Missouri
Missouri Angler Lands Monster Invasive Carp, Buries It
When George Chance caught a potential world-record fish in March, he didn’t do a lot of celebrating.
It wasn’t like he caught a highly sought-after bass, crappie or catfish. Instead, he landed a 97-pound bighead carp, an invasive species that is scorned by fisheries biologists in Missouri and surrounding states.
Yes, it was a gigantic catch, the biggest freshwater fish Chance had ever reeled in. But instead of rushing to the taxidermist, Chance buried his fish in his garden to serve as fertilizer.
“I didn’t want that big ugly thing hanging on my wall,” said Chance, 78, who was fishing in a slough off the Mississippi River near his hometown of Festus, Missouri. “I’ve already planted a couple of rows of tomatoes over the spot where I buried it.”
Chance won’t forget the fight the giant fish put up. He was casting for big flathead catfish when the carp hit the crankbait he was retrieving.
“I caught flatheads weighing 45 and 35 pounds three days before that,” Chance said. “I thought I had another one.”
Instead, he had one of the rough fish Midwest fisheries biologists label Public Enemy No. 1 — an invasive carp.
Four species go under that heading — silver, bighead, black and grass.
All made their way from Asia into Midwestern rivers after being inadvertently released from aquaculture operations. Some of those fish farms raised the carp for fish food, fish oil, fertilizer or even human consumption.
The carp made their way into major riverways during floods. And it was like Frankenstein had been released.
The invasives thrived in their new home, overpopulating rivers such as the Mississippi and the Missouri. By the early 2000s, it was obvious that Missouri, Kansas and surrounding states had a problem.
That problem has only gotten worse with time.
“Silver carp are highly, highly abundant in just about every river they get into,” said Joe McMullen, big river specialist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “They’re a real threat to our native species.”
How? The invasive carp are filter feeders, meaning they feed heavily on plankton. The fry of native species also rely on plankton, meaning they compete for the same food source. Adult species such as paddlefish, buffalo and gizzard shad also rely on plankton.
Simply put, there are concerns that the invasive carp will take up too much biomass. That is especially a concern if the invasive fish get into smaller bodies of water.
Jumping Fish
If you doubt the silver carp’s abundance, try running your boat through a side channel off of the Missouri or Mississippi rivers.
Dozens of startled fish jump out of the water, like kernels of popcorn in a pan.
“They spook very easily,” said Kasey Whiteman, a fisheries researcher for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “Because they’re filter feeders, they look for that warm, slower-moving water.
“They can gather in those areas in impressive numbers.”
The silver carp brings a new mean to the fisherman’s saying, “They were jumping into the boat.”
A Plague on Missouri Waterways
Anglers have been injured when they have been clobbered by the flying fish. Reports of anglers being knocked out or absorbing blows to the chest or legs aren’t uncommon.
Silver carp are by far the most abundant of the invasive species. They don’t grow nearly as large as the bighead or grass carp. But there is strength in numbers.
Massive schools of two- to five-pound fish have been reported in the major river systems. As for size, there are exceptions to the rule.
Whiteman remembers sampling one silver carp that weighed almost 60 pounds.
“It had a head as big as a football helmet,” he said.
Culling the Herd
Fisheries officials have declared war on the invasive species.
Large-scale programs in which state and federal agencies collaborate to remove large numbers of carp have found success.
Last October, the Missouri Department of Conservation joined with Illinois and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to provide more financial incentives to commercial fishermen to harvest the invasive carp and get them out of the Mississippi River.
A staggering 1 million pounds of carp, mostly silvers, have been harvested in that short amount of time.
“If we can make harvesting of these invasive carp economically viable for commercial fishermen, maybe we can make a dent in populations,” McMullen said.
Other removal projects have also found success. Whiteman led a program to reduce populations of silver carp in the Grand River near where it joins the Missouri River.
Research showed that silver carp were abundant in the Missouri River, but they were hard to target because of the river’s size. So, Whiteman and his crew shifted their attention to the lower six miles of the Grand, which also had a sizeable population of the invasive species.
They closed part of the Grand by putting large nets at both ends of the six-mile stretch and went to work removing the invasive carp.
In September 2022, the Department of Conservation got 25,000 pounds of mostly silver carp out of the river. The crew returned to the same stretch a year later and collected 36,000 pounds.
“We tested for density a week before our removal effort and a week after and we found that the population was significantly lower,” Whiteman said.
“That gives us hope that in these small specific areas we can reduce the population of invasive carp that live there.”
A Tough Battle
Still, containing the invasive carp isn’t easy.
Recreational fishermen aren’t much help. Because the invasive carp feed mostly on plankton, they rarely strike on traditional bait.
Though Chance caught his fish in the lip, fisheries biologists say that seldom happens. They urge anglers not to throw the invasive carp back when they catch one.
They even have programs to show how to clean and prepare the carp for the dinner table.
Meanwhile, officials continue to search for ways to give the carp value and incentivize their removal.
“I think we are making some progress,” McMullen said. “But there’s still a long way to go.”
Brent Frazee is an award-winning writer who freelances for magazines, newspapers and websites. He lives in Parkville with his wife Jana and his two yellow labs, Millie and Maggie.
The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 28, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Pick 3 numbers from June 28 drawing
Midday: 0-7-2
Midday Wild: 1
Evening: 9-9-6
Evening Wild: 7
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from June 28 drawing
Midday: 4-5-0-4
Midday Wild: 9
Evening: 1-4-6-7
Evening Wild: 0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from June 28 drawing
Early Bird: 04
Morning: 07
Matinee: 09
Prime Time: 06
Night Owl: 15
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Show Me Cash numbers from June 28 drawing
05-08-12-33-34
Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Missouri Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Missouri Lottery’s regional offices, by appointment only.
To claim by mail, complete a Missouri Lottery winner claim form, sign your winning ticket, and include a copy of your government-issued photo ID along with a completed IRS Form W-9. Ensure your name, address, telephone number and signature are on the back of your ticket. Claims should be mailed to:
Ticket Redemption
Missouri Lottery
P.O. Box 7777
Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777
For in-person claims, visit the Missouri Lottery Headquarters in Jefferson City or one of the regional offices in Kansas City, Springfield or St. Louis. Be sure to call ahead to verify hours and check if an appointment is required.
For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.
When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
- Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
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- Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
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- Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
- Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Missouri
UPDATE: Well-known mid-Missouri attorney charged after sting expected to request home detention | 93.9 The Eagle
A prominent mid-Misssouri attorney has pleaded NOT guilty to a felony charge of enticement or attempted enticement of a child.
56-year-old Daniel Walter Follett is charged in Boone County Circuit Court. He had served as the Missouri Department of Revenue’s (DOR) general counsel until he was fired after last week’s arrest.
Court documents filed by Boone County prosecutors say Follett was allegedly using a prostitution website “to solicit sexual services from a person whom he believed to be a 16-year-old child.” The Boone County Sheriff’s Department’s probable cause statement says Follett allegedly arrived at an address in Boone County last week to pay money to have sex with a female whom he believed was under the age of 17.
Follett, who is currently jailed without bond, is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon before Judge Kimberly Shaw and is expected to request home detention, based on online court records.
939 the Eagle News contacted the Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) after Follett’s arrest. DOR released a statement about Follett’s arrest and status last week. It reads: “The Department is aware of an out-of-office incident involving a staff member who was arrested and charged with criminal activity. Following departmental procedures, employment has been terminated with the individual.”
What’s next: Follett is scheduled to appear in Boone County Circuit Court on Tuesday at 1 pm for a bond hearing before Judge Kimberly Shaw. Follett is represented by defense attorney Jessica Caldera, a former Boone County assistant prosecutor. Follett is expected to request home detention from the court until his trial. Boone County prosecutors have described Follett in a court filing as a flight risk.
Sarah Laub tried everything to get her son with learning disabilities a better education.
She drove him to a private school an hour and a half away from their home in rural Missouri before being directed to the local public school. When he continued to struggle, she tried homeschooling.
The local school district in Stockton, a town with a population under 2,000, just couldn’t provide everything her son needed, despite teachers’ best efforts.
“They really did not have the funds to provide him with everything he needed, and he really, really struggled,” Laub told The Independent.
As her son approached high school, she researched schools near Kansas City and decided to move her family to Blue Springs, a growing suburb with 20 schools awarded a National Blue Ribbon by the U.S. Department of Education. There, her son learned to enjoy his education and immerse himself in activities like theater.
“Seeing the difference that funding made and the difference in resources that a rural school versus a suburban school had was so infuriating,” Laub said. “All kids deserve to have access to those resources.”
For years, she fought for her son to get what he needed, but now she’s bringing her anger to a larger fight — one she believes has vast implications for public schools statewide.
Laub is part of a coalition called Parents for Missouri Public Schools that is organizing families against a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow state lawmakers to raise sales and use taxes in order to repeal the state’s income tax. Fueled by parents worried about the future of their kids’ schools, the organization is one of many groups labeling Amendment 5 an affront to public education.
The fight over Amendment 5 has largely been framed as a tax debate, with those in favor of the proposal pitching it as a way to drive more business to Missouri. But for public school advocates, the central question is what happens to classrooms if the state phases out a tax that supplies a major share of general revenue and replaces it with sales taxes under the purview of the state legislature.
“Amendment 5 could dramatically harm the bottom line of public education funding in a time in which public schools cannot take another hit,” Molly Fleming, a professional organizer behind Parents for Missouri Public Schools, told The Independent.
State funding of public schools came up $138 million short this fiscal year due to the state budget’s overreliance on lottery and gaming taxes, reducing the amount of per-pupil funding by a couple hundred dollars. The discrepancy has a disproportionate effect on schools who rely more heavily on state support, which tend to be Missouri’s rural districts.
The budget lawmakers passed this spring, which has yet to be signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe, keeps funding flat, coming $190 million under what the state’s formula for determining aid to public schools called for. And officials are predicting lean years ahead as the state reserves dwindle.
“The cut to public-school funding was a very serious thing for me to want to be able to get involved,” Sierra Kilpatrick, a mother of five in North Kansas City and regional organizer with Parents for Missouri Public Schools, told The Independent. “I need to do something, so I don’t feel helpless. I can go out and talk about this.”
Supporters of Amendment 5 argue Missouri should move away from taxing income and toward a system they say would make the state more competitive, attract investment and let residents keep more of what they earn. They have framed the proposal as a way to force lawmakers to modernize the tax code while giving them flexibility to replace lost revenue.
“Other states with no income tax have grown at a pace much faster than Missouri,” Gov. Mike Kehoe said in a recent radio interview. “We’re losing population, they’re gaining population. That isn’t sustainable.”
But opponents say the measure asks voters to trust lawmakers to replace the state’s largest revenue source without guaranteeing that public schools will be protected if the math does not work.
A woman at a pro-Amendment 5 town hall in Grandview earlier this month asked if public schools would face additional cuts, saying she worried lawmakers might not prioritize stable education funding if given more control over taxation.
Republican state Rep. Bishop Davidson of Republic, who sponsored the tax cut amendment, said he thinks public education would benefit from revenues being tied to consumption rather than income.
“States that rely on consumption taxes rather than income tax revenue have more stable budgets and more predictable budgets,” he said.
Davidson’s claim is largely true, with research showing that income tax revenues decline faster in a recession than sales taxes. But policy analysts have varying recommendations to fight volatility, advising states to plan ahead with large reserves or diversify its tax portfolio by not leaning too heavily on one tax system.
Amendment 5 calls for local governments to cut tax rates to keep revenue neutral, since it assumes more goods and services will be subject to both state and local sales tax. It includes a provision barring municipalities from lowering local funding of public schools under these clawbacks, but it does not prescribe any protections at the state level.
The Missouri Budget Project, a left-leaning public policy think tank opposing Amendment 5, estimates that the change could cut school budgets by 18%.
“It really does feel like a tax break for billionaires and millionaires versus safeguarding funding for public schools,” Fleming said. “There are a lot of parents who also are worried about their own bottom line, or worried about increased gas taxes, or whatever it may be.”
Fleming has an extensive background in organizing work, including the formation of a group called Parents for KC Kids which advocated for the passage of Kansas City Public Schools’ bond measure last year. Voters widely approved the $474 million bond, the first capital improvement bond to pass in the city since the 1960s.
Around 90% of those involved in Parents for KC Kids had never campaigned before, Fleming said. The group raised just over $11,000, according to Missouri Ethics Commission filings, contributing to a decisive victory through volunteer efforts and word of mouth.
The families who got involved in the campaign kept their advocacy work going, helping lay the foundation for Parents for Missouri Public Schools.
“When the bond passed, it was like a trigger went off in everyone’s head that, oh my gosh, we can do important things,” said LaNeé Bridewell, a mom in the district. “It is kind of like a bug. We got bit by the bug, and that first one gave us momentum and clarity about our ability to make change.”
Kathryn Evans, a Kansas City mom and nonprofit consultant, was used to helping charitable organizations advocate for themselves but hadn’t yet gotten involved in school matters apart from the parent teacher association. She joined the bond fight to help secure better facilities for neighborhood schools. But after the win, she hasn’t stopped seeing needs.
“Once we won that campaign, I became more aware that there are a lot of threats,” she told The Independent. “We just won a lot of money for our schools so that we can have nicer buildings and facilities, but there are plenty of threats to public education fundamentally.”
Across the state, parents in the Francis Howell School District in St. Charles County took on a similar battle this year.
In April, the county voted on a proposed property tax freeze, which would have stalled local revenue that public schools rely on, with 59% of voters rejecting the measure. The proposal was part of a bill passed by state lawmakers last year that also sought to incentivize sports teams to stay in Missouri.
Jamie Martin, who is president of a group called Francis Howell Forward, partnered with Fleming to educate her neighbors on why frozen property tax rates could harm local schools.
“Because of the property tax fight, I had learned a lot about taxes and how they’re divided up and how they work and how they fund schools,” Martin told The Independent. “So when I saw Amendment Five come on the horizon, I was like, ‘Oh, that is going to have major impacts for public schools,’ and public schools are something I care a lot about.”
Earlier this month, Martin led a training for parents in St. Charles to learn about Amendment 5. Her profession as an education researcher has put her at the front of countless training sessions, but the energy in this room stood out.
“These parents are ready, not just to hear the information and to complain, but these parents are ready to act,” she said.
Over the past few weeks, volunteers with Parents for Missouri Public Schools have held regional meetings in community centers, homes and restaurants. They ask attendees to spread information in a way that fits their schedule, whether it be in social media posts, play dates or more formal campaigning by flyering or making calls.
“The goal is to educate people on this so that they can go out into their communities and educate more people by word of mouth,” Kilpatrick said.
Although summer schedules are busy, Evans said, volunteers are finding ways to work advocacy into their schedules, motivated by the hope of helping their kids’ education.
“We as parents have the highest stakes, but we also have a lot of agency to make a difference in the outcome because of our relationships with each other,” she said. “We are going to be connected as a parent community because we all care about our kids.”
The coalition is also working to influence school boards to pass resolutions warning about potential impacts of Amendment 5. In the past week, school boards in Lee’s Summit and Kansas City have adopted such statements.
Parents for Missouri Public Schools has not taken a partisan stance, instead focusing on the impact to school funding and parents’ personal budgets.
“We are not affiliated in any way with any party,” Evans said. “There is a shared interest in protecting public schools, and that spans all kinds of differences.”
So far, the group has reported one contribution large enough to trigger 48-hour disclosure requirements: a $10,000 contribution from St. Louis-based Missouri Wins Investor Network. Smaller donations will be included in the committee’s July 15 report.
“It is pretty rare that we have an opportunity in Missouri to bring people together across such broad differences to all walk together towards something that we want to protect,” Evans said. “In this case, it is protecting public schools, protecting everyday Missourians.”
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