ATCHISON COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just before 6a.m. Thursday in Atchison County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2022 Chevy Express van driven by Richard C. Stitt, 69, Lathrop, was northbound on Interstate 29 thirteen miles north of Rockport.

The driver lost control on the wet roadway. The van traveled off the left side of the road and struck a guardrail.&nbsp;

Atchison-Holt Ambulance transported Stitt to Fairfax Community Hospital. He was properly restrained, according to the MSHP.

ATCHISON COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just before 6a.m. Thursday in Atchison County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2022 Chevy Express van driven by Richard C. Stitt, 69, Lathrop, was northbound on Interstate 29 thirteen miles north of Rockport.The driver lost control on the wet roadway. The van traveled off the left side of the road and struck a guardrail.&nbsp;Atchison-Holt Ambulance transported Stitt to Fairfax Community Hospital. He was properly restrained, according to the MSHP.

Mo. man hospitalized after van strikes guardrail

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced an expansion of its St.
Joseph facility, a cutting-edge research and development laboratory.

Boehringer Vice President, U.S. Global Innovation, Caroline
Belmont, says the new lab will bring innovation to the manufacturing of animal
health products in St. Joseph and through other Boehringer facilities.

“This is really a commitment to innovation and to the future of
this company as a whole across the world,” Belmont tells a group gathered at
Boehringer in St. Joseph. “It really does upgrade what we have, significantly
and it really probably will revolutionize some of the products and the future
and the research and development activities that we are focusing on in the future.”

Boehringer has invested $82 million in the St. Joseph facility
since 2022.

“It’s the only one of its kind in the U.S. and it’s designed
really to streamline the process which transitions products from a research and
development phase to a manufacturing scale,” Belmont says.

Kansas City Animal Health Corridor President, Kimberly Young,
says this expansion only enhances the reputation of the corridor which stretches
from Columbia, Missouri to Manhattan, Kansas.

“This facility underscores BI’s dedication to leading in
research, development, and manufacturing,” Young says.

The state-of-the-art lab will revolutionize the development of
future products, including biotherapeutics.

“It’s a new area for us. We’ve got lots of exciting innovation
there,” Belmont says. “So, this facility is going to play a pivotal role in our
future for our innovation organizations and for Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health
as a whole.”

Belmont says the St. Joseph plant continues to be a major
player for the company.

“The St. Joseph facility is a really crucial hub for our
global animal health industry and for the company and, of course, has that rich
agricultural heritage and extensive livestock farming support that we have here,
too.”

Boehringer Ingelheim employs approximately 850 workers at its
St. Joseph facility.

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714679098310.jpeg" alt="Boehringer Ingelheim's Caroline Belmont speaks at the St. Joseph news conference/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Boehringer Ingelheim's Caroline Belmont speaks at the St. Joseph news conference/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostBoehringer Ingelheim has announced an expansion of its St.
Joseph facility, a cutting-edge research and development laboratory.Boehringer Vice President, U.S. Global Innovation, Caroline
Belmont, says the new lab will bring innovation to the manufacturing of animal
health products in St. Joseph and through other Boehringer facilities.“This is really a commitment to innovation and to the future of
this company as a whole across the world,” Belmont tells a group gathered at
Boehringer in St. Joseph. “It really does upgrade what we have, significantly
and it really probably will revolutionize some of the products and the future
and the research and development activities that we are focusing on in the future.”Boehringer has invested $82 million in the St. Joseph facility
since 2022.Belmont calls this lab unique.“It’s the only one of its kind in the U.S. and it’s designed
really to streamline the process which transitions products from a research and
development phase to a manufacturing scale,” Belmont says.Kansas City Animal Health Corridor President, Kimberly Young,
says this expansion only enhances the reputation of the corridor which stretches
from Columbia, Missouri to Manhattan, Kansas.“This facility underscores BI’s dedication to leading in
research, development, and manufacturing,” Young says.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714679164369.jpeg" alt="Belmont shares a laugh prior to the news conference/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Belmont shares a laugh prior to the news conference/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>The state-of-the-art lab will revolutionize the development of
future products, including biotherapeutics.“It’s a new area for us. We’ve got lots of exciting innovation
there,” Belmont says. “So, this facility is going to play a pivotal role in our
future for our innovation organizations and for Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health
as a whole.”Belmont says the St. Joseph plant continues to be a major
player for the company.“The St. Joseph facility is a really crucial hub for our
global animal health industry and for the company and, of course, has that rich
agricultural heritage and extensive livestock farming support that we have here,
too.”Boehringer Ingelheim employs approximately 850 workers at its
St. Joseph facility.<div><iframe src="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kfeq-news/embed/episodes/Boehringer-Ingelheim-expands-e2j7h3f" height="102px" width="400px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div>You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

Boehringer Ingelheim expands in St. Joseph; adds modern research lab

Executive
Director of Community Action Partnerships of St. Joseph, Whitney Lanning, is
out at CAPSTJOE.

Lanning
has been with Community Action Partnerships for 11 years, the last nine serving
as executive director.

"I am
proud to have served as the executive director of CAPSTJOE these past nine
years and of all the good things that were accomplished in my eleven years with
the agency," Lanning said in a statement emailed to KFEQ. "While I’m disappointed with the decision of the board of directors, I respect their decision and hope for nothing but the absolute best for the agency, staff, and families served."

Lanning
serves on the St. Joseph School Board, which officially censured her following
a clash with fellow school board member, Isaura Garcia, after the February 26th
school board meeting. The two disagreed publicly, including during a tense
joint appearance with host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline, over whether the
district should adopt a four-day school week.

Lanning has been charged with misdemeanor harassment for the
confrontation that occurred after an executive session of the board. Garcia has
also filed a civil lawsuit against Lanning. Lanning has charged that Garcia
insulted her child during a verbal exchange.

This article has been updated since first published.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714669353354.jpeg" alt="Whitney Lanning/file photo" />
 <figcaption>Whitney Lanning/file photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKE/BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostExecutive
Director of Community Action Partnerships of St. Joseph, Whitney Lanning, is
out at CAPSTJOE.Lanning
has been with Community Action Partnerships for 11 years, the last nine serving
as executive director.The
Board of Directors has fired her."I am
proud to have served as the executive director of CAPSTJOE these past nine
years and of all the good things that were accomplished in my eleven years with
the agency," Lanning said in a statement emailed to KFEQ. "While I’m disappointed with the decision of the board of directors, I respect their decision and hope for nothing but the absolute best for the agency, staff, and families served."Lanning
serves on the St. Joseph School Board, which officially censured her following
a clash with fellow school board member, Isaura Garcia, after the February 26th
school board meeting. The two disagreed publicly, including during a tense
joint appearance with host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline, over whether the
district should adopt a four-day school week.Lanning has been charged with misdemeanor harassment for the
confrontation that occurred after an executive session of the board. Garcia has
also filed a civil lawsuit against Lanning. Lanning has charged that Garcia
insulted her child during a verbal exchange.This article has been updated since first published.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

Whitney Lanning out at Community Action Partnerships of St. Joseph

A softball tournament this weekend at St. Joseph's Heritage Park will welcome in several softball teams from around the region. 

After holding two new softball tournaments last year, the St. Joseph Sports Commission was looking to expand the format to attract more softball teams to play in the city.  

Director Brett Esely says that will happen this weekend as the Sports Commission hosts the Spring Sizzle Youth Softball Tournament 

"We hope it's warm, we hope it's dry, we're kind of doing our best rain dance, but we have 25 teams," Esely tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "This is not a national event, I would call this more of a regional event, 25 teams from the state of Missouri, the state of Kansas, we've got a couple coming down from Nebraska." 

Players aged 8 to 14 years old will take over all five fields of Heritage Park near the St. Joseph Frontier Casino on Saturday and Sunday. 

Esely says the two-day event should draw in several thousand people to St. Joseph 

"I don't think it's a stretch with 25 teams to think on Saturday down at Heritage Park we'll have 1,000 people in and out of there, minus the teams, that's the following that these teams have," Esely explains. "First and foremost, these events get off the ground with the support of our local teams." 

Esely says the backbone for events like this is local traveling teams having a desire to bring other teams here 

"We've got some local teams that have supported these events and then we've got some other folks from those local teams and just supporters of softball that have said we want to spread the word, we want to get people to come to town," Esely says.  

"And new events are hard, they really are, the dates are tough, and you have to find the right mix of teams, then when you get them here you have to show them a good experience." 

Esely says the experience is something the commission is constantly working on to put forward the best possible product.

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714671902495.jpeg" alt="The St. Joseph Sports Commission will host a two day softball tournament this weekend at Heritage Park near the St. Joseph Frontier Casino.&nbsp; Several teams traveled to the city last October for the Bats and Brooms Classic/ Photo courtesy of the St. Joseph Sports Commission Facebook" />
 <figcaption>The St. Joseph Sports Commission will host a two day softball tournament this weekend at Heritage Park near the St. Joseph Frontier Casino.&nbsp; Several teams traveled to the city last October for the Bats and Brooms Classic/ Photo courtesy of the St. Joseph Sports Commission Facebook</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKE St. Joseph Post A softball tournament this weekend at St. Joseph's Heritage Park will welcome in several softball teams from around the region. After holding two new softball tournaments last year, the St. Joseph Sports Commission was looking to expand the format to attract more softball teams to play in the city. Director Brett Esely says that will happen this weekend as the Sports Commission hosts the Spring Sizzle Youth Softball Tournament "We hope it's warm, we hope it's dry, we're kind of doing our best rain dance, but we have 25 teams," Esely tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "This is not a national event, I would call this more of a regional event, 25 teams from the state of Missouri, the state of Kansas, we've got a couple coming down from Nebraska." Players aged 8 to 14 years old will take over all five fields of Heritage Park near the St. Joseph Frontier Casino on Saturday and Sunday. Esely says the two-day event should draw in several thousand people to St. Joseph "I don't think it's a stretch with 25 teams to think on Saturday down at Heritage Park we'll have 1,000 people in and out of there, minus the teams, that's the following that these teams have," Esely explains. "First and foremost, these events get off the ground with the support of our local teams." Esely says the backbone for events like this is local traveling teams having a desire to bring other teams here "We've got some local teams that have supported these events and then we've got some other folks from those local teams and just supporters of softball that have said we want to spread the word, we want to get people to come to town," Esely says. "And new events are hard, they really are, the dates are tough, and you have to find the right mix of teams, then when you get them here you have to show them a good experience." Esely says the experience is something the commission is constantly working on to put forward the best possible product.You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714672229642.jpeg" alt="Photo courtesy of St. Joseph Sports Commission Facebook" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy of St. Joseph Sports Commission Facebook</figcaption>
 </figure>

St. Joseph softball tournament attracts teams from throughout region

Missouri could be the first test of a more aggressive strategy to keep abortion off the ballot and out of the state constitution, with organizations shifting from trying to dissuade people from signing petitions to encouraging them to withdraw their name if they have signed

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

Wednesday’s Midwest March for Life at the Missouri Capitol had a different tone this year. It was about fighting.&nbsp;

Nearly two years ago, the crowd celebrated Missouri becoming the first state to ban abortion after Roe V. Wade was overturned.&nbsp;But on Wednesday, a new worry loomed over the annual event: Abortion could soon be enshrined in the Missouri Constitution.

“If God doesn’t intervene in this process,” Paul Shipman, with the Christian radio program Bott Radio Network, said at a rally on the statehouse steps Wednesday,&nbsp; “it just kind of shows you the direction where the nation is going and the direction where the state of Missouri is going.”

After recent losses in states like Kansas and Ohio, anti-abortion activists say they must take a more aggressive approach in Missouri, using a low-budget grassroots strategy to convince Missourians not to sign the initiative petition that would put a constitutional right to an abortion in the hands of voters.&nbsp;

They enlisted elected officials to publicly decry the ballot measure. They set up a hotline to report the location of signature gatherers so volunteers could show up and hand out “Decline to Sign” materials. And they stoked unsubstantiated fears about the initiative petition process, such as the notion that it could result in widespread identity theft.&nbsp;

And with a Sunday deadline to turn in signatures for proposed initiative petitions, their message and strategy is transforming from “decline to sign” to “withdraw your signature,” with fliers distributed Wednesday hoping to reach those “who regret signing – or who mistakenly signed.”&nbsp;

After signatures are turned in, anti-abortion advocates plan to pour over them to make sure anyone who opts out isn’t counted.&nbsp;

Anti-abortion organizers interviewed by The Independent, both in Missouri and nationally, say the biggest lesson they learned from a series of defeats across the country over the last two years is that they have to engage their supporters earlier in the process.&nbsp;

Missouri could be the first test of the new strategy, even as&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/04/17/missouri-initiative-campaigns-confident-of-achieving-signature-goals/">abortion-rights supporters are raising millions</a>&nbsp;more to get the issue on the November ballot.&nbsp;

“It is the work that is being done on the ground in Missouri that has not happened in any other state across the entire nation,” said Brian Westbrook, CEO of St. Louis-based Coalition Life. “It doesn’t require tens of millions of dollars to get that ground game. That groundwork is already happening.”

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/02/19/abortion-rights-amendment-missouri-election-trap-laws/">the campaign behind the abortion-rights initiative petition</a>, has until Sunday to turn in more than 171,000 signatures from 8% of registered voters across six of Missouri’s eight congressional districts.&nbsp;

Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri, which is a leader in the abortion initiative petition coalition, said she remains confident the campaign will hit its signature goal. She didn’t share where their numbers currently stand ahead of the deadline, but Schwarz said the tactics from the anti-abortion side boost her confidence that abortion is a winning issue.

“If they were confident that people were aligned with them,” she said, “they wouldn’t resort to tactics like blatant lies, disinformation and harassment.”&nbsp;

Anti-abortion groups interviewed by The Independent are focused on communicating three main points to voters: They believe the constitutional amendment goes farther than Roe; they say the amendment would harm health and safety protections for mothers; and they argue it will eliminate parental consent laws.&nbsp;

Abortion-rights groups have said these claims have no merit whatsoever. The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/17/abortion-rights-coalition-viability-campaign-amendment-missouri-ballot/">decision to move forward with an amendment including viability limit,&nbsp;</a>often considered to be around 24 weeks, rather than no ban at all was considered a compromise position rather than an extreme one.

Susan Klein, executive director with Missouri Right to Life, said her organization has teams across the state who will file requests under the state’s open records laws to obtain copies of all the signatures obtained by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom. They plan to make sure any names she says were scratched out by people who regretted signing are not counted.

Missouri’s messaging is consistent with the strategy being deployed in six other states with abortion measures heading for the ballot, said Kelsey Pritchard, state public affairs director at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

Jamie Morris, executive director of the Missouri Catholic Conference, said the results in other elections made it clear that anti-abortion groups needed a new strategy.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://mocatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/Statement-on-Abortion-Initiative-Petition-1.pdf">The Catholic dioceses in Missouri&nbsp;</a>are helping spread the movement’s message and encouraging parishioners not to sign the abortion-rights petition.&nbsp;

“Our track record has not been good,” he said. “From the pro-life side, we’ve always kind of been used to making one particular argument. And obviously, that was not resonating in some of the other states.”

Morris said the movement isn’t changing its position, but rather it is rethinking its messaging to focus increasingly on mothers as well as the “unborn child.”&nbsp;

“We’ve done a good job of trying to limit the supply of abortions in the state, but what can we do to limit the demand?” Morris said.&nbsp;

In neighboring Kansas in 2022, the Catholic church donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in a failed attempt to pass an amendment that would remove the right to abortion from that state’s constitution.

So far, the Missouri Catholic Conference has been one of the main donors to&nbsp;Missouri Stands with Women, the only campaign focused solely on actively opposing the abortion initiative petition, contributing $5,001.&nbsp;

Morris said Missouri’s dioceses so far have not fundraised on this issue, but if the measure lands on the ballot, he imagines there will be more serious conversations about financial contributions.

On a recent Saturday in late April, Republican state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman stood outside her hometown library in Arnold and asked constituents not to sign the abortion-rights initiative.&nbsp;

Connie Doty, 74, a longtime Arnold resident and an escort with Abortion Action Missouri, was volunteering to collect signatures that day.

Doty said library staff eventually asked her and the other volunteers to stay on the sidewalk. When Doty stepped into the parking lot at one point to let someone take a picture of the ballot initiative, she says Coleman followed her and told the person in the vehicle not to sign it.&nbsp;

A short time later, after Doty refused to leave for stepping off the sidewalk, she said three police vehicles showed up. They told everyone to “be nice and be safe,” Doty recalls, then left.&nbsp;

Doty said she was not phased, thanks to her decade of experience as an abortion clinic escort encountering protesters who try to stop women from getting abortions. But she said she was alarmed to see her own state senator among the two anti-abortion protesters who showed up.

“Considering that Sen. Coleman was doing this to her constituents,” Doty said, “I found pretty deplorable.”&nbsp;

Doty said despite the interruption, they collected 143 signatures in a couple hours.

“They’re very much afraid that the issue will get on the ballot,” Doty said. “And if it gets on the ballot, people will pass it.”

Coleman could not be reached for comment Wednesday.&nbsp;

Kellie Copeland executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio, said anti-abortion advocates used similar tactics during their 2023 campaign, including instances where police were called on signature collectors.

“Everything about that frankly shows they know that they don’t have the will of the people,” Copeland said. “Why else would they do that?”

Sam Lee doesn’t want to talk about November. The longtime Missouri anti-abortion lobbyist has his sights set on May 5.

He said other states where anti-abortion groups have taken the approach of only trying to beat abortion measures at the ballot box have lost. That’s why in Missouri, efforts began much earlier.

“The Decline to Sign (strategy) overall has just been more aggressive in Missouri by a variety of groups,” Lee said. “Not just one group or even one church. It is THE strategy.”&nbsp;

Lee said Missouri’s approach has been much more grassroots, spread through social media, sermons and at dining tables.&nbsp;

“Tell your family member not to sign,” he said. “Tell your neighbor not to sign.”

When Lee is asked by some what he’s afraid of, he said it’s simple:&nbsp;“I just don’t think this should be on the ballot. I think it’s wrong. Why should you give people an opportunity to vote for something that is bad?”&nbsp;

Missouri Stands with Women, of which Lee is president, has been distributing messaging, including through paid Facebook ads, encouraging people not to sign.

One in particular depicts a man portrayed in a mugshot offering a pen in his hand. The word “felonies” is in quotes beside the drawing.&nbsp;

“It’s a pretty clever ad, actually,” Lee said. “Is there a guarantee these signatures cannot be duplicated and used for identity theft? Is it a real issue or not? Well I don’t know. It’s been raised elsewhere.”

JoDonn Chaney, a spokesman for the Missouri Secretary of State’s office, said he’s not aware of any threat of identity theft during the signature gathering process at this point. He said the office’s larger focus is ensuring people know and understand what they’re signing.&nbsp;

Lee said his campaign is leaning into a 2005 California law that prohibits the sale or transfer of voter data collected through initiative petitions to other countries after concerns were raised when an initiative petition campaign&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://voiceofsandiego.org/2011/08/10/can-you-get-your-id-stolen-signing-a-petition/">outsourced signature verification to a firm in India.&nbsp;</a>

So far, Chaney said, the office has received “a handful” of applications to withdraw signatures from the abortion initiative petition.&nbsp;

According to records obtained by The Independent through Missouri’s Sunshine Law, the Secretary of State’s office has received about 140 requests for signature withdrawals from the abortion ballot initiative.&nbsp;

Most did not provide an explanation for why they changed their mind, but one Columbia resident wrote: “I let a very pushy person with a petition make me feel like I needed to sign. Immediately after, all the reasons not to sign flooded my head. Someone needs to speak for the unborn.”

On Wednesday morning, the crowd of at least several hundred people gathered on the front lawn of the Capitol, including many high school students, were encouraged to stall signature gatherers if they encounter them on a sidewalk or at their door in a final push to defeat the measure before it gets to a vote.&nbsp;

Michael Merchant, 31, based in St. Louis and with Students for Life, said it would be easier if the threshold to pass a constitutional amendment was more than a simple majority. Legislation seeking to increase the threshold for amendments to pass through the initiative petition process&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/04/25/missouri-initiative-petition-bill-ballot-candy-reinstated/">has cleared the House and Senate,</a>&nbsp;but dysfunction in the Senate has put its chances at risk.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“As much as I like to be optimistic, I’m not 100% confident that we can get 50% (in opposition),” Merchant said. “The main thing we would have to do is convince people that it’s an extreme thing.”

Merchant said he may be able to sway more people who are on the fence by pointing out to them how few limits on abortion would exist under the amendment. Advocates of abortion rights have said limits on abortion access often harm those who are most in need of the procedure, including those with medically-complicated pregnancies.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who attended Wednesday’s rally, said he believes his party can defeat an abortion ballot measure whether a higher threshold for passing citizen-led ballot measures is ultimately passed or not.

“I’m not a political consultant,” Ashcroft said, holding an anti-abortion sign at Wednesday’s march. “I just want to make sure that people know what this amendment will actually do. That it’s abortion from conception until the very last second that the last toenail leaves the birth canal.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714651229173.png" alt=" Students hold up anti-abortion signs at the Midwest March for Life on Wednesday at the Missouri State Capitol (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption> Students hold up anti-abortion signs at the Midwest March for Life on Wednesday at the Missouri State Capitol (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Missouri could be the first test of a more aggressive strategy to keep abortion off the ballot and out of the state constitution, with organizations shifting from trying to dissuade people from signing petitions to encouraging them to withdraw their name if they have signed</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/annaspoerre/">ANNA SPOERRE</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>Wednesday’s Midwest March for Life at the Missouri Capitol had a different tone this year. It was about fighting.&nbsp;Nearly two years ago, the crowd celebrated Missouri becoming the first state to ban abortion after Roe V. Wade was overturned.&nbsp;But on Wednesday, a new worry loomed over the annual event: Abortion could soon be enshrined in the Missouri Constitution.“If God doesn’t intervene in this process,” Paul Shipman, with the Christian radio program Bott Radio Network, said at a rally on the statehouse steps Wednesday,&nbsp; “it just kind of shows you the direction where the nation is going and the direction where the state of Missouri is going.”After recent losses in states like Kansas and Ohio, anti-abortion activists say they must take a more aggressive approach in Missouri, using a low-budget grassroots strategy to convince Missourians not to sign the initiative petition that would put a constitutional right to an abortion in the hands of voters.&nbsp;They enlisted elected officials to publicly decry the ballot measure. They set up a hotline to report the location of signature gatherers so volunteers could show up and hand out “Decline to Sign” materials. And they stoked unsubstantiated fears about the initiative petition process, such as the notion that it could result in widespread identity theft.&nbsp;And with a Sunday deadline to turn in signatures for proposed initiative petitions, their message and strategy is transforming from “decline to sign” to “withdraw your signature,” with fliers distributed Wednesday hoping to reach those “who regret signing – or who mistakenly signed.”&nbsp;After signatures are turned in, anti-abortion advocates plan to pour over them to make sure anyone who opts out isn’t counted.&nbsp;Anti-abortion organizers interviewed by The Independent, both in Missouri and nationally, say the biggest lesson they learned from a series of defeats across the country over the last two years is that they have to engage their supporters earlier in the process.&nbsp;Missouri could be the first test of the new strategy, even as&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/04/17/missouri-initiative-campaigns-confident-of-achieving-signature-goals/">abortion-rights supporters are raising millions</a>&nbsp;more to get the issue on the November ballot.&nbsp;“It is the work that is being done on the ground in Missouri that has not happened in any other state across the entire nation,” said Brian Westbrook, CEO of St. Louis-based Coalition Life. “It doesn’t require tens of millions of dollars to get that ground game. That groundwork is already happening.”Missourians for Constitutional Freedom,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/02/19/abortion-rights-amendment-missouri-election-trap-laws/">the campaign behind the abortion-rights initiative petition</a>, has until Sunday to turn in more than 171,000 signatures from 8% of registered voters across six of Missouri’s eight congressional districts.&nbsp;Mallory Schwarz, executive director of Abortion Action Missouri, which is a leader in the abortion initiative petition coalition, said she remains confident the campaign will hit its signature goal. She didn’t share where their numbers currently stand ahead of the deadline, but Schwarz said the tactics from the anti-abortion side boost her confidence that abortion is a winning issue.“If they were confident that people were aligned with them,” she said, “they wouldn’t resort to tactics like blatant lies, disinformation and harassment.”&nbsp;<h2>‘Our track record has not been good’</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714651455645.png" alt="A women holds a sign urging Missourians not to sign an abortion initiative petition at the Midwest March for Life on Wednesday at the Missouri State Capitol (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>A women holds a sign urging Missourians not to sign an abortion initiative petition at the Midwest March for Life on Wednesday at the Missouri State Capitol (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure>Anti-abortion groups interviewed by The Independent are focused on communicating three main points to voters: They believe the constitutional amendment goes farther than Roe; they say the amendment would harm health and safety protections for mothers; and they argue it will eliminate parental consent laws.&nbsp;Abortion-rights groups have said these claims have no merit whatsoever. The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/17/abortion-rights-coalition-viability-campaign-amendment-missouri-ballot/">decision to move forward with an amendment including viability limit,&nbsp;</a>often considered to be around 24 weeks, rather than no ban at all was considered a compromise position rather than an extreme one.Susan Klein, executive director with Missouri Right to Life, said her organization has teams across the state who will file requests under the state’s open records laws to obtain copies of all the signatures obtained by Missourians for Constitutional Freedom. They plan to make sure any names she says were scratched out by people who regretted signing are not counted.Missouri’s messaging is consistent with the strategy being deployed in six other states with abortion measures heading for the ballot, said Kelsey Pritchard, state public affairs director at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.Jamie Morris, executive director of the Missouri Catholic Conference, said the results in other elections made it clear that anti-abortion groups needed a new strategy.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://mocatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/Statement-on-Abortion-Initiative-Petition-1.pdf">The Catholic dioceses in Missouri&nbsp;</a>are helping spread the movement’s message and encouraging parishioners not to sign the abortion-rights petition.&nbsp;“Our track record has not been good,” he said. “From the pro-life side, we’ve always kind of been used to making one particular argument. And obviously, that was not resonating in some of the other states.”Morris said the movement isn’t changing its position, but rather it is rethinking its messaging to focus increasingly on mothers as well as the “unborn child.”&nbsp;“We’ve done a good job of trying to limit the supply of abortions in the state, but what can we do to limit the demand?” Morris said.&nbsp;In neighboring Kansas in 2022, the Catholic church donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in a failed attempt to pass an amendment that would remove the right to abortion from that state’s constitution.So far, the Missouri Catholic Conference has been one of the main donors to&nbsp;Missouri Stands with Women, the only campaign focused solely on actively opposing the abortion initiative petition, contributing $5,001.&nbsp;Morris said Missouri’s dioceses so far have not fundraised on this issue, but if the measure lands on the ballot, he imagines there will be more serious conversations about financial contributions.<h2>Decline to sign</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714651404963.png" alt=" Hundreds of people gathered for the Midwest March for Life on Wednesday at the Missouri State Capitol (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption> Hundreds of people gathered for the Midwest March for Life on Wednesday at the Missouri State Capitol (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure>On a recent Saturday in late April, Republican state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman stood outside her hometown library in Arnold and asked constituents not to sign the abortion-rights initiative.&nbsp;Connie Doty, 74, a longtime Arnold resident and an escort with Abortion Action Missouri, was volunteering to collect signatures that day.Doty said library staff eventually asked her and the other volunteers to stay on the sidewalk. When Doty stepped into the parking lot at one point to let someone take a picture of the ballot initiative, she says Coleman followed her and told the person in the vehicle not to sign it.&nbsp;A short time later, after Doty refused to leave for stepping off the sidewalk, she said three police vehicles showed up. They told everyone to “be nice and be safe,” Doty recalls, then left.&nbsp;Doty said she was not phased, thanks to her decade of experience as an abortion clinic escort encountering protesters who try to stop women from getting abortions. But she said she was alarmed to see her own state senator among the two anti-abortion protesters who showed up.“Considering that Sen. Coleman was doing this to her constituents,” Doty said, “I found pretty deplorable.”&nbsp;Doty said despite the interruption, they collected 143 signatures in a couple hours.“They’re very much afraid that the issue will get on the ballot,” Doty said. “And if it gets on the ballot, people will pass it.”Coleman could not be reached for comment Wednesday.&nbsp;Kellie Copeland executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio, said anti-abortion advocates used similar tactics during their 2023 campaign, including instances where police were called on signature collectors.“Everything about that frankly shows they know that they don’t have the will of the people,” Copeland said. “Why else would they do that?”<h2>A more aggressive strategy</h2>Sam Lee doesn’t want to talk about November. The longtime Missouri anti-abortion lobbyist has his sights set on May 5.He said other states where anti-abortion groups have taken the approach of only trying to beat abortion measures at the ballot box have lost. That’s why in Missouri, efforts began much earlier.“The Decline to Sign (strategy) overall has just been more aggressive in Missouri by a variety of groups,” Lee said. “Not just one group or even one church. It is THE strategy.”&nbsp;Lee said Missouri’s approach has been much more grassroots, spread through social media, sermons and at dining tables.&nbsp;“Tell your family member not to sign,” he said. “Tell your neighbor not to sign.”When Lee is asked by some what he’s afraid of, he said it’s simple:&nbsp;“I just don’t think this should be on the ballot. I think it’s wrong. Why should you give people an opportunity to vote for something that is bad?”&nbsp;Missouri Stands with Women, of which Lee is president, has been distributing messaging, including through paid Facebook ads, encouraging people not to sign.One in particular depicts a man portrayed in a mugshot offering a pen in his hand. The word “felonies” is in quotes beside the drawing.&nbsp;“It’s a pretty clever ad, actually,” Lee said. “Is there a guarantee these signatures cannot be duplicated and used for identity theft? Is it a real issue or not? Well I don’t know. It’s been raised elsewhere.”JoDonn Chaney, a spokesman for the Missouri Secretary of State’s office, said he’s not aware of any threat of identity theft during the signature gathering process at this point. He said the office’s larger focus is ensuring people know and understand what they’re signing.&nbsp;Lee said his campaign is leaning into a 2005 California law that prohibits the sale or transfer of voter data collected through initiative petitions to other countries after concerns were raised when an initiative petition campaign&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://voiceofsandiego.org/2011/08/10/can-you-get-your-id-stolen-signing-a-petition/">outsourced signature verification to a firm in India.&nbsp;</a>So far, Chaney said, the office has received “a handful” of applications to withdraw signatures from the abortion initiative petition.&nbsp;According to records obtained by The Independent through Missouri’s Sunshine Law, the Secretary of State’s office has received about 140 requests for signature withdrawals from the abortion ballot initiative.&nbsp;Most did not provide an explanation for why they changed their mind, but one Columbia resident wrote: “I let a very pushy person with a petition make me feel like I needed to sign. Immediately after, all the reasons not to sign flooded my head. Someone needs to speak for the unborn.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714651358468.png" alt=" Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft joined the Midwest March for Life on Wednesday at the Missouri State Capitol. “I think regardless of what the legislature does, the people of this state – with hard work – can protect all life in this state,” Ashcroft said (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption> Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft joined the Midwest March for Life on Wednesday at the Missouri State Capitol. “I think regardless of what the legislature does, the people of this state – with hard work – can protect all life in this state,” Ashcroft said (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure>On Wednesday morning, the crowd of at least several hundred people gathered on the front lawn of the Capitol, including many high school students, were encouraged to stall signature gatherers if they encounter them on a sidewalk or at their door in a final push to defeat the measure before it gets to a vote.&nbsp;Michael Merchant, 31, based in St. Louis and with Students for Life, said it would be easier if the threshold to pass a constitutional amendment was more than a simple majority. Legislation seeking to increase the threshold for amendments to pass through the initiative petition process&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/04/25/missouri-initiative-petition-bill-ballot-candy-reinstated/">has cleared the House and Senate,</a>&nbsp;but dysfunction in the Senate has put its chances at risk.&nbsp;&nbsp;“As much as I like to be optimistic, I’m not 100% confident that we can get 50% (in opposition),” Merchant said. “The main thing we would have to do is convince people that it’s an extreme thing.”Merchant said he may be able to sway more people who are on the fence by pointing out to them how few limits on abortion would exist under the amendment. Advocates of abortion rights have said limits on abortion access often harm those who are most in need of the procedure, including those with medically-complicated pregnancies.Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who attended Wednesday’s rally, said he believes his party can defeat an abortion ballot measure whether a higher threshold for passing citizen-led ballot measures is ultimately passed or not.“I’m not a political consultant,” Ashcroft said, holding an anti-abortion sign at Wednesday’s march. “I just want to make sure that people know what this amendment will actually do. That it’s abortion from conception until the very last second that the last toenail leaves the birth canal.”

Anti-abortion groups say more aggressive approach necessary to stop Missouri amendment

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri voters on Wednesday got a step closer to getting to decide whether to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour, after a group behind the effort said it turned in nearly double the required number of signatures.

The ballot measure backed by Missouri Jobs with Justice would raise the minimum wage from its current $12.30 an hour to $13.75 an hour next year and then to $15 an hour in 2026.

Citizen-driven amendments to Missouri law require more than 100,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot, and Missouri Jobs with Justice said it submitted about 210,000. Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office must next determine if at least 115,000 or so are valid.

“We feel confident that voters will have an opportunity to pass this important initiative this fall," Caitlyn Adams, executive director of Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action, said in a statement.

Missouri voters historically have supported minimum wage hikes.

After the Republican-led Legislature in 2017&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-7923cc9ee82a4fc599ea6794fd545096">blocked</a>&nbsp;St. Louis and Kansas City from raising wages in those cities, voters in 2018 approved a statewide&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/9bed3bde87cd46dbbe2ba7a81b782abd">minimum wage hike</a>.

Under that plan, the wage floor — then $7.85 an hour — rose by 85 cents per year until it hit $12 in 2023. Pay rose again this year because of automatic increases tied to inflation.

The latest proposal also includes a requirement that workers get paid sick leave.

Employees currently not guaranteed sick days would earn an hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked under the measure.

Businesses with fewer employees would be required to allow a minimum of five paid sick days per year, and larger companies would be required to offer at least seven paid sick days.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714599645166.png" alt="Photo courtesy Missouri Jobs with Justice" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy Missouri Jobs with Justice</figcaption>
 </figure>JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri voters on Wednesday got a step closer to getting to decide whether to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour, after a group behind the effort said it turned in nearly double the required number of signatures.The ballot measure backed by Missouri Jobs with Justice would raise the minimum wage from its current $12.30 an hour to $13.75 an hour next year and then to $15 an hour in 2026.Citizen-driven amendments to Missouri law require more than 100,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot, and Missouri Jobs with Justice said it submitted about 210,000. Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office must next determine if at least 115,000 or so are valid.“We feel confident that voters will have an opportunity to pass this important initiative this fall," Caitlyn Adams, executive director of Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action, said in a statement.Missouri voters historically have supported minimum wage hikes.After the Republican-led Legislature in 2017&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-7923cc9ee82a4fc599ea6794fd545096">blocked</a>&nbsp;St. Louis and Kansas City from raising wages in those cities, voters in 2018 approved a statewide&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/9bed3bde87cd46dbbe2ba7a81b782abd">minimum wage hike</a>.Under that plan, the wage floor — then $7.85 an hour — rose by 85 cents per year until it hit $12 in 2023. Pay rose again this year because of automatic increases tied to inflation.The latest proposal also includes a requirement that workers get paid sick leave.Employees currently not guaranteed sick days would earn an hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked under the measure.Businesses with fewer employees would be required to allow a minimum of five paid sick days per year, and larger companies would be required to offer at least seven paid sick days.

Campaign to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour confident it will get on the ballot

St. Joseph joins in prayer Thursday morning during the 16th
annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast at the downtown Civic Arena.

The breakfast is part of the National Day of Prayer held each
year.

Prayer Breakfast vice chair Melissa Frakes says the event
provides an opportunity for the city to pause and pray.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to not just have a breakfast
and to talk about the needs of the community, which there are many, and of our
country and to pray for those, but this all stems from the National Day of Prayer
and it’s just a local version of that,” Frakes says. “It’s a wonderful
opportunity for us to gather and to pray for all the needs in our communities
and in our country.”

The Prayer Breakfast begins at 6:30am Thursday with the Civic
Arena doors opening at 6:15.

The guest speaker if Geony Rucker, president and founder of
Value Unconditional, which grew out of her own experience.

“Value Unconditional primarily focuses on both the child and
adult victims of violent crime that’s being trafficked,” Prayer Breakfast
chair, Dale Rodney, says. “The goal is to provide them peer support, teaching on
violence prevention and advocacy-minded responses for victims.”

If you just want to attend without breakfast, the event is
free.

Click <a href="https://stjoendp.com/">HERE</a> for more information.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714587198031.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostSt. Joseph joins in prayer Thursday morning during the 16th
annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast at the downtown Civic Arena.The breakfast is part of the National Day of Prayer held each
year.Prayer Breakfast vice chair Melissa Frakes says the event
provides an opportunity for the city to pause and pray.“It’s a great opportunity for us to not just have a breakfast
and to talk about the needs of the community, which there are many, and of our
country and to pray for those, but this all stems from the National Day of Prayer
and it’s just a local version of that,” Frakes says. “It’s a wonderful
opportunity for us to gather and to pray for all the needs in our communities
and in our country.”The Prayer Breakfast begins at 6:30am Thursday with the Civic
Arena doors opening at 6:15.The guest speaker if Geony Rucker, president and founder of
Value Unconditional, which grew out of her own experience.“Value Unconditional primarily focuses on both the child and
adult victims of violent crime that’s being trafficked,” Prayer Breakfast
chair, Dale Rodney, says. “The goal is to provide them peer support, teaching on
violence prevention and advocacy-minded responses for victims.”If you just want to attend without breakfast, the event is
free.Click <a href="https://stjoendp.com/">HERE</a> for more information.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

Time to pray:  St. Joseph Mayor's Prayer breakfast set for Thursday

The Biden Administration has made sweeping changes to Title IX, many that are seen as controversial.   

Changes to Title IX by the Biden Administration overhauled previous rules set by the Trump Administration adding further protections for LGBTQ students.  

NCAA Vice President of Enforcement Jon Duncan says the issue is a complicated and controversial one 

"Other sport bodies have for many years been interested in balancing different interests around equal opportunities for people to engage in sport and have it be an open and inclusive environment," Duncan tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "And then also safety concerns and privacy concerns." 

Among the controversial changes were also more rights given to alleged perpetrators of sexual abuse and harassment 

Duncan says those changes are a complex issue that the organization is working hard on figuring out 

"But all the presidents and all the institutions care deeply about that issue and want to do everything they can at the campus level, at the regional level, and at the national office level to prevent sexual assault in the first instance and to support anybody who's a survivor of that behavior," Duncan explains. 

Nearly a dozen athletes, the most notable being Riley Gaines, have come out against the NCAA and sued over its transgender policies. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/5/1714578358390.jpeg" alt="Missouri Western Craig School of Business' Linda Salfrank (at podium) leads a panel discussion featuring NCAA Vice President Jon Duncan/ Photo by Matt Pike" />
 <figcaption>Missouri Western Craig School of Business' Linda Salfrank (at podium) leads a panel discussion featuring NCAA Vice President Jon Duncan/ Photo by Matt Pike</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKE St. Joseph Post The Biden Administration has made sweeping changes to Title IX, many that are seen as controversial. Changes to Title IX by the Biden Administration overhauled previous rules set by the Trump Administration adding further protections for LGBTQ students. NCAA Vice President of Enforcement Jon Duncan says the issue is a complicated and controversial one "Other sport bodies have for many years been interested in balancing different interests around equal opportunities for people to engage in sport and have it be an open and inclusive environment," Duncan tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "And then also safety concerns and privacy concerns." Among the controversial changes were also more rights given to alleged perpetrators of sexual abuse and harassment Duncan says those changes are a complex issue that the organization is working hard on figuring out "But all the presidents and all the institutions care deeply about that issue and want to do everything they can at the campus level, at the regional level, and at the national office level to prevent sexual assault in the first instance and to support anybody who's a survivor of that behavior," Duncan explains. Nearly a dozen athletes, the most notable being Riley Gaines, have come out against the NCAA and sued over its transgender policies. You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

NCAA rules chief says new Title IX rules yet to be sorted out

CLINTON COUNTY —A Missouri boy was injured in an accident just before 6:30p.m. Tuesday in Clinton County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Kawasaki 650 driven by Dallas A. Arnold, 25, Wheeling, was northbound on private property five miles northwest of Lawson.

A three year-old boy was riding the motorcycle in front of the driver. The motorcycle struck a fence, overturned and the driver and passenger were ejected.

A private vehicle transported the boy to the emergency room in Excelsior Springs.&nbsp; Arnold was not injured. Arnold and the boy were not wearing helmets, according to the MSHP.

CLINTON COUNTY —A Missouri boy was injured in an accident just before 6:30p.m. Tuesday in Clinton County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Kawasaki 650 driven by Dallas A. Arnold, 25, Wheeling, was northbound on private property five miles northwest of Lawson.A three year-old boy was riding the motorcycle in front of the driver. The motorcycle struck a fence, overturned and the driver and passenger were ejected.A private vehicle transported the boy to the emergency room in Excelsior Springs.&nbsp; Arnold was not injured. Arnold and the boy were not wearing helmets, according to the MSHP.

3-year-old Missouri boy injured after fall from motorcycle

HOLT COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 11:30p.m. Tuesday in Holt County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Freightliner semi driven by Victor V. Andritchi, 33, Boring, Oregon, was northbound on Interstate 29 just south of U.S. 59.

The semi rear-ended a 2018 Chevy Equinox driven by Kevin M. Davis, 49, Craig, who had struck a deer in the road.&nbsp;

Atchison-Holt EMS transported Davis to Mosaic Life Care. Andritchi was not injured. Both drivers were properly restrained, according to the MSHP.

HOLT COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 11:30p.m. Tuesday in Holt County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Freightliner semi driven by Victor V. Andritchi, 33, Boring, Oregon, was northbound on Interstate 29 just south of U.S. 59.The semi rear-ended a 2018 Chevy Equinox driven by Kevin M. Davis, 49, Craig, who had struck a deer in the road.&nbsp;Atchison-Holt EMS transported Davis to Mosaic Life Care. Andritchi was not injured. Both drivers were properly restrained, according to the MSHP.

Missouri man injured after semi rear-ends SUV

ANDREW COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just before 9:30p.m. Tuesday in Andrew County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Chevy Impala driven by Richard D. Stinson, 34, Maryville, was northbound on Route C one mile north of County Road 187 two and one half miles north of Savannah.

The driver attempted to avoid a deer in the road and began braking. The car traveled off the east side of the road and struck an embankment.

Andrew County EMS transported Stinson to Mosaic Life Care. He was properly restrained, according to the MSHP.

ANDREW COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just before 9:30p.m. Tuesday in Andrew County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Chevy Impala driven by Richard D. Stinson, 34, Maryville, was northbound on Route C one mile north of County Road 187 two and one half miles north of Savannah.The driver attempted to avoid a deer in the road and began braking. The car traveled off the east side of the road and struck an embankment.Andrew County EMS transported Stinson to Mosaic Life Care. He was properly restrained, according to the MSHP.

Missouri man injured after car strikes embankment

LIVINGSTON COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 1p.m. Tuesday in Livingston County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2018 GMC Acadia driven by Carol L.&nbsp; Paul, 71, Chillicothe, was eastbound on MO 190 five miles west of Chillicothe. The SUV traveled off the north side of the road and struck an embankment.

Chillicothe EMS transported Paul to Hedrick Medical Center. She was properly restrained, according to the MSHP.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 1p.m. Tuesday in Livingston County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2018 GMC Acadia driven by Carol L.&nbsp; Paul, 71, Chillicothe, was eastbound on MO 190 five miles west of Chillicothe. The SUV traveled off the north side of the road and struck an embankment.Chillicothe EMS transported Paul to Hedrick Medical Center. She was properly restrained, according to the MSHP.

Mo. woman injured after SUV strikes embankment

ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged theft.

Just before 4:30p.m. Monday, a 35-year-old victim reported the theft of a Polaris Scrambler four wheeler, ramps, and a jack from the 1000 block North 10th Street in Atchison, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.

The theft occurred sometime between Saturday afternoon and Monday afternoon. The four wheeler was valued at $3,500.

An investigation determined that 60-year-old David Barajas lived next door to the victim and had taken the four wheeler which was parked outside the victim’s residence.&nbsp; 

Just after 8p.m. Monday, police took Barajas into custody at his residence in the 1000 block North 10th Street.&nbsp; The four wheeler was recovered in Buchanan County, Missouri.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714494996853.png" alt="Barajas photo Atchison Co." />
 <figcaption>Barajas photo Atchison Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged theft.Just before 4:30p.m. Monday, a 35-year-old victim reported the theft of a Polaris Scrambler four wheeler, ramps, and a jack from the 1000 block North 10th Street in Atchison, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.The theft occurred sometime between Saturday afternoon and Monday afternoon. The four wheeler was valued at $3,500.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714495176243.png" alt="Photo Police Chief Mike Wilson" />
 <figcaption>Photo Police Chief Mike Wilson</figcaption>
 </figure>An investigation determined that 60-year-old David Barajas lived next door to the victim and had taken the four wheeler which was parked outside the victim’s residence.&nbsp; Just after 8p.m. Monday, police took Barajas into custody at his residence in the 1000 block North 10th Street.&nbsp; The four wheeler was recovered in Buchanan County, Missouri.

Kansas man jailed for alleged theft of his neighbor's 4-wheeler

St. Joseph and Missouri Western State University will be the home for MSHSAA state football championship games over the next few years.

The MSHSAA Board of Directors this month voted to approve St. Joseph as the host city for the Missouri 8-man championship game in 2024. Spratt Stadium will then host the state title games for all classes from 2025-28.

Brett Esely, Director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission, worked in conjunction with Western to make this a reality. He says St. Joseph is a great fit with its facilities, community engagement and participation.

"It's exciting," Esely told KFEQ Radio. "Any time we can bring an event of this magnitude to St. Joseph and Buchanan County, we need to look into it and make it possible. I also think we have a great reputation for hosting championship events, which is a big feather in the cap of our community."

The 11-man state title games will still be at Faurot Field in Columbia this fall.

St. Joseph first received the bid packet for hosting the 8-man title game last October. MSHSAA officials then had a visit to the MWSU campus in January.

From there, both parties expressed interest in having St. Joseph host all of the state football title games, beginning in 2025. The St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau, along with the University, submitted the bid for all the games on April 1 and officially got approval about two weeks after that.

Mizzou has hosted all of the state football championships since 2016. St. Joseph and Missouri Western previously hosted the 8-man championship from 1998-2007.

 Missouri Western’s football program already gets lots of publicity, as the facilities are used to host Kansas City Chiefs training camp every year since 2010.

Colin McQuillan is the special teams coach at Western. A Wathena, KS native and former coach at Union Star, McQuillan says bringing these games to Spratt will no doubt be an added bonus for the program.

"Recruiting, admissions and people being able to check out Missouri Western and see what's available and going on here," he said. "Football wise, it's going to be awesome in terms of recruiting, but getting more football fans in the stands is going to be awesome for the community."

McQuillan helps spearhead both 8-man and 11-man football camps at Spratt Stadium in the summer.

He acknowledges St. Joseph isn’t exactly the most central location for this, but he’s hopeful that teams will see why St. Joseph is such a great host, once the teams get to the campus.

"I know the St. Louis schools won't like the travel as much," McQuillan noted, "but once they get here, they're going to realize that the atmosphere is going to be awesome. The venue and everything that's around it is going to be very, very successful."

For nearly 30 years, state football championships in Missouri had either been held at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, or at Mizzou. Faurot Field has been the host since 2016.

Esely says nowadays, bigger cities have been less eager to host state high school championship events. He believes Spratt Stadium will be the perfect atmosphere for state football, because of the facility and also the region’s overall interest in the sport.

"You don't have to play (in Columbia or St. Louis) to create a great championship experience," Esely said. "Frankly, when I think of Spratt Stadium and 7,200 fans packed in there tight, with the bells and whistles that facility has...I've been a part of some really cool moments there and I look forward to a lot more cool moments moving forward."

The 10,000-seat stadium boasts a 2,500 square foot videoboard and a synthetic turf playing surface.

"The venue speaks for itself. It's the right size. It's got the bells and whistles, the logistics, the infrastructure. The other thing I think that's great to boast, especially to a high school student is, 'It's on a college campus, and ya know, the Chiefs train here in the summertime.'"

You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1693546578918.jpeg" alt="Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph will be the home of all state football championship games in Missouri from 2025-28. Courtesy photo." />
 <figcaption>Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph will be the home of all state football championship games in Missouri from 2025-28. Courtesy photo.</figcaption>
 </figure>By TOMMY REZACSt. Joseph PostSt. Joseph and Missouri Western State University will be the home for MSHSAA state football championship games over the next few years.The MSHSAA Board of Directors this month voted to approve St. Joseph as the host city for the Missouri 8-man championship game in 2024. Spratt Stadium will then host the state title games for all classes from 2025-28.Brett Esely, Director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission, worked in conjunction with Western to make this a reality. He says St. Joseph is a great fit with its facilities, community engagement and participation."It's exciting," Esely told KFEQ Radio. "Any time we can bring an event of this magnitude to St. Joseph and Buchanan County, we need to look into it and make it possible. I also think we have a great reputation for hosting championship events, which is a big feather in the cap of our community."The 11-man state title games will still be at Faurot Field in Columbia this fall.St. Joseph first received the bid packet for hosting the 8-man title game last October. MSHSAA officials then had a visit to the MWSU campus in January.From there, both parties expressed interest in having St. Joseph host all of the state football title games, beginning in 2025. The St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau, along with the University, submitted the bid for all the games on April 1 and officially got approval about two weeks after that.Mizzou has hosted all of the state football championships since 2016. St. Joseph and Missouri Western previously hosted the 8-man championship from 1998-2007. Missouri Western’s football program already gets lots of publicity, as the facilities are used to host Kansas City Chiefs training camp every year since 2010.Colin McQuillan is the special teams coach at Western. A Wathena, KS native and former coach at Union Star, McQuillan says bringing these games to Spratt will no doubt be an added bonus for the program."Recruiting, admissions and people being able to check out Missouri Western and see what's available and going on here," he said. "Football wise, it's going to be awesome in terms of recruiting, but getting more football fans in the stands is going to be awesome for the community."McQuillan helps spearhead both 8-man and 11-man football camps at Spratt Stadium in the summer.He acknowledges St. Joseph isn’t exactly the most central location for this, but he’s hopeful that teams will see why St. Joseph is such a great host, once the teams get to the campus."I know the St. Louis schools won't like the travel as much," McQuillan noted, "but once they get here, they're going to realize that the atmosphere is going to be awesome. The venue and everything that's around it is going to be very, very successful."For nearly 30 years, state football championships in Missouri had either been held at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, or at Mizzou. Faurot Field has been the host since 2016.Esely says nowadays, bigger cities have been less eager to host state high school championship events. He believes Spratt Stadium will be the perfect atmosphere for state football, because of the facility and also the region’s overall interest in the sport."You don't have to play (in Columbia or St. Louis) to create a great championship experience," Esely said. "Frankly, when I think of Spratt Stadium and 7,200 fans packed in there tight, with the bells and whistles that facility has...I've been a part of some really cool moments there and I look forward to a lot more cool moments moving forward."The 10,000-seat stadium boasts a 2,500 square foot videoboard and a synthetic turf playing surface."The venue speaks for itself. It's the right size. It's got the bells and whistles, the logistics, the infrastructure. The other thing I think that's great to boast, especially to a high school student is, 'It's on a college campus, and ya know, the Chiefs train here in the summertime.'"Interviews<div><iframe src="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kfeq-sports/embed/episodes/Brett-Esely---43024-e2j3fne/a-ab7l6fu" height="102px" width="400px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><div><iframe src="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kfeq-sports/embed/episodes/Colin-McQuillan---MWSU-e2j3fph/a-ab7l6np" height="102px" width="400px" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1631269551325.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1692413228096.jpeg" alt="Spratt Stadium plays hosts to a couple of high school events already, including the St. Joseph city jamboree and the Missouri 8-man all-star game. Stock photo." />
 <figcaption>Spratt Stadium plays hosts to a couple of high school events already, including the St. Joseph city jamboree and the Missouri 8-man all-star game. Stock photo.</figcaption>
 </figure>You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

Spratt Stadium to host Missouri 8-man state title in 2024, all classes in 2025-28

Attempting to manage the unruly Missouri River has always been
a tall task.

The Army Corps of Engineers has been listening to local input
as it begins to draft a proposal to manage the lower Missouri River in an
effort to reduce flood risks.

Program Manager Colleen Roberts with the Corps says this study
will seek to improve the resiliency of the lower Missouri River.

“It came about when the four states came together after the
2019 flood event,” Roberts tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.

Roberts says the input from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and
Iowa has proven invaluable as the Corps examines the Missouri River as a whole.

“Typically, our studies are just really site specific with a
local sponsor,” Roberts says. “Whereas for this one we’ve come together with
all four states to look at the river as an entire system which is really unique.”

The study is officially called the, “Lower Missouri Flood Risk
and Resiliency Study.”

Public hearings have been held up and down the river, from
Sioux City, Iowa to St. Louis. Roberts says the input will be used as the Corps
works over the next year to draft the study.

Roberts characterizes this latest, systematic study of the
lower Missouri River as an attempt to create a road map to make the river more
resilient.

“Not something that we’re going to be able to implement
overnight,” according to Roberts. “We need our other stakeholders and other state,
local, federal partners to be able to implement it and it’s more the long-term
implementations, that’s 10-to-50 years, what can we do to really improve the
lower Missouri River?”

Roberts says the Corps began this effort after officials from
Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa complained about Corps management
practices in wake of 2019 flood. Roberts cautions this latest, river-wide study
will take time to draft and even more time to implement.

“We meet monthly with those state partners and give study updates
and see where we want to head together as a group,” Roberts says. “We’ve done
in-person meetings. We’ve been doing all these public outreach events in all
the different states and the state partners have been really involved with
that. I think working on those relationships is really going to be beneficial
down the road as well.”

Roberts says the Corps will take the rest of this year and all
of next to complete the study.

Click <a href="https://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Civil-Works-Programs-And-Projects/Lower-Missouri-River-Basin/">HERE</a> for more on the study.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1714501697209.jpeg" alt="Missouri River/file photo" />
 <figcaption>Missouri River/file photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostAttempting to manage the unruly Missouri River has always been
a tall task.The Army Corps of Engineers has been listening to local input
as it begins to draft a proposal to manage the lower Missouri River in an
effort to reduce flood risks.Program Manager Colleen Roberts with the Corps says this study
will seek to improve the resiliency of the lower Missouri River.“It came about when the four states came together after the
2019 flood event,” Roberts tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.Roberts says the input from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and
Iowa has proven invaluable as the Corps examines the Missouri River as a whole.“Typically, our studies are just really site specific with a
local sponsor,” Roberts says. “Whereas for this one we’ve come together with
all four states to look at the river as an entire system which is really unique.”The study is officially called the, “Lower Missouri Flood Risk
and Resiliency Study.”Public hearings have been held up and down the river, from
Sioux City, Iowa to St. Louis. Roberts says the input will be used as the Corps
works over the next year to draft the study.Roberts characterizes this latest, systematic study of the
lower Missouri River as an attempt to create a road map to make the river more
resilient.“Not something that we’re going to be able to implement
overnight,” according to Roberts. “We need our other stakeholders and other state,
local, federal partners to be able to implement it and it’s more the long-term
implementations, that’s 10-to-50 years, what can we do to really improve the
lower Missouri River?”Roberts says the Corps began this effort after officials from
Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa complained about Corps management
practices in wake of 2019 flood. Roberts cautions this latest, river-wide study
will take time to draft and even more time to implement.“We meet monthly with those state partners and give study updates
and see where we want to head together as a group,” Roberts says. “We’ve done
in-person meetings. We’ve been doing all these public outreach events in all
the different states and the state partners have been really involved with
that. I think working on those relationships is really going to be beneficial
down the road as well.”Roberts says the Corps will take the rest of this year and all
of next to complete the study.Click <a href="https://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Civil-Works-Programs-And-Projects/Lower-Missouri-River-Basin/">HERE</a> for more on the study.You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

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