Midwest
Former St Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner spent hundreds of work hours on nursing degree, scathing audit finds
Former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner failed “to make her job as circuit attorney her top priority,” according to a report.
Republican Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released a 71-page report on Tuesday, as well as a press release, that supported a previous statement of Gardner being the captain of a “rudderless ship of chaos” as she pursued a nurse practitioner certification during the hours she should have been doing her job.
The former Democratic prosecutor spent 34.5 working days, or about seven weeks, in the office during business hours working on her studies at Saint Louis University, the state auditor’s office said in the statement.
“In my view, the driving force was Kim Gardner’s failure to make her job as circuit attorney her top priority,” Fitzpatrick told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
JUDGE SHREDS SOROS-BACKED PROSECUTOR, MOVES TO HOLD HER IN CRIMINAL CONTEMPT: ‘RUDDERLESS SHIP OF CHAOS‘
Kim Gardner took nursing classes during business hours as St. Louis Circuit Attorney, an audit says. (Adobe Stock )
His review also found widespread staff turnover, misuse of public funds and a significant drop in cases filed, referred and closed before Gardner resigned under fire in 2023.
Other issues cited in the audit include more than $58,000 in public funds spent on flowers, a disc jockey, car detailing, an office picnic, a chili cookout and Gardner’s personal legal expenses.
FORMER SOROS-BACKED ST. LOUIS PROSECUTOR ADMITS TO MISUSING PUBLIC FUNDS
In a Jan. 13, 2020, file photo, then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner speaks in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jim Salter)
Gardner told auditors that she was pursuing a family nurse practitioner post-master’s certificate “to improve the office and bring mental health awareness” to the office.
She was part of a movement of progressive prosecutors who sought diversion to mental health treatment or drug abuse treatment for low-level crimes, pledged to hold police more accountable and sought to free incarcerated people who were wrongfully convicted.
Former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, right, and Ronald Sullivan, a Harvard law professor, arrive at the Civil Courts building on May 14, 2018. (Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Republican leaders often criticized Gardner for a low homicide conviction rate, among other concerns. She frequently butted heads with police and conservatives.
“Our audit report paints a clear picture of an office that was far better off before Kim Gardner took over and has quickly rebounded after her departure. Despite her efforts to stand in the way of the audit process, we were able to obtain the information necessary to give taxpayers the full story on the damage she did to the office,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Nebraska
Nebraska driver hits 160 mph fleeing state troopers on Interstate 80
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – A 20-year-old driver accused of reaching 160 mph while fleeing from state troopers in Lancaster County was arrested early Thursday.
The Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) said the incident began around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when a trooper was patrolling on Interstate 80 in Lincoln, southeast of Lincoln Airport. A BMW sedan was reportedly seen speeding at more than 95 mph in a 65 mph zone.
The trooper attempted a traffic stop on the BMW, but the driver accelerated and fled eastbound, NSP said. A pursuit then began.
NSP said the BMW driver reached speeds of more than 160 mph on Interstate 80 before taking the exit at 56th Street and continuing south. The pursuit was discontinued out of concern for public safety.
The suspect vehicle was found several minutes later by another trooper. It was traveling westbound on Cornhusker Highway between 70th and 65th streets.
NSP said the driver again fled from law enforcement, turning northbound onto 56th Street, where another trooper successfully deployed stop sticks. The driver continued before coming to a stop near Highway 77 and Agnew Road in northern Lancaster County and ran off.
Troopers, with help from several other agencies, later found the driver when he returned home around 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
The driver, identified as Nathanael Campbell of Ceresco, was arrested on suspicion of flight to avoid arrest, second-offense willful reckless driving, obstructing a peace officer and other traffic violations. He was lodged in the Lancaster County Jail.
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Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
State Patrol identifies victim in fatal West Fargo pedestrian crash
WEST FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Authorities have identified the man killed and the driver involved in a fatal overnight crash in West Fargo.
Jose Rodriguez, 38, of West Fargo, died after being struck by a vehicle early Wednesday morning, according to the North Dakota State Patrol.
The driver, Carly Vizenor, 25, of West Fargo, was not injured. Charges and restraint use remain under investigation.
The crash happened at approximately 2:46 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of 32nd Avenue South and 9th Street West.
According to the State Patrol, a 2016 Ford Fusion was traveling westbound on 32nd Avenue South when it struck Rodriguez, who was crossing the street approximately 20 to 30 yards east of the 9th Street intersection.
The driver left the scene and returned approximately 10 minutes later.
Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene.
The North Dakota State Patrol, West Fargo Police Department, and West Fargo Fire Department all responded to the crash.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
Ohio
Former Ohio State football players to join a sexual abuse lawsuit against the school
Thirty former Ohio State football players, including some former NFL players, have agreed to join a federal lawsuit against the university over the sexual abuse of student athletes decades ago by a team doctor, a lawyer in the case said Thursday.
The lawyer, Rocky Ratliff, said in an interview that the men came forward some eight years after the first lawsuit was filed because they needed to overcome the shame of revealing that they’d been sexually abused by another man and the fear of taking on the university publicly.
They are “tearful and living with it,” Ratliff said. “But as this case progresses on, they see how Ohio State’s treating athletes from the university and I think they want people to know it’s OK, even if it is male to male (sexual abuse), to come forward.”
Ohio State has fought lawsuits in federal court since 2018 brought by former student athletes against the university over its failure to stop abuse by Dr. Richard Strauss. Hundreds say they were abused by Strauss, who worked at the school from 1978 to 1998. He died in 2005.
The men have signed letters of agreement to join a lawsuit filed by other student-athletes who say they are victims of Strauss, Ratliff said.
Of the 30, only three have agreed to make their identities public, Ratliff said. They are Al Washington, Ray Ellis and Keith Ferguson, he said. All were members of the 1980 Rose Bowl team and were recruited by and played for legendary coach Woody Hayes.
Some other former football players have settled with the school in sealed agreements that kept their names a secret, Ratliff said.
In a statement, Ohio State said it has “sincerely and persistently tried to reconcile with survivors, including former football student-athletes, through monetary and non-monetary means, including settlements, counseling services and other medical treatment.”
As of April 15, the university has settled with 317 survivors for more than $61 million, and is remains actively engaged in mediation, the school said.
In an interview, Washington said it was hard to talk about the abuse he suffered and recalled being subjected to “unlawful” physical exams by Strauss when he was 18 or 19. He and the other players tried to make light of it with each other and joke about it.
“But it was really uncomfortable,” said Washington, now 67.
He didn’t discuss it with others over the decades, but watching the 2025 documentary film “Surviving Ohio State” put it back into his thoughts.
“As a matter of fact, I couldn’t make it through that movie,” Washington said. “The pain and anguish that I saw, I just couldn’t take it.”
Strauss was on the faculty and medical staff and Ohio State. He retired in 1998 with emeritus status. School trustees revoked that mark of honor three years ago.
Washington was drafted in 1981 by the New York Jets and played one season for the team. Ellis, a former defensive back, had a seven-year NFL career from 1981 to 1987, playing with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns. Ferguson, a former defensive end, played in the NFL from 1981 to 1990, including stints with the San Diego Chargers and the Detroit Lions.
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Former Ohio State football players to join a sexual abuse lawsuit against the school