirement.

“While I’m grateful for any attempt at improved access to abortion, inherent in the fight for reproductive rights is the belief in the bodily autonomy of the person seeking an abortion,” she said, later adding: “This is just one more unnecessary expectation.”

While Corley has settled on an initiative to move forward with, 11 more expansive abortion-rights amendment proposals filed in March by St. Louis physician Anna Fitz-James remain in limbo.&nbsp;

Corley’s initiative has been met with criticism from both sides of the abortion debate, including from groups who oppose any abortion exclusions and from groups that oppose any limitations to abortion.&nbsp;

Emily Wales, Planned Parenthood Great Plains’ CEO and president, said Corley’s ballot initiative reinforces stigma around abortion by allowing the government to declare what is a “good abortion versus a bad abortion.”

Planned Parenthood has not yet taken a public position on any of the proposed initiative petitions.&nbsp;

“At the end of the day,” she said, “what it does is have non-physicians sitting in a position of determining what an individual’s private healthcare should be.”&nbsp;

She remains skeptical that other abortion restrictions in place that have driven providers out of the state will allow providers to reasonably return to Missouri. But if they did, she argued the reporting requirement could affect a patient’s experience.&nbsp;

“This type of reporting reporting requirements doesn’t do anything but further restrict the rights of the individual who has already been violated,” Wales said. “It is deeply upsetting to me to read this and to hear that from somebody who thinks they are advocating for abortion access or individual rights.”&nbsp;

Both Wales and Huffman raised questions about how the government would maintain patient and provider confidentiality.&nbsp;

“I have a real concern about how those conversations which are intended to be confidential for a reason, end up being documented,” Huffman said.

“We’ve seen the state be really irresponsible when it comes to patient information when it comes to tracking periods and patient data. I don’t want to give the government any more reason to be watching Missourians private lives,” Wales added, referencing a 2019 incident in which the state’s then health director, Randall Williams, testified that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article236773058.html#:~:text=The%20Missouri%20state%20health%20director,on%20the%20governor%20to%20investigate.">the state monitored personal information of Planned Parenthood patients,</a>&nbsp;including women’s menstrual cycles, with the goal of identifying who had failed abortions. The patients’ names were not included.&nbsp;

Missourians deserve better, Wales said.&nbsp;

“This is not the moment for something is better than nothing,” she said.&nbsp;

Corley said to get an abortion in Missouri before the ban, some level of reporting was always required. But she emphasized privacy would always be respected.&nbsp;

“Just like Planned Parenthood tries to make it as easy as possible with their confidential online portals to make an appointment, and confidential phone lines to make an appointment, we have the same amount of respect and understanding for patient privacy,” Corley said.

Her biggest priority, Corley said, is in getting access to survivors as quickly as possible. Her proposal is not some sort of “Trojan horse to get reporting requirements in place.”

“Survivors have no access right now,” Corley said. “And so to sit on the sidelines and complain about ballot initiatives, without offering your own real solution is disrespectful to sexual assault survivors.”

Missouri rape hotline reporting requirement in abortion-rights petition draws criticism

MERCER COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just after 10a.m. Monday in Mercer County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a&nbsp; 2015 Mack Dump Truck driven by Gerald J. Hostetler, 76, Trenton, was westbound on U.S. 136 approaching U.S. 65 in Princeton.

The truck traveled off the north side of the road, struck a highway sign, entered U.S. 65, traveled off the west side of the highway and down an embankment.

A private vehicle transported Hostetler to Wright Memorial Hospital. He was properly restrained, according to the MSHP.

Missouri man hospitalized after dump truck crash

On this episode of Forward Ever: Leading in Challenging Times, host Gary Shorman speaks with 2023 Motorcycle Cannonball winner Todd Cameron.

🎤 Forward Ever: 2023 Motorcycle Cannonball winner Todd Cameron

A United States House committee continues to probe whether
President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, used his father’s influence to enhance his
business dealings abroad.

The House Oversight Committee has issued subpoenas to Hunter
Biden as well as to James Biden, the president’s brother.

Eastern Kansas Congressman Jake LaTurner sits on the Oversight
Committee and insists the committee isn’t obsessed with the president, pointing
to its investigations into the southern border, the mismanaged Afghanistan
withdrawal, as well as waste and abuse in the government.

“And we’ve also been following the facts as it relates to Joe
Biden and his influence peddling schemes,” LaTurner tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post
in an interview.

LaTurner and his fellow Republicans accuse the Democratic
president of using his influence, both when he was vice president and now to
help his son’s business ventures. LaTurner says Republicans on the committee
have been uncovering some unsavory trends.

“The headline for all of this is:&nbsp; trust in the government is at an all-time
low,” according to LaTurner. “And I sure as heck understand why. It’s because
these institutions that people used to trust have become politicized.”

House Republicans have issued subpoenas to members of
President Joe Biden's family, taking their most aggressive step yet toward an
impeachment inquiry&nbsp;bitterly opposed by Democrats that is testing the reach of
congressional oversight powers.

The long-awaited move by&nbsp;Congressman James Comer, the chair
of the House Oversight Committee, to subpoena the president's son Hunter and
brother James comes as Republicans look to gain ground in their nearly yearlong
investigation. So far, they have failed to uncover evidence directly
implicating the president in any wrongdoing.

But Republicans say the evidence trail they have uncovered
paints a troubling picture of “influence peddling” by Biden's family in&nbsp;their
business dealings, particularly with clients overseas.

The White House and leading Democrats have continuously&nbsp;dismissed
the investigation as a political ploy&nbsp;aimed at hurting the Democratic president. They say the
probe is a blatant attempt to help former President Donald Trump, the early
front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, as he runs again for the
White House.

“The best thing they can do is make this seem like a partisan witch
hunt, so they can discredit what we’re doing,” LaTurner responds. “But the
facts don’t lie. The bank records don’t lie. The American people deserve to know
who has influence over their government, especially when we’re talking about
these foreign companies.”

LaTurner says he has not made up his mind about the extent of
President Biden’s role in his son’s business dealings and whether it reaches
the level of an impeachable offense.

“I have not said, and I’ll say it to you now, I have not said
that Joe Biden should be impeached,” LaTurner says. “I think that that would be
an irresponsible thing for me to say before all the facts are uncovered. And when
they all are uncovered, we need to take the information, we need to look at it
hard, and make a determination at that time. But to do that prematurely would
be wrong.”

Democrats charge Republicans have already made up their minds.

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