WYANDOTTE COUNTY —The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, which is leading the investigation into the death of 13-year-old Airen Andula of Pleasonton, Kansas, has now confirmed the cause of the teen's death. 

According to the autopsy conducted by the Wyandotte County Kansas Coroner's Office, the cause of death has been identified as multiple dog bite injuries, the Kansas City Kansas Police Department reported.

Damon Leonard of Pleasonton, Kansas remains in custody on a $100,000, cash-only bond, in Bates County, Missouri on charges of abandonment of a corpse in relation to the teen’s death. 

Charges against Leonard have also been filed in Linn County, Kansas for interference of law enforcement, criminal desecration and having a vicious dog at large.

The investigation in to Airen’s death remains ongoing by the KCKPD Major Case Unit.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/12/1767095993444.png" alt="Leonard photo Bates County" />
 <figcaption>Leonard photo Bates County</figcaption>
 </figure>WYANDOTTE COUNTY —The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, which is leading the investigation into the death of 13-year-old Airen Andula of Pleasonton, Kansas, has now confirmed the cause of the teen's death. According to the autopsy conducted by the Wyandotte County Kansas Coroner's Office, the cause of death has been identified as multiple dog bite injuries, the Kansas City Kansas Police Department reported.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/12/1766528035692.png" alt="Airen Andula photo Linn Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Airen Andula photo Linn Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>Damon Leonard of Pleasonton, Kansas remains in custody on a $100,000, cash-only bond, in Bates County, Missouri on charges of abandonment of a corpse in relation to the teen’s death. Charges against Leonard have also been filed in Linn County, Kansas for interference of law enforcement, criminal desecration and having a vicious dog at large.The investigation in to Airen’s death remains ongoing by the KCKPD Major Case Unit.&nbsp;

Autopsy: Kansas boy died from multiple dog bites

Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi and Minority Leader Dinah Sykes introduced bipartisan legislation to ban cell phones in Kansas schools.

The bill aims to create phone-free environments to promote student mental health, authentic relationships, and academic engagement. Studies suggest that classrooms without phones lead to better academic outcomes and safer school environments. 

Blasi, a Republican, believes phone-free schools can improve student mental health and academic outcomes while Sykes, a Democrat, states that classrooms without phones have more engaged students and stronger peer relationships.

The bill would impact both public and private schools in Kansas.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Senate has 28 co-sponsors for the bill, representing over two-thirds of the Senate.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Senate Bill 302 is expected to pass the Senate in January.

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

By MATT PIKESenate Majority Leader Chase Blasi and Minority Leader Dinah Sykes introduced bipartisan legislation to ban cell phones in Kansas schools.The bill aims to create phone-free environments to promote student mental health, authentic relationships, and academic engagement. Studies suggest that classrooms without phones lead to better academic outcomes and safer school environments. Blasi, a Republican, believes phone-free schools can improve student mental health and academic outcomes while Sykes, a Democrat, states that classrooms without phones have more engaged students and stronger peer relationships.The bill would impact both public and private schools in Kansas.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Senate has 28 co-sponsors for the bill, representing over two-thirds of the Senate.&nbsp;&nbsp;Senate Bill 302 is expected to pass the Senate in January.You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Kansas introduces legislation to ban cell phones in schools

WASHINGTON —The U.S. took the unprecedented step Monday of reducing the number of&nbsp;vaccines&nbsp;it recommends for every child. While some leading medical groups say this move would undermine protections against a half-dozen diseases, Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, a physician, released a statement he gave to Newsmax on his agreement with the changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.

Marshall said,&nbsp;“Yeah, I think this is a great step in the right direction, most importantly, to restore the trust of the American people in the CDC. To your point, we did have 17 different viruses that we were vaccinating against as we decreased that to 11, and ultimately restored the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship."

Marshall continued, "Look, these vaccines are a medicine of sorts, and just like you wouldn’t start a new medicine without talking to your doctor about the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, I think that vaccines serve that same level of discussion with your own doctor. So let’s put this back in the hands of your good doctor and patients. I have faith in Americans that they’ll make the right decision, what’s best for their child.”

WASHINGTON —The U.S. took the unprecedented step Monday of reducing the number of&nbsp;vaccines&nbsp;it recommends for every child. While some leading medical groups say this move would undermine protections against a half-dozen diseases, Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, a physician, released a statement he gave to Newsmax on his agreement with the changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.Marshall said,&nbsp;“Yeah, I think this is a great step in the right direction, most importantly, to restore the trust of the American people in the CDC. To your point, we did have 17 different viruses that we were vaccinating against as we decreased that to 11, and ultimately restored the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship."<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">PROMISE MADE. PROMISE KEPT. Thank you, President Trump! 👶 <a href="https://t.co/hBgkOiDWdU">pic.twitter.com/hBgkOiDWdU</a>&mdash; Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/2008306341769822620?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Marshall continued, "Look, these vaccines are a medicine of sorts, and just like you wouldn’t start a new medicine without talking to your doctor about the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, I think that vaccines serve that same level of discussion with your own doctor. So let’s put this back in the hands of your good doctor and patients. I have faith in Americans that they’ll make the right decision, what’s best for their child.”

Kansas U.S. Senator comments on changes to child vaccine schedule

SULLIVAN COUNTY —One person died in an accident in a crash with a MSHP Trooper just before 7:30a.m. Monday in Sullivan County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Toyota Tundra driven by a 25-year-old Milan man was eastbound on MO 6 on and one half miles east of Green City. The pickup crossed the center of the road and struck a 2023 Dodge Charger driven by a 28-year-old State Trooper, head-on.&nbsp; After impact the pickup overturned.&nbsp;&nbsp;

A 62-year-old female passenger in the Toyota was pronounced deceased at the scene.&nbsp; Sullivan County Ambulance transported the Trooper,&nbsp; the pickup driver and three additional passengers in the pickup including a 46-year-old man, 43-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man all of Milan to Northeast Regional Medial Center. Adair County Ambulance transported a 17-year-old male passenger in the pickup to Northeast Regional Medical Center.

The 62-year-old woman, 46-year-old man and 21-year-old man in the pickup were not wearing seat belts, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/1/1767710558370.png" alt="Photos MSHP" />
 <figcaption>Photos MSHP</figcaption>
 </figure>SULLIVAN COUNTY —One person died in an accident in a crash with a MSHP Trooper just before 7:30a.m. Monday in Sullivan County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Toyota Tundra driven by a 25-year-old Milan man was eastbound on MO 6 on and one half miles east of Green City. The pickup crossed the center of the road and struck a 2023 Dodge Charger driven by a 28-year-old State Trooper, head-on.&nbsp; After impact the pickup overturned.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/1/1767710535518.jpeg" alt="Photo MSHP" />
 <figcaption>Photo MSHP</figcaption>
 </figure>A 62-year-old female passenger in the Toyota was pronounced deceased at the scene.&nbsp; Sullivan County Ambulance transported the Trooper,&nbsp; the pickup driver and three additional passengers in the pickup including a 46-year-old man, 43-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man all of Milan to Northeast Regional Medial Center. Adair County Ambulance transported a 17-year-old male passenger in the pickup to Northeast Regional Medical Center.The 62-year-old woman, 46-year-old man and 21-year-old man in the pickup were not wearing seat belts, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Woman dead, 6 injured after head-on crash with MSHP car

DOUGLAS COUNTY— A man who broke into City Hall early Monday was fatally shot by a city employee who was authorized and trained to carry a firearm within the building, according to Lawrence City Manager Craig Owens and Police Chief Rich Lockhart.

The 28-year-old man forced his way into the building about 8:00am through a back door, then broke through a door on the 4th floor, which is a secured area that is not open to the public.

City employees attempted to remove the man and a struggle began. The man was fatally shot. The investigation will be led by the Lawrence&nbsp; Police Department in cooperation with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office.

No city employees were seriously injured. The deceased suspect is not known to police nor from the Lawrence area. Investigators are working to notify next of kin.

The Lawrence City Commission meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30pm on Tuesday and will proceed as usual.

Other than that meeting, City Hall, including Municipal Court Offices, will be closed until Thursday.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/1/1767667863649.png" alt="Photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY— A man who broke into City Hall early Monday was fatally shot by a city employee who was authorized and trained to carry a firearm within the building, according to Lawrence City Manager Craig Owens and Police Chief Rich Lockhart.The 28-year-old man forced his way into the building about 8:00am through a back door, then broke through a door on the 4th floor, which is a secured area that is not open to the public.City employees attempted to remove the man and a struggle began. The man was fatally shot. The investigation will be led by the Lawrence&nbsp; Police Department in cooperation with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office.No city employees were seriously injured. The deceased suspect is not known to police nor from the Lawrence area. Investigators are working to notify next of kin.The Lawrence City Commission meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30pm on Tuesday and will proceed as usual.Other than that meeting, City Hall, including Municipal Court Offices, will be closed until Thursday.&nbsp;

New details: City employee killed intruder at Lawrence City Hall

The hangover from last year’s moves to force through the Republican agenda on abortion, redistricting and more promise to disrupt the opening weeks. The productivity of the session hinges on how long Democrats can stall action in the state Senate

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

Missouri Republicans played power politics in 2025, crushing Democratic opposition in the Legislature on major issues from&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/14/missouri-republicans-shut-down-senate-debate-to-pass-abortion-ban-repeal-sick-leave-law/">abortion</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/09/10/after-hearing-from-trump-missouri-gop-muscle-gerrymandered-map-forward-in-state-senate/">congressional redistricting</a>.

The consequences of those moves will be felt this year. Voters in November will ultimately determine if Republicans went too far as they steamrolled measures to passage.

But before that, Democrats intend to make state Senate Republicans pay for invoking the rule to shut off debate — known as the previous question — for the first time since 2020.

With fewer than one-third of the seats in each chamber, the filibuster in the state Senate is practically the only means for the minority party to stall or kill legislation. That is why Democrats are determined to extract a price for using the previous question, but they aren’t saying how that will play out in the annual legislative session that starts Wednesday.

“As far as what that session looks like, everyone will have to wait and see,” Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, an Affton Democrat, told The Independent last month. &nbsp;

The only affirmative duty of the General Assembly each year is to pass a state budget. But with a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/12/29/missouri-auditor-warns-of-vanishing-state-general-revenue-surplus-as-spending-rises/">dwindling surplus</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/12/18/missouri-faces-budget-crunch-as-capital-gains-tax-cut-hits-harder-than-expected/">revenues in decline</a>, and Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe pushing for&nbsp;<a href="https://fox4kc.com/politics/missouri-lawmakers-move-to-eliminate-state-income-tax/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPEt29leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFDQjFpc3J5ZWUxaEZiaVMxc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqPplRYLCc_Fz3viYFGDnSBkSn0UeC5pXvEYxeHuFr5-yOiupIzrVVoQgEO__aem_odg5Cdoo8SQ5K38J8YQb_Q" target="_blank">elimination of the state income tax</a>, the prospects for easy agreement look murky.

The list of other items awaiting action include issues that generate bipartisan support, such as addressing the growing wait list of people being held in jails who need court-ordered&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/12/16/missouri-lawmakers-vow-to-tackle-mental-health-backlog-as-hundreds-languish-in-jails/">mental health treatments</a>; legislation intended to&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2026/01/02/missouri-legislation-improve-maternal-and-infant-health-care/">improve maternal health</a>; and personal agendas of departing lawmakers, including term-limited Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin’s bill to shut down&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/26info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=518" target="_blank">solar power development</a>&nbsp;and desire to regulate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cindy.olaughlin/posts/pfbid0gQb1n2uUBgvAEy9zkZfaMjiXwaJVdCHf8N1NZhWe6nEiXCyUmB52gXM55mXBzjEtl" target="_blank">pharmacy benefit managers</a>.

There are 10 seats in the state Senate certain to change hands, and all have attracted candidates currently in the Missouri House. Legislators looking to move up — including Missouri House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Republican running for the state Senate — will want to take election year achievements home to voters.

“You never know about the Senate, but the House is going to do business as usual, and we’ll just see how things play out in the Senate,” Patterson said in an interview with The Independent.

When Senate Republican leaders used the previous question rule at the end of last year’s session, it was the first time the motion to shut off debate was invoked during a regular session since 2017.

After the votes passing bills to undo voter-approved paid leave for workers and putting repeal of the 2024 abortion rights amendment on this year’s ballot, Democrats vowed there would be a price to pay in 2026.

“What we’re doing today is a failure of the Senate,” state Sen. Stephen Webber, a Democrat from Columbia said on the final day of the 2025 session. “And when there’s a failure in the Senate, there needs to be a response, and that response can’t last forever, but that response has to happen, and it has to be painful, and has to make us all understand that when the Senate doesn’t function as a body, we all lose.”

The offense, in Democratic eyes, was repeated during the September special session on redistricting, and aggravated by a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/09/10/after-hearing-from-trump-missouri-gop-muscle-gerrymandered-map-forward-in-state-senate/">rules change</a>&nbsp;that sidestepped every opportunity Democrats could use to stall proceedings.

Democrats have to maintain their stall long enough to show that their views must be respected and that the state Senate is designed to be a less partisan body than the House, said state Sen. Tracy McCreery, a Democrat from Olivette.

“One of the challenges with working with some of the newer senators is that they brought the House mentality with them, and they don’t have respect for the institution of the Senate,” McCreery said. “In the Senate we have thoughtful, deliberative conversations, and we don’t just ram things through and not allow for debate.”

O’Laughlin, asked by text about the opening-day atmosphere she expects as she begins her last session as Senate leader, replied only with a head-exploding emoji.

The gap between estimated state general revenue and appropriations in this year’s budget is $2.6 billion. Part of the difference, for state cash flow needs, is artificial because it is new spending on multi-year construction projects or money set aside for unfilled jobs in state government.

The rest must come from the state’s accumulated surplus, which has been diminishing and could be depleted&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/12/29/missouri-auditor-warns-of-vanishing-state-general-revenue-surplus-as-spending-rises/">within two fiscal years</a>.

Kehoe has warned his budget proposal on Jan. 13 will be written to bring spending into balance with current revenue. That task will be complicated by the need to&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/10/09/missouri-public-schools-medicaid-need-1-billion-more-to-continue-current-programs/">replace up to $1.2 billion</a>&nbsp;in spending from non-general revenue funds with general tax revenue.&nbsp;

“There are only painful budget bills that have money to cut from,” said state Rep. Betsy Fogle, a Democrat from Springfield. “And typically in our state, when we have to face budget cuts, we see that in K-12 education, higher education and (appropriation bills) that include things like social services and the social safety net.”

Kehoe’s also expected on Jan. 13 to outline his plan for weaning state government off the income tax. With the tax representing 65% of last year’s $13.4 billion in revenue, the question will be where to find replacement money.

Republican members will be anxious to hear the details.

“We’ll have to see what that proposal will be and what revenue replacements or what revenue sources will be created from those changes,” said state Rep. Jeff Vernetti, a Republican from Camdenton.

Local taxes will also be a major question. State Rep. Tim Taylor, a Bunceton Republican, led a House committee that spent the summer&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/10/21/missouri-house-committee-eyes-plan-to-silo-property-classes-for-taxation/">studying property taxes</a>. There are a number of Republicans who want to replace the property tax system with sales taxes.

That could work in some areas but wouldn’t generate enough revenue for rural areas, Taylor said in a recent interview. And for areas that could generate the revenue, the tax rate could be prohibitive.

The state imposes a 4.225% sales tax but local option taxes mean the rate paid at retail in most locations is much higher. And the sales tax is one place to go for replacement revenue for the income tax.

That is unlikely to be popular with voters, Taylor said.

“The thought of increasing sales tax again is really going to put that to pushing 10 cents on $1 or something, and that’s pretty substantial,” Taylor said.

Local governments will be watching both debates closely, said Steve Hobbs, executive director of the Missouri Association of Counties.

“First and foremost this needs to be fair to the citizens of Missouri,” he said.

Property tax is an immensely complex issue to tackle, Hobbs said. One reason, he noted, is that state school aid is tied to local tax effort.

The Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force, appointed by Kehoe, is halfway through its study of school funding. Changes to how local taxes are imposed would change the formula calculations.

And support for education depends on reliable revenue from state taxes, which are about to be overhauled, Hobbs noted.

“You have two legs of your education funding stool you are talking about putting under construction,” Hobbs said. “That is a big lift.”

In early December, O’Laughlin wrote on social media about a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cindy.olaughlin/posts/pfbid0gQb1n2uUBgvAEy9zkZfaMjiXwaJVdCHf8N1NZhWe6nEiXCyUmB52gXM55mXBzjEtl" target="_blank">frustrating experience she had</a>&nbsp;attempting to obtain a prescription while in Jefferson City. Most of the time, she wrote, she gets her medications from a local pharmacy in Clarence, but was frustrated by mixups and miscommunications she blamed on pharmacy benefit managers.

“What is the result of this wondrous cost saving set up? Absolutely nothing good for the customers,” O’Laughlin wrote.

Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are the mechanisms used by insurance companies to control prescription costs for their plans. Techniques include preferential contracts for particular pharmacy companies, with higher reimbursements or dispensing fees for high-volume chain stores and online providers.

“The rural areas are hardest hit because their pharmacist is also their healthcare advocate, often knowing the patients and literally their entire medical history,” O’Laughlin wrote in response to a question from The Independent.

O’Laughlin endorsed legislation filed by state Sen. Travis Fitzwater, a Republican from Holts Summit, to end preferential clauses in PBM contracts.

Similar legislation last year drew a&nbsp;<a href="https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills251/witnesses/HB982Testimony2-18.pdf" target="_blank">coalition of opponents</a>&nbsp;that, along with insurance companies, included the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Missouri AFL-CIO.&nbsp;

The opposition will be daunting, said Abe Funk, owner of John’s Pharmacy in southeast Missouri. Funk’s business operates in six locations, including two in communities with fewer than 1,000 people.

Funk is a member of the Missouri Pharmacy Business Council, which lobbies for independent pharmacies. He’s been calling legislators in his area and will personally visit the Capitol to push for the bill.

To overcome opposition, this year’s bill will focus on revealing the details of how PBMs pay claims. That’s helped change some minds, he said.

“They like the idea of transparency,” Funk said. “They like the idea of actually being able to see what their claims are, their payments. And so we anticipate a different climate this session than we have in the past.”

O’Laughlin’s long-standing opposition to renewable energy development is being ramped up by a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/shut-it-down-henry-county-residents-angry-about-new-solar-farm-lack-of-transparency-from-county-commission" target="_blank">5,000-acre solar power project</a>&nbsp;in Henry County in western Missouri. The project was developed over several years but only revealed publicly at the start of 2024.&nbsp;

In December 2024, after two incumbent commissioners were defeated for reelection, the Henry County Commission approved an incentive package for the solar project that included $650 million in public-sponsored financing.

A lawsuit invoking a rarely used law requiring the courts to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Petition.PDF?courtCode=27&amp;di=2234048" target="_blank">investigate public contracts</a>&nbsp;is heading to trial in October. O’Laughlin has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/26info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=518" target="_blank">filed a bill</a>&nbsp;for a moratorium on new solar project construction, including stopping work on projects underway but not finished, through Dec. 31, 2027.

The solar projects use valuable farmland, seek tax abatements and other preferential treatment and add little to local economies, O’Laughlin wrote in an email to The Independent.

“I honestly see this as tearing a giant hole in the fabric of our communities socially, fiscally, environmentally,” O’Laughlin wrote to The Independent. “What is there to like about them?”

No Democrat has won a statewide election since 2018, and results from 2024 show how daunting it will be for Kirkwood Democrat&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2025-12-06/missouri-auditor-2026-fitzpatrick-quentin-wilson" target="_blank">Quentin Wilson</a>, a state department director from 1998 to 2001, to deny incumbent Republican State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick a second term.

The auditor’s office is the only statewide race on the ballot. Last year, despite spending $20 million, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lucas Kunce received just 41.8% of the vote, only two percentage points more than gubernatorial candidate Crystal Quade, who spent about $2 million.

But the difficult statewide race for Democrats doesn’t mean this year’s voting won’t give the party an opportunity to impose significant losses on Republicans. The same voters that gave GOP candidates landslide wins for statewide office handed them defeats on abortion rights, following up on prior liberal ballot measure wins on Medicaid expansion and marijuana legalization.

Republicans have put a measure reinstating the state’s near total&nbsp;<a href="https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills251/hlrbillspdf/2454H.05T.pdf" target="_blank">abortion ban</a>&nbsp;on the ballot, along with a proposal to change the way&nbsp;<a href="https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills254/hlrbillspdf/3353H.03T.pdf" target="_blank">majorities are calculated</a>&nbsp;for constitutional amendments proposed by initiative. And the redistricting plan intended to give the GOP an additional seat in the U.S. House faces a possible referendum vote.&nbsp;

Controversial ballot measures can bring hundreds of thousands of Missourians out for an otherwise unexciting election. That occurred In 2018 and 2020, when a right to work referendum and Medicaid expansion, respectively, were on August primary ballots. In those years, nearly 300,000 more people voted in the Democratic primary than the average of other elections since 2000.&nbsp;

Millions have already been spent on ballot measures for this year and the total for all will likely exceed $100 million by the time voters go to the polls.

But even a big surge of Democratic voters would only dent, not break, the GOP majority, said Terry Smith, political science professor at Columbia College.

Only 21 of 163 Missouri House seats were decided by 10 percentage points or less in 2024, and early financial reports indicate that only two of the 17 state Senate seats on the ballot appear to be truly competitive in November.

The best result for Democrats, Smith said, would be to break the two-thirds supermajority Republicans enjoy in each chamber.&nbsp;

After the 2024 election, Republicans held 111 seats in the House and 24 of 34 seats in the Senate.

“Do Republicans&nbsp; have anything to worry about? I don’t think so,” Smith said in an interview last week with The Independent.

In deeply Republican districts, even if the ballot measures draw a larger Democratic vote, it won’t be enough to change the outcome, Smith said.

“If you go from a district that is 75-25 to 60-40,” he said, “you pick up 15 points and you still lose by a landslide.”

The Independent’s Anna Spoerre, Steph Quinn and Jason Hancock contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/1/1767697489404.png" alt="Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, a Democrat from Affton, won't reveal how Democrats plan to disrupt the opening weeks of the 2026 legislative session. He is shown speaking against proposed Senate rule changes during the special session for redistricting in September (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, a Democrat from Affton, won't reveal how Democrats plan to disrupt the opening weeks of the 2026 legislative session. He is shown speaking against proposed Senate rule changes during the special session for redistricting in September (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The hangover from last year’s moves to force through the Republican agenda on abortion, redistricting and more promise to disrupt the opening weeks. The productivity of the session hinges on how long Democrats can stall action in the state Senate</h2>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>Missouri Republicans played power politics in 2025, crushing Democratic opposition in the Legislature on major issues from&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/14/missouri-republicans-shut-down-senate-debate-to-pass-abortion-ban-repeal-sick-leave-law/">abortion</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/09/10/after-hearing-from-trump-missouri-gop-muscle-gerrymandered-map-forward-in-state-senate/">congressional redistricting</a>.The consequences of those moves will be felt this year. Voters in November will ultimately determine if Republicans went too far as they steamrolled measures to passage.But before that, Democrats intend to make state Senate Republicans pay for invoking the rule to shut off debate — known as the previous question — for the first time since 2020.With fewer than one-third of the seats in each chamber, the filibuster in the state Senate is practically the only means for the minority party to stall or kill legislation. That is why Democrats are determined to extract a price for using the previous question, but they aren’t saying how that will play out in the annual legislative session that starts Wednesday.“As far as what that session looks like, everyone will have to wait and see,” Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, an Affton Democrat, told The Independent last month. &nbsp;The only affirmative duty of the General Assembly each year is to pass a state budget. But with a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/12/29/missouri-auditor-warns-of-vanishing-state-general-revenue-surplus-as-spending-rises/">dwindling surplus</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/12/18/missouri-faces-budget-crunch-as-capital-gains-tax-cut-hits-harder-than-expected/">revenues in decline</a>, and Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe pushing for&nbsp;<a href="https://fox4kc.com/politics/missouri-lawmakers-move-to-eliminate-state-income-tax/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPEt29leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFDQjFpc3J5ZWUxaEZiaVMxc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqPplRYLCc_Fz3viYFGDnSBkSn0UeC5pXvEYxeHuFr5-yOiupIzrVVoQgEO__aem_odg5Cdoo8SQ5K38J8YQb_Q" target="_blank">elimination of the state income tax</a>, the prospects for easy agreement look murky.The list of other items awaiting action include issues that generate bipartisan support, such as addressing the growing wait list of people being held in jails who need court-ordered&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/12/16/missouri-lawmakers-vow-to-tackle-mental-health-backlog-as-hundreds-languish-in-jails/">mental health treatments</a>; legislation intended to&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2026/01/02/missouri-legislation-improve-maternal-and-infant-health-care/">improve maternal health</a>; and personal agendas of departing lawmakers, including term-limited Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin’s bill to shut down&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/26info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=518" target="_blank">solar power development</a>&nbsp;and desire to regulate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cindy.olaughlin/posts/pfbid0gQb1n2uUBgvAEy9zkZfaMjiXwaJVdCHf8N1NZhWe6nEiXCyUmB52gXM55mXBzjEtl" target="_blank">pharmacy benefit managers</a>.There are 10 seats in the state Senate certain to change hands, and all have attracted candidates currently in the Missouri House. Legislators looking to move up — including Missouri House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Republican running for the state Senate — will want to take election year achievements home to voters.“You never know about the Senate, but the House is going to do business as usual, and we’ll just see how things play out in the Senate,” Patterson said in an interview with The Independent.<h2>Senate dysfunction</h2>When Senate Republican leaders used the previous question rule at the end of last year’s session, it was the first time the motion to shut off debate was invoked during a regular session since 2017.After the votes passing bills to undo voter-approved paid leave for workers and putting repeal of the 2024 abortion rights amendment on this year’s ballot, Democrats vowed there would be a price to pay in 2026.“What we’re doing today is a failure of the Senate,” state Sen. Stephen Webber, a Democrat from Columbia said on the final day of the 2025 session. “And when there’s a failure in the Senate, there needs to be a response, and that response can’t last forever, but that response has to happen, and it has to be painful, and has to make us all understand that when the Senate doesn’t function as a body, we all lose.”The offense, in Democratic eyes, was repeated during the September special session on redistricting, and aggravated by a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/09/10/after-hearing-from-trump-missouri-gop-muscle-gerrymandered-map-forward-in-state-senate/">rules change</a>&nbsp;that sidestepped every opportunity Democrats could use to stall proceedings.Democrats have to maintain their stall long enough to show that their views must be respected and that the state Senate is designed to be a less partisan body than the House, said state Sen. Tracy McCreery, a Democrat from Olivette.“One of the challenges with working with some of the newer senators is that they brought the House mentality with them, and they don’t have respect for the institution of the Senate,” McCreery said. “In the Senate we have thoughtful, deliberative conversations, and we don’t just ram things through and not allow for debate.”O’Laughlin, asked by text about the opening-day atmosphere she expects as she begins her last session as Senate leader, replied only with a head-exploding emoji.<h2>Budget and taxes</h2>The gap between estimated state general revenue and appropriations in this year’s budget is $2.6 billion. Part of the difference, for state cash flow needs, is artificial because it is new spending on multi-year construction projects or money set aside for unfilled jobs in state government.The rest must come from the state’s accumulated surplus, which has been diminishing and could be depleted&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/12/29/missouri-auditor-warns-of-vanishing-state-general-revenue-surplus-as-spending-rises/">within two fiscal years</a>.Kehoe has warned his budget proposal on Jan. 13 will be written to bring spending into balance with current revenue. That task will be complicated by the need to&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/10/09/missouri-public-schools-medicaid-need-1-billion-more-to-continue-current-programs/">replace up to $1.2 billion</a>&nbsp;in spending from non-general revenue funds with general tax revenue.&nbsp;“There are only painful budget bills that have money to cut from,” said state Rep. Betsy Fogle, a Democrat from Springfield. “And typically in our state, when we have to face budget cuts, we see that in K-12 education, higher education and (appropriation bills) that include things like social services and the social safety net.”Kehoe’s also expected on Jan. 13 to outline his plan for weaning state government off the income tax. With the tax representing 65% of last year’s $13.4 billion in revenue, the question will be where to find replacement money.Republican members will be anxious to hear the details.“We’ll have to see what that proposal will be and what revenue replacements or what revenue sources will be created from those changes,” said state Rep. Jeff Vernetti, a Republican from Camdenton.Local taxes will also be a major question. State Rep. Tim Taylor, a Bunceton Republican, led a House committee that spent the summer&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/10/21/missouri-house-committee-eyes-plan-to-silo-property-classes-for-taxation/">studying property taxes</a>. There are a number of Republicans who want to replace the property tax system with sales taxes.That could work in some areas but wouldn’t generate enough revenue for rural areas, Taylor said in a recent interview. And for areas that could generate the revenue, the tax rate could be prohibitive.The state imposes a 4.225% sales tax but local option taxes mean the rate paid at retail in most locations is much higher. And the sales tax is one place to go for replacement revenue for the income tax.That is unlikely to be popular with voters, Taylor said.“The thought of increasing sales tax again is really going to put that to pushing 10 cents on $1 or something, and that’s pretty substantial,” Taylor said.Local governments will be watching both debates closely, said Steve Hobbs, executive director of the Missouri Association of Counties.“First and foremost this needs to be fair to the citizens of Missouri,” he said.Property tax is an immensely complex issue to tackle, Hobbs said. One reason, he noted, is that state school aid is tied to local tax effort.The Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force, appointed by Kehoe, is halfway through its study of school funding. Changes to how local taxes are imposed would change the formula calculations.And support for education depends on reliable revenue from state taxes, which are about to be overhauled, Hobbs noted.“You have two legs of your education funding stool you are talking about putting under construction,” Hobbs said. “That is a big lift.”<h2>O’Laughlin’s agenda</h2>In early December, O’Laughlin wrote on social media about a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cindy.olaughlin/posts/pfbid0gQb1n2uUBgvAEy9zkZfaMjiXwaJVdCHf8N1NZhWe6nEiXCyUmB52gXM55mXBzjEtl" target="_blank">frustrating experience she had</a>&nbsp;attempting to obtain a prescription while in Jefferson City. Most of the time, she wrote, she gets her medications from a local pharmacy in Clarence, but was frustrated by mixups and miscommunications she blamed on pharmacy benefit managers.“What is the result of this wondrous cost saving set up? Absolutely nothing good for the customers,” O’Laughlin wrote.Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are the mechanisms used by insurance companies to control prescription costs for their plans. Techniques include preferential contracts for particular pharmacy companies, with higher reimbursements or dispensing fees for high-volume chain stores and online providers.“The rural areas are hardest hit because their pharmacist is also their healthcare advocate, often knowing the patients and literally their entire medical history,” O’Laughlin wrote in response to a question from The Independent.O’Laughlin endorsed legislation filed by state Sen. Travis Fitzwater, a Republican from Holts Summit, to end preferential clauses in PBM contracts.Similar legislation last year drew a&nbsp;<a href="https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills251/witnesses/HB982Testimony2-18.pdf" target="_blank">coalition of opponents</a>&nbsp;that, along with insurance companies, included the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Missouri AFL-CIO.&nbsp;The opposition will be daunting, said Abe Funk, owner of John’s Pharmacy in southeast Missouri. Funk’s business operates in six locations, including two in communities with fewer than 1,000 people.Funk is a member of the Missouri Pharmacy Business Council, which lobbies for independent pharmacies. He’s been calling legislators in his area and will personally visit the Capitol to push for the bill.To overcome opposition, this year’s bill will focus on revealing the details of how PBMs pay claims. That’s helped change some minds, he said.“They like the idea of transparency,” Funk said. “They like the idea of actually being able to see what their claims are, their payments. And so we anticipate a different climate this session than we have in the past.”O’Laughlin’s long-standing opposition to renewable energy development is being ramped up by a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/shut-it-down-henry-county-residents-angry-about-new-solar-farm-lack-of-transparency-from-county-commission" target="_blank">5,000-acre solar power project</a>&nbsp;in Henry County in western Missouri. The project was developed over several years but only revealed publicly at the start of 2024.&nbsp;In December 2024, after two incumbent commissioners were defeated for reelection, the Henry County Commission approved an incentive package for the solar project that included $650 million in public-sponsored financing.A lawsuit invoking a rarely used law requiring the courts to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Petition.PDF?courtCode=27&amp;di=2234048" target="_blank">investigate public contracts</a>&nbsp;is heading to trial in October. O’Laughlin has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/26info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=518" target="_blank">filed a bill</a>&nbsp;for a moratorium on new solar project construction, including stopping work on projects underway but not finished, through Dec. 31, 2027.The solar projects use valuable farmland, seek tax abatements and other preferential treatment and add little to local economies, O’Laughlin wrote in an email to The Independent.“I honestly see this as tearing a giant hole in the fabric of our communities socially, fiscally, environmentally,” O’Laughlin wrote to The Independent. “What is there to like about them?”<h2>Election year prospects</h2>No Democrat has won a statewide election since 2018, and results from 2024 show how daunting it will be for Kirkwood Democrat&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2025-12-06/missouri-auditor-2026-fitzpatrick-quentin-wilson" target="_blank">Quentin Wilson</a>, a state department director from 1998 to 2001, to deny incumbent Republican State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick a second term.The auditor’s office is the only statewide race on the ballot. Last year, despite spending $20 million, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lucas Kunce received just 41.8% of the vote, only two percentage points more than gubernatorial candidate Crystal Quade, who spent about $2 million.But the difficult statewide race for Democrats doesn’t mean this year’s voting won’t give the party an opportunity to impose significant losses on Republicans. The same voters that gave GOP candidates landslide wins for statewide office handed them defeats on abortion rights, following up on prior liberal ballot measure wins on Medicaid expansion and marijuana legalization.Republicans have put a measure reinstating the state’s near total&nbsp;<a href="https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills251/hlrbillspdf/2454H.05T.pdf" target="_blank">abortion ban</a>&nbsp;on the ballot, along with a proposal to change the way&nbsp;<a href="https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills254/hlrbillspdf/3353H.03T.pdf" target="_blank">majorities are calculated</a>&nbsp;for constitutional amendments proposed by initiative. And the redistricting plan intended to give the GOP an additional seat in the U.S. House faces a possible referendum vote.&nbsp;Controversial ballot measures can bring hundreds of thousands of Missourians out for an otherwise unexciting election. That occurred In 2018 and 2020, when a right to work referendum and Medicaid expansion, respectively, were on August primary ballots. In those years, nearly 300,000 more people voted in the Democratic primary than the average of other elections since 2000.&nbsp;Millions have already been spent on ballot measures for this year and the total for all will likely exceed $100 million by the time voters go to the polls.But even a big surge of Democratic voters would only dent, not break, the GOP majority, said Terry Smith, political science professor at Columbia College.Only 21 of 163 Missouri House seats were decided by 10 percentage points or less in 2024, and early financial reports indicate that only two of the 17 state Senate seats on the ballot appear to be truly competitive in November.The best result for Democrats, Smith said, would be to break the two-thirds supermajority Republicans enjoy in each chamber.&nbsp;After the 2024 election, Republicans held 111 seats in the House and 24 of 34 seats in the Senate.“Do Republicans&nbsp; have anything to worry about? I don’t think so,” Smith said in an interview last week with The Independent.In deeply Republican districts, even if the ballot measures draw a larger Democratic vote, it won’t be enough to change the outcome, Smith said.“If you go from a district that is 75-25 to 60-40,” he said, “you pick up 15 points and you still lose by a landslide.”The Independent’s Anna Spoerre, Steph Quinn and Jason Hancock contributed to this report.

Missouri lawmakers expect tension as they return for election-year legislative session 

RENO COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating an alleged school threat have made an arrest.

On September 30th, the Hutchinson Police Department received a call from an unknown individual regarding a threat directed at Hutchinson High School.

 Given the seriousness of the situation, immediate action was taken to ensure the safety of students and staff. Hutchinson High School, Graber Elementary, located at 1600 North Cleveland Street, and Transitional Learning Center, 700 East 13th Ave, were placed under lockdown.

During the investigation, a suspect was identified and interviewed. On Monday, police reported 17-year-old Kayleb Lozoya of Hutchinson, was taken into custody and transported to Reno County Juvenile Detention Center on requested charges that included three counts of aggravated criminal threat, interference with law enforcement (making a false report), interference with law enforcement (concealing / destroying evidence), unlawful request for emergency services, and criminal false communication.

This was an extensive investigation that took time due to the complexity of gathering and analyzing evidence from multiple sources. This included applying for and executing search warrants on digital media.

If you have information regarding this incident, please contact the Hutchinson Police Department at 620-694-2816, your local law enforcement agency, or Crime Stoppers of Reno County at 800-222-TIPS. You can also use the P3Tips App on your smartphone, or text RENOKS to 738477 to receive a link to an anonymous tip form. (Msg frequency varies. Msg &amp; data rates may apply. Text HELP for help and STOP to cancel. P3 Terms and Privacy Policy.)

RENO COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating an alleged school threat have made an arrest.On September 30th, the Hutchinson Police Department received a call from an unknown individual regarding a threat directed at Hutchinson High School. Given the seriousness of the situation, immediate action was taken to ensure the safety of students and staff. Hutchinson High School, Graber Elementary, located at 1600 North Cleveland Street, and Transitional Learning Center, 700 East 13th Ave, were placed under lockdown.During the investigation, a suspect was identified and interviewed. On Monday, police reported 17-year-old Kayleb Lozoya of Hutchinson, was taken into custody and transported to Reno County Juvenile Detention Center on requested charges that included three counts of aggravated criminal threat, interference with law enforcement (making a false report), interference with law enforcement (concealing / destroying evidence), unlawful request for emergency services, and criminal false communication.This was an extensive investigation that took time due to the complexity of gathering and analyzing evidence from multiple sources. This included applying for and executing search warrants on digital media.If you have information regarding this incident, please contact the Hutchinson Police Department at 620-694-2816, your local law enforcement agency, or Crime Stoppers of Reno County at 800-222-TIPS. You can also use the P3Tips App on your smartphone, or text RENOKS to 738477 to receive a link to an anonymous tip form. (Msg frequency varies. Msg &amp; data rates may apply. Text HELP for help and STOP to cancel. P3 Terms and Privacy Policy.)

17-year-old arrested for alleged threat against Kan. high school

JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a double fatality crash involving a single vehicle that occurred just after 10:30p.m. on Saturday have identified the victims.

The driver of the vehicle was 16-year-old Hayden C. Doherty of Overland Park and the passenger was 17-year-old Addison Askew of Olathe, according to Olathe Police Sergeant John Moncayo.

Officers were dispatched to the area of Northgate Street and East Harold Street in reference to an iPhone crash notification, according to Olathe Police Sergeant&nbsp;John Moncayo.

Upon arrival, officers observed a passenger vehicle that had struck a tree and was actively engulfed in flames. The Olathe Fire Department was also on scene and extinguished the fire. Once the fire was extinguished, the bodies of the victims were found inside.

There does not appear to be any signs of criminal activity, according to Moncayo.

JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating a double fatality crash involving a single vehicle that occurred just after 10:30p.m. on Saturday have identified the victims.The driver of the vehicle was 16-year-old Hayden C. Doherty of Overland Park and the passenger was 17-year-old Addison Askew of Olathe, according to Olathe Police Sergeant John Moncayo.Officers were dispatched to the area of Northgate Street and East Harold Street in reference to an iPhone crash notification, according to Olathe Police Sergeant&nbsp;John Moncayo.Upon arrival, officers observed a passenger vehicle that had struck a tree and was actively engulfed in flames. The Olathe Fire Department was also on scene and extinguished the fire. Once the fire was extinguished, the bodies of the victims were found inside.There does not appear to be any signs of criminal activity, according to Moncayo.

Police ID Kansas teens who died in vehicle crash, fire

KANSAS CITY —Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced charges against a Kansas City man in connection with two local business burglaries that occurred last week.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2788/Ozga-REDACT-COMP">Ryan V. Ozga</a>, 37,&nbsp;faces two counts of 2nd Degree Burglary. * Each count carries up to seven years in prison.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2789/Ozga-REDACT-PC">According to court records</a>, Kansas City police responded to a business break-in on Dec. 22 in Midtown. The door and window were broken and a black cash box and two tills in the cash register were taken.&nbsp;

An hour later, police responded to another break-in at a business in Westport. The window of the business was broken, and the cash register was stolen. &nbsp;

The estimated damages and stolen items total more than $1,400.&nbsp;

Ozga was captured on surveillance footage breaking into both businesses and later taken into custody. He admitted to breaking into both locations and stealing the cash registers from inside.

The defendant is currently on probation with a four-year back-up sentence. The state intends to revoke his probation.&nbsp;

A Jackson County judge set the defendant’s bond at $20,000/10%.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/12/1767131458547.png" alt="Ozga photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Ozga photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced charges against a Kansas City man in connection with two local business burglaries that occurred last week.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2788/Ozga-REDACT-COMP">Ryan V. Ozga</a>, 37,&nbsp;faces two counts of 2nd Degree Burglary. * Each count carries up to seven years in prison.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2789/Ozga-REDACT-PC">According to court records</a>, Kansas City police responded to a business break-in on Dec. 22 in Midtown. The door and window were broken and a black cash box and two tills in the cash register were taken.&nbsp;An hour later, police responded to another break-in at a business in Westport. The window of the business was broken, and the cash register was stolen. &nbsp;The estimated damages and stolen items total more than $1,400.&nbsp;Ozga was captured on surveillance footage breaking into both businesses and later taken into custody. He admitted to breaking into both locations and stealing the cash registers from inside.The defendant is currently on probation with a four-year back-up sentence. The state intends to revoke his probation.&nbsp;A Jackson County judge set the defendant’s bond at $20,000/10%.&nbsp;

KC man admits stealing cash registers from 2 businesses 

WYANDOTTE COUNTY —The Kansas Highway Patrol is seeking assistance from the public to identify witnesses involving an injury crash that occurred at approximately 5:40 pm on December 30, according to a media release from the agench.

 This crash occurred on northbound Interstate 635 near Swartz Road in Wyandotte County.

A motorcycle, occupied by a driver and passenger, was involved in a crash. An occupant was then struck by a dark-colored sedan. This vehicle did not stop at the scene. The occupant who was struck was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

If anyone has information regarding witnesses or knowledge of this crash, please contact Kansas Highway Patrol Communications at&nbsp;<a href="tel: 7858273701">785-827-3701</a>.

The Kansas Highway Patrol is grateful to the public for their assistance to help with our cases. There have been numerous witnesses and vehicles which have been successfully located, thanks to help from our citizens. We thank you and truly appreciate any help you can provide.

WYANDOTTE COUNTY —The Kansas Highway Patrol is seeking assistance from the public to identify witnesses involving an injury crash that occurred at approximately 5:40 pm on December 30, according to a media release from the agench. This crash occurred on northbound Interstate 635 near Swartz Road in Wyandotte County.A motorcycle, occupied by a driver and passenger, was involved in a crash. An occupant was then struck by a dark-colored sedan. This vehicle did not stop at the scene. The occupant who was struck was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.If anyone has information regarding witnesses or knowledge of this crash, please contact Kansas Highway Patrol Communications at&nbsp;<a href="tel: 7858273701">785-827-3701</a>.The Kansas Highway Patrol is grateful to the public for their assistance to help with our cases. There have been numerous witnesses and vehicles which have been successfully located, thanks to help from our citizens. We thank you and truly appreciate any help you can provide.

KHP asks for help to locate sedan that fled injury accident

OSAGE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating two suspects on multiple drug allegations.

Just before 2:30a.m. January 3, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop at 5th and Topeka Avenue in Lyndon for a traffic violation, according to Osage County Sheriff Chris Wells.

 During the stop, illegal narcotics were located. Two subjects were taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail Facility.

Antionette D. Latif, 60, Topeka is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;Distribution of cocaine, Driving while under the influence, Possession of controlled substance, Possession of a firearm while under the influence, Possession of marijuana, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Transporting an open container and No drug tax stamp.

Orman H. Jones, 49, Topeka, is being held on requested charges of , Distribution of cocaine, Possession of marijuana, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Transporting an open container and No drug tax stamp.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/1/1767572520507.png" alt="Jones photo Osage Co." />
 <figcaption>Jones photo Osage Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>OSAGE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating two suspects on multiple drug allegations.Just before 2:30a.m. January 3, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop at 5th and Topeka Avenue in Lyndon for a traffic violation, according to Osage County Sheriff Chris Wells. During the stop, illegal narcotics were located. Two subjects were taken into custody and transported to the Osage County Jail Facility.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/1/1767572485976.png" alt="Latif photo Osage Co." />
 <figcaption>Latif photo Osage Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Antionette D. Latif, 60, Topeka is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;Distribution of cocaine, Driving while under the influence, Possession of controlled substance, Possession of a firearm while under the influence, Possession of marijuana, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Transporting an open container and No drug tax stamp.Orman H. Jones, 49, Topeka, is being held on requested charges of , Distribution of cocaine, Possession of marijuana, Possession of drug paraphernalia, Transporting an open container and No drug tax stamp.

Sheriff: Kansas couple accused of selling cocaine

The moving company U-Haul reports Missouri is the 29th most moved to state in the U.S. for 2025.

Their rankings were based on one-way rentals, from more than two and a half million moves across North America.

The biggest gains for the Show-Me state were in Columbia, Lee's Summit, Saint Charles, and Wentzville.

Inbound moves to Missouri were mostly the same as 2024, with departures up slightly, year-over-year.

Texas was the highest moved-to state, while California saw the greatest move-outs.

Neighbor states Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas all ranked in the mid-to-low thirties.

By JIM FARISThe moving company U-Haul reports Missouri is the 29th most moved to state in the U.S. for 2025.Their rankings were based on one-way rentals, from more than two and a half million moves across North America.The biggest gains for the Show-Me state were in Columbia, Lee's Summit, Saint Charles, and Wentzville.Inbound moves to Missouri were mostly the same as 2024, with departures up slightly, year-over-year.Texas was the highest moved-to state, while California saw the greatest move-outs.Neighbor states Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas all ranked in the mid-to-low thirties.

Missouri Holds Steady in 2025 U-Haul Migration Report

By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a>

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department will attempt to downgrade Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly’s retirement rank and pay, seeking to punish him for making a video along with other Democrats in Congress, who told members of the military they didn’t need to follow illegal orders.&nbsp;

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth originally threatened to recall Kelly from military retirement and court-martial him for his participation in the video, but announced Monday that the department would instead try to downgrade his rank of captain as well as his retirement pay.&nbsp;

“Captain Kelly has been provided notice of the basis for this action and has thirty days to submit a response,” Hegseth wrote in&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SecWar/status/2008189258528665898" target="_blank">a social media post</a>. “The retirement grade determination process directed by Secretary Hegseth will be completed within forty five days.”

Hegseth added that Kelly’s “status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action.”

Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SenMarkKelly/status/2008215189275963870" target="_blank">wrote in a social media post</a>&nbsp;that he planned to challenge Hegseth’s attempt to alter his retirement rank and pay, arguing it’s an attempt to punish him for challenging the Trump administration.&nbsp;

“My rank and retirement are things that I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country. I got shot at. I missed holidays and birthdays. I commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head– all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder,” Kelly wrote. “Generations of servicemembers have made these same patriotic sacrifices for this country, earning the respect, appreciation, and rank they deserve.”

Kelly added that Hegseth’s goal with the process is to “send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.”

Members of Congress are generally protected under&nbsp;<a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S6-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013300/" target="_blank">the speech and debate clause</a>&nbsp;of the U.S. Constitution, which states that unless a lawmaker is involved in treason, felony and breach of the peace, they are “privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.”

The Defense Department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26456656-secwar-letter-05jan26/#document/p1" target="_blank">letter of censure</a>&nbsp;to Kelly alleged that his participation in the video undermined the military chain of command, counseled disobedience, created confusion about duty, brought discredit upon the Armed Forces and included conduct unbecoming of an officer.&nbsp;

Hegseth wrote in that letter that if Kelly continues “to engage in conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline, you may subject yourself to criminal prosecution or further administrative action.”

The Department of Defense posted in late November that officials were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/pentagon-investigates-arizona-sen-mark-kelly-after-he-appears-video-blasted-trump" target="_blank">looking into</a>&nbsp;“serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly for appearing in the video.&nbsp;

It didn’t detail how Kelly might have violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice but stated that “a thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.”&nbsp;

Hegseth&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/DeptofWar/status/1993436056008507865/photo/1" target="_blank">referred</a>&nbsp;the issue to Navy Secretary John Phelan for any “review, consideration, and disposition” he deemed appropriate. Hegseth then asked for a briefing on the outcome of the review “by no later than December 10.”

Kelly said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/arizonas-kelly-vows-stay-outspoken-despite-threats-over-illegal-order-video" target="_blank">during a press conference</a>&nbsp;in early December the military’s investigation and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/democrats-threatened-trump-over-video-say-theyre-now-being-probed-fbi" target="_blank">a separate one</a>&nbsp;by the FBI were designed to intimidate the six lawmakers in the video from speaking out against Trump.&nbsp;

The lawmakers in the&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SenatorSlotkin/status/1990774492356902948" target="_blank">video</a>, who have backgrounds in the military or intelligence agencies, told members of those communities they “can” and “must refuse illegal orders.”

“No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution. We know this is hard and that it’s a difficult time to be a public servant,” they said. “But whether you’re serving in the CIA, in the Army, or Navy, or the Air Force, your vigilance is critical.”

The other Democrats in the video — Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, Pennsylvania Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, and New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander — are not subject to the military justice system.&nbsp;

Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-accuses-6-democratic-lawmakers-seditious-behavior-punishable-death" target="_blank">railed against the video</a>&nbsp;a couple of days after it posted, saying the statements represented “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/11/1764097679232.png" alt="Image from the controversial video" />
 <figcaption>Image from the controversial video</figcaption>
 </figure>By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a>WASHINGTON — The Defense Department will attempt to downgrade Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly’s retirement rank and pay, seeking to punish him for making a video along with other Democrats in Congress, who told members of the military they didn’t need to follow illegal orders.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline. As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he…&mdash; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar/status/2008189258528665898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth originally threatened to recall Kelly from military retirement and court-martial him for his participation in the video, but announced Monday that the department would instead try to downgrade his rank of captain as well as his retirement pay.&nbsp;“Captain Kelly has been provided notice of the basis for this action and has thirty days to submit a response,” Hegseth wrote in&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SecWar/status/2008189258528665898" target="_blank">a social media post</a>. “The retirement grade determination process directed by Secretary Hegseth will be completed within forty five days.”Hegseth added that Kelly’s “status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action.”Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SenMarkKelly/status/2008215189275963870" target="_blank">wrote in a social media post</a>&nbsp;that he planned to challenge Hegseth’s attempt to alter his retirement rank and pay, arguing it’s an attempt to punish him for challenging the Trump administration.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Over twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy, thirty-nine combat missions, and four missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution – including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out. I never expected that the President of the…&mdash; Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenMarkKelly/status/2008215189275963870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“My rank and retirement are things that I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country. I got shot at. I missed holidays and birthdays. I commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head– all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder,” Kelly wrote. “Generations of servicemembers have made these same patriotic sacrifices for this country, earning the respect, appreciation, and rank they deserve.”Kelly added that Hegseth’s goal with the process is to “send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.”<h2>Constitutional protection</h2>Members of Congress are generally protected under&nbsp;<a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S6-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013300/" target="_blank">the speech and debate clause</a>&nbsp;of the U.S. Constitution, which states that unless a lawmaker is involved in treason, felony and breach of the peace, they are “privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.”The Defense Department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26456656-secwar-letter-05jan26/#document/p1" target="_blank">letter of censure</a>&nbsp;to Kelly alleged that his participation in the video undermined the military chain of command, counseled disobedience, created confusion about duty, brought discredit upon the Armed Forces and included conduct unbecoming of an officer.&nbsp;Hegseth wrote in that letter that if Kelly continues “to engage in conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline, you may subject yourself to criminal prosecution or further administrative action.”<h2>Allegations of misconduct</h2>The Department of Defense posted in late November that officials were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/pentagon-investigates-arizona-sen-mark-kelly-after-he-appears-video-blasted-trump" target="_blank">looking into</a>&nbsp;“serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly for appearing in the video.&nbsp;It didn’t detail how Kelly might have violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice but stated that “a thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.”&nbsp;Hegseth&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/DeptofWar/status/1993436056008507865/photo/1" target="_blank">referred</a>&nbsp;the issue to Navy Secretary John Phelan for any “review, consideration, and disposition” he deemed appropriate. Hegseth then asked for a briefing on the outcome of the review “by no later than December 10.”Kelly said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/arizonas-kelly-vows-stay-outspoken-despite-threats-over-illegal-order-video" target="_blank">during a press conference</a>&nbsp;in early December the military’s investigation and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/democrats-threatened-trump-over-video-say-theyre-now-being-probed-fbi" target="_blank">a separate one</a>&nbsp;by the FBI were designed to intimidate the six lawmakers in the video from speaking out against Trump.&nbsp;The lawmakers in the&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SenatorSlotkin/status/1990774492356902948" target="_blank">video</a>, who have backgrounds in the military or intelligence agencies, told members of those communities they “can” and “must refuse illegal orders.”“No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution. We know this is hard and that it’s a difficult time to be a public servant,” they said. “But whether you’re serving in the CIA, in the Army, or Navy, or the Air Force, your vigilance is critical.”The other Democrats in the video — Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, Pennsylvania Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, and New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander — are not subject to the military justice system.&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-accuses-6-democratic-lawmakers-seditious-behavior-punishable-death" target="_blank">railed against the video</a>&nbsp;a couple of days after it posted, saying the statements represented “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

Pentagon tries to penalize Sen. Mark Kelly for illegal orders video

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred Monday at City Hall, 6 East 6th Street in Lawrence.

A man forced his way into the building then broke through a door on the 4th floor, which is a secured area not open to the public, according to a statement from Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart and City Manager Craig Owens.

 City employees attempted to remove the man and a struggle began.  The man was fatally shot. Lawrence police officers and medical personnel from&nbsp;Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical responded after the altercation.

 The investigation will be led by Lawrence Police in cooperation with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office. No city employees were seriously injured.  The deceased suspect is likely not from the Lawrence area, according to police. Investigators are working to notify next of kin. City Hall remains closed Monday.  Municipal Court Offices will be closed until Thursday.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/1/1767634150642.png" alt="Photo by Eric Ives courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Eric Ives courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred Monday at City Hall, 6 East 6th Street in Lawrence.A man forced his way into the building then broke through a door on the 4th floor, which is a secured area not open to the public, according to a statement from Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart and City Manager Craig Owens. City employees attempted to remove the man and a struggle began. The man was fatally shot. Lawrence police officers and medical personnel from&nbsp;Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical responded after the altercation. The investigation will be led by Lawrence Police in cooperation with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office. No city employees were seriously injured. The deceased suspect is likely not from the Lawrence area, according to police. Investigators are working to notify next of kin. City Hall remains closed Monday. Municipal Court Offices will be closed until Thursday.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Police: City employee shot, killed intruder at Lawrence City Hall

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has announced the promotion of Sgt. Brandon M. Parker to the rank of lieutenant, effective Jan. 16. Along with his promotion, Parker will transfer from the Division of Drug and Crime Control to the Training Division at General Headquarters in Jefferson City.

Parker joined the Missouri State Highway Patrol in February 2010 as a member of the 91st Recruit Class. Following his graduation from the Law Enforcement Academy, his initial assignment was to Troop A, where he served Henry County.

In 2015, Parker was promoted to corporal and transferred from Henry County to Saline County, where he served as the assistant supervisor for Zone 10. He transitioned to the Division of Drug and Crime Control as a criminal investigator in 2018.

By November 2022, Parker was designated as the supervisor of the DDCC Troop A Criminal Investigation Unit. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in January 2023.

A native of Harrison, Arkansas, Parker is a graduate of Spirit Lake High School in Spirit Lake, Iowa. He holds an associate degree from Ozarks Technical Community College and a Bachelor of Science in criminology and sociology from Missouri State University. Parker and his wife, Kaitlyn, have one son.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/1/1767619527975.jpeg" alt="MSHP" />
 <figcaption>MSHP</figcaption>
 </figure>By RYAN SKAITHThe Missouri State Highway Patrol has announced the promotion of Sgt. Brandon M. Parker to the rank of lieutenant, effective Jan. 16. Along with his promotion, Parker will transfer from the Division of Drug and Crime Control to the Training Division at General Headquarters in Jefferson City.Parker joined the Missouri State Highway Patrol in February 2010 as a member of the 91st Recruit Class. Following his graduation from the Law Enforcement Academy, his initial assignment was to Troop A, where he served Henry County.In 2015, Parker was promoted to corporal and transferred from Henry County to Saline County, where he served as the assistant supervisor for Zone 10. He transitioned to the Division of Drug and Crime Control as a criminal investigator in 2018.By November 2022, Parker was designated as the supervisor of the DDCC Troop A Criminal Investigation Unit. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in January 2023.A native of Harrison, Arkansas, Parker is a graduate of Spirit Lake High School in Spirit Lake, Iowa. He holds an associate degree from Ozarks Technical Community College and a Bachelor of Science in criminology and sociology from Missouri State University. Parker and his wife, Kaitlyn, have one son.

MSHP promotion: Brandon M. Parker elevated to rank of lieutenant

KANSAS CITY —A firefighter was injured while working at the scene of a fire in Kansas City, Missouri.

Just after 7p.m. Sunday, crews responded to a reported fire at a vacant, former church, in the 2400 block of West Paseo Boulevard, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.

On arrival crews reported smoke and fire showing from the structure . Crews initiated an interior attack and performed searches of the structure that came back all clear. The seat of the fire was mainly in the high ceilings and roof line of the building, making interior operations difficult. 

Exterior operations using aerial ladders and roof operations were needed to get the fire under control. It took crews several hours to get the fire under control. No civilian injuries were reported. However, one firefighter was transported and evaluated for minor injuries incurred during overhaul operations when a piece of debris fell and struck them.

 KCPD's Bomb and Arson were notified and responded as part of protocol due to the nature of the structure. Dangerous Buildings along with city Planning were also requested to the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

KANSAS CITY —A firefighter was injured while working at the scene of a fire in Kansas City, Missouri.Just after 7p.m. Sunday, crews responded to a reported fire at a vacant, former church, in the 2400 block of West Paseo Boulevard, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.On arrival crews reported smoke and fire showing from the structure . Crews initiated an interior attack and performed searches of the structure that came back all clear. The seat of the fire was mainly in the high ceilings and roof line of the building, making interior operations difficult. Exterior operations using aerial ladders and roof operations were needed to get the fire under control. It took crews several hours to get the fire under control. No civilian injuries were reported. However, one firefighter was transported and evaluated for minor injuries incurred during overhaul operations when a piece of debris fell and struck them. KCPD's Bomb and Arson were notified and responded as part of protocol due to the nature of the structure. Dangerous Buildings along with city Planning were also requested to the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

KC firefighter injured working fire at vacant former church

By:<a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/author/madisonmcvan/">Madison McVan</a> <a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/">Minnesota Reformer</a>

Gov. Tim Walz announced Monday he ended his campaign for a third term as he faces increased backlash over widespread fraud in state-run social service programs.

“I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work,” Walz said in a statement.

Walz will speak to the press at 11 a.m. Monday.

In his statement, Walz defended his record combating fraud and said “an organized group of political actors” is taking advantage of the crisis, criticizing President Donald Trump and his supporters for trying to “score a few cheap points.”

Some Democratic-Farmer-Labor elected officials have quietly worried in recent months that Walz’s name at the top of the ticket could sink Democrats’ electoral performance statewide this fall.

Read Gov. Tim Walz’s full statement:

Like many Minnesotans, I was glad to turn the page on 2025. It was an extraordinarily difficult year for our state. And it ended on a particularly sour note.

For the last several years, an organized group of criminals have sought to take advantage of our state’s generosity. And even as we make progress in the fight against the fraudsters, we now see an organized group of political actors seeking to take advantage of the crisis.

I won’t mince words here. Donald Trump and his allies – in Washington, in St. Paul, and online – want to make our state a colder, meaner place. They want to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors. And, ultimately, they want to take away much of what makes Minnesota the best place in America to raise a family. They’ve already begun by taking our tax dollars that were meant to help families afford child care. And they have no intention of stopping there.

Make no mistake: We&nbsp;should&nbsp;be concerned about fraud in our state government. We cannot effectively deliver programs and services if we can’t earn the public’s trust. That’s why, over the past few years, we’ve made systemic changes to the way we do business.

We’ve gone to the legislature time and again to get more tools to combat fraud. We’ve fired people who weren’t doing their jobs. We’ve seen people go to jail for stealing from our state. We’ve cut off whole streams of funding, in partnership with the federal government, where we saw widespread criminal activity. We’ve put new locks on the doors of our remaining programs, and we’ve hired a new head of program integrity to make sure those locks can’t be broken.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2026/1/1767623345609.png" alt="&nbsp;Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a Veterans Day program in Mankato on Nov. 11,&nbsp;2025. (Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor)" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a Veterans Day program in Mankato on Nov. 11,&nbsp;2025. (Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor)</figcaption>
 </figure>By:<a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/author/madisonmcvan/">Madison McVan</a> <a href="https://minnesotareformer.com/">Minnesota Reformer</a>Gov. Tim Walz announced Monday he ended his campaign for a third term as he faces increased backlash over widespread fraud in state-run social service programs.“I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work,” Walz said in a statement.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Minnesota has to come first - always. Today, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to make Minnesota the best place to live and raise kids. I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work. <a href="https://t.co/AYbvcOzyPI">pic.twitter.com/AYbvcOzyPI</a>&mdash; Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovTimWalz/status/2008184142958334441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Walz will speak to the press at 11 a.m. Monday.In his statement, Walz defended his record combating fraud and said “an organized group of political actors” is taking advantage of the crisis, criticizing President Donald Trump and his supporters for trying to “score a few cheap points.”Some Democratic-Farmer-Labor elected officials have quietly worried in recent months that Walz’s name at the top of the ticket could sink Democrats’ electoral performance statewide this fall.Read Gov. Tim Walz’s full statement:Good morning, and Happy New Year.Like many Minnesotans, I was glad to turn the page on 2025. It was an extraordinarily difficult year for our state. And it ended on a particularly sour note.For the last several years, an organized group of criminals have sought to take advantage of our state’s generosity. And even as we make progress in the fight against the fraudsters, we now see an organized group of political actors seeking to take advantage of the crisis.I won’t mince words here. Donald Trump and his allies – in Washington, in St. Paul, and online – want to make our state a colder, meaner place. They want to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors. And, ultimately, they want to take away much of what makes Minnesota the best place in America to raise a family. They’ve already begun by taking our tax dollars that were meant to help families afford child care. And they have no intention of stopping there.Make no mistake: We&nbsp;should&nbsp;be concerned about fraud in our state government. We cannot effectively deliver programs and services if we can’t earn the public’s trust. That’s why, over the past few years, we’ve made systemic changes to the way we do business.We’ve gone to the legislature time and again to get more tools to combat fraud. We’ve fired people who weren’t doing their jobs. We’ve seen people go to jail for stealing from our state. We’ve cut off whole streams of funding, in partnership with the federal government, where we saw widespread criminal activity. We’ve put new locks on the doors of our remaining programs, and we’ve hired a new head of program integrity to make sure those locks can’t be broken.All across the state, Minnesotans are hard at work on this problem. Advocates, administrators, investigators are on the front lines defending the integrity of our state’s programs, and I want to thank them for their efforts.There’s more to do. A single taxpayer dollar wasted on fraud is a dollar too much to tolerate. And while there’s a role to play for everyone – from the legislature to prosecutors to insurance companies to local and county government – the buck stops with me. My administration is taking fast, decisive action to solve this crisis. And we will win the fight against the fraudsters.But the political gamesmanship we’re seeing from Republicans is only making that fight harder to win.We’ve got Republicans here in the legislature playing hide-and-seek with whistleblowers.We’ve got conspiracy theorist right-wing YouTubers breaking into daycare centers and demanding access to our children.We’ve got the President of the United States demonizing our Somali neighbors and wrongly confiscating childcare funding that Minnesotans rely on.It is disgusting. And it is dangerous.Republicans are playing politics with the future of our state. And it’s shameful. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: We welcome ideas from anyone, in any party, who wants to help us continue to stay ahead of the criminals.And we welcome the involvement of the federal government. I’m grateful to the career professionals at the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI who are helping us win this fight.But I cannot abide the actions of the political leadership in Washington – these opportunists who are willing to hurt our people to score a few cheap points. They and their allies have no intention of helping us solve the problem – and every intention of profiting off of it.Which brings me to this: 2026 is an election year. And election years have a way of ramping up the politics at a time when we simply can’t afford more politics.In September, I announced that I would run for a historic third term as Minnesota’s Governor. And I have every confidence that, if I gave it my all, I would succeed in that effort.But as I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I&nbsp;can’t&nbsp;give a political campaign my all. Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences.So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work.I know this news may come as a surprise. But I’m passing on the race with zero sadness and zero regret. After all, I didn’t run for this job so I could&nbsp;have&nbsp;this job. I ran for this job so I could&nbsp;do&nbsp;this job. Minnesota faces an enormous challenge this year. And I refuse to spend even one minute of 2026 doing anything other than rising to meet the moment. Minnesota has to come first – always.That’s what I believe servant leadership demands of me. And as an optimist, I will hold out some hope that my friends on the other side of the aisle will consider what servant leadership demands of them in this moment. We can work together to combat the criminals, rebuild the public’s trust, and make our state stronger. But make no mistake: If Republicans continue down this path of abusing power, smearing entire communities, and running their own fraudulent game at the expense of Minnesotans – we will fight back every step of the way.I’m confident that a DFLer will hold this seat come November. I’m confident that I will find ways to contribute to the state I love even after I’ve left office next January. But there will be time to worry about all that later.Today, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to make Minnesota America’s best place to live and raise kids – from our new paid leave policy to our child tax credit to our free lunch program.And I’m doubly proud of the incredible team we’ve put together to make that vision a reality. Thank you to every member of my staff, and every state employee, who’s part of this fight. We need you on the job to tackle the important work ahead.Most of all, I want Minnesotans to know that&nbsp;I’m&nbsp;on the job, 24/7, focused on making sure we&nbsp;stay&nbsp;America’s best place to live and raise kids. No one will take that away from us. Not the fraudsters. And not the President. Not on my watch.”