HOLT COUNTY —A severe thunderstorm swept through Holt County, leaving damage to structures in its wake, according to a social media report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

"Thankfully, no injuries have been reported."

The National Weather service issued a tornado watch for parts of Kansas and Missouri until 10p.m. Wednesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1730325945805.png" alt="Photos MSHP Troop H" />
 <figcaption>Photos MSHP Troop H</figcaption>
 </figure>HOLT COUNTY —A severe thunderstorm swept through Holt County, leaving damage to structures in its wake, according to a social media report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol."Thankfully, no injuries have been reported."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1730325835090.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The National Weather service issued a tornado watch for parts of Kansas and Missouri until 10p.m. Wednesday.

Storm damage reported in NW Missouri

(Radio Iowa) - Iowa's secretary of state and the American Civil Liberties Union have sent letters to county auditors, reminding them they are in the three month period when they cannot respond to challenges seeking removal of names from Iowa voter registration lists. 

Federal law says such challenges must be tabled within 90 days of an election. State election officials say a non-partisan vendor that monitors activity on voter registration lists reports Iowa county auditors have continued to process voter registration challenges. 

The A-C-L-U of Iowa has confirmed the registrations for thousands of voters in Johnson, Muscatine and Pottawattamie Counties have been challenged and some Iowans have had their voter registration improperly cancelled.

(Radio Iowa) - Iowa's secretary of state and the American Civil Liberties Union have sent letters to county auditors, reminding them they are in the three month period when they cannot respond to challenges seeking removal of names from Iowa voter registration lists. Federal law says such challenges must be tabled within 90 days of an election. State election officials say a non-partisan vendor that monitors activity on voter registration lists reports Iowa county auditors have continued to process voter registration challenges. The A-C-L-U of Iowa has confirmed the registrations for thousands of voters in Johnson, Muscatine and Pottawattamie Counties have been challenged and some Iowans have had their voter registration improperly cancelled.

ACLU says thousands' of Iowa voter registrations challenged

Ranked choice voting, a relatively new concept,
is on the ballot in Missouri next week.

Only, Amendment 7 – placed on the ballot by the
Missouri legislature – would prohibit ranked choice voting.

House Elections Committee chair, Rep. Peggy
McGaugh of Carrollton, says ranked choice voting only confuses voters.

“Here in Missouri, we are built on the best man
for the job and that might be a woman as well,” McGaugh tells host Barry Birr
on the KFEQ Hotline.

But Larry Bradley with Better Ballot KC claims
the ballot in use today is antiquated and ineffective.

“And it has flaws in it that you can’t fix,”
Bradley tells Birr during his appearance on the KFEQ Hotline. “You know, with
software they talk about patches, patches for software. There’s no patching
this ballot. The only way to fix it is to change to something else, namely
ranked choice voting.”

Under ranked choice voting, voters select their
preferred candidate and then can select two alternatives. If no candidate in an
election garners a majority, those votes for second and third place enter the
calculation. The vote total is recalibrated and recounted until a candidate
receives a majority of the votes.

Only Alaska and Maine have experimented with the
concept.

McGaugh points out Alaska has placed on the
ballot an issue to overturn ranked choice voting.

“They adopted ranked choice voting for some of
their elections, but, matter of fact, Alaska now has it on the ballot to reverse
that choice,” McGaugh says. “So, it didn’t work in another state so I don’t
think Missouri wants to be a test pilot state, either.”

Disagreeing is Bradley, who says ranked choice
voting gives voters more options.

“Our problem is not that we have political parties
in this country,” according to Bradley. “Our problem is that we have
insufficient competition within and between political parties, because of the
ballot we’re using that limits our choices.”

Amendment 7 also makes a subtle, yet to McGaugh
significant change to who is eligible to vote in Missouri by changing a word in
the state constitution, from all citizens of the United States can vote to only
citizens in the U.S. can vote.

“And the reason why that’s necessary is that some
state court can change that in their jurisdiction to that non-citizens can vote
in local elections; the political subdivisions like the schools and the cities,”
McGaugh asserts.

But it’s the banning of ranked choice voting that
bothers Bradley, who says a national poll indicates a majority of Americans
don’t like what the two political parties offer.

“Let me explain something to you, you will never,
ever have more competition and more choices so long as you use the ballot today,”
according to Bradley.

Amendment 7 is one of six issues Missouri voters
will decide next week.

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

By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostRanked choice voting, a relatively new concept,
is on the ballot in Missouri next week.Only, Amendment 7 – placed on the ballot by the
Missouri legislature – would prohibit ranked choice voting.House Elections Committee chair, Rep. Peggy
McGaugh of Carrollton, says ranked choice voting only confuses voters.“Here in Missouri, we are built on the best man
for the job and that might be a woman as well,” McGaugh tells host Barry Birr
on the KFEQ Hotline.But Larry Bradley with Better Ballot KC claims
the ballot in use today is antiquated and ineffective.“And it has flaws in it that you can’t fix,”
Bradley tells Birr during his appearance on the KFEQ Hotline. “You know, with
software they talk about patches, patches for software. There’s no patching
this ballot. The only way to fix it is to change to something else, namely
ranked choice voting.”Under ranked choice voting, voters select their
preferred candidate and then can select two alternatives. If no candidate in an
election garners a majority, those votes for second and third place enter the
calculation. The vote total is recalibrated and recounted until a candidate
receives a majority of the votes.Only Alaska and Maine have experimented with the
concept.McGaugh points out Alaska has placed on the
ballot an issue to overturn ranked choice voting.“They adopted ranked choice voting for some of
their elections, but, matter of fact, Alaska now has it on the ballot to reverse
that choice,” McGaugh says. “So, it didn’t work in another state so I don’t
think Missouri wants to be a test pilot state, either.”Disagreeing is Bradley, who says ranked choice
voting gives voters more options.“Our problem is not that we have political parties
in this country,” according to Bradley. “Our problem is that we have
insufficient competition within and between political parties, because of the
ballot we’re using that limits our choices.”Amendment 7 also makes a subtle, yet to McGaugh
significant change to who is eligible to vote in Missouri by changing a word in
the state constitution, from all citizens of the United States can vote to only
citizens in the U.S. can vote.“And the reason why that’s necessary is that some
state court can change that in their jurisdiction to that non-citizens can vote
in local elections; the political subdivisions like the schools and the cities,”
McGaugh asserts.But it’s the banning of ranked choice voting that
bothers Bradley, who says a national poll indicates a majority of Americans
don’t like what the two political parties offer.“Let me explain something to you, you will never,
ever have more competition and more choices so long as you use the ballot today,”
according to Bradley.Amendment 7 is one of six issues Missouri voters
will decide next week.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

Amendment 7 would ban ranked choice voting in Missouri

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — An adviser for Republican congressional candidate Derek Schmidt says the “fake newspaper” Democratic rival Nancy Boyda mailed to 160,000 households is “illegal” and “dishonest.”

Schmidt, a three-term Kansas attorney general and former state Senate majority leader, is challenging Boyda for the 2nd District seat that Boyda held from 2007 to 2009.

Boyda has repeatedly produced campaign materials this year without including the mandatory disclosure that they were paid for by her campaign. That includes two eight-page publications, which she labeled “The Kansas Voter Guide.” The latest arrived in mailboxes last week.

The publications provide Boyda-friendly mock news stories, a side-by-side comparison of the candidates on various issues, letters of endorsement for Boyda, and cartoons making fun of Schmidt.

In a statement for this story, Boyda says she mistakenly swapped a page that included the “paid for” designation with the printer at the last minute. She apologized to the voters of the 2nd District and thanked the Kansas Republican Party for calling attention to the situation in its weekly email newsletter.

“Believe me, the last thing we needed was negative press about what we believe is an excellent way to communicate directly with the voters,” Boyda said. “Again, I apologize we did not follow the letter of the law. It was never our intent.”

On Friday, the GOP newsletter complained that Boyda was “breaking federal campaign finance law” by not clearly labeling her publication as paid for by her campaign.

“Politicians who can’t adhere to even the most basic laws do not deserve your approval — or your vote,” the GOP newsletter said.

Kansas GOP chairman Mike Brown in September&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/09/20/kansas-gop-chairman-complains-about-democratic-congressional-candidates-lack-of-disclosures/">filed a complaint</a>&nbsp;with the Federal Election Commission alleging Boyda failed to include “paid for by” disclosures on billboards, videos, yard signs, campaign communications and her campaign website.

Eric Pahls, a Schmidt adviser, said Boyda was being “intentionally dishonest” by not disclosing her publication was “a paid hit piece.”

“Nancy Boyda’s fake newspaper is just the latest in her series of illegal and deceitful campaign activities that are currently under investigation,” Pahls said in a statement for this story. “She’s either incompetent or dishonest — Kansans will reject her either way.”

Boyda said she originally planned to produce three newspapers, but the printer informed the campaign that it only had the capacity to print two. She said the page that included the “paid for by” designation was “inadvertently left off” when she reworked the second and third mailers into a single publication.

She also noted that the return address on the mailing label reads “Boyda for Congress.”

“I want to be clear, that was our mistake, not the printer’s,” Boyda said. “This is an incredibly busy time for everyone and they were good partners to work with. It was our duty to get it right, not theirs.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727015582485.png" alt=" Democrat Nancy Boyda&nbsp; -photo by Grace Hills / Kansas Reflector" />
 <figcaption> Democrat Nancy Boyda&nbsp; -photo by Grace Hills / Kansas Reflector</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — An adviser for Republican congressional candidate Derek Schmidt says the “fake newspaper” Democratic rival Nancy Boyda mailed to 160,000 households is “illegal” and “dishonest.”Schmidt, a three-term Kansas attorney general and former state Senate majority leader, is challenging Boyda for the 2nd District seat that Boyda held from 2007 to 2009.Boyda has repeatedly produced campaign materials this year without including the mandatory disclosure that they were paid for by her campaign. That includes two eight-page publications, which she labeled “The Kansas Voter Guide.” The latest arrived in mailboxes last week.The publications provide Boyda-friendly mock news stories, a side-by-side comparison of the candidates on various issues, letters of endorsement for Boyda, and cartoons making fun of Schmidt.In a statement for this story, Boyda says she mistakenly swapped a page that included the “paid for” designation with the printer at the last minute. She apologized to the voters of the 2nd District and thanked the Kansas Republican Party for calling attention to the situation in its weekly email newsletter.“Believe me, the last thing we needed was negative press about what we believe is an excellent way to communicate directly with the voters,” Boyda said. “Again, I apologize we did not follow the letter of the law. It was never our intent.”On Friday, the GOP newsletter complained that Boyda was “breaking federal campaign finance law” by not clearly labeling her publication as paid for by her campaign.“Politicians who can’t adhere to even the most basic laws do not deserve your approval — or your vote,” the GOP newsletter said.Kansas GOP chairman Mike Brown in September&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/09/20/kansas-gop-chairman-complains-about-democratic-congressional-candidates-lack-of-disclosures/">filed a complaint</a>&nbsp;with the Federal Election Commission alleging Boyda failed to include “paid for by” disclosures on billboards, videos, yard signs, campaign communications and her campaign website.Eric Pahls, a Schmidt adviser, said Boyda was being “intentionally dishonest” by not disclosing her publication was “a paid hit piece.”“Nancy Boyda’s fake newspaper is just the latest in her series of illegal and deceitful campaign activities that are currently under investigation,” Pahls said in a statement for this story. “She’s either incompetent or dishonest — Kansans will reject her either way.”Boyda said she originally planned to produce three newspapers, but the printer informed the campaign that it only had the capacity to print two. She said the page that included the “paid for by” designation was “inadvertently left off” when she reworked the second and third mailers into a single publication.She also noted that the return address on the mailing label reads “Boyda for Congress.”“I want to be clear, that was our mistake, not the printer’s,” Boyda said. “This is an incredibly busy time for everyone and they were good partners to work with. It was our duty to get it right, not theirs.”

Kansas Republicans blast Democrat for mailing ‘voter guide’ without campaign disclosure

(Radio Iowa) - Iowans who are considering picking up some seasonal work during the final few months of the year should apply now, according to a University of Iowa business professor. 

Peggy Stover, who directs the U-I's Marketing Institute, says many retailers are looking to make immediate hires as we're less than a month from Thanksgiving. Stover says retailers are scrambling for consumers and additional staff. 

With Thanksgiving falling on November 28th, it will be a shorter holiday shopping season, which she predicts will translate to better deals for consumers as retails strive to move inventory. Stover predicts a robust holiday shopping season, with Black Friday just a month away.

(Radio Iowa) - Iowans who are considering picking up some seasonal work during the final few months of the year should apply now, according to a University of Iowa business professor. Peggy Stover, who directs the U-I's Marketing Institute, says many retailers are looking to make immediate hires as we're less than a month from Thanksgiving. Stover says retailers are scrambling for consumers and additional staff. With Thanksgiving falling on November 28th, it will be a shorter holiday shopping season, which she predicts will translate to better deals for consumers as retails strive to move inventory. Stover predicts a robust holiday shopping season, with Black Friday just a month away.

Employers are hiring Iowans now for holiday jobs, from retail to deliveries

The metal targets were only ‘10 paces, approximately 10 yards’ from where Kunce was shooting an AR-15 rifle, according to the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">JASON HANCOCK</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>

A law enforcement investigation of the circumstances surrounding&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/tv-reporter-injured-by-bullet-fragment-at-lucas-kunce-campaign-event/">a television reporter being hit by a bullet fragment&nbsp;</a>at a campaign photo op for Democrat Lucas Kunce earlier this month has determined there was “no malice, nor ill intent” by anyone involved.&nbsp;

The case was also reviewed by the local prosecutor, who decided no charges would be filed, according to the incident report filed by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office.

Kunce, a Marine veteran hoping to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, was holding an event at a shooting range near Kansas City with former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican. While shooting AR-15 rifles, a bullet fragment ricocheted off a metal target and struck KSHB-TV reporter Ryan Gamboa in the arm.&nbsp;

According to the incident report, after receiving first aid from Kunce, Gamboa sought treatment at a local hospital and was told he had a small piece of metal under his skin. Gamboa told the sheriff’s office he was advised by hospital staff to leave it there.

It’s unclear, according to the incident report, who fired the bullet that ultimately hit Gamboa. But Kinzinger told the sheriff’s office that after shooting “various weapons, from handguns to AR-15 rifles,” he stopped while Kunce “was shooting the last few rounds of the magazine.”

That’s when Kinzinger said he became aware that Gamboa was bleeding from his arm. Kinzinger believes it was “a fragment from a .233 round,” the incident report says.&nbsp;

The event carried on after first aid was administered to Gamboa, the report states, with participants continuing to shoot at the targets. After Kunce left he notified the sheriff’s office of the incident.&nbsp;

A spokesperson for Kunce’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.&nbsp;

As the race for Missouri’s U.S. Senate seat enters its final days, Hawley has hammered Kunce over the shooting range incident, mocking him on social media and&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/HawleyMO/status/1851307325459476719" target="_blank">releasing a television ad</a>&nbsp;saying he “can’t shoot straight” and calling him a “reckless liberal.”&nbsp;

Adding fuel to that criticism are complaints by gun experts who say the set up for the photo op was unsafe because&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article294439354.html#storylink=cpy" target="_blank">the metal targets were too close to safely fire AR-15 rifles</a>.&nbsp;The sheriff’s deputy who looked into the incident inspected the scene and determined the targets were only “10 paces, approximately 10 yards” from where Kunce and Kinzinger were shooting.

Hawley and Kunce are set to square off on Thursday in their&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/josh-hawley-lucas-kunce-agree-to-missouri-senate-debate-just-days-before-election/">only televised debate</a>, airing on Missouri Nexstar stations across the state.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729709021542.png" alt=" Lucas Kunce applies first aid to KSHB reporter Ryan Gamboa after a bullet fragment ricocheted off a target and struck him in the arm while former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger looks on (photo: Lucas Kunce for Missouri)." />
 <figcaption> Lucas Kunce applies first aid to KSHB reporter Ryan Gamboa after a bullet fragment ricocheted off a target and struck him in the arm while former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger looks on (photo: Lucas Kunce for Missouri).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The metal targets were only ‘10 paces, approximately 10 yards’ from where Kunce was shooting an AR-15 rifle, according to the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">JASON HANCOCK</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>A law enforcement investigation of the circumstances surrounding&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/tv-reporter-injured-by-bullet-fragment-at-lucas-kunce-campaign-event/">a television reporter being hit by a bullet fragment&nbsp;</a>at a campaign photo op for Democrat Lucas Kunce earlier this month has determined there was “no malice, nor ill intent” by anyone involved.&nbsp;The case was also reviewed by the local prosecutor, who decided no charges would be filed, according to the incident report filed by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office.Kunce, a Marine veteran hoping to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, was holding an event at a shooting range near Kansas City with former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican. While shooting AR-15 rifles, a bullet fragment ricocheted off a metal target and struck KSHB-TV reporter Ryan Gamboa in the arm.&nbsp;According to the incident report, after receiving first aid from Kunce, Gamboa sought treatment at a local hospital and was told he had a small piece of metal under his skin. Gamboa told the sheriff’s office he was advised by hospital staff to leave it there.It’s unclear, according to the incident report, who fired the bullet that ultimately hit Gamboa. But Kinzinger told the sheriff’s office that after shooting “various weapons, from handguns to AR-15 rifles,” he stopped while Kunce “was shooting the last few rounds of the magazine.”That’s when Kinzinger said he became aware that Gamboa was bleeding from his arm. Kinzinger believes it was “a fragment from a .233 round,” the incident report says.&nbsp;The event carried on after first aid was administered to Gamboa, the report states, with participants continuing to shoot at the targets. After Kunce left he notified the sheriff’s office of the incident.&nbsp;A spokesperson for Kunce’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.&nbsp;As the race for Missouri’s U.S. Senate seat enters its final days, Hawley has hammered Kunce over the shooting range incident, mocking him on social media and&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/HawleyMO/status/1851307325459476719" target="_blank">releasing a television ad</a>&nbsp;saying he “can’t shoot straight” and calling him a “reckless liberal.”&nbsp;Adding fuel to that criticism are complaints by gun experts who say the set up for the photo op was unsafe because&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article294439354.html#storylink=cpy" target="_blank">the metal targets were too close to safely fire AR-15 rifles</a>.&nbsp;The sheriff’s deputy who looked into the incident inspected the scene and determined the targets were only “10 paces, approximately 10 yards” from where Kunce and Kinzinger were shooting.Hawley and Kunce are set to square off on Thursday in their&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/josh-hawley-lucas-kunce-agree-to-missouri-senate-debate-just-days-before-election/">only televised debate</a>, airing on Missouri Nexstar stations across the state.

Sheriff concludes shooting-range injury of TV reporter at Lucas Kunce event was an accident

The 2022 law allowing two weeks of voting before Election Day is proving its popularity with turnouts approaching 20% of the total cast four years ago

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

Don’t call it early voting. It is “no excuse absentee” voting.

Whatever the name, it is clearly popular in Missouri. As of late-morning Tuesday, more than&nbsp;<a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/411f2d97802e4f8ca81069c48cd7c092/page/Absentee-Turnout/" target="_blank">100,000 St. Louis County voters</a>&nbsp;had cast ballots. That is nearly 20% of the total vote recorded in the county in the 2020 presidential race.

Across the Missouri River in St. Charles County, the story is the same.&nbsp;

St. Charles, second in total 2020 ballots only to St. Louis County among Missouri’s 116 voting jurisdictions, had more than 35,000 votes cast when the offices closed on Monday, Kurt Bahr, the county’s director of elections.

Bahr is operating&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sccmo.org/447/Absentee-Voting" target="_blank">two locations</a>&nbsp;for no-excuse absentee voting.&nbsp;

Missouri’s law allowing two weeks for no-excuse absentee voting&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/05/12/voter-id-bill-clears-missouri-legislature-despite-fierce-criticism-from-black-democrats/">passed in 2022</a>. It was included in a bill that also mandated the use of a government-issued identification for voting.

The two weeks of early voting was the price state Senate Democrats extracted for allowing the bill to come to a vote.

Some of the early votes in the St. Charles County tally are traditional absentee ballots, for people who will be out of town or physically unable to go to the polls Nov. 5, Bahr said. But the vast majority are people who are taking advantage of the new law to cast ballots when every election authority in the state is open for in-person voting.

“If I do another 5,000 today, which we’re likely to do, between my office and the satellite location, we’re gonna get over the number of voters who voted in the April election in its entirety,” Bahr said.

In Greene County, which had the fourth largest vote recorded in 2020, about 2,500 people cast a ballot each day last week, increasing to 3,000 on Monday, Clerk Shane Schoeller said.

“I anticipate by the end of the no excuse absentee voting period that we will be somewhere between 20 and 25% turnout,” Schoeller said.&nbsp;

And in Boone County, which ranked ninth in 2020 with 91,130 votes cast for president, the number who have already voted is nearing the total absentee vote of 14,000 from 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic led a large number of people to use a vote-by-mail option.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said 2,000 people voted Saturday at polling locations in a shopping mall and a centrally located park. This weekend, she will take the mobile polling stations to Ashland and Centralia, the two largest communities in the county outside Columbia.

“It has been increasing every day,” Lennon said.

And in smaller jurisdictions, the turnout is just as strong. Cape Girardeau County in southeast Missouri had 1,400 ballots cast in the first two days of no-excuse absentee voting, Clerk Kara Clark Summers said last week.

“There are lines of people voting,” she said on Thursday. “I was here until 7:30 last night.”

While St. Louis County is the only top-10 voting jurisdiction to post turnout numbers on its website, news outlets across the state are reporting&nbsp;<a href="https://fox4kc.com/politics/your-local-election-headquarters/long-wait-lines-continue-for-missouri-early-voting/" target="_blank">long lines</a>&nbsp;and many people waiting&nbsp;<a href="https://sgfcitizen.org/government/elections/absentee-voting-in-springfield-draws-huge-lines-wait-times/" target="_blank">45 minutes or an hour</a>&nbsp;to vote at many clerk’s offices.

But the delays don’t seem to deter anyone, Bahr said. There are parking issues at his central location and it can take up to a half hour or longer to find a parking spot. He runs a shuttle from a nearby church parking lot to ease traffic.

People are showing up in pairs and trios and generally are in a good mood, he said.

“Early voting tends to be a little bit more of a social event for voters,” Bahr said.

A traditional absentee ballot is cast because someone will be out of town or physically unable to go to the polls on Election Day. Liberal groups nationwide have pushed early voting as a way to boost participation, while it has generally been opposed by conservatives who argue it increases the chances for problems with the election.

The first election when the no-excuse early voting option was available in Missouri was November 2022.

This is the first presidential election using the new law and Lennon said she thinks part of the surge is word-of-mouth sharing from people who have already voted.

“It’s just people realizing that we have the option now,” she said. “But a lot of them, too, are just people worried that they’re not going to be able to make it to the polls on Election Day. They don’t want to have to worry about ‘what if an emergency happens’”

Kathy Ritter, a retired educator who voted Tuesday at the Boone County Government Center in Columbia, said she loved having the ability to just show up and vote at any time during the day.

“It’s a wonderful convenience for our community,” she said. “The line was long, but it went quickly.”

Missouri employers are&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=115.639&amp;bid=6261&amp;hl=" target="_blank">required by law</a>&nbsp;to give workers three hours leave to vote on Election Day, but only if the employee requests it in advance and does not have three hours when they are not working while the polls are open.

“Just having the flexibility of voting in the days before the one day, because that one day, especially for people who work, it can be difficult to squeeze in time to vote,” Ritter said.

The ties between early voting and the voter identification law aren’t just that they were included in the same bill. As their price for including it, Republicans demanded language that ended the no-excuse absentee voting if the identification provisions were thrown out by the courts.

Missouri Republicans have pushed what’s known as a photo-ID law through several times, and voters signed off on putting it in the state constitution in 2016, it has never withstood a legal challenge.&nbsp;

The new law is facing a court test and the ruling could come at any time. On Oct. 21, Circuit Judge Jon Beetem heard final arguments in a challenge filed in 2022 and took the case under advisement.

The lawsuit focuses on the burdens faced by three individuals obtaining state-issued identification. The problems include finding transportation to a state license office, misspellings on important documents or lack of those documents entirely due to age.

To qualify as acceptable for voting, the identification must be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sos.mo.gov/voterid" target="_blank">Missouri- or federally issued</a>&nbsp;with a photo, date of birth and an expiration date. Identification that has expired since the most recent general election is also acceptable.

A voter who does not have one of those forms of identification can cast a provisional ballot. For that ballot to be counted, the voter must return to the polling place and show an acceptable ID or hope that the signature on the ballot is considered a valid match with their signature on file.

Prior to the law taking effect in 2022, a voter could also use an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/05/ashcroft-estimates-voters-without-id/20705163007/" target="_blank">out-of-state driver’s license</a>&nbsp;or identification card, a student identification, a voter registration card issued by the local election authority, or a recent bank statement or utility bill mailed to them at their registered address.

If Beetem rules against the law, there will be demands that it be re-enacted without any caveats, said Bahr, a former state representative.

“There’d be an outcry because most voters, Republican, Democrat, general voters, like this accessibility to their ballot box and like the convenience of not having to worry about a single day,” Bahr said.

Schoeller, who also served in the legislature, said he, too, thinks there would be people pressuring for the law to be re-enacted if the courts strike down the identification law.

“I’ve always been a proponent of it, especially after becoming an election authority when you realize that when you concentrate all your problems on the day of the election, that creates a lot of challenges for voters,” he said.

The popularity of early voting does not appear to be partisan. St. Louis County voted 61% for Joe Biden in 2020 and St. Charles County voted 58% for Trump. Boone County&nbsp;

Election authorities like it as much, if not more, than voters, Bahr said.

“​​One, we like people voting. We like to help people,” Bahr said. “And two, if everything is in one day, you know, there’s always that fear of ‘what happens if something goes bad.’ But if we can handle issues early, then we can take care of it over a span of time.”

There will not be any delays in delivering election results to the public because of the extra early votes, both Bahr and Lennon said.

It generally takes her office about an hour after polls close to release absentee results and that won’t change, Lennon said.

The surge of early votes could point to a large increase in overall turnout, but election authorities are not forecasting much change from four years ago.

There are very high profile ballot measures this year for abortion rights and sports wagering, but the only statewide candidate race where large sums have been spent on advertising is the U.S. Senate contest.&nbsp;&nbsp;

About 70% of Missouri’s registered voters cast ballots in the 2020 election and that is the estimate Secretary of State Jay Ashcrorft is making for this year, spokesman JoDonn Chaney said.

That’s Lennon’s estimate for Boone County as well. The early voting period changes when people vote but she doesn’t expect it to lead to a big increase in participation.

“I’m sticking with 70,” she said. “It was 70% in 2020, so I feel pretty confident.”

Bahr said he anticipates 75% turnout in St. Charles County, about the same as 2020.

For Ritter, voting in Boone County, the urge to vote right away was overwhelming.

“I was so excited to vote and so motivated to vote that I couldn’t wait until Nov. 5 to do it,” she said.

She wants civility in politics, she said, and that’s what she voted for.

“I’m looking for some sanity in politics, and I just felt like my little voice could be heard,” Ritter said. “And if it could be heard, I’m going to put it out there today.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1730288467947.png" alt="Boone County residents line up Tuesday for no-excuse absentee voting. Shortly before 10 a.m., there were 50 people in line at the Boone County Government Center in Columbia (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>Boone County residents line up Tuesday for no-excuse absentee voting. Shortly before 10 a.m., there were 50 people in line at the Boone County Government Center in Columbia (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The 2022 law allowing two weeks of voting before Election Day is proving its popularity with turnouts approaching 20% of the total cast four years ago</h2>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>Don’t call it early voting. It is “no excuse absentee” voting.Whatever the name, it is clearly popular in Missouri. As of late-morning Tuesday, more than&nbsp;<a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/411f2d97802e4f8ca81069c48cd7c092/page/Absentee-Turnout/" target="_blank">100,000 St. Louis County voters</a>&nbsp;had cast ballots. That is nearly 20% of the total vote recorded in the county in the 2020 presidential race.Across the Missouri River in St. Charles County, the story is the same.&nbsp;St. Charles, second in total 2020 ballots only to St. Louis County among Missouri’s 116 voting jurisdictions, had more than 35,000 votes cast when the offices closed on Monday, Kurt Bahr, the county’s director of elections.Bahr is operating&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sccmo.org/447/Absentee-Voting" target="_blank">two locations</a>&nbsp;for no-excuse absentee voting.&nbsp;Missouri’s law allowing two weeks for no-excuse absentee voting&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/05/12/voter-id-bill-clears-missouri-legislature-despite-fierce-criticism-from-black-democrats/">passed in 2022</a>. It was included in a bill that also mandated the use of a government-issued identification for voting.The two weeks of early voting was the price state Senate Democrats extracted for allowing the bill to come to a vote.Some of the early votes in the St. Charles County tally are traditional absentee ballots, for people who will be out of town or physically unable to go to the polls Nov. 5, Bahr said. But the vast majority are people who are taking advantage of the new law to cast ballots when every election authority in the state is open for in-person voting.“If I do another 5,000 today, which we’re likely to do, between my office and the satellite location, we’re gonna get over the number of voters who voted in the April election in its entirety,” Bahr said.In Greene County, which had the fourth largest vote recorded in 2020, about 2,500 people cast a ballot each day last week, increasing to 3,000 on Monday, Clerk Shane Schoeller said.“I anticipate by the end of the no excuse absentee voting period that we will be somewhere between 20 and 25% turnout,” Schoeller said.&nbsp;And in Boone County, which ranked ninth in 2020 with 91,130 votes cast for president, the number who have already voted is nearing the total absentee vote of 14,000 from 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic led a large number of people to use a vote-by-mail option.Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said 2,000 people voted Saturday at polling locations in a shopping mall and a centrally located park. This weekend, she will take the mobile polling stations to Ashland and Centralia, the two largest communities in the county outside Columbia.“It has been increasing every day,” Lennon said.And in smaller jurisdictions, the turnout is just as strong. Cape Girardeau County in southeast Missouri had 1,400 ballots cast in the first two days of no-excuse absentee voting, Clerk Kara Clark Summers said last week.“There are lines of people voting,” she said on Thursday. “I was here until 7:30 last night.”While St. Louis County is the only top-10 voting jurisdiction to post turnout numbers on its website, news outlets across the state are reporting&nbsp;<a href="https://fox4kc.com/politics/your-local-election-headquarters/long-wait-lines-continue-for-missouri-early-voting/" target="_blank">long lines</a>&nbsp;and many people waiting&nbsp;<a href="https://sgfcitizen.org/government/elections/absentee-voting-in-springfield-draws-huge-lines-wait-times/" target="_blank">45 minutes or an hour</a>&nbsp;to vote at many clerk’s offices.But the delays don’t seem to deter anyone, Bahr said. There are parking issues at his central location and it can take up to a half hour or longer to find a parking spot. He runs a shuttle from a nearby church parking lot to ease traffic.People are showing up in pairs and trios and generally are in a good mood, he said.“Early voting tends to be a little bit more of a social event for voters,” Bahr said.A traditional absentee ballot is cast because someone will be out of town or physically unable to go to the polls on Election Day. Liberal groups nationwide have pushed early voting as a way to boost participation, while it has generally been opposed by conservatives who argue it increases the chances for problems with the election.The first election when the no-excuse early voting option was available in Missouri was November 2022.This is the first presidential election using the new law and Lennon said she thinks part of the surge is word-of-mouth sharing from people who have already voted.“It’s just people realizing that we have the option now,” she said. “But a lot of them, too, are just people worried that they’re not going to be able to make it to the polls on Election Day. They don’t want to have to worry about ‘what if an emergency happens’”Kathy Ritter, a retired educator who voted Tuesday at the Boone County Government Center in Columbia, said she loved having the ability to just show up and vote at any time during the day.“It’s a wonderful convenience for our community,” she said. “The line was long, but it went quickly.”Missouri employers are&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=115.639&amp;bid=6261&amp;hl=" target="_blank">required by law</a>&nbsp;to give workers three hours leave to vote on Election Day, but only if the employee requests it in advance and does not have three hours when they are not working while the polls are open.“Just having the flexibility of voting in the days before the one day, because that one day, especially for people who work, it can be difficult to squeeze in time to vote,” Ritter said.<h2>Voter ID link</h2>The ties between early voting and the voter identification law aren’t just that they were included in the same bill. As their price for including it, Republicans demanded language that ended the no-excuse absentee voting if the identification provisions were thrown out by the courts.Missouri Republicans have pushed what’s known as a photo-ID law through several times, and voters signed off on putting it in the state constitution in 2016, it has never withstood a legal challenge.&nbsp;The new law is facing a court test and the ruling could come at any time. On Oct. 21, Circuit Judge Jon Beetem heard final arguments in a challenge filed in 2022 and took the case under advisement.The lawsuit focuses on the burdens faced by three individuals obtaining state-issued identification. The problems include finding transportation to a state license office, misspellings on important documents or lack of those documents entirely due to age.To qualify as acceptable for voting, the identification must be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sos.mo.gov/voterid" target="_blank">Missouri- or federally issued</a>&nbsp;with a photo, date of birth and an expiration date. Identification that has expired since the most recent general election is also acceptable.A voter who does not have one of those forms of identification can cast a provisional ballot. For that ballot to be counted, the voter must return to the polling place and show an acceptable ID or hope that the signature on the ballot is considered a valid match with their signature on file.Prior to the law taking effect in 2022, a voter could also use an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/05/ashcroft-estimates-voters-without-id/20705163007/" target="_blank">out-of-state driver’s license</a>&nbsp;or identification card, a student identification, a voter registration card issued by the local election authority, or a recent bank statement or utility bill mailed to them at their registered address.If Beetem rules against the law, there will be demands that it be re-enacted without any caveats, said Bahr, a former state representative.“There’d be an outcry because most voters, Republican, Democrat, general voters, like this accessibility to their ballot box and like the convenience of not having to worry about a single day,” Bahr said.Schoeller, who also served in the legislature, said he, too, thinks there would be people pressuring for the law to be re-enacted if the courts strike down the identification law.“I’ve always been a proponent of it, especially after becoming an election authority when you realize that when you concentrate all your problems on the day of the election, that creates a lot of challenges for voters,” he said.The popularity of early voting does not appear to be partisan. St. Louis County voted 61% for Joe Biden in 2020 and St. Charles County voted 58% for Trump. Boone County&nbsp;Election authorities like it as much, if not more, than voters, Bahr said.“​​One, we like people voting. We like to help people,” Bahr said. “And two, if everything is in one day, you know, there’s always that fear of ‘what happens if something goes bad.’ But if we can handle issues early, then we can take care of it over a span of time.”<h2>Election Day impact</h2>There will not be any delays in delivering election results to the public because of the extra early votes, both Bahr and Lennon said.It generally takes her office about an hour after polls close to release absentee results and that won’t change, Lennon said.The surge of early votes could point to a large increase in overall turnout, but election authorities are not forecasting much change from four years ago.There are very high profile ballot measures this year for abortion rights and sports wagering, but the only statewide candidate race where large sums have been spent on advertising is the U.S. Senate contest.&nbsp;&nbsp;About 70% of Missouri’s registered voters cast ballots in the 2020 election and that is the estimate Secretary of State Jay Ashcrorft is making for this year, spokesman JoDonn Chaney said.That’s Lennon’s estimate for Boone County as well. The early voting period changes when people vote but she doesn’t expect it to lead to a big increase in participation.“I’m sticking with 70,” she said. “It was 70% in 2020, so I feel pretty confident.”Bahr said he anticipates 75% turnout in St. Charles County, about the same as 2020.For Ritter, voting in Boone County, the urge to vote right away was overwhelming.“I was so excited to vote and so motivated to vote that I couldn’t wait until Nov. 5 to do it,” she said.She wants civility in politics, she said, and that’s what she voted for.“I’m looking for some sanity in politics, and I just felt like my little voice could be heard,” Ritter said. “And if it could be heard, I’m going to put it out there today.”

‘Increasing every day’: Voters line up across Missouri for chance to cast ballot early

Proponents of Amendment 3 have spent over $10 million on TV ads, more than 20 times what the opposition has invested

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

An effort to legalize abortion in Missouri has raised nearly 10 times more than the political action committees seeking to stop it.&nbsp;

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the campaign behind&nbsp;<a href="https://moconstitutionalfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Missourians-for-Constitutional-Freedom-Amendment.pdf" target="_blank">Amendment 3</a>, which would legalize abortion up until the point of fetal viability, has raised more than $30.9 million since launching its campaign in 2023, according to fundraising reports filed Monday with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

That includes roughly $9 million since Oct. 1, most of which came from out-of-state groups that&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/09/13/missouri-abortion-rights-campaign-doubles-fundraising-fairness-project/">aren’t required to disclose their donors.&nbsp;</a>

A half dozen PACs urging Missourians to vote against Amendment 3 collectively raised around $3.2 million.

This follows a trend seen in other states where abortion has been on the ballot: efforts to legalize or protect the procedure often outspend efforts to defeat it, including in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/ohios-2023-abortion-fight-cost-campaigns-70-million/" target="_blank">Ohio</a>, where a similar measure&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/07/us/elections/results-ohio-issue-1-abortion-rights.html" target="_blank">won with more than 56% of the vote.&nbsp;</a>

But Missouri is a particularly stark example of abortion-rights groups vastly outspending opposition.&nbsp;

One reason may be that less money is coming from the Catholic Church than in previous campaigns. A recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5144660#:~:text=An%20NPR%20and%20Religion%20News,%2D%20zero%2C%20Arizona%20%2D%20zero." target="_blank">analysis by NPR and Religion News Service</a>&nbsp;found U.S. bishops have donated significantly less this year to fight abortion measures than in 2022 and 2023.&nbsp;

While Catholic churches in Kansas spent nearly $4 million to fight an abortion referendum in Kansas in 2022, the Missouri dioceses have only invested about $30,000 in Missouri’s fight, the news outlets found.

In an effort to bridge this gap, some congregants are going door-to-door in opposition of the amendment.

“We pray for your assistance in this fight against Amendment 3,” Eric Holder, a&nbsp;volunteer with the local Knights of Columbus, prayed aloud in early October before canvassing in Independence.&nbsp;“We are like David facing Goliath. We pray that you be with us.”&nbsp;

He bowed his head alongside half a dozen other knights outside St. Mary’s Catholic Church before heading out to hang “vote no” fliers on about 1,000 doors.

Holder said he became passionate about ending abortion after he converted to Catholicism about 30 years ago and joined in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. He was motivated in part by a relative with an unplanned pregnancy who contemplated abortion before walking into a pregnancy resource center in Kansas City where she was encouraged to keep her baby.&nbsp;

“Missouri could suddenly become one of the worst states in the union in terms of abortion,” Holder said, fearing “the degradation of the family” and a shift to a “pro-death” culture.&nbsp;

In the interview, Holder lamented the dearth of TV ads aired from a “vote no” perspective. Fighting the amendment, he said, felt like “throwing a pebble into a raging ocean.”

But that changed in the coming weeks, as the first ads went up on TV and radio opposing the amendment.&nbsp;

A virtual rally held last week brought out several big names against the amendment, many of whom urged viewers to donate to support the purchase of TV ads.&nbsp;

Hosts of the rally, which included guest appearances by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly, appealed to viewers to donate to fund for ads to run in the 11 days before the election.&nbsp;

“We need to invest in this fight to get the messages in front of people,” said David Bereit, Founder of 40 Days for Life.&nbsp;

A number of people heeded Bereit’s advice.

As of Monday, groups opposing Amendment 3 have spent about $545,000 on radio and TV ads.&nbsp;

Nearly $442,000 of that total was purchased since Thursday, the day of the rally.&nbsp;

More than half of that spending was in TV ads purchased by the Vitae Foundation, an anti-abortion research organization based in Missouri. The group’s president was among those who spoke at Thursday’s rally, asking for contributions for TV ads. The Vitae Foundation is not registered as Missouri PAC, and therefore hasn’t reported donors or spending as is required of PACS.&nbsp;

The foundation’s ads do not specifically name Amendment 3, but rather focus on abortion broadly, encouraging viewers to “think about it.”

But spending on anti-abortion ads remains miles behind spending on digital and TV ads encouraging Missourians to “vote yes.”

As of Monday, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom spent nearly $10.4 million on TV ads, and about $22,000 on radio ads, more than twenty times what the opposition has invested.

The campaign has seen widespread support since its inception. More than&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/05/03/missourians-signatures-abortion-amendment-viability/">380,000 Missourians signed an initiative petition</a>&nbsp;to put the amendment on the ballot, and most Democratic nominees have campaigned on their support for Amendment 3.&nbsp;<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fG46LwM4JRGAf-ZJSMEqKnJY_7kBABGI/view" target="_blank">More than 500 physicians and more than 300 other medical professionals</a>&nbsp;also signed a letter in support of&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/09/13/missouri-abortion-rights-campaign-doubles-fundraising-fairness-project/">Amendment 3.</a>&nbsp;

No excuse absentee voting in Missouri began Oct. 22. Election officials in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/election/article294677984.html" target="_blank">Kansas City&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.firstalert4.com/2024/10/25/early-voting-turnout-missouri-running-high/" target="_blank">St. Louis</a>&nbsp;are already reporting significant early voter turnouts ahead of the Nov. 5 General Election.&nbsp;

<a href="https://emersoncollegepolling.com/september-2024-missouri-poll-republican-candidates-lead-in-president-governor-senate-races/" target="_blank">A recent Emerson College poll</a>&nbsp;found 58% of those surveyed support Amendment 3, with 30% opposed. The most recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.slu.edu/research/research-institute/big-ideas/slu-poll/index.php" target="_blank">SLU/YouGov Poll</a>&nbsp;found that 52% supported the amendment and 34% opposed.

The Independent’s Rudi Keller contributed reporting.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712225243467.png" alt=" Volunteers with Missourians for Constitutional Freedom collect signatures in support of putting forward a ballot measure that would legalize abortion up to the point of fetal viability in Missouri. More than 500 people signed up for a campaign event on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in Kansas City (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption> Volunteers with Missourians for Constitutional Freedom collect signatures in support of putting forward a ballot measure that would legalize abortion up to the point of fetal viability in Missouri. More than 500 people signed up for a campaign event on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in Kansas City (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Proponents of Amendment 3 have spent over $10 million on TV ads, more than 20 times what the opposition has invested</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/annaspoerre/">ANNA SPOERRE</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>An effort to legalize abortion in Missouri has raised nearly 10 times more than the political action committees seeking to stop it.&nbsp;Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the campaign behind&nbsp;<a href="https://moconstitutionalfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Missourians-for-Constitutional-Freedom-Amendment.pdf" target="_blank">Amendment 3</a>, which would legalize abortion up until the point of fetal viability, has raised more than $30.9 million since launching its campaign in 2023, according to fundraising reports filed Monday with the Missouri Ethics Commission.That includes roughly $9 million since Oct. 1, most of which came from out-of-state groups that&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/09/13/missouri-abortion-rights-campaign-doubles-fundraising-fairness-project/">aren’t required to disclose their donors.&nbsp;</a>A half dozen PACs urging Missourians to vote against Amendment 3 collectively raised around $3.2 million.This follows a trend seen in other states where abortion has been on the ballot: efforts to legalize or protect the procedure often outspend efforts to defeat it, including in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/ohios-2023-abortion-fight-cost-campaigns-70-million/" target="_blank">Ohio</a>, where a similar measure&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/07/us/elections/results-ohio-issue-1-abortion-rights.html" target="_blank">won with more than 56% of the vote.&nbsp;</a>But Missouri is a particularly stark example of abortion-rights groups vastly outspending opposition.&nbsp;One reason may be that less money is coming from the Catholic Church than in previous campaigns. A recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5144660#:~:text=An%20NPR%20and%20Religion%20News,%2D%20zero%2C%20Arizona%20%2D%20zero." target="_blank">analysis by NPR and Religion News Service</a>&nbsp;found U.S. bishops have donated significantly less this year to fight abortion measures than in 2022 and 2023.&nbsp;While Catholic churches in Kansas spent nearly $4 million to fight an abortion referendum in Kansas in 2022, the Missouri dioceses have only invested about $30,000 in Missouri’s fight, the news outlets found.In an effort to bridge this gap, some congregants are going door-to-door in opposition of the amendment.“We pray for your assistance in this fight against Amendment 3,” Eric Holder, a&nbsp;volunteer with the local Knights of Columbus, prayed aloud in early October before canvassing in Independence.&nbsp;“We are like David facing Goliath. We pray that you be with us.”&nbsp;He bowed his head alongside half a dozen other knights outside St. Mary’s Catholic Church before heading out to hang “vote no” fliers on about 1,000 doors.Holder said he became passionate about ending abortion after he converted to Catholicism about 30 years ago and joined in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. He was motivated in part by a relative with an unplanned pregnancy who contemplated abortion before walking into a pregnancy resource center in Kansas City where she was encouraged to keep her baby.&nbsp;“Missouri could suddenly become one of the worst states in the union in terms of abortion,” Holder said, fearing “the degradation of the family” and a shift to a “pro-death” culture.&nbsp;In the interview, Holder lamented the dearth of TV ads aired from a “vote no” perspective. Fighting the amendment, he said, felt like “throwing a pebble into a raging ocean.”But that changed in the coming weeks, as the first ads went up on TV and radio opposing the amendment.&nbsp;A virtual rally held last week brought out several big names against the amendment, many of whom urged viewers to donate to support the purchase of TV ads.&nbsp;Hosts of the rally, which included guest appearances by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly, appealed to viewers to donate to fund for ads to run in the 11 days before the election.&nbsp;“We need to invest in this fight to get the messages in front of people,” said David Bereit, Founder of 40 Days for Life.&nbsp;A number of people heeded Bereit’s advice.As of Monday, groups opposing Amendment 3 have spent about $545,000 on radio and TV ads.&nbsp;Nearly $442,000 of that total was purchased since Thursday, the day of the rally.&nbsp;More than half of that spending was in TV ads purchased by the Vitae Foundation, an anti-abortion research organization based in Missouri. The group’s president was among those who spoke at Thursday’s rally, asking for contributions for TV ads. The Vitae Foundation is not registered as Missouri PAC, and therefore hasn’t reported donors or spending as is required of PACS.&nbsp;The foundation’s ads do not specifically name Amendment 3, but rather focus on abortion broadly, encouraging viewers to “think about it.”But spending on anti-abortion ads remains miles behind spending on digital and TV ads encouraging Missourians to “vote yes.”As of Monday, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom spent nearly $10.4 million on TV ads, and about $22,000 on radio ads, more than twenty times what the opposition has invested.The campaign has seen widespread support since its inception. More than&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/05/03/missourians-signatures-abortion-amendment-viability/">380,000 Missourians signed an initiative petition</a>&nbsp;to put the amendment on the ballot, and most Democratic nominees have campaigned on their support for Amendment 3.&nbsp;<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fG46LwM4JRGAf-ZJSMEqKnJY_7kBABGI/view" target="_blank">More than 500 physicians and more than 300 other medical professionals</a>&nbsp;also signed a letter in support of&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/09/13/missouri-abortion-rights-campaign-doubles-fundraising-fairness-project/">Amendment 3.</a>&nbsp;No excuse absentee voting in Missouri began Oct. 22. Election officials in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/election/article294677984.html" target="_blank">Kansas City&nbsp;</a>and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.firstalert4.com/2024/10/25/early-voting-turnout-missouri-running-high/" target="_blank">St. Louis</a>&nbsp;are already reporting significant early voter turnouts ahead of the Nov. 5 General Election.&nbsp;<a href="https://emersoncollegepolling.com/september-2024-missouri-poll-republican-candidates-lead-in-president-governor-senate-races/" target="_blank">A recent Emerson College poll</a>&nbsp;found 58% of those surveyed support Amendment 3, with 30% opposed. The most recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.slu.edu/research/research-institute/big-ideas/slu-poll/index.php" target="_blank">SLU/YouGov Poll</a>&nbsp;found that 52% supported the amendment and 34% opposed.The Independent’s Rudi Keller contributed reporting.

Missouri abortion-rights campaign raises $9M in October, bringing overall tally to $31M

(Radio Iowa) - Researchers, business executives, and government officials from around the globe are in Iowa this week for the World Food Prize symposium. 

It's an annual gathering to discuss food security and innovation. Geoffrey Hawtin and Cary Fowler are this year's World Food Prize laureates. They were instrumental in establishing the Svalbard (s-VAHL-bard) Global Seed Vault in Norway two decades ago. The two men says it's an important backup for seedbanks that could be hit by natural disasters, wars or a loss of funding.

 Hawtin and Fowler spoke last night at Iowa State University. The Des Moines-based World Food Prize is hosting three days of events, culminating with a banquet and closing ceremony in the Iowa Capitol on Thursday evening.

(Radio Iowa) - Researchers, business executives, and government officials from around the globe are in Iowa this week for the World Food Prize symposium. It's an annual gathering to discuss food security and innovation. Geoffrey Hawtin and Cary Fowler are this year's World Food Prize laureates. They were instrumental in establishing the Svalbard (s-VAHL-bard) Global Seed Vault in Norway two decades ago. The two men says it's an important backup for seedbanks that could be hit by natural disasters, wars or a loss of funding. Hawtin and Fowler spoke last night at Iowa State University. The Des Moines-based World Food Prize is hosting three days of events, culminating with a banquet and closing ceremony in the Iowa Capitol on Thursday evening.

World Food Prize events underway in Des Moines

(Radio Iowa) - Iowa's two U-S senators are questioning why Pure Prairie Poultry was given tens of millions of federal dollars before declaring bankruptcy earlier this month. 

Senator Chuck Grassley says the U-S-D-A handed the Minnesota-based company a near-seven-million dollar grant along with guaranteed loans of almost 39-million just two years ago. Grassley questions when it became apparent the company was going to fail and how the U-S-D-A vets companies before giving away tax dollars. 

Senator Joni Ernst says Pure Prairie Poultry’s abrupt closure shows the importance of proper vetting and oversight at U-S-D-A and she says those funds need to help producers, rather than -- in her words -- "being flushed down the drain."

(Radio Iowa) - Iowa's two U-S senators are questioning why Pure Prairie Poultry was given tens of millions of federal dollars before declaring bankruptcy earlier this month. Senator Chuck Grassley says the U-S-D-A handed the Minnesota-based company a near-seven-million dollar grant along with guaranteed loans of almost 39-million just two years ago. Grassley questions when it became apparent the company was going to fail and how the U-S-D-A vets companies before giving away tax dollars. Senator Joni Ernst says Pure Prairie Poultry’s abrupt closure shows the importance of proper vetting and oversight at U-S-D-A and she says those funds need to help producers, rather than -- in her words -- "being flushed down the drain."

Iowa senators say USDA dropped the ball on now-defunct chicken processor

Missouri voters will decide whether to reinstitute a court fee
that had been collected for nearly 40 years, but has now been ruled
unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court.

Amendment 6, on the ballot next week, would amend the Missouri
constitution to include a three-dollar court fee to fund pensions for sheriffs
and prosecutors.

State Sen. Rusty Black, a Republican from Chillicothe,
sponsored the amendment during the legislative session after what he considers
a baffling Supreme Court ruling that claims the fee is not part of an
“administration of justice.” 

“The plaintiffs were arguing that sheriffs had nothing to do
with administration of justice, which to me doesn’t make sense,” Black tells
host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “Who protects our judicial system inside
courthouses? It’s sheriffs.”

The Missouri General Assembly approved the three-dollar court
fee to fund the pensions of sheriffs and prosecutors in 1983. A lawsuit brought
in 2015 challenged the constitutionally of fee.

“The Supreme Court ended up overturning that,” Black explains.
“And when they overturned that, because in quotes, ‘sheriffs are not part of
the administration of justice as found in our constitution,’ that made that fee
illegal.”

The Missouri Supreme Court made its decision in 2021, throwing
the financial system for undergirding the pension plans into uncertainty.

“If we don’t find another system, or if this doesn’t pass,
then the retirement system, I think within eight of nine years will be defunct,”
Black says.

Black says, at present, five percent of a sheriff’s salary
goes into the retirement system. The court fee would fund the remainder.

By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostMissouri voters will decide whether to reinstitute a court fee
that had been collected for nearly 40 years, but has now been ruled
unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court.Amendment 6, on the ballot next week, would amend the Missouri
constitution to include a three-dollar court fee to fund pensions for sheriffs
and prosecutors.State Sen. Rusty Black, a Republican from Chillicothe,
sponsored the amendment during the legislative session after what he considers
a baffling Supreme Court ruling that claims the fee is not part of an
“administration of justice.” “The plaintiffs were arguing that sheriffs had nothing to do
with administration of justice, which to me doesn’t make sense,” Black tells
host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “Who protects our judicial system inside
courthouses? It’s sheriffs.”The Missouri General Assembly approved the three-dollar court
fee to fund the pensions of sheriffs and prosecutors in 1983. A lawsuit brought
in 2015 challenged the constitutionally of fee.“The Supreme Court ended up overturning that,” Black explains.
“And when they overturned that, because in quotes, ‘sheriffs are not part of
the administration of justice as found in our constitution,’ that made that fee
illegal.”The Missouri Supreme Court made its decision in 2021, throwing
the financial system for undergirding the pension plans into uncertainty.“If we don’t find another system, or if this doesn’t pass,
then the retirement system, I think within eight of nine years will be defunct,”
Black says.Black says, at present, five percent of a sheriff’s salary
goes into the retirement system. The court fee would fund the remainder.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

Missouri voters could reinstate fee for sheriff pensions

After the sudden closure of Pure Prairie Poultry left many farmers stuck with birds they couldn’t feed, Iowa has now culled approximately 1.3 million chickens after being unable to find a market for the birds. Iowa’s Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said it euthanized birds between October 17 and October 25 due to the unavailability of buyers, a lack of processing capacity, and the costs to feed and care for the birds. 

After the sudden closure of Pure Prairie Poultry left many farmers stuck with birds they couldn’t feed, Iowa has now culled approximately 1.3 million chickens after being unable to find a market for the birds. Iowa’s Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said it euthanized birds between October 17 and October 25 due to the unavailability of buyers, a lack of processing capacity, and the costs to feed and care for the birds.

Iowa culls more than one million birds

KANSAS CITY – Two men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, with one of the men also charged with possessing six machine gun conversion devices, according to the U.S. State's Attorney.

Kal J. Nay, 21, of Oak Grove, Mo., and Robert J. Turnage, 20, of Blue Springs, Mo., were charged in a five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury last week. Nay was arrested and had his initial court appearance. Turnage has not yet been arrested.

The federal indictment charges Nay and Turnage with participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. They are also charged together in one count of distributing fentanyl from May 2 to June 11, 2024.

Additionally, Nay is charged with two counts of distributing fentanyl and one count of possessing machine guns. The indictment alleges that Nay was in possession of six machine gun conversion devices, commonly referred to as “switches,” on June 18, 2024.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

KANSAS CITY – Two men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, with one of the men also charged with possessing six machine gun conversion devices, according to the U.S. State's Attorney.Kal J. Nay, 21, of Oak Grove, Mo., and Robert J. Turnage, 20, of Blue Springs, Mo., were charged in a five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury last week. Nay was arrested and had his initial court appearance. Turnage has not yet been arrested.The federal indictment charges Nay and Turnage with participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. They are also charged together in one count of distributing fentanyl from May 2 to June 11, 2024.Additionally, Nay is charged with two counts of distributing fentanyl and one count of possessing machine guns. The indictment alleges that Nay was in possession of six machine gun conversion devices, commonly referred to as “switches,” on June 18, 2024.The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

Indicted KC fentanyl dealer is still at large

(Radio Iowa) - A proposed constitutional amendment on this year's Iowa ballot would clarify the line of succession at the top of state government. 

Seven years ago, Kim Reynolds became governor when Terry Branstad resigned, but Iowa's attorney general at the time said his reading of the constitution indicated Reynolds was becoming acting governor and didn't have the power to select a new lieutenant governor. 

The proposed amendment says a lieutenant governor who takes over in the middle of an elected governor's term has authority to appoint a new lieutenant governor. Some Democrats have raised concerns, arguing a new lieutenant governor who's not been elected should be confirmed by a vote of the state legislature.

(Radio Iowa) - A proposed constitutional amendment on this year's Iowa ballot would clarify the line of succession at the top of state government. Seven years ago, Kim Reynolds became governor when Terry Branstad resigned, but Iowa's attorney general at the time said his reading of the constitution indicated Reynolds was becoming acting governor and didn't have the power to select a new lieutenant governor. The proposed amendment says a lieutenant governor who takes over in the middle of an elected governor's term has authority to appoint a new lieutenant governor. Some Democrats have raised concerns, arguing a new lieutenant governor who's not been elected should be confirmed by a vote of the state legislature.

Iowa voters presented with proposed 'line of succession' amendment

(Radio Iowa) - As Iowa trick-or-treaters hit the streets this week, parents are reminded about a few real-life scares to beware of during the Halloween season. 

Janna Day, education manager at the Iowa Poison Control Center, says kids will be eager to sink their teeth into their loot, but parents need to give those treats a close inspection first. Day says make sure the candy is in its original packaging and hasn't been tampered with. Masks can pose a visibility problem, so make sure kids can see clearly while in costume. Day suggests going with make-up or face paints instead, though test those out well ahead of time to ensure there's no skin irritation or allergies. Also, says keep the treat bag away from pets, as chocolate can be poisonous to dogs. 

The Sioux City-based Iowa Poison Control Center is staffed around-the-clock and can be reached at 1-800-222-1222.

(Radio Iowa) - As Iowa trick-or-treaters hit the streets this week, parents are reminded about a few real-life scares to beware of during the Halloween season. Janna Day, education manager at the Iowa Poison Control Center, says kids will be eager to sink their teeth into their loot, but parents need to give those treats a close inspection first. Day says make sure the candy is in its original packaging and hasn't been tampered with. Masks can pose a visibility problem, so make sure kids can see clearly while in costume. Day suggests going with make-up or face paints instead, though test those out well ahead of time to ensure there's no skin irritation or allergies. Also, says keep the treat bag away from pets, as chocolate can be poisonous to dogs. The Sioux City-based Iowa Poison Control Center is staffed around-the-clock and can be reached at 1-800-222-1222.

Iowa parents need to watch for a few Halloween hazards

As issue campaigns fill airwaves with ads, statewide candidates are running on the smallest campaign budgets in years

After trying to convince voters that legalized sports betting would boost Missouri education funding, the campaign for Amendment 2 is now focused on the fact that residents already bet in large numbers and allowing it in the state will capture some of the revenue, a spokesman said Monday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1604337062106.png" alt="-&nbsp;Winning for Missouri Education, the committee promoting Amendment 2 on next Tuesday’s ballot, reported Monday that it has raised $40.25 million since beginning its initiative campaign in January. Photo by Noah Taborda" />
 <figcaption>-&nbsp;Winning for Missouri Education, the committee promoting Amendment 2 on next Tuesday’s ballot, reported Monday that it has raised $40.25 million since beginning its initiative campaign in January. Photo by Noah Taborda</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>As issue campaigns fill airwaves with ads, statewide candidates are running on the smallest campaign budgets in years</h2>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>After trying to convince voters that legalized sports betting would boost Missouri education funding, the campaign for Amendment 2 is now focused on the fact that residents already bet in large numbers and allowing it in the state will capture some of the revenue, a spokesman said Monday.Winning for Missouri Education, the committee promoting Amendment 2 on next Tuesday’s ballot, reported Monday that it has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mec.mo.gov/CampaignFinanceReports/Generator.aspx?Keys=B2G41dEVPKgI8cDcdGFsgJsm99XwPL2G94muMOtnA6SqB%2bW9%2fFE6IpCxIiTPyfP%2fVj3DxXGa28v592151Et%2fZC560DyBa5Wh" target="_blank">raised $40.25 million</a>&nbsp;since beginning its initiative campaign in January. That is $9 million more than the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/14/record-spending-fuels-missouri-campaigns-to-legalize-sports-gambling-new-casino/">most expensive ballot issue campaign</a>&nbsp;in state history — the $31 raised by supporters of a 2006 proposal to protect stem cell research.The campaign provided data from GeoComply showing that the 216,000 mobile sports betting accounts in the state made 11.1 million attempts to place a bet between Sept. 5, the opening day of the NFL season, and Oct. 21. GeoComply is a geofencing company that contracts with gambling companies to block illegal bets.&nbsp;And on opening day, when the Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Baltimore Ravens, there were nearly 21,000 geolocation checks in and around Arrowhead Stadium.“The numbers are really staggering,” said Jack Cardetti, spokesman for Winning for Missouri Education.The final pre-election campaign finance reports for state races were due Monday at the Missouri Ethics Commission. The reports cover the period Oct. 1 through Oct. 24.Tracking by The Independent shows that spending on ballot measure campaigns in Missouri this year so far is $95 million, including about $15.8 million for initiatives to get on the ballot.&nbsp;The spending by statewide candidates reported so far is just under $130 million, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/09/09/republicans-combine-to-spend-65-million-in-missouri-primaries-for-statewide-offices/">$65 million spent by Republicans</a>&nbsp;in the primaries and $44.9 million spent&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/lucas-kunce-fundraising-continues-to-outpace-josh-hawley-in-missouri-senate-race/">in the U.S. Senate race</a>&nbsp;between incumbent Josh Hawley, Democratic nominee Lucas Kunce and Better Party candidate Jared Young.&nbsp;Less than half of the Senate race spending has been for the fall campaign.The two gambling measures account for almost $59 million of the total ballot measure spending, with the Amendment 3 abortion rights initiative accounting for $31 million more.The enormous bank account for Winning for Missouri Education, with the cost evenly split between DK Crown Holdings, owner of DraftKings, and BetFair Interactive, owner of FanDuel, has purchased $18.1 million of broadcast ads, $1.5 million in digital ads and $1.2 million in direct mail.A $14 million opposition campaign, funded by Caesars Entertainment, attacked Amendment 2 as misleading because the funding it promises for education programs is uncertain. The gambling companies could deduct promotional bets used to lure new customers as well as federal taxes from their take before calculating state taxes.That campaign, called Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/opponents-of-missouri-sports-betting-amendment-pull-tv-ads-in-campaigns-homestretch/">abruptly pulled its television ads</a>&nbsp;on Oct. 17. The campaign’s final pre-election report shows it had $5 million on hand on Oct. 24, but it does not indicate the campaign is shutting down operations.In an earlier report, the campaign stated it had purchased $612,000 in direct mail opposing Amendment 2 and $1.5 million on digital media. The current report does not show any refunds from those amounts.Campaign spokesperson Brooke Foster could not be reached for comment.The opposition campaign is one reason the pro-sports betting initiative is making the fact that betting is legal in every state on Missouri’s border except Oklahoma a big part of its final argument.“Missourians know that whether or not they participate in sports betting or not, that it’s here to stay, and that Missouri currently gets zero benefit out of it,” Cardetti said. “And I think that is one of the most unifying messages that the amendment has.”The other gambling proposal is Amendment 5, which would authorize&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/25/push-for-hand-counting-ballots-a-key-divide-in-race-for-missouri-secretary-of-state/">a new casino</a>&nbsp;near the Lake of the Ozarks. Supporters of that measure, Bally’s Corp. and a Lake-area developer, have spent $10.3 million promoting it. There is no significant opposition campaign.<h2>Statewide races</h2>The Missouri governor’s race continues to be one of the least expensive fall campaigns in years for the state’s top office.Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, the Republican nominee, has reported spending only $1.5 million for the fall from his campaign account, while a PAC he helps raise money called American Dream has spent $1.8 million. The two committees combined to spend $17.1 million in the primary.State Rep. Crystal Quade of Springfield, the Democratic candidate, has spent $1.1 on the fall campaign and her affiliated committee, CrystalPAC, has spent just under $100,000. That is about the same amount Quade spent in the primary.In other statewide contests:<ul>
 <li>David Wasinger, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, reported raising $28,688 in the period and spending $7,803. He has spent $35,856 on the fall campaign after spending $2.7 million in the primary. His Democratic opponent, state Rep. Richard Brown of Kansas City, had not filed his report by late Monday afternoon.</li><li>Democratic secretary of state candidate Barbara Phifer&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/25/push-for-hand-counting-ballots-a-key-divide-in-race-for-missouri-secretary-of-state/">continued to outraise</a>&nbsp;her Republican rival, Denny Hoskins. Phifer raised $53,072 and SAFE Missouri, a PAC supporting her, raised $20,500 more. Hoskins raised $29,735. His PAC, Old Drum Conservative PAC, has not reported by Monday afternoon.</li><li>State Treasurer Vivek Malek reported $78,531 in spending since the primary and his affiliated committee, American Promise PAC, has spent just under $8,000. His campaign spent $2.6 million in the primary and his PAC spent $3.2 million. Democratic candidate Mark Osmack has reported raising $63,535 and spending $51,583 for the entire year.</li><li>Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, reported raising $193,395 in the period compared to $63,184 for his Democratic rival, Elad Gross. Bailey has spent just under $150,000 for the fall campaign after spending $1.4 million for the primary. Gross has spent $345,000 for the entire year. Bailey’s affiliated committee, Liberty and Justice PAC, had not reported by late afternoon. It spent $5.3 million helping Bailey win the primary.</li>
 </ul>Until the election, campaigns will be required to file daily reports of contributions. New spending reports will also be filed when significant amounts are expended.

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