CAMERON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say the inmates involved in a weekend disturbance at a Cameron prison have been identified, searched and may be referred for prosecution.
Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann said the dining halls, kitchen, storage areas, staff offices and a vocational area at the Crossroads Correctional Center were damaged but that there were no serious injuries. The disturbance began around 8:10 p.m. Saturday when 209 inmates refused to return to their housing units because they were frustrated that staffing shortages were leading to reduced time for recreation and other programming.
Pojmann says 131 of the inmates surrendered and that staff vacated the building. The remaining 78 inmates caused damage before order was restored around 2 a.m. Sunday. The prison in Cameron houses about 1,400 medium- and maximum-security inmates.
Isolated to scattered showers and thunder early this morning will give way to a mostly dry period through the late morning before scattered thunderstorms develop through the afternoon, primarily across portions of central Missouri. A few storms may be capable of strong wind gusts. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between noon and 1 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 78. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph becoming north northeast in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. Northeast wind 5 to 8 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Northeast wind around 6 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. East wind 3 to 6 mph.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. East southeast wind 3 to 7 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 63.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87.
Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 85. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 75.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Gov. Greitens booking photo courtesy St. Louis Police Department
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens declared victory Monday as prosecutors abruptly dropped a felony invasion-of-privacy charge alleging he had taken a revealing photo of a woman with whom he has acknowledged having an affair.
The St. Louis circuit attorney’s office said it hopes still to pursue the case, either through a special prosecutor or an appointed assistant. But Greitens’ attorneys said the case was crumbling under a lack of evidence and doubted any charge would ever be refiled.
The first-term Republican governor still faces plenty of other problems. The Legislature is to convene Friday in a monthlong special session to consider whether to impeach Greitens in an attempt to remove him from office. And Greitens still faces a second felony charge for allegedly disclosing a donor list from a St. Louis-based veterans’ charity he founded for use in his political campaign.
Greitens, who has long denied any criminal wrongdoing, emerged from the courthouse Monday with at least a momentary vindication.
“Today the prosecutor has dropped the false charges against me. This is a great victory and it has been a long time coming,” Greitens told reporters outside the St. Louis circuit courthouse. “This experience has been humbling and I have emerged from it a changed man.”
The prosecutor’s surprise move, announced after the third day of jury selection, came after the judge granted a request by Greitens’ lawyers to call St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner as a witness. Greitens’ defense team has repeatedly criticized Gardner’s handling of the case, particularly her hiring of private investigator William Tisaby, whom Greitens’ lawyers have accused of perjury.
“The court’s order places the Circuit Attorney in the impossible position of being a witness, subject to cross-examination,” including by her own subordinates, Gardner spokeswoman Susan Ryan said in a statement.
It “leaves the Circuit Attorney no adequate means of proceeding with this trial,” Ryan said. “Therefore, the court has left the Circuit Attorney with no other legal option than to dismiss and refile this matter.”
She said a decision will be made later to either seek a special prosecutor or appoint one of Gardner’s assistants to proceed.
Greitens, 44, was charged with felony invasion of privacy for allegedly taking and transmitting a photo of an at least partially nude woman without her permission in 2015. If convicted, Greitens could have faced up to four years in prison. Greitens has denied criminal wrongdoing but has declined to directly answer questions about whether he took the photo.
Earlier Monday, Greitens’ attorneys said in court that prosecutors had stopped searching for evidence of the photo after failing to find it on Greitens’ cellphone or in cloud storage.
“The case was going nowhere. There was no evidence to support any of the elements,” Greitens’ attorney Jim Bennett told reporters after the charge was dropped.
Defense attorneys have cited a litany of concerns about Gardner’s handling of the case. Among other things, they accused Tisaby, a former FBI agent, of lying when he said he did not take notes when he and Gardner on Jan. 29 interviewed the woman involved in the affair. A video of the interview belatedly provided to defense lawyers appears to show Tisaby taking notes.
Greitens has rejected calls to resign from both Republicans and Democrats since he first admitted in January that he had an affair before he was elected governor in 2016.
The woman, who has been identified only as K.S. in court filings, has testified that Greitens bound her hands to exercise equipment in March 2015 in the basement of his St. Louis home, blindfolded her and removed her clothes before she saw a flash and heard what sounded like the click of a cellphone camera. She has said Greitens threatened to disseminate the photo if she spoke of their encounter but later told her he had deleted it.
Greitens’ indictment in February prompted the Missouri House to launch its own investigation. It released a report in April containing more testimony from the woman that Greitens had restrained, slapped, shoved, threatened and belittled her during a series of sexual encounters that at times left her crying and afraid.
The committee released a second report May 2 with testimony about how Greitens’ gubernatorial campaign had used a donor list from The Mission Continues without the charity’s permission. A trial date has not yet been set for the charge he faces in St. Louis for allegedly disclosing the donor list to his political fundraiser.
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5 p.m.
Prosecutors have dropped an invasion-of-privacy charge against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, but say they plan to re-file the case with a special prosecutor.
Assistant St. Louis Circuit Attorney Ronald Sullivan made the surprise announcement Monday in court after the third day of jury selection in Greitens’ trial.
Sullivan cited the fact that Greitens’ defense attorneys planned to call the St. Louis circuit attorney, whose handling of the case has been under constant criticism by Greitens attorneys.
Greitens’ defense team has particularly focused on the prosecutor’s hiring of a private investigator, William Tisaby, whom Greitens’ lawyers have accused of perjury.
The Republican governor was accused of taking and transmitting a nonconsensual photo of an at least partially nude woman with whom he had an affair in 2015.
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3 p.m.
Jury selection has been moving slowly and methodically in the criminal trial of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.
More than half of the prospective jurors are being dismissed, either because of time constraints or potential biases. The selection process now is expected to go into Tuesday.
Legal experts say it’s not usual for jury selection to move slowly in high-profile cases. Jurors aren’t required to know nothing about the allegations against Greitens. But his attorneys have been trying to exclude those who may have difficulty setting aside their opinions.
Greitens is charged with felony invasion of privacy for allegedly taking and transmitting a photo of an at least partially nude woman without her consent in 2015.
The Republican governor has acknowledged having an affair but denied criminal wrongdoing.
___
10:15 a.m.
A lawyer for Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says prosecutors have stopped looking for the photo in connection with his felony invasion of privacy trial, a contention a prosecutor did not dispute in court.
The charge against Greitens stems from his allegedly taking and transmitting a photo of a partially nude woman during a sexual encounter in 2015. Prosecutors have acknowledged that they did not have the photo but left open the possibility that they would obtain it.
Defense lawyer Jim Martin said Monday that the circuit attorney’s office told Greitens’ team Friday that they had obtained information from the cloud but did not have a photo. Martin said prosecutors said they had stopped pursuing a photo.
Judge Rex Burlison asked prosecutor Ronald Sullivan if he had a response to the defense’s contention, and he said he did not.
Northwest Missouri State University’s School of Health Science and Wellness will begin a program in August to help registered nurses continue their educational journey.
Director of Nursing at Northwest Brook McAtee said the program will allow registered nurses who have earned their associate degree to continue with their education by earning a bachelor’s degree.
“A few years ago, in 2010, the Institute of Medicine came out and said, basically, we want 80% of our nursing workforce at a bachelor’s degree level or higher,” McAtee said. “So Northwest has been looking at that and thought, ‘Well, what better way to answer their call than to come back and provide a fully online RN to BSN program for those working nurses.’”
McAtee said there are a few factors behind implementing the RN to BSN program, including the need for building leadership traits and for being at the front of research in nursing. McAtee also said, in the long run, nurses who earn their bachelor’s degree will make about $8,000 to $10,000 more a year.
McAtee said along with the 30 credit hours of nursing coursework, a bachelor’s degree in nursing must have clinical components.
“We’re looking for some clinical partners to help us with that… but nurses can actually utilize those clinical areas where they work so that’s another benefit of doing fully online and being able to use those places they work to help with that supplement,” McAtee said.
More information about the RN to BSN program can be found on Northwest’s website.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a federal law that bars gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states, giving states the go-ahead to legalize betting on sports.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. The 1992 law barred state-authorized sports gambling with some exceptions. It made Nevada the only state where a person could wager on the results of a single game.
One research firm estimated before the ruling that if the Supreme Court were to strike down the law, 32 states would likely offer sports betting within five years.
“The legalization of sports gambling requires an important policy choice, but the choice is not ours to make. Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each state is free to act on its own. Our job is to interpret the law Congress has enacted and decide whether it is consistent with the Constitution. PASPA is not,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court.
The court’s decision came in a case from New Jersey, which has fought for years to legalize gambling on sports at casinos and racetracks in the state. Then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said after arguments in the case in December that if justices sided with the state, bets could be taken “within two weeks” of a decision.
On Monday, after the ruling was announced, Christie tweeted that it was a “great day for the rights of states and their people to make their own decisions.” The state’s current governor, Democrat Phil Murphy, also cheered the ruling, saying he was “thrilled” to see the high court strike down the “arbitrary ban.” He said he looks forward to working with the legislature to “enact a law authorizing and regulating sports betting in the very near future.”
It’s possible that the first to market with sports betting in New Jersey will be a racetrack at the Jersey shore. Monmouth Park has already set up a sports book operation and has previously estimated it could take bets within two weeks of a favorable Supreme Court ruling.
Tony Rodio, president of Tropicana Entertainment, said his Atlantic City casino will “absolutely” offer sports betting once it can get it up and running. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said.
More than a dozen states had supported New Jersey, which argued that Congress exceeded its authority when it passed the law barring states from authorizing sports betting. New Jersey said the Constitution allows Congress to pass laws barring wagering on sports, but Congress can’t require states to keep sports gambling prohibitions in place.
All four major U.S. professional sports leagues, the NCAA and the federal government had urged the court to uphold the federal law. In court, the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball had argued that New Jersey’s gambling expansion would hurt the integrity of their games. Outside court, however, leaders of all but the NFL have shown varying degrees of openness to legalized sports gambling.
The American Gaming Association estimates that Americans illegally wager about $150 billion on sports each year.
New Jersey has spent years and millions of dollars in legal fees trying to legalize sports betting at its casinos, racetracks and former racetracks. In 2012, with voters’ support, New Jersey lawmakers passed a law allowing sports betting, directly challenging the 1992 federal law which says states can’t “authorize by law” sports gambling. The four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA sued, and the state lost in court.
In 2014, New Jersey tried a different tactic by repealing laws prohibiting sports gambling at casinos and racetracks. It argued taking its laws off the books was different from authorizing sports gambling. The state lost again and then took the case to the Supreme Court.
Three people were injured in a one vehicle crash Sunday night in Holt County.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 60-year-old Donald W. Phillips of Parma Heights, Ohio, was driving a Chevrolet Cruze south on Route E about five miles south of Mound City at 11:40 p.m. Sunday. The vehicle crossed the center of the road, went off the east side of the road, hit a ditch, crossed a private drive and went airborne before hitting another ditch. The vehicle came to rest on its wheels.
Phillips was transported to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph for treatment of moderate injuries. He was reportedly wearing a seatbelt. Two passengers in the vehicle, 20-year-old Tiffany N. Feickert of Lawrence, Kansas, and 29-year-old Anthony W. Williamson, also of Lawrence, were transported to Mosaic for treatment of serious injuries.
According to the crash report, Williamson was wearing a seatbelt, Feickert was not.
Several rounds of thunderstorms are possible today, beginning this morning and lasting on-and-off through the day. The best potential for storms will be this afternoon through the evening, when more widespread storm coverage is expected. This afternoon/evening period also has the best potential to produce strong to severe storms, possibly resulting in large hail and damaging winds. Isolated flooding is also a concern, especially if all three rounds of storms materialize. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 11 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. South southwest wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. South southwest wind 6 to 9 mph becoming northeast in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
Tuesday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. North northwest wind 6 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Northeast wind 3 to 7 mph.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 81. East northeast wind around 6 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 61.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 62.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85.
Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work in the Northwest Missouri region planned for the week of May 14 – 20 from the Missouri Department of Transportation.
In addition to the work listed below, there may be pothole patching, mowing, shoulder work, bridge maintenance, striping, brush cutting, guardrail repairs, litter pick up and other road work conducted throughout the region. Many of these will be moving operations and could include lane closures with delays. All scheduled maintenance and construction projects are subject to change.
MoDOT reminds the public to stay alert, watch for road work, buckle up, slow down, and drive with extreme caution through work zones and in changing weather conditions.
For more information about a project, please contact MoDOT at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest. You can also follow MoDOT’s Northwest Missouri District on Twitter @ModotNorthwest and on Facebook.
Andrew County
Interstate 29 – Bridge deck replacement project at the Nodaway River Bridge. Traffic is head to head in the northbound lanes. This traffic pattern will be in place through August and includes a 13-foot width restriction.
U.S. Route 71 – Resurfacing project from Route 48 to Route A (Nodaway County), May 14 – 20
Atchison County
U.S. Route 136 – Driveway culvert repair at W Avenue, May 14
I-29 – Flushing bridges, May 14 – 18. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.
U.S. Route 275 – Drainage work, May 14 – 18
Buchanan County
Route 752 – Sidewalk project at Pryor Avenue, May 14 – 15
Route CC – Chip seal from Route 371 to Route 116, May 14 – 16
I-29 – Pavement repair north and southbound from Frederick Avenue to Easton Road, May 14 – 17. This will include overnight lane closures and a 12-foot width restriction.
I-229 and U.S. Route 36 – Sweeping and flushing bridges, May 14 – 17
Route Z – Chip seal from U.S. Route 36 to Route V, May 16 – 17
Caldwell County
Route 116 – Shoulder work from U.S. Route 69 (Clinton County) to Route A, May 14 – 18
Route A – Shoulder work from U.S. Route 36 to the Ray County line, May 14 – 18
U.S. Route 36 – Bridge maintenance at the Long Branch Bridge, May 14 – 20
Carroll County
Route D – Pothole patching from Route C to U.S. Route 36 (Livingston County), May 14
U.S. Route 65 – Bridge maintenance at Tater Hill Creek Bridge, May 14 – 17. This will include overnight lane closures. A temporary traffic signal has been installed to direct traffic.
Route 139 – Pothole patching, May 15 – 16
U.S. Route 65 – Drainage work from Route UU to Route CC, May 17 – 18
Chariton County
Route O – Pavement repair from Route 5 to Route DD, May 14 – 15
Route F – Pothole patching, May 15 – 17
Route E – CLOSED from Route JJ/F to Route 5, May 16, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Route 5 – Pothole patching from Route E to U.S. Route 24, May 17 – 18
Route E – Pothole patching from Route 11 to Route 139, May 18
Clinton County
Route 116 – Shoulder work from U.S. Route 69 to Route A (Caldwell County), May 14 – 18
Route C – Resurfacing project from Route 116 to Route CC, May 14 – 19
Daviess County
Route 13 – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the Honey Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through September.
DeKalb County
U.S. Route 36 – Pavement resurfacing and realignment project at the Route 33 North/Route M junction. Traffic is head to head in the eastbound lanes. This traffic pattern will be in place through July 3 and includes a 14-foot width restriction.
Grundy County
U.S. Route 65 – Pavement repair from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, May 14 – 18. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.
Route K – Pothole patching, May 15 – 18
Harrison County
I-35 – Pavement repair southbound from the 88 mile marker near Bethany to the 84 mile marker near Route AA/H, May 14
Route M – Pothole patching from the Harrison County line to Route D, May 14 – 18
Route AA – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from I-35 to U.S. Route 69, May 15, 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Route N – Shoulder work 0.25 miles west of I-35, May 16
Route U – Pothole patching, May 17 – 18
Holt County
I-29 – Bridge deck replacement at the Nodaway River Bridge. Traffic is head to head in the northbound lanes. This traffic pattern will be in place through August and includes a 13-foot width restriction.
U.S. Route 59 – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the Davis Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through June.
Linn County
Route B – Pothole patching from Route 5 to Route 139, May 14
U.S. Route 36 – Shoulder improvements from just east of Route 11 to Route 5, May 14 – 19
Route C – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route M to Harbor Drive, May 15, 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Route V – Pothole patching from Route M to Route C, May 15
Route WW – Pothole patching from Route 5 to the Macon County line, May 17
Livingston County
Route D – Pothole patching from Route C (Carroll County) to U.S. Route 36, May 14
U.S. Route 65 – Pavement repair from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, May 14 – 18. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.
Mercer County
U.S. Route 65 – Pavement repair from the north city limits of Chillicothe to the Iowa state line, May 14 – 18. This includes a 12-foot width restriction.
Nodaway County
Route E – Pothole patching from U.S. Route 71 to the Iowa state line, May 14
Route 246 – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route AC to Leopard Road, May 14 – 15, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
U.S. Route 71 – Resurfacing project from Route A to just north of Route 48 (Andrew County), May 14 – 20
Route NN – Pothole patching from Route 46 to Route E, May 15
Route 246 – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Lion Road to Mercury Road, May 16 – 17, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
Route NN – Pothole patching from Route E to Route 148, May 17
Worth County
Route F – Drainage work one mile north of Route 46, May 11
Route 46 – Shoulder work in the city limits of Grant City, May 17
The Maryville Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Maryville Public Arts Committee will offer two nights of outdoor events downtown this week.
According to Maryville Chamber Executive Director Lily White, one of the downtown streets in Maryville will be closed off to offer a free event for kids in the area to celebrate summer break being right around the corner. Local businesses and organizations provide kids activities including a petting zoo, bounce house and more.
The Kid’s Block Party begins at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 17th, at 4th and Buchanan Street. For more information, click here.
On Friday, an event featuring music, art and food will take place.
White said ‘Art, Rhythm and Brews’ will be held on the downtown square with indoor areas set up in case of rain.
“There will be outdoor concerts and artist’s showings and tastings of different local restaurants and wineries and breweries from around the area,” White said.
Art, Rhythm and Brews begins at 7 p.m. on Friday. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
The Trustees of the David H. Morton Memorial Fund for the Arts recently announced awards of $1,000 each to three projects in the St. Joseph community.
According to a press release from the Allied Arts Council, the first award went to the Performing Arts Association, in cooperation with the St. Joseph School District, to present assembly-style programs for elementary school students that will use comedy, ventriloquism, and audience participation to impart such messages as: using one’s time wisely, turning talents into lifelong skills, using the library and reading, respecting ourselves and others, and making good choices that keep us safe and healthy.
The Robidoux Row Museum received a Morton Fund award for a new exhibit, “Saving the Buildings that Built St. Joe.” Robidoux Row is in the process of revitalization effort with the goal of increasing both the number of St. Joseph residents and out-of-town visitors who tour the museum. The new exhibit will address the importance of preserving our historic buildings and will tell the stories of the people who lived and worked in those buildings.
A third award went to the Southside Development Corporation for a mural project at the east elevation of 401 Illinois. The project is associated with the Development Corporation’s revitalization plans for the area. This mural is to be created and completed by Sam Welty, an artist who has designed numerous projects across the United States, including downtown St. Joseph.
“We are happy to carry on the tradition of the Morton Fund to use the power of the arts to entertain, inspire, and uplift our community,” said Nick Robb, chairman of the Trustee’s Committee.
The David H. Morton Memorial Fund for the Arts was established in 1986 to honor the legacy of David H. Morton, a community leader and enthusiastic advocate of the arts. Since that time, some 35 arts-related projects have received support from the Morton Fund.
For more information about the fund, call the Allied Arts Council at (816) 233-0231.
CAMERON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say the inmates involved in a weekend disturbance at a Cameron prison have been identified, searched and may be referred for prosecution.
