Missouri

Missouri lawmakers propose a major change in overseeing child abuse claims

Published

2 years ago

January 4, 2024

Missouri lawmakers propose a major change in overseeing child abuse claims

Missouri lawmakers are proposing a significant change to the state’s child welfare system, moving oversight of juvenile officers from judges to the state attorney general’s office.

Supporters of the move say it would remove what they see as a conflict of interest for those who make critical decisions about abuse and neglect claims. Juvenile officers strongly oppose it.

In Missouri, the state’s Children’s Division is responsible for investigating abuse and neglect claims made through the state’s hotline. If Children’s Division investigators believe abuse or neglect occurred, they provide a written referral to juvenile officers.

The juvenile officer then determines whether the report supports a petition alleging abuse and neglect. If so, a petition will be filed and the child likely will come under state care.

Currently, judges oversee juvenile officers — though their direct supervisors are not judges who hear child custody cases. Some legal and political leaders have been critical of this arrangement, contending it violates the principle around separation of powers. Josh Gupta-Kagan, a professor at Columbia Law School, wrote in 2014 that having judges oversee juvenile officers “differs from the American norm of executive branch agencies and lawyers filing and prosecuting civil and criminal cases on behalf of the government.”

“By granting juvenile officers, who are subject to judges’ supervision, exclusive power to file child abuse and neglect and juvenile delinquency cases, Missouri law concentrates power into the hands of one branch of government,” Gupta-Kagan wrote. “Missouri law thus empowers individual judges to set child welfare and juvenile justice policy by managerial decree. Subordinate judicial branch officials face pressure to file and litigate cases to please their boss, the judge, who hired them, supervises them, and has power to fire them.”

Tim Bommel

Missouri House of Representatives

Rep. Travis Fitzwater, photographed here in 2022, recently won his primary to become the Republican candidate for Missouri’s 10th Senate district. Facing a Libertarian candidate in November, Fitzwater is likely to win.

Sen. Travis Fitzwater, R-Callaway County, filed legislation in December that would have the state’s attorney general office oversee juvenile officers by mid-2027. It’s part of a multifaceted bill that also seeks to expand guardian ad litem coverage for children.

“Once I got into the Senate, I started getting calls from constituents dealing with foster care issues, and the judicial system, and judicial officers and guardian ad litems,” Fitzwater said. “And it just kind of feels like the system is failing kids.”

Fitzwater said having the attorney general oversee juvenile officers could give the officials more leeway to make difficult decisions.

“I hold that there is an inherent conflict of interest, because … obviously they have an interest in their own job and being on the side of the judges,” Fitzwater said. “That’s why on the bill, we’re putting juvenile officers in under the attorney general’s office and they can have oversight.”

One of the people who has been pushing for years to have an agency other than judges oversee juvenile officers is Children’s Division director Darrell Missey. He’s quoted in Gupta-Kagan’s paper describing some of the problems with the arrangement. A spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services said that Missey is not taking an active role in pushing for Fitzwater’s bill.

“We have way too many kids in the system, we need to do better, like a lot better, to fight for these kids,” Fitzwater said. “And I just think that’s one change that probably is monumental, especially to the juvenile officers.”

The Missouri Senate on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, during the first day of the legislative session in Jefferson City.

Pushback from officers

Some juvenile officers, including Bill Prince, have taken a dim view of Fitzwater’s legislation.

Prince, the chief juvenile officer for Greene County, said that making juvenile officers state employees will be expensive — especially since some juvenile officers get paid from a mixture of county and state funds. He also disputed the idea that juvenile officers lack the ability to make independent decisions since they’re overseen by judges.

“I kind of firmly believe that one of the beauties of the juvenile system as it exists in Missouri is that it is very localized, and that each local juvenile office can kind of adapt its programs and services to the unique needs of the community and the youth that live in that community,” Prince said. “We are not part of a large centralized state bureaucracy. And I think most people would agree that making bureaucracies bigger seldom results in better performance outcomes.”

The Children’s Division is struggling to recruit and retain investigators, especially in the St. Louis region. That’s led to a sizable backlog in cases and a push from a bipartisan group of lawmakers to try to raise pay in the Children’s Division to recruit more people and prevent turnover.

“I feel for the Children’s Division and those investigators, because that is an extremely tough job,” Prince said. “The way that gets solved is more people and more pay so that they can do their job appropriately.”

Fitzwater said he’s aware that some juvenile officers aren’t thrilled with his proposal but added that it’s an important component of a longer conversation about transforming Missouri’s approach to vulnerable children.

“It’s worth the discussion, and maybe we get some momentum on it,” Fitzwater said. “At a minimum, we ought to be giving these kids the right to counsel and then adding maybe some other pieces to it.”

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Missouri

KSR’s top takeaways from Kentucky’s 22-point win over Missouri

Published

6 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

KSR’s top takeaways from Kentucky’s 22-point win over Missouri

Welp. The game of basketball giveth, and the game of basketball taketh, and it took away Teonni Key from us. Of course, there was some other (positive) stuff that took place as Kentucky beat Missouri handily.

So, here are KSR’s top takeaways from the 74-52 win over the Tigers.

Get better soon, Teonni Key

First and foremost, let’s extend some well wishes to Teonni Key. In what was truly a freakish play, the 6-foot-5 forward dove for a loose ball and awkwardly landed on a Missouri player and the court, resulting in a dislocated elbow, according to Kenny Brooks. We’re rooting for a speedy recovery, 7!

Kenny Brooks on Teonni Key following the Mizzou game:
“We’re just praying for her right now. She dislocated her elbow. All we can do right now is pray for her. She’s a tough kid. This is the part of the game I hate the most. It was a freak play. We’ll continue to pray.”
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— Phoenix Stevens (@PStevensKSR) January 4, 2026

I am no medical expert and I won’t even try to pretend to be, so to look at the situation differently, it’s going to be really important for players like Asia Boone and Kaelyn Carroll to step up in her place, assuming she will be out of action for an extended period of time. We’ve seen this team without Key in two games already, and they both played an important role in making sure her lost production wasn’t a killer.

Obviously, the top priority here is her health in general, but just looking at the basketball aspect, life is going to get even tougher. Her presence on the defensive end and on the glass will almost certainly be missed sorely. It’s just a matter of the next man stepping up and providing their own unique punch.

Tonie Morgan’s confidence is on another planet right now

After a 24-point, 12-assists, 0-turnover outing against the No. 5 team in the country is awesome enough. But then hitting the game-winning three to add the cherry on top? Should it really come as a surprise that Tonie Morgan‘s confidence is through the roof right now?

She nailed her first three shots against Missouri — even hitting a three from about where that game-winner was from a few nights back. Against the Tigers, Morgan went off, recording 18 points on 7-11 (2-3 3PT) shooting while dishing out 14 assists along the way. FOURTEEN! Just absolutely brilliant stuff from the Georgia Tech transfer.

If she can continue to play like that — not the same ridiculous stat lines, but just taking over games and doing anything at will — she may very well end up being the best point guard in the SEC when this season is all said and done.

All things considered, that’s a really good win

Missouri is a good team, and after the LSU game, Kentucky could have very easily slept-walked into Sunday’s contest, laid an egg and lost. Instead, they beat a very solid Tigers squad by 22 points, leading by double digits pretty much the whole way.

The Tigers have had an interesting season, but they entered Sunday’s game 12-4, and in their last game, they were within a possession or two against No. 2 Texas for the majority of that game — even leading after the first quarter.

Brooks admitted that Kentucky was a bit “sluggish” out the gate against Missouri, and when you couple that with the emotionally taxing part of Key’s injury, being able to get themselves together to get a win like they did is, at the end of the day, something that Kentucky can hang its hat on.

KSR’s Rapid Reaction

Kenny Brooks, Tonie Morgan Postgame Press Conference

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Missouri

Missouri Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 winning numbers for Jan. 3, 2026

Published

18 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 3, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

18-21-40-53-60, Powerball: 23, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

Midday: 0-8-1

Midday Wild: 5

Evening: 9-5-8

Evening Wild: 0

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

Midday: 0-1-4-3

Midday Wild: 7

Evening: 0-3-8-3

Evening Wild: 1

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

03-09-24-35-59, Cash Ball: 01

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

Early Bird: 06

Morning: 01

Matinee: 05

Prime Time: 11

Night Owl: 14

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Show Me Cash numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

07-17-21-25-30

Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Jan. 3 drawing

28-40-52-53-54, Powerball: 12

Check Powerball Double Play 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.
Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
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.
Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
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.

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Missouri

Missouri Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 winning numbers for Dec. 28, 2025

Published

7 days ago

December 29, 2025

Press Room

The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 28, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 28 drawing

Midday: 6-4-6

Midday Wild: 5

Evening: 3-6-7

Evening Wild: 1

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 28 drawing

Midday: 8-0-0-0

Midday Wild: 2

Evening: 4-6-0-3

Evening Wild: 5

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Dec. 28 drawing

09-15-24-34-53, Cash Ball: 04

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Dec. 28 drawing

Early Bird: 15

Morning: 01

Matinee: 02

Prime Time: 08

Night Owl: 04

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Show Me Cash numbers from Dec. 28 drawing

02-19-21-29-37

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

Ticket Redemption

Missouri Lottery

P.O. Box 7777

Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777

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.
Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
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.
Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
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.

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