A community needs a vaccination rate of at least 95% to be adequately protected from measles outbreaks. In Missouri, the rate of vaccinated kindergarteners stands at 90%

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ahanshaw/">Annelise Hanshaw</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

The percentage of kindergarten students in Missouri vaccinated against diseases like measles and whooping cough is dropping each year as more parents turn in non-medical exemptions prior to their child’s first day of school.

Only 90%&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">of Missouri kindergarten students</a>&nbsp;were immunized against measles, mumps and rubella last year, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services</a>. That’s down from 94.6% five years prior. Some counties&nbsp;have rates nearing 75%.

According to the CDC and World Health Organization, a community needs a vaccination rate of at least 95% to be adequately protected from measles outbreaks.

“We are sweating,” Dr. Laura Morris, a University of Missouri Health Care family medicine physician and liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, told The Independent. “There are a couple of diseases that are very infectious that require really high rates of vaccination to provide herd immunity.”

Missouri exceeds the national average of non-medical exemptions. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5% of Missouri kindergarteners had non-medical exemptions on file last school year, compared to a nationwide rate of 3.4%.

This percentage, which has been on a steady incline since the 2020-21 school year, is troubling public health experts who say vaccination rates are dipping below safe levels.

“The number of children in a particular school that might be vulnerable or unvaccinated, it’s going to vary by community,” Morris said. “There are definitely some places and communities where there are a lot more unvaccinated kiddos, and then there are some communities where the rate might be 97% or even higher.”

Morris added: “It is going to be a bit of a firestorm if those infections get into some of those places.”&nbsp;

As vaccination rates drop, measles is popping up&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/measles-reaches-highest-level-in-33-years-now-in-39-states/">at levels not seen since 1992</a>. Seven cases of the disease have been confirmed in Missouri this year — five of which occurred in Cedar County, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state with&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">74.4% of kindergarteners vaccinated against measles</a>.

It is not just the MMR vaccine worrying health providers. The percentage of kindergarten-aged children with updated DTP vaccines (which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) has declined over the past 10 years from 96% to 90% in Missouri.

This is much steeper than the national drop, which went from 94.3% in the 2014-15 school year to 92.1% last year.

Rachel Hassani, director of education and engagement for the Missouri Rural Health Association, told The Independent that family hesitancy as well as access issues are contributing to the declining vaccination rates.

“Across the board, access to care is more limited in rural Missouri. Access to specialists, pediatricians, things like that is far more challenging,” she said. “And these workforce issues are really growing.”

Marvia Jones, director of the Kansas City Health Department, told The Independent that the city has been working to make vaccines more easily available. The health department has extended office hours to be convenient for working parents and scheduled more informational events in the community.

The result is a strong level of vaccination in the majority of the city, but Jones is noticing lower rates in suburban areas like the Northland.

“It is more of a hesitance issue,” she said. “A lot of misinformation and some of the political issues have been added to the discussions around public health vaccination in the past three to five years.”

The trend of lower vaccination rates and more religious exemptions in Missouri begins around the 2020-21 school year, which is when the COVID-19 vaccine was released. That year, only 2.4% of Missouri kindergarteners had a religious exemption from vaccination — less than half the rate of the 2024-25 school year.

“It has been just a big backslide in terms of the misinformation and inaccurate information,” Morris said. “It has become so prevalent to see so many things that are completely inaccurate.”

She has seen misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines spill into patient concerns about regularly scheduled vaccinations.

Health officials hope ease of access and proper education will help reverse the trend. But Missouri and the United States as a whole is also facing newfound systemic issues.

<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/03/27/repub/u-s-department-of-health-and-human-services-to-slash-10000-jobs-close-5-regional-offices/">Cuts in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services</a>&nbsp;has trickled down to Missouri programs. This spring, the Missouri Immunization Coalition shuttered after losing federal funding, and the Missouri Rural Health Association lost a $1 million grant intended to study immunizations in rural health clinics,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stlpr.org/health-science-environment/2025-04-16/federal-government-cuts-missouri-vaccine-funds-as-immunizations-dip" target="_blank">as reported by St. Louis Public Radio</a>.

And in June, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-cdc-acip-vaccines-3790c89f45b6314c5c7b686db0e3a8f9" target="_blank">replaced all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices</a>, a group that guides the CDC on vaccine policy.&nbsp;

Morris, a non-voting liaison to the committee, is still serving in an advisory role.

“The process of where those (vaccine) recommendations come from has been subverted over the last couple of months, and that (group) is no longer a source that has the same merit and the same kind of evidence-based background that it previously did,” she said.

Kansas City&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2417/1746" target="_blank">joined a lawsuit challenging the federal cuts</a>&nbsp;to public health programs. The state has taken no such action.

Since 2021, Missouri lawmakers have&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2021/09/15/missouri-lawmakers-look-to-undermine-biden-covid-vaccine-mandate/">spoken against COVID-19 vaccine mandates</a>, filing bills annually that seek to make such mandates illegal.

“It’s hard to know which direction things go. Does our state have less of an appreciation and trust of public health, so it funds it at lower levels? Or because of the low levels of funding, do people see us and respect us as an authority on these matters less?” Jones said. “It is an interesting kind of conundrum.”

Missouri ranks last in per-capita funding of public health, at $7 per person,&nbsp;<a href="https://statehealthcompare.shadac.org/rank/117/per-person-state-public-health-funding#2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52/a/76/154/false/lowest" target="_blank">according to the State Health Access Data Assistance Center</a>.

“We need lawmakers and certainly our medical community to be evidence-driven,” Jones said. “And to not stray away from tried and true public health interventions due to any political leanings.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671049425198.jpg" alt="Image Pixaby" />
 <figcaption>Image Pixaby</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>A community needs a vaccination rate of at least 95% to be adequately protected from measles outbreaks. In Missouri, the rate of vaccinated kindergarteners stands at 90%</h2>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ahanshaw/">Annelise Hanshaw</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>The percentage of kindergarten students in Missouri vaccinated against diseases like measles and whooping cough is dropping each year as more parents turn in non-medical exemptions prior to their child’s first day of school.Only 90%&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">of Missouri kindergarten students</a>&nbsp;were immunized against measles, mumps and rubella last year, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services</a>. That’s down from 94.6% five years prior. Some counties&nbsp;have rates nearing 75%.According to the CDC and World Health Organization, a community needs a vaccination rate of at least 95% to be adequately protected from measles outbreaks.“We are sweating,” Dr. Laura Morris, a University of Missouri Health Care family medicine physician and liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, told The Independent. “There are a couple of diseases that are very infectious that require really high rates of vaccination to provide herd immunity.”Missouri exceeds the national average of non-medical exemptions. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5% of Missouri kindergarteners had non-medical exemptions on file last school year, compared to a nationwide rate of 3.4%.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756290483222.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>This percentage, which has been on a steady incline since the 2020-21 school year, is troubling public health experts who say vaccination rates are dipping below safe levels.“The number of children in a particular school that might be vulnerable or unvaccinated, it’s going to vary by community,” Morris said. “There are definitely some places and communities where there are a lot more unvaccinated kiddos, and then there are some communities where the rate might be 97% or even higher.”Morris added: “It is going to be a bit of a firestorm if those infections get into some of those places.”&nbsp;As vaccination rates drop, measles is popping up&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/measles-reaches-highest-level-in-33-years-now-in-39-states/">at levels not seen since 1992</a>. Seven cases of the disease have been confirmed in Missouri this year — five of which occurred in Cedar County, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state with&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/living/families/schoolhealth/dashboard.php" target="_blank">74.4% of kindergarteners vaccinated against measles</a>.It is not just the MMR vaccine worrying health providers. The percentage of kindergarten-aged children with updated DTP vaccines (which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) has declined over the past 10 years from 96% to 90% in Missouri.This is much steeper than the national drop, which went from 94.3% in the 2014-15 school year to 92.1% last year.Rachel Hassani, director of education and engagement for the Missouri Rural Health Association, told The Independent that family hesitancy as well as access issues are contributing to the declining vaccination rates.“Across the board, access to care is more limited in rural Missouri. Access to specialists, pediatricians, things like that is far more challenging,” she said. “And these workforce issues are really growing.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756290569089.png" alt="Map: Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri IndependenSource: Missouri Department of Health and Senior ServicesGet the dataCreated with Datawrapper " />
 <figcaption>Map: Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri IndependenSource: Missouri Department of Health and Senior ServicesGet the dataCreated with Datawrapper </figcaption>
 </figure>Marvia Jones, director of the Kansas City Health Department, told The Independent that the city has been working to make vaccines more easily available. The health department has extended office hours to be convenient for working parents and scheduled more informational events in the community.The result is a strong level of vaccination in the majority of the city, but Jones is noticing lower rates in suburban areas like the Northland.“It is more of a hesitance issue,” she said. “A lot of misinformation and some of the political issues have been added to the discussions around public health vaccination in the past three to five years.”The trend of lower vaccination rates and more religious exemptions in Missouri begins around the 2020-21 school year, which is when the COVID-19 vaccine was released. That year, only 2.4% of Missouri kindergarteners had a religious exemption from vaccination — less than half the rate of the 2024-25 school year.“It has been just a big backslide in terms of the misinformation and inaccurate information,” Morris said. “It has become so prevalent to see so many things that are completely inaccurate.”She has seen misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines spill into patient concerns about regularly scheduled vaccinations.Health officials hope ease of access and proper education will help reverse the trend. But Missouri and the United States as a whole is also facing newfound systemic issues.<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/03/27/repub/u-s-department-of-health-and-human-services-to-slash-10000-jobs-close-5-regional-offices/">Cuts in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services</a>&nbsp;has trickled down to Missouri programs. This spring, the Missouri Immunization Coalition shuttered after losing federal funding, and the Missouri Rural Health Association lost a $1 million grant intended to study immunizations in rural health clinics,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stlpr.org/health-science-environment/2025-04-16/federal-government-cuts-missouri-vaccine-funds-as-immunizations-dip" target="_blank">as reported by St. Louis Public Radio</a>.And in June, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-cdc-acip-vaccines-3790c89f45b6314c5c7b686db0e3a8f9" target="_blank">replaced all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices</a>, a group that guides the CDC on vaccine policy.&nbsp;Morris, a non-voting liaison to the committee, is still serving in an advisory role.“The process of where those (vaccine) recommendations come from has been subverted over the last couple of months, and that (group) is no longer a source that has the same merit and the same kind of evidence-based background that it previously did,” she said.Kansas City&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2417/1746" target="_blank">joined a lawsuit challenging the federal cuts</a>&nbsp;to public health programs. The state has taken no such action.Since 2021, Missouri lawmakers have&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2021/09/15/missouri-lawmakers-look-to-undermine-biden-covid-vaccine-mandate/">spoken against COVID-19 vaccine mandates</a>, filing bills annually that seek to make such mandates illegal.“It’s hard to know which direction things go. Does our state have less of an appreciation and trust of public health, so it funds it at lower levels? Or because of the low levels of funding, do people see us and respect us as an authority on these matters less?” Jones said. “It is an interesting kind of conundrum.”Missouri ranks last in per-capita funding of public health, at $7 per person,&nbsp;<a href="https://statehealthcompare.shadac.org/rank/117/per-person-state-public-health-funding#2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52/a/76/154/false/lowest" target="_blank">according to the State Health Access Data Assistance Center</a>.“We need lawmakers and certainly our medical community to be evidence-driven,” Jones said. “And to not stray away from tried and true public health interventions due to any political leanings.”

‘We are sweating’: Missouri kindergarten vaccination rates fall below immunity threshold

ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating the theft of an expensive bicycle have made an arrest.

On August 8,&nbsp; a 76 year old man from Williamsburg, Virginia stopped in Atchison, Kansas, as h traveled across America on his&nbsp;Surly Disc Trucker bicycle on his way to Oregon, according to Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson.

The bicycle was stolen at 11:00AM in the 700 block Commercial as the victim was in a local laundromat. Police recovered the bicycle a short time later just across the bridge in Missouri. 

Just after 8:30a.m. Tuesday, police arrested 50-year-old Jody B. Erickson of Atchison in the 700 block M Street on a District Court warrant charging him with felony theft. Erickson was taken to the County Jail and is being held on a $10,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756222412660.png" alt="Erickson Atchison County" />
 <figcaption>Erickson Atchison County</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY —Law enforcement investigating the theft of an expensive bicycle have made an arrest.On August 8,&nbsp; a 76 year old man from Williamsburg, Virginia stopped in Atchison, Kansas, as h traveled across America on his&nbsp;Surly Disc Trucker bicycle on his way to Oregon, according to Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson.The bicycle was stolen at 11:00AM in the 700 block Commercial as the victim was in a local laundromat. Police recovered the bicycle a short time later just across the bridge in Missouri. Just after 8:30a.m. Tuesday, police arrested 50-year-old Jody B. Erickson of Atchison in the 700 block M Street on a District Court warrant charging him with felony theft. Erickson was taken to the County Jail and is being held on a $10,000 bond.

Kan. man accused of bicycle theft from man riding cross-country

The judge also denied a motion to dismiss the case, meaning Missouri tax dollars will continue to fund the voucher program as the lawsuit progresses

The Missouri State Treasurer’s Office can continue to subsidize private-school scholarships from a $51 million allotment of state revenue while a lawsuit challenging the fund’s constitutionality makes its way through the system, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe ruled Monday morning.

Stumpe rejected&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/01/missouri-educators-sue-state-over-51-million-appropriation-to-private-school-vouchers/">arguments by the Missouri branch of the National Education Association</a>&nbsp;that the flow of funds should be stopped in order to prevent unauthorized spending of state funds that can’t be “clawed back.”

But he didn’t outright deny the teachers union’s case, also turning down the state’s motion to dismiss Monday.

Still, Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is in his final days in office before stepping into a federal position as co-deputy director of the FBI, labeled the ruling a “victory.”

“Parents, not unions, not bureaucrats, know what’s best for their kids,” he said in a press release. “This case is about freedom and opportunity, and today’s ruling is a huge step toward securing both.”

At the center of the case is the MOScholars program, which until the infusion of general revenue landed last month funded private-school scholarships through a tax credit program.

The lawsuit challenges the shift from a program dependent on donations&nbsp; — which taxpayers are able to receive back as a tax credit equal to 100% of their contribution — to a state-sponsored voucher program.

Both sides&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/08/21/missouri-teachers-union-asks-judge-to-freeze-private-school-voucher-payments/">met in circuit court last Thursday</a>&nbsp;for the first in-person hearing of what will likely be a months-long legal battle. MNEA’s attorney Loretta Haggard argued that the appropriation lacks authority from state statute.

“You can’t just turn on a hose of $51 million in general revenue and force it through the tax credit framework,” she said. “There are gaps in that framework.”

But the attorney general’s office and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/08/04/parents-intervene-in-missouri-voucher-lawsuit-with-help-from-herzog-foundation-leader/">intervenors from Indiana-based advocacy group EdChoice</a>&nbsp;argued the legislature’s authority in the budget process was sufficient.

“Just because (the budget bill) funds a program set up by other statutes does not make a new appropriation unlawful—new funding is a common, necessary, and entirely unsurprising

feature of general-revenue bills,” Bailey’s office wrote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/SIS%20Defendants%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss,%20SIO%20Plaintiffs%20Motion%20for%20TRO.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3645329" target="_blank">in a filing submitted Aug. 15</a>.

The digital case record does not include Stumpe’s reasoning for the two denials Monday.

MNEA President Rebeka McIntosh shared her concerns about the unhampered flow of tax dollars to private schools in a statement.

“Politicians think they’ve won, but Missouri NEA’s 45,000 educators know better. We’ll prove in court what rural Missouri already knows: when you kill the school, you kill the town,” she said. “These vouchers violate our constitution and hurt our kids.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/6/1719493597787.png" alt="&nbsp;Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe issues an influential ruling in a lawsuit challenging a $51 million appropriation to the MOScholars program Monday (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe issues an influential ruling in a lawsuit challenging a $51 million appropriation to the MOScholars program Monday (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The judge also denied a motion to dismiss the case, meaning Missouri tax dollars will continue to fund the voucher program as the lawsuit progresses</h2>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ahanshaw/">Annelise Hanshaw</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>The Missouri State Treasurer’s Office can continue to subsidize private-school scholarships from a $51 million allotment of state revenue while a lawsuit challenging the fund’s constitutionality makes its way through the system, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Brian Stumpe ruled Monday morning.Stumpe rejected&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/01/missouri-educators-sue-state-over-51-million-appropriation-to-private-school-vouchers/">arguments by the Missouri branch of the National Education Association</a>&nbsp;that the flow of funds should be stopped in order to prevent unauthorized spending of state funds that can’t be “clawed back.”But he didn’t outright deny the teachers union’s case, also turning down the state’s motion to dismiss Monday.Still, Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who is in his final days in office before stepping into a federal position as co-deputy director of the FBI, labeled the ruling a “victory.”“Parents, not unions, not bureaucrats, know what’s best for their kids,” he said in a press release. “This case is about freedom and opportunity, and today’s ruling is a huge step toward securing both.”At the center of the case is the MOScholars program, which until the infusion of general revenue landed last month funded private-school scholarships through a tax credit program.The lawsuit challenges the shift from a program dependent on donations&nbsp; — which taxpayers are able to receive back as a tax credit equal to 100% of their contribution — to a state-sponsored voucher program.Both sides&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/08/21/missouri-teachers-union-asks-judge-to-freeze-private-school-voucher-payments/">met in circuit court last Thursday</a>&nbsp;for the first in-person hearing of what will likely be a months-long legal battle. MNEA’s attorney Loretta Haggard argued that the appropriation lacks authority from state statute.“You can’t just turn on a hose of $51 million in general revenue and force it through the tax credit framework,” she said. “There are gaps in that framework.”But the attorney general’s office and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/08/04/parents-intervene-in-missouri-voucher-lawsuit-with-help-from-herzog-foundation-leader/">intervenors from Indiana-based advocacy group EdChoice</a>&nbsp;argued the legislature’s authority in the budget process was sufficient.“Just because (the budget bill) funds a program set up by other statutes does not make a new appropriation unlawful—new funding is a common, necessary, and entirely unsurprisingfeature of general-revenue bills,” Bailey’s office wrote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/SIS%20Defendants%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss,%20SIO%20Plaintiffs%20Motion%20for%20TRO.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3645329" target="_blank">in a filing submitted Aug. 15</a>.The digital case record does not include Stumpe’s reasoning for the two denials Monday.MNEA President Rebeka McIntosh shared her concerns about the unhampered flow of tax dollars to private schools in a statement.“Politicians think they’ve won, but Missouri NEA’s 45,000 educators know better. We’ll prove in court what rural Missouri already knows: when you kill the school, you kill the town,” she said. “These vouchers violate our constitution and hurt our kids.”The case does not yet have a trial date.

Judge denies request to freeze Missouri private-school voucher payments

ANDREW COUNTY—Two people were injured in an accident just before 11:30p.m. Monday in Andrew County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Yamaha Royal Star driven by a 50-year-old Savannah man was westbound on MO 48 at County Road 227 six miles west of King City.

The driver failed to negotiate a curve in the road. The motorcycle traveled off the south side of the road, down an embankment and overturned. The driver and passenger were ejected. Grand River EMS transported the driver and the 46-year-old female passenger to Mosaic Life Care. They were not wearing helmets, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

ANDREW COUNTY—Two people were injured in an accident just before 11:30p.m. Monday in Andrew County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Yamaha Royal Star driven by a 50-year-old Savannah man was westbound on MO 48 at County Road 227 six miles west of King City.The driver failed to negotiate a curve in the road. The motorcycle traveled off the south side of the road, down an embankment and overturned. The driver and passenger were ejected. Grand River EMS transported the driver and the 46-year-old female passenger to Mosaic Life Care. They were not wearing helmets, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Mo. couple hospitalized after motorcycle accident

An effort to
resurrect a prominent building on the downtown Albany Courthouse Square is off
to a strong start, though there is much work ahead.

Albany Economic
Development Director, Mackenzie Manring, says efforts to restore the Rigney
Theater began in earnest in 2020.

“I mean this is a
111-year-old theater that is a main focal point of our downtown other than our
courthouse,” Manring says. “If you’ve been to Albany, you know the courthouse,
you know the theater, you know the library. Those are the historic buildings
around our downtown. And the theater had sat vacant since 2013.”

Restoration of the
Rigney began in earnest in 2020 as individual donors provided enough money to
repair the roof. Cleanup of the interior began the following year. Two
foundations issued $50,000 matching grant challenges each. Albany residents
were up for it. They matched both, totaling $200,000 toward restoration of the
Rigney. That money is being used to secure the outside structure of the
building going toward tuck pointing to stabilize the brick, securing windows
and doors to keep water and wildlife out.

One theme has
threaded through this process that the Rigney is just too prominent and too
historic for Albany to lose.

“It was built in
1914 by a local judge. He thought Albany should have an opera house. And so, he
made that happen,” Manring says. “He built it for $20,000. So, that’s the
equivalent now of around $600,000. And if you think about building a structure
like that you likely couldn’t do it for that amount. At the time, that was a
lot of money.”

As it sat vacant
and began to deteriorate, Albany residents decided to act.

“And we just
thought you know we’ve got to do something,” Manring says. “We’ve lost several
of our older brick buildings around our square and this one was just too
prominent to lose.”

Manring says
supporters understand that even with all that has been raised and all that is
being done, full restoration of the Rigney will take even more.

“There’s a lot to
do, but we don’t have to do it all at once,” Manring says. “And there are
probably things we can do piece by piece to get to a point where it’s usable
and then work on all those finishing touches as we go,”

Albany has been
working with the Community Foundation of Northwest Missouri in St. Joseph on
the restoration project.

Albany hopes to
restore the Rigney as a home for the Albany school district fine arts program,
to host entertainment for the community and region, and to provide a central
meeting place.

Click <a href="https://www.therigney.org/">HERE</a> to read
more about the project.

You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756140615403.png" alt="Rigney Theater/Photo courtesy of Albany Community Development Corp." />
 <figcaption>Rigney Theater/Photo courtesy of Albany Community Development Corp.</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostAn effort to
resurrect a prominent building on the downtown Albany Courthouse Square is off
to a strong start, though there is much work ahead.Albany Economic
Development Director, Mackenzie Manring, says efforts to restore the Rigney
Theater began in earnest in 2020.“I mean this is a
111-year-old theater that is a main focal point of our downtown other than our
courthouse,” Manring says. “If you’ve been to Albany, you know the courthouse,
you know the theater, you know the library. Those are the historic buildings
around our downtown. And the theater had sat vacant since 2013.”Restoration of the
Rigney began in earnest in 2020 as individual donors provided enough money to
repair the roof. Cleanup of the interior began the following year. Two
foundations issued $50,000 matching grant challenges each. Albany residents
were up for it. They matched both, totaling $200,000 toward restoration of the
Rigney. That money is being used to secure the outside structure of the
building going toward tuck pointing to stabilize the brick, securing windows
and doors to keep water and wildlife out.One theme has
threaded through this process that the Rigney is just too prominent and too
historic for Albany to lose.“It was built in
1914 by a local judge. He thought Albany should have an opera house. And so, he
made that happen,” Manring says. “He built it for $20,000. So, that’s the
equivalent now of around $600,000. And if you think about building a structure
like that you likely couldn’t do it for that amount. At the time, that was a
lot of money.”As it sat vacant
and began to deteriorate, Albany residents decided to act.“And we just
thought you know we’ve got to do something,” Manring says. “We’ve lost several
of our older brick buildings around our square and this one was just too
prominent to lose.”Manring says
supporters understand that even with all that has been raised and all that is
being done, full restoration of the Rigney will take even more.“There’s a lot to
do, but we don’t have to do it all at once,” Manring says. “And there are
probably things we can do piece by piece to get to a point where it’s usable
and then work on all those finishing touches as we go,”Albany has been
working with the Community Foundation of Northwest Missouri in St. Joseph on
the restoration project.Albany hopes to
restore the Rigney as a home for the Albany school district fine arts program,
to host entertainment for the community and region, and to provide a central
meeting place.Click <a href="https://www.therigney.org/">HERE</a> to read
more about the project.You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

Efforts to bring back the Rigney Theater in Albany off to strong start

BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

Lawmakers voted to repeal the Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act, a 1988 law now seen as a property rights violation and barrier to a fresh start after prison

One of the&nbsp;<a href="https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB495&amp;year=2025&amp;code=R" target="_blank">most-watched bills</a>&nbsp;approved by Missouri lawmakers this year put the state&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/03/26/gov-mike-kehoe-signs-bill-to-put-st-louis-police-under-state-control/">back in control</a>&nbsp;of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

The police takeover provisions made the bill one of the most controversial of the session, and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/06/05/civil-rights-law-firm-sues-to-block-missouri-from-taking-over-st-louis-police/">sparked a lawsuit</a>, set for trial Nov. 5. But tucked inside, and noticed only by those watching closely, the bill also includes bipartisan provisions ending the practice of seizing assets from incarcerated people that are unrelated to their crimes.

Known as the&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=217.825&amp;bid=11876&amp;hl=" target="_blank">Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act</a>, the law was passed in 1988, when any idea intended to make life harder for criminals received a favorable hearing. Now, the law is viewed as a violation of property rights and a barrier to a law-abiding life.

“We need to pay our debts to society,” state Rep. Tara Peters, a Rolla Republican, said in an interview with The Independent. “Those who have paid their debt to society should have every opportunity to have a fresh start and to get out on the right foot when it comes time to go back into society.”

Peters sponsored a bill with the repeal, as did state Sen. Stephen Webber, a Columbia Democrat. It was added to the St. Louis police takeover bill to persuade Democrats in the Senate to end a filibuster.

Once enacted, it is one of two bills that will allow people under the control of the state to keep assets they would use when released. The other stops the state from taking&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/09/missouri-governor-signs-bill-banning-state-from-seizing-foster-kids-benefits/">foster children’s Social Security benefits</a>&nbsp;to cover the cost of foster care.

The incarceration reimbursement law was intended to take money from inmates to cover the cost of maintaining them in prison. The most recovered over the past five years is $523,000 in fiscal 2024, while the cost of operating the Department of Corrections is greater than $1 billion.

In the fiscal year that ended June 30, efforts to enforce the act brought in only $136,000.

“People who are incarcerated by the state should not have to pay like it’s a hotel or an Airbnb,” said Amy Malinowski, director of the Missouri office of the MacArthur Justice Center. “It’s a prison. It’s the state’s responsibility to maintain those prisons, not the people who are detained there.”

Missouri has laws allowing prosecutors to seize assets gained in a criminal enterprise, and the courts can enforce restitution for stolen or damaged property as part of a sentence. The incarceration reimbursement act allows the attorney general to seek other assets, such as a family inheritance or proceeds from the sale of a house, that are unrelated to the crime.

State Rep. Brad Christ, a Republican from St. Louis County, sponsored the St. Louis police bill and chaired a committee where Peters’ bill was discussed in February. It was an easy decision to accept Democratic requests to include the repeal, he said in an interview.

“Democrats support it from a criminal justice aspect and a number of Republicans supported this, too, because it’s just basic property rights,” Christ said.

Missouri’s prisons hold about 24,000 people. In any given year, about 11,000 will be released on parole or because they have completed their sentence. The goal of prison is to punish and to prepare inmates to live within society’s rules, Christ said.

The seized money can be an important part of avoiding a return to prison, he said.

“Whatever it may be, whether it’s two grand, 20 grand or 200 grand,” Christ said, “to knock someone down a peg while they are in prison, I thought, was a little unjust after their sentence has been fulfilled.”

Under the law, people sentenced to state prison are required to make a statement of their assets when they arrive in custody and, on release, allow the department to garnish their wages for five years.

The attorney general can file a lawsuit to seize any assets found or received by the incarcerated person.&nbsp;

With the repeal, the Department of Corrections is no longer requiring the statement of assets on entry, agency spokeswoman Karen Pojmann said in an email. But any current garnishments will be stopped only if the person making the payments petitions the courts to end them, she said.

At the House hearing in February, St. Louis attorney Bevis Schock, who has represented clients in civil litigation against the department, said he has won judgments that the attorney general then tried to seize.&nbsp;

Schock said he believes the law is unconstitutional and expected a court would rule that way in the future. But he still urged lawmakers to act.

“I hate criminals,” Schock said. “I don’t want to help them all. I want them to go to jail, but a criminal’s property should be as sacred as the property of a non-criminal.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756121643685.png" alt="State Rep. Tara Peters, R-Rolla, speaks during Missouri House floor debate in May. (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications)" />
 <figcaption>State Rep. Tara Peters, R-Rolla, speaks during Missouri House floor debate in May. (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a><h2>Lawmakers voted to repeal the Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act, a 1988 law now seen as a property rights violation and barrier to a fresh start after prison</h2>One of the&nbsp;<a href="https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB495&amp;year=2025&amp;code=R" target="_blank">most-watched bills</a>&nbsp;approved by Missouri lawmakers this year put the state&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/03/26/gov-mike-kehoe-signs-bill-to-put-st-louis-police-under-state-control/">back in control</a>&nbsp;of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.The police takeover provisions made the bill one of the most controversial of the session, and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/06/05/civil-rights-law-firm-sues-to-block-missouri-from-taking-over-st-louis-police/">sparked a lawsuit</a>, set for trial Nov. 5. But tucked inside, and noticed only by those watching closely, the bill also includes bipartisan provisions ending the practice of seizing assets from incarcerated people that are unrelated to their crimes.Known as the&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=217.825&amp;bid=11876&amp;hl=" target="_blank">Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act</a>, the law was passed in 1988, when any idea intended to make life harder for criminals received a favorable hearing. Now, the law is viewed as a violation of property rights and a barrier to a law-abiding life.“We need to pay our debts to society,” state Rep. Tara Peters, a Rolla Republican, said in an interview with The Independent. “Those who have paid their debt to society should have every opportunity to have a fresh start and to get out on the right foot when it comes time to go back into society.”Peters sponsored a bill with the repeal, as did state Sen. Stephen Webber, a Columbia Democrat. It was added to the St. Louis police takeover bill to persuade Democrats in the Senate to end a filibuster.Once enacted, it is one of two bills that will allow people under the control of the state to keep assets they would use when released. The other stops the state from taking&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/09/missouri-governor-signs-bill-banning-state-from-seizing-foster-kids-benefits/">foster children’s Social Security benefits</a>&nbsp;to cover the cost of foster care.The incarceration reimbursement law was intended to take money from inmates to cover the cost of maintaining them in prison. The most recovered over the past five years is $523,000 in fiscal 2024, while the cost of operating the Department of Corrections is greater than $1 billion.In the fiscal year that ended June 30, efforts to enforce the act brought in only $136,000.“People who are incarcerated by the state should not have to pay like it’s a hotel or an Airbnb,” said Amy Malinowski, director of the Missouri office of the MacArthur Justice Center. “It’s a prison. It’s the state’s responsibility to maintain those prisons, not the people who are detained there.”Missouri has laws allowing prosecutors to seize assets gained in a criminal enterprise, and the courts can enforce restitution for stolen or damaged property as part of a sentence. The incarceration reimbursement act allows the attorney general to seek other assets, such as a family inheritance or proceeds from the sale of a house, that are unrelated to the crime.State Rep. Brad Christ, a Republican from St. Louis County, sponsored the St. Louis police bill and chaired a committee where Peters’ bill was discussed in February. It was an easy decision to accept Democratic requests to include the repeal, he said in an interview.“Democrats support it from a criminal justice aspect and a number of Republicans supported this, too, because it’s just basic property rights,” Christ said.Missouri’s prisons hold about 24,000 people. In any given year, about 11,000 will be released on parole or because they have completed their sentence. The goal of prison is to punish and to prepare inmates to live within society’s rules, Christ said.The seized money can be an important part of avoiding a return to prison, he said.“Whatever it may be, whether it’s two grand, 20 grand or 200 grand,” Christ said, “to knock someone down a peg while they are in prison, I thought, was a little unjust after their sentence has been fulfilled.”Under the law, people sentenced to state prison are required to make a statement of their assets when they arrive in custody and, on release, allow the department to garnish their wages for five years.The attorney general can file a lawsuit to seize any assets found or received by the incarcerated person.&nbsp;With the repeal, the Department of Corrections is no longer requiring the statement of assets on entry, agency spokeswoman Karen Pojmann said in an email. But any current garnishments will be stopped only if the person making the payments petitions the courts to end them, she said.At the House hearing in February, St. Louis attorney Bevis Schock, who has represented clients in civil litigation against the department, said he has won judgments that the attorney general then tried to seize.&nbsp;Schock said he believes the law is unconstitutional and expected a court would rule that way in the future. But he still urged lawmakers to act.“I hate criminals,” Schock said. “I don’t want to help them all. I want them to go to jail, but a criminal’s property should be as sacred as the property of a non-criminal.”

New Missouri law means state is no longer allowed to seize assets of prison inmates

In Missouri, nearly 42% of counties are defined as maternity care deserts, higher than the nationwide average. Rural families face fewer options and greater distances to get OB-GYN care

By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/megcunningham/">Meg Cunningham</a>

For Dr. Kelsey Davis-Humes, practicing medicine in rural Missouri is a way of life. She’s on call almost constantly in northeast Missouri’s Scotland County, where she cares for patients from their birth until their death.

As an osteopath practicing in a rural community, part of her job includes caring for patients throughout their pregnancies.

“I do inpatient hospital coverage,” Davis-Humes said. “I deliver babies and do women’s health. I do pediatric care, newborn care. I am in the clinic. I go to the nursing home.”

While her area hasn’t lost an obstetrics unit in recent years, Davis-Humes has seen the impact on the state as a whole as pregnancy care becomes more difficult to access.

Missouri has lost 11 obstetric units since 2009, with seven of those in rural parts of the state, a&nbsp;<a href="https://rhrc.umn.edu/publication/loss-of-hospital-based-obstetric-services-in-rural-counties-in-the-united-states-2010-2022/" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center found. The closure of hospital obstetric units means women have to travel farther for their appointments and their deliveries.

As the units have closed, more parts of the state have fallen into maternity care deserts — areas without access to birth units or maternity care providers.

Based on 2023 data, Missouri is marked by more maternity care deserts than the nation as a whole. March of Dimes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/state-summaries/missouri?lev=1&amp;obj=3&amp;reg=99&amp;slev=4&amp;sreg=29&amp;stop=55&amp;top=3" target="_blank">data</a>&nbsp;shows that 41.7% of Missouri’s counties are classified as maternity care deserts, compared to 32.6% nationwide.

Part of the problem for rural providers? Medicaid payments. The government-sponsored health insurance plans do not reimburse obstetric care fully, meaning for every baby they deliver, the hospital takes a loss.

“Every hospital who does birth services loses money,” said Alison Williams, vice president of clinical quality improvement at the Missouri Hospital Association. Williams also leads Missouri’s Perinatal Quality Collaborative, a statewide task force dedicated to improving outcomes for moms and babies across the state.

In Missouri, about 40% of the state’s births were&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2023/05/12/missouri-postpartum-medicaid-expansion-2023/" target="_blank">covered by Medicaid</a>&nbsp;in 2023, KFF&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/key-facts-about-hospitals/?entry=use-of-hospital-care-pregnancy-amp-hospitalizations" target="_blank">data</a>&nbsp;shows.

As Medicaid cuts under President Donald Trump’s budget plan begin to materialize, anywhere from 130,000 to 170,000 Missourians are expected to lose their coverage over the next five years. The budget also changes how states can pay for Medicaid patients — and how much.

“We are going to be paid less,” said Craig Thompson, the CEO of Golden Valley Memorial Hospital in Clinton.

That could put rural hospitals with obstetric units at higher risk when it comes to continuing to offer their services, and will require more creative thinking from Missouri and its health care providers.

Rural Missouri’s maternity care shortage&nbsp;

Missouri’s health care challenges are compounded when it comes to maternity care. As health care services become more difficult to access, chronic conditions rise and lead to more complicated pregnancies.

Then, obstetric providers and care teams must be prepared to take on more high-risk pregnancies.

In Missouri, 68.7% of counties have a high burden of chronic health conditions and a high rate of preterm births, March of Dimes data shows, higher than the nationwide average. An estimated 45.5% of women living in Missouri had one or more chronic health conditions, compared to 37.8% nationwide.

“In general, you see more high-risk patients,” Davis-Humes said. “People are sicker, they’re more unhealthy, so we just see more patients that have more of these high risk conditions during their pregnancy.”

An added layer is the growing distance that rural women in Missouri must travel to get their care. Women living in maternity deserts — just over 40% of the counties in Missouri — have to travel 3.6 times farther than women living in areas with full access to maternity care.

That means things like prenatal care and regular checkups are even farther out of reach, and missing appointments raises the risk during pregnancy even more.

That’s showing up in Clinton and impacting how Thompson and his team think about maternity care. At their hospital, 63% of about 350 deliveries that happen every year are considered high-risk.

“Many Medicaid patients don’t have access to transportation, either they cannot afford transportation or there is no public transportation in rural Missouri,” Thompson said. “So without transportation access, people don’t have the ability to access that prenatal care, which then causes poor birth outcomes.”

And with high-risk pregnancies, soon-to-be moms in rural areas are drawn to more robust hospital systems with more speciality providers.

The downside to that, Williams said, is people who have the ability to travel to a larger hospital often take their commercial insurance with them, driving up the rate of deliveries that are covered by Medicaid for their nearby hospital and making it even harder to continue providing labor and delivery services.

“It creates an even larger, disproportionate share of Medicaid and vulnerable patients, or patients who don’t end up engaging in prenatal services,” Williams said.

As a hospital leader, Thompson and his team are committed to continuing to provide obstetric services in their hospital. But because so many of their births are covered by Medicaid and cost more than what they are paid, they rely on other services to cover that loss.

“If we were to look at those services on their own, they would be a significant financial drain to the system,” Thompson said. “We are kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul, to some extent.”

Plus, obstetricians and gynecologists, like most other medical providers, are looking for work-life balance, such as splitting their patient loads with multiple providers and other upsides that often come with working in a more populated area.

It can be difficult for rural providers to balance all of those needs, especially since monitoring labor and deliveries are so sporadic.

“If you have enough providers, you will likely have enough (patient) volume,” Williams said of rural providers looking to keep their birth units open. “The challenge is making sure you can maintain enough providers to where they have that work-life balance.”

What do health leaders want to see for OB-GYN providers moving forward?&nbsp;

As providers look to fill the gaps in maternal care, they’re leaning on innovative ways to ensure that every Missouri mother has access to adequate care.

For example, providers in Harrison County, which sits in northwest Missouri along the Iowa border, created a partnership with North Kansas City Hospital for labor and deliveries. Expecting mothers get prenatal care in the county, but travel to Kansas City for their deliveries. Afterward, patients are handed back to their providers in Harrison County.

Those types of partnerships are key to ensuring that mothers are followed every step of the way throughout their pregnancies, Williams said. Creating similar partnerships is one of the state’s goals moving forward.

“It’s important to have that good flow of prenatal records,” Williams said. “It’s important to have that connectivity, that handoff for the patient, so the patient feels like people know what’s going on with their care.”

The state is also focusing on recruitment and retention as part of the path to solving the problem. Davis-Humes mentors many aspiring doctors, who say that the workload of being on call constantly in rural communities is a deterrent for them.

“You’ve got to have people that are willing to come to an area and wear multiple hats, and also be willing to be called in in the middle of the night, too,” she said.

But she also wants to see more unique ways of encouraging rural providers to continue providing a service that makes them lose money.

“I think the state needs to put their money where their mouth is,” Davis-Humes said.

“We keep seeing all these birth centers close. We keep seeing that OB has a hard time making money … I think there should be some type of reward there,” she said. “You keep your OB center open, every year you get some sort of incentive from the state that says ‘Thank you … we’re going to help support you so you can continue to keep that OB unit open.’”

Although hospital executives are expecting to reassess their finances and the services they provide in the coming years as a result of Medicaid cuts, they are encouraged that they are seeing a new willingness to discuss the financial difficulties rural providers face.

“At some point, there has got to be real reform around reimbursement for rural health care services,” Thompson said. “We’re just not the same as our urban and suburban counterparts.”

This&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/08/22/maternity-care-closures-rural-missouri-hospitals-ob-gyn/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/" target="_blank">Beacon: Missouri</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1756035245972.png" alt="As health care services become more difficult to access, chronic conditions rise and lead to more complicated pregnancies (Naomi O’Donnell/The Beacon)." />
 <figcaption>As health care services become more difficult to access, chronic conditions rise and lead to more complicated pregnancies (Naomi O’Donnell/The Beacon).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>In Missouri, nearly 42% of counties are defined as maternity care deserts, higher than the nationwide average. Rural families face fewer options and greater distances to get OB-GYN care</h2>By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/megcunningham/">Meg Cunningham</a>For Dr. Kelsey Davis-Humes, practicing medicine in rural Missouri is a way of life. She’s on call almost constantly in northeast Missouri’s Scotland County, where she cares for patients from their birth until their death.As an osteopath practicing in a rural community, part of her job includes caring for patients throughout their pregnancies.“I do inpatient hospital coverage,” Davis-Humes said. “I deliver babies and do women’s health. I do pediatric care, newborn care. I am in the clinic. I go to the nursing home.”While her area hasn’t lost an obstetrics unit in recent years, Davis-Humes has seen the impact on the state as a whole as pregnancy care becomes more difficult to access.Missouri has lost 11 obstetric units since 2009, with seven of those in rural parts of the state, a&nbsp;<a href="https://rhrc.umn.edu/publication/loss-of-hospital-based-obstetric-services-in-rural-counties-in-the-united-states-2010-2022/" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center found. The closure of hospital obstetric units means women have to travel farther for their appointments and their deliveries.As the units have closed, more parts of the state have fallen into maternity care deserts — areas without access to birth units or maternity care providers.Based on 2023 data, Missouri is marked by more maternity care deserts than the nation as a whole. March of Dimes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/state-summaries/missouri?lev=1&amp;obj=3&amp;reg=99&amp;slev=4&amp;sreg=29&amp;stop=55&amp;top=3" target="_blank">data</a>&nbsp;shows that 41.7% of Missouri’s counties are classified as maternity care deserts, compared to 32.6% nationwide.Part of the problem for rural providers? Medicaid payments. The government-sponsored health insurance plans do not reimburse obstetric care fully, meaning for every baby they deliver, the hospital takes a loss.“Every hospital who does birth services loses money,” said Alison Williams, vice president of clinical quality improvement at the Missouri Hospital Association. Williams also leads Missouri’s Perinatal Quality Collaborative, a statewide task force dedicated to improving outcomes for moms and babies across the state.In Missouri, about 40% of the state’s births were&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2023/05/12/missouri-postpartum-medicaid-expansion-2023/" target="_blank">covered by Medicaid</a>&nbsp;in 2023, KFF&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/key-facts-about-hospitals/?entry=use-of-hospital-care-pregnancy-amp-hospitalizations" target="_blank">data</a>&nbsp;shows.As Medicaid cuts under President Donald Trump’s budget plan begin to materialize, anywhere from 130,000 to 170,000 Missourians are expected to lose their coverage over the next five years. The budget also changes how states can pay for Medicaid patients — and how much.“We are going to be paid less,” said Craig Thompson, the CEO of Golden Valley Memorial Hospital in Clinton.That could put rural hospitals with obstetric units at higher risk when it comes to continuing to offer their services, and will require more creative thinking from Missouri and its health care providers.<h2>Rural Missouri’s maternity care shortage&nbsp;</h2>Missouri’s health care challenges are compounded when it comes to maternity care. As health care services become more difficult to access, chronic conditions rise and lead to more complicated pregnancies.Then, obstetric providers and care teams must be prepared to take on more high-risk pregnancies.In Missouri, 68.7% of counties have a high burden of chronic health conditions and a high rate of preterm births, March of Dimes data shows, higher than the nationwide average. An estimated 45.5% of women living in Missouri had one or more chronic health conditions, compared to 37.8% nationwide.“In general, you see more high-risk patients,” Davis-Humes said. “People are sicker, they’re more unhealthy, so we just see more patients that have more of these high risk conditions during their pregnancy.”An added layer is the growing distance that rural women in Missouri must travel to get their care. Women living in maternity deserts — just over 40% of the counties in Missouri — have to travel 3.6 times farther than women living in areas with full access to maternity care.That means things like prenatal care and regular checkups are even farther out of reach, and missing appointments raises the risk during pregnancy even more.That’s showing up in Clinton and impacting how Thompson and his team think about maternity care. At their hospital, 63% of about 350 deliveries that happen every year are considered high-risk.“Many Medicaid patients don’t have access to transportation, either they cannot afford transportation or there is no public transportation in rural Missouri,” Thompson said. “So without transportation access, people don’t have the ability to access that prenatal care, which then causes poor birth outcomes.”And with high-risk pregnancies, soon-to-be moms in rural areas are drawn to more robust hospital systems with more speciality providers.The downside to that, Williams said, is people who have the ability to travel to a larger hospital often take their commercial insurance with them, driving up the rate of deliveries that are covered by Medicaid for their nearby hospital and making it even harder to continue providing labor and delivery services.“It creates an even larger, disproportionate share of Medicaid and vulnerable patients, or patients who don’t end up engaging in prenatal services,” Williams said.As a hospital leader, Thompson and his team are committed to continuing to provide obstetric services in their hospital. But because so many of their births are covered by Medicaid and cost more than what they are paid, they rely on other services to cover that loss.“If we were to look at those services on their own, they would be a significant financial drain to the system,” Thompson said. “We are kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul, to some extent.”Plus, obstetricians and gynecologists, like most other medical providers, are looking for work-life balance, such as splitting their patient loads with multiple providers and other upsides that often come with working in a more populated area.It can be difficult for rural providers to balance all of those needs, especially since monitoring labor and deliveries are so sporadic.“If you have enough providers, you will likely have enough (patient) volume,” Williams said of rural providers looking to keep their birth units open. “The challenge is making sure you can maintain enough providers to where they have that work-life balance.”<h2>What do health leaders want to see for OB-GYN providers moving forward?&nbsp;</h2>As providers look to fill the gaps in maternal care, they’re leaning on innovative ways to ensure that every Missouri mother has access to adequate care.For example, providers in Harrison County, which sits in northwest Missouri along the Iowa border, created a partnership with North Kansas City Hospital for labor and deliveries. Expecting mothers get prenatal care in the county, but travel to Kansas City for their deliveries. Afterward, patients are handed back to their providers in Harrison County.Those types of partnerships are key to ensuring that mothers are followed every step of the way throughout their pregnancies, Williams said. Creating similar partnerships is one of the state’s goals moving forward.“It’s important to have that good flow of prenatal records,” Williams said. “It’s important to have that connectivity, that handoff for the patient, so the patient feels like people know what’s going on with their care.”The state is also focusing on recruitment and retention as part of the path to solving the problem. Davis-Humes mentors many aspiring doctors, who say that the workload of being on call constantly in rural communities is a deterrent for them.“You’ve got to have people that are willing to come to an area and wear multiple hats, and also be willing to be called in in the middle of the night, too,” she said.But she also wants to see more unique ways of encouraging rural providers to continue providing a service that makes them lose money.“I think the state needs to put their money where their mouth is,” Davis-Humes said.“We keep seeing all these birth centers close. We keep seeing that OB has a hard time making money … I think there should be some type of reward there,” she said. “You keep your OB center open, every year you get some sort of incentive from the state that says ‘Thank you … we’re going to help support you so you can continue to keep that OB unit open.’”Although hospital executives are expecting to reassess their finances and the services they provide in the coming years as a result of Medicaid cuts, they are encouraged that they are seeing a new willingness to discuss the financial difficulties rural providers face.“At some point, there has got to be real reform around reimbursement for rural health care services,” Thompson said. “We’re just not the same as our urban and suburban counterparts.”This&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/08/22/maternity-care-closures-rural-missouri-hospitals-ob-gyn/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/" target="_blank">Beacon: Missouri</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.

As rural maternity care units close, Missouri families lose options

ATCHISON COUNTY, Missouri —One person was injured in an accident just after 3p.m. Saturday in Atchison County, Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2021 Chevy Silverado driven by a 53-year-old Platte City man was southbound on Interstate 29 nine miles north of Rock Port.&nbsp; The pickup traveled off the east side of the road, crossed into northbound lanes, struck a fence, a ditch and rolled onto its top.

The driver was air-lifted to University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He was properly restrained, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

ATCHISON COUNTY, Missouri —One person was injured in an accident just after 3p.m. Saturday in Atchison County, Missouri.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2021 Chevy Silverado driven by a 53-year-old Platte City man was southbound on Interstate 29 nine miles north of Rock Port.&nbsp; The pickup traveled off the east side of the road, crossed into northbound lanes, struck a fence, a ditch and rolled onto its top.The driver was air-lifted to University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He was properly restrained, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Mo. man airlifted to hospital after pickup rollover crash

ANDREW COUNTY —Four people were injured in an accident just before 5p.m. Friday in Andrew County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Ram 1500 driven by an 18-year-old Highland, Kansas, man was westbound on Route O near county Road 290 just west of Cosby. The driver lost control of the pickup. It traveled off the north side of the road, struck the ground with the front bumper, traveled down an embankment and struck the ground a second time.&nbsp; The vehicle was driven to a controlled stop.

EMS transported the driver and three passengers including a 19-year-old man and an 18-year-old man from St. Joseph and a 19-year-old woman from Sargent, Nebraska to Mosaic Life Care. Only the driver was properly restrained, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

ANDREW COUNTY —Four people were injured in an accident just before 5p.m. Friday in Andrew County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Ram 1500 driven by an 18-year-old Highland, Kansas, man was westbound on Route O near county Road 290 just west of Cosby. The driver lost control of the pickup. It traveled off the north side of the road, struck the ground with the front bumper, traveled down an embankment and struck the ground a second time.&nbsp; The vehicle was driven to a controlled stop.EMS transported the driver and three passengers including a 19-year-old man and an 18-year-old man from St. Joseph and a 19-year-old woman from Sargent, Nebraska to Mosaic Life Care. Only the driver was properly restrained, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

2 teens from St. Joe among 4 injured in pickup crash

CALDWELL COUNTY—Three people were injured in an accident just before 7p.m. Friday in Caldwell County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2013 GMC Yukon driven by a 44-year-old Cowgil man was westbound on Highway F three miles south of Kingston. The driver failed to stop at the stop sign at MO 13.&nbsp; A northbound 2022 Ford Escape driven by a 20-year-old Braymer woman struck the Yukon.

EMS transported the Ford driver to Mosaic Life Care and the driver and a passenger in the Yukon to Cameron Regional Medical Center.&nbsp; All three were properly restrained, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

CALDWELL COUNTY—Three people were injured in an accident just before 7p.m. Friday in Caldwell County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2013 GMC Yukon driven by a 44-year-old Cowgil man was westbound on Highway F three miles south of Kingston. The driver failed to stop at the stop sign at MO 13.&nbsp; A northbound 2022 Ford Escape driven by a 20-year-old Braymer woman struck the Yukon.EMS transported the Ford driver to Mosaic Life Care and the driver and a passenger in the Yukon to Cameron Regional Medical Center.&nbsp; All three were properly restrained, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

3 hospitalized after SUVs collide on Missouri highway

ATCHISON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on new allegations after an arrest.

Shortly before 5p.m. on Thursday an officer on patrol observed 44-year-old Richard Burge II walking in the 900 Block of Main Street, according to. Police Chief Mike Wilson 

Burge was taken into custody on requested charges that include four outstanding District Court warrants for failure to appear in court. 

When taken into custody he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755869162621.png" alt="Burge photo Atchison Co." />
 <figcaption>Burge photo Atchison Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>ATCHISON COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on new allegations after an arrest.Shortly before 5p.m. on Thursday an officer on patrol observed 44-year-old Richard Burge II walking in the 900 Block of Main Street, according to. Police Chief Mike Wilson Burge was taken into custody on requested charges that include four outstanding District Court warrants for failure to appear in court. When taken into custody he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine.

Kan. man who keeps skipping court is caught with meth

CALDWELL COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just before 9a.m. Thursday in Caldwell County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1992 Freightliner semi driven by a 65-year-old Hamilton man was northbound on MO 13 at East Putnum just north of Hamilton. The semi traveled off the right side of the road and the driver overcorrected. The vehicle traveled off the south side of the road and came to rest on its wheels.

Caldwell County EMS transported the driver to Cameron Regional Medical Center. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

CALDWELL COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just before 9a.m. Thursday in Caldwell County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1992 Freightliner semi driven by a 65-year-old Hamilton man was northbound on MO 13 at East Putnum just north of Hamilton. The semi traveled off the right side of the road and the driver overcorrected. The vehicle traveled off the south side of the road and came to rest on its wheels.Caldwell County EMS transported the driver to Cameron Regional Medical Center. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Missouri man injured after semi accident

BROWN COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after a drug bust at a Kansas home.

Based on an intensive investigation by the Brown&nbsp; County Sheriff's Office Drug Task Force,&nbsp; a search warrant was applied for and granted for a residence at 645 West 13th Street in Horton, Kansas, according to Sheriff John Merchant.

Just after 7:30 p.m. August 19, deputies initiated the search warrant at that residence.&nbsp; Approximately 7 grams of Methamphetamine, Over 2 pounds of Marijuana, various meth pipes, bongs, marijuana pipes, scales, grinders, baggies&nbsp; and numerous&nbsp; firearms were located as well as a .22 pistol which was&nbsp; confirmed stolen out of Michigan and&nbsp; seized as evidence.&nbsp;&nbsp; 

Up onconclusion of the warrant, Gayleen Koon&nbsp;&nbsp; 43 Horton was arrested on requested charges of&nbsp; Possession of Meth, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of DrugParaphernalia, Distribution of Meth 3.5&lt;100 Grams, Distribution ofMarijuana 450 Grams&gt;30 KG and No Drug Tax Stamp.&nbsp; Horton police assisted with the investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755708932837.png" alt="Photo Brown Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Photo Brown Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>BROWN COUNTY—Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after a drug bust at a Kansas home.Based on an intensive investigation by the Brown&nbsp; County Sheriff's Office Drug Task Force,&nbsp; a search warrant was applied for and granted for a residence at 645 West 13th Street in Horton, Kansas, according to Sheriff John Merchant.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755708861920.png" alt="Koon photo Brown Co." />
 <figcaption>Koon photo Brown Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 7:30 p.m. August 19, deputies initiated the search warrant at that residence.&nbsp; Approximately 7 grams of Methamphetamine, Over 2 pounds of Marijuana, various meth pipes, bongs, marijuana pipes, scales, grinders, baggies&nbsp; and numerous&nbsp; firearms were located as well as a .22 pistol which was&nbsp; confirmed stolen out of Michigan and&nbsp; seized as evidence.&nbsp;&nbsp; Up onconclusion of the warrant, Gayleen Koon&nbsp;&nbsp; 43 Horton was arrested on requested charges of&nbsp; Possession of Meth, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of DrugParaphernalia, Distribution of Meth 3.5&lt;100 Grams, Distribution ofMarijuana 450 Grams&gt;30 KG and No Drug Tax Stamp.&nbsp; Horton police assisted with the investigation.

Deputies seize meth, marijuana and stolen gun at Kansas home

ANDREW COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 6:30 a.m. Thursday in Andrew County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2009 Toyota Corolla driven by a 22-year-old St. Joseph man was northbound on U.S. 71 two miles west of Savannah. The car struck a deer, traveled off the road, down an embankment and overturned..&nbsp;

Andrew County EMS transported the driver to Mosaic Life Care. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP. The Patol no longer releases names of accident victims.

ANDREW COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just before 6:30 a.m. Thursday in Andrew County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2009 Toyota Corolla driven by a 22-year-old St. Joseph man was northbound on U.S. 71 two miles west of Savannah. The car struck a deer, traveled off the road, down an embankment and overturned..&nbsp;Andrew County EMS transported the driver to Mosaic Life Care. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP. The Patol no longer releases names of accident victims.

St. Joe man injured after car strikes a deer, overturns

DAVIESS COUNTY —A Missouri teen was injured in an accident just after 4:30p.m. Wednesday in Daviess County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2019 Chevy Silverado driven by a 74-year-old Chillicothe man was northbound on MO 190 two miles south of Jamesport. The front of the pickup struck the rear drivers side of a horse and buggy driven by a 15-year-old Jamesport boy.&nbsp; The teen was ejected from the vehicle into the ditch.

Daviess County EMS transported the teen to Children's Mercy. The pickup driver was not wearing a seat belt and not injured, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/6/1686146756144.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>DAVIESS COUNTY —A Missouri teen was injured in an accident just after 4:30p.m. Wednesday in Daviess County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2019 Chevy Silverado driven by a 74-year-old Chillicothe man was northbound on MO 190 two miles south of Jamesport. The front of the pickup struck the rear drivers side of a horse and buggy driven by a 15-year-old Jamesport boy.&nbsp; The teen was ejected from the vehicle into the ditch.Daviess County EMS transported the teen to Children's Mercy. The pickup driver was not wearing a seat belt and not injured, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Mo. teen injured after pickup rear-ends horse and buggy

BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after an incident in Missouri.

Just after 10:30a.m. Tuesday, Nodaway County, Missouri law enforcement notified Brown County law enforcement dispatch about a man, identified as 41-year-old Matthew Olson from Hiawatha, Kansas who was involved as a suspect in a&nbsp; "shots fired" incident in their county, according to Brown County Sheriff John Merchant.

Olson was reported driving a gold or tan SUV type vehicle with a Kansas license plate.&nbsp; Brown County deputies , KHP, Hiawatha Police, Sac and Fox, Iowa and Kickapoo Police all staged at various areas of the county to try and intercept the vehicle should Olson try and returnt o Hiawatha.&nbsp;

Just before noon, the vehicle was stopped in Hiawatha in the Carpet Plus parking lot and Olson taken into custody without incident.

Olson is being held in the Brown County jail on requested Nodaway County charges of Criminal Discharge of a Weapon, Telecom Harassment, and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/8/1755708670405.png" alt="Olson photo Brown County" />
 <figcaption>Olson photo Brown County</figcaption>
 </figure>BROWN COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on multiple allegations after an incident in Missouri.Just after 10:30a.m. Tuesday, Nodaway County, Missouri law enforcement notified Brown County law enforcement dispatch about a man, identified as 41-year-old Matthew Olson from Hiawatha, Kansas who was involved as a suspect in a&nbsp; "shots fired" incident in their county, according to Brown County Sheriff John Merchant.Olson was reported driving a gold or tan SUV type vehicle with a Kansas license plate.&nbsp; Brown County deputies , KHP, Hiawatha Police, Sac and Fox, Iowa and Kickapoo Police all staged at various areas of the county to try and intercept the vehicle should Olson try and returnt o Hiawatha.&nbsp;Just before noon, the vehicle was stopped in Hiawatha in the Carpet Plus parking lot and Olson taken into custody without incident.Olson is being held in the Brown County jail on requested Nodaway County charges of Criminal Discharge of a Weapon, Telecom Harassment, and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Kansas man captured after alleged crimes in Nodaway County

Following the passage of a law banning mobile phone use, school boards have quickly adopted policies banning the devices from bell to bell

Amidst a plethora of back-to-school reminders, Missouri public schools are making a special effort to inform parents about a new state law banning cell phones during the school day.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679496400146.jpg" alt="image Pixaby" />
 <figcaption>image Pixaby</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Following the passage of a law banning mobile phone use, school boards have quickly adopted policies banning the devices from bell to bell</h2>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ahanshaw/">Annelise Hanshaw</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>Amidst a plethora of back-to-school reminders, Missouri public schools are making a special effort to inform parents about a new state law banning cell phones during the school day.The law, signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe in July, requires school districts to set a policy barring students from using mobile devices except for in emergencies or when instructed by a teacher. And with most students returning to classrooms this week, districts have been warning parents about the new expectations.“I don’t know any district that’s fighting this,” Susan Goldammer, policy chief for the Missouri School Boards’ Association, told The Independent. “Most of the folks that I’ve spoken to are secretly quite happy that they have a little bit of additional authority to explain to parents why (devices) are not allowed.”Goldammer wrote the association’s model policy that many Missouri school boards have personalized and adopted within the last month. Districts have asked about details, like exceptions for students with medical issues requiring access to cell phones, but they are largely ready to start the school year with the new policy.Some Missouri districts already had bans on cell phones, while others were considering adding restrictions. For them, the law is a welcome addition and helps fight any pushback from parents and students.“I have been surprised at how easy it was for districts to do this, and I can’t help but think that’s because all of the adults now are realizing it is not good to have the kind of electronic connectivity that kids have all the time,” Goldammer said.The law is more restrictive than other states by banning cell phone usage throughout the entire school day instead of only during instructional time. But it allows for some nuances, giving districts the ability to choose how to enforce the policy and how devices will be stored.Most districts have told parents that smartwatches are barred, citing the law’s ban of any “portable device that is used to initiate, receive, store, or view communication, information, images or data electronically.”The Rockwood School District in Eureka,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.parentsquare.com/feeds/54342171" target="_blank">in a message to parents</a>, indicated that it wasn’t completely banning smartwatches but that it expects students “to only use their smartwatch for the purpose of keeping time and not for communication purposes during school hours.”The North Kansas City School District, though, will restrict all uses of smartwatches. The district included the question “Can my student wear their smartwatch if they aren’t using it for communication?” on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nkcschools.org/district/dept/technology/personal-device-policy" target="_blank">its website</a>, telling parents that smartwatches are barred but fitness trackers without message capabilities are allowed.Districts also have different expectations on how devices will be stowed, though most are allowing students to have their devices turned off in their backpacks.St. Louis Public Schools’ board of education approved a policy that allows for each school to choose its phone-collection method.&nbsp;“This flexibility acknowledges the diverse operational needs and preferences expressed by elementary and secondary staff and families,” Superintendent Millicent Borishade wrote in her August&nbsp;<a href="https://www.slps.org/Page/81605" target="_blank">newsletter</a>.In&nbsp;<a href="https://slps.community.highbond.com/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Id=520" target="_blank">its Aug. 12 meeting</a>, the board also approved the purchase of locking phone pouches from Yondr for Gateway STEM High School at a cost of $40,000.Goldammer anticipates that more districts will be considering purchasing phone-storage systems and evolving their policies before next school year. With a little over a month between the law’s passage and the first day of school, districts had time to set policies, but many were not able to make large purchases that quickly, she said.But for now, administrators will be working on the best ways to execute the policy.“There will be a learning curve,” Goldammer said. “There will be kids that break the rules. There always are.”

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