Missouri State football season has arrived and an offseason of looking to the 2025 season and its impending move to Conference USA will be set aside for the Bears’ final season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and FCS.

Opening day will present quite a challenge.

Missouri State will open its 2024 season at FCS national runner-up Montana on Saturday in Missoula, Montana, at 8 p.m. This is the first time the two teams have met on the gridiron.

Ryan Beard is entering his second season as Missouri State’s head coach. His team will look to build off a 4-7 season while staying focused on this season despite being ineligible for the FCS Playoffs.

Montana finished last season as the FCS national runner-up. The Grizzlies hope to finish the job this season as they enter the season as the No. 3-ranked team in the country.

Check here for live score updates and highlights throughout the night:

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The Bishop family of Festus, Missouri, can smile now, but a few months ago the mood was much more somber as Courtney, Jake and their 3-year-old daughter Hazel said goodbye to a very important member of the family: Hazel’s beloved pacifier.

“It’s not good for her teeth and her jaws and all of that, so we had been trying to wean her off of it for some time,” Jake, 35, said.

Hazel’s beloved pacifier, affectionately known as “Paci,” had been with her for years. Jake knew saying goodbye could come with tears and tantrums, so he searched for creative approaches to ease the transition. He considered options such as cutting off the end of the pacifier, soaking it in vinegar or planting it in a pot.

Instead, Jake chose to give Paci a funeral.

Of course, before the internet, parents used to just take the thing away and deal with the tantrum. But today, for better or worse, young parents like Jake would rather not go to war over a binky. They’re “pacy-fists,” if you will.

“You need them to go through some tough times to really grow as a person but you don’t need to make extra tough times for them,” Jake said. “They’ll have plenty of those coming up.” 

Parents delight in making milestones, but those milestones are often bittersweet because each turning point is a point of no return.

“She’s transitioning to the next stage of her life,” Jake said of Hazel, their first child. “We just got to hold onto those moments and those memories, because it goes fast.”

Hazel hasn’t asked for Paci again since. Although, shortly after the ceremony, Jake dug it up and buried it again in a keepsake box, making dad the one who just can’t let go. 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas man has been charged after he allegedly sent child pornography while in a Missouri county.

Court documents filed in the Platte County, Missouri, Circuit Court have revealed that on Wednesday, Aug. 28, Courtnie R. Purvis, 45, of Overland Park, Kansas, has been charged with a single count of promoting child pornography in the first degree.

A complaint filed by the prosecuting attorney reported that in June 2023, Purvis knowingly sent out child pornography while in Platte County. The content allegedly depicted two victims, with whom Purvis has been barred from any contact.

As a part of his $25,000 cash-only bond agreement, if bailed out, Purvis is not allowed contact with any minor whatsoever. As of Friday, he is not behind Platte County bars.

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