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JEFFERSON CITY - Portions of downtown Jefferson City are shut down due to a possible hostage situation in a government building. State employees in the building say police officers are outside patroling the area with assault rifles. The area is locked down. Follow KOMU online and on Twitter for updates. A viewer called KOMU to say a hostage situation took place in the Governor's Building on Madison Street. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder is sending accounts from his Twitter account saying snipers are on the roof of the Jefferson Building and negotiators are on the scene to speak with a suspect...

MARSHFIELD, Mo. — Prosecutors have charged four Amish bishops in southwest Missouri with failing to report suspected child sex abuse. The four men were charged Tuesday with one misdemeanor count each. Missouri law requires people with "responsibility for the care of children" to report suspected child abuse. Examples of mandatory reporters are doctors, nurses, social workers and teachers and ministers who are not engaged in a "privileged communication." A lawyer for the four men questioned whether the law applies.

WASHINGTON – Many communities hit hardest by job losses, those built around dying factories and mills, have been slowest to see relief from President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, underscoring how hard it is for Washington policymakers to create lasting work in areas that need it most. The manufacturing industry has shed hundreds of thousands of jobs during the recession as plants have closed or scaled back. Places such as the southwest Missouri city of Lamar, tucked amid endless fields of winter wheat and soybeans, have seen the cornerstones of their economies disappear, leaving a gap that even billions in roadwork...

Obama Touts Good Economic News, Yet Warns More Job Loss to Come October 31, 2009 ABC News' Jordyn Phelps and Sunlen Miller report: President Obama touted good news in the economic recovery in his weekly address, pointing to Thursday’s report that GDP has grown for the first time in over a year and credited his administration in helping to bring about a conclusion to the current economic recession. “We can see clearly now that the steps my administration is taking are making a difference, blunting the worst of this recession and helping to bring about its conclusion,” the president said...

We all know that the US has lost 4.5 million jobs under President Obama's march to Socialism. But what about the aborted jobs?

A Cape Girardeau man was arrested for flag desecration Friday, a case that was dismissed within hours because of a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared flag burning was protected speech under the First Amendment. Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said that he was unaware of the case, Texas v. Johnson, that invalidated the laws of 48 states, when he filed misdemeanor charges against Frank L. Snider III. Missouri's law was passed in 1980. When asked whether the state law could be enforced, Swingle said he needed to research the issue. After reviewing the court's opinion, he...

Hundreds of people have been arrested in Texas and around the country what officials say is the largest single strike at a Mexican drug cartel in the U.S WASHINGTON (October 22, 2009)—U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder calls the arrests of more than 300 people in a series of drug raids in Texas and across the country the largest single strike at a Mexican drug cartel operating here. Holder said at a news conference Thursday that the arrests over the past two days were aimed at the U.S. operations of the La Familia cartel. Click here to find out more! Holder...

Turn the Other Cheek Deborah Lambert, October 19, 2009 Until last year, Missouri teenager Jimmy Winkelmann wasn’t planning on being an entrepreneur. But after becoming “frustrated with his classmates’ sheep-like following” of the popular North Face sports clothing, he finally decided to generate his own response. The result was a line of parody sports apparel called “South Butt.” The idea caught on—but thanks to the popularity of his website offerings, Winkelmann might face a lawsuit for trademark infringement, according to ABC TV News. It all started when a lawyer for North Face contacted Winkelmann, saying that the similarity of the...

A southwest Missouri man was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, and investigators believe the homicide is connected to the slayings of her father and stepmother. Josh Reyes, 23, of Springfield, was being held without bond Sunday, said Laclede County Jailer Tracy Lawson. Reyes was charged Saturday with the first-degree murder, armed criminal action and first-degree burglary in the death of Zachary Bryan Porter, 25, of Elkland. Lawson said he didn't know whether Reyes had an attorney. Springfield television station KSPR reported that Reyes's ex-girlfriend and their two children watched as Porter was gunned...

The perfect example of the idiocy of sin taxes... "According to the State of Missouri, July and August liquor tax collection remained relatively flat before spiking in the month of September. The growth in liquor tax revenue was solely attributable to a phenomenal 41% increase in sales of hard liquor and wine as..." Read more: Missouri liquor sales skyrocket after Illinois alcohol tax increase

Some 200 patriotic citizens lined one side of Highway K early this afternoon at the intersection of Highways K & N in O’Fallon, Mo. Their signs told stories of their passionate disdain for socialism, government-run health care and an out-of-control federal government. Across the street, barely a dozen individuals carried signs in support of the so-called “Public Option” and other liberal agenda items. Rallies like the one today have become a weekly event, drawing as many as 300 conservative, Constitution-loving citizens weekly and outnumbering those with opposing views more than 10 to 1.

    SIGN ON 1-70 in Blue Springs, Missouri!  Erected by a True American Patriot! William Cody of Kansas City.   Anti-Obama Sign Displayed on Metro HighwayBLUE SPRINGS, MO. – An unusual sign has appeared along Interstate 70 in Blue Springs. If you are traveling in the eastbound lanes of the freeway between Adams Dairy Parkway and the Grain Valley exit you will see a sign that appears to be anti-President Barack Obama. The sign features the hammer and sickle, a symbol of communism and insinuates that Obama will jeopardize the first and second amendments to the Constitution, which are...

09.30.2009 3:35 pm Auto employment in St. Louis shrinks to just 700 By David Nicklaus St. Louis Post-Dispatch After reading STL JobWatch’s update on the unemployment situation in St. Louis, I headed for the Bureau of Labor Statistics website to refresh my knowledge on where the jobs are being lost. There are no surprises in the big industry categories, which I’ll get to in a moment. One number did, however, leap out at me: In August, the metro area had just 700 auto manufacturing jobs. That was down from 3,000 in July, a drop that reflects the shutdown of Chrysler’s...

Everybody knows that smoking is a popular pastime in Missouri, but certain groups light up more than others. About 36 percent of the state’s gay, lesbian and transgendered community smoke, compared to nearly 25 percent of the general population. And the gay community has less desire to stop — 37 percent say they’ll quit in the next six months, compared to 64 percent of all smokers in Missouri. The stats come from a new report out of the nonprofit Missouri Foundation for Health. The foundation wanted to figure out who’s smoking, so prevention and cessation programs can be targeted at...

Democrat Robin Carnahan and Republican Roy Blunt are dead even in the first Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 survey of the hotly contested race for the U.S. Senate in Missouri. Both candidates capture 46% of the vote in a new telephone survey of Missouri voters. Two percent (2%) favor some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are not sure which candidate they will vote for. Blunt, a member of Congress since 1997, has held the number two GOP position in the House, serving as minority whip. His son was governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2009. Carnahan, currently Missouri’s secretary of...

Democrat Robin Carnahan and Republican Roy Blunt are dead even in the first Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 survey of the hotly contested race for the U.S. Senate in Missouri.

It's always sad when the son of someone famous gets tangled up with the law. But even if sad, it is one ting that newspapers love because it gives them something salacious to excite their readers. Naturally, the first paragraph nearly always includes the name of the troubled scion as well as the name of his famous father or mother, especially if they are politicians. But the Kansas City Star recently bucked this top-of-the-story outing of the parents of a troublemaker with the Sept. 11 tale of a young man that tangled with the Kansas City Police Chief at a...

Johnny Bolton claims all it took was a one-car garage, a tape measure and a welding torch. “And a lot of thinking,” Bolton said. Regardless, the Louisiana man is driving around in a truck he spent eight months building from spare parts. It may not be pretty, but it’s road-safe and Bolton can get around without having to worry about making a car payment every month. Bolton used Ford axles, a Chevrolet bed and an Oldsmobile engine, all placed on a 1949 International frame. He's nicknamed it the "Mississippi River Rat." Bolton, who works in the power plant at Hercules...

Does anybody know if there is any effort going on to reverse the open primary system that gave us John McCain? According to Wikipedia the following states have open primaries: * Alabama * Arkansas * Georgia * Idaho * Indiana * Michigan * Minnesota * Mississippi * Missouri * North Dakota * South Carolina * Tennessee * Texas * Vermont * Virginia * Wisconsin I've run a google news search and come up with blanks.

The Battleship Missouri, scene of the Japanese Surrender to U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur on September 2, 1945, is about to get a complete overhaul and makeover. The videos above show the Missouri in action during the First Gulf War in 1991 - blasting away with her big guns. The second video shows the Japanese Surrender on her deck 64 years ago today: "On Sept. 2, 1945, the USS Missouri hosted Japan's surrender in World War II. "I'm proud of it," Art Albert said. Back then Albert was a machinist aboard the vessel. Now he sees rust and faded paint on...

Here is a video report on a Town Hall Meeting held in Jefferson City, Missouri last night by Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill. She faced a crowd that was very much against ObamaCare. The videos below show raw video from the Town Hall, and includes McCaskill talking to the press afterward in her very lecturing way in which she said those who showed up were one of the most "impolite crowds" she has ever seen. The first video below has a clip from the meeting where McCaskill tells the crowd "You have every right to fire me," which caused the crowd...

With friends like the Democrats, black people don’t need any enemies. The latest Democrat poster child comes from Missouri, where Governor Jay Nixon delivers metaphorical lashes to his black constituents. As The Beacon reports: “For the first time since 1971, there will be no African-Americans serving on the nine-person board [UM Board of Curators]. Each hails from one of the state’s nine congressional districts, and all require confirmation by the state Senate. There also is a non-voting student representative. The only African-American curator that had been on the board, Cheryl Walker, is officially off now that Nixon on Tuesday named...

Poverty in Our Cities. City, State, % of People Below the Poverty Level 1. Detroit , MI 32.5% 2. Buffalo , NY 29.9% 3. Cincinnati , OH 27.8% 4. Cleveland , OH 27.0% 5. Miami , FL 26.9% 6. St. Louis , MO 26.8% 7. El Paso , TX 26.4% 8. Milwaukee , WI 26.2% 9. Philadelphia , PA 25.1% 10. Newark , NJ 24.2% U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey, August 2007 What do the top ten cities (over 250,000) with the highest poverty rate all have in common? Detroit , MI (1st on the poverty rate list)...

Those were the words of Kenneth Gladney. These words however were spoken by his lawyer since Gladney was under heavy medication as a result of the beating he took at the hands of SEIU thugs. (See pictures and a recap after the link below)

A day after a Russ Carnahan event led to the arrests of five participants and a reporter, University City High School — where U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill was set to hold a similar event on Tuesday– announced that the forum has been canceled. The school district sent a news release this afternoon stating that the “reasons for the cancellation by the school district are due to concerns for the safety and security of its staff, community members attending the event, and for the students who would be on campus during that time.” There is no word on whether McCaskill...

6 arrested including SEIU members... RAW VIDEO from Missourah blog: A black conservative was attacked by the Carnahan-supporting mob. At least one SEIU member is arrested by St. Louis police in this video:

Check this out...

Greetings Modern Day Patriots, The Congressional Recess gives us a great opportunity to provide feedback personally to our representatives, below is a listing of August events. In the grand tradition of our founding fathers Kansans and Missourians have a responsibility to join together and support the other for the fight for our freedoms "UNITED WE STAND". Please try to attend as many of these functions as possible our country is counting on Modern Day Patriots like you. We would like to announce the end of summer event. The last thing our representatives will see before they go back to Washington...

A member of the St. Louis Tea Party was physically attacked by union thugs. The sick thing is it looks like he was attacked because of the color of his skin.

Ed Martin, who made his name in Missouri as the Energizer Bunny chief of staff for Gov. Matt Blunt, said today he's considering a run for Congress next year. His opponent would be Democratic incumbent Russ Carnahan of St. Louis. Martin, who resigned as chief of staff in 2007 after months of controvery over the firing of a staff lawyer, Scott Eckersley, sounds serious. He's formed an exploratory committee that will let him start raising money. "The people of the 3rd District are a critical economic engine for America,” said Martin. “These workers and families want leaders who will stand...

Link only - Hundreds in St. Louis weigh in on heathcare reform

Mike Ferguson, a prominent member of the state's Libertarian Party, announced today that he is now a Republican. Ferguson - who ran for lieutenant governor in 2004 under the Libertarian Party banner - is a Grandview alderman. He was active in promoting Libertarian Bob Barr's 2008 presidential campaign. "My principles and beliefs have not changed," Ferguson said in statement. "I am for cutting unneeded government spending. I am a fiscal conservative who believes that government should stay out of the private sector as much as possible. I am pro-life. I am a believer in the common-sense truth that protecting personal...

Stan Musial, the greatest Cardinal of them all, met up with Albert Pujols, the greatest Cardinal of now and perhaps of a very long time, for an All-Star photo session one day recently. Between the photo clicks, the picture that emerged was one of two St. Louis baseball icons from different eras with an admiration for each other. They traded tips on hitting, joked about their salaries and golf games and showed appreciation for a baseball bat as only two sluggers of their stature could. Musial, who appeared in 24 All-Star Games and is expected to play a key role...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (CN) - A 23-year-old illegal alien faces charges and deportation after he allegedly threatened to blow up a police station and a federal courthouse. Pedro Quino-Teodoro is charged with two counts of making a terrorist threat and one count of attempted obstruction of a governmental function. Police say Quino-Teodoro threatened to kill an officer and his family if immigration authorities were contacted during an assault investigation. Immigration officials confirmed his illegal status. Upon arrest, Quino-Teodoro allegedly said he would destroy the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau and police headquarters. He is being held on a $100,000 cash-only...

ST. LOUIS - It's an international mystery: How did a Missouri family's Christmas card photo end up in the Czech Republic, splashed across a huge storefront advertisement? Danielle Smith said Wednesday that the photo taken of her family last year got sent to family and friends, and was posted on her blog and a few social networking sites. The photo showed her and her husband Jeff holding their two young children. About 10 days ago, one of Smith's college friends was driving through Prague when he spotted their huge smiling faces in the window of a store specializing in Europeann...

The Springfield, Missouri, chapter of the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi organization, thought it would be cute to adopt a section of highway along West Bypass between Sunshine and Farm Road 142. MoDOT allowed them to put up a sign along the road bearing the group's name, and members posed with it, Seig Heil-ing and whatnot (pictured). Afterward, they went home, put on their swastika-print jammies and drifted off to thumb-sucking sleep, secure in their white pride. Then, along came the Jews to ruin everything. The Jewish Community Relations Bureau, based here in KC, approached Kansas City Rep. Jason Holsman...

Missourians are rushing to arm themselves with concealed weapons at a record pace so far this year. Criminologists and law enforcement officials say the increase may be driven by fear of increased crime due to the recession and the perception of potential loss of gun rights from a new Democratic president. "People just don't feel safe, whether it's with the political structure or the economic situation," said Noelle Fearn, assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at St. Louis University. In the St. Louis area, the surge is most marked in St. Charles, Warren, Lincoln and Jefferson counties, where applications...

Note: The following text is a quote: Eight Uzbekistan Nationals Among 12 Charged with Racketeering, Human Trafficking & Immigration Violations in Scheme to Employ Illegal Aliens in 14 States Twelve defendants, including eight Uzbekistan nationals, have been charged in a 45-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on May 6, 2009, on RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) charges related to labor racketeering, forced labor trafficking and immigration and other violations in 14 states. Abrorkhodja Askarkhodjaev, 30, Nodir Yunusov, 22, Rustamjon Shukurov, 21, citizens of Uzbekistan residing in Mission, Kan.; Ilkham Fazilov, 44, Nodirbek...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri legislators spent about an hour in the dark Tuesday because of a power outage at the state Capitol , and a snake took all the blame and paid the price. The electricity went out at noon while lawmakers were debating legislation and scores of schoolchildren were touring the building. Several people were stuck in elevators, but Capitol Police Chief Todd Hurt said they all were freed within 20 minutes and no injuries were reported. Power was back on after about an hour. The problem was a reptile that was in the wrong place at the...

A continuation of an irregular series of geological features in state parks: this one is Elephant Rocks State Park in Missouri. Please read my notes after the final image. Elephant Rocks State Park General Information Park Map Click for full-size. Click for full-size. Same view, different season This last image comes from a revelatory Web site, by Scott Haefner: Scott Haefner photographyHe has a huge variety of photographs (most of which could be ordered as prints), and you have GOT to see his Bubble 360 panoramas! Links to the panoramas are on the home page. To get to images organized...

Note: The following text is a quote: Two Missouri Brothers Among Those Indicted in $4 Million Nationwide Spamming Conspiracy Millions of E-Mail Addresses Illegally Harvested from Computers at 2,000 Schools KANSAS CITY, MO—Two Missouri men and their company are among those indicted by a federal grand jury in a nationwide e-mail spamming case that victimized more than 2,000 colleges and universities in a scheme that sold more than $4 million worth of products to students, announced Matt J. Whitworth, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Amir Ahmad Shah, 28, of St. Louis., his brother, Osmaan Ahmad...

JEFFERSON CITY | House Speaker Ron Richard said this afternoon that federal officials have already warned against a plan to use federal stimulus dollars for a tax cut. Richard, a Joplin Republican, made the remarks in an appearance on the Fox News program Your World. "We've got a message from the OMB, the vice president, they don't like it," Richard said in the TV interview. "They say it's illegal and we're going anyway."

It's been said that conservatism has different meanings for different people. It may not be textbook, but without a whole lot of navel gazing, here's what it means to me and what Free Republic is all about: In a word, Freedom! In two words, Preserving Freedom. In a handful of words as stated by our Founding Fathers, to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity! America was founded on the proposition that all men are created equal by God and that our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are granted directly by God...

NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - Ameren Corp (AEE.N) suspended its efforts to build a new nuclear power plant in Missouri due to unfavorable legislation that would not allow for cost recovery during the construction process, the company said in a release on Thursday. This is one of the first nuclear projects in the United States to be suspended since the federal government started pushing the "nuclear renaissance" several years ago amid rising energy demands, concerns over climate change and dependence on overseas supplies of fossil fuels. Despite Ameren's decision, the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry advocate, still expects four...

Does anyone know of a protest being organized for Obama's visit to Jefferson County to mark the end of his "first 100 days"? I would love to see that happen. I actually don't even know what city he is going to.

Nobody can sell any ammunition after June 30, 2009. It has already started: 'Ammunition Accountability' Legislation. Remember how Obama said that he wasn't going to take your guns? Well, it seems that his allies in the anti-gun world have no problem with taking your ammo! The bill that is being pushed in 18 states (including Illinois and Indiana) requires all ammunition to be encoded by the manufacturer, a data base of all ammunition sales. So, they will know how much you buy and what calibers. Nobody can sell any ammunition after June 30, 2009 unless the ammunition is coded. Any...

Do not believe the nattering nabobs of negativity. The Nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt was a huge success!! What we need now is MORE and LOUDER!! Obama has no clue. Being confronted by millions of fed-up citizens is new to him. He never expected the otherwise docile American people to rise up against his wannabe Marxist/fascist totalitarian regime. He's now lashing out at us through the Dept of Homeland Security as if We the People are his enemy. Well, we are! And he now knows it. And he's scared witless!! And the media has been reduced to the speechless,...

Congratulations FReepers and Patriots! According to Henchster's ongoing tallies, we've surpassed 750,000 participants in our nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt! Woo hoo!! All 50 states fully engaged! Over 600 cities represented and reports still coming in! Huge turnout, huge SUCCESS!! Elected officials take note: DO NOT TREAD ON ME!! Tyranny, usurpation, corruption, overreaching, big spending, high taxing will no longer be tolerated! We the people are FED-UP and we're not going to take it anymore! Ignore us at your own peril! All Congressional seats, all elected offices throughout the land at risk! Revolution is in the air!!

Speech by: Mitch Martin “Country of Makers, not Takers!” This is a very stirring speech given by a local citizen of Washington, Missouri on the bank of the Missouri River. Posted on Guy Midkiff's website. http://guymidkiff.wordpress.com/2009/04/17/washmo-tea-party-mitch-martin-speech/

If the Obama administration has taken flak for suggesting that conservative groups might be home to domestic terrorists, it looks like some House Democrat leaders are willing to go even further: But in an interview on Fox TV in San Francisco, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) chalked up the GOP grass-roots effort as “AstroTurf.” “This initiative is funded by the high end; we call it AstroTurf, it's not really a grass-roots movement. It's AstroTurf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class,” Pelosi said....