Missouri

Missouri Supreme Court hears arguments on congressional redistricting map – Missourinet

Published

1 month ago

March 10, 2026

Missouri Supreme Court hears arguments on congressional redistricting map – Missourinet

The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether the so-called “Missouri First” map is unconstitutional.

The map, passed by Republican lawmakers in September and signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe, stretches the boundaries of the 5th Congressional District, a Democratic stronghold, eastward into heavily Republican regions of the state. It also moves part of the current 5th District into the 4th and 6th districts, currently represented by Republican congressmen Mark Alford and Sam Graves. Incumbent Democrat Emanuel Cleaver is running for reelection in the 5th District.

Opponents of the Missouri First map’s main argument focused on the map being passed by lawmakers without any new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The congressional boundaries tossed out by the Missouri First map were based on the 2020 U.S. Census.

Attorney Chuck Hatfield represents those challenging the new map passed by Republican lawmakers last fall.

“The whole idea is tethered to the census data. You must do it at the census, and you only do it at the census,” Hatfield told the High Court. “The court’s precedents also support this.”

Solicitor General Louis Capozzi, representing the Missouri Sec. of State’s office, disagreed, saying the Missouri Constitution is silent on mid-decade redistricting.

“Mid-decade redistricting had happened in Missouri in the 1870s, and mid-decade redistricting was common around the country in the first half of the 20th century,” he argued. “Article III, Section 45 of the Missouri Constitution sets out only three requirements for the redistricting of seats in Missouri, ‘The district shall be composed of contiguous territory, as compact, and as nearly equal in population as may be.’ And as long as the General Assembly complies with those three rules, this court said that Missouri courts, ‘shall respect the political determinations of the General Assembly.’”

Meanwhile, roughly a hundred demonstrators held signs across the street from the Missouri Supreme Court building, condemning the Missouri First map and calling for the Missouri Supreme Court to strike it down.

“Voters should choose our politicians,” said Missouri League of Women Voters Director Kay Park. “The League (of Women Voters) believes redistricting should keep communities of similar culture and race together to strengthen their vote and promote partisan fairness.”

The Missouri Supreme Court will rule on the congressional district map later.

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Missouri

Montgomery County man pleads guilty in child death involving fentanyl

Published

10 hours ago

April 13, 2026

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Montgomery County man pleads guilty in child death involving fentanyl

A man charged after a 2-year-old was found dead under his care pleaded guilty to charges including murder in connection to the child’s death.

Bryan Danter, identified in court documents as the child’s father, pleaded guilty to second-degree felony murder, second-degree drug trafficking and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to court records.

Danter was charged in September 2024 with drug trafficking and child endangerment counts after state troopers found a 2-year-old child dead in an apartment, according to previous KOMU 8 reporting.

After investigators concluded the child died of exposure to fentanyl, a felony murder charge was added to the case, according to previous reporting. An individual can be charged with felony murder in Missouri when someone dies during the perpetration of a felony.

The probable cause statement filed at the time described guns discovered by state troopers during the child death investigation.

The guns included a pump-action shotgun, a semi-automatic shotgun and a semi-automatic .22- caliber rifle. Troopers said the serial number on the rifle had been sanded off, according to previous reporting.

Since Danter was previously convicted in a felony case and is not allowed to own firearms by law.

Danter has a sentencing hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. June 12.

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Missouri

Missouri women’s basketball adds high-major starting point guard transfer

Published

22 hours ago

April 13, 2026

Press Room

Missouri women’s basketball adds high-major starting point guard transfer

Make that two signings for Kellie Harper’s team in the opening week of the transfer portal.

Missouri women’s basketball landed a commitment Sunday from Indiana point guard Nevaeh Caffey, who announced her decision to sign with the Tigers via social media. Caffey is a native of Warrenton, Missouri, who started all 32 Hoosiers games last season as a true freshman.

The Tigers have now made two additions out of the transfer portal since the window opened April 6, with Caffey joining Michigan transfer and freshman shooting guard McKenzie Mathurin.

Caffey is from the St. Louis area and played her high school at Incarnate Word Academy, winning 139 straight games and four straight MSHSAA Class 6 titles with the powerhouse. She was named Miss Show-Me Basketball as a senior in 2025.

In 32 starts, averaging 32.1 minutes on the floor per game, Caffey scored 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 turnovers per game. The 5-foot-10 shot 41.7% from 3-point range on 36 total attempts, and she averaged 3.3 free-throw attempts per game with a 81.3% clip.

Point guard — and guard depth at large — looked likely to be a target area for the Tigers in this transfer window, which will remain open for new entries through April 21.

The Tigers can return Averi Kroenke, who sustained a season-ending injury before the Tigers’ season-opener last year, and have a top-100 high school prospect in Natalya Hodge with the ability to run the point.

With high-major starting experience, Caffey sets up to find a prominent spot in the rotation next year in Columbia.

Five Missouri players have entered the portal and will transfer out of the program this offseason, including core rotation members in guards Chloe Sotell and Shannon Dowell. If there had been no outward movement, Mizzou would not have had any room to work in the transfer portal due to the NCAA’s 15-player roster limit for college basketball programs.

Mizzou has now filled two of those five possible open roster spots.

Frontcourt depth is now the clear-and-obvious major need for Mizzou. The Tigers need experience at both forward and center to round out their roster.

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Missouri

Pop culture fans flock to Springfield for Missouri Comic Con

Published

1 day ago

April 12, 2026

Press Room

Pop culture fans flock to Springfield for Missouri Comic Con

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) -Sunday was the last day of the 2026 Missouri Comic Con in Springfield.

Events took place at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds E-Plex and brought together multiple celebrities from the film and digital landscape to meet with fans and take part in Q&A’s.

Some notable names were Randy Quaid from ‘National Lampoon’s Vacation’ and Jaime Pressly, best known for her role in ‘My Name Is Earl.’

There were also multiple cosplay meetups throughout the day for attendees to spot their favorite characters from several forms of media.

“Just a way for the community to come together and just celebrate being a fan of something. And whatever it is you’re a fan of, you’re going to find other people here who are a fan of that as well,” said Joey Mills, MC of VXV. “And it’s a place to connect. It’s a safe place for people to be a fan of whatever they’re a fan of and not worry about, you know, if it’s cool or not to be talking about this at school or at work. Come here, it’s cool to talk about it with all the rest of the folks here.”

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