Missouri

Many Missouri counties still looking for poll workers mere weeks before presidential election

Published

5 months ago

October 18, 2024

Many Missouri counties still looking for poll workers mere weeks before presidential election

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (First Alert 4) – Amidst safety concerns, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said some Missouri counties are struggling to fill poll worker positions. He said the state could always use more poll workers.

“We have county clerks, local election authorities that have reduced the number of polling places they have, not for lack of a place to have it, not for lack of equipment, but because of the lack of enough individuals to actually fill that as poll workers,” Ashcroft said.

Kansas City election officials said they’re fully staffed but face security concerns after receiving a threatening piece of mail last week.

Elections officials across the state tell me security is heightened this year. Counties plan to have local law enforcement stationed at polling locations, some not in uniform. No other counties have reported any threats, but they are concerned about staffing.

“Our office coordinates with local law enforcement officials and to date, they’ve expressed no specific security concerns to us. It’s normal practice to have law enforcement in our office on Election Day to coordinate a response if necessary. That will be the case on November 5,” said Kate Springer with the St. Louis County elections office.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon is still recruiting poll workers. Lennon said hiring election judges is the biggest issue for her office year after year, but she thinks the county will have just enough by election day.

“We will get as many as we need, but just as many as we need; we really like to have a backup list in case an emergency happens for somebody on a Tuesday morning and at 4:30 in the morning they can’t come,” Lennon said.

Lennon’s issue is echoed across the state. Greene County and St. Louis County elections offices said the same thing: they still need more backups.

Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller said the county is short four backup Democratic judges and two backup Republican judges. Counties need an even amount of election judges from both parties so they can have a bipartisan presence at every polling place.

A spokesperson for the St. Louis County elections office said the county is still searching for more Republican election judges, which is typical because the area is predominantly Democratic.

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Missouri

Rebels do enough to take game one in Missouri

Published

4 hours ago

March 22, 2025

Press Room

Rebels do enough to take game one in Missouri

Ole Miss faced a gut-check moment in the fifth inning on Friday.

Missouri led by a run and had the bases loaded after two errors sandwiched a hit by pitch. Ole Miss reliever Mason Morris entered the game and kept the score there with a five-pitch strikeout of Jackson Lovich, who had three hits.

The Rebels scored two runs minutes later to take the lead and then put up a four-run seventh to ice the 9-6 victory over the Tigers in Columbia for the series opener. Ole Miss is 16-5 overall and 2-2 in the SEC, while Missouri falls to 8-12 overall and 0-4 in the league.

“We didn’t play our best, but we gave ourselves a chance to win,” Isaac Humphrey said.

While it’s still somewhat early for RPI to show an accurate picture, Missouri is 215 in the metric and has five losses to teams outside the top 100. Ole Miss needs to take advantage of the weekend in its pursuit to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022.

The win broke a three-game losing streak. Mason Morris allowed one run in 2.1 innings for the win. He walked three and gave up two hits. Starter Hunter Elliott yielded four hits and three runs in 4.2 innings. He struck out seven and walked two, pitching with a hitter’s wind blowing out for much of the night.

“Not my best performance but big night from our hitters,” Morris said. “They put up a nine-spot, and you won’t lose many Friday nights with nine spots.”

The Rebels threw Brayden Jones and Connor Spencer 17 pitches and 19 pitches, respectively.

Ole Miss had 12 hits and walked seven times. Mitchell Sanford, Will Furniss, Austin Fawley and Humphrey all had two hits. Humphrey hit a home run, and Ryan Moerman and Furniss both doubled. Luke Hill, Fawley, Furniss and Judd Utermark reached base three times. Humphrey had four RBIs including two on a single in the seventh inning.

The Rebels committed three errors, struck out 11 times and went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position, but it was enough for the needed victory. Missouri struck out 16 times and went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

It was Cheng’s first game since last Friday versus Arkansas, when he suffered a concussion.

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Missouri

Mizzou Recruiting Notebook: Legacy visitor; Junior Day, offer reactions

Published

15 hours ago

March 21, 2025

Press Room

Mizzou Recruiting Notebook: Legacy visitor; Junior Day, offer reactions

The son of former Tigers defensive tackle Steve Erickson, Wyatt Erickson stepped into familiar territory Tuesday.

Wyatt, a Class of 2027 quarterback, made his first recruiting visit to Missouri, and there was no better person to meet than an in-state quarterback who followed a path less traveled in today’s game.

“It was really cool to meet Brady Cook,” Wyatt said. “He was a very genuine guy. It was a short interaction, and we didn’t really talk much football but was great just to get the chance to meet him.”

Amid his sophomore year at Blue Springs (Mo.) High, Wyatt jumped on the radar of Missouri and Oklahoma while seeing more Power Four staffers come through his high school in January.

“I’ve had great help and support around me from all my coaches teaching me and mentoring me, also my teammates always helping me to get better,” Wyatt said. “Plus my dad giving me advice and always helping me and supporting me throughout my whole journey.”

Being an in-state recruit, with his parents both attending Missouri, Wyatt noted there’s a true significance in working towards an offer from the Tigers. In pursuit of that scholarship, he picked up tips on improvement from quarterbacks coach Sean Gleeson.

Planning to see Missouri on Thursday for the first time, Jamari Brown rescheduled his visit, looking at a stop in April. Although unoffered by the Tigers, Brown joined the growing list of Chicago (Ill.) Mt. Carmel targets for Missouri.

Assessing B.J. Bedgood’s junior year film, Missouri liked the wideout’s speed and ability to make big plays with the ball in his hands. The Tigers offered the Alexander City (Ala.) Benjamin Russell junior Feb. 20, and an official visit is now on Bedgood’s mind.

“I love the way they run their offense,” Bedgood said. “They pass a lot, which is great to hear being a wide receiver, and they have a good background in getting wide receivers to the next level, like Luther Burden, etc.”

Bedgood hopes to connect more with assistant coach and cornerbacks coach Al Pogue, who offered him, given the connections to his home state of Alabama.

JaMichael Hill recently came into contact with Missouri’s scouting staff, leading to his first visit Thursday. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz and the rest of the staff welcomed the unoffered safety with open arms and showed opportunities for personal and athletic growth.

“The visit showed me that there is much preparation needed when playing at the Division 1/SEC level,” Hill said, “which I’ll be ready for.”

Hill called fellow Florida visitors Malik Morris and Karaijus Hayes superb athletes, hoping to play in the same defense as them. He also played little league football with Hayes and Asharri Charles, who will officially visit Missouri in early June.

Previously recruited by linebackers coach Derek Nicholson at Miami (FL), Morris became the next Florida prospect to follow Nicholson to Missouri for a visit. The Rivals250 four-star checked out the Tigers on Wednesday for the first time.

“Good enough,” Morris said. “The conversation went very well. We talked about many things, but overall, it was a great opportunity and experience.”

Morris hasn’t announced an offer from the Tigers.

Tight ends coach Derham Cato, who has assisted in recruiting Illinois prospects, offered Class of 2026 three-star Carmelow Reed as an edge defender March 11. Cato tacked a high ceiling on Reed, who stands 6-foot-7, 250 pounds.

“I liked how honest he was,” Reed said. “I felt like he didn’t beat around the bush about anything.”

Reed will visit Mississippi on March 29, Wisconsin on April 5, Cincinnati on April 12 and Michigan State on April 19.

Visiting in January, Maxwell Robinson slotted the Missouri into his Top 6 on March 14 with Arkansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Penn State and Texas A&M. Although not overly impressed by a “small” athletic training room, Robinson still improved his relationship with offensive line coach Brandon Jones during his trip.

“Me and Coach Jones have a good relationship,” the three-star interior offensive lineman said, “and they said they liked how aggressive (I am) and my hand fighting.”

Four-star quarterback Gavin Sidwar missed his Missouri visit on Thursday. Leaving Mississippi through Memphis, he had to fly to Chicago to catch his flight to St. Louis, but due to the storms, his flight diverted to Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Sidwar was stuck there for five hours and wasn’t able to make his flight to St. Louis anymore. He took an Uber to Indianapolis and flew home to Philadelphia on Thursday morning. The Missouri staff was trying to find connections from Fort Wayne, but nothing worked out. He’ll look to reschedule for April.

After receiving an offer from defensive graduate student Cally Chizik, Kenneth Simon turned to his father with the news. Simon’s father told his son about Cally’s father, Gene Chizik, who won a national championship at Auburn.

“Coach (Cally) Chizik is a young coach,” said Simon, a Class of 2027 four-star athlete, “but by the way he talks and the different things he talks about, you would think he was doing it for a long time.”

Simon admired what he learned about Missouri’s coaching approach of being upfront with players and offering constructive criticism.

“I’ve had a lot of schools tell me, ‘Well you’re this big right now, I think you might play linebacker,’” Simon said. “But I really just like to make plays and be a problem for offenses, so whether I’m at safety or linebacker, I’m going to make plays wherever I’m at. I know he mentioned how he liked my playing style, which is kinda like a Derwin James or the honey badger (Tyrann Mathieu), but even bigger.

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Missouri

Mizzou ends season in first round of NCAA Tournament

Published

1 day ago

March 21, 2025

Press Room

The Drake Bulldogs controlled just about every aspect of the game.

They controlled the tempo, they controlled their offense, they looked more polished, more ready to play and more in control.

And all that together led to a 67-57 win for the West Region’s No. 11 seed against the No. 6-seeded Missouri Tigers in Wichita on Thursday.

“We didn’t do enough to come away with the win,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. “… the 50/50 loose balls, we forced them into turnovers, but we just couldn’t corral the basketball and sometimes it’s the balance.”

It was clear from the start Missouri was going to let Drake dictate the game.

The Bulldogs took the lead for good with 13:14 left in the first half when Bennett Stirtz, who ended with 21 points and four assists to lead the game, hit a 3 to create an 8-7 advantage as Missouri started the game 2-of-9 from the field.

“I feel like we just were one dribble late or one second late, you know, on what our plan was to attack them,” Missouri guard Caleb Grill said. “And, you know, they took full advantage of it and looking back on it throughout the season, this reminds us, I mean, reminds me at least of the Texas game. They played a similar style of basketball to them and it frustrated us and credit to them for executing their game plan.”

Drake extended to an 18-12 lead after another Stirtz 3 as he started 4-of-5 from the field and hit his first two attempts from deep.

Missouri cut the lead to 18-16 as Tamar Bates hit his first shot of the game with 6:42 left in the first half.

But Drake responded with a 6-0 run to create a 24-16 lead. The Bulldogs extended as far as a 28-18 lead in the first half before taking a 30-23 lead into halftime.

It was the fewest points the Tigers scored in a half this season.

“They made tough shots and ultimately, that’s what March is about,” Gates said. “Who’s going to make the tougher shots to pull their team ahead? Unfortunately, we’re on the other side of it.”

Drake extended to a 43-28 lead with 12:40 left to play after a Tavion Banks steal-turned-dunk forcing a Missouri timeout, which finally seemed to get the Tigers moving in the right direction.

Bates hit a second-chance layup, then T.O. Barrett hit drove for a layup to cut the lead to 11 with 11:15 left.

The Tigers got back within 10 when Marques Warrick connected on a step-back 3 from the left corner to make it 47-39 with 9:19 left.

Then a Grill 3 made it 52-44 with 7:42 left and Missouri got to the line eight times, making seven, across the next 3:14 to cut the lead all the way to 52-51 with a 10-0 run.

“That was an awesome run,” Gates said. “It was a lot of energy in the building. Again, I’m proud of my guys … that moment, if we could have spread it over the course of a 40-minute game, again, I credit our opponent, but we didn’t impose what we should have imposed.”

But Drake responded with a Stirtz jumper, then Mitch Mascari poked the ball away from the Tigers. A missed jumper allowed the Bulldogs to connect on a layup to create a 56-51 lead, then it became a free-throw game for the final 3:05 as nine of the Bulldogs’ final 11 points came at the stripe and the Tigers missed every opportunity they had the rest of the way.

“That lid was still tight on the rim,” Gates said. “… (Drake) settled back in, we just didn’t execute, meaning we got the shots, we had an opportunity to tie the game. … We just didn’t make enough shots or have enough stops.”

Missouri shot 15-of-45 (33.3 percent) from the field, 4-of-16 (25 percent) from 3 and 23-of-26 (88.5 percent) from the free-throw line, but Drake shot 25-of-46 (54.3 percent) overall, 5-of-10 (50 percent) from deep and 12-of-24 (50 percent) from the stripe.

Drake won the rebounding battle 31-26 and forced 17 Tiger turnovers that resulted in 23 Bulldog points. Missouri forced 15 turnovers, but scored just 13 points on those opportunities.

Drake won the battle for points in the paint 38-22 without having a single player listed as taller than 6-foot-8.

Missouri ends the season with a record of 22-12.

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