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

Two initiative petition campaigns seeking constitutional protections for public education are suing Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins alleging he crafted “deceptive and prejudicial” summaries that will appear on the ballot.

One campaign, called “the Missouri Right to Education Initiative,” hopes to amend the state constitution to declare education a “fundamental right.”

The other, filed by an attorney with the public education law firm EdCounsel, would amend the constitution to prohibit public funding of nonpublic schools except for when it benefits disabled students. It also would label new charter schools as nonpublic.

Both believe Hoskins’ summaries were written to deceive voters and sink their chances on the ballot next year.

“It is so far away from what we proposed that it really seems like they went to great lengths to try to bring something into the conversation that is not part of this amendment,” Spencer Toder, treasurer of the&nbsp;<a href="https://moeducation.org/" target="_blank">Missouri Right to Education Initiative</a>, told The Independent.

Hoskins’ office did not respond to a request for comment.

In addition to declaring education a “fundamental right,” Toder’s&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Exhibit%20A.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3646146" target="_blank">proposed amendment</a>&nbsp;would require state lawmakers to maintain “adequate, thorough and uniform high quality free public schools.”

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Exhibit%20B.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3646147" target="_blank">summary from the Secretary of State’s Office</a>&nbsp;describes the initiative as an attempt to dismantle the state’s private-school voucher program. It specifically says the initiative petition would “eliminate existing state scholarship programs that provide direct aid to students with disabilities and low-income families” and “prevent the State from supporting educational choices other than free public schools.”

Toder says the petition doesn’t touch the state’s private school scholarship program, MOScholars.

“Our intent is not to get involved in the voucher dialog. It is to ensure that no matter if vouchers exist, it doesn’t come at the expense of public school students’ quality of education,” he said. “All (the amendment) says is that the students have a guaranteed right to a quality public education.”

The second&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Ex.%20A%20-%202026-071%201.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3650864" target="_blank">initiative petition</a>&nbsp;does train its sights on MOScholars.

“We’re watching the statewide elected officials from Missouri slowly dismantle public schools, this public school system that Missourians have built,” Duane Martin, a public education attorney who filed the initiative petition, told The Independent.

<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Ex.%20B%20-%202026-071%20Cert%20Packet.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3650865" target="_blank">Hoskins’ summary</a>&nbsp;describes the proposed amendment as “eliminating existing programs that provide direct aid to students with special education needs.”&nbsp;

“It did not look to me like they had carefully read the initiative petition because some of what they summarized is the exact opposite of the language of the initiative petition itself,” Martin said.

Both campaigns are hoping to get on the ballot in 2026 and are in the early stages of organizing.

“I’m optimistic that a judge will look at this and see that some of the false statements that are made by the Secretary of State’s office can be corrected pretty readily,” Martin said.

Both Martin and Toder said they have not had contact with the Secretary of State’s Office other than receiving their petitions’ certification letters and serving the office with the lawsuit.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756640213263.png" alt="Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins walks into a Missouri Right to Life rally wearing his signature red sport coat in March. Hoskins is currently facing two lawsuits alleging he crafted deceptive ballot language for public-education initiative petitions (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins walks into a Missouri Right to Life rally wearing his signature red sport coat in March. Hoskins is currently facing two lawsuits alleging he crafted deceptive ballot language for public-education initiative petitions (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ahanshaw/">Annelise Hanshaw</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>Two initiative petition campaigns seeking constitutional protections for public education are suing Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins alleging he crafted “deceptive and prejudicial” summaries that will appear on the ballot.One campaign, called “the Missouri Right to Education Initiative,” hopes to amend the state constitution to declare education a “fundamental right.”The other, filed by an attorney with the public education law firm EdCounsel, would amend the constitution to prohibit public funding of nonpublic schools except for when it benefits disabled students. It also would label new charter schools as nonpublic.Both believe Hoskins’ summaries were written to deceive voters and sink their chances on the ballot next year.“It is so far away from what we proposed that it really seems like they went to great lengths to try to bring something into the conversation that is not part of this amendment,” Spencer Toder, treasurer of the&nbsp;<a href="https://moeducation.org/" target="_blank">Missouri Right to Education Initiative</a>, told The Independent.Hoskins’ office did not respond to a request for comment.In addition to declaring education a “fundamental right,” Toder’s&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Exhibit%20A.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3646146" target="_blank">proposed amendment</a>&nbsp;would require state lawmakers to maintain “adequate, thorough and uniform high quality free public schools.”The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Exhibit%20B.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3646147" target="_blank">summary from the Secretary of State’s Office</a>&nbsp;describes the initiative as an attempt to dismantle the state’s private-school voucher program. It specifically says the initiative petition would “eliminate existing state scholarship programs that provide direct aid to students with disabilities and low-income families” and “prevent the State from supporting educational choices other than free public schools.”Toder says the petition doesn’t touch the state’s private school scholarship program, MOScholars.“Our intent is not to get involved in the voucher dialog. It is to ensure that no matter if vouchers exist, it doesn’t come at the expense of public school students’ quality of education,” he said. “All (the amendment) says is that the students have a guaranteed right to a quality public education.”The second&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Ex.%20A%20-%202026-071%201.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3650864" target="_blank">initiative petition</a>&nbsp;does train its sights on MOScholars.“We’re watching the statewide elected officials from Missouri slowly dismantle public schools, this public school system that Missourians have built,” Duane Martin, a public education attorney who filed the initiative petition, told The Independent.<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Ex.%20B%20-%202026-071%20Cert%20Packet.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3650865" target="_blank">Hoskins’ summary</a>&nbsp;describes the proposed amendment as “eliminating existing programs that provide direct aid to students with special education needs.”&nbsp;“It did not look to me like they had carefully read the initiative petition because some of what they summarized is the exact opposite of the language of the initiative petition itself,” Martin said.Both campaigns are hoping to get on the ballot in 2026 and are in the early stages of organizing.“I’m optimistic that a judge will look at this and see that some of the false statements that are made by the Secretary of State’s office can be corrected pretty readily,” Martin said.Both Martin and Toder said they have not had contact with the Secretary of State’s Office other than receiving their petitions’ certification letters and serving the office with the lawsuit.

Lawsuits challenge ‘deceptive’ summaries for Missouri public education ballot measures

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BUCHANAN COUNTY, Mo. — Nine people on a church bus were injured in an accident just 3:30p.m. Friday in Buchanan County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Ford F550 owned by&nbsp;Olivet Baptist Church of Westwood and driven by a 61-year-old Merriam, Kansas, man was northbound on Interstate 29 one half mile south of Faucett.&nbsp; The front passenger side tire blew out.&nbsp; The vehicle began to skid and then the back passenger side tire blew out. The vehicle traveled off the east side of the road, struck a ditch and overturned.

EMS transported 9 passengers including two 14-year-old girls, a 14-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl all from Kansas City, Kansas and a 16-year-old Lee's Summit boy to North Kansas City Hospital; a 15-year-old Merriam, Kansas girl, a 16-year-old Shawnee, Kansas boy; a 14-year-old&nbsp; Kansas City, Kansas girl and a 44-year-old Shawnee, Kansas, woman to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph.&nbsp; The driver was not injured, according to the patrol.&nbsp;

There were 30 people on the bus at the time of the accident.&nbsp;Interstate 29 was closed for several hours but reopened while first responders worked the scene. The highway was&nbsp; open again just after 7 p.m. Friday.&nbsp; &nbsp;The MSHP no longer releases the names of accident victims.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756555858424.png" alt="Photo courtesy KMBC" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy KMBC</figcaption>
 </figure>BUCHANAN COUNTY, Mo. — Nine people on a church bus were injured in an accident just 3:30p.m. Friday in Buchanan County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Ford F550 owned by&nbsp;Olivet Baptist Church of Westwood and driven by a 61-year-old Merriam, Kansas, man was northbound on Interstate 29 one half mile south of Faucett.&nbsp; The front passenger side tire blew out.&nbsp; The vehicle began to skid and then the back passenger side tire blew out. The vehicle traveled off the east side of the road, struck a ditch and overturned.EMS transported 9 passengers including two 14-year-old girls, a 14-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl all from Kansas City, Kansas and a 16-year-old Lee's Summit boy to North Kansas City Hospital; a 15-year-old Merriam, Kansas girl, a 16-year-old Shawnee, Kansas boy; a 14-year-old&nbsp; Kansas City, Kansas girl and a 44-year-old Shawnee, Kansas, woman to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph.&nbsp; The driver was not injured, according to the patrol.&nbsp;There were 30 people on the bus at the time of the accident.&nbsp;Interstate 29 was closed for several hours but reopened while first responders worked the scene. The highway was&nbsp; open again just after 7 p.m. Friday.&nbsp; &nbsp;The MSHP no longer releases the names of accident victims.

8 students injured in church bus crash on Interstate 29 

ATCHISON —Law enforcement are investigating a Kansas felon on new allegations.

At 8:30p.m. on Thursday, police responded to an apartment complex in the 300 block Santa Fe Street in Atchison to investigate a possible burglary, according to Police Chief Mike Wilsonm.

It was determined that no burglary had occurred but during the investigation the resident and reporting party, 61-year-old Gary Odum, was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

&nbsp;Odum was arrested on a requested charge for possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. He has a previous conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756477662042.png" alt="Odum photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Odum photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON —Law enforcement are investigating a Kansas felon on new allegations.At 8:30p.m. on Thursday, police responded to an apartment complex in the 300 block Santa Fe Street in Atchison to investigate a possible burglary, according to Police Chief Mike Wilsonm.It was determined that no burglary had occurred but during the investigation the resident and reporting party, 61-year-old Gary Odum, was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.&nbsp;Odum was arrested on a requested charge for possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. He has a previous conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Call about burglary led to Kansas felon's drug arrest

It's another long holiday weekend as the Missouri Highway Patrol expects travelers to hit the road today.  

Seargent Shane Hux with Troop H says Labor Day marks the third of the four major travel holidays. Hux encourages everyone to plan for save travel during the weekend 

"This is one of the holiday's it seems like where alcohol is involved because a lot of people take to the water because the weather is still nice this time of year," Hux tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.  "So, we just encourage you to be responsible, if you consume anything that causes impairment, plan ahead, have a plan in place, and use a designated driver."  

MoDOT reports roadway fatalities are trending downward for a third year in a row, down two percent so far, with 344 deaths this year compared to 364 in 2023. 

Hux says during last year's Labor Day holiday period, 110 arrests were made for driving while intoxicated, because drivers are not being responsible after drinking 

"They're not making plans to get home with a sober driver, and that's what we're trying to stress here, because last year on Missouri roadways 17 people died in traffic crashes during the three-day Labor Day weekend, two people were killed in boating fatalities," Hux explains. 

Hux says if you have any trouble, remember to contact the patrols star 55 emergency hotline for help 

"Now we also encourage them to contact us if they're behind a vehicle careless and imprudent operation, traveling at high speeds, or if they believe the driver is impaired or even on their phone," Hux says.  "Or if they see a small child inside a vehicle that's unsecured." 

The Highway Patrol will be out in force starting this evening at 6pm until Monday at midnight. 

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

By MATT PIKE It's another long holiday weekend as the Missouri Highway Patrol expects travelers to hit the road today. Seargent Shane Hux with Troop H says Labor Day marks the third of the four major travel holidays. Hux encourages everyone to plan for save travel during the weekend "This is one of the holiday's it seems like where alcohol is involved because a lot of people take to the water because the weather is still nice this time of year," Hux tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "So, we just encourage you to be responsible, if you consume anything that causes impairment, plan ahead, have a plan in place, and use a designated driver." MoDOT reports roadway fatalities are trending downward for a third year in a row, down two percent so far, with 344 deaths this year compared to 364 in 2023. Hux says during last year's Labor Day holiday period, 110 arrests were made for driving while intoxicated, because drivers are not being responsible after drinking "They're not making plans to get home with a sober driver, and that's what we're trying to stress here, because last year on Missouri roadways 17 people died in traffic crashes during the three-day Labor Day weekend, two people were killed in boating fatalities," Hux explains. Hux says if you have any trouble, remember to contact the patrols star 55 emergency hotline for help "Now we also encourage them to contact us if they're behind a vehicle careless and imprudent operation, traveling at high speeds, or if they believe the driver is impaired or even on their phone," Hux says. "Or if they see a small child inside a vehicle that's unsecured." The Highway Patrol will be out in force starting this evening at 6pm until Monday at midnight. You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp;&nbsp;

MSHP encourages safe travel this long Labor Day holiday weekend

Protests against
President Donald Trump will be held in northwest Missouri on Labor Day, a
continuation of protests which began shortly after Trump became president.

Nancy Zeliff of
Skidmore says protestors will be bringing the same message during protests in
Chillicothe, Maryville, and St. Joseph.

“As with our past
ones, we want recognition that there are Missourians, there are friends and
neighbors of yours, there are Americans that are not happy with the current
state of our country,” Zeliff tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.

Zeliff is critical
of the Trump Administration policies on immigration, the reduction of Medicaid
funding, and moves to scrap the federal Education Department.

“So, we want to
let people know we’re here, we have a voice, it’s our constitutional right to
protest and to make our feelings known and our legislators need to know we are
unhappy,” according to Zeliff.

The protests
planned for Labor Day in northwest Missouri are part of a nationwide, organized
protests across the country against the policies of the Trump administration.

Zeliff says it’s
important to protest Trump policies even if it doesn’t change many minds in ruby
red Trump country.

“We certainly hope
it makes a difference at the ballot box, but we’re doing what we can,” Zeliff
says. "So, this is what we want northwest Missourians and our legislators
to know.”

Zeliff says it is
important to let those in northwest Missouri who oppose the president to know
they are not alone.

“And we welcome
everyone to show their support of our efforts and also if they feel they’re
alone, they’re not,” Zeliff says. “So, however they wish to support our
efforts, we’re there and we’re showing our dissatisfaction with the
disappearance of democracy.”

Zeliff says it is
important to take a stand and let your voice be heard no matter the reception.

“We’re received
with burnt rubber, middle fingers, maybe a few expletives, maybe the flag of
the current president and his supporters,” Zeliff says. “But we smile and we
hold our sign up and we might bang our drum, which we use at protests, a little
louder and a little longer.”

Protests will be
held in the morning Monday in Chillicothe and St. Joseph. Protests will be held
Monday evening in Maryville.

You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

By BRENT MARTINProtests against
President Donald Trump will be held in northwest Missouri on Labor Day, a
continuation of protests which began shortly after Trump became president.Nancy Zeliff of
Skidmore says protestors will be bringing the same message during protests in
Chillicothe, Maryville, and St. Joseph.“As with our past
ones, we want recognition that there are Missourians, there are friends and
neighbors of yours, there are Americans that are not happy with the current
state of our country,” Zeliff tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.Zeliff is critical
of the Trump Administration policies on immigration, the reduction of Medicaid
funding, and moves to scrap the federal Education Department.“So, we want to
let people know we’re here, we have a voice, it’s our constitutional right to
protest and to make our feelings known and our legislators need to know we are
unhappy,” according to Zeliff.The protests
planned for Labor Day in northwest Missouri are part of a nationwide, organized
protests across the country against the policies of the Trump administration.Zeliff says it’s
important to protest Trump policies even if it doesn’t change many minds in ruby
red Trump country.“We certainly hope
it makes a difference at the ballot box, but we’re doing what we can,” Zeliff
says. "So, this is what we want northwest Missourians and our legislators
to know.”Zeliff says it is
important to let those in northwest Missouri who oppose the president to know
they are not alone.“And we welcome
everyone to show their support of our efforts and also if they feel they’re
alone, they’re not,” Zeliff says. “So, however they wish to support our
efforts, we’re there and we’re showing our dissatisfaction with the
disappearance of democracy.”Zeliff says it is
important to take a stand and let your voice be heard no matter the reception.“We’re received
with burnt rubber, middle fingers, maybe a few expletives, maybe the flag of
the current president and his supporters,” Zeliff says. “But we smile and we
hold our sign up and we might bang our drum, which we use at protests, a little
louder and a little longer.”Protests will be
held in the morning Monday in Chillicothe and St. Joseph. Protests will be held
Monday evening in Maryville.<div><iframe data-testid="embed-iframe" style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/1EMdSzziG6sFWMbrDHl375?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

Protestors will fly in the teeth of Trump country on Labor Day

Individual tax rates for residences, farms, commercial buildings and personal property would prevent tax burden shifting, the Special Interim Committee on Property Tax Reform was told at its final field hearing

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

MACON — Separate tax rates for the four classes of taxed property would protect homeowners from large tax increases during reassessment, Chariton County Assessor Darrin Gladbach told a special Missouri House interim committee at its final field hearing.

If residential, commercial, farm and personal property each had a separate rate, any rate cuts due to growth above inflation would be confined to the classification where the growth is occurring, Gladbach said.

That is because when residential values rise faster than appraisals of commercial or farm property, it shifts the burden to homeowners because the Hancock Amendment was written so total property tax revenue growth doesn’t exceed inflation.

“Either the overall valuation does not go up enough to trigger a rollback, or if it does trigger a rollback, all the other subclasses also benefit from that rollback,” Gladbach said.

St. Louis County is the only county to separate property by subclass under a law making it optional.

Gladbach was the first person to testify Wednesday evening to the Special Interim Committee on Property Tax Reform. The committee is looking at how rates are set, what share of true market value should be taxed and what needs to change to make property taxes simpler to understand and pay. It previously took&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/17/missouri-lawmakers-begin-dive-into-property-tax-problems/">testimony in Jefferson City</a>, Lebanon, Kansas City and St. Louis.&nbsp;

More than 100 people attended the hearing where, over the course of three hours, the 20-member committee heard from county officials and residents of north Missouri on what would make property taxes fairer, where assessments reflect actual values and rates reflect the constitutional limits on revenue growth.

Aggravation over higher property tax bills, fueled in part by a push at the&nbsp;<a href="https://stc.mo.gov/" target="_blank">State Tax Commission</a>&nbsp;to get assessors to recognize higher land and building values, has held the attention of state lawmakers for the past two years.

On Monday, elected officials from five counties who have refused commission orders to raise property valuations sued to block it from withholding funds that help pay for assessment activities.

During testimony that closed out the hearing, tax commission Chairman Gary Romine endorsed Gladbach’s proposal to tax each subclass of property at a separate rate.

“Assessed valuations going up should not be an increase in the constituents taxes,” Romine said.&nbsp;

One reason the tax commission has pushed assessors to make increases is to bring appraised values closer to actual market value, especially for residential property. But every appraisal is a guess, based on the sales price of comparable properties, and Missouri does not require sellers to report the value of the property as it is sold.

Romine&nbsp; said the commission has pushed for years for the legislature to enact a law requiring a certificate of value to be filed with the deed transfer.&nbsp;

“But we also realize that that data has to be protected, and it’s no secret the Realtors Association will kill any kind of (certificate of value) bill, if it gets out there, unless we can find a way to protect that data,” Romine said.

Lawmakers have tried to respond to constituent upset over property taxes with measures that allow local voters to freeze tax bills for people over 65, and, during a special session in June, put in place&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/06/11/missouri-special-session-ends-with-passage-kc-stadium-funding-disaster-aid/">caps on the growth</a>&nbsp;of individual tax bills in 97 of the state’s 114 counties.

But freezes and caps on bills can have the effect of shifting the burden to property not sheltered by the new laws because revenues for the 2,807 local government agencies that impose property taxes are allowed to increase by the rate of inflation and the value of new construction.

“When we freeze an area, the ones left in the pool pick up the slack, because we’ve got these fire districts and ambulance districts in rural Missouri, and the cost of funding is not going down,” Gladbach said.

Lawmakers provided lower-income seniors and people with disability more property tax relief during the regular session this year. The tax bill that eliminated taxes on capital gains also increased the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-approves-tax-cuts-for-capital-gains-diapers-and-low-income-seniors/">income limits and credit amounts</a>&nbsp;for the elderly and people with disabilities who use the&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/taxation/individual/tax-types/property-tax-credit/" target="_blank">Circuit Breaker tax credit</a>&nbsp;and, in June, put in place&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/06/11/missouri-special-session-ends-with-passage-kc-stadium-funding-disaster-aid/">caps on the growth</a>&nbsp;of tax bills in 97 of the state’s 114 counties.

The committee will meet again next Wednesday in Jefferson City as it takes the information from five public hearings held around the state and works on a bill to introduce for the 2026 legislative session, said state Rep. Tim Taylor, the Republican from Boonville who is chairman.

The committee may meet several times in early September if there is a special session on congressional redistricting, he said.

“It’s my goal to try to have this meeting over the public testimony in that week in Jefferson City, on whatever time frame, if it comes to fruition,” Taylor said. “And it would be my goal to even have one more after that, prior to December, so we might try to sit down and get a bill.”

The questions the committee must answer include whether constitutional changes are needed, whether the percentages of appraised value subject to tax should be changed and whether the tax commission should be expanded beyond three members.

“Part of the reason why I got this job is because I knew how complicated it was, and I complained that it was too complicated,” Taylor said. “So the speaker said, ‘well, if you want to complain, maybe you should try to help fix it.’”

The Missouri State Tax Commission provides oversight to the work of local assessors in 114 counties and the city of St. Louis. It sets the amounts used as the productive value of farmland, oversees the taxation of railroads and utility property, and is a place where owners can appeal property values when dissatisfied with the outcome reached by local boards of equalization.

In the lawsuit filed Monday in Polk County, officials in Audrain, DeKalb, Pike, Polk and Reynolds counties accuse the commission of exceeding its authority by demanding large jumps in assessed value and imposing impossible timelines.

Each county has received what the commission calls equalization orders, directing them to boost property values for real estate by up to 15%.&nbsp;

The commission’s orders “are an effort to force clerks, assessors, and boards of equalization to raise residential property assessments in an arbitrary and capricious manner without providing proper notice to the taxpayers affected by the increases,” the lawsuit states. “Upon information and belief, (the) commission has been made aware of this timing issue regarding the required notice to taxpayers and has failed to address these concerns.”

Members of the tax commission declined to comment on the lawsuit when asked at the interim committee hearing.

Local assessors are required to assign new values to all property in odd-numbered years, a process called general reassessment. The tax commission wants the values to fall between 90 and 110% of the true market value for the particular type of property.

When assessment increases are likely to cause tax bills to go up, notices must go out by June 1. Individual property owners are given a chance to appeal the new value to the local Board of Equalization, where they can argue over the price of comparable properties, or that factors such as age or storm damage make the valuation inaccurate.

Once the total value of all property in a taxing district is set in July, the governing boards calculate the impact on rates and set a public hearing. The rates for the year are set by Sept. 1 after public hearings.

DeKalb County, home to 42 taxing entities, was issued an equalization order dated July 22 demanding that it increase commercial assessments by 15%. That was too late to allow for appeals, County Clerk Melissa Meek said in an interview with The Independent.

The result, she said, would have been for the affected businesses to pay their taxes under protest, freezing the funds until appeals were resolved.

“I begged them to rescind their order and do it next year in a timely manner,” Meek said. “The patrons, the business owners, could meet with the Board of Equalization and they could bring their comps for comparable sales, and they could say why they shouldn’t have to pay and then let the (board) decide if the 15% increase was valid or not. But they didn’t give anybody that opportunity.”

The tax commission hasn’t formally threatened DeKalb County’s funding for assessment costs, which Meek said is about $25,000 a year. But the lawsuit says the commission is threatening to withhold more than $250,000 from the other four participating in the case.

The orders would force assessors to violate the law because any property where the value increases by 15% or more must be evaluated from the exterior in an inspection. The commission’s order to add the increase to any locally determined value for all residential properties would force assessors to violate the law, the lawsuit states

Along with forcing assessors to violate the law, blanket increases in assessments do not take into account individual conditions. Values may not change much, if at all, for properties in poor condition or in undesirable locations, the lawsuit states.

“The equalization orders specifically are discriminatory to taxpayers owning low-value properties in that a 15% increase will cause those properties to be assessed higher as compared to their market value than other properties within the counties,” the filing states.

Only the local assessor can know where it is appropriate to set higher values and which properties have not changed, Meek said.&nbsp;

“We know our county,” Meek said. “We know what our people can do and what they can’t do.”&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756478196794.png" alt=" Members of the House Special Interim Committee on Property Tax Reform, chaired by state Rep. Tim Taylor, fifth from right, listen to testimony at a hearing Wednesday in Macon. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)" />
 <figcaption> Members of the House Special Interim Committee on Property Tax Reform, chaired by state Rep. Tim Taylor, fifth from right, listen to testimony at a hearing Wednesday in Macon. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Individual tax rates for residences, farms, commercial buildings and personal property would prevent tax burden shifting, the Special Interim Committee on Property Tax Reform was told at its final field hearing</h2>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>MACON — Separate tax rates for the four classes of taxed property would protect homeowners from large tax increases during reassessment, Chariton County Assessor Darrin Gladbach told a special Missouri House interim committee at its final field hearing.If residential, commercial, farm and personal property each had a separate rate, any rate cuts due to growth above inflation would be confined to the classification where the growth is occurring, Gladbach said.That is because when residential values rise faster than appraisals of commercial or farm property, it shifts the burden to homeowners because the Hancock Amendment was written so total property tax revenue growth doesn’t exceed inflation.“Either the overall valuation does not go up enough to trigger a rollback, or if it does trigger a rollback, all the other subclasses also benefit from that rollback,” Gladbach said.St. Louis County is the only county to separate property by subclass under a law making it optional.Gladbach was the first person to testify Wednesday evening to the Special Interim Committee on Property Tax Reform. The committee is looking at how rates are set, what share of true market value should be taxed and what needs to change to make property taxes simpler to understand and pay. It previously took&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/17/missouri-lawmakers-begin-dive-into-property-tax-problems/">testimony in Jefferson City</a>, Lebanon, Kansas City and St. Louis.&nbsp;More than 100 people attended the hearing where, over the course of three hours, the 20-member committee heard from county officials and residents of north Missouri on what would make property taxes fairer, where assessments reflect actual values and rates reflect the constitutional limits on revenue growth.Aggravation over higher property tax bills, fueled in part by a push at the&nbsp;<a href="https://stc.mo.gov/" target="_blank">State Tax Commission</a>&nbsp;to get assessors to recognize higher land and building values, has held the attention of state lawmakers for the past two years.On Monday, elected officials from five counties who have refused commission orders to raise property valuations sued to block it from withholding funds that help pay for assessment activities.During testimony that closed out the hearing, tax commission Chairman Gary Romine endorsed Gladbach’s proposal to tax each subclass of property at a separate rate.“Assessed valuations going up should not be an increase in the constituents taxes,” Romine said.&nbsp;One reason the tax commission has pushed assessors to make increases is to bring appraised values closer to actual market value, especially for residential property. But every appraisal is a guess, based on the sales price of comparable properties, and Missouri does not require sellers to report the value of the property as it is sold.Romine&nbsp; said the commission has pushed for years for the legislature to enact a law requiring a certificate of value to be filed with the deed transfer.&nbsp;“But we also realize that that data has to be protected, and it’s no secret the Realtors Association will kill any kind of (certificate of value) bill, if it gets out there, unless we can find a way to protect that data,” Romine said.Lawmakers have tried to respond to constituent upset over property taxes with measures that allow local voters to freeze tax bills for people over 65, and, during a special session in June, put in place&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/06/11/missouri-special-session-ends-with-passage-kc-stadium-funding-disaster-aid/">caps on the growth</a>&nbsp;of individual tax bills in 97 of the state’s 114 counties.But freezes and caps on bills can have the effect of shifting the burden to property not sheltered by the new laws because revenues for the 2,807 local government agencies that impose property taxes are allowed to increase by the rate of inflation and the value of new construction.“When we freeze an area, the ones left in the pool pick up the slack, because we’ve got these fire districts and ambulance districts in rural Missouri, and the cost of funding is not going down,” Gladbach said.Lawmakers provided lower-income seniors and people with disability more property tax relief during the regular session this year. The tax bill that eliminated taxes on capital gains also increased the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-approves-tax-cuts-for-capital-gains-diapers-and-low-income-seniors/">income limits and credit amounts</a>&nbsp;for the elderly and people with disabilities who use the&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/taxation/individual/tax-types/property-tax-credit/" target="_blank">Circuit Breaker tax credit</a>&nbsp;and, in June, put in place&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/06/11/missouri-special-session-ends-with-passage-kc-stadium-funding-disaster-aid/">caps on the growth</a>&nbsp;of tax bills in 97 of the state’s 114 counties.The committee will meet again next Wednesday in Jefferson City as it takes the information from five public hearings held around the state and works on a bill to introduce for the 2026 legislative session, said state Rep. Tim Taylor, the Republican from Boonville who is chairman.The committee may meet several times in early September if there is a special session on congressional redistricting, he said.“It’s my goal to try to have this meeting over the public testimony in that week in Jefferson City, on whatever time frame, if it comes to fruition,” Taylor said. “And it would be my goal to even have one more after that, prior to December, so we might try to sit down and get a bill.”The questions the committee must answer include whether constitutional changes are needed, whether the percentages of appraised value subject to tax should be changed and whether the tax commission should be expanded beyond three members.“Part of the reason why I got this job is because I knew how complicated it was, and I complained that it was too complicated,” Taylor said. “So the speaker said, ‘well, if you want to complain, maybe you should try to help fix it.’”<h2>Tax Commission lawsuit</h2><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756478161944.png" alt=" DeKalb County Clerk Melissa Meek, right, sits with with DeKalb County Assessor Tanya Zimmerman Wednesday during the hearing of the Missouri House Special Interim Committee on Property Tax Reform in Macon. Meek is one of the officials from five counties who are suing the State Tax Commission. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)" />
 <figcaption> DeKalb County Clerk Melissa Meek, right, sits with with DeKalb County Assessor Tanya Zimmerman Wednesday during the hearing of the Missouri House Special Interim Committee on Property Tax Reform in Macon. Meek is one of the officials from five counties who are suing the State Tax Commission. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)</figcaption>
 </figure>The Missouri State Tax Commission provides oversight to the work of local assessors in 114 counties and the city of St. Louis. It sets the amounts used as the productive value of farmland, oversees the taxation of railroads and utility property, and is a place where owners can appeal property values when dissatisfied with the outcome reached by local boards of equalization.In the lawsuit filed Monday in Polk County, officials in Audrain, DeKalb, Pike, Polk and Reynolds counties accuse the commission of exceeding its authority by demanding large jumps in assessed value and imposing impossible timelines.Each county has received what the commission calls equalization orders, directing them to boost property values for real estate by up to 15%.&nbsp;The commission’s orders “are an effort to force clerks, assessors, and boards of equalization to raise residential property assessments in an arbitrary and capricious manner without providing proper notice to the taxpayers affected by the increases,” the lawsuit states. “Upon information and belief, (the) commission has been made aware of this timing issue regarding the required notice to taxpayers and has failed to address these concerns.”Members of the tax commission declined to comment on the lawsuit when asked at the interim committee hearing.Local assessors are required to assign new values to all property in odd-numbered years, a process called general reassessment. The tax commission wants the values to fall between 90 and 110% of the true market value for the particular type of property.When assessment increases are likely to cause tax bills to go up, notices must go out by June 1. Individual property owners are given a chance to appeal the new value to the local Board of Equalization, where they can argue over the price of comparable properties, or that factors such as age or storm damage make the valuation inaccurate.Once the total value of all property in a taxing district is set in July, the governing boards calculate the impact on rates and set a public hearing. The rates for the year are set by Sept. 1 after public hearings.DeKalb County, home to 42 taxing entities, was issued an equalization order dated July 22 demanding that it increase commercial assessments by 15%. That was too late to allow for appeals, County Clerk Melissa Meek said in an interview with The Independent.The result, she said, would have been for the affected businesses to pay their taxes under protest, freezing the funds until appeals were resolved.“I begged them to rescind their order and do it next year in a timely manner,” Meek said. “The patrons, the business owners, could meet with the Board of Equalization and they could bring their comps for comparable sales, and they could say why they shouldn’t have to pay and then let the (board) decide if the 15% increase was valid or not. But they didn’t give anybody that opportunity.”The tax commission hasn’t formally threatened DeKalb County’s funding for assessment costs, which Meek said is about $25,000 a year. But the lawsuit says the commission is threatening to withhold more than $250,000 from the other four participating in the case.<ul>
 <li>Audrain County stands to lose $51,275. When the tax commission ordered the county to raise assessments, it did so by 12%. The commission demanded 15%, the lawsuit states.</li><li>Pike County would lose $47,180 because the commission determined that residential assessments decreased 0.72% versus a demand that they rise 13 to 15%.</li><li>Polk County would lose $65,406 in fiscal 2026 funding and denied $24,762 remaining from its fiscal 2025 allocation if it does not boost residential assessments by at least 14.99%.</li><li>Reynolds County was directed to raise residential land values and residential improvements by 15% or lose $34,329 in fiscal 2025 and another $34,527 for fiscal 2026.</li>
 </ul>The orders would force assessors to violate the law because any property where the value increases by 15% or more must be evaluated from the exterior in an inspection. The commission’s order to add the increase to any locally determined value for all residential properties would force assessors to violate the law, the lawsuit statesAlong with forcing assessors to violate the law, blanket increases in assessments do not take into account individual conditions. Values may not change much, if at all, for properties in poor condition or in undesirable locations, the lawsuit states.“The equalization orders specifically are discriminatory to taxpayers owning low-value properties in that a 15% increase will cause those properties to be assessed higher as compared to their market value than other properties within the counties,” the filing states.Only the local assessor can know where it is appropriate to set higher values and which properties have not changed, Meek said.&nbsp;“We know our county,” Meek said. “We know what our people can do and what they can’t do.”&nbsp;

Missouri House committee urged to silo property into separate classes for taxes

The fifth annual Leadership Northwest Music Jam is this weekend in Trenton at the Black Silo Winery.   

Jenna Stevens, an alumna of Leadership Northwest, says this year’s music jam will bring back former acts from the past year’s concerts, including headliner Ryan Griffin 

"He was kind of a crowd favorite, and he's a friend of Shane who heads our Music Jam committee and so we just thought what better way to celebrate five years than to go ahead and bring him back as well as all of the opening acts that we've had from here locally," Stevens tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. 

Stevens says the concert was always well attended, but is even more anticipated now that it's held during Trenton's alumni week 

"Alumni weekend in Trenton is a very big deal, there's thousands of people that come back for class reunions," Stevens explains.  "And we thought that would be a great way one to increase attendance, which it was, first year that we did that we definitely had more ticket sales, and it was just a great atmosphere having people excited to see each other and have live music." 

Stevens says what makes this concert exciting is many of the performers have performed in past iterations of the concert 

"From what I hear they're planning to do something together, not just individually, I think that is going to be really something special to see and to watch," Stevens says.  "All of those local talents are also alumni from Trenton High School, and so that makes it a little bit more special with it being Alumi Weekend as well." 

Doors open to the concert on Saturday at 6pm.  Tickets will be $25 dollars and will be available at the door. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756395134825.jpeg" alt="Leadership Northwest Missouri is bringing the highly anticipated Leadership Northwest Music Jam back to the Black Silo Winery in Trenton this weekend/ Photo courtesy of Leadership Northwest Missouri Facebook" />
 <figcaption>Leadership Northwest Missouri is bringing the highly anticipated Leadership Northwest Music Jam back to the Black Silo Winery in Trenton this weekend/ Photo courtesy of Leadership Northwest Missouri Facebook</figcaption>
 </figure>By MATT PIKE The fifth annual Leadership Northwest Music Jam is this weekend in Trenton at the Black Silo Winery. Jenna Stevens, an alumna of Leadership Northwest, says this year’s music jam will bring back former acts from the past year’s concerts, including headliner Ryan Griffin "He was kind of a crowd favorite, and he's a friend of Shane who heads our Music Jam committee and so we just thought what better way to celebrate five years than to go ahead and bring him back as well as all of the opening acts that we've had from here locally," Stevens tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. Stevens says the concert was always well attended, but is even more anticipated now that it's held during Trenton's alumni week "Alumni weekend in Trenton is a very big deal, there's thousands of people that come back for class reunions," Stevens explains. "And we thought that would be a great way one to increase attendance, which it was, first year that we did that we definitely had more ticket sales, and it was just a great atmosphere having people excited to see each other and have live music." Stevens says what makes this concert exciting is many of the performers have performed in past iterations of the concert "From what I hear they're planning to do something together, not just individually, I think that is going to be really something special to see and to watch," Stevens says. "All of those local talents are also alumni from Trenton High School, and so that makes it a little bit more special with it being Alumi Weekend as well." Doors open to the concert on Saturday at 6pm. Tickets will be $25 dollars and will be available at the door. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756395252609.jpeg" alt="Photo courtesy of Leadership Northwest Missouri Facebook" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy of Leadership Northwest Missouri Facebook</figcaption>
 </figure>You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Leadership Northwest Missouri hosts fifth annual Music Jam this weekend in Trenton

BROWN COUNTY—One person was in an accident just after 7a.m. Thursday in Brown County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 International semi driven by David&nbsp;Gress, 68, Seneca, was eastbound on U.S. just west of Falcon Road.

The vehicle lost its left front tire. It entered the north ditch and rolled. The tire then struck a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica driven by John&nbsp;Zimmers, 45, Hiawatha.

EMS transported Gress to KU Medical.&nbsp; Zimmers was not injured. Both drivers were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

BROWN COUNTY—One person was in an accident just after 7a.m. Thursday in Brown County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 International semi driven by David&nbsp;Gress, 68, Seneca, was eastbound on U.S. just west of Falcon Road.The vehicle lost its left front tire. It entered the north ditch and rolled. The tire then struck a 2021 Chrysler Pacifica driven by John&nbsp;Zimmers, 45, Hiawatha.EMS transported Gress to KU Medical.&nbsp; Zimmers was not injured. Both drivers were properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Kansas man hospitalized after semi lost a tire and rolled

Teen accessories retailer Claire’s, known for ear piercing, now struggling with a big debt load and changing consumer tastes, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month.&nbsp; The retailer is closing nearly 300 stores including six locations in Missouri and seven in Kansas.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756388896738.png" alt="Image courtesy Claire's" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy Claire's</figcaption>
 </figure>Teen accessories retailer Claire’s, known for ear piercing, now struggling with a big debt load and changing consumer tastes, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month.&nbsp; The retailer is closing nearly 300 stores including six locations in Missouri and seven in Kansas.<ul>
 <li>Claire’s: Capital Mall, Jefferson</li><li>Claire’s: Ward Parkway Center, Kansas City</li><li>Claire’s: Shoppes At North Village, St Joseph</li><li>Icing: West County Mall, Des Peres</li><li>Icing: Independence Center, Independence</li><li>Icing: Northpark Mall, Joplin</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Claire’s: Town Center Plaza, Leawood</li><li>Claire’s: Flinthills Mall, Emporia</li><li>Claire’s: Manhattan Town Center, Manhattan</li><li>Claire’s: Village Square Mall, Dodge City</li><li>Claire’s: Meadowbrook Mall, Pittsburg</li><li>Claire’s: New Market Square, Wichita</li><li>Claire’s: Garden City Shopping Center, Garden City</li>
 </ul>

Claire's set to close over 290 stores including 6 in Missouri

ATCHISON COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just before 5:30p.m. Wednesday in Atchison County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Chrysler Town &amp; Country driven by a 57-year-old Maryville woman was eastbound on MO 46 at Route EE nine miles east of Fairfax. The driver swerved to avoid a deer. The van traveled off the road and the front bumper struck an embankment.

Atchison-Holt ambulance transported the driver to Fairfax community hospital. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

ATCHISON COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just before 5:30p.m. Wednesday in Atchison County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Chrysler Town &amp; Country driven by a 57-year-old Maryville woman was eastbound on MO 46 at Route EE nine miles east of Fairfax. The driver swerved to avoid a deer. The van traveled off the road and the front bumper struck an embankment.Atchison-Holt ambulance transported the driver to Fairfax community hospital. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Missouri woman injured after van strikes embankment

A community needs a vaccination rate of at least 95% to be adequately protected from measles outbreaks. In Missouri, the rate of vaccinated kindergarteners stands at 90%

The percentage of kindergarten students in Missouri vaccinated against diseases like measles and whooping cough is dropping each year as more parents turn in non-medical exemptions prior to their child’s first day of school.

Only 90%&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">of Missouri kindergarten students</a>&nbsp;were immunized against measles, mumps and rubella last year, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services</a>. That’s down from 94.6% five years prior. Some counties&nbsp;have rates nearing 75%.

According to the CDC and World Health Organization, a community needs a vaccination rate of at least 95% to be adequately protected from measles outbreaks.

“We are sweating,” Dr. Laura Morris, a University of Missouri Health Care family medicine physician and liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, told The Independent. “There are a couple of diseases that are very infectious that require really high rates of vaccination to provide herd immunity.”

Missouri exceeds the national average of non-medical exemptions. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5% of Missouri kindergarteners had non-medical exemptions on file last school year, compared to a nationwide rate of 3.4%.

This percentage, which has been on a steady incline since the 2020-21 school year, is troubling public health experts who say vaccination rates are dipping below safe levels.

“The number of children in a particular school that might be vulnerable or unvaccinated, it’s going to vary by community,” Morris said. “There are definitely some places and communities where there are a lot more unvaccinated kiddos, and then there are some communities where the rate might be 97% or even higher.”

Morris added: “It is going to be a bit of a firestorm if those infections get into some of those places.”&nbsp;

As vaccination rates drop, measles is popping up&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/measles-reaches-highest-level-in-33-years-now-in-39-states/">at levels not seen since 1992</a>. Seven cases of the disease have been confirmed in Missouri this year — five of which occurred in Cedar County, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state with&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">74.4% of kindergarteners vaccinated against measles</a>.

It is not just the MMR vaccine worrying health providers. The percentage of kindergarten-aged children with updated DTP vaccines (which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) has declined over the past 10 years from 96% to 90% in Missouri.

This is much steeper than the national drop, which went from 94.3% in the 2014-15 school year to 92.1% last year.

Rachel Hassani, director of education and engagement for the Missouri Rural Health Association, told The Independent that family hesitancy as well as access issues are contributing to the declining vaccination rates.

“Across the board, access to care is more limited in rural Missouri. Access to specialists, pediatricians, things like that is far more challenging,” she said. “And these workforce issues are really growing.”

Marvia Jones, director of the Kansas City Health Department, told The Independent that the city has been working to make vaccines more easily available. The health department has extended office hours to be convenient for working parents and scheduled more informational events in the community.

The result is a strong level of vaccination in the majority of the city, but Jones is noticing lower rates in suburban areas like the Northland.

“It is more of a hesitance issue,” she said. “A lot of misinformation and some of the political issues have been added to the discussions around public health vaccination in the past three to five years.”

The trend of lower vaccination rates and more religious exemptions in Missouri begins around the 2020-21 school year, which is when the COVID-19 vaccine was released. That year, only 2.4% of Missouri kindergarteners had a religious exemption from vaccination — less than half the rate of the 2024-25 school year.

“It has been just a big backslide in terms of the misinformation and inaccurate information,” Morris said. “It has become so prevalent to see so many things that are completely inaccurate.”

She has seen misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines spill into patient concerns about regularly scheduled vaccinations.

Health officials hope ease of access and proper education will help reverse the trend. But Missouri and the United States as a whole is also facing newfound systemic issues.

<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/03/27/repub/u-s-department-of-health-and-human-services-to-slash-10000-jobs-close-5-regional-offices/">Cuts in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services</a>&nbsp;has trickled down to Missouri programs. This spring, the Missouri Immunization Coalition shuttered after losing federal funding, and the Missouri Rural Health Association lost a $1 million grant intended to study immunizations in rural health clinics,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stlpr.org/health-science-environment/2025-04-16/federal-government-cuts-missouri-vaccine-funds-as-immunizations-dip" target="_blank">as reported by St. Louis Public Radio</a>.

And in June, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-cdc-acip-vaccines-3790c89f45b6314c5c7b686db0e3a8f9" target="_blank">replaced all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices</a>, a group that guides the CDC on vaccine policy.&nbsp;

Morris, a non-voting liaison to the committee, is still serving in an advisory role.

“The process of where those (vaccine) recommendations come from has been subverted over the last couple of months, and that (group) is no longer a source that has the same merit and the same kind of evidence-based background that it previously did,” she said.

Kansas City&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2417/1746" target="_blank">joined a lawsuit challenging the federal cuts</a>&nbsp;to public health programs. The state has taken no such action.

Since 2021, Missouri lawmakers have&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2021/09/15/missouri-lawmakers-look-to-undermine-biden-covid-vaccine-mandate/">spoken against COVID-19 vaccine mandates</a>, filing bills annually that seek to make such mandates illegal.

“It’s hard to know which direction things go. Does our state have less of an appreciation and trust of public health, so it funds it at lower levels? Or because of the low levels of funding, do people see us and respect us as an authority on these matters less?” Jones said. “It is an interesting kind of conundrum.”

Missouri ranks last in per-capita funding of public health, at $7 per person,&nbsp;<a href="https://statehealthcompare.shadac.org/rank/117/per-person-state-public-health-funding#2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52/a/76/154/false/lowest" target="_blank">according to the State Health Access Data Assistance Center</a>.

“We need lawmakers and certainly our medical community to be evidence-driven,” Jones said. “And to not stray away from tried and true public health interventions due to any political leanings.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671049425198.jpg" alt="Image Pixaby" />
 <figcaption>Image Pixaby</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>A community needs a vaccination rate of at least 95% to be adequately protected from measles outbreaks. In Missouri, the rate of vaccinated kindergarteners stands at 90%</h2>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ahanshaw/">Annelise Hanshaw</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>The percentage of kindergarten students in Missouri vaccinated against diseases like measles and whooping cough is dropping each year as more parents turn in non-medical exemptions prior to their child’s first day of school.Only 90%&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">of Missouri kindergarten students</a>&nbsp;were immunized against measles, mumps and rubella last year, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services</a>. That’s down from 94.6% five years prior. Some counties&nbsp;have rates nearing 75%.According to the CDC and World Health Organization, a community needs a vaccination rate of at least 95% to be adequately protected from measles outbreaks.“We are sweating,” Dr. Laura Morris, a University of Missouri Health Care family medicine physician and liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, told The Independent. “There are a couple of diseases that are very infectious that require really high rates of vaccination to provide herd immunity.”Missouri exceeds the national average of non-medical exemptions. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5% of Missouri kindergarteners had non-medical exemptions on file last school year, compared to a nationwide rate of 3.4%.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756290483222.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>This percentage, which has been on a steady incline since the 2020-21 school year, is troubling public health experts who say vaccination rates are dipping below safe levels.“The number of children in a particular school that might be vulnerable or unvaccinated, it’s going to vary by community,” Morris said. “There are definitely some places and communities where there are a lot more unvaccinated kiddos, and then there are some communities where the rate might be 97% or even higher.”Morris added: “It is going to be a bit of a firestorm if those infections get into some of those places.”&nbsp;As vaccination rates drop, measles is popping up&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/measles-reaches-highest-level-in-33-years-now-in-39-states/">at levels not seen since 1992</a>. Seven cases of the disease have been confirmed in Missouri this year — five of which occurred in Cedar County, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state with&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">74.4% of kindergarteners vaccinated against measles</a>.It is not just the MMR vaccine worrying health providers. The percentage of kindergarten-aged children with updated DTP vaccines (which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) has declined over the past 10 years from 96% to 90% in Missouri.This is much steeper than the national drop, which went from 94.3% in the 2014-15 school year to 92.1% last year.Rachel Hassani, director of education and engagement for the Missouri Rural Health Association, told The Independent that family hesitancy as well as access issues are contributing to the declining vaccination rates.“Across the board, access to care is more limited in rural Missouri. Access to specialists, pediatricians, things like that is far more challenging,” she said. “And these workforce issues are really growing.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756290569089.png" alt="Map: Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri IndependenSource: Missouri Department of Health and Senior ServicesGet the dataCreated with Datawrapper " />
 <figcaption>Map: Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri IndependenSource: Missouri Department of Health and Senior ServicesGet the dataCreated with Datawrapper </figcaption>
 </figure>Marvia Jones, director of the Kansas City Health Department, told The Independent that the city has been working to make vaccines more easily available. The health department has extended office hours to be convenient for working parents and scheduled more informational events in the community.The result is a strong level of vaccination in the majority of the city, but Jones is noticing lower rates in suburban areas like the Northland.“It is more of a hesitance issue,” she said. “A lot of misinformation and some of the political issues have been added to the discussions around public health vaccination in the past three to five years.”The trend of lower vaccination rates and more religious exemptions in Missouri begins around the 2020-21 school year, which is when the COVID-19 vaccine was released. That year, only 2.4% of Missouri kindergarteners had a religious exemption from vaccination — less than half the rate of the 2024-25 school year.“It has been just a big backslide in terms of the misinformation and inaccurate information,” Morris said. “It has become so prevalent to see so many things that are completely inaccurate.”She has seen misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines spill into patient concerns about regularly scheduled vaccinations.Health officials hope ease of access and proper education will help reverse the trend. But Missouri and the United States as a whole is also facing newfound systemic issues.<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/03/27/repub/u-s-department-of-health-and-human-services-to-slash-10000-jobs-close-5-regional-offices/">Cuts in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services</a>&nbsp;has trickled down to Missouri programs. This spring, the Missouri Immunization Coalition shuttered after losing federal funding, and the Missouri Rural Health Association lost a $1 million grant intended to study immunizations in rural health clinics,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stlpr.org/health-science-environment/2025-04-16/federal-government-cuts-missouri-vaccine-funds-as-immunizations-dip" target="_blank">as reported by St. Louis Public Radio</a>.And in June, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-cdc-acip-vaccines-3790c89f45b6314c5c7b686db0e3a8f9" target="_blank">replaced all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices</a>, a group that guides the CDC on vaccine policy.&nbsp;Morris, a non-voting liaison to the committee, is still serving in an advisory role.“The process of where those (vaccine) recommendations come from has been subverted over the last couple of months, and that (group) is no longer a source that has the same merit and the same kind of evidence-based background that it previously did,” she said.Kansas City&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2417/1746" target="_blank">joined a lawsuit challenging the federal cuts</a>&nbsp;to public health programs. The state has taken no such action.Since 2021, Missouri lawmakers have&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2021/09/15/missouri-lawmakers-look-to-undermine-biden-covid-vaccine-mandate/">spoken against COVID-19 vaccine mandates</a>, filing bills annually that seek to make such mandates illegal.“It’s hard to know which direction things go. Does our state have less of an appreciation and trust of public health, so it funds it at lower levels? Or because of the low levels of funding, do people see us and respect us as an authority on these matters less?” Jones said. “It is an interesting kind of conundrum.”Missouri ranks last in per-capita funding of public health, at $7 per person,&nbsp;<a href="https://statehealthcompare.shadac.org/rank/117/per-person-state-public-health-funding#2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52/a/76/154/false/lowest" target="_blank">according to the State Health Access Data Assistance Center</a>.“We need lawmakers and certainly our medical community to be evidence-driven,” Jones said. “And to not stray away from tried and true public health interventions due to any political leanings.”

‘We are sweating’: Missouri kindergarten vaccination rates fall below immunity threshold

ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating the theft of an expensive bicycle have made an arrest.

On August 8,&nbsp; a 76 year old man from Williamsburg, Virginia stopped in Atchison, Kansas, as h traveled across America on his&nbsp;Surly Disc Trucker bicycle on his way to Oregon, according to Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson.

The bicycle was stolen at 11:00AM in the 700 block Commercial as the victim was in a local laundromat. Police recovered the bicycle a short time later just across the bridge in Missouri. 

Just after 8:30a.m. Tuesday, police arrested 50-year-old Jody B. Erickson of Atchison in the 700 block M Street on a District Court warrant charging him with felony theft. Erickson was taken to the County Jail and is being held on a $10,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756222412660.png" alt="Erickson Atchison County" />
 <figcaption>Erickson Atchison County</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating the theft of an expensive bicycle have made an arrest.On August 8,&nbsp; a 76 year old man from Williamsburg, Virginia stopped in Atchison, Kansas, as h traveled across America on his&nbsp;Surly Disc Trucker bicycle on his way to Oregon, according to Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson.The bicycle was stolen at 11:00AM in the 700 block Commercial as the victim was in a local laundromat. Police recovered the bicycle a short time later just across the bridge in Missouri. Just after 8:30a.m. Tuesday, police arrested 50-year-old Jody B. Erickson of Atchison in the 700 block M Street on a District Court warrant charging him with felony theft. Erickson was taken to the County Jail and is being held on a $10,000 bond.

Kan. man accused of bicycle theft from man riding cross-country

The judge also denied a motion to dismiss the case, meaning Missouri tax dollars will continue to fund the voucher program as the lawsuit progresses

The Missouri State Treasurer’s Office can continue to subsidize private-school scholarships from a $51 million allotment of state revenue while a lawsuit challenging the fund’s constitutionality makes its way through the system, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe ruled Monday morning.

Stumpe rejected&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/01/missouri-educators-sue-state-over-51-million-appropriation-to-private-school-vouchers/">arguments by the Missouri branch of the National Education Association</a>&nbsp;that the flow of funds should be stopped in order to prevent unauthorized spending of state funds that can’t be “clawed back.”

But he didn’t outright deny the teachers union’s case, also turning down the state’s motion to dismiss Monday.

Still, Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is in his final days in office before stepping into a federal position as co-deputy director of the FBI, labeled the ruling a “victory.”

“Parents, not unions, not bureaucrats, know what’s best for their kids,” he said in a press release. “This case is about freedom and opportunity, and today’s ruling is a huge step toward securing both.”

At the center of the case is the MOScholars program, which until the infusion of general revenue landed last month funded private-school scholarships through a tax credit program.

The lawsuit challenges the shift from a program dependent on donations&nbsp; — which taxpayers are able to receive back as a tax credit equal to 100% of their contribution — to a state-sponsored voucher program.

Both sides&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/08/21/missouri-teachers-union-asks-judge-to-freeze-private-school-voucher-payments/">met in circuit court last Thursday</a>&nbsp;for the first in-person hearing of what will likely be a months-long legal battle. MNEA’s attorney Loretta Haggard argued that the appropriation lacks authority from state statute.

“You can’t just turn on a hose of $51 million in general revenue and force it through the tax credit framework,” she said. “There are gaps in that framework.”

But the attorney general’s office and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/08/04/parents-intervene-in-missouri-voucher-lawsuit-with-help-from-herzog-foundation-leader/">intervenors from Indiana-based advocacy group EdChoice</a>&nbsp;argued the legislature’s authority in the budget process was sufficient.

“Just because (the budget bill) funds a program set up by other statutes does not make a new appropriation unlawful—new funding is a common, necessary, and entirely unsurprising

feature of general-revenue bills,” Bailey’s office wrote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/SIS%20Defendants%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss,%20SIO%20Plaintiffs%20Motion%20for%20TRO.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3645329" target="_blank">in a filing submitted Aug. 15</a>.

The digital case record does not include Stumpe’s reasoning for the two denials Monday.

MNEA President Rebeka McIntosh shared her concerns about the unhampered flow of tax dollars to private schools in a statement.

“Politicians think they’ve won, but Missouri NEA’s 45,000 educators know better. We’ll prove in court what rural Missouri already knows: when you kill the school, you kill the town,” she said. “These vouchers violate our constitution and hurt our kids.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719493597787.png" alt="&nbsp;Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe issues an influential ruling in a lawsuit challenging a $51 million appropriation to the MOScholars program Monday (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe issues an influential ruling in a lawsuit challenging a $51 million appropriation to the MOScholars program Monday (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The judge also denied a motion to dismiss the case, meaning Missouri tax dollars will continue to fund the voucher program as the lawsuit progresses</h2>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ahanshaw/">Annelise Hanshaw</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>The Missouri State Treasurer’s Office can continue to subsidize private-school scholarships from a $51 million allotment of state revenue while a lawsuit challenging the fund’s constitutionality makes its way through the system, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe ruled Monday morning.Stumpe rejected&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/01/missouri-educators-sue-state-over-51-million-appropriation-to-private-school-vouchers/">arguments by the Missouri branch of the National Education Association</a>&nbsp;that the flow of funds should be stopped in order to prevent unauthorized spending of state funds that can’t be “clawed back.”But he didn’t outright deny the teachers union’s case, also turning down the state’s motion to dismiss Monday.Still, Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is in his final days in office before stepping into a federal position as co-deputy director of the FBI, labeled the ruling a “victory.”“Parents, not unions, not bureaucrats, know what’s best for their kids,” he said in a press release. “This case is about freedom and opportunity, and today’s ruling is a huge step toward securing both.”At the center of the case is the MOScholars program, which until the infusion of general revenue landed last month funded private-school scholarships through a tax credit program.The lawsuit challenges the shift from a program dependent on donations&nbsp; — which taxpayers are able to receive back as a tax credit equal to 100% of their contribution — to a state-sponsored voucher program.Both sides&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/08/21/missouri-teachers-union-asks-judge-to-freeze-private-school-voucher-payments/">met in circuit court last Thursday</a>&nbsp;for the first in-person hearing of what will likely be a months-long legal battle. MNEA’s attorney Loretta Haggard argued that the appropriation lacks authority from state statute.“You can’t just turn on a hose of $51 million in general revenue and force it through the tax credit framework,” she said. “There are gaps in that framework.”But the attorney general’s office and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/08/04/parents-intervene-in-missouri-voucher-lawsuit-with-help-from-herzog-foundation-leader/">intervenors from Indiana-based advocacy group EdChoice</a>&nbsp;argued the legislature’s authority in the budget process was sufficient.“Just because (the budget bill) funds a program set up by other statutes does not make a new appropriation unlawful—new funding is a common, necessary, and entirely unsurprisingfeature of general-revenue bills,” Bailey’s office wrote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/SIS%20Defendants%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss,%20SIO%20Plaintiffs%20Motion%20for%20TRO.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3645329" target="_blank">in a filing submitted Aug. 15</a>.The digital case record does not include Stumpe’s reasoning for the two denials Monday.MNEA President Rebeka McIntosh shared her concerns about the unhampered flow of tax dollars to private schools in a statement.“Politicians think they’ve won, but Missouri NEA’s 45,000 educators know better. We’ll prove in court what rural Missouri already knows: when you kill the school, you kill the town,” she said. “These vouchers violate our constitution and hurt our kids.”The case does not yet have a trial date.

Judge denies request to freeze Missouri private-school voucher payments

ANDREW COUNTY—Two people were injured in an accident just before 11:30p.m. Monday in Andrew County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Yamaha Royal Star driven by a 50-year-old Savannah man was westbound on MO 48 at County Road 227 six miles west of King City.

The driver failed to negotiate a curve in the road. The motorcycle traveled off the south side of the road, down an embankment and overturned. The driver and passenger were ejected. Grand River EMS transported the driver and the 46-year-old female passenger to Mosaic Life Care. They were not wearing helmets, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

ANDREW COUNTY—Two people were injured in an accident just before 11:30p.m. Monday in Andrew County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Yamaha Royal Star driven by a 50-year-old Savannah man was westbound on MO 48 at County Road 227 six miles west of King City.The driver failed to negotiate a curve in the road. The motorcycle traveled off the south side of the road, down an embankment and overturned. The driver and passenger were ejected. Grand River EMS transported the driver and the 46-year-old female passenger to Mosaic Life Care. They were not wearing helmets, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Mo. couple hospitalized after motorcycle accident

An effort to
resurrect a prominent building on the downtown Albany Courthouse Square is off
to a strong start, though there is much work ahead.

Albany Economic
Development Director, Mackenzie Manring, says efforts to restore the Rigney
Theater began in earnest in 2020.

“I mean this is a
111-year-old theater that is a main focal point of our downtown other than our
courthouse,” Manring says. “If you’ve been to Albany, you know the courthouse,
you know the theater, you know the library. Those are the historic buildings
around our downtown. And the theater had sat vacant since 2013.”

Restoration of the
Rigney began in earnest in 2020 as individual donors provided enough money to
repair the roof. Cleanup of the interior began the following year. Two
foundations issued $50,000 matching grant challenges each. Albany residents
were up for it. They matched both, totaling $200,000 toward restoration of the
Rigney. That money is being used to secure the outside structure of the
building going toward tuck pointing to stabilize the brick, securing windows
and doors to keep water and wildlife out.

One theme has
threaded through this process that the Rigney is just too prominent and too
historic for Albany to lose.

“It was built in
1914 by a local judge. He thought Albany should have an opera house. And so, he
made that happen,” Manring says. “He built it for $20,000. So, that’s the
equivalent now of around $600,000. And if you think about building a structure
like that you likely couldn’t do it for that amount. At the time, that was a
lot of money.”

As it sat vacant
and began to deteriorate, Albany residents decided to act.

“And we just
thought you know we’ve got to do something,” Manring says. “We’ve lost several
of our older brick buildings around our square and this one was just too
prominent to lose.”

Manring says
supporters understand that even with all that has been raised and all that is
being done, full restoration of the Rigney will take even more.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756140615403.png" alt="Rigney Theater/Photo courtesy of Albany Community Development Corp." />
 <figcaption>Rigney Theater/Photo courtesy of Albany Community Development Corp.</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostAn effort to
resurrect a prominent building on the downtown Albany Courthouse Square is off
to a strong start, though there is much work ahead.Albany Economic
Development Director, Mackenzie Manring, says efforts to restore the Rigney
Theater began in earnest in 2020.“I mean this is a
111-year-old theater that is a main focal point of our downtown other than our
courthouse,” Manring says. “If you’ve been to Albany, you know the courthouse,
you know the theater, you know the library. Those are the historic buildings
around our downtown. And the theater had sat vacant since 2013.”Restoration of the
Rigney began in earnest in 2020 as individual donors provided enough money to
repair the roof. Cleanup of the interior began the following year. Two
foundations issued $50,000 matching grant challenges each. Albany residents
were up for it. They matched both, totaling $200,000 toward restoration of the
Rigney. That money is being used to secure the outside structure of the
building going toward tuck pointing to stabilize the brick, securing windows
and doors to keep water and wildlife out.One theme has
threaded through this process that the Rigney is just too prominent and too
historic for Albany to lose.“It was built in
1914 by a local judge. He thought Albany should have an opera house. And so, he
made that happen,” Manring says. “He built it for $20,000. So, that’s the
equivalent now of around $600,000. And if you think about building a structure
like that you likely couldn’t do it for that amount. At the time, that was a
lot of money.”As it sat vacant
and began to deteriorate, Albany residents decided to act.“And we just
thought you know we’ve got to do something,” Manring says. “We’ve lost several
of our older brick buildings around our square and this one was just too
prominent to lose.”Manring says
supporters understand that even with all that has been raised and all that is
being done, full restoration of the Rigney will take even more.“There’s a lot to
do, but we don’t have to do it all at once,” Manring says. “And there are
probably things we can do piece by piece to get to a point where it’s usable
and then work on all those finishing touches as we go,”Albany has been
working with the Community Foundation of Northwest Missouri in St. Joseph on
the restoration project.Albany hopes to
restore the Rigney as a home for the Albany school district fine arts program,
to host entertainment for the community and region, and to provide a central
meeting place.Click <a href="https://www.therigney.org/">HERE</a> to read
more about the project.You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ