Missouri
Missouri VFW inspected by state regulators as part of ban on intoxicating hemp products • Missouri Independent
Not long after Commander Jason Stanfield had lowered the flag Tuesday to honor the lives lost on Sept. 11 at his Franklin County VFW Post, he learned state food inspectors had arrived.
“It’s not an easy day,” Stanfield said. “9/11 is a tough day for all of us, particularly for veterans. I was not in the best mindset.”
The regulators said they had received a complaint that the post’s bar had been selling seltzers that contain hemp-derived THC — which has the same intoxicating effect as THC from marijuana that’s sold at dispensaries.
The bar was selling a brand of fruity seltzers called UR Lit, which contains 5mg of Delta-9 THC.
While hemp is federally legal, Missouri recently joined a growing number of states trying to ban all intoxicating hemp products.
When Gov. Mike Parson signed his executive order on Aug. 1 to ban the products, he said his primary focus was to protect children consuming the products that resemble popular candy, like Lifesavers, or fruity drinks.
Given the governor’s goal, Stanfield said he was surprised the state wanted to inspect the post, where members are well over 21.
“There’s not a whole lot of kids that run around the VFW,” he said.
Since the ban went into effect on Sept. 1, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services officials have inspected 74 establishments and found intoxicating products at 42 of them, said Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the department.
On a social media post on Wednesday, Stanfield described the inspection as a “raid,” but Cox said that description is “misleading” because there were just two inspectors responding to a complaint.
“The two inspectors were let inside through a locked door upon request,” Cox said, “but quickly recognized that the VFW Post did not pose an immediate cause for concern, specifically in regard to Missouri children. As a result, zero product was embargoed or destroyed.”
Cox said the department has “no plans in place of returning to the establishment.”
Hemp and marijuana are essentially terms the government uses to distinguish between the part of the cannabis plant that can get you high when smoked – that’s marijuana – and the part that can’t — that’s hemp.
But with a little science and extraction, people can enhance the small amount of the naturally occurring THC, or the psychoactive component, in hemp to make edibles and drinks.
Because hemp isn’t a controlled substance like marijuana, there’s no state or federal law saying teenagers or children can’t buy products, such as delta-8 drinks, or that stores can’t sell them to minors, Parson said.
And there’s no requirement to list potential effects on the label or test how much THC is actually in them. State lawmakers have failed to pass such requirements the last two years.
Stanfield said the state ban is harmful for VFW members who are trying to recover from alcoholism or opioid addiction.
“I have testimony after testimony in my post alone of people that are still alive today,” Stanfield said, “because they use cannabis to get off of their opioids that they were addicted to.”
During the inspection, he said the DHSS employees told him that the drinks were considered “adulterated.” If a product is considered adulterated, DHSS has the authority to embargo it – which means put a tag on it until the department gets a court order to destroy it.
Stanfield points to the state law that says, “a food shall not be considered adulterated solely for containing industrial hemp, or an industrial hemp commodity or product.”
That line was added to Missouri’s law in 2018, after Congress legalized hemp as part of the federal Farm Bill. It was part of a Missouri House bill that brought the state’s definition of hemp in alignment with the federal government’s.
It is the same law fueling the Missouri Hemp Trade Association’s lawsuit against the governor’s ban.
“I will continue to comply with federal law and sell these products until they’re not legal,” Stanfield said, “to give my veterans a non-alcoholic option in a place where they can come and be with other veterans and not have to consume alcohol.”
Missouri
Missouri (MSHSAA) High School Girls Basketball State Playoff Brackets, Matchup, Schedule – March 9, 2026
The 2026 Missouri high school basketball state championship brackets continue on Monday, March 9, with eight games in the sectional and quarterfinal round of the higher classifications.
High School On SI has brackets for every classification in the Missouri high school basketball playoffs. The championship games will begin on March 19.
Missouri High School Girls Basketball 2026 Playoff Brackets, Schedule (MSHSAA) – March 9, 2026
Sectionals
Doniphan vs. Potosi – 03/09, 6:00 PM CT
St. James vs. St. Francis Borgia – 03/09, 6:00 PM CT
Notre Dame de Sion vs. Oak Grove – 03/09, 6:00 PM CT
Smithville vs. Benton – 03/09, 6:00 PM CT
Cardinal Ritter College Prep vs. Clayton – 03/09, 6:00 PM CT
Orchard Farm vs. Kirksville – 03/09, 6:00 PM CT
Boonville vs. Strafford – 03/09, 6:00 PM CT
Reeds Spring vs. Nevada – 03/09, 6:00 PM CT
Quarterfinals
Festus vs. Lift for Life Academy – 03/13, 6:00 PM CT
Grandview vs. Kearney – 03/13, 6:00 PM CT
MICDS vs. St. Dominic – 03/13, 6:00 PM CT
Helias vs. Marshfield – 03/13, 6:00 PM CT
Quarterfinals
Jackson vs. Marquette – 03/13, 6:00 PM CT
Rock Bridge vs. Staley – 03/13, 6:00 PM CT
Incarnate Word Academy vs. Troy-Buchanan – 03/13, 6:00 PM CT
Kickapoo vs. Lee’s Summit West – 03/13, 6:00 PM CT
More Coverage from High School On SI
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s request to grade public schools on an “A” through “F” scale is pushing House lawmakers to approve legislation some think isn’t quite ready.
With approval and dissent on both sides of the aisle, the House voted a bill to create a new school accountability system through to the Senate 96-53 Thursday despite concerns the letter grades could be a “scarlet letter” for underperforming schools.
“Will this labeling system actually improve schools or will it mostly brand communities, destabilize staffing and incentivize gaming rather than learning?” asked state Rep. Kem Smith, a Democrat from Florissant, during House debate Tuesday morning, March 3.
She said the key metrics that determine the grade, performance and growth, are volatile.
“The label itself can become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” she said. “The bill doubles down on high stakes metrics that are known to be unstable.”
The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Dane Diehl, a Republican from Butler, told lawmakers that a performance-based school report card with “A” through “F” grades is inevitable. The details, though, are negotiable.
“The governor’s executive order, it is going to happen either way,” he said. “I think we tried to make that process a little better for school districts.”
Kehoe’s order directs the state’s education department to draw up a plan for the report cards and present it to the State Board of Education. The board could reject the idea, but with a board with primarily new members appointed by Kehoe, lawmakers have accepted the system as fate.
State Rep. Ed Lewis, a Republican from Moberly and chair of the House’s education committee, told the committee in January that he prioritized the bill as a way to give lawmakers influence over the final outcome. He is happy with the edits the committee made, which gives the education department more leeway to determine grade thresholds and removes a provision that would raise expectations once 65% of schools achieve “A” or “B” grades.
The House also approved an amendment March 3 that would grade schools’ environment. This would be based on the rates of student suspension, seclusion and restraint incident rates and satisfaction surveys given to students, parents and teachers.
The Senate’s version, which passed out of its education committee last week, does not include those changes.
“I think (the House bill) is the best product we have in the Capitol right now,” Lewis said. “I am not saying it’s complete, but it is the best we have right now.”
The changes have softened some skeptics of the legislation, like state Rep. Brad Pollitt.
Pollitt, a Sedalia Republican, said he didn’t support the legislation “for a number of years.” But with the edits, he sees potential for the legislation to usher in changes to the way the state accredits public schools.
The current process, he said, “nobody seems to like,” pointing to widespread concerns with the state’s standardized test.
Some of these changes are already happening quietly. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education received a grant from the federal government to develop a state assessment based on through-year testing, which would measure student growth throughout the school year, instead of a single summative assessment.
The department is poised to pilot the new test in 14 classrooms this spring, hoping to eventually offer it statewide within a few years. But the estimated startup cost of $2 million is one of many department requests cut from the governor’s proposed budget as the state grapples with declining revenue.
Creating the “A” through “F” report cards is estimated to cost a similar amount, if not more, according to the state’s fiscal note. The expense is largely frontloaded, going to the programming and technology support required to create the grade cards’ interface.
When The Independent asked Kehoe’s office about the fiscal note, the governor’s communications director Gabby Picard said he would work with “associated agencies” to determine appropriate funding “while remaining mindful of the current budget constraints and maintaining fiscal responsibility.”
The House’s version of the legislation includes an incentive program for high-performing schools, giving bonuses to go toward teacher recruitment and retention, if the legislature appropriates funding for the program.
The bill originally proposed incentives of $50-100 per student to subsidize teacher pay. This had large fiscal implications, and Lewis surmised that it would violate a section of the State Constitution prohibiting bonuses for public employees.
Making the funding optional and directing it to the school’s teacher recruitment and retention fund remedied those concerns. The Senate Education Committee removed the incentive program in its version of the legislation.
The House’s approval Thursday does not stop discussion and possible amendments. Next, the bill will go to the Senate for consideration, and if any changes are made, it will return to the House for more discussion.
This story was first published at missouriindependent.com.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A car chase ended Sunday in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, according to police.
Around 2:15 p.m., people downtown reported a large police presence at 19th and Main streets.
Police said a car chase ended at the intersection after the suspect struck other vehicles.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB 41
The suspect was taken into custody, per KCPD.
Due to the incident blocking the intersection, KC Streetcar service between Union Station and the River Market was temporarily suspended.
Braden Bates/KSHB 41
Streetcar service to downtown riders was restored before 4 p.m.
A KC Streetcar Authority spokesperson confirmed the streetcar was not involved in the KCPD incident.
This is a developing news story and may be updated.
—
If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
‘90 Day Fiancé’ alum’s boyfriend on trial for attempted murder over wild ‘Boca Bash’ accusations
Alexander brothers learn fate in federal sex trafficking trial
Video: Two Men Face Terrorism Charges in Bomb Attack at Gracie Mansion
Detroit Lions need backup QB as Kyle Allen to sign with Bills
San Francisco man charged with attempted murder in unprovoked daylight Chinatown stabbing
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Trump says Iran war will be “over pretty quickly” as oil price hits 6 year high | BBC News
China-linked birth tourism under scrutiny as GOP lawmakers press Trump admin for answers
What defence support could Ukraine offer Middle East states amid Iran war?
Warrants served in New Jersey, Pennsylvania as feds look into possible NYC terrorism
Video: Airports Struggle to Staff T.S.A. During Partial Government Shutdown
-
Wisconsin1 week agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts7 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Maryland1 week agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Florida1 week agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Pennsylvania4 days agoPa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico
-
News1 week ago2 Survivors Describe the Terror and Tragedy of the Tahoe Avalanche
-
Sports5 days agoKeith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death
-
Virginia5 days agoGiants will hold 2026 training camp in West Virginia