Missouri
Missouri VFW inspected by state regulators as part of ban on intoxicating hemp products • Missouri Independent
Not long after Commander Jason Stanfield had lowered the flag Tuesday to honor the lives lost on Sept. 11 at his Franklin County VFW Post, he learned state food inspectors had arrived.
“It’s not an easy day,” Stanfield said. “9/11 is a tough day for all of us, particularly for veterans. I was not in the best mindset.”
The regulators said they had received a complaint that the post’s bar had been selling seltzers that contain hemp-derived THC — which has the same intoxicating effect as THC from marijuana that’s sold at dispensaries.
The bar was selling a brand of fruity seltzers called UR Lit, which contains 5mg of Delta-9 THC.
While hemp is federally legal, Missouri recently joined a growing number of states trying to ban all intoxicating hemp products.
When Gov. Mike Parson signed his executive order on Aug. 1 to ban the products, he said his primary focus was to protect children consuming the products that resemble popular candy, like Lifesavers, or fruity drinks.
Given the governor’s goal, Stanfield said he was surprised the state wanted to inspect the post, where members are well over 21.
“There’s not a whole lot of kids that run around the VFW,” he said.
Since the ban went into effect on Sept. 1, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services officials have inspected 74 establishments and found intoxicating products at 42 of them, said Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the department.
On a social media post on Wednesday, Stanfield described the inspection as a “raid,” but Cox said that description is “misleading” because there were just two inspectors responding to a complaint.
“The two inspectors were let inside through a locked door upon request,” Cox said, “but quickly recognized that the VFW Post did not pose an immediate cause for concern, specifically in regard to Missouri children. As a result, zero product was embargoed or destroyed.”
Cox said the department has “no plans in place of returning to the establishment.”
Hemp and marijuana are essentially terms the government uses to distinguish between the part of the cannabis plant that can get you high when smoked – that’s marijuana – and the part that can’t — that’s hemp.
But with a little science and extraction, people can enhance the small amount of the naturally occurring THC, or the psychoactive component, in hemp to make edibles and drinks.
Because hemp isn’t a controlled substance like marijuana, there’s no state or federal law saying teenagers or children can’t buy products, such as delta-8 drinks, or that stores can’t sell them to minors, Parson said.
And there’s no requirement to list potential effects on the label or test how much THC is actually in them. State lawmakers have failed to pass such requirements the last two years.
Stanfield said the state ban is harmful for VFW members who are trying to recover from alcoholism or opioid addiction.
“I have testimony after testimony in my post alone of people that are still alive today,” Stanfield said, “because they use cannabis to get off of their opioids that they were addicted to.”
During the inspection, he said the DHSS employees told him that the drinks were considered “adulterated.” If a product is considered adulterated, DHSS has the authority to embargo it – which means put a tag on it until the department gets a court order to destroy it.
Stanfield points to the state law that says, “a food shall not be considered adulterated solely for containing industrial hemp, or an industrial hemp commodity or product.”
That line was added to Missouri’s law in 2018, after Congress legalized hemp as part of the federal Farm Bill. It was part of a Missouri House bill that brought the state’s definition of hemp in alignment with the federal government’s.
It is the same law fueling the Missouri Hemp Trade Association’s lawsuit against the governor’s ban.
“I will continue to comply with federal law and sell these products until they’re not legal,” Stanfield said, “to give my veterans a non-alcoholic option in a place where they can come and be with other veterans and not have to consume alcohol.”
The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 16, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from June 16 drawing
12-20-53-67-70, Mega Ball: 12
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from June 16 drawing
Midday: 1-1-3
Midday Wild: 0
Evening: 5-0-3
Evening Wild: 6
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from June 16 drawing
Midday: 6-5-4-8
Midday Wild: 2
Evening: 1-7-9-9
Evening Wild: 6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from June 16 drawing
Early Bird: 12
Morning: 15
Matinee: 07
Prime Time: 07
Night Owl: 06
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Show Me Cash numbers from June 16 drawing
03-25-26-30-36
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.
- 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.
A skydiving instructor who had made over 6,800 jumps. A drummer who was meticulous about safety since falling in love with the sport that helped him sober up. A software engineer on the cusp of becoming a certified skydiving coach. A grandfather honoring his sister lost to cancer.
Family and friends of the 11 jumpers and pilot killed when their plane crashed shortly after taking off in Missouri said they loved their hobby — whether it was to find personal peace or to share a once-in-a-lifetime experience with others. They remembered the experienced skydivers as people who may have had regular jobs to pay their bills but free falling brought both the thrill and the serenity they craved.
Blake Thacker, 25, jumped for seven years since first skydiving on his 18th birthday. He was set to get his skydiving coach certification over the weekend, his mother Sherry said.
“Skydiving had given him the confidence to do other things in his life, to be successful and reach for things maybe he thought he wasn’t good enough to do,” she said.
Thacker was an aviation software engineer and his mother saw that same methodical safety-oriented focus in his hobby.
“He said, ’Mom the danger in skydiving is really not the diving it’s the plane,’” she recalled.
Plane crashed shortly after takeoff
The plane was barely off the ground Sunday — only about 100 feet (30 meters) in the air — when it made an abrupt left turn before crashing on a sunny day. It appeared to be losing power, witnesses said.
This Sept. 2024 photo provided by Kathryn Nold shows Nold and her husband, Dustin McKinney, and their two kids in Stilwell, Kansas. Credit: AP/Kathryn Nold
Skydive Kansas City operated the single-engine turboprop Pacific Aerospace 750XL built in 2010 out of an airport in the small town of Butler, roughly 65 miles (105 kilometers) south of Kansas City.
The plane arrived in Butler for the first time on June 5, according to data from FlightRadar24.com. Pictures of the aircraft posted on social media showed it still had advertising from Chattanooga Skydiving Co. Its flight history showed it had previously been flying for weeks at a time in Tennessee and Wisconsin.
A woman who answered the phone at the Chattanooga Skydiving Co. hung up Tuesday when a reporter identified himself.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating all factors leading to the crash including how much experience the pilot had with this model of plane and any mechanical or structural problems with the aircraft.
This undated photo provided by Gloria Shanahan shows Michael Shanahan in San Francisco. Credit: AP/Uncredited
The 12 people killed were identified as Thacker, Kurt John Roy, Michael Shanahan, David Hershberger, Sai Karthik Varma Datla, Matthew Swope, Dustin McKinney, Jen Sharp, Marcus Miller, Nicholas Nash, William Fischer and Dane Cordes, according to the Bates County Coroner’s Office.
Skydiving helped one jumper get sober
McKinney’s wife said her husband was meticulous about safety when he jumped after his love for skydiving prompted him to get sober seven years ago.
“It feels like this is the only way that skydiving could have taken out Dustin, because it was such a freak accident,” Kathryn Nold said. “It was the most horrific thing. It’s still very surreal.”
McKinney, 44, worked at a furniture store and played drums in Kansas City-area bands. The father of two also had a part-time paying gig as a videographer for Skydive Kansas City.
“He could just immediately make people feel seen and warm and want to be around him, and I just feel infinitely lucky that we were the center of his world and able to experience that love from him that he gave so effortlessly to everyone,” Nold said of her high school sweetheart.
Honoring his sister by jumping
Shanahan took up skydiving just before his older sister Nikki died from breast cancer in 2016, his mother said Tuesday.
“He wanted to live his life and make it worth having fun, having a good time, doing something he enjoyed, and skydiving was something he had always wanted to do, unbeknownst to us,” Gloria Shanahan told The Associated Press.
Shanahan honored his sister by skydiving on her birthday, Mother’s Day and the anniversary of her death. He then visited her grave.
Shanahan, 54, jumped Saturday just for fun. He booked Sunday’s jump as a backup in case the weather was bad but decided to go ahead and jump both days anyway, his mother said.
“We do not regret that he did. He got to live the life that he wanted to,” she said.
Shanahan’s skydiving instructor was Hershberger, who was on the plane with him Sunday. The two had another bond. Hershberger taught violin to two of Shanahan’s grandchildren.
Hershberger, 54, also taught orchestra and played trumpet with the Kansas City Wind Symphony. His summers were spent at Skydive Kansas City, often harnessed to inexperienced jumpers exhilarated and nervous to cross something off their bucket lists.
Skydiving to find out more about yourself
Sharp, 55, took her first jump in 1989 when she was 18. Some 6,800 jumps later, she was a legendary instructor at the highest levels of the sport and the coach for Thacker’s certification.
On her blog, Sharp wrote about how she jumped into Denver’s Coors Field ballpark while dressed as the queen of England and loved to go tandem with people skydiving for the first time and to see them test their resolve, grow personally and just feel alive.
“Being trained by Jen Sharp was like taking piano lessons from Beethoven,” her friend Greg Upper told The Associated Press, calling Sharp a philosopher. “That’s how big of a deal she was.”
Swope, 39, worked in IT, but every weekend he was up in the sky as he searched for any bit of fun, especially something he could share with others, his best friend, Justin Williams, said.
“He loved it. He gets to take people on their once-in-a-lifetime adventure every weekend, multiple times a day,” Williams said.
After Swope’s death, Williams said, he’s terrified to go skydiving again but also knows he has to because his friend knew to truly live is to take risks.
“It’s scary to be in the door, but the moment you let go, it dissolves away and induces a state of presence that you will not find anywhere else,” Williams said of free falling. “You don’t worry about the future. You’re not sad about the past. You’re just present, and it’s the most peaceful experience.”
The skydiving industry says it has a strong safety record. The United States Parachute Association said that last year nearly 3.5 million jumps were completed and that 16 civilians died, the majority from human error.
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