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

The Republican from Lee’s Summit received 152 votes. His rival, state Rep. Justin Sparks, garnered only 10

The Missouri legislature made history Wednesday as Republicans elected the first Asian-American speaker of the House and the first woman to be president pro tem of the state Senate.

In the House, state Rep. Jon Patterson of Lee’s Summit won an overwhelming victory over a challenger from&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/08/house-speaker-fight-battles-over-abortion-rights-and-taxes-loom-as-missouri-lawmakers-return/">within the Republican conference</a>, state Rep. Justin Sparks, helped to the 152-10 victory by votes from minority Democrats.

State Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, a Republican from Shelbina, was elected unanimously to be the upper chamber’s top job after two years as the GOP floor leader.

At a news conference after the House session, Patterson called the challenge “disappointing” and said Sparks forced the vote for personal reasons.

“This was not about Amendment 3 (which restored abortion rights) or any policy agenda,” Patterson said. “This was a person with an oceanic ego who took it upon himself to make this day about himself.”

Patterson, the majority leader in the previous General Assembly who was nominated months ago by the Republican conference. Sparks’ bid was always a longshot because he needed at least 30 votes to prevent Patterson from winning a majority on Republican votes alone.

When Democrats nominated their floor leader, state Rep. Ashley Aune of Kansas City, she withdrew and urged colleagues to support Patterson, ending any chance Sparks had of blocking the election.

In nominating Patterson, Republican state Rep. Phil Amato of Arnold told a story about meeting and playing golf with him, only later to learn he is a surgeon.

“Right then and there I knew this man had his feet firmly planted on the ground,” Amato said.

Aune, who represents the 52 Democrats in the chamber, said she was encouraged that Patterson will be a fair leader who will represent the chamber well.

“I am confident,” she said, “he will be a speaker for all 163 members.”

At a Democratic news conference after the session, Aune said she told Patterson ahead of the vote that she intended to withdraw. She received no promises but said she and Patterson have a respectful relationship and she expects that to continue.

“We work very well together, and while I haven’t been given explicit assurances,” Aune said, “what I will say is I do trust him to be fair and to listen to me and to my caucus members when we have an issue.”

Sparks based his campaign on a call for changes to the House rules and objections to the fundraising tactics of the House Republican majority. In nominating Sparks, freshman state Rep. Bryant Wolfin of Ste. Genevieve said the chamber needs reform.

“The speaker holds a level of authority that would make even a monarch blush,” Wolfin said. “The culture in this building discourages dissent and rewards obedience to leadership over the service to our constituents.”

The odds against Sparks’ bid are shown by the rarity of successful efforts to block the majority party’s nominee from becoming speaker. The last time was in 1996, when 11 Democrats voted present and four joined Republicans to prevent the election of state Rep. Sam Leake to replace outgoing Speaker Bob Griffin, who resigned midway through a term.

The defeat forced Democrats to select a new candidate, state Rep. Steve Gaw, who was able to unite his caucus.

After winning the election, Patterson told the House in a prepared speech that he wanted to address issues unfinished from last year, enact bills to help cities recruit and retain police officers and limit the availability of abortion, made legal again in Missouri by a voter-enacted constitutional amendment.

“While we respect the will of the voters, we must clarify the provisions of Amendment 3 and make Missouri the most pro-life state it can be,” Patterson said.

That does not include attempting to repeal Amendment 3, Patters said at his news conference.&nbsp;He also said he does not support efforts to roll back the provisions of Proposition A, which raised the minimum wage to $13.75 per hour and requires most employers to provide paid sick and family leave starting May 1.

“We may take a look at some of the provisions, but I have not heard serious discussions about repeal, and I don’t favor delaying implementation,” Patterson said.

The unfinished business, Patterson said, includes legislation to prevent the state from&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/bill-stopping-missouri-from-seizing-benefits-owed-to-foster-kids-advances-in-senate/">seizing Social Security benefits</a>&nbsp;from foster children who qualify for disability benefits or whose parents have died. He also called for increased funding for mental health services for children.

“We must prioritize the most vulnerable among us, especially our foster children,” Patterson said.

Other unfinished business, Patterson said, is legislation to encourage businesses&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/12/03/tax-credits-to-expand-child-care-among-hundreds-of-bills-filed-for-2025-missouri-legislature/">to provide on-site child care</a>&nbsp;and expansion of existing child care centers.

“Missouri’s families continue to be burdened with trying to find childcare spots that are too hard to find and too expensive,” he said.

In the Senate, O’Laughlin set an agenda focused on issues affecting children, including the foster care system, education and health.&nbsp;

“When families and communities are strong, when children are well nourished and well educated and when our streets are safe, Missouri thrives,” she said.

O’Laughlin said the state needs to address the “root causes of poverty and addiction” in child welfare cases.

“If you take a hard look at our child welfare system, you will see a system that is failing,” she said. “Failing to meet families where they are, failing to understand their struggles and failing to provide meaningful assistance in their time of need.”

O’Laughlin also advocated for a “refocus on results that matter” in education, pointing to the state’s low rate of children being about to read at grade level, and for a tough-on-crime approach that doesn’t “release[] dangerous individuals back onto the streets to reoffend.”&nbsp;

She emphasized her role as the first woman elected president pro tem of the state Senate.&nbsp;

“And as a woman, I’ve seen firsthand how the role of the family has been transformed and sadly, too often, trivialized,” she said. “Mothers have been undervalued. Fathers have been dismissed. And the institution of marriage has been diminished.”

Several women who previously served in the Senate attended in celebration.&nbsp;

“We must support strong, healthy families, expand access to quality education, ensure safe neighborhoods and set high expectations for the next generation,” O’Laughlin said. “This is the foundation for success and prosperity.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736422668072.png" alt=" House Speaker Jon Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, speaks to reporters Wednesday after defeating Republican rival Justin Sparks. (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications)" />
 <figcaption> House Speaker Jon Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, speaks to reporters Wednesday after defeating Republican rival Justin Sparks. (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a>&nbsp;AND&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/cbates/">CLARA BATES</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a> <h2>The Republican from Lee’s Summit received 152 votes. His rival, state Rep. Justin Sparks, garnered only 10</h2>The Missouri legislature made history Wednesday as Republicans elected the first Asian-American speaker of the House and the first woman to be president pro tem of the state Senate.In the House, state Rep. Jon Patterson of Lee’s Summit won an overwhelming victory over a challenger from&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/08/house-speaker-fight-battles-over-abortion-rights-and-taxes-loom-as-missouri-lawmakers-return/">within the Republican conference</a>, state Rep. Justin Sparks, helped to the 152-10 victory by votes from minority Democrats.State Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, a Republican from Shelbina, was elected unanimously to be the upper chamber’s top job after two years as the GOP floor leader.At a news conference after the House session, Patterson called the challenge “disappointing” and said Sparks forced the vote for personal reasons.“This was not about Amendment 3 (which restored abortion rights) or any policy agenda,” Patterson said. “This was a person with an oceanic ego who took it upon himself to make this day about himself.”Patterson, the majority leader in the previous General Assembly who was nominated months ago by the Republican conference. Sparks’ bid was always a longshot because he needed at least 30 votes to prevent Patterson from winning a majority on Republican votes alone.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736422623955.png" alt=" House Minority Leader Ashley Aune of Kansas City, surrounded by members of the Democratic caucus, speaks Wednesday at news conference after the 2025 legislative session opened. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)" />
 <figcaption> House Minority Leader Ashley Aune of Kansas City, surrounded by members of the Democratic caucus, speaks Wednesday at news conference after the 2025 legislative session opened. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)</figcaption>
 </figure>When Democrats nominated their floor leader, state Rep. Ashley Aune of Kansas City, she withdrew and urged colleagues to support Patterson, ending any chance Sparks had of blocking the election.In nominating Patterson, Republican state Rep. Phil Amato of Arnold told a story about meeting and playing golf with him, only later to learn he is a surgeon.“Right then and there I knew this man had his feet firmly planted on the ground,” Amato said.Aune, who represents the 52 Democrats in the chamber, said she was encouraged that Patterson will be a fair leader who will represent the chamber well.“I am confident,” she said, “he will be a speaker for all 163 members.”At a Democratic news conference after the session, Aune said she told Patterson ahead of the vote that she intended to withdraw. She received no promises but said she and Patterson have a respectful relationship and she expects that to continue.“We work very well together, and while I haven’t been given explicit assurances,” Aune said, “what I will say is I do trust him to be fair and to listen to me and to my caucus members when we have an issue.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736422582767.png" alt=" State Rep. Justin Sparks, R-Wildwood, greets a supporter following a rally of supporters backing his bid to be Missouri House Speaker. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)" />
 <figcaption> State Rep. Justin Sparks, R-Wildwood, greets a supporter following a rally of supporters backing his bid to be Missouri House Speaker. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)</figcaption>
 </figure>Sparks based his campaign on a call for changes to the House rules and objections to the fundraising tactics of the House Republican majority. In nominating Sparks, freshman state Rep. Bryant Wolfin of Ste. Genevieve said the chamber needs reform.“The speaker holds a level of authority that would make even a monarch blush,” Wolfin said. “The culture in this building discourages dissent and rewards obedience to leadership over the service to our constituents.”The odds against Sparks’ bid are shown by the rarity of successful efforts to block the majority party’s nominee from becoming speaker. The last time was in 1996, when 11 Democrats voted present and four joined Republicans to prevent the election of state Rep. Sam Leake to replace outgoing Speaker Bob Griffin, who resigned midway through a term.The defeat forced Democrats to select a new candidate, state Rep. Steve Gaw, who was able to unite his caucus.After winning the election, Patterson told the House in a prepared speech that he wanted to address issues unfinished from last year, enact bills to help cities recruit and retain police officers and limit the availability of abortion, made legal again in Missouri by a voter-enacted constitutional amendment.“While we respect the will of the voters, we must clarify the provisions of Amendment 3 and make Missouri the most pro-life state it can be,” Patterson said.That does not include attempting to repeal Amendment 3, Patters said at his news conference.&nbsp;He also said he does not support efforts to roll back the provisions of Proposition A, which raised the minimum wage to $13.75 per hour and requires most employers to provide paid sick and family leave starting May 1.“We may take a look at some of the provisions, but I have not heard serious discussions about repeal, and I don’t favor delaying implementation,” Patterson said.The unfinished business, Patterson said, includes legislation to prevent the state from&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/bill-stopping-missouri-from-seizing-benefits-owed-to-foster-kids-advances-in-senate/">seizing Social Security benefits</a>&nbsp;from foster children who qualify for disability benefits or whose parents have died. He also called for increased funding for mental health services for children.“We must prioritize the most vulnerable among us, especially our foster children,” Patterson said.Other unfinished business, Patterson said, is legislation to encourage businesses&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/12/03/tax-credits-to-expand-child-care-among-hundreds-of-bills-filed-for-2025-missouri-legislature/">to provide on-site child care</a>&nbsp;and expansion of existing child care centers.“Missouri’s families continue to be burdened with trying to find childcare spots that are too hard to find and too expensive,” he said.In the Senate, O’Laughlin set an agenda focused on issues affecting children, including the foster care system, education and health.&nbsp;“When families and communities are strong, when children are well nourished and well educated and when our streets are safe, Missouri thrives,” she said.O’Laughlin said the state needs to address the “root causes of poverty and addiction” in child welfare cases.“If you take a hard look at our child welfare system, you will see a system that is failing,” she said. “Failing to meet families where they are, failing to understand their struggles and failing to provide meaningful assistance in their time of need.”O’Laughlin also advocated for a “refocus on results that matter” in education, pointing to the state’s low rate of children being about to read at grade level, and for a tough-on-crime approach that doesn’t “release[] dangerous individuals back onto the streets to reoffend.”&nbsp;She emphasized her role as the first woman elected president pro tem of the state Senate.&nbsp;“And as a woman, I’ve seen firsthand how the role of the family has been transformed and sadly, too often, trivialized,” she said. “Mothers have been undervalued. Fathers have been dismissed. And the institution of marriage has been diminished.”Several women who previously served in the Senate attended in celebration.&nbsp;“We must support strong, healthy families, expand access to quality education, ensure safe neighborhoods and set high expectations for the next generation,” O’Laughlin said. “This is the foundation for success and prosperity.”

Jon Patterson easily wins race for Missouri House speaker over right-wing challenger

YEMEN—U.S. forces conducted multiple precision strikes against two Iranian-backed Houthi underground Advanced Conventional Weapon&nbsp; storage facilities within Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen on Wednesday, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.

 The Houthis used these facilities to conduct attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

There were no injuries or damage to U.S. personnel or equipment.

"The strikes are part of CENTCOM's effort to degrade Iranian-backed Houthi attempts to threaten regional partners and military and merchant vessels in the region."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736385717405.png" alt="Photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>Photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>YEMEN—U.S. forces conducted multiple precision strikes against two Iranian-backed Houthi underground Advanced Conventional Weapon&nbsp; storage facilities within Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen on Wednesday, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command. The Houthis used these facilities to conduct attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.There were no injuries or damage to U.S. personnel or equipment."The strikes are part of CENTCOM's effort to degrade Iranian-backed Houthi attempts to threaten regional partners and military and merchant vessels in the region."

U.S. strikes Terrorist Weapons Storage Facilities in Yemen

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating two teens in connection with a convenience store robbery.

Just after 8p.m.&nbsp; January 5, 2025, near 8:00 p.m., police responded to a reported aggravated robbery attempt to the Kwik Shop, 746 NE Wabash Avenue in Topeka, according to Topeka Police Lt. Edward Stanley.

 Upon arrival officers learned that two individuals believed to be involved had already left the area.

A short time later, officers located the suspects near the area of the 800 block of NE Kellam Avenue. These individuals were taken into custody and transported to the Law Enforcement Center to speak with detectives.

As a result of the investigation, Kenyan M. Hooper, 18, and a juvenile male, 15, both of Topeka, were arrested. Hooper was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, and the juvenile was booked into the Shawnee County Juvenile Department of Corrections.

Hooper is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;Attempted Aggravated Robbery and Aggravated Assault.

The juvenile is jailed on a requested charge of Attempted Aggravated Robbery.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736172902304.png" alt="Hooper-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Hooper-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating two teens in connection with a convenience store robbery.Just after 8p.m.&nbsp; January 5, 2025, near 8:00 p.m., police responded to a reported aggravated robbery attempt to the Kwik Shop, 746 NE Wabash Avenue in Topeka, according to Topeka Police Lt. Edward Stanley. Upon arrival officers learned that two individuals believed to be involved had already left the area.A short time later, officers located the suspects near the area of the 800 block of NE Kellam Avenue. These individuals were taken into custody and transported to the Law Enforcement Center to speak with detectives.As a result of the investigation, Kenyan M. Hooper, 18, and a juvenile male, 15, both of Topeka, were arrested. Hooper was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, and the juvenile was booked into the Shawnee County Juvenile Department of Corrections.Hooper is being held on requested charges of&nbsp;Attempted Aggravated Robbery and Aggravated Assault.The juvenile is jailed on a requested charge of Attempted Aggravated Robbery.

15-year-old accused of role in Kansas store robbery

WASHINGTON —United States Capitol Police officers prevented a man from bringing a machete and three knives past a screening checkpoint in the Capitol Visitor Center.

Just after 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, during security screening at the CVC’s north doors, USCP officers spotted a machete in a bag, which was going through the x-ray machine. Officers stopped the machine and searched the bag, which contained a machete and three knives.&nbsp;

“Our officers know they cannot let their guard down for one second,” said U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger. “It is this constant focus and attention to detail that helps keep this campus safe.”

44-year-old Mel J. Horne, of Washington, D.C., was arrested for multiple counts of Carrying a Dangerous Weapon.&nbsp;

Security screening was temporarily stopped at the north side of the Capitol Visitor Center, while the USCP investigated, but the checkpoint was reopened approximately an hour later. Public viewing for the lying in state was not stopped and will continue throughout the night, into Thursday morning.&nbsp;

Horne will be interviewed by USCP investigators to determine his motive. At this time there is no on-going threat towards the Congress, the U.S. Capitol, or the public.

WASHINGTON —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after an incident Wednesday in Washington.

Just after 2:00 p.m., U.S. Capitol Police officers stopped and arrested a man who tried to get a machete into the Capitol Visitor Center, according to a media release.

Three knives were also found in the bag, along with the machete. Security screening was temporarily stopped at the north side of the Capitol Visitor Center while police investigated.

The man is being held on multiple requested charges of Carrying a Dangerous Weapon. Check the Post for more information once it is available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730837573908.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON —United States Capitol Police officers prevented a man from bringing a machete and three knives past a screening checkpoint in the Capitol Visitor Center.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736381404606.png" alt="Photo U.S. Capitol Police" />
 <figcaption>Photo U.S. Capitol Police</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, during security screening at the CVC’s north doors, USCP officers spotted a machete in a bag, which was going through the x-ray machine. Officers stopped the machine and searched the bag, which contained a machete and three knives.&nbsp;“Our officers know they cannot let their guard down for one second,” said U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger. “It is this constant focus and attention to detail that helps keep this campus safe.”44-year-old Mel J. Horne, of Washington, D.C., was arrested for multiple counts of Carrying a Dangerous Weapon.&nbsp;Security screening was temporarily stopped at the north side of the Capitol Visitor Center, while the USCP investigated, but the checkpoint was reopened approximately an hour later. Public viewing for the lying in state was not stopped and will continue throughout the night, into Thursday morning.&nbsp;Horne will be interviewed by USCP investigators to determine his motive. At this time there is no on-going threat towards the Congress, the U.S. Capitol, or the public.-----------WASHINGTON —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after an incident Wednesday in Washington.Just after 2:00 p.m., U.S. Capitol Police officers stopped and arrested a man who tried to get a machete into the Capitol Visitor Center, according to a media release.Three knives were also found in the bag, along with the machete. Security screening was temporarily stopped at the north side of the Capitol Visitor Center while police investigated.The man is being held on multiple requested charges of Carrying a Dangerous Weapon. Check the Post for more information once it is available.

Police: Man with Machete Attempted to Enter U.S. Capitol 

Despite voicing opposition to abortion, most members of the Rolla City Council worried the ordinance would do little besides inspire costly litigation

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

Less than a month after a state constitutional amendment legalizing abortion went into effect, a national movement to establish pockets of resistance is dividing one Missouri town.

Rolla, a town of about 20,000 people that sits 100 miles southwest of St. Louis, is being courted by<a href="https://sanctuarycitiesfortheunborn.org/" target="_blank">&nbsp;Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn</a>, an anti-abortion activist group out of Texas. If approved by the city council, it would be the first municipality in Missouri to adopt the title.&nbsp;

But during a public hearing Monday night, council members expressed concerns about adopting the ordinance, which uses a 150-year-old federal law to give local citizens the ability to sue any person or entity who provides abortion medication. The concern is it would do little besides put the town at the center of costly litigation and negative national press.

“Why are we doing this?” Rolla Mayor Louis Magdits IV asked during&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X33Di5KfsRU" target="_blank">Monday’s meeting.&nbsp;</a>“What is out to be accomplished?”

Rolla is home to one of Missouri’s six remaining Planned Parenthood clinics. The rest are located in and around Democrat-leaning cities Columbia, Kansas City and St. Louis.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.warrencountyrecord.com/stories/wright-city-official-wont-back-local-push-to-ban-abortion,72627" target="_blank">Wright City,&nbsp;</a>a town of about 5,000 people just off Interstate 70, west of St. Louis, also considered becoming a sanctuary city for the unborn in 2023 but never made it official.&nbsp;

Missouri’s legal landscape around abortion has changed drastically since then.&nbsp;

Amendment 3, which was&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/05/missouri-voters-overturn-states-near-total-abortion-ban/">narrowly approved by voters in November,</a>&nbsp;made unconstitutional the state’s trigger law, which in June 2022 outlawed all abortions in the state, with exceptions only for medical emergencies.&nbsp;

Under Amendment 3, Missourians have a constitutional right to reproductive health care, including abortion up until the point of fetal viability.&nbsp;

Abortions have not yet re-started in Missouri, though. Planned Parenthood is currently suing the state in an effort to take down its existing laws regulating abortion that they say make it impossible for clinics to offer the procedure.

As the fight over Amendment 3 plays out in court, anti-abortion advocates hope to wage a separate campaign at the local level. And Rolla was their first stop.&nbsp;

Rolla City Councilman Joshua Vroman, who filed the “sanctuary city” ordinance, said it&nbsp;doesn’t question the validity of Amendment 3, but rather makes note of an 1873 federal law on the books that bans mailing obscene material, including for the use of abortion.&nbsp;

He worked on the latest draft of the ordinance with Brian Westbrook, with St. Louis-based Coalition Life, and Mark Lee Dickson, founder of Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn.

<a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section1461&amp;num=0&amp;edition=prelim" target="_blank">The Comstock Act&nbsp;</a>outlaws the mailing of “obscene or crime-inciting” materials, including&nbsp;“every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use.”

A number of Missouri elected officials,<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/06/missouri-abortion-access-planned-parenthood-lawsuit-amendment-3/">&nbsp;including U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/MarkMaxwellTV/status/1853542335172546707" target="_blank">Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey,</a>&nbsp;have called on President Joe Biden to enforce the Comstock Act in regards to medication abortion. The Biden administration has refused.&nbsp;

A renewed push for enforcement is expected when Donald Trump takes office again later this month. Trump’s prior administration did not enforce the law.

“We’re pointing to the Comstock Act saying ‘here’s the law, you have to work within the confines of this law, and here is the enforcement mechanism,’” Vroman said.&nbsp;

Magdits asked who would enforce the Rolla ordinance.&nbsp;

“The citizens will enforce,”&nbsp;Vroman said, drawing several outbursts of laughter from the crowd followed by a call for decorum.

Dickson, in an interview with The Independent, said law enforcement could not apply the ordinance, nor could a woman who receives and takes the medication be found liable under this ordinance.&nbsp;

It would rely solely on citizens suing any person or organization who provides abortion medication.&nbsp;

For example, he said, if an organization mailed abortion medication to a Rolla teenager, her parents could then sue the entity that mailed the medication.&nbsp;

And if Planned Parenthood again began prescribing drugs for medication abortions, an individual could sue Planned Parenthood.&nbsp;

The FDA has approved two medications —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/information-about-mifepristone-medical-termination-pregnancy-through-ten-weeks-gestation" target="_blank">mifepristone and misoprostol&nbsp;</a>— for use in the first 10 weeks or pregnancy. The availability of both are under threat under the Comstock Act. Abortions performed after 10 weeks are done surgically.&nbsp;

In the six months after the Dobbs decision, the number of&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/03/25/more-than-26000-self-managed-abortions-may-have-occurred-post-dobbs-study-shows/">self-managed medication abortions rose by more than 26,000</a>&nbsp;across the U.S. according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2024.4266?utm_campaign=articlePDF%26utm_medium=articlePDFlink%26utm_source=articlePDF%26utm_content=jama.2024.4266" target="_blank">study</a>&nbsp;published in JAMA, the American Medical Association’s journal. The medication is mailed everywhere in the U.S., including Missouri.

Vroman&nbsp;said the ordinance would only apply to elective abortions, not medically-necessary abortions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The ACLU of Missouri disagrees, saying in a written statement that the ordinance would also leave hospitals and providers vulnerable to lawsuits, including when treating miscarriages, which are medically documented as abortions and are often treated using mifepristone or misoprostol, both of which can be used to induce labor or stop hemorrhaging after childbirth.&nbsp;

At one point during Monday night’s meeting, council members called upon Dr. Jenny Pennycook, an OB-GYN in Rolla, to explain her interpretation of the ordinance. She said she was trained at a Catholic Jesuit institution and has never been an abortion provider.&nbsp;

Asked by council members if she believed the ordinance could create hurdles for miscarriage care, Pennycook said yes.

Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in June 2022, Pennycook said she never had issues prescribing mifepristone or misoprostol.

Since then, Pennycook said she’s had numerous patients turned away from pharmacies, leaving her needing to call to clear up that the medication was not for abortion so her patient could access it.

“When pharmacists are scared about the Comstock Act and enforcement and whether or not they can dispense these medications, it makes it harder for patients to get these medications,” she said. “Untreated missed miscarriages can result in hemorrhage or infection and women can lose their uterus and never get pregnant again or even die.”

In a town that touts itself as “the middle of everywhere,” residents are wary of what could turn their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollacity.org/info/cd/comp2024-Rolla%20Initial%20Economic%20Indicators.pdf" target="_blank">recent economic and population growth</a>&nbsp;against them.&nbsp;

“We did not simply pick Rolla out of a hat,” Westbrook told the council after multiple members accused him and Dickson of targeting the town. “We were invited, specifically for the things that you guys are discussing today.”

Councilman Matt Fridley said while he opposes abortion, he doesn’t think it’s the responsibility of Rolla to resolve a state issue.&nbsp;

“I understand from a philosophical or a moral compass where you’re coming from for this, but I don’t believe the city should fight for this,” he said. “ … It creates negative press. It creates problems where individuals may go, ‘I don’t want to live in this community.’”&nbsp;

A few hours earlier, the council received a letter from the ACLU of Missouri that Magdits said he interpreted to mean: “this is a shot across the bow, and we’re watching what you’re doing.”

The letter, signed by Tori Schafer, an attorney who helped steer Amendment 3 to victory, threatened “costly litigation.”&nbsp;

“Rejecting this ordinance would demonstrate the city’s commitment to upholding the law and prioritizing the health and wellbeing of its community,” Schafer wrote. “Attempting to impose such a measure would invite expensive legal challenges, divert valuable city resources, and, most importantly, cause unnecessary harm and delay to individuals in need of critical health care.”&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/01/texas-abortion-highways/" target="_blank">Some Texas towns have also expressed concerns over litigation costs</a>&nbsp;when considering similar ordinances. In Rolla, Dickson proposed a workaround: a pro-bono attorney.

Dickson said former solicitor general of Texas Jonathan Mitchel has agreed to represent the city of Rolla pro-bono if they are sued. But that’s only if the city agreed, and it would not cover the cost of additional legal representation.

Much of the council’s confusion also centered around who could bring a lawsuit and where it would be litigated.&nbsp;

Nathan Nickolaus, the city attorney, said he believes the ordinance would allow a citizen to sue anyone who they believe helped get abortion medication to a person in Rolla.

“We’re saying you can’t do this in a state that says you can do this in a country that says you can’t do this,” Nickolaus said.

&nbsp;That suit would likely end up in municipal court, he said, “which is woefully inadequate a place to hear this kind of case. No offense to anyone in the city — I used to be a municipal prosecutor — municipal court is kind of the McDonalds of the judicial system. It’s light kind of stuff.”&nbsp;

Magdits on multiple occasions said the issue wasn’t whether or not the council opposes abortion. It was about legal repercussions.

When he was called to the podium for public comments at the end of the meeting, Dickson said the issue at hand absolutely was abortion.

“This really is a pro-life issue,” he said. “ … Are we going to stand with the attorney general of Missouri, or are we going to stand with the ACLU?”

Magdits asked if the ordinance specified what kind of medication use would be subject to litigation.&nbsp;

“It’s about abortion-causing drugs that cause abortion,” Westbrook said.

“That’s a slick answer,” Magdits said, before concluding: “Go fight this somewhere else.”

Dickson has spent much of the past few years of his life driving across the south pitching Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn to receptive audiences. But on Monday, as he ventured a bit further north, he received an icy response.&nbsp;

It took him more than an hour to scrape the ice off his car. Then, he was greeted by a barrage of Rolla citizens who addressed him as a “carpetbagger.”&nbsp;

Despite an ice and winter storm passing through the town less than 24 hours earlier, the meeting happened as planned. Some residents during public comments took note of the small crowd, blaming the council for holding the meeting on the same day the public school district called off classes.

<a href="https://www.weareplannedparenthoodaction.org/a/pack-rolla-city-council" target="_blank">Planned Parenthood Great Rivers Action</a>&nbsp;called on citizens to show up wearing pink to protest the ordinance.&nbsp;

“These bills intimidate abortion seekers and their loved ones, and waste taxpayers’ time and money just to score political points,” the release said.

Rolla resident Britt Giger said she was used to the council’s “embarrassing, crazy, chaotic” meetings, but said Monday’s events could cause national embarrassment.&nbsp;

“I don’t want to scroll TikTok and see this meeting,” she said, adding: “Imagine how university growth could be impacted if women don’t want to come here anymore.”

She was followed by&nbsp;Jenny Cunningham&nbsp;who held her husband’s hand as she explained that they moved to Rolla about a year ago in the hopes of starting a family. When Amendment 3 passed, they breathed a sigh of relief. But news of this ordinance puts women back in the “crosshairs,” she said.

“This is a bounty hunter law,”&nbsp;Cunningham&nbsp;said. “This turns citizen against citizen during the most terrible and tragic times that people can face in their lives.”&nbsp;

Joe Dalton, founder and CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/prcrolla" target="_blank">Pregnancy Resource Center of Rolla</a>, testified in support of the ordinance, emphasizing that Rolla citizens have access to abortion medication by mail despite the local Planned Parenthood currently being unable to prescribe it.&nbsp;

He was followed by a registered nurse who works in Rolla in a labor and delivery unit who also supported the ordinance.&nbsp;

“This would save the lives of countless children,” she implored the council.

Pamela Timson, a resident of Rolla for more than 40 years, urged the council to set the ordinance aside for good, sharing her own story of a medical condition that made childbirth dangerous.

She found it outrageous that Rolla would attempt to qualify a constitutional amendment so soon out of the gates.&nbsp;

“We haven’t even given our state government a chance to qualify it yet,” she said.

The council ultimately decided not to officially put the ordinance on the agenda for its next meeting. But Vroman still has the opportunity to bring his revised ordinance before the council during council comments later this month.

Vroman brought the initial ordinance forward in November before recruiting Westbrook and Dickson to help him write a revised draft.&nbsp;

At a Dec. 16 council meeting, Dominic Barceleau of the Missouri Attorney General’s office testified that state law does not prohibit Rolla from enacting such an ordinance.

“It’s the intent of the legislature to regulate abortion to the fullest extent of the law,” Barceleau said. “The attorney general’s position is that doesn’t prevent concurrent municipal regulation that’s also consistent with the legislature’s intent to regulate abortion.”

Dickson, who also drove up from Texas for that meeting, told council members the target of the ordinance was not just Planned Parenthood, but also pharmacies.&nbsp;

“So when cities do this, it really is doing as much as we possibly can to push back, to align ourselves with the attorney general’s office and to put tools in our tool belts to prevent this from getting out of hand, because what the Biden administration has done in a multitude of different categories is create mass chaos,” he said before devolving into a short rant about the border wall.

The mayor remained skeptical from the start.&nbsp;

“It’s not clear to me why Rolla needs to carry this banner when the problem, whether it’s the attorney general, the governor or whoever the hell else is up there, they need to sort this out,” Magdits said last month. “I don’t think it’s Rolla, Missouri’s responsibility to lead this charge.”

His opinion seemed to change little on Monday.&nbsp;

In fact, Dickson said after the meeting, Magdits “threatened to cut my nuts off” after he accused Magdits of siding with Planned Parenthood, even though Magdits during the meeting expressed frustration that Amendment 3 even made it on the ballot.

The Independent could not immediately reach the mayor for comment, but Rolla City Administrator John Butz confirmed he overheard part of the conversation.&nbsp;

“I was there and I heard it,” Butz said. “I think in the context the mayor wasn’t threatening him per se with that, I think it was in the side conversation the two of them were having. So I’ll leave it up to them to comment on the intent or the context of what was said.”

The next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 21. Dickson said he’s not yet decided if he will be there. But he’s also not giving up.

“When properly educated, the majority of council, I think, is going to want to pass this ordinance,” Dickson said. “… We’re going to keep on keeping on.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736336053027.png" alt=" Mark Lee Dickson, founder of Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn based in Texas, spoke before the Rolla City Council on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, about an ordinance that would outlaw the mailing of abortion medication in the Missouri town (Screenshot/City of Rolla Youtube page)." />
 <figcaption> Mark Lee Dickson, founder of Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn based in Texas, spoke before the Rolla City Council on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, about an ordinance that would outlaw the mailing of abortion medication in the Missouri town (Screenshot/City of Rolla Youtube page).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Despite voicing opposition to abortion, most members of the Rolla City Council worried the ordinance would do little besides inspire costly litigation</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/annaspoerre/">ANNA SPOERRE</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>Less than a month after a state constitutional amendment legalizing abortion went into effect, a national movement to establish pockets of resistance is dividing one Missouri town.Rolla, a town of about 20,000 people that sits 100 miles southwest of St. Louis, is being courted by<a href="https://sanctuarycitiesfortheunborn.org/" target="_blank">&nbsp;Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn</a>, an anti-abortion activist group out of Texas. If approved by the city council, it would be the first municipality in Missouri to adopt the title.&nbsp;But during a public hearing Monday night, council members expressed concerns about adopting the ordinance, which uses a 150-year-old federal law to give local citizens the ability to sue any person or entity who provides abortion medication. The concern is it would do little besides put the town at the center of costly litigation and negative national press.“Why are we doing this?” Rolla Mayor Louis Magdits IV asked during&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X33Di5KfsRU" target="_blank">Monday’s meeting.&nbsp;</a>“What is out to be accomplished?”Rolla is home to one of Missouri’s six remaining Planned Parenthood clinics. The rest are located in and around Democrat-leaning cities Columbia, Kansas City and St. Louis.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.warrencountyrecord.com/stories/wright-city-official-wont-back-local-push-to-ban-abortion,72627" target="_blank">Wright City,&nbsp;</a>a town of about 5,000 people just off Interstate 70, west of St. Louis, also considered becoming a sanctuary city for the unborn in 2023 but never made it official.&nbsp;Missouri’s legal landscape around abortion has changed drastically since then.&nbsp;Amendment 3, which was&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/05/missouri-voters-overturn-states-near-total-abortion-ban/">narrowly approved by voters in November,</a>&nbsp;made unconstitutional the state’s trigger law, which in June 2022 outlawed all abortions in the state, with exceptions only for medical emergencies.&nbsp;Under Amendment 3, Missourians have a constitutional right to reproductive health care, including abortion up until the point of fetal viability.&nbsp;Abortions have not yet re-started in Missouri, though. Planned Parenthood is currently suing the state in an effort to take down its existing laws regulating abortion that they say make it impossible for clinics to offer the procedure.As the fight over Amendment 3 plays out in court, anti-abortion advocates hope to wage a separate campaign at the local level. And Rolla was their first stop.&nbsp;Rolla City Councilman Joshua Vroman, who filed the “sanctuary city” ordinance, said it&nbsp;doesn’t question the validity of Amendment 3, but rather makes note of an 1873 federal law on the books that bans mailing obscene material, including for the use of abortion.&nbsp;He worked on the latest draft of the ordinance with Brian Westbrook, with St. Louis-based Coalition Life, and Mark Lee Dickson, founder of Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn.<a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section1461&amp;num=0&amp;edition=prelim" target="_blank">The Comstock Act&nbsp;</a>outlaws the mailing of “obscene or crime-inciting” materials, including&nbsp;“every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use.”A number of Missouri elected officials,<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/06/missouri-abortion-access-planned-parenthood-lawsuit-amendment-3/">&nbsp;including U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/MarkMaxwellTV/status/1853542335172546707" target="_blank">Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey,</a>&nbsp;have called on President Joe Biden to enforce the Comstock Act in regards to medication abortion. The Biden administration has refused.&nbsp;A renewed push for enforcement is expected when Donald Trump takes office again later this month. Trump’s prior administration did not enforce the law.“We’re pointing to the Comstock Act saying ‘here’s the law, you have to work within the confines of this law, and here is the enforcement mechanism,’” Vroman said.&nbsp;Magdits asked who would enforce the Rolla ordinance.&nbsp;“The citizens will enforce,”&nbsp;Vroman said, drawing several outbursts of laughter from the crowd followed by a call for decorum.Dickson, in an interview with The Independent, said law enforcement could not apply the ordinance, nor could a woman who receives and takes the medication be found liable under this ordinance.&nbsp;It would rely solely on citizens suing any person or organization who provides abortion medication.&nbsp;For example, he said, if an organization mailed abortion medication to a Rolla teenager, her parents could then sue the entity that mailed the medication.&nbsp;And if Planned Parenthood again began prescribing drugs for medication abortions, an individual could sue Planned Parenthood.&nbsp;The FDA has approved two medications —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/information-about-mifepristone-medical-termination-pregnancy-through-ten-weeks-gestation" target="_blank">mifepristone and misoprostol&nbsp;</a>— for use in the first 10 weeks or pregnancy. The availability of both are under threat under the Comstock Act. Abortions performed after 10 weeks are done surgically.&nbsp;In the six months after the Dobbs decision, the number of&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/03/25/more-than-26000-self-managed-abortions-may-have-occurred-post-dobbs-study-shows/">self-managed medication abortions rose by more than 26,000</a>&nbsp;across the U.S. according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2024.4266?utm_campaign=articlePDF%26utm_medium=articlePDFlink%26utm_source=articlePDF%26utm_content=jama.2024.4266" target="_blank">study</a>&nbsp;published in JAMA, the American Medical Association’s journal. The medication is mailed everywhere in the U.S., including Missouri.Vroman&nbsp;said the ordinance would only apply to elective abortions, not medically-necessary abortions.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ACLU of Missouri disagrees, saying in a written statement that the ordinance would also leave hospitals and providers vulnerable to lawsuits, including when treating miscarriages, which are medically documented as abortions and are often treated using mifepristone or misoprostol, both of which can be used to induce labor or stop hemorrhaging after childbirth.&nbsp;At one point during Monday night’s meeting, council members called upon Dr. Jenny Pennycook, an OB-GYN in Rolla, to explain her interpretation of the ordinance. She said she was trained at a Catholic Jesuit institution and has never been an abortion provider.&nbsp;Asked by council members if she believed the ordinance could create hurdles for miscarriage care, Pennycook said yes.Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in June 2022, Pennycook said she never had issues prescribing mifepristone or misoprostol.Since then, Pennycook said she’s had numerous patients turned away from pharmacies, leaving her needing to call to clear up that the medication was not for abortion so her patient could access it.“When pharmacists are scared about the Comstock Act and enforcement and whether or not they can dispense these medications, it makes it harder for patients to get these medications,” she said. “Untreated missed miscarriages can result in hemorrhage or infection and women can lose their uterus and never get pregnant again or even die.”<h2>Threat of ‘costly litigation’</h2>In a town that touts itself as “the middle of everywhere,” residents are wary of what could turn their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollacity.org/info/cd/comp2024-Rolla%20Initial%20Economic%20Indicators.pdf" target="_blank">recent economic and population growth</a>&nbsp;against them.&nbsp;“We did not simply pick Rolla out of a hat,” Westbrook told the council after multiple members accused him and Dickson of targeting the town. “We were invited, specifically for the things that you guys are discussing today.”Councilman Matt Fridley said while he opposes abortion, he doesn’t think it’s the responsibility of Rolla to resolve a state issue.&nbsp;“I understand from a philosophical or a moral compass where you’re coming from for this, but I don’t believe the city should fight for this,” he said. “ … It creates negative press. It creates problems where individuals may go, ‘I don’t want to live in this community.’”&nbsp;A few hours earlier, the council received a letter from the ACLU of Missouri that Magdits said he interpreted to mean: “this is a shot across the bow, and we’re watching what you’re doing.”The letter, signed by Tori Schafer, an attorney who helped steer Amendment 3 to victory, threatened “costly litigation.”&nbsp;“Rejecting this ordinance would demonstrate the city’s commitment to upholding the law and prioritizing the health and wellbeing of its community,” Schafer wrote. “Attempting to impose such a measure would invite expensive legal challenges, divert valuable city resources, and, most importantly, cause unnecessary harm and delay to individuals in need of critical health care.”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/01/texas-abortion-highways/" target="_blank">Some Texas towns have also expressed concerns over litigation costs</a>&nbsp;when considering similar ordinances. In Rolla, Dickson proposed a workaround: a pro-bono attorney.Dickson said former solicitor general of Texas Jonathan Mitchel has agreed to represent the city of Rolla pro-bono if they are sued. But that’s only if the city agreed, and it would not cover the cost of additional legal representation.Much of the council’s confusion also centered around who could bring a lawsuit and where it would be litigated.&nbsp;Nathan Nickolaus, the city attorney, said he believes the ordinance would allow a citizen to sue anyone who they believe helped get abortion medication to a person in Rolla.“We’re saying you can’t do this in a state that says you can do this in a country that says you can’t do this,” Nickolaus said.&nbsp;That suit would likely end up in municipal court, he said, “which is woefully inadequate a place to hear this kind of case. No offense to anyone in the city — I used to be a municipal prosecutor — municipal court is kind of the McDonalds of the judicial system. It’s light kind of stuff.”&nbsp;Magdits on multiple occasions said the issue wasn’t whether or not the council opposes abortion. It was about legal repercussions.When he was called to the podium for public comments at the end of the meeting, Dickson said the issue at hand absolutely was abortion.“This really is a pro-life issue,” he said. “ … Are we going to stand with the attorney general of Missouri, or are we going to stand with the ACLU?”Magdits asked if the ordinance specified what kind of medication use would be subject to litigation.&nbsp;“It’s about abortion-causing drugs that cause abortion,” Westbrook said.“That’s a slick answer,” Magdits said, before concluding: “Go fight this somewhere else.”<h2>An icy greeting</h2>Dickson has spent much of the past few years of his life driving across the south pitching Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn to receptive audiences. But on Monday, as he ventured a bit further north, he received an icy response.&nbsp;It took him more than an hour to scrape the ice off his car. Then, he was greeted by a barrage of Rolla citizens who addressed him as a “carpetbagger.”&nbsp;Despite an ice and winter storm passing through the town less than 24 hours earlier, the meeting happened as planned. Some residents during public comments took note of the small crowd, blaming the council for holding the meeting on the same day the public school district called off classes.<a href="https://www.weareplannedparenthoodaction.org/a/pack-rolla-city-council" target="_blank">Planned Parenthood Great Rivers Action</a>&nbsp;called on citizens to show up wearing pink to protest the ordinance.&nbsp;“These bills intimidate abortion seekers and their loved ones, and waste taxpayers’ time and money just to score political points,” the release said.Rolla resident Britt Giger said she was used to the council’s “embarrassing, crazy, chaotic” meetings, but said Monday’s events could cause national embarrassment.&nbsp;“I don’t want to scroll TikTok and see this meeting,” she said, adding: “Imagine how university growth could be impacted if women don’t want to come here anymore.”She was followed by&nbsp;Jenny Cunningham&nbsp;who held her husband’s hand as she explained that they moved to Rolla about a year ago in the hopes of starting a family. When Amendment 3 passed, they breathed a sigh of relief. But news of this ordinance puts women back in the “crosshairs,” she said.“This is a bounty hunter law,”&nbsp;Cunningham&nbsp;said. “This turns citizen against citizen during the most terrible and tragic times that people can face in their lives.”&nbsp;Joe Dalton, founder and CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/prcrolla" target="_blank">Pregnancy Resource Center of Rolla</a>, testified in support of the ordinance, emphasizing that Rolla citizens have access to abortion medication by mail despite the local Planned Parenthood currently being unable to prescribe it.&nbsp;He was followed by a registered nurse who works in Rolla in a labor and delivery unit who also supported the ordinance.&nbsp;“This would save the lives of countless children,” she implored the council.Pamela Timson, a resident of Rolla for more than 40 years, urged the council to set the ordinance aside for good, sharing her own story of a medical condition that made childbirth dangerous.She found it outrageous that Rolla would attempt to qualify a constitutional amendment so soon out of the gates.&nbsp;“We haven’t even given our state government a chance to qualify it yet,” she said.<h2>Vote stalled for now</h2>The council ultimately decided not to officially put the ordinance on the agenda for its next meeting. But Vroman still has the opportunity to bring his revised ordinance before the council during council comments later this month.Vroman brought the initial ordinance forward in November before recruiting Westbrook and Dickson to help him write a revised draft.&nbsp;At a Dec. 16 council meeting, Dominic Barceleau of the Missouri Attorney General’s office testified that state law does not prohibit Rolla from enacting such an ordinance.“It’s the intent of the legislature to regulate abortion to the fullest extent of the law,” Barceleau said. “The attorney general’s position is that doesn’t prevent concurrent municipal regulation that’s also consistent with the legislature’s intent to regulate abortion.”Dickson, who also drove up from Texas for that meeting, told council members the target of the ordinance was not just Planned Parenthood, but also pharmacies.&nbsp;“So when cities do this, it really is doing as much as we possibly can to push back, to align ourselves with the attorney general’s office and to put tools in our tool belts to prevent this from getting out of hand, because what the Biden administration has done in a multitude of different categories is create mass chaos,” he said before devolving into a short rant about the border wall.The mayor remained skeptical from the start.&nbsp;“It’s not clear to me why Rolla needs to carry this banner when the problem, whether it’s the attorney general, the governor or whoever the hell else is up there, they need to sort this out,” Magdits said last month. “I don’t think it’s Rolla, Missouri’s responsibility to lead this charge.”His opinion seemed to change little on Monday.&nbsp;In fact, Dickson said after the meeting, Magdits “threatened to cut my nuts off” after he accused Magdits of siding with Planned Parenthood, even though Magdits during the meeting expressed frustration that Amendment 3 even made it on the ballot.The Independent could not immediately reach the mayor for comment, but Rolla City Administrator John Butz confirmed he overheard part of the conversation.&nbsp;“I was there and I heard it,” Butz said. “I think in the context the mayor wasn’t threatening him per se with that, I think it was in the side conversation the two of them were having. So I’ll leave it up to them to comment on the intent or the context of what was said.”The next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 21. Dickson said he’s not yet decided if he will be there. But he’s also not giving up.“When properly educated, the majority of council, I think, is going to want to pass this ordinance,” Dickson said. “… We’re going to keep on keeping on.”

Missouri town rejects initial anti-abortion push to become ‘sanctuary city for the unborn’

On Tuesday, Vice President Harris announced a final rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to remove medical debt from consumer credit reports. This rule will reduce the burden of medical debt and ensure that patients are not denied access to credit for home mortgages, car loans, or small business loans due to unpaid medical bills.&nbsp;

Further, Vice President Harris announced that states and localities have leveraged American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to support the elimination of over $1 billion in medical debt for more than 700,000 Americans. These actions build on the Vice President’s call to action for states to reduce the burden of medical debt, including by directly purchasing the debt from providers and third parties. 

"Overall, jurisdictions are on track to eliminate roughly $15 billion in medical debt for up to nearly 6 million Americans.&nbsp;“No one should be&nbsp;denied economic opportunity because they got sick or experienced a medical emergency. That is why President Biden and I cancelled over $1 billion in medical debt – part of our overall plan to forgive $7 billion by 2026 – with support from our American Rescue Plan, legislation that I advanced with my tie-breaking vote in the Senate."

We also reduced the burden of medical debt by increasing pathways to forgiveness and cracking down on predatory debt collection tactics,”&nbsp;said Vice President Harris.&nbsp;“Today, we are building on this meaningful work by announcing an unprecedented final rule that will make it so medical debt is no longer included in your credit score. This will be lifechanging for millions of families, making it easier for them to be approved for a car loan, a home loan, or a small-business loan. As someone who has spent my entire career fighting to protect consumers and lower medical bills, I know that our historic rule will help more Americans save money, build wealth, and thrive.”&nbsp;More than 100 million Americans struggle with medical debt. Medical debt is the largest source of debt in collections, making up a larger proportion of debt tradelines than credit cards, utilities, and auto loans. 

However, medical debt is not like other forms of debt because it is often the result of unavoidable medical complications and medical bills often contain significant errors, such as inflated or duplicative charges and fees for services never received or already paid. Reducing the burden of medical debt has been a key priority in President Biden and Vice President Harris’s effort to lower cost for American families.&nbsp;

Removing Medical Debt from Consumer Credit Reports&nbsp;The CFPB is finalizing a rule that will remove medical debt from the credit reports of more than 15 million Americans, raising their credit scores by an estimated average of 20 points and leading to the approval of approximately 22,000 additional mortgages every year. 

Under the CFPB rule, there will be zero Americans with medical debt listed on their credit reports, down from 46 million in 2020.&nbsp;CFPB’s research indicates that medical bills are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-study-finds-medical-debt-overly-penalizes-consumer-credit-scores/">poor predictors</a>&nbsp;of an individual’s ability to repay a loan and that medical bills are often&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-report-spotlights-medical-billing-challenges/">confusing and erroneous</a>.

In March 2022, the CFPB released a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-estimates-88-billion-in-medical-bills-on-credit-reports/">report</a>&nbsp;estimating that medical bills made up $88 billion of reported debts on credit reports. After the March 2022 report, the three largest credit reporting agencies announced that they would no longer include paid medical debts, unpaid medical debts less than a year old, and medical debt under $500 from credit reporting.&nbsp;Despite these voluntary changes,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-finds-15-million-americans-have-medical-bills-on-their-credit-reports/">15 million Americans</a>&nbsp;still have $49 billion in outstanding medical bills in collections appearing in the credit reporting system.

Today’s action will remove these outstanding $49 billion in unpaid medical bills from the credit reports of the remaining 15 million impacted Americans.&nbsp;Vice President Harris’s Call to Action, Leveraging Federal Funds to Eliminate Medical Debt&nbsp;In June 2024, Vice President Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/11/fact-sheet-vice-president-harris-announces-proposal-to-prohibit-medical-bills-from-being-included-on-credit-reports-and-calls-on-states-and-localities-to-take-further-actions-to-reduce-medical-debt/">called on states, local governments, and health care providers to take action</a>&nbsp;to reduce the burden of medical debt. States and localities have responded to this call by directly relieving debt and launching innovative programs to improve their health systems. Thanks to the President Biden and Vice President Harris’s American Rescue Plan, states, counties, and cities have already eliminated more than an estimated $1 billion in medical debt for over 750,000 Americans, including:

These and other jurisdictions are on track to eliminate an estimated up to $7 billion in medical debt for nearly 3 million Americans by the end of 2026 thanks to ARP-supported efforts.

In addition to directly relieving debt, states and localities have responded to Vice President Harris’s call by launching innovative programs to improve their health systems. For instance, North Carolina&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/2024/08/12/north-carolina-hospitals-sign-relieve-medical-debt">recently announced</a>&nbsp;that all of the state’s 99 eligible hospitals have committed to participate in medical debt relief program that will eliminate up to $4 billion in existing medical debt for nearly 2 million low-and middle-income North Carolinians.&nbsp; The program also ensures that hospitals have policies in place to reduce the chance individuals will end up in debt in the first place. North Carolina’s program utilizes a novel approach, where hospital systems become eligible for enhanced Medicaid reimbursements under the State Directed Payments Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program by implementing policies that:

Preventing the Accumulation of Medical Debt Through Increased Oversight

Today’s announcements build on efforts by the Biden-Harris Administration to reduce the burden of medical debt, including:

On Tuesday, Vice President Harris announced a final rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to remove medical debt from consumer credit reports. This rule will reduce the burden of medical debt and ensure that patients are not denied access to credit for home mortgages, car loans, or small business loans due to unpaid medical bills.&nbsp;Further, Vice President Harris announced that states and localities have leveraged American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to support the elimination of over $1 billion in medical debt for more than 700,000 Americans. These actions build on the Vice President’s call to action for states to reduce the burden of medical debt, including by directly purchasing the debt from providers and third parties. "Overall, jurisdictions are on track to eliminate roughly $15 billion in medical debt for up to nearly 6 million Americans.&nbsp;“No one should be&nbsp;denied economic opportunity because they got sick or experienced a medical emergency. That is why President Biden and I cancelled over $1 billion in medical debt – part of our overall plan to forgive $7 billion by 2026 – with support from our American Rescue Plan, legislation that I advanced with my tie-breaking vote in the Senate."We also reduced the burden of medical debt by increasing pathways to forgiveness and cracking down on predatory debt collection tactics,”&nbsp;said Vice President Harris.&nbsp;“Today, we are building on this meaningful work by announcing an unprecedented final rule that will make it so medical debt is no longer included in your credit score. This will be lifechanging for millions of families, making it easier for them to be approved for a car loan, a home loan, or a small-business loan. As someone who has spent my entire career fighting to protect consumers and lower medical bills, I know that our historic rule will help more Americans save money, build wealth, and thrive.”&nbsp;More than 100 million Americans struggle with medical debt. Medical debt is the largest source of debt in collections, making up a larger proportion of debt tradelines than credit cards, utilities, and auto loans. However, medical debt is not like other forms of debt because it is often the result of unavoidable medical complications and medical bills often contain significant errors, such as inflated or duplicative charges and fees for services never received or already paid. Reducing the burden of medical debt has been a key priority in President Biden and Vice President Harris’s effort to lower cost for American families.&nbsp;Removing Medical Debt from Consumer Credit Reports&nbsp;The CFPB is finalizing a rule that will remove medical debt from the credit reports of more than 15 million Americans, raising their credit scores by an estimated average of 20 points and leading to the approval of approximately 22,000 additional mortgages every year. Under the CFPB rule, there will be zero Americans with medical debt listed on their credit reports, down from 46 million in 2020.&nbsp;CFPB’s research indicates that medical bills are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-study-finds-medical-debt-overly-penalizes-consumer-credit-scores/">poor predictors</a>&nbsp;of an individual’s ability to repay a loan and that medical bills are often&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-report-spotlights-medical-billing-challenges/">confusing and erroneous</a>. In March 2022, the CFPB released a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-estimates-88-billion-in-medical-bills-on-credit-reports/">report</a>&nbsp;estimating that medical bills made up $88 billion of reported debts on credit reports. After the March 2022 report, the three largest credit reporting agencies announced that they would no longer include paid medical debts, unpaid medical debts less than a year old, and medical debt under $500 from credit reporting.&nbsp;Despite these voluntary changes,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-finds-15-million-americans-have-medical-bills-on-their-credit-reports/">15 million Americans</a>&nbsp;still have $49 billion in outstanding medical bills in collections appearing in the credit reporting system. Today’s action will remove these outstanding $49 billion in unpaid medical bills from the credit reports of the remaining 15 million impacted Americans.&nbsp;Vice President Harris’s Call to Action, Leveraging Federal Funds to Eliminate Medical Debt&nbsp;In June 2024, Vice President Harris&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/11/fact-sheet-vice-president-harris-announces-proposal-to-prohibit-medical-bills-from-being-included-on-credit-reports-and-calls-on-states-and-localities-to-take-further-actions-to-reduce-medical-debt/">called on states, local governments, and health care providers to take action</a>&nbsp;to reduce the burden of medical debt. States and localities have responded to this call by directly relieving debt and launching innovative programs to improve their health systems. Thanks to the President Biden and Vice President Harris’s American Rescue Plan, states, counties, and cities have already eliminated more than an estimated $1 billion in medical debt for over 750,000 Americans, including:<ul>
 <li>Cook County, Illinois has eliminated over $382 million in medical debt for over 210,000 residents.</li><li>New Jersey has eliminated $220 million in medical debt for over 120,00 residents.</li><li>Cleveland, Ohio has eliminated nearly $137 million in medical debt for over 130,000 residents.</li><li>Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio partnered to eliminate over $87 million in medical debt for over 140,000 residents.</li><li>New Orleans, Louisiana has eliminated nearly $70 million in medical debt for 75,000 residents.</li><li>St. Paul, Minnesota has eliminated $40 million in medical debt for over 30,000 residents.</li><li>Washington, DC has eliminated $42 million in medical debt for over 60,000 residents.</li><li>Connecticut has eliminated $30 million in medical debt for 23,000 residents.</li><li>Wayne County, Michigan has eliminated $27 million in medical debt for more than 46,000 residents.</li><li>Oakland County, Michigan has eliminated $9 million in medical debt for more than 14,000 residents.</li>
 </ul>These and other jurisdictions are on track to eliminate an estimated up to $7 billion in medical debt for nearly 3 million Americans by the end of 2026 thanks to ARP-supported efforts.In addition to directly relieving debt, states and localities have responded to Vice President Harris’s call by launching innovative programs to improve their health systems. For instance, North Carolina&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/2024/08/12/north-carolina-hospitals-sign-relieve-medical-debt">recently announced</a>&nbsp;that all of the state’s 99 eligible hospitals have committed to participate in medical debt relief program that will eliminate up to $4 billion in existing medical debt for nearly 2 million low-and middle-income North Carolinians.&nbsp; The program also ensures that hospitals have policies in place to reduce the chance individuals will end up in debt in the first place. North Carolina’s program utilizes a novel approach, where hospital systems become eligible for enhanced Medicaid reimbursements under the State Directed Payments Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program by implementing policies that:<ul>
 <li>Relieve all medical debt deemed uncollectible dating back to Jan. 1, 2014, for any individuals not enrolled in Medicaid with incomes at or below at least 350% of the federal poverty level (FPL) or for whom total debt exceeds 5% of annual income.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Relieve all unpaid medical debt dating back to Jan. 1, 2014, for individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Sets a charity care floor in the state that provides discounts on medical bills of between 50-100% for patients with incomes at or below 300% FPL, with the amount of the discount varying based on the patient’s income.</li><li>Automatically enroll people into financial assistance, known as charity care, by implementing a policy for presumptively determining individuals eligible for financial assistance through a streamlined screening and income validation approach.&nbsp;</li><li>Not sell any medical debt for consumers with incomes at or below 300% FPL to debt collectors.&nbsp;</li><li>Not report a patient’s debt covered by these policies to a credit reporting agency.</li>
 </ul>Preventing the Accumulation of Medical Debt Through Increased OversightToday’s announcements build on efforts by the Biden-Harris Administration to reduce the burden of medical debt, including:<ul>
 <li>The Internal Revenue Service&nbsp;<a href="https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/irs-plans-more-nonprofit-hospital-audits-as-scrutiny-heats-up">announced</a>&nbsp;new steps to ensure that non-profit hospitals provide free and reduced-price care for patients that need it, as is required by law. This includes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-counsel/2024-2025-priority-guidance-plan-initial-version.pdf">issuing new guidance</a>&nbsp;in the coming months to clarify the obligations of tax-exempt hospitals&nbsp; to offer and publicize financial assistance policies and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5313.pdf">committing to prioritizing enforcement actions</a>&nbsp;against tax-exempt hospitals that violate these responsibilities.</li><li>The CFPB issued an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-aim-at-double-billing-and-inflated-charges-in-medical-debt-collection/">Advisory Opinion</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-advisory-pause-and-review-your-rights-when-you-hear-from-a-medical-debt-collector/">Consumer Advisory</a>&nbsp;clarifying the responsibilities of debt collectors to confirm that debts are accurate, valid, and substantiated before engaging in collection actions and explaining to consumers what actions they can take when they suspect that they have been improperly billed or if they have had improper or illegal collection actions taken against them.</li><li>The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) implemented&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/03/01/fact-sheet-supporting-veterans-experiencing-financial-hardship-and-addressing-the-harmful-effects-of-military-environmental-exposures/#:~:text=VA%20will%20streamline%20the%20request%20process%20and%20set,effect%20in%20the%20next%2090%20to%20120%20days.">a streamlined process</a>&nbsp;to make it easier and faster for lower-income veterans to get their VA medical debt forgiven, already&nbsp;providing relief to over 10,000 veterans and saved them more than $10 million in copay debt.</li><li>The Department of Defense has proposed a rule aimed at providing financial relief for civilians receiving medical care at military medical treatment facilities (MTFs). &nbsp;If finalized as proposed, this rule would implement fee reductions through a sliding scale discount program as well as catastrophic cap waivers. &nbsp;Through these measures, the DoD aims to significantly reduce the financial burden on patients while maintaining high-quality care.</li><li>The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fhfa.gov/Media/PublicAffairs/Documents/CS-Fact-Sheet-2022.pdf">validated and approved</a>&nbsp;the use of VantageScore 4.0, along with FICO 10T, for the underwriting of mortgages by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, marking the first time that a credit score that excludes medical debt has been approved for mortgage underwriting of Enterprise loans.</li><li>The Small Business Administration (SBA) is taking steps to reduce the role of medical debt in the underwriting of loans&nbsp;for its flagship 7(a) guaranteed loan program, including revising its lender Standard Operating Procedures and Lender Match tool to discourage consideration of medical debt.</li><li>The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued memorandum&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/M-22-17.pdf">M-22-17</a>&nbsp;to direct agencies to reduce the impact of medical debt in the underwriting of Federal credit programs, helping to spur the actions by VA, FHFA, and SBA listed above.</li><li>The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of the Treasury&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/notice-opportunities-comment/archive-closed/request-for-information-on-medical-payment-products/">issued a joint request for information</a>&nbsp;seeking comment on the prevalence, nature, and impact of medical payment products.</li><li>CMS and CFPB issued guidance clarifying protections against inappropriate patient billing and costs for the approximately 8 million low-income Medicare beneficiaries who are enrolled in the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program.&nbsp;</li><li>The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury have prioritized implementing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/03/06/fact-sheet-president-biden-takes-new-steps-to-lower-prescription-drug-and-health-care-costs-expand-access-to-health-care-and-protect-consumers/">surprise billing protections</a>, preventing 1 million surprise medical bills every single month.</li><li>As a part of the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/02/fact-sheet-president-bidens-cap-on-the-cost-of-insulin-could-benefit-millions-of-americans-in-all-50-states/#:~:text=Eli%20Lilly%20announced%20they%20are%20lowering%20the%20cost,diabetes%20in%20all%20fifty%20states%20and%20U.S.%20territories.">capped the cost of insulin at $35</a>&nbsp;for a month’s supply of each covered insulin&nbsp;and capped out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000 in 2025 for seniors and others with Medicare. Thanks to the $3500 cap, nearly 1.5 million Medicare enrollees saved nearly $1 billion on prescription drugs in just the first half of 2024. Since taking these actions, President Biden has called on Congress&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/03/06/fact-sheet-president-biden-takes-new-steps-to-lower-prescription-drug-and-health-care-costs-expand-access-to-health-care-and-protect-consumers/#:~:text=Expand%20Cap%20on%20Out%2Dof%2DPocket%20Prescription%20Drug%20Costs.&amp;text=The%20President%20is%20calling%20on,putting%20food%20on%20the%20table.">to expand the cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs</a>&nbsp;to cover all Americans.</li><li>President Biden has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/08/10/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-lowers-health-care-costs/">called on states</a>&nbsp;to close the Medicaid coverage gap and create new pathways to health coverage by expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.</li><li>Secretary Becerra directed HHS to evaluate how providers’ billing practices impact access and affordability of care and the accrual of medical debt. HHS, CFPB, and the Treasury Department requested information and data on medical bill collection practices, lawsuits against patients, financial assistance, financial product offerings, and 3rd party contracting or debt buying practices. HHS, for the first time, considered weighing this information in their funding decisions.</li><li>The CFPB and the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a joint letter affirming that nursing homes that participate in Medicare and Medicaid are prohibited from forcing a resident’s family or friends to assume responsibility for the cost of care as a condition of admission or continued stay in the facility.</li><li>HHS is collecting evidence and data to inform future actions by adding new questions on medical debt to Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey and Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, two of the most important sources of data on health care in the United States.</li><li>HHS released a set of&nbsp;<a href="https://oig.hhs.gov/faqs/general-questions-regarding-certain-fraud-and-abuse-authorities/#13-does-the-federal-anti-kickback-statute-or-the-beneficiary-inducements-cmp-prohibit-hospitals-from-waiving-their-patients-cost-sharing-amounts-pursuant-to-hospitals-financial-assistance-policies-also-known-as-charity-care-policies.">frequently asked questions</a>&nbsp;clarifying that hospitals have the ability to provide relief to uninsured and underinsured patients who cannot afford their hospital bills and to Medicare beneficiaries who cannot afford their Medicare cost.</li><li>The Biden-Harris Administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/03/28/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-new-landmark-rule-to-protect-americans-from-junk-health-insurance/#:~:text=Under%20the%20new%20rules%2C%20new%20plans%20that%20claim,they%20in%20fact%20provided%20little%20to%20no%20coverage.">issued</a>&nbsp;a final rule that protects consumers from junk health insurance and makes sure Americans aren’t scammed into low-quality coverage that leaves consumers on the hook for thousands of dollars in medical bills.</li><li>CMS is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/10/10/2024-23103/patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act-hhs-notice-of-benefit-and-payment-parameters-for-2026-and">soliciting comment</a>&nbsp;on how hospital-based personnel who help consumers enroll in Marketplace coverage could connect consumers to hospital financial assistance programs designed to reduce medical debt.</li><li>The White House<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/12/08/readout-of-the-white-house-state-convening-on-medical-debt/">&nbsp;convened state and local leaders</a>&nbsp;to discuss initiatives to further lower health care costs and reduce the burden of medical debt, including addressing medical payment products, unfair debt collection practices, surprise billing and facility fees, and charity care.</li>
 </ul>

Medical Debt Banned from Credit Reports by New Biden Admin Rule

By MIKE COURSON Great Bend Post

"But did you die" is a famous line from&nbsp;Hangover II, a sequel to the 2009 surprise box office hit. But one Ellinwood family may not be laughing at either of the&nbsp;The Hangover&nbsp;movies for a while. The Maxwells spent hours stuck in the ice and snow on and around I-70, passing the time by watching the first&nbsp;Hangover&nbsp;over and over. Twenty-six hours after leaving Gardner just southwest of Overland Park, the family arrived safely at home Monday morning.

Greg and Becca Maxwell were coaching their daughter, Mette, and the rest of the Velocity Volleyball Club team in Gardner at the Heart of America regional qualifier. They knew the winter weather was coming but at 8:30 a.m., attempted to beat the weather and avoid getting stuck at the hotel. Everything was slow going before coming to a complete stop between Manhattan and Junction City at 11:45.

"Hundreds of cars and trucks were stranded," Becca said. "Just parked on interstate. It wasn’t just us. It was back to back cars and trucks and so many semis stranded. The truck in front of us was from a furniture company that guaranteed delivery no matter the weather, and his customers in Colorado wanted the furniture. The young gentleman behind us was headed to his military base, and we were a family just trying to get home after a volleyball tournament to get home for work on Monday. We were just lucky we were on the road and not stuck in the ditch in the snow."

Biological functions do not cease just because cars are backed up on interstate. By 1 p.m., that's becoming an issue for several members in the Maxwell vehicle.

"It’s freezing cold," said Becca. "I braved the elements to try going outside, but apparently, my insides were frozen, too—no luck. I went back to the truck, but now we realize we can’t keep the truck running. We had to conserve gas so we would run the truck for 10 minutes every hour to stay warm."

Now six hours into the trip and still not moving, Becca tried staying busy by editing photos but there was no cell service in the area. Greg, who grew up in Leadville, Colo., the highest-elevated city in the United States at 10,000 feet and an area that is no stranger to large snowfalls, could not listen to his beloved Denver Broncos. The girls were left without their social media accounts.

"For Greg to make the decision to drive in the snow and ice was like a Tuesday in Leadville," said Becca. "This was a normal, everyday occurrence in the Colorado area. Greg mentioned that Colorado definitely has the ability and the snowplows because this happens every weekend in Colorado. There's always a big storm. In Kansas, they were saying this was the 'storm of the decade.' I don't think we were prepared for a storm of this magnitude."

Bathroom problems persisted. By 3 p.m., Becca was considering crafting an adult diaper out of a roll of paper towels. Instead, she tried the going outside again only be be blasted by 30-mile-per-hour winds.

"Thankfully, we were behind a gigantic semi truck so it felt like you had your own private spot," Becca said. "I think everyone was getting out of their cars. You couldn't see much because of the blinding snow and wind and I don't think anyone stood out there a very long time. We just kind of minded our own business."

The Maxwells, traveling to and from a volleyball tournament, had accidentally packed a safety kit. The family devoured everything in the volleyball snack bag. With internet options limited, Mette remembered she had downloaded&nbsp;The Hangover&nbsp;and the family watched it for the first time.

"We were lucky to have a bag full with six bottles of water," said Becca. "We started to ration that and the gas, but when you have a volleyball bag full of beef jerky, oranges, bananas, crackers, and cheese, we were probably good to go for at least three days but we would have had to watch&nbsp;The Hangover&nbsp;more than just three times had we been there longer."

Seven hours after coming to a stop, the Maxwells were still stuck amongst hundreds of vehicles by 6 p.m. With nothing else to do, the family hit repeat on The Hangover. The irony of watching a movie that involved a travel mishap was not lost on them.

By 7 p.m., more than 11 hours after leaving Gardner, the Maxwells resigned to the fact that they would be sleeping in the truck. They made bunk beds out of blankets, suitcases, and jackets.

Sleep was tough in the crowded automobile and an unexpected knock on the window by a police officer was a welcome surprise at 8:40 p.m. The officer said the Maxwells could follow him out of the traffic if they felt comfortable driving their 4-wheel-drive truck on the ice.

That slow-moving journey lasted approximately an hour before coming to a halt near Chapman due to a jackknifed semi truck blocking both lanes. Fifteen minutes later, the journey resumed. The Maxwells took the first clear exit and made their way to a gas station where they were able to purchase hot food before getting back on the road. Greg was trying to stay behind a semi driver he trusted.

"Another semi driver had just passed us," Becca said. "Greg didn't think that looked good and that truck ended up taking out a small vehicle. We saw him hit their vehicle, take off the bumper off the back of the car and their mirror. He just kept going because he couldn't stop. The smaller cars, if you weren't in far enough, the semi trucks were still trying to go because there was no stopping."

By 10:30, the Maxwells were stuck again. Interstate plowing had stopped and another plow was stuck in a nearby ditch. Mya approached two vehicles on an exit to ask if they could move over to allow room for the Maxwell vehicle to reach a nearby Love's gas station with the intent of staying the night there.

"Morale was not good," Becca said. People were cranky. The was very little camaraderie as the night got longer. We had made calls for hotels in Junction City and Abilene but you couldn’t get to them. Roads were impassable in town and the hotel employees and gas station workers I talked to had to walk into work. One employee said her car was snowed in at the gas station so she was just staying there for two days and most likely won’t get home for another day."

It took an hour to get to the Love's near Abilene. The family hand-shoveled space near the gas station where they were able to park and sleep.

"Maybe knowing you are steps from a bathroom and coffee helps," said Becca. "And, honestly, it was much warmer off interstate with a little block from the straight winds and blowing snow."

Just after midnight, the clan journeyed inside the gas station for one last restroom break. Once back in the vehicle, they decided on one more play of The Hangover. With gas options now available, they were also able to run the truck for heat.

With little to no sleep, by 6:15 a.m., 22 hours after leaving the original hotel, the Maxwells could see the nearby offramp is cleared, meaning traffic was likely again allowed on I-70. More than four hours later, the family finally arrived in Ellinwood, 26 hours after the trip began.

Becca said the trip was a learning experience that made her family extra grateful for the road workers and law enforcement who tried to keep roads open and assisted those who needed it.

"The semi trucks rule the road," she said. "There are so many of them it is really difficult to shut down interstate. There were clearly not enough stops and cleared space for all of them to just stop driving and get off the road. That was not possible. They had to park on interstate. I don’t know where else they could have gone."

Still, the decision was not an easy when she the Maxwells made the decision to drive home. The volleyball tournament was a large one with teams spending a lot of money to attend. Rules dictate how and when teams can drop out of tournaments and what happens to those teams if they break the rules.

"Tournaments are difficult to reschedule and I understand the need to not cancel because it’s very difficult to make things up with how busy families are," Becca said. "It was a significant cost for us to play in that tournament, so there is a financial burden as well."

The storm ended up dropping nearly six inches of snow around Gardner, but was part of a larger storm that dumped up to 18 inches of snow in the region. The official measurement at Kansas City International Airport was 11 inches, marking the fourth-largest single-day snowfall total in Kansas City history.

Becca said the biggest lesson learned was for drivers to take heed of precautions and stay off the road when officials advise.

Several serious accidents were reported across northeast and north central Kansas Saturday through Monday. On Monday afternoon, a man was killed at the gas station near the I-70 and K-156 junction north of Ellsworth. The man was attempted to help a semi truck navigate a snow-covered parking lot when he was ran over by the truck.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1736260509071.jpeg" alt="Maxwell family courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Maxwell family courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By MIKE COURSON Great Bend Post"But did you die" is a famous line from&nbsp;Hangover II, a sequel to the 2009 surprise box office hit. But one Ellinwood family may not be laughing at either of the&nbsp;The Hangover&nbsp;movies for a while. The Maxwells spent hours stuck in the ice and snow on and around I-70, passing the time by watching the first&nbsp;Hangover&nbsp;over and over. Twenty-six hours after leaving Gardner just southwest of Overland Park, the family arrived safely at home Monday morning.Greg and Becca Maxwell were coaching their daughter, Mette, and the rest of the Velocity Volleyball Club team in Gardner at the Heart of America regional qualifier. They knew the winter weather was coming but at 8:30 a.m., attempted to beat the weather and avoid getting stuck at the hotel. Everything was slow going before coming to a complete stop between Manhattan and Junction City at 11:45."Hundreds of cars and trucks were stranded," Becca said. "Just parked on interstate. It wasn’t just us. It was back to back cars and trucks and so many semis stranded. The truck in front of us was from a furniture company that guaranteed delivery no matter the weather, and his customers in Colorado wanted the furniture. The young gentleman behind us was headed to his military base, and we were a family just trying to get home after a volleyball tournament to get home for work on Monday. We were just lucky we were on the road and not stuck in the ditch in the snow."Biological functions do not cease just because cars are backed up on interstate. By 1 p.m., that's becoming an issue for several members in the Maxwell vehicle."It’s freezing cold," said Becca. "I braved the elements to try going outside, but apparently, my insides were frozen, too—no luck. I went back to the truck, but now we realize we can’t keep the truck running. We had to conserve gas so we would run the truck for 10 minutes every hour to stay warm."Now six hours into the trip and still not moving, Becca tried staying busy by editing photos but there was no cell service in the area. Greg, who grew up in Leadville, Colo., the highest-elevated city in the United States at 10,000 feet and an area that is no stranger to large snowfalls, could not listen to his beloved Denver Broncos. The girls were left without their social media accounts."For Greg to make the decision to drive in the snow and ice was like a Tuesday in Leadville," said Becca. "This was a normal, everyday occurrence in the Colorado area. Greg mentioned that Colorado definitely has the ability and the snowplows because this happens every weekend in Colorado. There's always a big storm. In Kansas, they were saying this was the 'storm of the decade.' I don't think we were prepared for a storm of this magnitude."Bathroom problems persisted. By 3 p.m., Becca was considering crafting an adult diaper out of a roll of paper towels. Instead, she tried the going outside again only be be blasted by 30-mile-per-hour winds."Thankfully, we were behind a gigantic semi truck so it felt like you had your own private spot," Becca said. "I think everyone was getting out of their cars. You couldn't see much because of the blinding snow and wind and I don't think anyone stood out there a very long time. We just kind of minded our own business."The Maxwells, traveling to and from a volleyball tournament, had accidentally packed a safety kit. The family devoured everything in the volleyball snack bag. With internet options limited, Mette remembered she had downloaded&nbsp;The Hangover&nbsp;and the family watched it for the first time."We were lucky to have a bag full with six bottles of water," said Becca. "We started to ration that and the gas, but when you have a volleyball bag full of beef jerky, oranges, bananas, crackers, and cheese, we were probably good to go for at least three days but we would have had to watch&nbsp;The Hangover&nbsp;more than just three times had we been there longer."Seven hours after coming to a stop, the Maxwells were still stuck amongst hundreds of vehicles by 6 p.m. With nothing else to do, the family hit repeat on The Hangover. The irony of watching a movie that involved a travel mishap was not lost on them.By 7 p.m., more than 11 hours after leaving Gardner, the Maxwells resigned to the fact that they would be sleeping in the truck. They made bunk beds out of blankets, suitcases, and jackets.Sleep was tough in the crowded automobile and an unexpected knock on the window by a police officer was a welcome surprise at 8:40 p.m. The officer said the Maxwells could follow him out of the traffic if they felt comfortable driving their 4-wheel-drive truck on the ice.That slow-moving journey lasted approximately an hour before coming to a halt near Chapman due to a jackknifed semi truck blocking both lanes. Fifteen minutes later, the journey resumed. The Maxwells took the first clear exit and made their way to a gas station where they were able to purchase hot food before getting back on the road. Greg was trying to stay behind a semi driver he trusted."Another semi driver had just passed us," Becca said. "Greg didn't think that looked good and that truck ended up taking out a small vehicle. We saw him hit their vehicle, take off the bumper off the back of the car and their mirror. He just kept going because he couldn't stop. The smaller cars, if you weren't in far enough, the semi trucks were still trying to go because there was no stopping."By 10:30, the Maxwells were stuck again. Interstate plowing had stopped and another plow was stuck in a nearby ditch. Mya approached two vehicles on an exit to ask if they could move over to allow room for the Maxwell vehicle to reach a nearby Love's gas station with the intent of staying the night there."Morale was not good," Becca said. People were cranky. The was very little camaraderie as the night got longer. We had made calls for hotels in Junction City and Abilene but you couldn’t get to them. Roads were impassable in town and the hotel employees and gas station workers I talked to had to walk into work. One employee said her car was snowed in at the gas station so she was just staying there for two days and most likely won’t get home for another day."It took an hour to get to the Love's near Abilene. The family hand-shoveled space near the gas station where they were able to park and sleep."Maybe knowing you are steps from a bathroom and coffee helps," said Becca. "And, honestly, it was much warmer off interstate with a little block from the straight winds and blowing snow."Just after midnight, the clan journeyed inside the gas station for one last restroom break. Once back in the vehicle, they decided on one more play of The Hangover. With gas options now available, they were also able to run the truck for heat.With little to no sleep, by 6:15 a.m., 22 hours after leaving the original hotel, the Maxwells could see the nearby offramp is cleared, meaning traffic was likely again allowed on I-70. More than four hours later, the family finally arrived in Ellinwood, 26 hours after the trip began.Becca said the trip was a learning experience that made her family extra grateful for the road workers and law enforcement who tried to keep roads open and assisted those who needed it."The semi trucks rule the road," she said. "There are so many of them it is really difficult to shut down interstate. There were clearly not enough stops and cleared space for all of them to just stop driving and get off the road. That was not possible. They had to park on interstate. I don’t know where else they could have gone."Still, the decision was not an easy when she the Maxwells made the decision to drive home. The volleyball tournament was a large one with teams spending a lot of money to attend. Rules dictate how and when teams can drop out of tournaments and what happens to those teams if they break the rules."Tournaments are difficult to reschedule and I understand the need to not cancel because it’s very difficult to make things up with how busy families are," Becca said. "It was a significant cost for us to play in that tournament, so there is a financial burden as well."The storm ended up dropping nearly six inches of snow around Gardner, but was part of a larger storm that dumped up to 18 inches of snow in the region. The official measurement at Kansas City International Airport was 11 inches, marking the fourth-largest single-day snowfall total in Kansas City history.Becca said the biggest lesson learned was for drivers to take heed of precautions and stay off the road when officials advise.Several serious accidents were reported across northeast and north central Kansas Saturday through Monday. On Monday afternoon, a man was killed at the gas station near the I-70 and K-156 junction north of Ellsworth. The man was attempted to help a semi truck navigate a snow-covered parking lot when he was ran over by the truck.

Kan. family safe after stuck on I-70 for 24 hours during snow storm

TOPEKA —Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab has announced he is a candidate for governor. He posted a video on his social media page Wednesday.

Schwab was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2002. As Chairman of the House Elections Committee, Schwab championed several bills to safeguard Kansas elections and the voting process, according to his bio on the Kansas Secretary of State web site.

 Schwab also served as Chairman of the House Financial Institutions Committee, and Vice Chair of the Taxation Committee and the Committee on Commerce and Labor. Schwab was also elected to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore of the Kansas House of Representatives.

In 2018, Schwab was elected to his first term as Kansas Secretary of State and was re-elected in 2022.

He is the first candidate to announce plans to run for the 2026 GOP nomination to replace Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.&nbsp;

TOPEKA —Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab has announced he is a candidate for governor. He posted a video on his social media page Wednesday.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Kansas has a decision to make: Which path will we take? We need to cut property taxes, ban China from buying land near our military bases, restore conservative values in Topeka, and so much more. That’s why I’m running for Governor.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ksleg?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ksleg</a> <a href="https://t.co/vpKIKeveV1">pic.twitter.com/vpKIKeveV1</a>&mdash; Scott Schwab (@ScottSchwabKS) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottSchwabKS/status/1876974001836134483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Schwab was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2002. As Chairman of the House Elections Committee, Schwab championed several bills to safeguard Kansas elections and the voting process, according to his bio on the Kansas Secretary of State web site. Schwab also served as Chairman of the House Financial Institutions Committee, and Vice Chair of the Taxation Committee and the Committee on Commerce and Labor. Schwab was also elected to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore of the Kansas House of Representatives.In 2018, Schwab was elected to his first term as Kansas Secretary of State and was re-elected in 2022.He is the first candidate to announce plans to run for the 2026 GOP nomination to replace Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.&nbsp;