Latest news with #GeneralMunicipalElection
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Governor 'signaled support' for special election in April 2026
NEOSHO, Mo. — While an official announcement has yet to be made, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe's office said he is looking at dates to schedule a special election for two vacant House seats, including the 160th District seat that represents Neosho. The seat has been vacant since May when then-state Rep. Ben Baker announced he was taking a job with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Gabby Picard, communications director for Kehoe's office, said in an email Monday that the governor has not officially called for a special election for 160th District and the 95th District in the St. Louis area, but that could change. 'Governor Kehoe has signaled support for holding these elections on a date in which counties will already be holding an election, such as the April 2026 General Municipal Election,' Picard said. 'An April special election would allow Missourians to be more aware of the election taking place and educated on the candidates on the ballot.' Angela Thomas, chair of the Newton County Democratic Party Central Committee, said on Monday she was glad the governor was considering a special election but wants it sooner. 'By calling it in April 2026, there's only one month left of session, which ends in May,' Thomas said. 'So both House districts 95 and 160 still would not have any representation because one month is not enough. That would be the time when most of the voting goes on and you would have two freshman state reps that haven't been able to read all the bills throughout the session there to vote with less than a month's experience. There's plenty of time for him to hold it in November of this year, and that is, in my opinion, when it should be held. It gives both of those districts representation for the entire session.' The voter advocacy group VOTE417 issued a news release last week commending Kehoe for considering calling a special election. While the 160th District, covering Neosho and much of Newton County, has been without a representative since May, the 95th District in St. Louis County has been vacant since January. 'Those Missourians were being denied their rights to representation, and this cannot be allowed whether it's a Republican- or Democrat-held seat,' Dennis Pyle, VOTE417 president, said in a statement. 'While we wish the elections had been called sooner, we commend Gov. Kehoe for doing the right thing.' Newton County Presiding Commissioner Daniel Swem said he can understand the governor's wish to hold the election at a time when another election is going on. 'I can see that point, but I've also had a lot of citizens call who say we're not represented,' Swem said. 'Ben's gone. He did great, but we don't have a state representative now. Are they going to have someone in before session? I've told them I don't know, that's way above county commission. But I do feel like something should have been done before now.' Swem said people in Newton County are concerned about going too long without representation in the Capitol. 'To go a whole year without a representative for our district, I don't think the citizens like that at all,' Swem said. 'The ones I've been talking to have been pretty upset. People ask, 'What are we doing? Are we going to have representation next session?' I tell them to call the governor's office.' Messages left with Newton County Republican Party Chairman Nick Myers seeking comment were not returned Monday. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illinois House passes bill to ban derogatory disability mascots
Editor's note: This video is from March 10, 2025 FREEBURG, Ill. – An Illinois House Bill, which seeks to prohibit disability mascots, has moved its way to the Senate, following a 71-38 vote. For its third reading, the Illinois General Assembly met on April 8 to discuss HB 3527, which was filed by Representative Maurice A. West II. This bill would create a Prohibition of Discriminatory Disability Mascots Act. From the bill's language, this act would restrict a public education institution from the adoption or continued use of discriminatory disabled mascots. Five public schools in the United States use the 'Midget' name for their mascots. One of the schools that sport the image is Freeburg High School, known as the 'Mighty Midgets' for nine decades. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Back in March, the school faced many forms of pushback for its name among community members and advocacy groups like Mascots Matters. Others, however, argued that the 'Mighty Midgets' name was not meant to be offensive. 'I don't think it's necessary to change it after all these years. I mean, I live right across the street from the high school and we always see the sign and it doesn't offend us at all. And after all these years, I think it would be very odd to change it,' said resident Bonnie McCain previously in March. No one would know who it is.' The mascot's name originates back to the '30s, when a sportswriter gave inspiration to the nickname after Freeburg High's basketball team—despite having no player taller than 5-foot-10—defeated a much taller, yet undefeated opponent. With the House Bill moving to the Senate, advocates like Rachel Wherley reflected on the matter with FOX2Now today. Wherley is also the founder and co-director of Mascots Matter, a grassroots organization that advocates for inclusivity. '(I was feeling) very emotional,' Wherley explained. 'I am a stay-at-home mom and I have achondroplasia dwarfism.' According to Wherley, the controversy surrounding Freeburg High's mascot identity, the 'Mighty Midgets,' is a 'school board issue' when it comes to addressing the sensitivity of the name. Wherley says she and her group brought forward concerns about Freeburg High's name to the school board. 'It's a school board issue, but its members refuse to act,' Wherley said. Missouri's General Municipal Election Results FOX2Now reached out to Freeburg High's administration, including its superintendent, principal and assistant principal in response to Wherley's claims and is awaiting a response. Mascots Matter, however, expressed appreciation for the Illinois House of Representatives' decision:'This bill marks a significant step forward in affirming the dignity and humanity of individuals with disabilities, particularly those with dwarfism who have long endured the harm caused by derogatory mascot names such as 'Midget,' wrote Erin Elswood, co-director of Mascots Matter. 'We especially want to thank Representative Maurice West for championing this legislation, along with all of the bill's chief and co-sponsors who stood in support of this meaningful change. Their leadership sends a powerful message: that students with disabilities deserve to attend schools without being dehumanized or reduced to outdated and offensive caricatures.' If HB 3527 is implemented, public educational institutions may continue to use uniforms or other materials that have the prohibited name/image before the effective date of the Act until Sept. 1, 2028. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Endangered Wolf Center prepares for gray, red wolf pups
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – This is as close as we're getting today to the dens at the endangered wolf center; it's puppy season and FOX 2 is learning more about that and the dire wolf. Just off Highway 44 in Eureka, one can take a trip down a gravel road at the Endangered Wolf Center. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now It is pup season, where nature is taking its course. And If all goes as planned, the center will have Mexican gray wolf pups and American red pups. 'We could have pups arriving in the next two to six weeks,' says Fred Gauna, executive director of Endangered Wolf Center. 'Depending on which group it is and when they bred last, It's an exciting time for us. There are times we have used frozen dog semen to do artificial insemination. We didn't do that this time because we had natural pairings. But that's one of the tools in our toolkit where you artificially inseminate them. But the birth is natural, and the mother raises them as a wolf, so they are set up best for success to be a wild wolf.' Some of which may make their tracks to the Southwest United States, to Arizona and New Mexico. That's where wolf pups born at the Endangered Wolf Center have been reintroduced to the wild. Missouri's General Municipal Election Results The nonprofit first started by the late Marlin Perkins and his wife Carol in 1971, sits on an isolated part of land in Eureka. A different setting than that of the news coming out of Dallas. That's where Colossal Biosciences say they've de-extincted the Dire Wolf—a species that went extinct more than 12 thousand years ago. The bio team used DNA from a tooth and skull thousands of years old and, in a lab, created the Dire Wolf. 'You have an animal that hasn't existed on the landscape for a long time,' Gauna said. 'But I'll leave those questions for the genetic ethicists to go back and forth. But any advance in science is great for the conservation effort and any work we do at the center.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
St. Louis sex offender pleads guilty to new charges, will spend life in prison
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man labeled a 'persistent predatory sexual offender' will spend the rest of his life behind bars after pleading guilty Tuesday to new child sex crimes. The crimes occurred between Oct. 15, 2023, and Jan. 1, 2024, at Jeffrey Jones' Dutchtown apartment. Jones admitted committing sex acts on two boys, ages 8 and 9, and trying to get one of the children to perform a sexual act on him. He pleaded guilty to first-degree statutory sodomy, first-degree attempt statutory sodomy, and two counts of first-degree child molestation. Missouri's General Municipal Election Results Jones was arrested on March 12, 2024. He was previously convicted in January 2000 of first-degree statutory rape, first-degree statutory sodomy, first-degree child molestation, and sexual misconduct in St. Louis Circuit Court and served 15 years in prison. Due to his prior convictions, Jones was sentenced to three consecutive life terms, ensuring he'll never have another opportunity to be alone with a child. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Clay County voters experiencing issues at polling sites
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Some Clay County voters claim to have run into issues at some polling sites Tuesday morning. The Clay County Election Board said in a statement that it discovered 64 ballot styles that contained ballots in which the same races appeared on the front and the back of the ballot. The ballots should have only been one-sided. The Board had correctly programmed the tabulators not to accept such a ballot. Human remains found in 1973 identified as missing Kansas City, Kansas teen According to the Clay County Election Board, voters were still able to cast their ballots at the opening of the polls, and those will be counted. The Board also instructed poll workers to provide voters with alternative options. The election board says the incorrect ballots with races on both sides had an 'X' marked through the duplicate races to minimize confusion. Despite those efforts, some Liberty residents say they are concerned about how their vote is being counted. 'I personally called the Clay County Election Board and told them that there were problems here. So I live in Liberty, and I'm a resident here, and I care about the people,' said Liberty resident Susan Wayne. Gieselle Fest is challenging incumbent Liberty Mayor Greg Canuteson in the General Municipal Election. Fest spent the day talking with voters near the Liberty Church of Christ polling location. 'I've had voters come out very unhappy and very upset. They're not sure if their ballots are going to be counted. Apparently, it's printed twice on two sides, which is unacceptable. All electronic machines are not working. That's unacceptable,' Fest said. 'We're trying to get people to vote in Liberty. We have a town of 32,000. Regrettably, in (past) April (elections), we only had 3,000 votes. So, people are concerned about election integrity. And this just makes people panic,' Fest said. Susan Wayne spent much of the day near a different voting location in Liberty and said she heard similar complaints. Lawsuit filed after Kansas City metro man, DACA recipient is deported to Mexico 'I've been here since six this morning, and this morning for at least a half hour, people were griping, complaining that the voting machines were not working. And in 2025, computers should work and be in proper working order,' Wayne said. The Clay County Election Board said it is conducting an investigation into the vendor who provided the double-sided ballots. The early votes that had double-sided ballots will be inspected and counted by bipartisan teams to ensure correct tabulation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
