As the Missouri House began the final day of this year’s session last week, state Rep. Tim Taylor reluctantly reported that last-minute efforts to salvage a package of changes to property tax laws had failed.

For most of the past year, property taxes and how they are levied had dominated the three-term Republican’s legislative work. The change he considered key to making the system fairer had died weeks earlier in disagreements between the House and Senate.

Now he was telling the House that smaller changes, intended to make voters more informed and change how local tax measures are labeled, were also dead.

He chose a quote from the renowned Russian writer Leo Tolstoy’s 1886 book “What Then Must We Do” to illustrate what happened.

“I sit on a man’s back, choking him, and making him carry me, and I assure myself and I assure others, that I feel sorry for the man,” Taylor recited. “And I wish to ease his lot by any possible means — except to get off his back.”

The local districts that rely on property taxes were too powerful a lobby to overcome, Taylor told his colleagues. 

As they campaign, Taylor said, members will go out and tell constituents, ‘‘I really, really feel sorry for you” as they complain about property assessments that are driving up their tax bills.

“But you come to this building and you say ‘sorry, I can’t vote against my schools. By God, they need everything they can get’,” Taylor said. “Then you’re not taking into account the taxpayer … and you’re making them suffer so that you can sit there and not suffer at all.”

The problem

In 1980, Missourians approved a constitutional amendment intended to control local tax rates by making increases subject to a public vote and requiring annual rate adjustments, or rollbacks, when property values rise faster than inflation.

But the rollback requirement is a restraint on total revenue for each taxing district, not a cap on individual tax bills. There are five subclasses of property — residential, commercial, agricultural, personal and state-assessed private infrastructure — and when values in one subclass rise faster than others, the burden shifts toward those owners.

And for the past 10 years, the bulk of that shift has been toward homeowners. Total residential assessments have increased 75% since 2015, according to annual reports of the Missouri State Tax Commission. In the same period, commercial and personal property assessments have risen about 50% and agricultural land values have risen 14%.

Throughout Missouri, except in St. Louis County and the city of Gladstone, tax rates are general. All property, regardless of subclass, is taxed at the same locally determined rates.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – Google announced it is bringing a $15 billion data center to mid-Missouri, located next to an already approved $35 billion data center run by Amazon.

The data centers are slated to go in Montgomery County in New Florence, 20 miles west of Warrenton along Interstate 70.

The two data centers combined would take up nearly 2,000 acres. Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village take up 28 acres, making the combined data center footprint roughly the size of 70 Busch Stadiums.

Google explained how it will be using advanced technology, hoping to limit water usage and reduce the environmental impact.

“We look forward to expanding Google’s investments in Missouri and helping Missourians benefit from the next wave of American innovation,” said Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google. “To deliver the upside of technology, we are investing in workforce development and energy affordability, both directly and through our partnerships with local organizations. This commitment will provide thousands of Missourians with valuable technical and trade skills, while supporting energy affordability for residents in Montgomery County and across the state.”

According to Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, in accordance with Senate Bill 4, Google will continue to pay for 100% of the power the data center uses and any new infrastructure costs that are directly driven by its operations.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated.

The remains of a Missouri Valley man, missing for nearly three years, were found by law enforcement in April.

Jesse George, 35, was reported missing on June 29, 2023. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, in conjunction with the Missouri Valley Police Department and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office continued to investigate his disappearance, according to a news release from the Iowa DCI.

On April 15, 2026, law enforcement excavated a location four miles northwest of Missouri Valley where human remains were found, the release said. The remains were positively identified as George’s and the Iowa State Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide.

Joseph Langford, 52, also of Missouri Valley, was arrested by the Iowa DCI in George’s death on Monday, May 18. He was charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse.

An investigation into George’s death is ongoing.

Langford admitted to killing, burying body to others

George was last seen with Langford near a camper around Fourth Street in Missouri Valley on the morning of June 29, 2023. Langford later admitted the two had an argument in the camper, according to court filings.

Later that morning, around 4:30 a.m., Langford had a friend help move a car that was parked in front of the camper. Langford was armed with a rifle and wouldn’t let his friend in the camper, the court filing said. He later told the same friend that “somebody’s gone, they’re not coming back, and I’m going to prison.”

Langford and his sister took the camper to an Interstate 29 rest area, where they were both employed, and cleaned the camper, according to the court filings.

A report to local law enforcement was made about the camper. Upon arrival, law enforcement saw bullet holes in the side of the camper, and blood was observed in the camper. The camper was processed by law enforcement at that time. Forensic testing determined the blood to be George’s.

About a year later, Langford admitted to killing George to another friend, the court filings said. He also told a coworker he had shot and killed George in the camper. He also admitted to burying George’s body behind the rest area.

An autopsy determined George had been shot multiple times.

Langford is in the custody of the Harrison County Jail on a $1 million cash bond, with a court appearance scheduled for May 27.

Kyle Werner is the breaking news and public safety reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@registermedia.com.