By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a>

WASHINGTON — The next hurdle for Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate and the “big, beautiful bill”: Democrats — and possibly a few of their own members — in a marathon voting session will make last-ditch attempts to change the tax and spending cut measure.

The vote-a-rama, as it’s known, is expected to begin sometime during the last full week of June as Congress heads toward the Fourth of July recess. It will likely begin in the afternoon and&nbsp; last overnight into the next morning. Senators will debate and vote on dozens of amendments attempting to revise the massive legislation that could have an effect on nearly every American.

Democrats, who have 47 votes in the Senate compared to 53 for Republicans, plan to zero in on Medicaid, taxes, corruption, policies that could raise energy costs and proposals that would increase the deficit, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and the committee chairs tasked with drafting pieces of the package have spent weeks combing through the House-passed bill to figure out what needs to be altered to avoid divisive floor votes.&nbsp;

They’ve rewritten numerous policy proposals to comply with the strict rules that go along with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/five-questions-and-answers-about-reconciliation-us-senate" target="_blank">the complex reconciliation process</a>&nbsp;and are now trying to work out disagreements among GOP senators that could doom or complicate a final deal.

The goal is to avoid a protracted debate over core GOP provisions in full public view once the vote-a-rama begins, though some senators are already predicting votes on GOP amendments.

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gop-senators-warn-mega-bills-new-medicaid-cuts-will-hurt-rural-hospitals" target="_blank">who has raised concerns about the bill’s impact on rural hospitals</a>, said he hopes GOP leaders reach a consensus before vote-a-rama but didn’t rule out offering his own amendments if they don’t settle their disputes.

“Amending it on the floor, that’s a potentially messy process,” Hawley said. “I would hope that we could get to a good place before that. But we have to fix the rural hospital issue.”

Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville said he will likely propose amendments during floor debate, though he declined to say what specific policies he’d seek to change or eliminate from the package.

“Yeah, we’ll have some,” Tuberville said. “And we’ve got them all, we just haven’t turned them in yet.”

Thune said he and other negotiators are making “headway” toward consensus on the more significant provisions in the package, which in many respects is far from its final form.

“The meetings right now are on the major provisions in tax and health. We have sort of pre-litigated a lot of that,” Thune said. “But there are a lot of the other provisions in the bill, chapters in the bill that are still subject to going through the Byrd bath, and we’re in the process of doing that. But hopefully that’ll be done by early next week.”

Republicans are using the reconciliation process to pass their sweeping tax and spending cuts package through the Senate with just a simple majority vote, requiring them to comply with the Byrd rules.

That includes the Byrd bath — going before the Senate parliamentarian to explain how each provision has an impact on federal revenue or spending that is not “merely incidental.” Democrats then usually debate before the parliamentarian the various changes that don’t meet that threshold. The process is named after the late Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat.

Once the parliamentarian rules what elements comply and which need to be removed, the bill can go to the floor and senators can trudge through vote-a-rama. Eventually, all 100 lawmakers will vote to approve or disapprove of the legislation.

GOP senators passing their version of the package would send it back to the House, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-massive-tax-and-spending-bill-slashing-medicaid" target="_blank">passed its version</a>&nbsp;on a slim 215-214 vote earlier this year — and could make yet more changes in the Senate bill.

Democrats are hoping to highlight policy divisions among Republicans during the vote-a-rama. And even if they don’t succeed in getting any of their amendments adopted, several votes could serve as fodder for campaign ads during next year’s midterm elections.

Schumer said Wednesday during a press conference it would be “difficult” for Democrats to peel off at least four GOP senators from the rest of the party in order to get an amendment adopted, but said he’s hopeful Republicans will “vote with us on some things they’ve all said they’ve agreed with.”

Democratic senators, he said, have created a task force to reach out to Republicans on major issues in the package, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/medicaid-cuts-rippling-through-rural-america-could-bring-hospital-closures-job-losses" target="_blank">how it would impact rural hospitals</a>.

“Many of these hospital administrators and employees are Republican,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said. “In many of the rural hospitals, they are the largest employer in the county, and in most they’re the only supplier of health care. It infuriates the rural counties, and they tend to be Republican.”

‘It’s just a show, it’s a charade’

West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said she’s not concerned about having to vote on dozens of amendments.&nbsp;

“We’re here to vote,” Capito said. “As a creature of the House, we voted all the time on everything, so this doesn’t bother me. And, you know, just let the body work its will. If some changes are made, those will have to be dealt with. But I’m not worried about that.”

Arkansas Republican Sen. John Boozman said he expects the vote-a-rama will be “a very late night” and that he’s not planning to offer any of his own amendments.

As chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, Boozman expects to spend a considerable amount of time during vote-a-rama arguing against amendments seeking to change those provisions — including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-gop-tries-ease-pain-states-sharing-costs-snap-benefits" target="_blank">controversial cuts</a>&nbsp;in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food aid for lower-income families.

Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said he plans to spend much of the vote-a-rama “going back and forth from my hideaway,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/clip/qa/senate-hideaways/5109792" target="_blank">the ceremonial office</a>&nbsp;that every senator holds in the Capitol building.

But Johnson cast doubt on actually being able to amend the package during that process, saying changes to the various bills that Senate committees have released need to be agreed to before then.

“You’ve got to get this before it ever goes to the floor. I mean, you’re not going to change things substantially or significantly with amendments. I know people have some idealized version that happens. It doesn’t,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to get these things in the base bill. Amendments; it’s just a show, it’s a charade.”

The Senate has held two vote-a-ramas so far this year, and both demonstrated how difficult it is to change a piece of legislation.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/why-did-us-senate-pull-all-nighter-budget-look-inside-vote-rama" target="_blank">first all-nighter</a>&nbsp;in February went along with Senate debate on its budget resolution and included votes on 25 amendments, with lawmakers adopting just two — one from Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and one from Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-gop-wins-approval-sprawling-budget-blueprint-shipping-it-house" target="_blank">second vote-a-rama</a>&nbsp;took place in April just before the Senate voted to approve the budget resolution that ultimately cleared the way for Congress to use the budget reconciliation process to advance the “big, beautiful bill.” Senators debated 28 amendments, voting to adopt one change from Sullivan.

Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, ranking member on the Finance Committee, said he and staff on the panel will continue to parse through details of the panel’s bill, which Republicans just released Monday.

Wyden said he plans to hold several town hall meetings in GOP areas of his state over the weekend to gauge how residents there view the policy revisions Republican senators have put forward.

“We’ve had this bill for basically 36 hours. The first time I had it, I stayed up all night, so last night I got a little sleep,” Wyden said on Wednesday. “But on the plane, I’ll be working through it. And I expect to be working through it all through the next few days, except when I’m having these town hall meetings where I’ll have a number of questions.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747785438346.png" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">Jennifer Shutt</a></p><p>WASHINGTON — The next hurdle for Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate and the “big, beautiful bill”: Democrats — and possibly a few of their own members — in a marathon voting session will make last-ditch attempts to change the tax and spending cut measure.</p><p>The vote-a-rama, as it’s known, is expected to begin sometime during the last full week of June as Congress heads toward the Fourth of July recess. It will likely begin in the afternoon and&nbsp; last overnight into the next morning. Senators will debate and vote on dozens of amendments attempting to revise the massive legislation that could have an effect on nearly every American.</p><p>Democrats, who have 47 votes in the Senate compared to 53 for Republicans, plan to zero in on Medicaid, taxes, corruption, policies that could raise energy costs and proposals that would increase the deficit, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.</p><p>Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and the committee chairs tasked with drafting pieces of the package have spent weeks combing through the House-passed bill to figure out what needs to be altered to avoid divisive floor votes.&nbsp;</p><p>They’ve rewritten numerous policy proposals to comply with the strict rules that go along with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/five-questions-and-answers-about-reconciliation-us-senate" target="_blank">the complex reconciliation process</a>&nbsp;and are now trying to work out disagreements among GOP senators that could doom or complicate a final deal.</p><p>The goal is to avoid a protracted debate over core GOP provisions in full public view once the vote-a-rama begins, though some senators are already predicting votes on GOP amendments.</p><h2>‘A potentially messy process’</h2><p>Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gop-senators-warn-mega-bills-new-medicaid-cuts-will-hurt-rural-hospitals" target="_blank">who has raised concerns about the bill’s impact on rural hospitals</a>, said he hopes GOP leaders reach a consensus before vote-a-rama but didn’t rule out offering his own amendments if they don’t settle their disputes.</p><p>“Amending it on the floor, that’s a potentially messy process,” Hawley said. “I would hope that we could get to a good place before that. But we have to fix the rural hospital issue.”</p><p>Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville said he will likely propose amendments during floor debate, though he declined to say what specific policies he’d seek to change or eliminate from the package.</p><p>“Yeah, we’ll have some,” Tuberville said. “And we’ve got them all, we just haven’t turned them in yet.”</p><p>Thune said he and other negotiators are making “headway” toward consensus on the more significant provisions in the package, which in many respects is far from its final form.</p><p>“The meetings right now are on the major provisions in tax and health. We have sort of pre-litigated a lot of that,” Thune said. “But there are a lot of the other provisions in the bill, chapters in the bill that are still subject to going through the Byrd bath, and we’re in the process of doing that. But hopefully that’ll be done by early next week.”</p><p>Republicans are using the reconciliation process to pass their sweeping tax and spending cuts package through the Senate with just a simple majority vote, requiring them to comply with the Byrd rules.</p><p>That includes the Byrd bath — going before the Senate parliamentarian to explain how each provision has an impact on federal revenue or spending that is not “merely incidental.” Democrats then usually debate before the parliamentarian the various changes that don’t meet that threshold. The process is named after the late Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat.</p><p>Once the parliamentarian rules what elements comply and which need to be removed, the bill can go to the floor and senators can trudge through vote-a-rama. Eventually, all 100 lawmakers will vote to approve or disapprove of the legislation.</p><p>GOP senators passing their version of the package would send it back to the House, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-republicans-push-through-massive-tax-and-spending-bill-slashing-medicaid" target="_blank">passed its version</a>&nbsp;on a slim 215-214 vote earlier this year — and could make yet more changes in the Senate bill.</p><h2>Democrats develop strategy</h2><p>Democrats are hoping to highlight policy divisions among Republicans during the vote-a-rama. And even if they don’t succeed in getting any of their amendments adopted, several votes could serve as fodder for campaign ads during next year’s midterm elections.</p><p>Schumer said Wednesday during a press conference it would be “difficult” for Democrats to peel off at least four GOP senators from the rest of the party in order to get an amendment adopted, but said he’s hopeful Republicans will “vote with us on some things they’ve all said they’ve agreed with.”</p><p>Democratic senators, he said, have created a task force to reach out to Republicans on major issues in the package, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/medicaid-cuts-rippling-through-rural-america-could-bring-hospital-closures-job-losses" target="_blank">how it would impact rural hospitals</a>.</p><p>“Many of these hospital administrators and employees are Republican,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said. “In many of the rural hospitals, they are the largest employer in the county, and in most they’re the only supplier of health care. It infuriates the rural counties, and they tend to be Republican.”</p><h2>‘It’s just a show, it’s a charade’</h2><p>West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said she’s not concerned about having to vote on dozens of amendments.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re here to vote,” Capito said. “As a creature of the House, we voted all the time on everything, so this doesn’t bother me. And, you know, just let the body work its will. If some changes are made, those will have to be dealt with. But I’m not worried about that.”</p><p>Arkansas Republican Sen. John Boozman said he expects the vote-a-rama will be “a very late night” and that he’s not planning to offer any of his own amendments.</p><p>As chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, Boozman expects to spend a considerable amount of time during vote-a-rama arguing against amendments seeking to change those provisions — including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-gop-tries-ease-pain-states-sharing-costs-snap-benefits" target="_blank">controversial cuts</a>&nbsp;in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food aid for lower-income families.</p><p>Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said he plans to spend much of the vote-a-rama “going back and forth from my hideaway,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/clip/qa/senate-hideaways/5109792" target="_blank">the ceremonial office</a>&nbsp;that every senator holds in the Capitol building.</p><p>But Johnson cast doubt on actually being able to amend the package during that process, saying changes to the various bills that Senate committees have released need to be agreed to before then.</p><p>“You’ve got to get this before it ever goes to the floor. I mean, you’re not going to change things substantially or significantly with amendments. I know people have some idealized version that happens. It doesn’t,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to get these things in the base bill. Amendments; it’s just a show, it’s a charade.”</p><h2>Vote-a-rama after vote-a-rama</h2><p>The Senate has held two vote-a-ramas so far this year, and both demonstrated how difficult it is to change a piece of legislation.</p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/why-did-us-senate-pull-all-nighter-budget-look-inside-vote-rama" target="_blank">first all-nighter</a>&nbsp;in February went along with Senate debate on its budget resolution and included votes on 25 amendments, with lawmakers adopting just two — one from Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and one from Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee.</p><p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-senate-gop-wins-approval-sprawling-budget-blueprint-shipping-it-house" target="_blank">second vote-a-rama</a>&nbsp;took place in April just before the Senate voted to approve the budget resolution that ultimately cleared the way for Congress to use the budget reconciliation process to advance the “big, beautiful bill.” Senators debated 28 amendments, voting to adopt one change from Sullivan.</p><p>Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, ranking member on the Finance Committee, said he and staff on the panel will continue to parse through details of the panel’s bill, which Republicans just released Monday.</p><p>Wyden said he plans to hold several town hall meetings in GOP areas of his state over the weekend to gauge how residents there view the policy revisions Republican senators have put forward.</p><p>“We’ve had this bill for basically 36 hours. The first time I had it, I stayed up all night, so last night I got a little sleep,” Wyden said on Wednesday. “But on the plane, I’ll be working through it. And I expect to be working through it all through the next few days, except when I’m having these town hall meetings where I’ll have a number of questions.”</p>

Both parties prep for mega-bill marathon in U.S. Senate vote-a-rama

TANEY COUNTY —A teen died in an accident just before 3p.m. Saturday at Table Rock Lake.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 16-year-old Sedalia, Misouri, boy and a 19-year-old Ozark, Missouri, man were riding Sea-Doo jet skis in Clevenger Cove near Hollister. The jet skis collided head-on.&nbsp; He was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:50p.m.&nbsp; The 19-year-old was not injured.

This was the first lake fatality of 2025 in Troop D, according to MSHP. The&nbsp; Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

<p>TANEY COUNTY —A teen died in an accident just before 3p.m. Saturday at Table Rock Lake.</p><p>The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 16-year-old Sedalia, Misouri, boy and a 19-year-old Ozark, Missouri, man were riding Sea-Doo jet skis in Clevenger Cove near Hollister. The jet skis collided head-on.&nbsp; He was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:50p.m.&nbsp; The 19-year-old was not injured.</p><p>This was the first lake fatality of 2025 in Troop D, according to MSHP. The&nbsp; Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.</p>

Teen killed in head-on jet ski crash at Table Rock Lake

The ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States. Low-level cyber attacks against US networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against US networks. Iran also has a long-standing commitment to target US Government officials it views as responsible for the death of an Iranian military commander killed in January 2020. The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland. Multiple recent Homeland terrorist attacks have been motivated by anti-Semitic or anti-Israel sentiment, and the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks.

Issued:&nbsp;&nbsp; June 22, 2025Expires:&nbsp;&nbsp; September 22, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET

The Iranian Government has publicly condemned direct US involvement in the conflict.

Listen to local authorities and public safety officials.

If You See Something, Say Something®. Report suspicious activity to local law enforcement or call 911.

The National Terrorism Advisory System provides Americans with alert information on homeland security threats. It is distributed by the Department of Homeland Security. More information is available at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/advisories">www.dhs.gov/advisories</a>. To receive mobile updates:&nbsp;<a href="http://x.com/dhsgov">x.com/dhsgov</a>

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750613857435.png" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>The ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States. Low-level cyber attacks against US networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against US networks. Iran also has a long-standing commitment to target US Government officials it views as responsible for the death of an Iranian military commander killed in January 2020. The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland. Multiple recent Homeland terrorist attacks have been motivated by anti-Semitic or anti-Israel sentiment, and the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks.</p><h2>Duration</h2><p>Issued:&nbsp;&nbsp; June 22, 2025Expires:&nbsp;&nbsp; September 22, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET</p><h2>Additional Information</h2><p>The Iranian Government has publicly condemned direct US involvement in the conflict.</p><ul>
                        <li>Both hacktivists and Iranian government-affiliated actors routinely target poorly secured US networks and Internet-connected devices for disruptive cyber attacks.</li><li>US law enforcement has disrupted multiple potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots in the United States since 2020. During this timeframe, the Iranian government has also unsuccessfully targeted critics of its regime who are based in the Homeland for lethal attack.</li><li>If Iranian leadership were to issue a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against specific targets in the Homeland, it could increase the likelihood that a supporter of the Iranian regime is inspired to commit an act of violence in the Homeland.</li><li>Since the start of the conflict, we have seen media releases by foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs)—including HAMAS, Lebanese Hizballah, the Houthis, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, among others—some of which have called for violence against US assets and personnel in the Middle East because of Israel’s attack.</li><li>The conflict could also motivate violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators seeking to attack targets perceived to be Jewish, pro-Israel, or linked to the US government or military in the Homeland.</li>
                    </ul><h2>Resources to Stay Safe</h2><h2>Report Potential Threats</h2><p>Listen to local authorities and public safety officials.</p><ul>
                        <li>DHS’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/">Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)</a>&nbsp;offers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/topics/cybersecurity-best-practices">cybersecurity best practices</a>&nbsp;for securing US networks.</li><li><a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices">The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI)</a>&nbsp;is a collaborative effort by DHS, the FBI, and law enforcement partners to identify and report threats of terrorism and other related criminal activity.</li><li><a href="https://www.dhs.gov/see-something-say-something">If You See Something, Say Something®</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/publication/suspicious-activity-reporting-indicators-and-behaviors">Report suspicious activity</a>&nbsp;and threats of violence, including online threats, to local law enforcement,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices">FBI Field Offices</a>, or your local&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices">Fusion Center</a>. Call 911 in case of emergency.</li>
                    </ul><h2>If You See Something, Say Something®. Report suspicious activity to local law enforcement or call 911.</h2><p>The National Terrorism Advisory System provides Americans with alert information on homeland security threats. It is distributed by the Department of Homeland Security. More information is available at:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/advisories">www.dhs.gov/advisories</a>. To receive mobile updates:&nbsp;<a href="http://x.com/dhsgov">x.com/dhsgov</a></p>

DHS advisory warns of heightened threat in U.S. after Iran attack

KANSAS CITY —Another deadly weekend in Kansas City. Detectives are busy with multiple homicide investigations.

Just before 10:30a.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 4200 block of E Linwood Avenue in regard to a reported shooting, according to according to KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez. 

First responders found a man suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds. Officers rendered aid until KCFD arrived and transported him to an area hospital. Detectives were notified by the hospital that the victim had succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased later in the day.

Detectives are working to determine what lead up to the shooting and are making headway in identifying a person of interest.

Just after 10:30p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched on a call for a sound of shots in the area of Gregory and Walnut, according to Officer Gonzalez.

As officers were responding the call was updated to a shooting. When responding officers arrived on scene, they located a vehicle that had become disabled at a nearby intersection. An adult male victim was located inside the car suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was unresponsive. EMS responded to the scene and declared the victim deceased.

Preliminary investigation indicates this incident may have occurred as a result of shots being fired from a moving vehicle resulting in the victim being struck. Police are still working to determine a person of interest and do not have anyone in custody.

Just after 2a.m. Sunday, officers working in the Vine District observed a large number of people running out of the area near 19th and Vine in Kansas City yelling that someone was armed with a firearm and firing shots, according to Officer Gonzalez.

Officers ran in the direction if gunfire and located an adult male victim suffering from apparent gunshot trauma and unresponsive. He was declared deceased at the scene by EMS. Officers on scene were later notified that one adult female and four adult male victims, were transported by private conveyance to an area hospital suffering from gunshot trauma. 

Those individuals had varying degrees of injuries and all have been listed in stable condition.

Preliminary investigation indicates a large disturbance broke out between an unknown number of individuals that escalated to gunfire resulting in multiple people being struck. One adult male has been taken into custody pending further investigation. Detectives will continue to investigate for any additional individuals that may have been involved in this incident. This is being investigated as a homicide.

Just after 6 a.m. Sunday, patrol officers were dispatched to the 3700 block of Flora on a reported shooting , according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino. Upon arrival officers observed a vehicle facing the wrong direction, parked on the curb. Inside the vehicle officers located a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers immediately began performing life saving measures and ordered EMS to the scene. Medics transported the victim to a local hospital where he died a short time later. This is currently a death investigation. Detectives are working to determine what led to shots being fired and the victim being struck.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750605600648.png" alt="<br>" />
                        <figcaption><br></figcaption>
                    </figure><p>KANSAS CITY —Another deadly weekend in Kansas City. Detectives are busy with multiple homicide investigations.</p><p>Just before 10:30a.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 4200 block of E Linwood Avenue in regard to a reported shooting, according to according to KCPD Officer Alayna Gonzalez. </p><p>First responders found a man suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds. Officers rendered aid until KCFD arrived and transported him to an area hospital. Detectives were notified by the hospital that the victim had succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased later in the day.</p><p>Detectives are working to determine what lead up to the shooting and are making headway in identifying a person of interest.</p><p>Just after 10:30p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched on a call for a sound of shots in the area of Gregory and Walnut, according to Officer Gonzalez.</p><p>As officers were responding the call was updated to a shooting. When responding officers arrived on scene, they located a vehicle that had become disabled at a nearby intersection. An adult male victim was located inside the car suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was unresponsive. EMS responded to the scene and declared the victim deceased.</p><p>Preliminary investigation indicates this incident may have occurred as a result of shots being fired from a moving vehicle resulting in the victim being struck. Police are still working to determine a person of interest and do not have anyone in custody.</p><p>Just after 2a.m. Sunday, officers working in the Vine District observed a large number of people running out of the area near 19th and Vine in Kansas City yelling that someone was armed with a firearm and firing shots, according to Officer Gonzalez.</p><p>Officers ran in the direction if gunfire and located an adult male victim suffering from apparent gunshot trauma and unresponsive. He was declared deceased at the scene by EMS. Officers on scene were later notified that one adult female and four adult male victims, were transported by private conveyance to an area hospital suffering from gunshot trauma. </p><p>Those individuals had varying degrees of injuries and all have been listed in stable condition.</p><p>Preliminary investigation indicates a large disturbance broke out between an unknown number of individuals that escalated to gunfire resulting in multiple people being struck. One adult male has been taken into custody pending further investigation. Detectives will continue to investigate for any additional individuals that may have been involved in this incident. This is being investigated as a homicide.</p><p>Just after 6 a.m. Sunday, patrol officers were dispatched to the 3700 block of Flora on a reported shooting , according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino. Upon arrival officers observed a vehicle facing the wrong direction, parked on the curb. Inside the vehicle officers located a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound. Officers immediately began performing life saving measures and ordered EMS to the scene. Medics transported the victim to a local hospital where he died a short time later. This is currently a death investigation. Detectives are working to determine what led to shots being fired and the victim being struck.</p>

Deadly weekend in Kansas City: Multiple homicide investigations

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">B-2 Stealth Bombers return home safely to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri—following strikes against Iranian nuclear sites… <a href="https://t.co/eI8FLjTvKa">pic.twitter.com/eI8FLjTvKa</a></p>&mdash; Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Scavino47/status/1936890059598237874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="qme" dir="ltr">✈️🇺🇸🦅 <a href="https://t.co/b3W9ibBAj0">pic.twitter.com/b3W9ibBAj0</a></p>&mdash; Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Scavino47/status/1936910425347457108?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Welcome home to Missouri.🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/bo4FL5TC09">pic.twitter.com/bo4FL5TC09</a></p>&mdash; Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1936897814040039920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥B-2 bombers returning to base in Missouri after attack on Iran

POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, Kan.—Law enforcement are investigating a violent crime and have made an arrest.

Just after 12:30a.m. Sunday the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call of a woman who was run over in the 20000 block of Pauling Run Road, rural Wamego, Pottawatomie County, according to a media release.

 Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the location and were able to determine that a female suspect, identified as Dana Blume, 43, of Onaga, had intentionally run over the victim, identified as Kara Murray, 52, of Wamego with a vehicle following an argument. 

The victim sustained serious injuries and was flown by helicopter to an area hospital, where she is being treated. Blume was arrested and is currently confined at the Pottawatomie County Jail awaiting bond to be set on charges of Attempted Murder in the 2nd Degree.&nbsp;

<p>POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, Kan.—Law enforcement are investigating a violent crime and have made an arrest.</p><p>Just after 12:30a.m. Sunday the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call of a woman who was run over in the 20000 block of Pauling Run Road, rural Wamego, Pottawatomie County, according to a media release.</p><p> Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the location and were able to determine that a female suspect, identified as Dana Blume, 43, of Onaga, had intentionally run over the victim, identified as Kara Murray, 52, of Wamego with a vehicle following an argument. </p><p>The victim sustained serious injuries and was flown by helicopter to an area hospital, where she is being treated. Blume was arrested and is currently confined at the Pottawatomie County Jail awaiting bond to be set on charges of Attempted Murder in the 2nd Degree.&nbsp;</p>

Sheriff: Woman drove over Kan. woman during argument

KANSAS CITY—Authorities are investigating a rescue at a creek on Saturday in Kansas City.

Just after 1:30p.m., KC Fire Department companies were dispatched to Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd and Prospect Avenue for reports of a person on a mower rolling into Brush Creek, according to Battalion Chief Riley Nolan.

As companies arrived on scene, they observed someone being pulled out of the water by bystanders and placed on the bank of Brush Creek. It was determined the rescue boats were not needed and were cancelled.&nbsp;KCFD personnel immediately took over medical care of the patient and transported them to the hospital.&nbsp; Nolan released no additional details.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750542669503.png" alt="Brush Creek photo KC Parks and Rec" />
                        <figcaption>Brush Creek photo KC Parks and Rec</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>KANSAS CITY—Authorities are investigating a rescue at a creek on Saturday in Kansas City.</p><p>Just after 1:30p.m., KC Fire Department companies were dispatched to Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd and Prospect Avenue for reports of a person on a mower rolling into Brush Creek, according to Battalion Chief Riley Nolan.</p><p>As companies arrived on scene, they observed someone being pulled out of the water by bystanders and placed on the bank of Brush Creek. It was determined the rescue boats were not needed and were cancelled.&nbsp;KCFD personnel immediately took over medical care of the patient and transported them to the hospital.&nbsp; Nolan released no additional details.</p>

Man rescued after mower rolled into Kansas City area creek

The U.S. bombers struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, according to a statement from President Donald Trump.&nbsp; The Pentagon held a press briefing to provide additional details on the mission.

<p>The U.S. bombers struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, according to a statement from President Donald Trump.&nbsp; The Pentagon held a press briefing to provide additional details on the mission.</p><p>(click the videos below to watch)</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine (<a href="https://twitter.com/thejointstaff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thejointstaff</a>) on Operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER: &quot;This was the largest B-2 operation strike in U.S. history.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/VeyUjP84JT">pic.twitter.com/VeyUjP84JT</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1936763649411973190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (<a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a>): &quot;We devastated the Iran nuclear program...Iran&#39;s nuclear ambitions have been obliterated.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/39zW06zFtm">pic.twitter.com/39zW06zFtm</a></p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1936761039011414133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Pentagon: Dramatic details of Iran bombing 'Operation Midnight Hammer'

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tonight, President Trump and our brave military demonstrated the importance of strength in pursuit of peace. <br><br>We strongly support the President’s actions against Iranian nuclear facilities.<br><br>Missourians are proud of the men and women from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.</p>&mdash; Governor Mike Kehoe (@GovMikeKehoe) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovMikeKehoe/status/1936611210054828112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Trump is a foreign policy realist not an ideologue. He has taken limited military action to achieve a crucial objective that is in the core national interest of the United States: preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.<br><br>He doesn’t want another Forever War. He…</p>&mdash; Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1936599592659017852?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. Peace through strength. <a href="https://t.co/o3Z2otW7Md">pic.twitter.com/o3Z2otW7Md</a></p>&mdash; Rep. Sam Graves (@RepSamGraves) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepSamGraves/status/1936583064089444756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As the Congressman for Whiteman AFB, I’ve been saying for weeks that our airmen in the 509th bomber wing are ready, capable, and lethal.<br><br>Tonight, they showed the world what they can do to protect American interests and keep our citizens safe.<br><br>MO-04 strong! <a href="https://t.co/osuwoTvzhl">pic.twitter.com/osuwoTvzhl</a></p>&mdash; Rep. Mark Alford (@RepMarkAlford) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMarkAlford/status/1936585247002689914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Iran is an adversary of the U.S. and should not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. Tonight our military executed its mission professionally and courageously. I pray for the safety of all our troops in the region, and we must be vigilant in protecting against any Iranian…</p>&mdash; Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/1936606358041751563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Iran was given every chance to get rid of its nuclear program, but instead of choosing peace the Ayatollah embraced violence and chaos. <br><br>President Trump was absolutely right to send our bombers in and strike the Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan nuclear facilities, and this decision…</p>&mdash; Ann Wagner (@RepAnnWagner) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepAnnWagner/status/1936598761448337749?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you to our brave American Air Force and their successful mission as no Americans were harmed.<br><br>We stand tall with President Trump who is protecting the world from a nuclear capable Iran. <a href="https://t.co/MLWc1FbPF9">https://t.co/MLWc1FbPF9</a></p>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1936591179078086896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Missouri lawmakers comment on US bombing of Iran

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">President Donald J. Trump Delivers Address to the Nation, June 21, 2025 <a href="https://t.co/yutRDvtWv0">https://t.co/yutRDvtWv0</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1936602999553433965?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0eDnzuBAGJkTkYPzYhbNGHiGVMjbEJr79xgwPEwbCPQDaoDyvNppzHEyJQ8KSMtbfl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="645" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>

🎥 President Trump address to the nation after attack on Iran

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750540951558.png" alt="FILE PHOTO -- The B-2 Spirit is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions.&nbsp; (U.S. Air Force photo by Bobbie Garcia)" />
                        <figcaption>FILE PHOTO -- The B-2 Spirit is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions.&nbsp; (U.S. Air Force photo by Bobbie Garcia)</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/wu9mMkxtUg">pic.twitter.com/wu9mMkxtUg</a></p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1936573183634645387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750552826391.png" alt="President Trump arriving back at the White House Saturday afternoon" />
                        <figcaption>President Trump arriving back at the White House Saturday afternoon</figcaption>
                    </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/5z5p2JMPf1">pic.twitter.com/5z5p2JMPf1</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1936578685986910309?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/C5vWu396WF">pic.twitter.com/C5vWu396WF</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1936587221483577642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

President Trump: US attacked three Iranian nuclear sites

KANSAS CITY – An Ozark, Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court today to one count of attempting to evade or defeat taxation, according to the United State's Attorney.

<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file/SC96223_McMillin_brief.pdf">Click here to read the</a> respondent's brief

Ryan J. McMillin, 52, admitted during his plea that he did not report income he received while employed as a timeshare salesman with four different companies from 2018 to 2023. Because McMillin claimed exempt status on his W-4s his employers did not withhold taxes from McMillin’s paychecks. McMillin also failed to make an income tax return or pay income taxes to the IRS for those six calendar years. McMillin owes the IRS an estimated $581,981 in unpaid taxes.

Under federal statutes, McMillin is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigations.

<p>KANSAS CITY – An Ozark, Missouri man pleaded guilty in federal court today to one count of attempting to evade or defeat taxation, according to the United State's Attorney.</p><p><a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file/SC96223_McMillin_brief.pdf">Click here to read the</a> respondent's brief</p><p>Ryan J. McMillin, 52, admitted during his plea that he did not report income he received while employed as a timeshare salesman with four different companies from 2018 to 2023. Because McMillin claimed exempt status on his W-4s his employers did not withhold taxes from McMillin’s paychecks. McMillin also failed to make an income tax return or pay income taxes to the IRS for those six calendar years. McMillin owes the IRS an estimated $581,981 in unpaid taxes.</p><p>Under federal statutes, McMillin is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.</p><p>This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigations.</p>

Read the brief: Timeshare salesman admits attempting to skip paying taxes

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

Fees for new licenses and vehicle registrations would increase 50% to attract bidders under legislation on the governor’s desk

When the state announced the Caruthersville license office was going to close, residents needing to renew registrations or driver license were directed to the closest open offices in Kennett, New Madrid and Malden.&nbsp;

Those communities are all at least an hour, round-trip, from Caruthersville. The inconvenience would be compounded if, after waiting in line, the transaction couldn’t be completed for lack of a required document.

The Missouri Department of Revenue was quick to note motorists renewing vehicle registrations — but not new vehicle registrations or drivers license transactions —&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/plates/" target="_blank">could do so online</a>.

But the situation in Caruthersville is not unique, as a growing number of license offices around the state are shuttering — currently at least six of 175 — with dozens more operating under an expired contract.

<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=235" target="_blank">A bill</a>&nbsp;sponsored by state Sen. Sandy Crawford, a Republican from Buffalo, and awaiting action from Gov. Mike Kehoe, would increase the fees received by the license offices by 50%.

The transaction fee for a drivers license or motor vehicle would go from $6 to $9 for the shortest period and from $12 to $18 for the longest, six years for a drivers license and two years for a vehicle registration.

The fee on transactions is in addition to the state charge for&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/titling-registration/fees.html" target="_blank">titling and registering</a>&nbsp;a vehicle and obtaining or renewing&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/driver-license/resources/license.html#fees" target="_blank">a drivers license</a>.

The goal is to make the offices attractive to contractors and avoid closures, Crawford said during a House committee hearing in April.

“I live in a small town, and if my license bureau were to close, I would likely have to drive 45 minutes, take a half a day to drive and get my license,” Crawford said. “And so I would much rather pay $3 than take off half a day and drive 45 miles or 45 minutes to get this done.”

There is supposed to be at least one license office in every county.

“Many small agents in rural communities have stated they are closing or not rebidding upon contract expiration,” said Ryan Williams, the license office contractor in Gladstone in Clay County. “Hopefully this increase will help enough to keep them open and solvent.”

Williams is also the legislative chair of the Missouri Association of License Offices.

The smallest office currently closed is in Unionville, in Putnam County on the Iowa border. The nearest open office is in Milan, a 50-minute round-trip. The busiest is the South Springfield License Office, which&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/contact/documents/FY2024-MV-and-DL-Estimated-Transactions.pdf" target="_blank">processed more than 100,000 transactions</a>&nbsp;in fiscal 2024. There are two other offices within five miles.

The other offices currently closed are in Cuba, Willow Springs, Sedalia and&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/news/newsitem/uuid/39dacb8b-5467-4c37-b3d2-dbfc19a27a84" target="_blank">Palmyra</a>.

License offices, also known as fee offices for the transaction fees they charge, at one time were awarded by governors as political patronage. Until 2005, there were a dozen state-operated offices in the largest cities.

A bidding and contract system was created in the following years. The fees have been raised twice previously this century, in 2003 and 2019. There are currently 16 license offices listed on the state purchasing website, including Caruthersville and Unionville, which is on for the second time this year.

“We’re the only direct interaction that most people have with the state of Missouri,” Williams said.

In fiscal 2024, license offices processed almost 9 million transactions and charged $58.4 million in fees.

The Unionville office generated $28,736 in fees on 4,519 transactions. The Caruthersville office took in $119,260 from 18,747 transactions. And the South Springfield office received fees of $702,290 to process 105,516 transactions.

The reputation of license offices is not good, as seen by comments of members of the House Commerce Committee during the April hearing.

“If I had $1 for every time my office got called for the unpleasantness of the Rolla, Missouri, office, I’d be a millionaire today,” said state Rep. Tara Peters, a Republican from Rolla in her third year in the legislature.

State Rep. Brian Seitz, a Branson Republican, said he was glad lawmakers get special service for their license plates, which have legislative identifiers. There are two two license offices in Branson.

“I’m so glad that as a representative, I get to do the things right here in the Capitol that I need to do so I can continue to serve the people instead of wait an hour and a half in line without a bathroom,” Seitz said.

During the hearing, Williams said the contract office system saves the state money.

“If the state took it over, it would be a considerable expense,” he said.

The facilities and staffing are dependent on the amount of fees an office generates, Williams said. The contractor must meet payroll, pay rent and cover office expenses from the fee revenue.

“When you have long wait times, that’s a direct result that we can’t afford to hire the staff that we need, or pay them or attract the staff that we need,” Williams said.

The issues forcing contractors to give up their offices aren’t all financial, said Terri Harris, owner of Elle Management in St. Louis. At one point, Harris operated nine license offices around the state and was the contractor at South Springfield when it closed.

The contract had been repeatedly extended, for short periods, leaving her with uncertainty about the future and making it difficult to hire staff, she said.

After 34 years in the business, including almost two decades managing license offices for others, health issues and working through bureaucratic and political issues with the department became too much, she said.

The fee increase in 2019 was welcome, Harris said, but came just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The first thing I did when we got that increase is I brought my employees’ wages up to where I could stay competitive,” Harris said. “After COVID, everything changed for all employers, and my offices were large. It required a lot of employees, and frankly, the increase that I could afford to make was eaten up when you wait 17 and a half years for an increase.”

When she surrendered the contract, Harris said, she was offering $20.50 an hour to employees.

“We couldn’t keep people at that pay rate,” she said.

The fee increases will not induce her to return to the business of operating license offices, Harris said.

The South Springfield office was on an extended contract, but the extensions were short. That uncertainty also made staffing difficult, she said.&nbsp;

“We went through years of being extended, two months, three months, maybe four months at a time,” she said. “That was ridiculous.”

She was reluctant to seek new contracts because the requirements being added didn’t work in the office situations she dealt with, Harris said. Specific performance numbers for managers, who Harris wanted supervising rather than processing transactions, was one issue, she said.

“The relationship became adversarial,”

&nbsp;Initial contracts are generally for five years and the bill before Kehoe allows an extension of five years at the discretion of the director of revenue.

The bill would also bar department employees from becoming contractors or part owners of a license office company for a year after leaving state employment.

The department should figure out how to give more support to the small, rural offices where fee income is low, Harris said.

The contract requirements for the Unionville office call for it to be open 24 hours a week. It processed about four transactions an hour during fiscal 2024.&nbsp;

“These communities, when you close an office, they’re not going 10 minutes away to the next office,” Harris said. “They’re going counties away, right to the next office. It’s it’s tough on the community period. I also understand there is a very small profit margin in them, and that makes it difficult."

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750444315864.png" alt=" The Columbia License Office, one of two contract Department of Revenue offices in the city. Six of the 175 license offices in Missouri are closed because no contractor is willing to operate them. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)" />
                        <figcaption> The Columbia License Office, one of two contract Department of Revenue offices in the city. Six of the 175 license offices in Missouri are closed because no contractor is willing to operate them. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a><br><a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/"><i>Missouri Independent</i></a></p><h2>Fees for new licenses and vehicle registrations would increase 50% to attract bidders under legislation on the governor’s desk</h2><p>When the state announced the Caruthersville license office was going to close, residents needing to renew registrations or driver license were directed to the closest open offices in Kennett, New Madrid and Malden.&nbsp;</p><p>Those communities are all at least an hour, round-trip, from Caruthersville. The inconvenience would be compounded if, after waiting in line, the transaction couldn’t be completed for lack of a required document.</p><p>The Missouri Department of Revenue was quick to note motorists renewing vehicle registrations — but not new vehicle registrations or drivers license transactions —&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/plates/" target="_blank">could do so online</a>.</p><p>But the situation in Caruthersville is not unique, as a growing number of license offices around the state are shuttering — currently at least six of 175 — with dozens more operating under an expired contract.</p><p><a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=235" target="_blank">A bill</a>&nbsp;sponsored by state Sen. Sandy Crawford, a Republican from Buffalo, and awaiting action from Gov. Mike Kehoe, would increase the fees received by the license offices by 50%.</p><p>The transaction fee for a drivers license or motor vehicle would go from $6 to $9 for the shortest period and from $12 to $18 for the longest, six years for a drivers license and two years for a vehicle registration.</p><p>The fee on transactions is in addition to the state charge for&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/titling-registration/fees.html" target="_blank">titling and registering</a>&nbsp;a vehicle and obtaining or renewing&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/driver-license/resources/license.html#fees" target="_blank">a drivers license</a>.</p><p>The goal is to make the offices attractive to contractors and avoid closures, Crawford said during a House committee hearing in April.</p><p>“I live in a small town, and if my license bureau were to close, I would likely have to drive 45 minutes, take a half a day to drive and get my license,” Crawford said. “And so I would much rather pay $3 than take off half a day and drive 45 miles or 45 minutes to get this done.”</p><p>There is supposed to be at least one license office in every county.</p><p>“Many small agents in rural communities have stated they are closing or not rebidding upon contract expiration,” said Ryan Williams, the license office contractor in Gladstone in Clay County. “Hopefully this increase will help enough to keep them open and solvent.”</p><p>Williams is also the legislative chair of the Missouri Association of License Offices.</p><p>The smallest office currently closed is in Unionville, in Putnam County on the Iowa border. The nearest open office is in Milan, a 50-minute round-trip. The busiest is the South Springfield License Office, which&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/contact/documents/FY2024-MV-and-DL-Estimated-Transactions.pdf" target="_blank">processed more than 100,000 transactions</a>&nbsp;in fiscal 2024. There are two other offices within five miles.</p><p>The other offices currently closed are in Cuba, Willow Springs, Sedalia and&nbsp;<a href="https://dor.mo.gov/news/newsitem/uuid/39dacb8b-5467-4c37-b3d2-dbfc19a27a84" target="_blank">Palmyra</a>.</p><h2>Financial challenges</h2><p>License offices, also known as fee offices for the transaction fees they charge, at one time were awarded by governors as political patronage. Until 2005, there were a dozen state-operated offices in the largest cities.</p><p>A bidding and contract system was created in the following years. The fees have been raised twice previously this century, in 2003 and 2019. There are currently 16 license offices listed on the state purchasing website, including Caruthersville and Unionville, which is on for the second time this year.</p><p>“We’re the only direct interaction that most people have with the state of Missouri,” Williams said.</p><p>In fiscal 2024, license offices processed almost 9 million transactions and charged $58.4 million in fees.</p><p>The Unionville office generated $28,736 in fees on 4,519 transactions. The Caruthersville office took in $119,260 from 18,747 transactions. And the South Springfield office received fees of $702,290 to process 105,516 transactions.</p><p>The reputation of license offices is not good, as seen by comments of members of the House Commerce Committee during the April hearing.</p><p>“If I had $1 for every time my office got called for the unpleasantness of the Rolla, Missouri, office, I’d be a millionaire today,” said state Rep. Tara Peters, a Republican from Rolla in her third year in the legislature.</p><p>State Rep. Brian Seitz, a Branson Republican, said he was glad lawmakers get special service for their license plates, which have legislative identifiers. There are two two license offices in Branson.</p><p>“I’m so glad that as a representative, I get to do the things right here in the Capitol that I need to do so I can continue to serve the people instead of wait an hour and a half in line without a bathroom,” Seitz said.</p><p>During the hearing, Williams said the contract office system saves the state money.</p><p>“If the state took it over, it would be a considerable expense,” he said.</p><p>The facilities and staffing are dependent on the amount of fees an office generates, Williams said. The contractor must meet payroll, pay rent and cover office expenses from the fee revenue.</p><p>“When you have long wait times, that’s a direct result that we can’t afford to hire the staff that we need, or pay them or attract the staff that we need,” Williams said.</p><h2>Administrative issues</h2><p>The issues forcing contractors to give up their offices aren’t all financial, said Terri Harris, owner of Elle Management in St. Louis. At one point, Harris operated nine license offices around the state and was the contractor at South Springfield when it closed.</p><p>The contract had been repeatedly extended, for short periods, leaving her with uncertainty about the future and making it difficult to hire staff, she said.</p><p>After 34 years in the business, including almost two decades managing license offices for others, health issues and working through bureaucratic and political issues with the department became too much, she said.</p><p>The fee increase in 2019 was welcome, Harris said, but came just before the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>“The first thing I did when we got that increase is I brought my employees’ wages up to where I could stay competitive,” Harris said. “After COVID, everything changed for all employers, and my offices were large. It required a lot of employees, and frankly, the increase that I could afford to make was eaten up when you wait 17 and a half years for an increase.”</p><p>When she surrendered the contract, Harris said, she was offering $20.50 an hour to employees.</p><p>“We couldn’t keep people at that pay rate,” she said.</p><p>The fee increases will not induce her to return to the business of operating license offices, Harris said.</p><p>The South Springfield office was on an extended contract, but the extensions were short. That uncertainty also made staffing difficult, she said.&nbsp;</p><p>“We went through years of being extended, two months, three months, maybe four months at a time,” she said. “That was ridiculous.”</p><p>She was reluctant to seek new contracts because the requirements being added didn’t work in the office situations she dealt with, Harris said. Specific performance numbers for managers, who Harris wanted supervising rather than processing transactions, was one issue, she said.</p><p>“The relationship became adversarial,”</p><p>&nbsp;Initial contracts are generally for five years and the bill before Kehoe allows an extension of five years at the discretion of the director of revenue.</p><p>The bill would also bar department employees from becoming contractors or part owners of a license office company for a year after leaving state employment.</p><p>The department should figure out how to give more support to the small, rural offices where fee income is low, Harris said.</p><p>The contract requirements for the Unionville office call for it to be open 24 hours a week. It processed about four transactions an hour during fiscal 2024.&nbsp;</p><p>“These communities, when you close an office, they’re not going 10 minutes away to the next office,” Harris said. “They’re going counties away, right to the next office. It’s it’s tough on the community period. I also understand there is a very small profit margin in them, and that makes it difficult."</p>

Five Missouri counties no longer have a license office. A fee hike seeks to fix that

KANSAS CITY —One person died inan accident just after midnight Friday in Kansas City.

According to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino, a white Toyota Camry was northbound on&nbsp;Interstate 49 at Interstate 470 at a very high rate of speed.

 The driver failed to negotiate the curve in the roadway. The car traveled off the roadway to the right and struck a concrete bridge support located underneath&nbsp;Interstate 470. 

The unrestrained driver&nbsp;and&nbsp;sole occupant of the Toyota was ejected from the vehicle&nbsp;and&nbsp;pronounced deceased at the scene.

 This is fatality #37 compared to #48 at this time last year, according to&nbsp;&nbsp;DiMartino. The accident remains under investigation.

<p>KANSAS CITY —One person died inan accident just after midnight Friday in Kansas City.</p><p>According to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino, a white Toyota Camry was northbound on&nbsp;Interstate 49 at Interstate 470 at a very high rate of speed.</p><p> The driver failed to negotiate the curve in the roadway. The car traveled off the roadway to the right and struck a concrete bridge support located underneath&nbsp;Interstate 470. </p><p>The unrestrained driver&nbsp;and&nbsp;sole occupant of the Toyota was ejected from the vehicle&nbsp;and&nbsp;pronounced deceased at the scene.</p><p> This is fatality #37 compared to #48 at this time last year, according to&nbsp;&nbsp;DiMartino. The accident remains under investigation.</p>

KCPD: Speeding driver dies after crash into concrete bridge

President&nbsp;Donald Trump kept silent Thursday about the Juneteenth Holiday.&nbsp; Late Thursday, the President finally wrote on social media to complain about too many non-working holidays..

During the Thursday press briefing,&nbsp; White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt thanked reporters for showing up to work on the Juneteenth Federal Holiday. "We are certainly here. We’re working 24/7 right now.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750269288982.png" alt="File image White House" />
                        <figcaption>File image White House</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>President&nbsp;Donald Trump kept silent Thursday about the Juneteenth Holiday.&nbsp; Late Thursday, the President finally wrote on social media to complain about too many non-working holidays..</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/5DPtr8EtwQ">pic.twitter.com/5DPtr8EtwQ</a></p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935836246133080540?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><p>During the Thursday press briefing,&nbsp; White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt thanked reporters for showing up to work on the Juneteenth Federal Holiday. "We are certainly here. We’re working 24/7 right now.”</p>

President Trump complains about too many 'non-working holidays'

by&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/author/mikhailzinshteyn/">Mikhail Zinshteyn</a><br><a href="https://calmatters.org/">CalMatters</a>

Donald Trump can continue to control the National Guard in California for the time being after a panel of judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined he followed the law in&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/national-guard-los-angeles-appeals-court/" target="_blank">deploying troops to Los Angeles</a>.

The order, handed down Thursday evening, is the latest in a fast-moving legal saga playing out over Trump’s decision to call up the National Guard and U.S. Marines to the Los Angeles area in response to protests after federal immigration law enforcement agents began worksite raids and arrests two weeks ago. California’s Democratic leadership, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, has called the deployment&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/california-republicans-trump-military-los-angeles/" target="_blank">unnecessary and illegal</a>. The appeals court order in a lawsuit filed by Newsom contesting the deployment isn’t surprising; the panel signaled an openness to the Trump administration’s legal arguments during a legal hearing on Tuesday.

In court earlier this week, attorneys from the Trump administration argued the president’s deployment was “unreviewable” by courts.&nbsp;

The appeals court judges disagreed that the decision was beyond the reach of the judicial branch, but found the president had a legitimate interest in protecting federal employees when he called up the troops.&nbsp;

“The undisputed facts demonstrate that before the deployment of the National Guard, protesters ‘pinned down’ several federal officers and threw ‘concrete chunks, bottles of liquid and other objects’ at the officers.”Two of those judges were appointed by President Trump in his previous term.

<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/national-guard-los-angeles-legal/" target="_blank">Trump deployed the troops&nbsp;</a>through a presidential memo on June 7 and cited a rarely used federal statute permitting a president to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/12406" target="_blank">deploy the National Guard</a>&nbsp;in times of invasion, domestic rebellion or the inability for the federal government to carry out its laws. Trump’s order was for 60 days and technically applied to all of the state Nation Guards in the U.S.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/06/los-angeles-protests-downtown-life/" target="_blank">imposed a weeklong curfew</a>&nbsp;in the city’s downtown after Trump’s deployment. She and other California leaders have maintained that local law enforcement agencies were more than capable of addressing the unrest that followed high-profile immigration sweeps earlier this month.

Trump’s order marked the first time since 1965 that a president deployed the National Guard against the wishes of a state’s governor. A group of former service secretaries and four star military commanders wrote an amicus brief supporting Newsom’s lawsuit challenging the deployment.

“The court rightly rejected Trump’s claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court,” Gov. Newsom said in a written statement after the 9th Circuit released its ruling. “The president is not a king and is not above the law. We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump’s authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens.”

What happens next could take one of several turns. On Friday a lower court judge, Charles Breyer, will hold a hearing on whether to return the troops to Newsom through a preliminary injunction. Breyer last week issued an order that would have temporarily halted Trump’s deployment, but the 9th Circuit blocked it. Now, the battle over whether federal troops can remain in Los Angeles is operating on three parallel tracks — the case the 9th Circuit decided today, which can be appealed; Friday’s hearing on the preliminary injunction; and the full merits of the case that would be argued through a prolonged trial.

For Newsom’s legal team to prevail in Friday’s hearing, they’ll have to clear a higher threshold of scrutiny than they did when they initially won back the National Guard last week, albeit for a few hours. That’s because anyone seeking a preliminary injunction must demonstrate that the merits of their arguments will likely prevail in the full trial.

The appeals court’s decision could influence Breyer’s thinking, legal thinkers said, even if he initially signaled support for the Newsom administration’s arguments.

“It’s kind of hard to disentangle the two processes when we think about how judge Breyer will be weighing” the preliminary injunction hearing, because a lot of that’s going to be informed by what these higher level courts decide,” said Christopher Mirasola, an assistant law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.

No matter what Breyer does after Friday, it’ll likely quickly go back to the appeals court. And if the appeals court keeps halting the lower court’s orders, Trump keeps the National Guard for the duration of the lower court’s full trial.

Would the Newsom team try to appeal the injunction with the Supreme Court?

On one hand, “why not shoot your shot when you got the opportunity, right?” asked Mirasola rhetorically.&nbsp; But there’s a chance the high court comes back with such a strong opinion favoring the Trump administration that it could “substantively affect how judge Breyer treats the merits of the case.”

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750414117167.jpeg" alt="Demonstrators protest against recent ICE immigration raids as National Guard officers stand guard in front of a federal building in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters" />
                        <figcaption>Demonstrators protest against recent ICE immigration raids as National Guard officers stand guard in front of a federal building in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>by&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/author/mikhailzinshteyn/">Mikhail Zinshteyn</a><br><a href="https://calmatters.org/">CalMatters</a></p><p>Donald Trump can continue to control the National Guard in California for the time being after a panel of judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined he followed the law in&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/national-guard-los-angeles-appeals-court/" target="_blank">deploying troops to Los Angeles</a>.</p><p>The order, handed down Thursday evening, is the latest in a fast-moving legal saga playing out over Trump’s decision to call up the National Guard and U.S. Marines to the Los Angeles area in response to protests after federal immigration law enforcement agents began worksite raids and arrests two weeks ago. California’s Democratic leadership, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, has called the deployment&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/california-republicans-trump-military-los-angeles/" target="_blank">unnecessary and illegal</a>. The appeals court order in a lawsuit filed by Newsom contesting the deployment isn’t surprising; the panel signaled an openness to the Trump administration’s legal arguments during a legal hearing on Tuesday.</p><p>In court earlier this week, attorneys from the Trump administration argued the president’s deployment was “unreviewable” by courts.&nbsp;</p><p>The appeals court judges disagreed that the decision was beyond the reach of the judicial branch, but found the president had a legitimate interest in protecting federal employees when he called up the troops.&nbsp;</p><p>“The undisputed facts demonstrate that before the deployment of the National Guard, protesters ‘pinned down’ several federal officers and threw ‘concrete chunks, bottles of liquid and other objects’ at the officers.”Two of those judges were appointed by President Trump in his previous term.</p><p><a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/06/national-guard-los-angeles-legal/" target="_blank">Trump deployed the troops&nbsp;</a>through a presidential memo on June 7 and cited a rarely used federal statute permitting a president to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/12406" target="_blank">deploy the National Guard</a>&nbsp;in times of invasion, domestic rebellion or the inability for the federal government to carry out its laws. Trump’s order was for 60 days and technically applied to all of the state Nation Guards in the U.S.</p><p>Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass&nbsp;<a href="https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/06/los-angeles-protests-downtown-life/" target="_blank">imposed a weeklong curfew</a>&nbsp;in the city’s downtown after Trump’s deployment. She and other California leaders have maintained that local law enforcement agencies were more than capable of addressing the unrest that followed high-profile immigration sweeps earlier this month.</p><p>Trump’s order marked the first time since 1965 that a president deployed the National Guard against the wishes of a state’s governor. A group of former service secretaries and four star military commanders wrote an amicus brief supporting Newsom’s lawsuit challenging the deployment.</p><p>“The court rightly rejected Trump’s claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court,” Gov. Newsom said in a written statement after the 9th Circuit released its ruling. “The president is not a king and is not above the law. We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump’s authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens.”</p><p>What happens next could take one of several turns. On Friday a lower court judge, Charles Breyer, will hold a hearing on whether to return the troops to Newsom through a preliminary injunction. Breyer last week issued an order that would have temporarily halted Trump’s deployment, but the 9th Circuit blocked it. Now, the battle over whether federal troops can remain in Los Angeles is operating on three parallel tracks — the case the 9th Circuit decided today, which can be appealed; Friday’s hearing on the preliminary injunction; and the full merits of the case that would be argued through a prolonged trial.</p><p>For Newsom’s legal team to prevail in Friday’s hearing, they’ll have to clear a higher threshold of scrutiny than they did when they initially won back the National Guard last week, albeit for a few hours. That’s because anyone seeking a preliminary injunction must demonstrate that the merits of their arguments will likely prevail in the full trial.</p><p>The appeals court’s decision could influence Breyer’s thinking, legal thinkers said, even if he initially signaled support for the Newsom administration’s arguments.</p><p>“It’s kind of hard to disentangle the two processes when we think about how judge Breyer will be weighing” the preliminary injunction hearing, because a lot of that’s going to be informed by what these higher level courts decide,” said Christopher Mirasola, an assistant law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.</p><p>No matter what Breyer does after Friday, it’ll likely quickly go back to the appeals court. And if the appeals court keeps halting the lower court’s orders, Trump keeps the National Guard for the duration of the lower court’s full trial.</p><p>Would the Newsom team try to appeal the injunction with the Supreme Court?</p><p>On one hand, “why not shoot your shot when you got the opportunity, right?” asked Mirasola rhetorically.&nbsp; But there’s a chance the high court comes back with such a strong opinion favoring the Trump administration that it could “substantively affect how judge Breyer treats the merits of the case.”</p>

Appeals court rules Trump can keep control of California National Guard

KANSAS CITY—A teen who Kansas City police reported as missing is dead following an accident on Interstate 70 Thursday.

Early Thursday, police issued an alert asking for help to locate 14-year-old&nbsp; Mario Myers, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.&nbsp; Myers was seen&nbsp; at 3a.m., walking in the area of 39th and Bales in Kansas City. 

Police reported the boy "needs immediate medical treatment"

Approximately 90 minutes later, police and EMS responded to a confirmed fatal pedestrian accident. The&nbsp;pedestrian, later identified as Myers was walking or standing in the #2 travel lane of eastbound Interstate 70 just west of Manchester, according to DiMartino.

An eastbound white Chevrolet Malibu struck the boy. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the Chevrolet was uninjured, stopped immediately, remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.

All lanes of Eastbound Interstate 70 were closed to traffic for approximately two and a half hours during the investigation.&nbsp;

This is fatality #35 compared to #48 at this time last year, according to DiMartino.

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750354866727.png" alt="Myers photo KCPD" />
                        <figcaption>Myers photo KCPD</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>KANSAS CITY—A teen who Kansas City police reported as missing is dead following an accident on Interstate 70 Thursday.</p><p>Early Thursday, police issued an alert asking for help to locate 14-year-old&nbsp; Mario Myers, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.&nbsp; Myers was seen&nbsp; at 3a.m., walking in the area of 39th and Bales in Kansas City. </p><p>Police reported the boy "needs immediate medical treatment"</p><p>Approximately 90 minutes later, police and EMS responded to a confirmed fatal pedestrian accident. The&nbsp;pedestrian, later identified as Myers was walking or standing in the #2 travel lane of eastbound Interstate 70 just west of Manchester, according to DiMartino.</p><p>An eastbound white Chevrolet Malibu struck the boy. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the Chevrolet was uninjured, stopped immediately, remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.</p><p>All lanes of Eastbound Interstate 70 were closed to traffic for approximately two and a half hours during the investigation.&nbsp;</p><p>This is fatality #35 compared to #48 at this time last year, according to DiMartino.</p>

Police: Missing 14-year-old struck, killed on Interstate 70 

<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> shares an important message from President Donald J. Trump: &quot;Based on the fact that there&#39;s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Xh3rNuURn0">pic.twitter.com/Xh3rNuURn0</a></p>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1935759403510104118?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">These architects of terrorism are officially done terrorizing the world. <a href="https://t.co/H19TzmsCe9">pic.twitter.com/H19TzmsCe9</a></p>&mdash; Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) <a href="https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1935517962242322459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

🎥Trump gives Israel and Iran a deadline to broker peace

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/mchilson/">Morgan Chilson</a>&nbsp;<br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/"><i>Kansas Reflector</i></a>

TOPEKA — Kansas farm income in 2025 is expected to be among the strongest in the last 20 years, bolstered by $2 billion in government payments for depressed crop prices and weather conditions, an agricultural economics expert said Tuesday.

“If you look at the inflation-adjusted farm income for 2025, it’s by far the largest we’ve seen in several years,” said Jennifer Ifft, professor and extension specialist in agricultural policy at Kansas State University. “What drove that sharp increase that we see from 2024 to 2025? The answer is government payments.”

Ifft spoke&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFy4kX8es1Y&amp;t=1s" target="_blank">at a webinar</a>&nbsp;about the outlook for farm income in Kansas and nationally,&nbsp;<a href="https://raff.missouri.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Kansas_Farm_Income_Spring2025.pdf" target="_blank">based on a report from</a>&nbsp;the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center at the University of Missouri and Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics.

Crop and livestock farmers face opposite market conditions, as livestock farmers are thriving amid strong demand while crop farmers face lower prices and high input costs, Ifft said.&nbsp;

“We’ve seen an increase of over $5 billion in livestock receipts since 2020,” she said. “On the crop side, you have seen a decline in crop receipts since 2020. These numbers are very much moving in opposite directions, even though crops have leveled off a little bit.”

Crop receipts fell about $1.6 billion from 2020 to 2025, according to a chart Ifft shared. Data in 2025 is projected.&nbsp;

“Somebody recently reminded me that there’s never been a year when all farms are doing well, and I think that’s especially true this year, and it’s especially important to look under the hood to understand what’s happening with these numbers,” Ifft said.

Although crop farm expenses have decreased, they are still high compared to previous years, she said.

“In 2015, fertilizer expenses have come down, but they’re still 28% higher than the long-run average,” Ifft said. “Pesticides … have come down in 2025, and they’re still 30% higher than that long-run average.”

The long-run average was determined from fertilizer and pesticide expenses from 2006 to 2024.&nbsp;

Ifft highlighted government payments made in recent years, including during the first Trump administration after trade tariffs affected sales; in 2020-2021 related to the COVID-19 pandemic; and those approved at the end of 2024 that will be paid this year related to economic losses for some crop farms and disaster payments.

Gregg Ibendahl, K-State associate professor of agricultural economics, shared data that narrowed Kansas numbers down to a farm level, using information collected from farmers who are part of the Kansas Farm Management Association.&nbsp;

He noted that in 2024, without government payments, about half of Kansas farms in his data would have lost money.&nbsp;

Ibendahl said the current global situation affects farm income projections.&nbsp;

“Some other issues to maybe think about or worry about, is what’s going to happen with the oil supply,” he said, adding that there are wars involving two of the biggest areas in the world where oil is produced, Russia and Ukraine, and now the Middle East conflict between Israel and Iran.&nbsp;

“Surprisingly, though, with the fact that we have two major conflicts going on in two of the major oil-producing areas of the world, oil is still in the $70 range,” Ibendahl said. “I don’t know if the traders are being a little optimistic. They kind of got burned a little bit when the Ukraine war first started, because they had jacked up oil prices into about the $130 range. Turns out that it really didn’t affect Russia’s ability to produce oil.”

If oil prices would escalate quickly, it would affect diesel and fertilizer prices, he said.

Kansas parallels what is happening across the country.&nbsp;

<figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750345862222.png" alt="&nbsp;Kansas farm income in 2025 is expected to be the second highest in the past 20 years, bolstered by government payments that addressed weather challenges and depressed crop prices. (Kevin Hardy/Stateline)" />
                        <figcaption>&nbsp;Kansas farm income in 2025 is expected to be the second highest in the past 20 years, bolstered by government payments that addressed weather challenges and depressed crop prices. (Kevin Hardy/Stateline)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/mchilson/">Morgan Chilson</a>&nbsp;<br><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/"><i>Kansas Reflector</i></a></p><p>TOPEKA — Kansas farm income in 2025 is expected to be among the strongest in the last 20 years, bolstered by $2 billion in government payments for depressed crop prices and weather conditions, an agricultural economics expert said Tuesday.</p><p>“If you look at the inflation-adjusted farm income for 2025, it’s by far the largest we’ve seen in several years,” said Jennifer Ifft, professor and extension specialist in agricultural policy at Kansas State University. “What drove that sharp increase that we see from 2024 to 2025? The answer is government payments.”</p><p>Ifft spoke&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFy4kX8es1Y&amp;t=1s" target="_blank">at a webinar</a>&nbsp;about the outlook for farm income in Kansas and nationally,&nbsp;<a href="https://raff.missouri.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Kansas_Farm_Income_Spring2025.pdf" target="_blank">based on a report from</a>&nbsp;the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center at the University of Missouri and Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics.</p><p>Crop and livestock farmers face opposite market conditions, as livestock farmers are thriving amid strong demand while crop farmers face lower prices and high input costs, Ifft said.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’ve seen an increase of over $5 billion in livestock receipts since 2020,” she said. “On the crop side, you have seen a decline in crop receipts since 2020. These numbers are very much moving in opposite directions, even though crops have leveled off a little bit.”</p><p>Crop receipts fell about $1.6 billion from 2020 to 2025, according to a chart Ifft shared. Data in 2025 is projected.&nbsp;</p><p>“Somebody recently reminded me that there’s never been a year when all farms are doing well, and I think that’s especially true this year, and it’s especially important to look under the hood to understand what’s happening with these numbers,” Ifft said.</p><p>Although crop farm expenses have decreased, they are still high compared to previous years, she said.</p><p>“In 2015, fertilizer expenses have come down, but they’re still 28% higher than the long-run average,” Ifft said. “Pesticides … have come down in 2025, and they’re still 30% higher than that long-run average.”</p><p>The long-run average was determined from fertilizer and pesticide expenses from 2006 to 2024.&nbsp;</p><p>Ifft highlighted government payments made in recent years, including during the first Trump administration after trade tariffs affected sales; in 2020-2021 related to the COVID-19 pandemic; and those approved at the end of 2024 that will be paid this year related to economic losses for some crop farms and disaster payments.</p><figure>
                        <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1750355919009.png" alt=" Data shared at a Kansas farm income webinar Tuesday tracked the sales for livestock and crop farmers. (Screen capture)" />
                        <figcaption> Data shared at a Kansas farm income webinar Tuesday tracked the sales for livestock and crop farmers. (Screen capture)</figcaption>
                    </figure><p>Gregg Ibendahl, K-State associate professor of agricultural economics, shared data that narrowed Kansas numbers down to a farm level, using information collected from farmers who are part of the Kansas Farm Management Association.&nbsp;</p><p>He noted that in 2024, without government payments, about half of Kansas farms in his data would have lost money.&nbsp;</p><p>Ibendahl said the current global situation affects farm income projections.&nbsp;</p><p>“Some other issues to maybe think about or worry about, is what’s going to happen with the oil supply,” he said, adding that there are wars involving two of the biggest areas in the world where oil is produced, Russia and Ukraine, and now the Middle East conflict between Israel and Iran.&nbsp;</p><p>“Surprisingly, though, with the fact that we have two major conflicts going on in two of the major oil-producing areas of the world, oil is still in the $70 range,” Ibendahl said. “I don’t know if the traders are being a little optimistic. They kind of got burned a little bit when the Ukraine war first started, because they had jacked up oil prices into about the $130 range. Turns out that it really didn’t affect Russia’s ability to produce oil.”</p><p>If oil prices would escalate quickly, it would affect diesel and fertilizer prices, he said.</p><h2>National outlook</h2><p>Kansas parallels what is happening across the country.&nbsp;</p><p>“The bottom line at the national level is that we are seeing short- and medium-term pain for field crops because of lower prices, sticky costs,” said Alejandro Plastina, director of the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center. “In the cattle sector, I would say the picture is better. There are limited supplies, mostly on beef and cattle production, high prices and lower feed costs than in the past, still high, but lower than the past.”</p><p>Plastina said government payments, specifically ad hoc payments made based on need to address situations such as weather events, were important in 2023 and 2024.&nbsp;</p><p>“At the aggregate level, we are projecting higher net farm income in 2025,” he said. “But there’s a lot of uncertainty regarding the impact of tariffs and trades, whether we will have a farm bill this year, reconciliation and what it will look like, and then what’s next? That’s a big question for us.”</p><p>Like Ifft, Plastina said government support from 2023 and 2024 being paid out this year will increase net farm income.&nbsp;</p><p>“In the absence of another round of big ad hoc, direct government payments in 2026, which there’s no sign or signal at this point that they might occur —&nbsp; without those payments, net farm income would decline by 20% in 2026 to be barely above what we have as an estimate for 2024,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>Of the $41 billion in net farm increase predicted in 2025, $33 billion of it is in government payments, Plastina said.&nbsp;</p><p>“Net farm income is up for one time in 2025 for those who will receive the payments, but managing that cash flow generated in 2025 to cushion the drop in margins going forward, I think will be critical for the ag sector,” he said.&nbsp;</p>