DEKALB COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just before 2a.m. Wednesday in DeKalb County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2017 Dodge Ram driven by an 18-year-old Madison, Minnesota man was westbound on U.S. 36 two miles west of Stewartsville. The pickup traveled off the north side of the road and overturned onto its top. The towed unit became disconnected from the vehicle and came to rest blocking the driving lane.

DeKalb-Clinton ambulance transported the driver to Mosaic Life Care. The Patrol did not have seat belt usage information and no longer releases names of accident victims.

DEKALB COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just before 2a.m. Wednesday in DeKalb County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2017 Dodge Ram driven by an 18-year-old Madison, Minnesota man was westbound on U.S. 36 two miles west of Stewartsville. The pickup traveled off the north side of the road and overturned onto its top. The towed unit became disconnected from the vehicle and came to rest blocking the driving lane.DeKalb-Clinton ambulance transported the driver to Mosaic Life Care. The Patrol did not have seat belt usage information and no longer releases names of accident victims.

Teen injured after pickup overturns in DeKalb County

St. Joseph —Great turnout for National Night Out in St. Joseph and Cameron, according to a social media report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop H.

"We enjoyed visiting and interacting with community members. Events like this help build relationships and trust—thank you for coming out."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754444234367.jpeg" alt="Photos MSHP Troop H" />
 <figcaption>Photos MSHP Troop H</figcaption>
 </figure>St. Joseph —Great turnout for National Night Out in St. Joseph and Cameron, according to a social media report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop H.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754444208251.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>"We enjoyed visiting and interacting with community members. Events like this help build relationships and trust—thank you for coming out."

MSHP: Great turnout for National Night Out

The Kansas City Chiefs were back at it today after a Monday off day, gearing up for the Arizona Cardinals during practice at Missouri Western State University.  

The Chiefs offense is working to get the explosive, downfield play back this season.  That's something offensive coordinator Matt Nagy felt they hit their stride with during today's practice 

"I really felt like today was one of our, as a group and in particular with Pat, one of our better days with those types of throws, some downfield stuff," Nagy tells reporters after practice.  "Where the timing element, it wasn't one of those deals where you're scrambling throwing the ball away and catching a ball off timing, these were all on timing throws and then guys were making great catches, so I was really pleased with that." 

The Chiefs offense remains without Hollywood Brown who did not practice again today with an ankle injury.   

The Chiefs safety group lost a piece this offseason as veteran safety Justin Reid was not resigned and moved on to the New Orleans Saints.   

Kansas City brought back safety Mike Edwards, who spent last year with Buffalo and Tampa Bay after being with Kansas City in 2023, to add that veteran presence to a young room.

Edwards says the last time he was here; it was Reid that was that leader, but now he feels like it's his responsibility to take on that role 

"Whatever it may be, trying to take on a leadership role," Edwards says.  "You know I feel like everybody can be a leader in that room, but being an older guy, being a vet, trying to take on that role so I can help out the younger guys as much as possible." 

Edwards says he's been impressed with the young safeties in the room like Jaden Hicks and Glendon Miller.  

He also adds there was no question he wanted to come back to Kansas City, because of how well the organization treated him 

Adding to that young core, the Chiefs drafted a rookie class that's very likeable and are becoming fan favorites during Chiefs Training Camp.  

Josh Simmons and Jalen Royals are greeted with cheers each morning coming down the hill.  But another working hard, and being recognized, is fifth round pick linebacker Jeffrey Bassa

Bassa sees himself as a swiss army knife of sorts, and says defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has had him working out all across the defense 

"Really learning both positions, the Mike and the Will, really trying to cross train so when it comes to a situation where he can get me in at either position, I feel like we've been doing a great job at that as well," Bassa says.  "Kind of knowing the fact that I'm learning two positions and now that I'm going to be able to later on in my career learn the back end and learn the full front, I feel like it's going to be a good job and it's going to help me in the long end."  

Bassa also credits leaning on veteran linebackers Drue Tranquill and Nick Bolton in the learning process as guys that have helped ease him into the NFL.  

The Chiefs held another over two-hour practice, a standard at this point in camp.  Kansas City will practice again tomorrow at 9:15. 

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1753213356048.jpeg" alt="Gardner Minshew (17) hands the ball off to Brashard Smith (30) as Patrick Mahomes and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy watch on/ File photo" />
 <figcaption>Gardner Minshew (17) hands the ball off to Brashard Smith (30) as Patrick Mahomes and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy watch on/ File photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKE The Kansas City Chiefs were back at it today after a Monday off day, gearing up for the Arizona Cardinals during practice at Missouri Western State University. The Chiefs offense is working to get the explosive, downfield play back this season. That's something offensive coordinator Matt Nagy felt they hit their stride with during today's practice "I really felt like today was one of our, as a group and in particular with Pat, one of our better days with those types of throws, some downfield stuff," Nagy tells reporters after practice. "Where the timing element, it wasn't one of those deals where you're scrambling throwing the ball away and catching a ball off timing, these were all on timing throws and then guys were making great catches, so I was really pleased with that." The Chiefs offense remains without Hollywood Brown who did not practice again today with an ankle injury. The Chiefs safety group lost a piece this offseason as veteran safety Justin Reid was not resigned and moved on to the New Orleans Saints. Kansas City brought back safety Mike Edwards, who spent last year with Buffalo and Tampa Bay after being with Kansas City in 2023, to add that veteran presence to a young room.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754429932175.jpeg" alt="Mike Edwards (34) lines up to blitz during a defensive drill during Chiefs Training Camp Photo by Justin Peacock.jpg" />
 <figcaption>Mike Edwards (34) lines up to blitz during a defensive drill during Chiefs Training Camp Photo by Justin Peacock.jpg</figcaption>
 </figure>Edwards says the last time he was here; it was Reid that was that leader, but now he feels like it's his responsibility to take on that role "Whatever it may be, trying to take on a leadership role," Edwards says. "You know I feel like everybody can be a leader in that room, but being an older guy, being a vet, trying to take on that role so I can help out the younger guys as much as possible." Edwards says he's been impressed with the young safeties in the room like Jaden Hicks and Glendon Miller. He also adds there was no question he wanted to come back to Kansas City, because of how well the organization treated him Adding to that young core, the Chiefs drafted a rookie class that's very likeable and are becoming fan favorites during Chiefs Training Camp. Josh Simmons and Jalen Royals are greeted with cheers each morning coming down the hill. But another working hard, and being recognized, is fifth round pick linebacker Jeffrey Bassa<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754429904720.jpeg" alt="Rookie linebacker Jeffrey Bassa runs a drill during Chiefs Training Camp in St. Joseph Photo by Justin Peacock.jpg" />
 <figcaption>Rookie linebacker Jeffrey Bassa runs a drill during Chiefs Training Camp in St. Joseph Photo by Justin Peacock.jpg</figcaption>
 </figure>Bassa sees himself as a swiss army knife of sorts, and says defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has had him working out all across the defense "Really learning both positions, the Mike and the Will, really trying to cross train so when it comes to a situation where he can get me in at either position, I feel like we've been doing a great job at that as well," Bassa says. "Kind of knowing the fact that I'm learning two positions and now that I'm going to be able to later on in my career learn the back end and learn the full front, I feel like it's going to be a good job and it's going to help me in the long end." Bassa also credits leaning on veteran linebackers Drue Tranquill and Nick Bolton in the learning process as guys that have helped ease him into the NFL. The Chiefs held another over two-hour practice, a standard at this point in camp. Kansas City will practice again tomorrow at 9:15. You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp;&nbsp;

With first preseason game on the horizon, Chiefs return to practice

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/kelcie-moseley-morris/">Kelcie Moseley-Morris</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>

The Trump administration has taken its first step toward restricting access to abortions for veterans who are covered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ medical benefits, reversing a<a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-09-09/html/2022-19239.htm" target="_blank">&nbsp;2022 rule</a>.

Former Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration enacted the rule following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which ended federally protected access to abortion. More than a dozen states implemented abortion bans after that decision, and the policy was meant to preserve access to abortion for veterans in certain circumstances, regardless of where they lived. Veterans Affairs medical centers were allowed to provide abortions in cases of rape or incest, and when the life or health of the pregnant person was in jeopardy. Counseling about abortion was also permitted.

Under the proposal, nearly all abortions, except those to save a patient’s life, would be banned at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and would no longer be covered by VA medical benefits.

In<a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/state-policies-abortion-bans" target="_blank">&nbsp;eight states with abortion bans</a>, there are no rape or incest exceptions, including Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Five states with bans also don’t have an exception in cases where the pregnant person’s health is at risk, only to save their life.

The rule also applies to recipients of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA), which provides coverage to veterans’ families, including children, along with caregivers of veterans.

Officials&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/04/2025-14687/reproductive-health-services#page-36416" target="_blank">wrote in the proposal</a>&nbsp;that the 2022 policy was enacted because the administration expected increased “demand” for abortion services, but the rule cited abortion bans in several states that created an environment of uncertainty for veterans who might need care.

The Department of Veterans Affairs provided 88 abortions in the first year after the rule went into place, 64 of which were performed because of a threat to the pregnant person’s health, according to VA data<a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/19/va-says-it-performed-88-abortions-past-year-congress-again-threatens-subpoenas-pursuit-of-more.html" target="_blank">&nbsp;reported by Military.com</a>.

Rescinding the rule was a directive in Project 2025, the blueprint document published by the conservative Heritage Foundation and co-authored by anti-abortion organizations such as Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. The first of what the document calls “needed reforms” calls for rescinding all department clinical policy directives that are “contrary to principles of conservative governance, starting with abortion services and gender reassignment surgery.”

“Neither aligns with service-connected conditions that would warrant VA’s providing this type of clinical care,” the Project 2025 document reads.

U.S. law already mandates that federal funding cannot be used for abortions except in cases of rape, incest and in certain medical circumstances. The administration argues the 2022 rule violated the “bright line between elective abortion and health care services” and should return to a policy that only allows abortion care to save the pregnant person’s life. Counseling about abortion options would no longer be permitted.

“Taken together, claims in the prior administrations rule that abortions throughout pregnancy are needed to save the lives of pregnant women are incorrect,” officials wrote in the proposed rule description. “Prior to September 9, 2022, abortions and abortion counseling were excluded from the medical benefits package, with no exceptions.”

According to estimates from nonprofit National Partnership for Women and Families, more than 400,000 women veterans lived in states that already had an abortion ban in place or were likely to ban it in 2023. That figure represents more than half of the women veterans in the country.

<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/04/2025-14687/reproductive-health-services#page-36416" target="_blank">Public comment</a>&nbsp;on the proposed rule will be accepted until Sept. 3.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754415459349.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/kelcie-moseley-morris/">Kelcie Moseley-Morris</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/09/21/missouri-judge-once-again-delays-decision-on-closing-agape-boarding-school/">Missouri Independent</a>The Trump administration has taken its first step toward restricting access to abortions for veterans who are covered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ medical benefits, reversing a<a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-09-09/html/2022-19239.htm" target="_blank">&nbsp;2022 rule</a>.Former Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration enacted the rule following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which ended federally protected access to abortion. More than a dozen states implemented abortion bans after that decision, and the policy was meant to preserve access to abortion for veterans in certain circumstances, regardless of where they lived. Veterans Affairs medical centers were allowed to provide abortions in cases of rape or incest, and when the life or health of the pregnant person was in jeopardy. Counseling about abortion was also permitted.Under the proposal, nearly all abortions, except those to save a patient’s life, would be banned at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and would no longer be covered by VA medical benefits.In<a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/state-policies-abortion-bans" target="_blank">&nbsp;eight states with abortion bans</a>, there are no rape or incest exceptions, including Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Five states with bans also don’t have an exception in cases where the pregnant person’s health is at risk, only to save their life.The rule also applies to recipients of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA), which provides coverage to veterans’ families, including children, along with caregivers of veterans.Officials&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/04/2025-14687/reproductive-health-services#page-36416" target="_blank">wrote in the proposal</a>&nbsp;that the 2022 policy was enacted because the administration expected increased “demand” for abortion services, but the rule cited abortion bans in several states that created an environment of uncertainty for veterans who might need care.The Department of Veterans Affairs provided 88 abortions in the first year after the rule went into place, 64 of which were performed because of a threat to the pregnant person’s health, according to VA data<a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/19/va-says-it-performed-88-abortions-past-year-congress-again-threatens-subpoenas-pursuit-of-more.html" target="_blank">&nbsp;reported by Military.com</a>.Rescinding the rule was a directive in Project 2025, the blueprint document published by the conservative Heritage Foundation and co-authored by anti-abortion organizations such as Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. The first of what the document calls “needed reforms” calls for rescinding all department clinical policy directives that are “contrary to principles of conservative governance, starting with abortion services and gender reassignment surgery.”“Neither aligns with service-connected conditions that would warrant VA’s providing this type of clinical care,” the Project 2025 document reads.U.S. law already mandates that federal funding cannot be used for abortions except in cases of rape, incest and in certain medical circumstances. The administration argues the 2022 rule violated the “bright line between elective abortion and health care services” and should return to a policy that only allows abortion care to save the pregnant person’s life. Counseling about abortion options would no longer be permitted.“Taken together, claims in the prior administrations rule that abortions throughout pregnancy are needed to save the lives of pregnant women are incorrect,” officials wrote in the proposed rule description. “Prior to September 9, 2022, abortions and abortion counseling were excluded from the medical benefits package, with no exceptions.”According to estimates from nonprofit National Partnership for Women and Families, more than 400,000 women veterans lived in states that already had an abortion ban in place or were likely to ban it in 2023. That figure represents more than half of the women veterans in the country.<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/04/2025-14687/reproductive-health-services#page-36416" target="_blank">Public comment</a>&nbsp;on the proposed rule will be accepted until Sept. 3.&nbsp;

Trump admin. moves to end veterans’ abortion access in cases of rape, incest and health

Kansas City Chiefs
CEO, Clark Hunt, has high praise for St. Joseph, the home of the Chiefs
Training Camp.

“Well, this is our
15th year hosting training camp here out of the last 16 years and
the experience has been fantastic for the organization,” Hunt tells the media during
an appearance at Chiefs Training Camp.

It starts, says
Hunt, with the football team itself.

“I know you’ve heard
Coach (Andy) Reid talk about how important he thinks it is in terms of bringing
the team together to be up here in this environment,” Hunt says. “The
facilities are outstanding. The folks in the cafeteria do a great job with the
food. So, it’s been an all-around win for the football team.”

Hunt even has
praise for the dorms. He says he stays in the dorms when he visits training
camp. Some players have complained about mattresses in the past, but that has
been solved, according to Hunt, with a partnership with a local furniture store
that provided new mattresses.

Hunt says moving
training camp to St. Joseph has been a big benefit for the fans as well.

“Many of them are
local. Some have driven up from Kansas City or, really, across the bistate
region. And, having the fans here I think helps the players from an intensity
level at practice,” Hunt says. “And then, also, creates a very special environment
where the fans and players are able to interact like we saw here just a few
minutes ago with our players signing autographs.”

Hunt praises how
well Missouri Western State University takes care of the Chiefs, from the dorms
to the food in the cafeteria.

“It’s really been
great for the organization,” Hunt says. “We were glad to be able to extend our
relationship going forward. We do believe it’s been a key part of helping us win
a few championships.”

The Chiefs and
Missouri Western agreed to a six-year extension to hold training camp in St.
Joseph. The Chiefs moved training camp from River Falls, Wisconsin to St. Joseph in 2010. The team has
sequestered in St. Joseph every year since with the exception of the COVID
year; 15 out of the past 16 years.

You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754415249199.jpeg" alt="Kansas City Chiefs CEO, Clark Hunt/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Kansas City Chiefs CEO, Clark Hunt/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostKansas City Chiefs
CEO, Clark Hunt, has high praise for St. Joseph, the home of the Chiefs
Training Camp.“Well, this is our
15th year hosting training camp here out of the last 16 years and
the experience has been fantastic for the organization,” Hunt tells the media during
an appearance at Chiefs Training Camp.It starts, says
Hunt, with the football team itself.“I know you’ve heard
Coach (Andy) Reid talk about how important he thinks it is in terms of bringing
the team together to be up here in this environment,” Hunt says. “The
facilities are outstanding. The folks in the cafeteria do a great job with the
food. So, it’s been an all-around win for the football team.”Hunt even has
praise for the dorms. He says he stays in the dorms when he visits training
camp. Some players have complained about mattresses in the past, but that has
been solved, according to Hunt, with a partnership with a local furniture store
that provided new mattresses.Hunt says moving
training camp to St. Joseph has been a big benefit for the fans as well.“Many of them are
local. Some have driven up from Kansas City or, really, across the bistate
region. And, having the fans here I think helps the players from an intensity
level at practice,” Hunt says. “And then, also, creates a very special environment
where the fans and players are able to interact like we saw here just a few
minutes ago with our players signing autographs.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754415310898.jpeg" alt="Clark Hunt speaks to the media during Chiefs Training Camp/Photo by Brent Martin" />
 <figcaption>Clark Hunt speaks to the media during Chiefs Training Camp/Photo by Brent Martin</figcaption>
 </figure>Hunt praises how
well Missouri Western State University takes care of the Chiefs, from the dorms
to the food in the cafeteria.“It’s really been
great for the organization,” Hunt says. “We were glad to be able to extend our
relationship going forward. We do believe it’s been a key part of helping us win
a few championships.”The Chiefs and
Missouri Western agreed to a six-year extension to hold training camp in St.
Joseph. The Chiefs moved training camp from River Falls, Wisconsin to St. Joseph in 2010. The team has
sequestered in St. Joseph every year since with the exception of the COVID
year; 15 out of the past 16 years.You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

Chiefs owner says moving training camp to St. Joseph benefits team & fans

By MATT PIKESt. Joseph Post<div><iframe data-testid="embed-iframe" style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/30G20xKLEInEWryhfM4dSn?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

KFEQ Morning Sports

By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph Post<div><iframe data-testid="embed-iframe" style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/7GlPfRgUBB0eV7TtTkBHET?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

KFEQ Morning News

ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after a weekend traffic stop.&nbsp;

Just after&nbsp;2p.m. on Saturday police conducted a traffic stop in the 500 block U.S.59 in Atchison, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson. A passenger in the vehicle, identified as 53-year-old Dwight Downing, was arrested on

outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court. During his arrest he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and marijuana, according to Wilson.&nbsp; Downing remains in custody.

Dwight A. Downing, Jr., 53, Atchison, was arrested on Saturday on District and Municipal Court warrants for failure to appear in court. Also charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana. Taken to County Jail.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754320137120.png" alt="Downing photo Atchison County." />
 <figcaption>Downing photo Atchison County.</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after a weekend traffic stop.&nbsp;Just after&nbsp;2p.m. on Saturday police conducted a traffic stop in the 500 block U.S.59 in Atchison, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson. A passenger in the vehicle, identified as 53-year-old Dwight Downing, was arrested onoutstanding warrants for failure to appear in court. During his arrest he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and marijuana, according to Wilson.&nbsp; Downing remains in custody.Dwight A. Downing, Jr., 53, Atchison, was arrested on Saturday on District and Municipal Court warrants for failure to appear in court. Also charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana. Taken to County Jail.

Police: Kan. man accused of skipping court, drug possession

The Missouri National Education Association filed a lawsuit this summer to block $51 million in state appropriations to private school scholarships through the MOScholars program

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">Jason Hancock</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

A trio of parents and a national advocacy group are seeking to intervene in opposition to a lawsuit filed by Missouri’s largest teacher’s union challenging the constitutionality of $51 million in state funding for a private-school voucher program.&nbsp;

Helping them in their efforts is Todd Graves, a prominent Kansas City attorney and chairman of the Herzog Foundation, which participates in the voucher program through an affiliated nonprofit connecting Missouri students and private schools with scholarship funding.

Graves is also a member of the University of Missouri Board of Curators. He filed the motion to intervene in the case in Cole County circuit court last week.&nbsp;

The lawsuit targets a state tax credit program called MOScholars that relies on nonprofits like the Herzog Foundation — called “educational assistance organizations” — to gather donations and distribute scholarships to students in private, parochial or home schools. Donors can receive a tax credit equal to 100% of their contribution but can use it to cover no more than half of their state tax liability.&nbsp;

However, the budget signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe includes an injection of general revenue to the MOScholars program, budgeting $50 million in taxpayer funds for scholarships and $1 million to assist marketing the program.

The three parents seeking to intervene in the lawsuit — one from Kearney, one from Kirkwood and one from Springfield — say they’ve used MoScholars and expect their families to benefit from the influx of state money.&nbsp;

They are represented by EdChoice Legal Advocates, an Indiana-based nonprofit that advocates for school-choice measures. Graves filed the motion to intervene because he’s a licensed attorney in Missouri.&nbsp;

“Missouri families depend on MOScholars to afford educational options that best fit their children’s needs,” said Thomas Fisher, director of litigation at EdChoice Legal Advocates. “We are proud to support these brave parents who are stepping forward to defend and protect the expansion of the MOScholars program.”

The lawsuit, filed by the Missouri National Education Association and two public school teachers, argues a direct appropriation of taxpayer funds to MOScholars is unconstitutional.&nbsp;

The 2021 law that created MOScholars only prescribes the use of tax-deductible donations to educational assistance organizations as its funding source — not general revenue. The lawsuit contends that a direct appropriation to the program effectively changes the MOScholars law,&nbsp; and changing state statute in a budget bill is not allowed.

Plaintiffs had hoped a Cole County judge would expedite the case so that a temporary restraining order could be in place before state money is dispersed through the voucher program.&nbsp;

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey argued his office needed more time to prepare for the case, citing recent departures of two top aides who would have been involved in the litigation.&nbsp;

“A rushed response could lead to inadvertent admissions or incomplete answers, which would unfairly prejudice the defendants’ ability to present a full and fair defense,” the attorney general’s office said in its filing.&nbsp;

The judge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/article_5f4f5093-90a6-4cfd-ad0c-d63e8bfd38de.html" target="_blank">agreed with Bailey</a>, and arguments over the teacher’s union request for a temporary restraining order are set for late August.

Critics of Missouri’s voucher program argue that shifting state resources into private schools could hurt public education around the state. That’s especially true, they contend, in rural Missouri, where there are few options for private or religious schools.&nbsp;

“Politicians in Jefferson City and their privatization lobbyists are stealing from our kids,” Missouri NEA President Phil Murray&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/01/missouri-educators-sue-state-over-51-million-appropriation-to-private-school-vouchers/">told The Independent last month</a>. “In rural Missouri, that $51 million means losing our music teacher, canceling basketball and watching our schools crumble. They’re killing our small towns.”

Proponents argue the program is a vital resource for families who do not feel public schools are the best option for their children.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Libby Eversgerd, a single mother of four from Kirkwood and one of the parents seeking to intervene in the lawsuit, said her daughter struggled in public schools before eventually dropping out. When her son started having similar issues years later, she was able to use MOScholars to help enroll in a private school where she says his grades&nbsp;and attendance improved dramatically.

“The recent expansion of the program is constitutional,” EdChoice’s Fischer said, “and will expand education freedom for low-income families and students with learning differences.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754357556444.png" alt="National Education Association" />
 <figcaption>National Education Association</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The Missouri National Education Association filed a lawsuit this summer to block $51 million in state appropriations to private school scholarships through the MOScholars program</h2>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jason-hancock/">Jason Hancock</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>A trio of parents and a national advocacy group are seeking to intervene in opposition to a lawsuit filed by Missouri’s largest teacher’s union challenging the constitutionality of $51 million in state funding for a private-school voucher program.&nbsp;Helping them in their efforts is Todd Graves, a prominent Kansas City attorney and chairman of the Herzog Foundation, which participates in the voucher program through an affiliated nonprofit connecting Missouri students and private schools with scholarship funding.Graves is also a member of the University of Missouri Board of Curators. He filed the motion to intervene in the case in Cole County circuit court last week.&nbsp;The lawsuit targets a state tax credit program called MOScholars that relies on nonprofits like the Herzog Foundation — called “educational assistance organizations” — to gather donations and distribute scholarships to students in private, parochial or home schools. Donors can receive a tax credit equal to 100% of their contribution but can use it to cover no more than half of their state tax liability.&nbsp;However, the budget signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe includes an injection of general revenue to the MOScholars program, budgeting $50 million in taxpayer funds for scholarships and $1 million to assist marketing the program.The three parents seeking to intervene in the lawsuit — one from Kearney, one from Kirkwood and one from Springfield — say they’ve used MoScholars and expect their families to benefit from the influx of state money.&nbsp;They are represented by EdChoice Legal Advocates, an Indiana-based nonprofit that advocates for school-choice measures. Graves filed the motion to intervene because he’s a licensed attorney in Missouri.&nbsp;“Missouri families depend on MOScholars to afford educational options that best fit their children’s needs,” said Thomas Fisher, director of litigation at EdChoice Legal Advocates. “We are proud to support these brave parents who are stepping forward to defend and protect the expansion of the MOScholars program.”The lawsuit, filed by the Missouri National Education Association and two public school teachers, argues a direct appropriation of taxpayer funds to MOScholars is unconstitutional.&nbsp;The 2021 law that created MOScholars only prescribes the use of tax-deductible donations to educational assistance organizations as its funding source — not general revenue. The lawsuit contends that a direct appropriation to the program effectively changes the MOScholars law,&nbsp; and changing state statute in a budget bill is not allowed.Plaintiffs had hoped a Cole County judge would expedite the case so that a temporary restraining order could be in place before state money is dispersed through the voucher program.&nbsp;Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey argued his office needed more time to prepare for the case, citing recent departures of two top aides who would have been involved in the litigation.&nbsp;“A rushed response could lead to inadvertent admissions or incomplete answers, which would unfairly prejudice the defendants’ ability to present a full and fair defense,” the attorney general’s office said in its filing.&nbsp;The judge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/article_5f4f5093-90a6-4cfd-ad0c-d63e8bfd38de.html" target="_blank">agreed with Bailey</a>, and arguments over the teacher’s union request for a temporary restraining order are set for late August.Critics of Missouri’s voucher program argue that shifting state resources into private schools could hurt public education around the state. That’s especially true, they contend, in rural Missouri, where there are few options for private or religious schools.&nbsp;“Politicians in Jefferson City and their privatization lobbyists are stealing from our kids,” Missouri NEA President Phil Murray&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/01/missouri-educators-sue-state-over-51-million-appropriation-to-private-school-vouchers/">told The Independent last month</a>. “In rural Missouri, that $51 million means losing our music teacher, canceling basketball and watching our schools crumble. They’re killing our small towns.”Proponents argue the program is a vital resource for families who do not feel public schools are the best option for their children.&nbsp;&nbsp;Libby Eversgerd, a single mother of four from Kirkwood and one of the parents seeking to intervene in the lawsuit, said her daughter struggled in public schools before eventually dropping out. When her son started having similar issues years later, she was able to use MOScholars to help enroll in a private school where she says his grades&nbsp;and attendance improved dramatically.“The recent expansion of the program is constitutional,” EdChoice’s Fischer said, “and will expand education freedom for low-income families and students with learning differences.”

Parents intervene in Missouri voucher lawsuit with help from Herzog Foundation leader

By MATT PIKESt. Joseph Post<div><iframe data-testid="embed-iframe" style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/1UdK398L6OuivW7YZs3Z7u?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph Post<div><iframe data-testid="embed-iframe" style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/3Slo6hmG5dN3JvdJgrKJKo?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

Missouri Gov. Mike
Kehoe has appointed a Maryville man to the Missouri Health Facilities Review
Committee.

Kehoe’s office
reports the governor appointed James Bagley to the committee.

Bagley serves United
Electric Cooperative Chief Executive Officer, with previous experience at
Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative and Glidden REC.

Bagley also served
as the director of substation operations at Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative.
Prior to his cooperative roles, Bagley worked as a technician at the United
States Department of Energy and as an interior communications electrician in
the United States Navy, where he served in submarine service.

Bagley holds a
Master of Business Administration from Drury University.

By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostMissouri Gov. Mike
Kehoe has appointed a Maryville man to the Missouri Health Facilities Review
Committee.Kehoe’s office
reports the governor appointed James Bagley to the committee.Bagley serves United
Electric Cooperative Chief Executive Officer, with previous experience at
Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative and Glidden REC.Bagley also served
as the director of substation operations at Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative.
Prior to his cooperative roles, Bagley worked as a technician at the United
States Department of Energy and as an interior communications electrician in
the United States Navy, where he served in submarine service.Bagley holds a
Master of Business Administration from Drury University.You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

Gov. Kehoe appoints Bagley to Health Facilities Review Committee

St. Joseph School Superintendent, Ashly
McGinnis, says the St. Joseph School District will move forward with its plan
for a two high school system, though the Board of Education hasn’t finalized a
plan, yet.

McGinnis says a recent public survey
taken by the district disclosed mixed results with about half of those
responding favoring the current, three high school model, and half favoring a
move to a two high school model.

“The unfortunate part of that is right
now we’re in a financial situation where we need to go to two high schools,”
McGinnis says during her appearance on KFEQmmunity. “But I do think we have
quite a bit of support with that; I do.”

McGinnis, a St. Joseph native who has
been with the district since 2007, understands the difficulty in eliminating a
high school.

“It is tough, because we have a
population, a pocket of people, who are just so committed to that red, blue,
and green and appreciate and respect tradition and the history there.”

McGinnis says the Board of Education has
asked for the costs involved in moving to a model with Central and Lafayette
Highs Schools as well as one involving Central and Benton.

McGinnis says all of this is a work in
progress.

“The plan right now is a working document
until we can land on which two sites and then, ultimately, the future,”
McGinnis says. “Personally, I can’t settle with just having two high schools in
any of those situations, either one of the two, and then just being done. I
think for our kids and for our community to move forward we have to look at
having a new high school.”

McGinnis says board members as well as
staff have been working to understand what exactly voters told the district in
April when they rejected a $157 million bond issue to build a new high school.

McGinnis says the district and board must
take a system-wide approach, pointing out the district must cope with declining
enrollment and staffing needs.

“We have to look at our system and our
district as a whole, all of our buildings, and how can we address these
inefficiencies,” McGinnis says.

McGinnis says though hard decisions are
ahead, she’s optimistic.

“I’m hopeful for the future,” McGinnis
says. “I think that it is time that we have action and I think we have a lot of
leaders in place and it’s going to be a positive change. And I believe that will
be positive for our district as a whole.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754329461939.jpeg" alt="Ashly McGinnis/Photo by Justin Peacock" />
 <figcaption>Ashly McGinnis/Photo by Justin Peacock</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostSt. Joseph School Superintendent, Ashly
McGinnis, says the St. Joseph School District will move forward with its plan
for a two high school system, though the Board of Education hasn’t finalized a
plan, yet.McGinnis says a recent public survey
taken by the district disclosed mixed results with about half of those
responding favoring the current, three high school model, and half favoring a
move to a two high school model.“The unfortunate part of that is right
now we’re in a financial situation where we need to go to two high schools,”
McGinnis says during her appearance on KFEQmmunity. “But I do think we have
quite a bit of support with that; I do.”McGinnis, a St. Joseph native who has
been with the district since 2007, understands the difficulty in eliminating a
high school.“It is tough, because we have a
population, a pocket of people, who are just so committed to that red, blue,
and green and appreciate and respect tradition and the history there.”McGinnis says the Board of Education has
asked for the costs involved in moving to a model with Central and Lafayette
Highs Schools as well as one involving Central and Benton.McGinnis says all of this is a work in
progress.“The plan right now is a working document
until we can land on which two sites and then, ultimately, the future,”
McGinnis says. “Personally, I can’t settle with just having two high schools in
any of those situations, either one of the two, and then just being done. I
think for our kids and for our community to move forward we have to look at
having a new high school.”McGinnis says board members as well as
staff have been working to understand what exactly voters told the district in
April when they rejected a $157 million bond issue to build a new high school.McGinnis says the district and board must
take a system-wide approach, pointing out the district must cope with declining
enrollment and staffing needs.“We have to look at our system and our
district as a whole, all of our buildings, and how can we address these
inefficiencies,” McGinnis says.McGinnis says though hard decisions are
ahead, she’s optimistic.“I’m hopeful for the future,” McGinnis
says. “I think that it is time that we have action and I think we have a lot of
leaders in place and it’s going to be a positive change. And I believe that will
be positive for our district as a whole.”You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

Supt. McGinnis optimistic looking at future of St. Joseph School District

St. Joseph area
residents donated more than 20,000 school supplies during the 17th
annual Stuff the Bus campaign operated by the Greater St. Joseph United Way.

The United Way
also reports residents donated more than $2,000 to purchase school supplies for
needy children before the school year begins. Residents have donated more than
300,000 school supplies since the United Way began launched Stuff the Bus in
2009.

School supplies
will be distributed through United Way Partner Agencies and Programs including,
the Salvation Army.

Mosaic Life Care sponsored
the event in which First Student school buses were parked in front of the North
Belt and South Belt Walmart stores. The St. Joseph School District supplied
lists of supplies for shoppers unsure what to buy.

Families who may
need assistance with school supplies are encouraged to call The Salvation Army
at 816-232-5824 to learn more about their school supply distribution which will
take place at August 7, 2025.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754330964282.jpeg" alt="Photo courtesy of Greater St. Joseph United Way" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy of Greater St. Joseph United Way</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostSt. Joseph area
residents donated more than 20,000 school supplies during the 17th
annual Stuff the Bus campaign operated by the Greater St. Joseph United Way.The United Way
also reports residents donated more than $2,000 to purchase school supplies for
needy children before the school year begins. Residents have donated more than
300,000 school supplies since the United Way began launched Stuff the Bus in
2009.School supplies
will be distributed through United Way Partner Agencies and Programs including,
the Salvation Army.Mosaic Life Care sponsored
the event in which First Student school buses were parked in front of the North
Belt and South Belt Walmart stores. The St. Joseph School District supplied
lists of supplies for shoppers unsure what to buy.Families who may
need assistance with school supplies are encouraged to call The Salvation Army
at 816-232-5824 to learn more about their school supply distribution which will
take place at August 7, 2025.You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

Residents donate 20K+ school supplies to St. Joseph's Stuff the Bus

A 35-year-old St.
Joseph woman has been killed when run over by a semi tractor-trailer on I-29 in
Buchanan County in the early morning hours of Sunday.

The Missouri State
Highway Patrol reports the woman was laying in the southbound lane of I-29 when
the semi, driven by a 50-year-old Papillion, Nebraska man, ran over her shortly
before three o’clock Sunday morning.

The woman was
pronounced dead at the scene.

The Missouri State
Highway Patrol no longer releases the names of accident victims.

By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostA 35-year-old St.
Joseph woman has been killed when run over by a semi tractor-trailer on I-29 in
Buchanan County in the early morning hours of Sunday.The Missouri State
Highway Patrol reports the woman was laying in the southbound lane of I-29 when
the semi, driven by a 50-year-old Papillion, Nebraska man, ran over her shortly
before three o’clock Sunday morning.The woman was
pronounced dead at the scene.The Missouri State
Highway Patrol no longer releases the names of accident victims.You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

Pedestrian dies on I-29 after being run over

ATCHISON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.

At 4p.m. on Friday an officer on patrol observed a wanted suspect identified as 55-year-old Corey Walker in the 1400 block of South 7th Street in Atchison, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.

The officer took him into custody on an outstanding warrant for criminal trespass. During the arrest he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Walker has previous convictions for burglary, theft, domestic battery, obstruction and for drugs, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754320563559.png" alt="Walker photo Atchison Co." />
 <figcaption>Walker photo Atchison Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.At 4p.m. on Friday an officer on patrol observed a wanted suspect identified as 55-year-old Corey Walker in the 1400 block of South 7th Street in Atchison, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.The officer took him into custody on an outstanding warrant for criminal trespass. During the arrest he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Walker has previous convictions for burglary, theft, domestic battery, obstruction and for drugs, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.

Wanted Kan. felon jailed on new drug allegations

DAVIESS COUNTY —Two people were injured in an accident just after 6:30p.m. Sunday in Daviess County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Ford Explorer driven by a 21-year-old King City woman was northbound on U.S. 69 five miles south of Pattonsburg. The SUV traveled off the east side of the road and the driver overcorrected. The vehicle crossed the highway, traveled off the west side of the road and overturned.

Cameron EMS transported the driver to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph. A 28-year-old male passenger from Winston was transported by Life Flight Eagle to KU Medical Center. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

DAVIESS COUNTY —Two people were injured in an accident just after 6:30p.m. Sunday in Daviess County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Ford Explorer driven by a 21-year-old King City woman was northbound on U.S. 69 five miles south of Pattonsburg. The SUV traveled off the east side of the road and the driver overcorrected. The vehicle crossed the highway, traveled off the west side of the road and overturned.Cameron EMS transported the driver to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph. A 28-year-old male passenger from Winston was transported by Life Flight Eagle to KU Medical Center. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Missouri man airlifted to hospital after SUV overturns

The hot topic during this Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp at Missouri Western State University has been the battle along the offensive line 

With guys shifting to every position to find the best five along the line, players like Josh Simmons, Jaylon Moore, and Jawaan Taylor are competing every day for their spot.  

Taylor, who recently returned from the physically unable to perform list after an offseason knee procedure, says the competition is going well 

"Everyone's moving around, trying different positions and stuff like that, doing what Coach Heck is asking us to do," Taylor tells reporters after practice.  "And everyone's just trying to get better as a unit and be a better O-Line for sure." 

To find the best five guys to start week one, head coach Andy Reid and offensive line coach Andy Heck have players moving all across the offensive line, some in positions they may have not played much in their careers.

Like newly signed lineman Jaylon Moore, whose been working out at guard despite playing tackle for most of his career in San Francisco.  But Moore says while it's new, it's still just football 

"The biggest thing is just keep trying to take steps forward, keep trying to improve looking at the film and try to improve every day," Moore says. 

Moore has been competing with Mike Caliendo and Kingsley Suamataia to replace Joe Thuney at left guard, while also competing with rookie Josh Simmons at left tackle.  He's also rotated with Jawaan Taylor at right tackle.  

This year's NFL Draft brought an impressive crop of rookies to the Chiefs, many that have quickly become fan favorites during Chiefs Training Camp 

One of those is fourth round pick wide receiver Jalen Royals, whose impressed fans with his pass catching and route running ability for Patrick Mahomes.

Royals says he's been soaking in a lot of knowledge from his veteran quarterback 

"In the meeting room he tells me everything I need to do and then off the meetings and stuff like that where I'm just out here he'll tell me corrections and stuff like that," Royals says.  "And obviously after the play he'll let me know on the sidelines." 

Royals has built a good rapport with Mahomes, and could make a pretty immediate impact in the offense with the pending suspension to Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown currently injured with an ankle injury

The Chiefs practiced again for just over two hours today, this time in shorts and out of pads.  They are off on Monday, and back to practice on Tuesday at 9:15.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754246656084.jpeg" alt="The Chiefs offensive line works hard at Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp. The offensive line battle has been a huge focus of this year's camp in St. Joseph/ Photo by Justin Peacock" />
 <figcaption>The Chiefs offensive line works hard at Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp. The offensive line battle has been a huge focus of this year's camp in St. Joseph/ Photo by Justin Peacock</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKE The hot topic during this Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp at Missouri Western State University has been the battle along the offensive line With guys shifting to every position to find the best five along the line, players like Josh Simmons, Jaylon Moore, and Jawaan Taylor are competing every day for their spot. Taylor, who recently returned from the physically unable to perform list after an offseason knee procedure, says the competition is going well "Everyone's moving around, trying different positions and stuff like that, doing what Coach Heck is asking us to do," Taylor tells reporters after practice. "And everyone's just trying to get better as a unit and be a better O-Line for sure." To find the best five guys to start week one, head coach Andy Reid and offensive line coach Andy Heck have players moving all across the offensive line, some in positions they may have not played much in their careers.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754246290245.jpeg" alt="Offensive tackle Jaylon Moore (77) walks down the hill alongside fellow offensive lineman Chukwuebuka Godrick (72) and rookie Josh Simmons (71)/ Photo by Alexis Starks" />
 <figcaption>Offensive tackle Jaylon Moore (77) walks down the hill alongside fellow offensive lineman Chukwuebuka Godrick (72) and rookie Josh Simmons (71)/ Photo by Alexis Starks</figcaption>
 </figure>Like newly signed lineman Jaylon Moore, whose been working out at guard despite playing tackle for most of his career in San Francisco. But Moore says while it's new, it's still just football "The biggest thing is just keep trying to take steps forward, keep trying to improve looking at the film and try to improve every day," Moore says. Moore has been competing with Mike Caliendo and Kingsley Suamataia to replace Joe Thuney at left guard, while also competing with rookie Josh Simmons at left tackle. He's also rotated with Jawaan Taylor at right tackle. This year's NFL Draft brought an impressive crop of rookies to the Chiefs, many that have quickly become fan favorites during Chiefs Training Camp One of those is fourth round pick wide receiver Jalen Royals, whose impressed fans with his pass catching and route running ability for Patrick Mahomes.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754245545125.jpeg" alt="Rookie Jalen Royals goes up for a catch during Chiefs Training Camp/ Photo by Justin Peacock" />
 <figcaption>Rookie Jalen Royals goes up for a catch during Chiefs Training Camp/ Photo by Justin Peacock</figcaption>
 </figure>Royals says he's been soaking in a lot of knowledge from his veteran quarterback "In the meeting room he tells me everything I need to do and then off the meetings and stuff like that where I'm just out here he'll tell me corrections and stuff like that," Royals says. "And obviously after the play he'll let me know on the sidelines." Royals has built a good rapport with Mahomes, and could make a pretty immediate impact in the offense with the pending suspension to Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown currently injured with an ankle injury<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754245681052.jpeg" alt="Jalen Royals (11) goes for a catch during Chiefs Training Camp/ Photo by Justin Peacock" />
 <figcaption>Jalen Royals (11) goes for a catch during Chiefs Training Camp/ Photo by Justin Peacock</figcaption>
 </figure>The Chiefs practiced again for just over two hours today, this time in shorts and out of pads. They are off on Monday, and back to practice on Tuesday at 9:15.You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp;&nbsp;

O-Line battle remains hot topic during Chiefs Training Camp

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/suzanneking/">Suzanne King</a>

Dr. Marvin Singleton, a Republican who spent 13 years as a Missouri state senator, worries about many of the policies he sees coming out of Washington D.C. these days.

Of course, the retired ear, nose and throat doctor is concerned about federal cuts to Medicaid spending, which could leave millions of Americans without insurance and strain hospitals, nursing homes and home-based care programs that senior citizens rely on.

But Singleton, 85, who now lives in a retirement community in Overland Park and was recently elected to the Kansas Silver-Haired Legislature, is also concerned about cuts to food assistance programs and economic policies like tariffs and tax cuts that he fears will push up prices.

“Everything has ramifications on aging individuals,” he said, “and those individuals who are on fixed incomes get hurt the worst.”

Singleton is not alone. Many advocates working to help senior citizens in the Kansas City area worry, too. A growing population of older low-income adults, they said, already struggles to find health care, pay rent and afford food.

In Missouri,&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/seniors/masterplanaging/doc/MAP-Counties/2025/county-fact-sheets-116.pdf" target="_blank">almost 10%</a>&nbsp;of the state’s 1.1 million residents 65 years old or older live below the poverty level and 22% receive food assistance. In Kansas,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansashealthmatters.org/indicators/index/view?indicatorId=343&amp;localeId=19" target="_blank">8.5% of the state’s 510,000 seniors</a>&nbsp;live below the poverty level.

“We do not have the infrastructure to meet the needs of the region’s aging population at this moment,” said Jeron Ravin, president and CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://swopehealth.org/" target="_blank">Swope Health</a>, a safety-net health clinic in Kansas City that has made improving that infrastructure one of its priorities.

And that’s the situation before provisions in new federal legislation, President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” go into effect.

That legislation will cut&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/allocating-cbos-estimates-of-federal-medicaid-spending-reductions-across-the-states-enacted-reconciliation-package/" target="_blank">$911 billion in spending on Medicaid</a>&nbsp;over the next decade and trim $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), causing an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsweek.com/snap-changes-trump-bill-adds-new-burdens-millions-women-study-2105160" target="_blank">22 million households</a>&nbsp;to lose all or part of their food assistance.

All of that will hurt low-income seniors and the long-term care facilities, health care providers and community organizations that they rely on, senior advocates said.

“We’re in crisis now,” said Janet Baker, executive director of&nbsp;<a href="https://kcshepherdscenter.org/" target="_blank">KC Shepherd’s Center</a>, which provides meals and other support to older, mainly low-income adults. “We can’t meet the need that we already have, and that need is just going to grow.”

In both Missouri and Kansas, older adults make up a growing portion of the populations.

A recent&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/seniors/masterplanaging/pdf/2024-mo-needs-assessment.pdf" target="_blank">survey</a>&nbsp;of older Missourians found that almost one-third of respondents couldn’t access the health care they needed, often because it cost too much or they couldn’t find a provider in their area. And at least three in 10 said they didn’t have enough money to afford healthy meals.

“We’ve seen this coming for a long time based on demographics and population shift,” said Rachel Ohlhausen, director of program partnerships with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jfskc.org/" target="_blank">Jewish Family Services</a>, “and we haven’t seen federal dollar investments that match.”

In fact, since Trump returned to office in January, the opposite has happened.

Funding has been slashed for safety-net programs like Meals on Wheels and transportation services to help older adults get to the doctor or the grocery store. Area agencies like KC Shepherd’s Center and Jewish Family Services have been forced to turn down requests for help from seniors and their families.

Food pantries and meal sites, meanwhile, also are struggling to help food-insecure seniors as federal food aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture also experiences&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/06/03/kc-food-pantries-brace-for-cuts-to-snap-benefits-as-need-grows/" target="_blank">steep cuts</a>. And affordable housing for seniors is a growing need.

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, people 50 years or older represent&nbsp;<a href="https://endhomelessness.org/blog/paint-by-numbers-older-americans-and-homelessness/" target="_blank">the fastest-growing group</a>&nbsp;experiencing homelessness. The organization predicts that that group will triple in size by 2030.

In Kansas City, Swope Health will break ground Aug. 7 on a development at 5900 Swope Parkway designed to include 200 units of senior affordable housing, along with senior health and dental clinics.

But Ravin said plans for the project, called Swope Health Village, may be curtailed by federal funding cuts, which will likely take money away from community health clinics like Swope by reducing the number of patients covered by Medicaid and potentially increasing the number who need free care.

In addition, he said, the donations required to complete future phases of the project will be harder to come by.

“The question is, due to these cuts, will the project, instead of being completed within five years, take 10 years or 15 years?” Ravin said. “All safety-net providers are likely to be less financially secure. Philanthropy is going to have more of us asking them for support than ever. And, you know, the well is only so big.”

Across the spectrum, health providers are expecting to feel the effect of cuts to Medicaid funding.

The new federal law will reduce the number of people who can receive Medicaid, the government-funded health insurance program, by adding&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/07/25/missouri-work-requirements-medicaid-mo-healthnet/" target="_blank">work requirements</a>&nbsp;and more frequent eligibility checks. Some of those requirements could be especially burdensome for seniors, advocates said.

The law also shifts more of the program’s costs, which have always been jointly funded by state and federal taxes, to states. Finding those dollars in Missouri and Kansas will probably be difficult.

In addition to federally qualified health clinics like Swope that rely heavily on revenue from patients covered by Medicaid, safety-net hospitals&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/07/09/kansas-city-missouri-medicaid-trump-budget/" target="_blank">like University Health</a>&nbsp;in Kansas City expect to lose revenue. And so will long-term care facilities like nursing homes, which already have faced headwinds in recent years.

Medicaid covers 65% of residents in Missouri nursing homes and 58% in Kansas nursing homes.

During the COVID pandemic, long-term care facilities became ground zero for deaths because the virus so easily spread in close quarters and residents’ health and age made them more vulnerable.

Many patients moved out of the facilities as well, resulting in empty beds and, in some cases, closed doors.

Kansas once had at least one skilled nursing home option in all 105 counties in the state. Now nine counties have none, said Linda MowBray, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Care Association and Kansas Center for Assisted Living, which represents long-term care facilities in the state.

MowBray praised the Kansas legislature for adding funding to the Medicaid program to increase reimbursement rates for long-term care facilities. But reimbursements still don’t meet the actual cost, she said, and many facilities continue to struggle financially. The new federal law won’t help, she said.

Most concerning to her members, MowBray said, is a reduction in the amount of time people have to qualify for Medicaid coverage once they’ve moved into a long-term care facility.

Currently, if a person enters with a Medicaid application pending, they get 90 days to complete the cumbersome process. The facility will be reimbursed for the time the patient’s application was pending as long as approval comes within that 90-day window.

But the new law shortens that window to 60 days, which may not be long enough for many older patients to complete the process, MowBray said. That means nursing homes won’t be reimbursed for all of the days that the application process requires.

“This will force providers to take a serious look at how much risk they can take,” MowBray said.

Some small facilities may not be able to afford the risk, she said.

“The concern is … where are these people going to go?” MowBray said. “Are they just parked in the hospital while the application is going through? And if it doesn’t go through, and they’re beyond 60 days and the hospital doesn’t get paid, that’s an even bigger bill that’s going to have to get written off.”

Marie Dunham, an owner of Blue Hills Rest Home in Independence, is not ready to panic. After four decades in this business, she said, she’s seen this play out before when people have worried about government benefits being reduced but then everything turned out to be fine.

“Every time we get a new president, a new governor, everybody always gets this fear factor,” Dunham said. “Everybody needs to take a big breath.”

Blue Hills, an assisted living facility, serves senior citizens and people with disabilities. The vast majority of them receive Medicaid. Dunham doesn’t believe the state of Missouri will abandon this population.

“There’s got to be homes to take care of our people — our elderly and disabled,” Dunham said. “They’re not going to put our people out on the streets.”

Baker, who, in addition to her role with KC Shepherd’s Center, serves in Missouri’s Silver-Haired Legislature, is less optimistic. She expects to see more nursing homes close and more seniors left at greater risk.

“More hunger, more hardship and more homeless seniors,” she said. “I don’t believe the state is prepared from the standpoint that senior services are inadequately funded in the first place.”

Low-income older adults will almost certainly feel the ripple effects that follow cuts to federal funding, health leaders said. Even before those cuts passed Congress, states were expecting increased needs among the growing senior population. And both Missouri and Kansas have been planning.

In 2023, then-Missouri Gov. Mike Parson launched a study to develop a&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/seniors/masterplanaging/#:~:text=Currently%2C%20there%20are%20more%20than,as%20well%20as%20family%20caregivers." target="_blank">master plan on aging</a>&nbsp;for the state. Officials are holding town hall meetings across the state before the report is finalized later this year. A Kansas City event is scheduled at 9 a.m. Aug. 1 at the Kauffman Foundation at 4801 Rockhill Road.

And the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services has drafted a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kdads.ks.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/4657/638802987796430000" target="_blank">state plan on aging</a>&nbsp;that makes several recommendations for improving care for older Kansans.

Now the question becomes whether the current political landscape will allow priorities laid out in the state plans to be implemented. Observers fear that fiscal and political realities make that unlikely.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1754213950217.png" alt=" Dr. Marvin Singleton, a former Republican member of the Missouri legislature, stepped back into politics because he is worried about seniors (Suzanne King/The Beacon)." />
 <figcaption> Dr. Marvin Singleton, a former Republican member of the Missouri legislature, stepped back into politics because he is worried about seniors (Suzanne King/The Beacon).</figcaption>
 </figure>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/suzanneking/">Suzanne King</a>Dr. Marvin Singleton, a Republican who spent 13 years as a Missouri state senator, worries about many of the policies he sees coming out of Washington D.C. these days.Of course, the retired ear, nose and throat doctor is concerned about federal cuts to Medicaid spending, which could leave millions of Americans without insurance and strain hospitals, nursing homes and home-based care programs that senior citizens rely on.But Singleton, 85, who now lives in a retirement community in Overland Park and was recently elected to the Kansas Silver-Haired Legislature, is also concerned about cuts to food assistance programs and economic policies like tariffs and tax cuts that he fears will push up prices.“Everything has ramifications on aging individuals,” he said, “and those individuals who are on fixed incomes get hurt the worst.”Singleton is not alone. Many advocates working to help senior citizens in the Kansas City area worry, too. A growing population of older low-income adults, they said, already struggles to find health care, pay rent and afford food.In Missouri,&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/seniors/masterplanaging/doc/MAP-Counties/2025/county-fact-sheets-116.pdf" target="_blank">almost 10%</a>&nbsp;of the state’s 1.1 million residents 65 years old or older live below the poverty level and 22% receive food assistance. In Kansas,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansashealthmatters.org/indicators/index/view?indicatorId=343&amp;localeId=19" target="_blank">8.5% of the state’s 510,000 seniors</a>&nbsp;live below the poverty level.“We do not have the infrastructure to meet the needs of the region’s aging population at this moment,” said Jeron Ravin, president and CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://swopehealth.org/" target="_blank">Swope Health</a>, a safety-net health clinic in Kansas City that has made improving that infrastructure one of its priorities.And that’s the situation before provisions in new federal legislation, President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” go into effect.That legislation will cut&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/allocating-cbos-estimates-of-federal-medicaid-spending-reductions-across-the-states-enacted-reconciliation-package/" target="_blank">$911 billion in spending on Medicaid</a>&nbsp;over the next decade and trim $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), causing an estimated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsweek.com/snap-changes-trump-bill-adds-new-burdens-millions-women-study-2105160" target="_blank">22 million households</a>&nbsp;to lose all or part of their food assistance.All of that will hurt low-income seniors and the long-term care facilities, health care providers and community organizations that they rely on, senior advocates said.“We’re in crisis now,” said Janet Baker, executive director of&nbsp;<a href="https://kcshepherdscenter.org/" target="_blank">KC Shepherd’s Center</a>, which provides meals and other support to older, mainly low-income adults. “We can’t meet the need that we already have, and that need is just going to grow.”<h2>Growing older populations</h2>In both Missouri and Kansas, older adults make up a growing portion of the populations.A recent&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/seniors/masterplanaging/pdf/2024-mo-needs-assessment.pdf" target="_blank">survey</a>&nbsp;of older Missourians found that almost one-third of respondents couldn’t access the health care they needed, often because it cost too much or they couldn’t find a provider in their area. And at least three in 10 said they didn’t have enough money to afford healthy meals.“We’ve seen this coming for a long time based on demographics and population shift,” said Rachel Ohlhausen, director of program partnerships with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jfskc.org/" target="_blank">Jewish Family Services</a>, “and we haven’t seen federal dollar investments that match.”In fact, since Trump returned to office in January, the opposite has happened.Funding has been slashed for safety-net programs like Meals on Wheels and transportation services to help older adults get to the doctor or the grocery store. Area agencies like KC Shepherd’s Center and Jewish Family Services have been forced to turn down requests for help from seniors and their families.Food pantries and meal sites, meanwhile, also are struggling to help food-insecure seniors as federal food aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture also experiences&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/06/03/kc-food-pantries-brace-for-cuts-to-snap-benefits-as-need-grows/" target="_blank">steep cuts</a>. And affordable housing for seniors is a growing need.According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, people 50 years or older represent&nbsp;<a href="https://endhomelessness.org/blog/paint-by-numbers-older-americans-and-homelessness/" target="_blank">the fastest-growing group</a>&nbsp;experiencing homelessness. The organization predicts that that group will triple in size by 2030.In Kansas City, Swope Health will break ground Aug. 7 on a development at 5900 Swope Parkway designed to include 200 units of senior affordable housing, along with senior health and dental clinics.But Ravin said plans for the project, called Swope Health Village, may be curtailed by federal funding cuts, which will likely take money away from community health clinics like Swope by reducing the number of patients covered by Medicaid and potentially increasing the number who need free care.In addition, he said, the donations required to complete future phases of the project will be harder to come by.“The question is, due to these cuts, will the project, instead of being completed within five years, take 10 years or 15 years?” Ravin said. “All safety-net providers are likely to be less financially secure. Philanthropy is going to have more of us asking them for support than ever. And, you know, the well is only so big.”<h2>Impact on care for seniors</h2>Across the spectrum, health providers are expecting to feel the effect of cuts to Medicaid funding.The new federal law will reduce the number of people who can receive Medicaid, the government-funded health insurance program, by adding&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/07/25/missouri-work-requirements-medicaid-mo-healthnet/" target="_blank">work requirements</a>&nbsp;and more frequent eligibility checks. Some of those requirements could be especially burdensome for seniors, advocates said.The law also shifts more of the program’s costs, which have always been jointly funded by state and federal taxes, to states. Finding those dollars in Missouri and Kansas will probably be difficult.In addition to federally qualified health clinics like Swope that rely heavily on revenue from patients covered by Medicaid, safety-net hospitals&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/07/09/kansas-city-missouri-medicaid-trump-budget/" target="_blank">like University Health</a>&nbsp;in Kansas City expect to lose revenue. And so will long-term care facilities like nursing homes, which already have faced headwinds in recent years.Medicaid covers 65% of residents in Missouri nursing homes and 58% in Kansas nursing homes.During the COVID pandemic, long-term care facilities became ground zero for deaths because the virus so easily spread in close quarters and residents’ health and age made them more vulnerable.Many patients moved out of the facilities as well, resulting in empty beds and, in some cases, closed doors.Kansas once had at least one skilled nursing home option in all 105 counties in the state. Now nine counties have none, said Linda MowBray, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Care Association and Kansas Center for Assisted Living, which represents long-term care facilities in the state.MowBray praised the Kansas legislature for adding funding to the Medicaid program to increase reimbursement rates for long-term care facilities. But reimbursements still don’t meet the actual cost, she said, and many facilities continue to struggle financially. The new federal law won’t help, she said.Most concerning to her members, MowBray said, is a reduction in the amount of time people have to qualify for Medicaid coverage once they’ve moved into a long-term care facility.Currently, if a person enters with a Medicaid application pending, they get 90 days to complete the cumbersome process. The facility will be reimbursed for the time the patient’s application was pending as long as approval comes within that 90-day window.But the new law shortens that window to 60 days, which may not be long enough for many older patients to complete the process, MowBray said. That means nursing homes won’t be reimbursed for all of the days that the application process requires.“This will force providers to take a serious look at how much risk they can take,” MowBray said.Some small facilities may not be able to afford the risk, she said.“The concern is … where are these people going to go?” MowBray said. “Are they just parked in the hospital while the application is going through? And if it doesn’t go through, and they’re beyond 60 days and the hospital doesn’t get paid, that’s an even bigger bill that’s going to have to get written off.”Marie Dunham, an owner of Blue Hills Rest Home in Independence, is not ready to panic. After four decades in this business, she said, she’s seen this play out before when people have worried about government benefits being reduced but then everything turned out to be fine.“Every time we get a new president, a new governor, everybody always gets this fear factor,” Dunham said. “Everybody needs to take a big breath.”Blue Hills, an assisted living facility, serves senior citizens and people with disabilities. The vast majority of them receive Medicaid. Dunham doesn’t believe the state of Missouri will abandon this population.“There’s got to be homes to take care of our people — our elderly and disabled,” Dunham said. “They’re not going to put our people out on the streets.”<h2>Ripple effects</h2>Baker, who, in addition to her role with KC Shepherd’s Center, serves in Missouri’s Silver-Haired Legislature, is less optimistic. She expects to see more nursing homes close and more seniors left at greater risk.“More hunger, more hardship and more homeless seniors,” she said. “I don’t believe the state is prepared from the standpoint that senior services are inadequately funded in the first place.”Low-income older adults will almost certainly feel the ripple effects that follow cuts to federal funding, health leaders said. Even before those cuts passed Congress, states were expecting increased needs among the growing senior population. And both Missouri and Kansas have been planning.In 2023, then-Missouri Gov. Mike Parson launched a study to develop a&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/seniors/masterplanaging/#:~:text=Currently%2C%20there%20are%20more%20than,as%20well%20as%20family%20caregivers." target="_blank">master plan on aging</a>&nbsp;for the state. Officials are holding town hall meetings across the state before the report is finalized later this year. A Kansas City event is scheduled at 9 a.m. Aug. 1 at the Kauffman Foundation at 4801 Rockhill Road.And the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services has drafted a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kdads.ks.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/4657/638802987796430000" target="_blank">state plan on aging</a>&nbsp;that makes several recommendations for improving care for older Kansans.Now the question becomes whether the current political landscape will allow priorities laid out in the state plans to be implemented. Observers fear that fiscal and political realities make that unlikely.Missouri has shifted its own tax policy, including eliminating the state’s capital gains tax earlier this year, which will mean less tax revenue coming in. And federal changes to Medicaid and SNAP will force both states to carry a greater portion of the costs of those programs, meaning less money for other priorities.Stacy Morse, executive director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.missouricouncilonaging.org/" target="_blank">Missouri Council on Aging</a>, said she hopes state legislators will understand that priorities included in the master plan on aging, which her organization supports, are recommendations from people around the state.After tax cuts, “it’s going to be really hard … to fund these services and support that people across Missouri are saying they need,” Morse said. “There’s a complete disconnect between what we want and what Missouri is willing to pay for.”Even if big financial investments are not possible in the current environment, small changes could still help, said Mindy Ulstad, who has led the master plan process from her post with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.For example, the master plan will recommend that the state work on a “no wrong door” policy for seniors in the state, so one call to a single agency will let them get all their questions answered. And the state can work on outreach, so seniors have a better idea of what services are available to help them.“There may be things that are harder to enact over the next few years,” she said. But the state can work on “getting information out about what’s available and helping people navigate those systems.”Ulstad also said that the information gathered during the process of writing the master plan will be available to local governments and community organizations so they can learn from it and perhaps implement some of its recommendations.“We are letting people know that the plan will be out there and they can use it for their own strategic planning,” she said.Increasingly, support for older adult services is falling to county taxpayers. In November, for example, Jackson County&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/11/05/election-results-jackson-county-approves-tax-for-senior-services/" target="_blank">voters passed</a>&nbsp;a tax levy that will raise $8 million annually to support senior services beginning sometime next year. Across the state, 55 other counties have similar taxes.But as state legislators look at limiting property taxes, Morse fears that this source of revenue could be at risk, too. In testimony before a Missouri House committee on the issue, she urged legislators to remember that those taxes are helping seniors.“We recognize that there is this need to reduce the property tax burden,” she said. “Also that the assessments may have increased too quickly, and it took a lot of people by surprise. But what we want to remind you is that the property taxes are providing really necessary services. For the older adults, it’s helping them age in place.”More patients are likely to need support to stay at home. Many people can’t afford long-term care or would prefer to be in a familiar place.Swope Health started a program a year ago called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pacekc.org/" target="_blank">PACE KC</a>, which relies on Medicaid and Medicare payments to provide health care and social support like transportation to Jackson County residents who are 55 or older.But the reality is that more people will need more help, especially after federal and state cuts are absorbed.“It will get worse before it gets better,” Ohlhausen said, “and my hope is that we learn and we really try to hold on to what we want to build back on the other side.”She is also still holding out hope that lawmakers will reconsider and reverse some of the funding cuts before they take effect.“I don’t know if that’s possible, but whatever is possible should be pursued.”This&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/07/31/missouri-and-kansas-seniors-brace-for-fallout-from-medicaid-snap-cuts/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/" target="_blank">Beacon: Kansas City</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.

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