Category: Missouri

Pilot Arrested After Landing Plane on Interstate in Missouri

GRAIN VALLEY, Mo.—An intoxicated pilot was arrested after landing a small aircraft early Friday on Interstate 70 southeast of Kansas City, Missouri, after radioing that he had run out of fuel, authorities said. The landing about 2:30 a.m. east of Grain Valley, roughly 20 miles southeast of Kansas City, closed westbound lanes of the highway…


Republican Sen. James Lankford Blocks Democrats’ Travel for Abortion Bill

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) on Thursday blocked a bill proposed by Democrats seeking unanimous consent to prevent pro-life states from restricting women from interstate travel to obtain an abortion. Democrats proposed the “Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act of 2022” (pdf) legislation in response to, in some cases, the introduction of bills in some state legislatures,…


Missouri Woman Who Killed Disabled Daughter Sentenced

CLAYTON, Mo.—An elderly Missouri woman who removed her disabled daughter from a nursing home and stabbed her to death at a hotel has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Marjorie Theleman, 81, of Webster Groves, pleaded guilty earlier this month to second-degree murder in the November 2019 killing of 51-year-old Sharon Theleman, the St….


Meet the Ozark Family Band That’s Introducing American Roots Music to a Global Audience

Jon and Karen Petersen and their four children started out like many family bands, playing for church audiences. “Our dad found the band to be a really great way to share his family and also his faith,” Ellen Petersen Haygood said. “He would take a moment to talk after the show and say why we…


Police Say 70-Year-Old Missouri Man Killed Disabled Sister

ST. LOUIS—A 70-year-old Missouri man is facing charges in the beating death of his disabled sister—a crime police said the man carried out because he was frustrated about having to care for her. Medics and officers were called to a home Sunday in an unincorporated part of St. Louis County by Anthony Sokolich, who said…


Missouri Requires Photo ID, Bans Ballot Drop Boxes in Election Law Overhaul

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a new election law on Wednesday that will require a voter to show a photo ID to vote in the coming general election. The new law, House Bill 1878, requires voters to show one of the following photo IDs at polling sites: nonexpired Missouri driver’s license, nonexpired state nondriver’s license,…


Supreme Court Allows Biden Administration to End Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Asylum Policy

The Supreme Court gave the Biden administration a green light this morning to end the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy that requires non-Mexican asylum-seekers arriving at the southern border to wait in Mexico for processing. The decision to nix the program did not violate a 1996 migrant detention law, the court held, adding that the…


Officials Identify 4 People Who Died in Amtrak Derailment

MENDON, Mo.—Authorities on Wednesday identified the four people killed when an Amtrak passenger train collided with a dump truck earlier this week in rural Missouri, saying two were from Kansas and two were from Missouri. The truck driver, 54-year-old Billy Barton II, of Brookfield, Missouri, died in Monday’s collision, the Chariton County coroner said. Two…


4th Person Has Died Following Missouri Amtrak Derailment

MENDON, Mo.—A fourth person has died from injuries suffered in an Amtrak train derailment in Missouri, the state highway patrol said Tuesday. The patrol said the person died at University of Missouri Health Center. The person’s identity was not released. The patrol said the fourth fatality was aboard the Southwest Chief train, as were two…


Official: Upgrades Urged at Amtrak Crash Site, but No Action

MENDON, Mo.—The chief elected official in the Missouri county where an Amtrak train slammed into a dump truck said Tuesday that residents and county leaders have been pushing for a safety upgrade at the railroad crossing for nearly three years. Meanwhile, the toll from the accident rose to four deaths and 150 injuries. A day…