After two women went missing, law enforcement made four arrests in Oklahoma’s Cimarron and Texas counties (clockwise, from top left): Cole Twombly, Tifany Adams, Tad Cullum and Cora Twombly. (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation) What should we make of “God’s Misfits?” That’s the name Oklahoma authorities say a small antigovernment group who held worship services in their homes called themselves. Four of these “misfits” have been charged with the kidnapping and murder of a pair of southwest Kansas women missing since March 30. To recap a sad story, the women — Veronica Butler and Jilian K ..read more

Attorney General Andrew Bailey speaks at a press conference in the Missouri House Lounge, flanked by House Speaker Dean Plocher, left, and state Rep. Justin Sparks (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications) Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey launched an investigation into four companies Wednesday as part of an effort to crack down on intoxicating hemp products. The problem, according to Bailey, is the products in question — such Delta-8 edibles and vape pens — are not clearly labeled to indicate that they’ll get you high. “When purchasing products, Missourians have a right to know if t ..read more

Missouri National Guard soldiers assist in processing migrants who have crossed the Texas border from Mexico. (Photo courtesy of Missouri Governor’s Office) A bill dedicating $2.2 million to support deployment of Missouri National Guard soldiers and State Highway Patrol troopers to Texas for border security on Wednesday became the first bill sent this year to Gov. MIke Parson. In February, Parson announced he would send 200 soldiers and 11 troopers to work with Texas law enforcement at the request of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. He asked for the money to avoid dipping into emergency funds alloca ..read more

LaRonna Lassiter Saunders, a civil rights advocate and attorney, flips through Tyesha McNair’s funeral book. Tyesha died in 2009 from domestic gun violence. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — LaTonya Boyd carries her daughter’s funeral book with her to a discussion of Kansas gun violence — a physical representation of a problem that has scarred many families, and one that has seen little state action. “I think a lot of our laws are made by people who have not been in that situation,” Boyd said. “I’m a mother who lost my daughter trying to leave a domestic violence relationship, shot m ..read more

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (photo submitted) Missouri had an embarrassing trip to the U.S. Supreme Court last month, and things have gone downhill from there. Murthy v. Missouri (formerly Missouri v. Biden), was filed in 2022 by our then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt and his Louisiana counterpart. They sued a slew of federal government agencies alleging that the agencies’ discussions with social media platforms about content moderation violated the First Amendment. The case is an attempt to avenge those who believe that efforts by private companies and the federal government to ..read more

A sign just outside Creekmoor, a golf course subdivision in Raymore, implores drivers to stop a proposed landfill less than a mile away. Officials from the city of Raymore are negotiating with developers of the project to keep it from being built (Allison Kite/Missouri Independent). Kansas City-area communities fighting a proposed landfill are hopeful negotiations with the developers will end the controversy and “eliminate” the project. For more than a year, communities that border south Kansas City have been fighting a proposed 270-acre landfill. They’ve pleaded with state lawmakers to pas ..read more

Falling in line with recent legislation in other states, the regulations around web access in Kansas present a slippery slope. // Adobe Lawmakers in Kansas recently adopted a new bill requiring online adult platforms to verify the ages of all users who log on to IP addresses from within the state. Presented as a child protection measure, Senate Bill (SB) 394 struck a chord with LGBTQ+ rights and civil liberties activists due to definitions in the new bill that could broadly censor forms of expression otherwise protected by the First Amendment. This measure was pushed through near the end of ..read more

Amy Moore, (right) director of the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation, speaks at the National Cannabis Industry Association’s summit on March 28, 2024 in St. Louis. At left is Mitch Meyers, partner at BeLeaf Medical marijuana company. (Rebecca Rivas/Missouri Independent). Veterans John and Kara Grady received a Facebook message last week from a man who was, “looking for a female veteran to be part of our dispensary license.” Being a veteran is one of the seven categories that makes people eligible to win one of the state’s social-equity marijuana licenses, called “microbusiness licens ..read more

On Thursday, Kansas Reflector saw all its Facebook posts deleted. The platform also blocked users from sharing links to the site. The disruption grew to include two other sites on Friday. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) On Thursday morning, my phone began to flicker with notification after notification from Kansas Reflector readers. Something was going on with our Facebook page, they wrote. They couldn’t see posts anymore. They couldn’t share links anymore. Links they once shared had been removed. Many of them voiced concerns that Facebook was taking down our content for a specific, politi ..read more

A Kansas audience gathers for the screening of “Hot Times in the Heartland” at All Saints Hall at Grace Cathedral in Topeka. (Dave Kendall) The World Meteorological Organization issued a “red alert” as it released its latest report on the “State of the Global Climate” earlier this month, noting that 2023 was the warmest year in recorded human history — and 2024 will likely surpass it. For the past two years, I have been working on the production of a documentary about the local response to this planetary warming, focusing primarily upon what’s taking place within the Kaw Valley and the Kans ..read more