Missouri

Judge rules Missouri summer camp not liable for CEO statements about sexual misconduct • Missouri Independent

Published

1 year ago

January 17, 2025

Judge rules Missouri summer camp not liable for CEO statements about sexual misconduct • Missouri Independent

Christian summer camp Kanakuk Ministries and its insurer are not liable after allegedly concealing knowledge of sexual misconduct at its camp, a judge in Christian County Circuit Court ruled Friday.

Logan Yandell in 2003, the year he began attending Kanakuk Kamps (photos submitted)

The case was brought by Logan Yandell, a survivor of sexual abuse by Kanakuk Ministries’ former camp director Pete Newman. Yandell alleged the camp’s CEO lied to his parents, which influenced them to sign a settlement and non-disclosure agreement for $250,000 that they otherwise would have continued to fight.

Yandell says his family relied on statements made by camp CEO Joe White on a phone call that “nothing has been on (the camp’s) radar with (Newman)” when settling in 2010.

Yandell’s attorney Reed Martens argued in a November proceeding that the camp’s insurer, ACE American Insurance Co., influenced White to cover up his knowledge, saying White was acting as an agent of the insurance company during the phone conversation.

Judge Raymond Gross, who typically serves in Ozark County but was brought in to oversee the case, dismissed Yandell’s claims of fraud, saying he lacked the “right to rely” on a misstatement by White after newspapers reported that Kanakuk “knew of inappropriate behavior since 2003” and a public sentencing referenced the camp’s knowledge.

Yandell said he didn’t realize White had not told the truth until 2021, but Gross ruled that there were occasions he should have learned of the camp’s negligence years prior.

The statute of limitations in Missouri restricts fraud claims to five years after the fraud is discovered. Yandell should have known about the misstatement more than five years before he filed his claim, Gross wrote, making him ineligible to bring the claim.

Gross also rejected ACE Insurance as responsible for White’s statement, writing: “There is no evidence that ACE vested White with any power to speak or act on its behalf.”

The ruling did not mention a letter that the camp drafted to send to families that ACE “strongly recommended not to send.” This occurred after the phone call with the misstatement.

Gross wrote that there was no evidence of ACE pressuring White “prior to or during the phone call.”

The trial scheduled for July is now canceled. Attorneys for Yandell could not be immediately reached for comment.

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Missouri

Missouri ice cream shop named best in the state. Here’s why.

Published

9 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Press Room

Missouri ice cream shop named best in the state. Here’s why.

Think you know the best ice cream shop in Missouri? Ask ten people, and you’ll likely get ten different answers.

Cheapism, a website focused on budget living, is weighing in on the debate with its recently released list of the best ice cream shops in every state. Here’s what it selected as Missouri’s best ice cream spot:

What’s the best ice cream shop in Missouri, according to Cheapism?

The media outlet selected the winners by scouring through Reddit threads, Yelp reviews, Google ratings and local favorites to find the best ice cream shop in every state.

Factoring all of that in, the honor of Missouri’s best ice cream shop goes to Clementine’s Ice Cream in St. Louis.

Clementine’s is a locally owned artisanal ice cream shop founded in 2015, known for its “naughty” (alcohol-infused) and “nice” (nonalcoholic) offerings, as well as non-dairy options.

The company has expanded from its beginnings as a single shop to multiple locations, boasting 11 shops across the Midwest, with three more on the way.

What’s Clementine’s best ice cream flavor?

Clementine’s also landed on Food & Wine’s list of essential ice cream flavors for all 50 states with its gooey butter cake ice cream.

The magazine praised the “super creamy” texture of the cream cheese ice cream and appreciated the large chunks of Clementine’s homemade gooey butter cake mixed throughout.

What is gooey butter cake?

For those not in the know, gooey butter cake is one of the Show Me State’s best-kept secrets, with its origins tracing back to St. Louis in the 1930s.

The cake allegedly came about when a baker accidentally reversed the butter-to-flour ratio while making a batch of coffee cake, resulting in a gooey, custard-like filling. Given it was the Great Depression, the bakery decided to sell the resulting cake rather than waste it, making it a hit with locals in the process.

It became so popular, in fact, that other bakeries in the city soon began making their own versions, and an iconic Missouri treat was born.

How to find a Clementine’s near you

Clementine’s has more than a dozen locations, mostly centered around St. Louis. It also has locations in Kansas City and Bentonville, Arkansas.

A Clementine’s is scheduled to open in Columbia this summer.

Check out this map to find the nearest Clementine’s location near you:

You can also get Clementine’s shipped directly to your front door via Goldbelly.

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Missouri

Missouri lawmaker pushes for more transparency from data center developments

Published

19 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Press Room

Missouri lawmaker pushes for more transparency from data center developments

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KFVS) – As more data centers are announced across Missouri, one state lawmaker wants to get rid of non-disclosure agreements.

Republican State Rep. Tricia Byrnes from St. Charles County organized a public hearing for Sept. 16 at the Missouri Capitol for lawmakers to discuss data center regulations. Any legislation that comes out of the hearing will have to wait until January to be introduced in the General Assembly. Byrnes said she hopes local communities take action before January.

The effort comes after Amazon and Google announced multibillion-dollar data center projects in Montgomery County, which Byrnes represents.

Montgomery County farmer Harry Cope said residents have concerns about how the projects have been handled.

“The transparency that’s gone on with all of this stuff in our county has been about like looking through muddy water,” Cope said.

Byrnes said Missourians are looking for state leaders to respond.

“Missourians should never take a bad deal. And right now, folks are waiting for Jefferson City to stand up and pay attention,” Byrnes said.

Byrnes is not proposing a complete statewide stop to data center projects. She said she wants to get rid of nondisclosure agreements for data center projects and create specific noise standards and water permits. She said she wants the process to happen in public.

Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, has said he supports more data centers in Missouri, saying they are better for the economy.

“It’s about opportunity, good-paying jobs, investment in our community, better efficiency. And it’s about making sure Missouri remains on the forefront of next-generation technology,” Kehoe said.

Byrnes did not directly comment on whether Kehoe will support her legislation. She addressed a comment the governor made last week, when he implied foreign adversaries such as China are spreading misinformation about data centers.

“We have extremely intelligent people all across Missouri, and what I’m hearing now is this spin that they’re hearing stuff from China. I can tell you, no one from China asked me to have you here today,” Byrnes said.

Missouri House Democratic Leader Ashley Aune said there is an opportunity for lawmakers to craft legislation based on what Missourians want.

“I don’t have a proposal top of mind about what regulation would, should, can look like across the state. But what I will say is that we have a real opportunity to work with our voters,” Aune said.

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