Connect with us

Missouri

Netflix documentary about Missouri tornado revisits one of the deadliest twisters in the US

Published

on

Netflix documentary about Missouri tornado revisits one of the deadliest twisters in the US


The horror of the Joplin tornado is the subject of a new documentary film, released nearly 14 years after the twister struck Missouri with cataclysmic force, ripping into a hospital, destroying neighborhoods and killing around 160.

“You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing,” Kerry Sachetta, then the Joplin High School principal, told The Associated Press on the evening of May 22, 2011, after the school was destroyed.

“That’s really what it looked like,” Sachetta said.

As he spoke on that dreadful night, fires from gas leaks burned across town. The EF-5 twister, then the single deadliest in six decades, packed winds of 200 mph (320 kph). At times, it was nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) wide. Left in its wake was a hellscape of cars crushed like soda cans and shaken residents roaming streets in search of missing family members. About 7,500 homes were damaged or destroyed.

Advertisement

“The Twister: Caught in the Storm” was released last week by Netflix following a recent spate of deadly storms that have unleashed tornadoes, blinding dust storms and wildfires.

Hospital became a disaster zone

Some of the most startling damage in Joplin was at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, where staff had only moments to hustle patients into the hallway before the 367-bed hospital was knocked off its foundation.

Flying debris blew out windows and disabled the hospitals’ exposed generators, causing ventilators to stop working. The winds also scattered X-rays and medical records around 75 miles (121 kilometers) away.

Five patients and one visitor died in the immediate aftermath. And other patients later died of injuries they suffered in the storm.

On the morning after the storm, Dr. Jim Riscoe told the AP that some members of his emergency room staff showed up after the tornado with injuries of their own but worked through the night anyway.

Advertisement

“It’s a testimony to the human spirit,” Riscoe said, comparing the scene to a nuclear disaster. “Cars had been thrown like playing cards. Power lines were sparking. I couldn’t believe it.”

The building was so badly damaged it had to be razed the following year.

Recent grads and nursing home residents among the dead

The deaths from the storm were so numerous that a makeshift morgue was set up next to a football stadium in Joplin. Hundreds of others were injured in the city of 53,000.

Among the dead was 18-year-old Will Norton who was headed home from his high school graduation when he was sucked out of his family’s SUV through the sunroof. His father desperately held on to his legs. Norton’s body was found five days later in a nearby pond.

In the following years, his family kept his room as it was: an open pack of chewing gum, his trademark mismatched socks, his computer and the green screen that helped earn him a YouTube following for his travel chronicles.

Advertisement

“It’s a little comfort to go in there, go back in time and remember how it was,” his father, Mark Norton, said close to the five-year anniversary.

Around a dozen died in a single nursing home after the tornado tossed four vehicles, including a full-size van, into the building. Those who survived were scattered to nursing homes in four states, their records and medications blown away. Widespread phone outages then complicated efforts to locate the residents, some of whom had dementia.

Officials still disgree about the final death toll. The federal storm center says 158 died while local officials count the deaths of three additional people, including a person struck by lightning after the tornado blew through the city.

Schools were devastated but persisted

The tornado forced school officials to end the spring term nine days early. Six school buildings were destroyed, including the high school. Seven other buildings were badly damaged.

The district scrambled to rebuild with federal funds, donations, insurance money and a $62 million bond, cobbling together a hodgepodge of temporary locations while construction was underway. Seniors and juniors took classes in a converted big-box store in a shopping mall, while freshmen and sophomores went to school in a building across town.

Advertisement

Then-President Barack Obama was the commencement speaker during the high school’s 2012 commencement and then-Vice President Joe Biden attended the 2014 dedication of the new high school, calling the community the “heart and soul of America.”

The dedication included two live eagles, the school’s mascot. During the first home football game after the tornado, a single eagle flew over the football field and became a symbol signifying that the students, like the bird who returns to the same nesting spot each year, would come home again.





Source link

Advertisement

Missouri

American Idol Crowns Missouri Native Winner of Season 24

Published

on

American Idol Crowns Missouri Native Winner of Season 24


American Idol‘s latest installment has come to end. After a notable season that brought contestants to Hawaii and featured a tribute to Taylor Swift, Season 24 wrapped with a three-hour long episode that saw hopefuls Jordan McCullough, Hannah Harper, and Keyla Richardson compete for the final spot.

In the end, Missouri native Harper took the crown. In the first round of the finale, Alicia Keys stepped in as a guest mentor for contestants, and Harper performed a bluegrass rendition of the Grammy winner’s chart-topping hit, “No One.” In the second turn, Harper sang a song she wrote herself, titled “Married Into This Town,” and reprised “String Cheese,” another song she penned and memorably sang for her audition, for the last round.

During a previous interview with Music Mayhem, Harper said that she grew up playing “bluegrass gospel music in churches every single weekend from age nine until I was 16.” She was drawn to singers like Dolly Parton and Shania Twain, who impacted her approach to music.

“I was raised super conservative, and so I knew of Dolly Parton, and we didn’t listen to a bunch of her music, but she was definitely somebody that I was drawn to. So extravagant. It’s so fun. And she’s such a good showman,” Harper said. “But I was a big Shania Twain fan, like early ‘90s Shania. That was the one tape that we had on, on the regular that my mom let me listen to.”

Advertisement

Trending Stories


This year’s season saw judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan relocate the famous “Hollywood Week” for contestants who make it past auditions — trading Los Angeles for Nashville. There was also a special Ohana round in Hawaii that brought 30 finalists before an “industry” panel that included Kelly Sutton, the first female full-time host of the Grand Ole Opry, and Cheryl Porter, a vocal coach and Broadway star, and Rolling Stone‘s own Co-Editor-in-Chief, Shirley Halperin.

Halperin wrote about the experience, while detailing how the show has evolved since its debut over two decades ago. “Each hopeful brought their A game and looked fabulous doing it. How were we to choose? As it turned out, the ones who took the biggest risk — by performing an original song — had an edge,” Halperin noted. “As for our panel, we discussed the contestants’ ages and how they handled the stress of competing. We took note of their backstories, and were inspired by them. We recognized unique voices and range. But in the end, we favored musicianship over potential.”





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Missouri

Judge denies Missouri AG’s bid to immediately halt 7-OH kratom sales by American Shaman

Published

on

Judge denies Missouri AG’s bid to immediately halt 7-OH kratom sales by American Shaman


A Jackson County judge on Friday denied Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s attempt to immediately stop Kansas City-based CBD American Shaman and several affiliated companies from selling kratom products.

The motion for a temporary restraining order, which was filed alongside the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, took particular aim at the more potent 7-OH products, which Hanaway argues are “hazardous opioids” banned by state and federal law.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Charles McKenzie’s ruling Friday stated there are “competing affidavits” from experts on both sides of the argument, following a hearing on the motion earlier this week.

“The court cannot find, based on the oral argument of the parties, the respective competing affidavits presented and the pleadings, whether the plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits at this juncture in the proceedings in order for the court to grant relief in the form of a temporary restraining order,” McKenzie’s order states.

Advertisement

Hanaway’s argument was backed by sworn statements from an undercover narcotics officer with the highway patrol who said 7-OH is being used to cut fentanyl and a woman whose brother died from a kratom overdose.

Her office also submitted an FDA report that points to 7-OH as “a potent opioid that poses an emerging public health threat” and states health data showing synthetic 7-OH was involved in at least 197 Missouri deaths.

American Shaman submitted statements of its own from five toxicology and addiction experts, who largely said there wasn’t enough evidence to show that 7-OH and kratom posed a public health risk. One who researched narcotics said she had never heard of 7-OH being used to cut fentanyl.

Company owner Vince Sanders’ statement detailed how he came up with the idea to create 7-OH products, which now have an “enormous” demand, particularly among people who need pain management.

Sanders could not be reached for comment about the ruling on Friday.

Advertisement

McKenzie denied a temporary restraining order “without prejudice,” meaning that he would like to see more evidence.

“It is because of this finding that the court determines it necessary to hold an additional hearing,” he wrote, “where it can consider the parties’ respective positions with the potential of testimonial evidence and other properly introduced evidence, all as more fully developed by the parties, in order to further analyze these issues.”

The judge will consider “other injunctive relief sought in the pleadings at a future hearing to consider the issues,” the order states.

Hanaway filed a similar lawsuit Thursday against Relax Relief Rejuvenate Trading LLC, and its owners Dustin Robinson and Ajaykumar Patel.

The group received a warning letter from the FDA for producing 7-OH products last year, similar to one received by Shaman Botanicals.

Advertisement

“This is another step in our ongoing crackdown on kratom manufacturers who flout the law and try to justify endangering Missourians in the name of profit,” Hanaway said in a press release Thursday.

“Our mission is to safeguard Missourians from unregulated and addictive substances, and we will continue to pursue every legal tool available to protect public health and safety.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Missouri

Missouri Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 winning numbers for May 10, 2026

Published

on


The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at May 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Pick 3 numbers from May 10 drawing

Midday: 7-2-5

Midday Wild: 7

Advertisement

Evening: 9-6-8

Evening Wild: 7

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 10 drawing

Midday: 7-1-9-9

Midday Wild: 1

Advertisement

Evening: 6-9-8-9

Evening Wild: 2

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from May 10 drawing

Early Bird: 02

Morning: 11

Advertisement

Matinee: 10

Prime Time: 12

Night Owl: 11

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Show Me Cash numbers from May 10 drawing

09-18-23-31-39

Advertisement

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

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending