Staff with the Missouri Department of Conservation delivered the annual Christmas tree to the front lawn of the Governor's mansion in Jefferson City on Monday morning, according to a social media report from the MODOC.

This year's tree is a 40-foot Norway spruce donated by the Richardsons of Boone Co. See the tree lit up during the lighting ceremony this Friday evening.

Staff with the Missouri Department of Conservation delivered the annual Christmas tree to the front lawn of the Governor's mansion in Jefferson City on Monday morning, according to a social media report from the MODOC.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1733174096806.png" alt="Photos Missouri Dept. of Conservation" />
 <figcaption>Photos Missouri Dept. of Conservation</figcaption>
 </figure>This year's tree is a 40-foot Norway spruce donated by the Richardsons of Boone Co. See the tree lit up during the lighting ceremony this Friday evening.

Christmas tree arrives at Missouri Governor's mansion

A baby taken in an armed carjacking on the North Belt Highway
in St. Joseph has been recovered unharmed.

The St. Joseph Police Department reports a 31-year-old man stated three men pulled him out of his car and assaulted him. The man told
police the three got into his vehicle and drove off with his seven-month-old
baby inside. The carjacking took place shortly after 6:30 Sunday night at
501 North Belt.

The victim called police who quickly pursued the vehicle using GPS
tracking. The suspect abandoned the vehicle at 20th and Jones Streets with the seven-month-old still in
the car seat in the back.

The suspects are reported to have arrived in a late model SUV.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the TIPS Hotline at 816-238-8477 (TIPS) or you can use P3tips to report information online.

This article has been updated since first published.

You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostA baby taken in an armed carjacking on the North Belt Highway
in St. Joseph has been recovered unharmed.The St. Joseph Police Department reports a 31-year-old man stated three men pulled him out of his car and assaulted him. The man told
police the three got into his vehicle and drove off with his seven-month-old
baby inside. The carjacking took place shortly after 6:30 Sunday night at
501 North Belt.The victim called police who quickly pursued the vehicle using GPS
tracking. The suspect abandoned the vehicle at 20th and Jones Streets with the seven-month-old still in
the car seat in the back.The suspects are reported to have arrived in a late model SUV.The investigation continues.Anyone with information is asked to contact the TIPS Hotline at 816-238-8477 (TIPS) or you can use P3tips to report information online.<a href="https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=781">Tip
Form</a>This article has been updated since first published.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

Baby found unharmed after St. Joseph carjacking

Of the 96 microbusiness licenses issued by the state through a lottery since the program’s inception last year, cannabis consultant David Brodsky is connected to seven. They are all under investigation or facing revocation

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

The Missouri Cannabis Trade Association describes David Brodsky as “instrumental in developing the Missouri microbusiness community” and a mentor to disadvantaged business owners.

In his cannabis consulting work, Brodsky is part of a group that charges up to $4,000 to help eligible applicants enter the microbusiness lottery. It’s a&nbsp; program intended to help steer small-scale marijuana facility licenses to disabled veterans, those with lower incomes and people with non-violent marijuana offenses.

That price doesn’t include the state’s $1,500 refundable submission fee.

“We have also assisted clients who won licenses in lottery based application systems in Ohio and Connecticut and have never had an application that did not meet the criteria to go into the lottery,” Brodsky and his partners say on&nbsp;<a href="http://momicrolicense.com/" target="_blank">MOmicrolicense.com</a>.

Yet in Missouri, microbusiness applications connected to Brodsky have repeatedly run into problems with state regulators.

Of the 96 microbusiness licenses issued by the state through a lottery since the program’s inception last year, Brodsky is connected to seven. And all of them are under investigation or facing revocation because the state questions whether a qualified applicant will actually be running the business.

In October, the Division of Cannabis Regulation sent letters of pending revocation to four of the seven licensees connected to Brodsky, stating that their agreements included “false or misleading information.”

“The licensee entered into an agreement that transfers ownership and operational control to another entity,” the letters stated.

&nbsp;Notices of investigation were issued involving the other three licenses back in July, stating regulators wanted to ensure the businesses continue “to be majority owned and operated by eligible individuals.”

For&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/10/26/applicants-recruited-on-craigslist-competed-for-missouri-social-equity-cannabis-licenses/">more than a year</a>, The Independent has documented the pattern of well-connected groups and individuals flooding the microbusiness lottery by recruiting people to submit applications and then offering them contracts that limited their profit and control of the business.

State&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/29/cannabis-missouri-predatory-socia-equity/">regulators have been sounding the alarm</a>&nbsp;about the scheme, warning of potentially predatory practices in the microbusiness application process.

Financial agreements for the seven licenses connected to Brodsky are closed records. But The Independent was able to obtain a portion of one agreement connected to Brodsky through a public records request last year.&nbsp;

The agreement only provides the qualified applicant with one-third of the voting power to make company decisions.

<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/07/26/missouri-cannabis-leader-accused-of-using-predatory-contracts-to-win-social-equity-licenses/">An almost identical agreement</a>&nbsp;was used to recruit applicants by John Payne, who led the campaign to legalize marijuana in 2022. Payne’s listed as part of the momicrolicense.com team and is the designated contact for all seven licenses connected to Brodsky.&nbsp;

Payne has drawn scrutiny after The Independent revealed he asked at least one applicant to sign a 47-page contract that would give him and his partners 90.1% of profits and majority control of the business.

Despite only owning a fraction of the business, under state law the applicants would be seen as the owner and bear all of the regulatory scrutiny. If applicants ever want to walk away from the deal, they would be required to pay a nearly $1 million fee.

It’s unclear if the financial agreement in that contract is also in place for the licenses connected to Brodsky or his business partner, Scott Wootton. In an email to The Independent, they declined to comment on their roles in the seven licenses “due to confidentiality clauses in the agreements, which is standard practice in business contracts.”

However, they said Payne “has no involvement beyond being the designated contact to handle communications with the division” for all seven licenses.&nbsp;

Andrew Mullins, executive director of the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, said he’s seen contracts that look like Payne’s 47-page agreement. In some cases, he said if it weren’t for these types of agreements, the licensees wouldn’t have the resources on their own to make a business work.

“Were it not for some of those partners and the way that they’re doing that,” he said, “you basically would have people who have a license but no ability to do anything with it.”

If the 47-page contract was submitted to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/S3TheRealCostofDBEFraud.pdf" target="_blank">federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program</a>, it could be considered fraud, said attorney Rod Chapel, president of the Missouri NAACP.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“When I go and I get a loan to buy a house that I don’t have the cash to actually buy, the bank does not send over two tellers and a dog to live in the house with me – not how that works,” he said. “Ladies and gentlemen, that’s why this is a front.”

Brodsky helped establish the networking group Missouri Microbusiness Association, where he and Wootton serve as advisors. All of the association’s advisors are also advisory board members for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mocanntrade.org/team/advisory-board" target="_blank">MoCann</a>, which represents the cannabis industry overall.

On a September&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/dbC0TxDiSN8?si=b2oMaFMnzGsPHJA7&amp;t=2673" target="_blank">call</a>&nbsp;with microbusiness licensees, Brodsky said Missouri is the fourth state he’s operated a cannabis business in, along with California, Colorado and Illinois. He returned to Missouri in 2020 as a dispensary owner and operator, he said on the community call hosted by a licensee.

His association bio states that he sold his stake in Farmer’s Wife cannabis dispensaries in southwest Missouri in 2023, and “dove headfirst into the new Missouri microbusiness license opportunity.”

Similar to most of the microbusiness licenses and their investors, Brodsky and Wootton’s connection is buried in Missouri Secretary of State business filings and documents only available through public-records requests.&nbsp;

This spring, there were more than 80 dispensary applications entered into the lottery with the same St. Peters location address as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25417815-mo-microbusiness-llc" target="_blank">MO Microbusiness LLC</a>. Brodsky and Wootton are listed as organizers on the MO Microbusiness LLC business filings.

Two of those applications were successful in the lottery and licenses were issued under the name “<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25249908-mbd000032-nopr-10_10_24" target="_blank">Individual</a>.” Both are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25249902-mbd000040-nopr-10_10_24" target="_blank">facing revocation</a>.

The partners are also connected to 65 wholesale applications that all share the same Elsberry location address. They landed two of those licenses to cultivate up to 250 plants and sell to microbusiness dispensaries.&nbsp;

Both are filed under the name “<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25249886-mbw000065-nopr-10_10_24" target="_blank">Individual</a>” and are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25249887-mbw000063-nopr-101024" target="_blank">facing revocation</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

The first lottery for microbusiness licenses took place last year, and that same Elsberry address is on nearly 70 wholesale applications. They were all filed by LLCs organized by Cloverleaf Registered Agent, where Wootton is listed as president.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Two of these applicants landed licenses issued to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25230857-mbw000012-notice-of-investigation-072324" target="_blank">TEB Industries LLC</a>&nbsp;and<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25230856-mbw000009-notice-of-investigation-072324" target="_blank">&nbsp;JRS Industries LLC</a>. In July, state regulators sent Payne notices of investigation for both companies, and the investigation is still underway, according to the division.

A similar Elsberry address is also connected to 70 dispensary applications submitted to last year’s lottery. One license was issued to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25003021-green-zebra-llc" target="_blank">Green Zebra LLC</a>&nbsp;in October 2023. It’s been under&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25002786-mbd000007-notice-of-investigation-072324" target="_blank">investigation</a>&nbsp;by state regulators since July.

Brodsky mentions this license in his association bio.&nbsp;

“We were fortunate,” it states, “to win a dispensary license in Congressional District 3 with the first lottery round that we will be branding as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25231741-heirloom-dispensary" target="_blank">Heirloom Dispensary</a>&nbsp;along with several others throughout the state.”

The eligible applicant who won the license for Green Zebra signed a contract accepting a loan from Black Krim LLC, where Brodsky is the sole member, according to documents The Independent obtained through a public records request.&nbsp;

The contract established a three-member board that would vote on all company decisions. The lender and the “consultant” each get to select a member.&nbsp;

That left the qualified applicant with only one-third of the voting power.

“While you are correct that technically it only takes a 2/3 vote to make day-to-day decisions for the business,” Brodsky said in an email to The Independent, “in practice we have made all day-to-day business decisions unanimously, and we do not anticipate that changing in the future.”

He also said the majority of the three managers for Green Zebra “are and will continue to be” qualifying individuals for the microbusiness program.

The loan information for the Green Zebra contract is a closed record. However, the available operating agreement is almost identical to the one Payne used to recruit applicants this spring that legal experts called “<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/07/26/missouri-cannabis-leader-accused-of-using-predatory-contracts-to-win-social-equity-licenses/">predatory</a>.”

“To clarify, the rest of the Green Zebra LLC contracts, including the operating agreement, have been reviewed and approved by,” regulators, Brodsky stated.

Division of Cannabis Regulation Director Amy Moore told The Independent&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/29/cannabis-missouri-predatory-socia-equity/">last month</a>&nbsp;that the state is considering making changes to the application process to curb potentially predatory practices.&nbsp;

However, she said many of the possible changes would require a public hearing before a legislative committee for approval and would delay a third round of licenses.&nbsp;

Mullins told The Independent he believes the association would support these changes if they&nbsp;encourage participation.&nbsp;

“In some ways, I’m not sure it’s completely DCR’s obligation to be sort of in between a business owner and the business dealings that they’re doing,” Mullins said, “unless it’s something that’s in opposition to the law.”

However, he believes the association would be supportive of rules that curb practices that could be “hurtful” to microbusiness owners.

“We want to see the micro industry succeed in the same way that we want to see the rest of the industry succeed,” Mullins said, “and we’re supportive of all that. So if there’s an area where we can lend our voice and it helps ensure the success of those microbusiness owners’ journeys, then I don’t know why we would come out against it.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1692273868300.png" alt="&nbsp;(Rebecca Rivas/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;(Rebecca Rivas/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Of the 96 microbusiness licenses issued by the state through a lottery since the program’s inception last year, cannabis consultant David Brodsky is connected to seven. They are all under investigation or facing revocation</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rebecca-rivas/">REBECCA RIVAS</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>The Missouri Cannabis Trade Association describes David Brodsky as “instrumental in developing the Missouri microbusiness community” and a mentor to disadvantaged business owners.In his cannabis consulting work, Brodsky is part of a group that charges up to $4,000 to help eligible applicants enter the microbusiness lottery. It’s a&nbsp; program intended to help steer small-scale marijuana facility licenses to disabled veterans, those with lower incomes and people with non-violent marijuana offenses.That price doesn’t include the state’s $1,500 refundable submission fee.“We have also assisted clients who won licenses in lottery based application systems in Ohio and Connecticut and have never had an application that did not meet the criteria to go into the lottery,” Brodsky and his partners say on&nbsp;<a href="http://momicrolicense.com/" target="_blank">MOmicrolicense.com</a>.Yet in Missouri, microbusiness applications connected to Brodsky have repeatedly run into problems with state regulators.Of the 96 microbusiness licenses issued by the state through a lottery since the program’s inception last year, Brodsky is connected to seven. And all of them are under investigation or facing revocation because the state questions whether a qualified applicant will actually be running the business.In October, the Division of Cannabis Regulation sent letters of pending revocation to four of the seven licensees connected to Brodsky, stating that their agreements included “false or misleading information.”“The licensee entered into an agreement that transfers ownership and operational control to another entity,” the letters stated.&nbsp;Notices of investigation were issued involving the other three licenses back in July, stating regulators wanted to ensure the businesses continue “to be majority owned and operated by eligible individuals.”For&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/10/26/applicants-recruited-on-craigslist-competed-for-missouri-social-equity-cannabis-licenses/">more than a year</a>, The Independent has documented the pattern of well-connected groups and individuals flooding the microbusiness lottery by recruiting people to submit applications and then offering them contracts that limited their profit and control of the business.State&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/29/cannabis-missouri-predatory-socia-equity/">regulators have been sounding the alarm</a>&nbsp;about the scheme, warning of potentially predatory practices in the microbusiness application process.Financial agreements for the seven licenses connected to Brodsky are closed records. But The Independent was able to obtain a portion of one agreement connected to Brodsky through a public records request last year.&nbsp;The agreement only provides the qualified applicant with one-third of the voting power to make company decisions.<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/07/26/missouri-cannabis-leader-accused-of-using-predatory-contracts-to-win-social-equity-licenses/">An almost identical agreement</a>&nbsp;was used to recruit applicants by John Payne, who led the campaign to legalize marijuana in 2022. Payne’s listed as part of the momicrolicense.com team and is the designated contact for all seven licenses connected to Brodsky.&nbsp;Payne has drawn scrutiny after The Independent revealed he asked at least one applicant to sign a 47-page contract that would give him and his partners 90.1% of profits and majority control of the business.Despite only owning a fraction of the business, under state law the applicants would be seen as the owner and bear all of the regulatory scrutiny. If applicants ever want to walk away from the deal, they would be required to pay a nearly $1 million fee.It’s unclear if the financial agreement in that contract is also in place for the licenses connected to Brodsky or his business partner, Scott Wootton. In an email to The Independent, they declined to comment on their roles in the seven licenses “due to confidentiality clauses in the agreements, which is standard practice in business contracts.”However, they said Payne “has no involvement beyond being the designated contact to handle communications with the division” for all seven licenses.&nbsp;Andrew Mullins, executive director of the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, said he’s seen contracts that look like Payne’s 47-page agreement. In some cases, he said if it weren’t for these types of agreements, the licensees wouldn’t have the resources on their own to make a business work.“Were it not for some of those partners and the way that they’re doing that,” he said, “you basically would have people who have a license but no ability to do anything with it.”If the 47-page contract was submitted to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/S3TheRealCostofDBEFraud.pdf" target="_blank">federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program</a>, it could be considered fraud, said attorney Rod Chapel, president of the Missouri NAACP.&nbsp;&nbsp;“When I go and I get a loan to buy a house that I don’t have the cash to actually buy, the bank does not send over two tellers and a dog to live in the house with me – not how that works,” he said. “Ladies and gentlemen, that’s why this is a front.”<h2>Flooding the lottery</h2>Brodsky helped establish the networking group Missouri Microbusiness Association, where he and Wootton serve as advisors. All of the association’s advisors are also advisory board members for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mocanntrade.org/team/advisory-board" target="_blank">MoCann</a>, which represents the cannabis industry overall.On a September&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/dbC0TxDiSN8?si=b2oMaFMnzGsPHJA7&amp;t=2673" target="_blank">call</a>&nbsp;with microbusiness licensees, Brodsky said Missouri is the fourth state he’s operated a cannabis business in, along with California, Colorado and Illinois. He returned to Missouri in 2020 as a dispensary owner and operator, he said on the community call hosted by a licensee.His association bio states that he sold his stake in Farmer’s Wife cannabis dispensaries in southwest Missouri in 2023, and “dove headfirst into the new Missouri microbusiness license opportunity.”Similar to most of the microbusiness licenses and their investors, Brodsky and Wootton’s connection is buried in Missouri Secretary of State business filings and documents only available through public-records requests.&nbsp;This spring, there were more than 80 dispensary applications entered into the lottery with the same St. Peters location address as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25417815-mo-microbusiness-llc" target="_blank">MO Microbusiness LLC</a>. Brodsky and Wootton are listed as organizers on the MO Microbusiness LLC business filings.Two of those applications were successful in the lottery and licenses were issued under the name “<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25249908-mbd000032-nopr-10_10_24" target="_blank">Individual</a>.” Both are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25249902-mbd000040-nopr-10_10_24" target="_blank">facing revocation</a>.The partners are also connected to 65 wholesale applications that all share the same Elsberry location address. They landed two of those licenses to cultivate up to 250 plants and sell to microbusiness dispensaries.&nbsp;Both are filed under the name “<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25249886-mbw000065-nopr-10_10_24" target="_blank">Individual</a>” and are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25249887-mbw000063-nopr-101024" target="_blank">facing revocation</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The first lottery for microbusiness licenses took place last year, and that same Elsberry address is on nearly 70 wholesale applications. They were all filed by LLCs organized by Cloverleaf Registered Agent, where Wootton is listed as president.&nbsp;&nbsp;Two of these applicants landed licenses issued to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25230857-mbw000012-notice-of-investigation-072324" target="_blank">TEB Industries LLC</a>&nbsp;and<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25230856-mbw000009-notice-of-investigation-072324" target="_blank">&nbsp;JRS Industries LLC</a>. In July, state regulators sent Payne notices of investigation for both companies, and the investigation is still underway, according to the division.A similar Elsberry address is also connected to 70 dispensary applications submitted to last year’s lottery. One license was issued to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25003021-green-zebra-llc" target="_blank">Green Zebra LLC</a>&nbsp;in October 2023. It’s been under&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25002786-mbd000007-notice-of-investigation-072324" target="_blank">investigation</a>&nbsp;by state regulators since July.Brodsky mentions this license in his association bio.&nbsp;“We were fortunate,” it states, “to win a dispensary license in Congressional District 3 with the first lottery round that we will be branding as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25231741-heirloom-dispensary" target="_blank">Heirloom Dispensary</a>&nbsp;along with several others throughout the state.”The eligible applicant who won the license for Green Zebra signed a contract accepting a loan from Black Krim LLC, where Brodsky is the sole member, according to documents The Independent obtained through a public records request.&nbsp;The contract established a three-member board that would vote on all company decisions. The lender and the “consultant” each get to select a member.&nbsp;That left the qualified applicant with only one-third of the voting power.“While you are correct that technically it only takes a 2/3 vote to make day-to-day decisions for the business,” Brodsky said in an email to The Independent, “in practice we have made all day-to-day business decisions unanimously, and we do not anticipate that changing in the future.”He also said the majority of the three managers for Green Zebra “are and will continue to be” qualifying individuals for the microbusiness program.The loan information for the Green Zebra contract is a closed record. However, the available operating agreement is almost identical to the one Payne used to recruit applicants this spring that legal experts called “<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/07/26/missouri-cannabis-leader-accused-of-using-predatory-contracts-to-win-social-equity-licenses/">predatory</a>.”“To clarify, the rest of the Green Zebra LLC contracts, including the operating agreement, have been reviewed and approved by,” regulators, Brodsky stated.<h2>New rules</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1733230828925.png" alt="John Payne, managing partner at Amendment 2 Consultants, discusses legislation at an industry summit in downtown St. Louis on March 28 with Amy Moore (middle), director of the Division of Cannabis Regulation, and Mitch Meyers, partner at BeLeaf Medical (Rebecca Rivas/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>John Payne, managing partner at Amendment 2 Consultants, discusses legislation at an industry summit in downtown St. Louis on March 28 with Amy Moore (middle), director of the Division of Cannabis Regulation, and Mitch Meyers, partner at BeLeaf Medical (Rebecca Rivas/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure>Division of Cannabis Regulation Director Amy Moore told The Independent&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/29/cannabis-missouri-predatory-socia-equity/">last month</a>&nbsp;that the state is considering making changes to the application process to curb potentially predatory practices.&nbsp;However, she said many of the possible changes would require a public hearing before a legislative committee for approval and would delay a third round of licenses.&nbsp;Mullins told The Independent he believes the association would support these changes if they&nbsp;encourage participation.&nbsp;“In some ways, I’m not sure it’s completely DCR’s obligation to be sort of in between a business owner and the business dealings that they’re doing,” Mullins said, “unless it’s something that’s in opposition to the law.”However, he believes the association would be supportive of rules that curb practices that could be “hurtful” to microbusiness owners.“We want to see the micro industry succeed in the same way that we want to see the rest of the industry succeed,” Mullins said, “and we’re supportive of all that. So if there’s an area where we can lend our voice and it helps ensure the success of those microbusiness owners’ journeys, then I don’t know why we would come out against it.”

Missouri cannabis microbusiness ‘mentor’ connected to licenses under state investigation 

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/attorneys-debate-whether-former-history-director-was-denied-a-speedy-trial/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — Opposing attorneys delved deep into the legal weeds Tuesday in debating whether Trevor Jones, the former head of the state’s history agency, had been denied a speedy trial.

The defense attorney for Jones, the former head of History Nebraska, maintained that prosecutors had failed to request a trial date and that his right to a trial within six months, minus exclusions, ran out on Sept. 12.&nbsp;

Because of that, defense lawyer Mallory Hughes asked that the felony theft by deception charge against her 52-year-old client be dismissed.

But prosecutor Sandra Allen of the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office said that her office had failed to receive some notices about the case.&nbsp;

She said the state also still regarded Jones’ former defense attorney, John Ball, as his attorney of record because the court had not ruled on Ball’s formal request to withdraw as defense counsel in March.&nbsp;

Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong took the arguments under advisement after a 15-minute hearing. She gave the attorneys until the end of the year to submit written briefs on the speedy trial issue.

Trevor Jones&nbsp;faces up to 20 years in prison for felony theft by deception, a charge sparked by&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/08/15/former-head-of-history-nebraska-might-have-violated-state-law-state-auditors-probe-says/">a critical state audit</a>&nbsp;in 2022. The audit — first reported by the Nebraska Examiner — discovered that Jones had redirected about $270,000 provided by the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation into a private foundation Jones had set up to replace the State Historical Society Foundation. The funds had been sought to cover the agency’s financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

By state law, such funds should be deposited with the state treasurer.&nbsp;

Jones resigned the $164,800-a-year job just before the audit was released. He has pleaded not guilty, and through his defense attorneys, made more than one attempt to get the charge dropped.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Jones’ attorney, Hughes, told the judge that it would be “fundamentally unfair” to rule against her motion to dismiss the charges based on a lack of notice or ruling on the exit of the previous defense attorney.

Hughes said that the Attorney General’s Office has been communicating with her office, and that they had realized Ball was no longer handling Jones’ defense.

Allen, who recently took over the case for the AG’s Office, maintained that the speedy trial clock was suspended on March 12, when Ball asked to be dismissed as Jones’ attorney. Because of that, she argued, the felony charge should not be dismissed.

The speedy trial rule requires that a defendant stand trial within six months of being indicted, though time to deal with court motions and discovery of evidence is excluded. Hughes calculated there were 107 “excludable days” so, given that Jones was indicted on&nbsp;Nov. 28, 2023, she contends the deadline was Sept. 12.

Paul Hammel<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/attorneys-debate-whether-former-history-director-was-denied-a-speedy-trial/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — Opposing attorneys delved deep into the legal weeds Tuesday in debating whether Trevor Jones, the former head of the state’s history agency, had been denied a speedy trial.The defense attorney for Jones, the former head of History Nebraska, maintained that prosecutors had failed to request a trial date and that his right to a trial within six months, minus exclusions, ran out on Sept. 12.&nbsp;Because of that, defense lawyer Mallory Hughes asked that the felony theft by deception charge against her 52-year-old client be dismissed.But prosecutor Sandra Allen of the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office said that her office had failed to receive some notices about the case.&nbsp;She said the state also still regarded Jones’ former defense attorney, John Ball, as his attorney of record because the court had not ruled on Ball’s formal request to withdraw as defense counsel in March.&nbsp;Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong took the arguments under advisement after a 15-minute hearing. She gave the attorneys until the end of the year to submit written briefs on the speedy trial issue.Trevor Jones&nbsp;faces up to 20 years in prison for felony theft by deception, a charge sparked by&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/08/15/former-head-of-history-nebraska-might-have-violated-state-law-state-auditors-probe-says/">a critical state audit</a>&nbsp;in 2022. The audit — first reported by the Nebraska Examiner — discovered that Jones had redirected about $270,000 provided by the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation into a private foundation Jones had set up to replace the State Historical Society Foundation. The funds had been sought to cover the agency’s financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.By state law, such funds should be deposited with the state treasurer.&nbsp;Jones resigned the $164,800-a-year job just before the audit was released. He has pleaded not guilty, and through his defense attorneys, made more than one attempt to get the charge dropped.During Tuesday’s hearing, Jones’ attorney, Hughes, told the judge that it would be “fundamentally unfair” to rule against her motion to dismiss the charges based on a lack of notice or ruling on the exit of the previous defense attorney.Hughes said that the Attorney General’s Office has been communicating with her office, and that they had realized Ball was no longer handling Jones’ defense.Allen, who recently took over the case for the AG’s Office, maintained that the speedy trial clock was suspended on March 12, when Ball asked to be dismissed as Jones’ attorney. Because of that, she argued, the felony charge should not be dismissed.The speedy trial rule requires that a defendant stand trial within six months of being indicted, though time to deal with court motions and discovery of evidence is excluded. Hughes calculated there were 107 “excludable days” so, given that Jones was indicted on&nbsp;Nov. 28, 2023, she contends the deadline was Sept. 12.

Attorneys debate whether former history director was denied a speedy trial

(Radio Iowa) - A state-led effort to identify and close dozens of ag drainage wells in Iowa has been completed.

 The project began in 1987 with the passage of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act. State officials determined about 300 structures had been draining surface water into deep aquifers used for drinking water -- so fields could be planted with crops. 

It took 25 million dollars in state funds and another 12 million from private landowners and other sources to re-route water from ag drainage wells into tile lines -- or create wetlands in areas where there were no tile lines.

(Radio Iowa) - A state-led effort to identify and close dozens of ag drainage wells in Iowa has been completed. The project began in 1987 with the passage of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act. State officials determined about 300 structures had been draining surface water into deep aquifers used for drinking water -- so fields could be planted with crops. It took 25 million dollars in state funds and another 12 million from private landowners and other sources to re-route water from ag drainage wells into tile lines -- or create wetlands in areas where there were no tile lines.

37-year-long effort to close 300 Iowa ag drainage wells has ended

Following an unsuccessful capital campaign by the Shakespeare Chateau Guild to acquire the home, the historic bed and breakfast is hitting the market.  

After 13 years of owning the chateau, owner Isobel McGowan has announced she will put the historic St. Joseph home up for sale.  

McGown says while the ideal choice for the next owner was the Guild, the next best option is someone who wants to live in the house 

"Keep this as a luxury, upscale, personal residence, that could happen," McGowan tells a group gathered at the Chateau  

McGown says on the flip side of the coin, what she calls the worst case, is someone buying it who doesn't live in it or participate in the community 

"As something of a bobble or a trinket, some wealthy person maybe from another country who might be of the mind that they're not going to live here so why not take all of this beautiful interior design somewhere else," McGowan explains. 

Whether it will remain a bed and breakfast is still in question, but McGowan says if the next owner is as passionate about it as she is, she would be willing to help and pass along her knowledge of the home. 

"There's a lot of moving parts to running this as a bed and breakfast and insuring that the guests that come through my front door don't see any of the complexity, they only see the beauty, the elegance, the comfort, the welcome that they feel when they come through my front door, that they enjoy an evening of rest and relaxation, that they enjoy a fine breakfast in the morning," McGowan says. 

The original hope was that the Shakespeare Chateau Guild would purchase the home, as well as the house next door to preserve its history, and educate others on historic preservation.  

But after the unsuccessful capital campaign, that will not happen, though McGowan says the guild will still pursue the mission of historic preservation. 

"To bring the historic assets of St. Joseph to the forefront and help to promote them, and promote their preservation," McGowan says.  "There will be somewhat of a rethinking of how that mission will be achieved and that will yet to be seen going forward." 

McGowan is just the fifth owner of the historic St. Joseph home in its nearly 145-year history. 

The future is unknown when the house will go on the market.  McGown says she is currently working on a plan for putting the home for sale. 

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1706910875476.jpeg" alt="The Shakespeare Chateau/ File photo by Matt Pike" />
 <figcaption>The Shakespeare Chateau/ File photo by Matt Pike</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKE St. Joseph Post Following an unsuccessful capital campaign by the Shakespeare Chateau Guild to acquire the home, the historic bed and breakfast is hitting the market. After 13 years of owning the chateau, owner Isobel McGowan has announced she will put the historic St. Joseph home up for sale. McGown says while the ideal choice for the next owner was the Guild, the next best option is someone who wants to live in the house "Keep this as a luxury, upscale, personal residence, that could happen," McGowan tells a group gathered at the Chateau McGown says on the flip side of the coin, what she calls the worst case, is someone buying it who doesn't live in it or participate in the community "As something of a bobble or a trinket, some wealthy person maybe from another country who might be of the mind that they're not going to live here so why not take all of this beautiful interior design somewhere else," McGowan explains. Whether it will remain a bed and breakfast is still in question, but McGowan says if the next owner is as passionate about it as she is, she would be willing to help and pass along her knowledge of the home. "There's a lot of moving parts to running this as a bed and breakfast and insuring that the guests that come through my front door don't see any of the complexity, they only see the beauty, the elegance, the comfort, the welcome that they feel when they come through my front door, that they enjoy an evening of rest and relaxation, that they enjoy a fine breakfast in the morning," McGowan says. The original hope was that the Shakespeare Chateau Guild would purchase the home, as well as the house next door to preserve its history, and educate others on historic preservation. But after the unsuccessful capital campaign, that will not happen, though McGowan says the guild will still pursue the mission of historic preservation. "To bring the historic assets of St. Joseph to the forefront and help to promote them, and promote their preservation," McGowan says. "There will be somewhat of a rethinking of how that mission will be achieved and that will yet to be seen going forward." McGowan is just the fifth owner of the historic St. Joseph home in its nearly 145-year history. The future is unknown when the house will go on the market. McGown says she is currently working on a plan for putting the home for sale. You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Shakespeare Chateau will be put up for sale

A 35-year-old St. Joseph man has been charged with kidnapping
and robbery, accused of accosting a teenager who he blamed for a broken vehicle
window.

St. Joseph police say a 13-year-old boy said 35-year-old Glen
Barnett, Jr. punched and kicked him, took his phone, and pointed a gun at him.

A probable cause statement says the boy reported he was
walking in the 15-Hundred block of Savannah Avenue in the early morning hours
of October 6th when several people began chasing him, accusing him
of breaking the car window. The teen claims two began kicking him after he
fell, then dragged him into a house where they threatened to kill him.

The men released him. His mother reported the incident to
police.

Police say Barnett confessed to beating the boy and stealing
his cell phone.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732737215613.png" alt="Barnett photo Buchanan Co." />
 <figcaption>Barnett photo Buchanan Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostA 35-year-old St. Joseph man has been charged with kidnapping
and robbery, accused of accosting a teenager who he blamed for a broken vehicle
window.St. Joseph police say a 13-year-old boy said 35-year-old Glen
Barnett, Jr. punched and kicked him, took his phone, and pointed a gun at him.A probable cause statement says the boy reported he was
walking in the 15-Hundred block of Savannah Avenue in the early morning hours
of October 6th when several people began chasing him, accusing him
of breaking the car window. The teen claims two began kicking him after he
fell, then dragged him into a house where they threatened to kill him.The men released him. His mother reported the incident to
police.Police say Barnett confessed to beating the boy and stealing
his cell phone.Barnett is being held without bond.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

St. Joseph man accused of threatening, beating teen

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ashley-murray/">ASHLEY MURRAY</a>

WASHINGTON — With less than two months to go until his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump will sign an overdue agreement with the Biden White House meant to help smooth the transition between incoming and outgoing administrations.

Trump’s new Chief of Staff Susie Wiles issued a statement Tuesday saying now that Trump’s Cabinet choices are made, the president-elect “is entering the next phase of his administration’s transition by executing a Memorandum of Understanding with President Joe Biden’s White House.”

“This engagement allows our intended Cabinet nominees to begin critical preparations, including the deployment of landing teams to every department and agency, and complete the orderly transition of power,” Wiles said.

The negotiated agreement with the White House to establish a presidential candidate’s access to federal agencies as well as an ethics code was due by Oct. 1.

Additionally, an agreement with the U.S. General Services Administration to access government-provided transition funding, office space and other resources was due by Sept. 1.

The items are required under the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and its later amendments as recently as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/394/text" target="_blank">2019</a>. A condition of the agreements, and the funding they release, is that nominees must disclose all transition fundraising dollars, which are kept separate from campaign funds. The law caps individual contributions to transitions at $5,000.

Presidential transition funds are usually a combination of private funding and federally appropriated dollars. For example, in 2020 and 2021, Congress provided just under $20 million,&nbsp;<a href="https://presidentialtransition.org/reports-publications/presidential-transition-act-summary/" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to the Center for Presidential Transition.

Accompanying Wiles’ statement Tuesday were seven bullet points summarizing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25418408-2024-ethics-pledge-trump" target="_blank">the transition agreement</a>&nbsp;with the White House. According to the summary, Trump’s team will wholly privately fund its transition “to save taxpayers’ hard-earned money” and will later disclose the list of contributions.

Trump’s team also announced it will not use government buildings or technology available for transition operations and instead will be a “self-sufficient organization.”

The president-elect and his personnel have been conducting meetings and announcing Cabinet picks from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The team’s code of ethical conduct&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gsa.gov/governmentwide-initiatives/presidential-transition-2024/memoranda-reports-and-key-documents" target="_blank">published</a>&nbsp;Tuesday on the GSA website appears under the name “Trump Vance 2025 Transition, Inc.”

The president-elect’s Tuesday press release stated that the Trump-Vance transition’s ethics plan “will meet the requirements for personnel to seamlessly move into the Trump Administration.”

By law, the ethics plan must be publicly available and must disclose whether lobbyists or foreign agents are part of the transition team and identify any other conflicts of interests by those involved, as well as commitments to keep nonpublic government information confidential and not to use insider knowledge learned during the transition for personal gain.

The Trump-Vance team did not provide any additional portions of the agreement with the White House upon request from States Newsroom.

The transition team did not respond to a request for a timeline of when transition contributions will be made public.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1731516296418.png" alt="President-elect Trump and President Biden during their White House meeting Nov. 13-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>President-elect Trump and President Biden during their White House meeting Nov. 13-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ashley-murray/">ASHLEY MURRAY</a>WASHINGTON — With less than two months to go until his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump will sign an overdue agreement with the Biden White House meant to help smooth the transition between incoming and outgoing administrations.Trump’s new Chief of Staff Susie Wiles issued a statement Tuesday saying now that Trump’s Cabinet choices are made, the president-elect “is entering the next phase of his administration’s transition by executing a Memorandum of Understanding with President Joe Biden’s White House.”“This engagement allows our intended Cabinet nominees to begin critical preparations, including the deployment of landing teams to every department and agency, and complete the orderly transition of power,” Wiles said.<h2>Two agreements</h2>The negotiated agreement with the White House to establish a presidential candidate’s access to federal agencies as well as an ethics code was due by Oct. 1.Additionally, an agreement with the U.S. General Services Administration to access government-provided transition funding, office space and other resources was due by Sept. 1.The items are required under the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and its later amendments as recently as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/394/text" target="_blank">2019</a>. A condition of the agreements, and the funding they release, is that nominees must disclose all transition fundraising dollars, which are kept separate from campaign funds. The law caps individual contributions to transitions at $5,000.Presidential transition funds are usually a combination of private funding and federally appropriated dollars. For example, in 2020 and 2021, Congress provided just under $20 million,&nbsp;<a href="https://presidentialtransition.org/reports-publications/presidential-transition-act-summary/" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to the Center for Presidential Transition.Accompanying Wiles’ statement Tuesday were seven bullet points summarizing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25418408-2024-ethics-pledge-trump" target="_blank">the transition agreement</a>&nbsp;with the White House. According to the summary, Trump’s team will wholly privately fund its transition “to save taxpayers’ hard-earned money” and will later disclose the list of contributions.Trump’s team also announced it will not use government buildings or technology available for transition operations and instead will be a “self-sufficient organization.”<h2>Working from Florida</h2>The president-elect and his personnel have been conducting meetings and announcing Cabinet picks from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The team’s code of ethical conduct&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gsa.gov/governmentwide-initiatives/presidential-transition-2024/memoranda-reports-and-key-documents" target="_blank">published</a>&nbsp;Tuesday on the GSA website appears under the name “Trump Vance 2025 Transition, Inc.”The president-elect’s Tuesday press release stated that the Trump-Vance transition’s ethics plan “will meet the requirements for personnel to seamlessly move into the Trump Administration.”By law, the ethics plan must be publicly available and must disclose whether lobbyists or foreign agents are part of the transition team and identify any other conflicts of interests by those involved, as well as commitments to keep nonpublic government information confidential and not to use insider knowledge learned during the transition for personal gain.The Trump-Vance team did not provide any additional portions of the agreement with the White House upon request from States Newsroom.The transition team did not respond to a request for a timeline of when transition contributions will be made public.

Trump signs delayed presidential transition agreement with Biden White House

DAMASCUS—On Tuesday, U.S. forces conducted a strike against an Iranian-aligned militia weapons storage facility in Syria, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command. The strike was in response to an Iranian-aligned attack against U.S. forces in Syria on Monday.

Centom conducted the strike against the Iranian backed groups weapons facility to degrade their agility to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and Coalition forces.

A battle damage assessment is underway and as of late Tuesday did not assess there were any civilian casualties, according to the Central Command statement.&nbsp;&nbsp;

"As previously stated, we will not tolerate any attacks on our personnel and coalition partners. We are committed to taking all necessary actions to ensure their protection," said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732659978836.png" alt="File. photo U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles arrived in the&nbsp; arrive in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility earlier this month-&nbsp; image U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>File. photo U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles arrived in the&nbsp; arrive in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility earlier this month-&nbsp; image U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>DAMASCUS—On Tuesday, U.S. forces conducted a strike against an Iranian-aligned militia weapons storage facility in Syria, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command. The strike was in response to an Iranian-aligned attack against U.S. forces in Syria on Monday.Centom conducted the strike against the Iranian backed groups weapons facility to degrade their agility to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and Coalition forces.A battle damage assessment is underway and as of late Tuesday did not assess there were any civilian casualties, according to the Central Command statement.&nbsp;&nbsp;"As previously stated, we will not tolerate any attacks on our personnel and coalition partners. We are committed to taking all necessary actions to ensure their protection," said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander.

U.S. forces respond to attack on U.S. personnel in Syria

(Radio Iowa) - Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds pardoned two turkeys from a farm in Manson Tuesday named Caitlin and Clark after the Hawkeye great. 

The turkeys strolled quietly on the grass at the Terrace Hill Governor's mansion as the governor read the proclamation calling the birds symbols of Iowa's great turkey industry. The two birds came from Golden Prairie Turkeys for the second year in a row. 

Governor Reynolds says she bought a 23 pound turkey from the farm that she will cook for her family along with a ham and all the sides for Thanksgiving.

(Radio Iowa) - Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds pardoned two turkeys from a farm in Manson Tuesday named Caitlin and Clark after the Hawkeye great. The turkeys strolled quietly on the grass at the Terrace Hill Governor's mansion as the governor read the proclamation calling the birds symbols of Iowa's great turkey industry. The two birds came from Golden Prairie Turkeys for the second year in a row. Governor Reynolds says she bought a 23 pound turkey from the farm that she will cook for her family along with a ham and all the sides for Thanksgiving.

Iowa Turkeys Pardoned

(Radio Iowa) - U-S Senator Chuck Grassley says the tariffs President-elect Trump previously imposed on China pressured China to agree to buy U-S grain, but Grassley says the new tariffs Trump has threatened against Mexico, Canada and China could hurt American agriculture. 

Grassley says he's not bad mouthing Trump's call for tariffs, but he says tariffs are tricky because ag commodities are usually the first U-S agricultural exports are typically the first casualty of a trade war. Grassley suggests Trump's new tariff threats could be linked to a clause in the U-S-Mexico Trade Agreement Trump signed when he was president.

(Radio Iowa) - U-S Senator Chuck Grassley says the tariffs President-elect Trump previously imposed on China pressured China to agree to buy U-S grain, but Grassley says the new tariffs Trump has threatened against Mexico, Canada and China could hurt American agriculture. Grassley says he's not bad mouthing Trump's call for tariffs, but he says tariffs are tricky because ag commodities are usually the first U-S agricultural exports are typically the first casualty of a trade war. Grassley suggests Trump's new tariff threats could be linked to a clause in the U-S-Mexico Trade Agreement Trump signed when he was president.

Grassley says tariffs are 'tricky,' but may be a Trump negotiating tactic

The Noyes Home for Children is recognizing people in the St. Joseph community for their kindness 

Kindness St. Joseph is designed to recognize acts of kindness and people's work in the city.   

Executive Director Chelsea Howlett says students in kindergarten through 12th grade were invited to submit essays nominating people in the community 

"Obviously, kindergartners got to draw pictures and have someone help them write those sentiments about the kindest person they know," Howlett tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr.  "And just last week we actually read all the essays, they were due on November 8th, and I tell you what it was really heartwarming to see what our children see out in the world and those that are doing great things." 

The event is based off the Kindness Kansas Citian, presented by Synergy Services in Kansas City.  

Howlett says the people submitted run the gamut, and adds that as a mother herself, it was heartwarming to see many submissions from students nominating their moms. 

"And all the things that they do to make sure their lives are good, that they're nourished and cared for, and all the extra things that moms do, and dads do too, to ensure that they have what they want and what they need in life," Howlett explains.  "There were so many essays about moms but there were also great essays about grandparents, aunts, neighbors, teachers were very common." 

Howlett says winners of the event will be announced in January, with a celebration in March. 

And Howlett says they aren't just honoring people though, and currently people can nominate the Kindest School in the city.  

"So, anybody of any age can say you know what I feel that this school really exemplifies what it means to be kind and accepting, whether it be how the students engage with one another, the teachers, the administrative staff, just the culture of kindness in general," Howlett says. 

Individuals can also nominate anyone in St. Joseph as a Kindness Keeper. Forms are available on the <a href="https://noyeshome.org/">Noyes Homes website</a>.

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732649291317.jpeg" alt="File photo" />
 <figcaption>File photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKE St. Joseph Post The Noyes Home for Children is recognizing people in the St. Joseph community for their kindness Kindness St. Joseph is designed to recognize acts of kindness and people's work in the city. Executive Director Chelsea Howlett says students in kindergarten through 12th grade were invited to submit essays nominating people in the community "Obviously, kindergartners got to draw pictures and have someone help them write those sentiments about the kindest person they know," Howlett tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "And just last week we actually read all the essays, they were due on November 8th, and I tell you what it was really heartwarming to see what our children see out in the world and those that are doing great things." The event is based off the Kindness Kansas Citian, presented by Synergy Services in Kansas City. Howlett says the people submitted run the gamut, and adds that as a mother herself, it was heartwarming to see many submissions from students nominating their moms. "And all the things that they do to make sure their lives are good, that they're nourished and cared for, and all the extra things that moms do, and dads do too, to ensure that they have what they want and what they need in life," Howlett explains. "There were so many essays about moms but there were also great essays about grandparents, aunts, neighbors, teachers were very common." Howlett says winners of the event will be announced in January, with a celebration in March. And Howlett says they aren't just honoring people though, and currently people can nominate the Kindest School in the city. "So, anybody of any age can say you know what I feel that this school really exemplifies what it means to be kind and accepting, whether it be how the students engage with one another, the teachers, the administrative staff, just the culture of kindness in general," Howlett says. Individuals can also nominate anyone in St. Joseph as a Kindness Keeper. Forms are available on the <a href="https://noyeshome.org/">Noyes Homes website</a>. You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

Noyes Home for Children honoring kindness in the community

The National Corn Growers Association’s Economic Update reported on everything from trends to challenges, opportunities, and market conditions in U.S. agriculture. The rapid 2024 harvest gives farmers an edge on any fall field preparations and more time to finalize year-end financial plans, which is critical in the current high-cost and low-price environment. It also looked at the impact of a potential tariff war. 

The National Corn Growers Association’s Economic Update reported on everything from trends to challenges, opportunities, and market conditions in U.S. agriculture. The rapid 2024 harvest gives farmers an edge on any fall field preparations and more time to finalize year-end financial plans, which is critical in the current high-cost and low-price environment. It also looked at the impact of a potential tariff war.

Corn growers release quarterly economic update

President-elect Donald Trump chose Brooke Rollins as his nominee for the next Secretary of Agriculture. Rollins is a graduate of Texas A&amp;M University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture development. She grew up in the small agriculture-centered town of Glen Rose, Texas, while spending years in leadership involvement with FFA and 4-H. 

“Her commitment to support the American farmer, defense of American food self-sufficiency, and the restoration of agriculture-dependent small towns in America is second to none,” the President-elect said. “As the next Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke will spearhead the effort to protect American farmers, who are truly the backbone of our country.” Rollins was on Trump’s 2016 Economic Advisory Council and worked as the Director of the Domestic Public Policy Council. Rollins has also spent the past four years as the Founder and CEO of the American First Policy Institute and America First Works.

President-elect Donald Trump chose Brooke Rollins as his nominee for the next Secretary of Agriculture. Rollins is a graduate of Texas A&amp;M University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture development. She grew up in the small agriculture-centered town of Glen Rose, Texas, while spending years in leadership involvement with FFA and 4-H. “Her commitment to support the American farmer, defense of American food self-sufficiency, and the restoration of agriculture-dependent small towns in America is second to none,” the President-elect said. “As the next Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke will spearhead the effort to protect American farmers, who are truly the backbone of our country.” Rollins was on Trump’s 2016 Economic Advisory Council and worked as the Director of the Domestic Public Policy Council. Rollins has also spent the past four years as the Founder and CEO of the American First Policy Institute and America First Works.

Trump picks nominee for Secretary of Agriculture

(Radio Iowa) - The Dallas County Auditor has announced the results of a recount in a central Iowa legislative race and the winner is claiming victory, but the second-place finisher has not conceded. 

State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, a Democrat from West Des Moines, finished with a 29 vote lead over Republican Mark Hanson. Hanson is a member of the Dallas County Board of Supervisors. Hanson told The Des Moines Register the board will meet Tuesday to review the results of the recount. 

The recount in Iowa's first district congressional race has not been completed.

(Radio Iowa) - The Dallas County Auditor has announced the results of a recount in a central Iowa legislative race and the winner is claiming victory, but the second-place finisher has not conceded. State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, a Democrat from West Des Moines, finished with a 29 vote lead over Republican Mark Hanson. Hanson is a member of the Dallas County Board of Supervisors. Hanson told The Des Moines Register the board will meet Tuesday to review the results of the recount. The recount in Iowa's first district congressional race has not been completed.

Recount in central Iowa legislative race shows Democratic incumbent won

JOHNSON COUNTY —A teen accused in a shooting with a police officer's gun at the Oak Park Mall in Overland Park has entered a plea in the case.

Nery Alberto Gonzalez-Munoz, 18,&nbsp; pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and one count of misdemeanor theft.

Just before 4:30p.m. Nov 12, 2023, police responded to an armed disturbance at the Oak Park Mall in 11400 block of W.95th in Overland Park, according to Officer John Lacy.

  As Gonzalez-Munoz and a 17-year-old suspect were trying to exit the mall near the food court, three plain clothes detectives identified themselves and attempted to apprehend them.

 During the apprehension, one male suspect resisted arrest, a struggle occurred, and the suspect was able to obtain one of the detective’s issued firearm. 

 The suspect was able to pull the trigger, firing one shot. This suspect was apprehended.  The other suspect ran north of the mall and was immediately apprehended.  No one was injured in this incident.

&nbsp;Gonzalez-Munoz sentencing is set for February 10.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1700012719162.png" alt="Gonzalez-Munoz-photo Johnson Co." />
 <figcaption>Gonzalez-Munoz-photo Johnson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —A teen accused in a shooting with a police officer's gun at the Oak Park Mall in Overland Park has entered a plea in the case.Nery Alberto Gonzalez-Munoz, 18,&nbsp; pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and one count of misdemeanor theft.Just before 4:30p.m. Nov 12, 2023, police responded to an armed disturbance at the Oak Park Mall in 11400 block of W.95th in Overland Park, according to Officer John Lacy. As Gonzalez-Munoz and a 17-year-old suspect were trying to exit the mall near the food court, three plain clothes detectives identified themselves and attempted to apprehend them.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732394078923.png" alt="Police on the scene of the disturbance -photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the disturbance -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure> During the apprehension, one male suspect resisted arrest, a struggle occurred, and the suspect was able to obtain one of the detective’s issued firearm. The suspect was able to pull the trigger, firing one shot. This suspect was apprehended. The other suspect ran north of the mall and was immediately apprehended. No one was injured in this incident.&nbsp;Gonzalez-Munoz sentencing is set for February 10.&nbsp;

Kan. teen enters plea in fight with officers at shopping mall

Millions of travelers are expected on America's roadways this week in anticipation of Thanksgiving.

Sergeant Shane Hux, with Troop H in St. Joseph, has some simple tips to keep in mind for safe holiday travel, especially if weather becomes an issue. "First and foremost, its always important to plan your trip. This time of year in Missouri, you never know what the weather will hold. Always check the weather forecast along your route."

Hux adds other simple precautions drivers can take are to always obey traffic laws, buckle up, and put your phone down. "We hope that people comply with the state's new hands free law and avoid distractions."

Hux notes that over 100 people lose their lives every year in Missouri due to distracted driving. "Its important to remember there is a law in place that you cannot hold or support a cell phone or other wireless device while you are driving."&nbsp;

Hux recommends purchasing a phone holder for your dash, or having a passenger handle the phone for GPS.

The peak travel days this year for the Thanksgiving holiday are Wednesday, November 27th thru Sunday, December 1st. Hux says, "All available troopers throughout Missouri will be working during the holiday counting period, especially in Northwest Missouri."

AAA estimates 80,000,000 people will travel for Thanksgiving this year.

By RYAN SKAITHSt. Joseph PostMillions of travelers are expected on America's roadways this week in anticipation of Thanksgiving.Sergeant Shane Hux, with Troop H in St. Joseph, has some simple tips to keep in mind for safe holiday travel, especially if weather becomes an issue. "First and foremost, its always important to plan your trip. This time of year in Missouri, you never know what the weather will hold. Always check the weather forecast along your route."Hux adds other simple precautions drivers can take are to always obey traffic laws, buckle up, and put your phone down. "We hope that people comply with the state's new hands free law and avoid distractions."Hux notes that over 100 people lose their lives every year in Missouri due to distracted driving. "Its important to remember there is a law in place that you cannot hold or support a cell phone or other wireless device while you are driving."&nbsp;Hux recommends purchasing a phone holder for your dash, or having a passenger handle the phone for GPS.The peak travel days this year for the Thanksgiving holiday are Wednesday, November 27th thru Sunday, December 1st. Hux says, "All available troopers throughout Missouri will be working during the holiday counting period, especially in Northwest Missouri."AAA estimates 80,000,000 people will travel for Thanksgiving this year.

Highway Patrol reminds drivers to be safe during Thanksgiving travel

A 74-page ruling backs state’s argument defending law that has blocked transgender Missourians from accessing gender-affirming health care

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

Missouri’s restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone treatment for transgender minors are constitutional and may remain in place,&nbsp;Wright County Circuit Court Judge Craig Carter wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/JUDGMENT.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3366224" target="_blank">74-page ruling</a>&nbsp;Monday.

Soon after the ruling became public, the ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal promised to appeal.

The state’s restrictions on gender-affirming care, passed by state lawmakers in 2023, not only bar minors from beginning cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers and undergoing gender transition surgeries. It also blocks the state from paying for gender-affirming care for adults through Missouri Medicaid and care in state prisons.

Many&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/09/11/washington-university-the-second-missouri-provider-to-stop-transgender-care-for-minors/">providers in Missouri have ceased offering gender-affirming care</a>&nbsp;for minors, including patients that had begun prescriptions prior to the law’s effective date.

Plaintiffs in the case — which include gender-affirming health care providers, transgender minors and their families — had the burden to prove the statute “clearly and undoubtedly violates a constitutional provision,” the judge wrote. And because plaintiffs challenged the law in its entirety, they had to prove that there is “no set of circumstances under which the provisions would be valid.”

Carter determined the challenge did not clear the high bar on multiple arguments, but the overarching debate looked at medical consensus on gender-affirming care.

His ruling focuses on a U.S. Supreme Court precedent that allows lawmakers broad discretion in areas “fraught with medical and scientific uncertainty.” Carter concluded that there is “an almost total lack of consensus as to the medical ethics of adolescent gender dysphoria treatment,” granting the state legislature authority to ban the care.

“Regarding the ethics of adolescent gender-affirming treatment, it would seem that the medical profession stands in the middle of an ethical minefield, with scant evidence to lead it out.” he wrote.

During the nine-day trial, which took place at the end of September, experts on both sides opined on the availability of scientific research on gender-affirming care. Carter notes that plaintiffs agreed that standards of care were based on scientifically low-quality evidence. Expert witnesses for plaintiffs said during trial they still felt there was enough to justify the area of treatment.

The witnesses at trial&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/02/credibility-of-states-expert-witnesses-questioned-in-missouri-transgender-health-care-trial/">varied in credibility</a>, with some of the state’s experts discussing research that had been retracted. Solicitor General Joshua Divine, representing the state and defending the law, argued that the scientific community had only dismissed his experts’ findings because of “cancel culture.”

Carter’s judgment does not cite the state’s most controversial expert but does rely on the testimony of Jamie Reed, who was permitted as a fact witness instead of an expert on the topic. Reed was called to testify in order to establish facts on gender-affirming care in Missouri.

Reed, whose&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/09/missouri-agencies-launch-investigation-into-health-center-for-transgender-youth/">public affidavit in February 2023</a>&nbsp;inspired the passage of the restrictions, testified that Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital treated many patients with mental health problems without comprehensive psychological evaluations.

There was disagreement during the trial over whether treatment from a licensed therapist was enough to warrant gender-affirming medical care or if a psychologist or psychiatrist should be a requirement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727446832059.png" alt="Judge Craig Carter, a Wright County judge serving in Cole County for Missouri's gender-affirming care trial, listens to testimony. "There were so many binders of evidence that were piled so high on the bench&nbsp;that the court’s vision was at times obscured," he noted in his ruling Monday (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>Judge Craig Carter, a Wright County judge serving in Cole County for Missouri's gender-affirming care trial, listens to testimony. "There were so many binders of evidence that were piled so high on the bench&nbsp;that the court’s vision was at times obscured," he noted in his ruling Monday (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>A 74-page ruling backs state’s argument defending law that has blocked transgender Missourians from accessing gender-affirming health care</h2>BY:&nbsp;ANNELISE HANSHAW <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>Missouri’s restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone treatment for transgender minors are constitutional and may remain in place,&nbsp;Wright County Circuit Court Judge Craig Carter wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/JUDGMENT.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3366224" target="_blank">74-page ruling</a>&nbsp;Monday.Soon after the ruling became public, the ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal promised to appeal.The state’s restrictions on gender-affirming care, passed by state lawmakers in 2023, not only bar minors from beginning cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers and undergoing gender transition surgeries. It also blocks the state from paying for gender-affirming care for adults through Missouri Medicaid and care in state prisons.Many&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/09/11/washington-university-the-second-missouri-provider-to-stop-transgender-care-for-minors/">providers in Missouri have ceased offering gender-affirming care</a>&nbsp;for minors, including patients that had begun prescriptions prior to the law’s effective date.Plaintiffs in the case — which include gender-affirming health care providers, transgender minors and their families — had the burden to prove the statute “clearly and undoubtedly violates a constitutional provision,” the judge wrote. And because plaintiffs challenged the law in its entirety, they had to prove that there is “no set of circumstances under which the provisions would be valid.”Carter determined the challenge did not clear the high bar on multiple arguments, but the overarching debate looked at medical consensus on gender-affirming care.His ruling focuses on a U.S. Supreme Court precedent that allows lawmakers broad discretion in areas “fraught with medical and scientific uncertainty.” Carter concluded that there is “an almost total lack of consensus as to the medical ethics of adolescent gender dysphoria treatment,” granting the state legislature authority to ban the care.“Regarding the ethics of adolescent gender-affirming treatment, it would seem that the medical profession stands in the middle of an ethical minefield, with scant evidence to lead it out.” he wrote.During the nine-day trial, which took place at the end of September, experts on both sides opined on the availability of scientific research on gender-affirming care. Carter notes that plaintiffs agreed that standards of care were based on scientifically low-quality evidence. Expert witnesses for plaintiffs said during trial they still felt there was enough to justify the area of treatment.The witnesses at trial&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/02/credibility-of-states-expert-witnesses-questioned-in-missouri-transgender-health-care-trial/">varied in credibility</a>, with some of the state’s experts discussing research that had been retracted. Solicitor General Joshua Divine, representing the state and defending the law, argued that the scientific community had only dismissed his experts’ findings because of “cancel culture.”Carter’s judgment does not cite the state’s most controversial expert but does rely on the testimony of Jamie Reed, who was permitted as a fact witness instead of an expert on the topic. Reed was called to testify in order to establish facts on gender-affirming care in Missouri.Reed, whose&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/09/missouri-agencies-launch-investigation-into-health-center-for-transgender-youth/">public affidavit in February 2023</a>&nbsp;inspired the passage of the restrictions, testified that Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital treated many patients with mental health problems without comprehensive psychological evaluations.There was disagreement during the trial over whether treatment from a licensed therapist was enough to warrant gender-affirming medical care or if a psychologist or psychiatrist should be a requirement.Plaintiffs did not have a witness from the Transgender Center, apart from patient testimonies, so Carter concluded that Reed’s testimony was unrebutted.Importantly, he also found Reed credible.“Her testimony does not arise from any ideological or other bias,” Carter wrote. “In fact, she is married to a transgender individual.”Reed is the executive director of a small advocacy group called the LGBT Courage Coalition, which opposes gender-affirming care for minors. Her partner is stopping testosterone treatments and “detransitioning,” an article published the day before Reed’s testimony announced.In contrast to his views on the state’s witnesses, Carter wrote he “has concerns with deferring to the organizations relied on by plaintiffs, such as WPATH, which self-describes itself as an organization ‘committed to advocacy.’”&nbsp;WPATH, which stands for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, is a professional organization that sets standards for gender-affirming care. During the trial, the state questioned whether WPATH was stifling research with outcomes contrary to its worldview.Apart from these concerns, Carter said three witnesses were particularly compelling: Chloe Cole, a young woman who transitioned as a minor in California and since stopped treatment and has spoken publicly about her regrets, along with bioethicist Farr Curlin and plastic surgeon Patrick Lappert, both who emphasized potential side effects of gender-affirming care.Because the risks were high for gender-affirming care, the treatment couldn’t be compared to experimental treatments with few known side effects, Carter wrote, and allowing teenagers to opt into an experimental treatment is dubious.“If we don’t let a 16-year-old buy a six pack of beer and a pack of smokes, or let an adult buy those items for them, should we allow the same kid/parent team to decide to change a teenager’s sex forever?” Carter wrote in his ruling.The ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal said in an emailed statement that the judgment mirrored the state’s brief, and a transcript of the trial has yet to be completed.“The court’s findings signal a troubling acceptance of discrimination, ignore an extensive trial record and the voices of transgender Missourians and those who care for them, and deny transgender adolescents and Medicaid beneficiaries from their right to access to evidence-based, effective, and often life-saving medical care,” the legal organizations said in a joint statement.Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/AGAndrewBailey/status/1861114918457561543" target="_blank">in a social media post</a>&nbsp;that “the national mood on this issue has moved significantly since we launched our investigation.”“The state has a role to play,” he said, “to determine what systems need to be in place to protect kids and ensure that the adults and patients understand the lack of science and medicine behind certain recommended procedures.”

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