WASHINGTON&nbsp;– U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)&nbsp;<a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&amp;cid=SenHawley&amp;crop=15438.11206187.8924364.8424141&amp;report_id=&amp;redirect=https%3a%2f%2fwww.nytimes.com%2f2025%2f10%2f28%2fopinion%2fjosh-hawley-snap.html&amp;redir_log=356750262748435" target="_blank">penned</a>&nbsp;the following op-ed on his legislation to fund food benefits that are set to run out on November 1 due to the ongoing government shutdown. Read the full op-ed&nbsp;<a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&amp;cid=SenHawley&amp;crop=15438.11206187.8924364.8424141&amp;report_id=&amp;redirect=https%3a%2f%2fSupplemental%2520Nutrition+Assistance+Program%2c+or+SNAP&amp;redir_log=213613754195406" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;or below.&nbsp;

The federal government has been shut down for 28 days and counting. That’s 28 days too long and already the second-longest federal shutdown ever. Saturday will be another grim milestone. That is the day about 42 million Americans will lose federal food assistance.Congress must not let that happen. America is a great and wealthy nation, and our most important wealth is our generosity of spirit. We help those in need. We provide for the widow and the orphan. 

Love of neighbor is part of who we are. The Scripture’s injunction to “remember the poor” is a principle Americans have lived by. It’s time Congress does the same.The government shutdown has already touched countless lives, and not for the better. 

Key services have been curtailed and hundreds of thousands of federal employees — from air traffic controllers to Capitol Police officers — are working without pay. But letting federal food assistance lapse would introduce an entirely new stage of suffering. 

The best solution would be to pass a clean funding bill to reopen the government in its entirety, but if that can’t be done, Congress at the very least needs to pass my bill to ensure food assistance continues uninterrupted.Millions of Americans rely on food assistance just to get by. The program often known as food stamps — officially it’s now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — is a lifeline that permits the needy to purchase basic food items at the grocery store. Last year, SNAP enrollees hit about 42 million. 

That’s over 12 percent of the American population.We’re not talking about high earners who don’t really need the assistance. SNAP broadly limits assistance to those who make 130 percent of the poverty line and below. These days, that’s folks who earn about $42,000 or less for a family of four. For these good people, food assistance is not an optional extra. They need it to feed their children.The millions of Americans who receive food assistance include young parents raising children, men and women with disabilities, families suffering from temporary job loss and workers who have fallen on hard times. 

Among SNAP’s many beneficiaries are veterans. Approximately 1.2 million of our warriors receive food assistance.Surely it is not hard to understand why SNAP is so essential to so many. The American economy has not been kind to working people in recent years. 

What cost $100 five years ago costs $125 today. So if you’re not earning 25 percent more than you were five years ago, you’re getting poorer. That’s most families in America. And nowhere do they feel it more than at the grocery store.But nobody in America, this richest of nations, should go to bed hungry, and certainly no child. 

We have a proud tradition of helping those in need. The federal government stood up the first food stamp program in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. In 1960, while touring impoverished West Virginia, then-Senator John F. Kennedy promised, “We will see to it that every American is fed and fed right.” 

A year after his assassination, Congress wrote the Food Stamp Act into law.Federal food benefits, distributed in partnership with the states, have grown to be one of our most vital forms of aid. 

My constituents in Missouri will tell you. A few days ago, a retired teacher from southwest Missouri wrote me about her four grandchildren. They rely on SNAP to buy groceries. Upon hearing that assistance may soon be unavailable, one of the children asked her: “Grandma, what will we do? How will we eat?”Another Missourian relayed a similar story. She had to take time off from work for medical reasons, and now she and her husband, who is disabled, rely on SNAP for groceries. She wrote me: “I understand getting rid of the SNAP program for those who are doing fraud or giving it to illegal aliens. But what about those who need it? Why is the government hurting the honest SNAP people?” A third letter, from a wife in mid-Missouri whose husband has suffered brain damage, said simply of food stamps, “We would not eat without them.”There is no reason any of these residents of my state — or any other American who qualifies for food assistance — should go hungry. We can afford to provide the help. Preventing debilitating poverty through the food program costs only about a tenth of our annual defense budget. Of course, aid should be limited to those who truly need it. But there is no cause, and no excuse, to deny aid to the poor entirely.Congress can still pass legislation during a shutdown, and it should pass my bill to keep SNAP benefits going. 

Last I checked, members of Congress are still getting paid. Republicans blame Democrats, and Democrats blame Republicans, but all these people have food to spare. One suspects that if senators couldn’t buy groceries, the government would never close down again.But this isn’t about politics at all in the end. It’s about who we are. 

The character of a nation is revealed not in quarterly profits or C.E.O. pay, but in how it treats the small and forgotten — the last, the least, the lost. America is a great nation precisely because we have loved our neighbors as ourselves. Congress should live up to that legacy now.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/6/1751156588594.png" alt="Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)" />
 <figcaption>Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON&nbsp;– U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)&nbsp;<a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&amp;cid=SenHawley&amp;crop=15438.11206187.8924364.8424141&amp;report_id=&amp;redirect=https%3a%2f%2fwww.nytimes.com%2f2025%2f10%2f28%2fopinion%2fjosh-hawley-snap.html&amp;redir_log=356750262748435" target="_blank">penned</a>&nbsp;the following op-ed on his legislation to fund food benefits that are set to run out on November 1 due to the ongoing government shutdown. Read the full op-ed&nbsp;<a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&amp;cid=SenHawley&amp;crop=15438.11206187.8924364.8424141&amp;report_id=&amp;redirect=https%3a%2f%2fSupplemental%2520Nutrition+Assistance+Program%2c+or+SNAP&amp;redir_log=213613754195406" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;or below.&nbsp;The federal government has been shut down for 28 days and counting. That’s 28 days too long and already the second-longest federal shutdown ever. Saturday will be another grim milestone. That is the day about 42 million Americans will lose federal food assistance.Congress must not let that happen. America is a great and wealthy nation, and our most important wealth is our generosity of spirit. We help those in need. We provide for the widow and the orphan. Love of neighbor is part of who we are. The Scripture’s injunction to “remember the poor” is a principle Americans have lived by. It’s time Congress does the same.The government shutdown has already touched countless lives, and not for the better. Key services have been curtailed and hundreds of thousands of federal employees — from air traffic controllers to Capitol Police officers — are working without pay. But letting federal food assistance lapse would introduce an entirely new stage of suffering. The best solution would be to pass a clean funding bill to reopen the government in its entirety, but if that can’t be done, Congress at the very least needs to pass my bill to ensure food assistance continues uninterrupted.Millions of Americans rely on food assistance just to get by. The program often known as food stamps — officially it’s now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — is a lifeline that permits the needy to purchase basic food items at the grocery store. Last year, SNAP enrollees hit about 42 million. That’s over 12 percent of the American population.We’re not talking about high earners who don’t really need the assistance. SNAP broadly limits assistance to those who make 130 percent of the poverty line and below. These days, that’s folks who earn about $42,000 or less for a family of four. For these good people, food assistance is not an optional extra. They need it to feed their children.The millions of Americans who receive food assistance include young parents raising children, men and women with disabilities, families suffering from temporary job loss and workers who have fallen on hard times. Among SNAP’s many beneficiaries are veterans. Approximately 1.2 million of our warriors receive food assistance.Surely it is not hard to understand why SNAP is so essential to so many. The American economy has not been kind to working people in recent years. What cost $100 five years ago costs $125 today. So if you’re not earning 25 percent more than you were five years ago, you’re getting poorer. That’s most families in America. And nowhere do they feel it more than at the grocery store.But nobody in America, this richest of nations, should go to bed hungry, and certainly no child. We have a proud tradition of helping those in need. The federal government stood up the first food stamp program in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. In 1960, while touring impoverished West Virginia, then-Senator John F. Kennedy promised, “We will see to it that every American is fed and fed right.” A year after his assassination, Congress wrote the Food Stamp Act into law.Federal food benefits, distributed in partnership with the states, have grown to be one of our most vital forms of aid. My constituents in Missouri will tell you. A few days ago, a retired teacher from southwest Missouri wrote me about her four grandchildren. They rely on SNAP to buy groceries. Upon hearing that assistance may soon be unavailable, one of the children asked her: “Grandma, what will we do? How will we eat?”Another Missourian relayed a similar story. She had to take time off from work for medical reasons, and now she and her husband, who is disabled, rely on SNAP for groceries. She wrote me: “I understand getting rid of the SNAP program for those who are doing fraud or giving it to illegal aliens. But what about those who need it? Why is the government hurting the honest SNAP people?” A third letter, from a wife in mid-Missouri whose husband has suffered brain damage, said simply of food stamps, “We would not eat without them.”There is no reason any of these residents of my state — or any other American who qualifies for food assistance — should go hungry. We can afford to provide the help. Preventing debilitating poverty through the food program costs only about a tenth of our annual defense budget. Of course, aid should be limited to those who truly need it. But there is no cause, and no excuse, to deny aid to the poor entirely.Congress can still pass legislation during a shutdown, and it should pass my bill to keep SNAP benefits going. Last I checked, members of Congress are still getting paid. Republicans blame Democrats, and Democrats blame Republicans, but all these people have food to spare. One suspects that if senators couldn’t buy groceries, the government would never close down again.But this isn’t about politics at all in the end. It’s about who we are. The character of a nation is revealed not in quarterly profits or C.E.O. pay, but in how it treats the small and forgotten — the last, the least, the lost. America is a great nation precisely because we have loved our neighbors as ourselves. Congress should live up to that legacy now.

Hawley Op-Ed: No American should go to bed hungry

As you prepare your children to get out and trick or treat, the St. Joseph Police Department wants you to take steps to keep your children safe as they go out.  

Police Chief Paul Luster says to make sure children have visible or bright costumes 

"If it’s not bright, add some reflective tape to it, parents add some reflective tape to that,” Luster says on the KFEQmunnity show.  “Or kids like carrying the glowsticks with them so put those somewhere.” 

Luster would like children to trick or treat in groups. 

"Hopefully you’re in an area where there’s sidewalks, you know use the sidewalks, stay on the well-lit streets, watch for cars obviously,” Luster says. 

Luster also advises drivers to be on the lookout for trick or treaters and says if you are out driving, be patient, and stay vigilant as you travel. 

"Cause you’re going to see just such an influx in pedestrian traffic, so nobody wants to see a tragedy anytime, ” Luster explains.  “So just slow down and stay alert, know there’s children out there and they’re excited, it’s Halloween, they’re getting all kinds of candy, so very innocently one of them could dart out into the street being excited.” 

Luster says the department is also again working with residents in the popular St. Joseph trick or treating area along Ashland Avenue. 

“We put the cones down the middle of the streets just to kind of slow everybody down, and volunteers help us with that, and then we put the electronic sign boards at each end of Ashland just as an extra alert to motorists that there’s a lot of trick or treaters on this street,” Luster says.  “You know from about 5:30 to 9:30 I think that there’s literally thousands of kids on that street.” 

Luster says to be patient as you drive and to avoid distractions as you travel. 

You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.

By MATT PIKEHalloween is coming soon. As you prepare your children to get out and trick or treat, the St. Joseph Police Department wants you to take steps to keep your children safe as they go out. Police Chief Paul Luster says to make sure children have visible or bright costumes "If it’s not bright, add some reflective tape to it, parents add some reflective tape to that,” Luster says on the KFEQmunnity show. “Or kids like carrying the glowsticks with them so put those somewhere.” Luster would like children to trick or treat in groups. "Hopefully you’re in an area where there’s sidewalks, you know use the sidewalks, stay on the well-lit streets, watch for cars obviously,” Luster says. Luster also advises drivers to be on the lookout for trick or treaters and says if you are out driving, be patient, and stay vigilant as you travel. "Cause you’re going to see just such an influx in pedestrian traffic, so nobody wants to see a tragedy anytime, ” Luster explains. “So just slow down and stay alert, know there’s children out there and they’re excited, it’s Halloween, they’re getting all kinds of candy, so very innocently one of them could dart out into the street being excited.” Luster says the department is also again working with residents in the popular St. Joseph trick or treating area along Ashland Avenue. “We put the cones down the middle of the streets just to kind of slow everybody down, and volunteers help us with that, and then we put the electronic sign boards at each end of Ashland just as an extra alert to motorists that there’s a lot of trick or treaters on this street,” Luster says. “You know from about 5:30 to 9:30 I think that there’s literally thousands of kids on that street.” Luster says to be patient as you drive and to avoid distractions as you travel. You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.

Keep these Halloween safety tips in mind as you get out and trick or treat

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rebecca-rivas/">REBECCA RIVAS</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services issued an advisory Tuesday warning consumers of health risks it says are associated with a product called 7-OH.

The name, 7-OH, is short for 7-hydroxymitragynine, and it’s made by<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/16/fda-warns-kansas-city-manufacturer-of-illegal-marketing-pain-relieving-pills/">&nbsp;chemically converting the main opioid-inducing element in kratom</a>. Products containing it are sold in smoke shops, gas stations, convenience stores and online shops.&nbsp;

The health department stated in the advisory that 7-OH is sold as gummies, candies, imitation ice cream cones, liquid shots, tablets and powders.

Sometimes it’s marketed as kratom, the department said, but it is “far more addictive.”

“Isolated 7-OH is currently untested in humans, unregulated, not proven safe or effective for any use and sold to the public without restriction,” the department said in its advisory. “Until safety data is available for human consumption, Missourians are advised to avoid these products.”

The department said both 7-OH and kratom have been marketed as natural promoters of alertness and remedies for pain, anxiety and opioid withdrawal.&nbsp;

“However, isolated 7-OH products marketed and sold in Missouri have a far higher concentration – and therefore far higher potency – than natural kratom,” the department stated. “Research data reveals 7-OH has 13 times the potency of morphine at the opioid receptors.”

The department’s action follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announcement in July that it planned to restrict access to 7-OH products due to strong opioid-like effects.

The FDA sent a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/shaman-botanicals-llc-709622-06252025" target="_blank">warning letter</a>&nbsp;in July to a Kansas City company, Shaman Botanicals LLC, alleging it was illegally marketing pills that have opioid-like effects.

The letter sent to Shaman was also sent to six other companies, all but one of which have their products manufactured at Shaman Botanical using its patented 7-OH formula, Vince Sanders, Shaman’s owner, previously told The Independent.

Shaman was the first company to make 7-OH products. Its products are called 7-OH White Vein and Green Vein chewable tablets.&nbsp;

Sanders told The Independent in July that the company conducted three research studies on its products, including using rodents and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25999061-dfr-mgn-25-001-27jun25-crrdoc/" target="_blank">beagles</a>, which he believes shows they are safe.

“We’ve spent an enormous amount of money and time on this,” Sanders said, regarding the scientific studies, in July. “My 82-year-old mother takes it twice a day. She was in so much pain… and it changed her life.”&nbsp;

Aside from pain relief, Sanders has advocated in Washington, D.C., and in the media that the product can also be a harm reduction tool for people addicted to opioids.

“There’s some addiction specialists that are just like, ‘Hey, this is too important,’” Sanders said. “The public needs this product. We can’t lose it, so we’re going to have some big voices on our side.”

Sanders couldn’t immediately be reached on Tuesday for comment on the health advisory.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761734036761.png" alt="Images of 7-OH extract, powder, and gummies (left to right) posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration photo gallery (photo courtesy of FDA)." />
 <figcaption>Images of 7-OH extract, powder, and gummies (left to right) posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration photo gallery (photo courtesy of FDA).</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rebecca-rivas/">REBECCA RIVAS</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services issued an advisory Tuesday warning consumers of health risks it says are associated with a product called 7-OH.The name, 7-OH, is short for 7-hydroxymitragynine, and it’s made by<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/07/16/fda-warns-kansas-city-manufacturer-of-illegal-marketing-pain-relieving-pills/">&nbsp;chemically converting the main opioid-inducing element in kratom</a>. Products containing it are sold in smoke shops, gas stations, convenience stores and online shops.&nbsp;The health department stated in the advisory that 7-OH is sold as gummies, candies, imitation ice cream cones, liquid shots, tablets and powders.Sometimes it’s marketed as kratom, the department said, but it is “far more addictive.”“Isolated 7-OH is currently untested in humans, unregulated, not proven safe or effective for any use and sold to the public without restriction,” the department said in its advisory. “Until safety data is available for human consumption, Missourians are advised to avoid these products.”The department said both 7-OH and kratom have been marketed as natural promoters of alertness and remedies for pain, anxiety and opioid withdrawal.&nbsp;“However, isolated 7-OH products marketed and sold in Missouri have a far higher concentration – and therefore far higher potency – than natural kratom,” the department stated. “Research data reveals 7-OH has 13 times the potency of morphine at the opioid receptors.”The department’s action follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announcement in July that it planned to restrict access to 7-OH products due to strong opioid-like effects.The FDA sent a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/shaman-botanicals-llc-709622-06252025" target="_blank">warning letter</a>&nbsp;in July to a Kansas City company, Shaman Botanicals LLC, alleging it was illegally marketing pills that have opioid-like effects.The letter sent to Shaman was also sent to six other companies, all but one of which have their products manufactured at Shaman Botanical using its patented 7-OH formula, Vince Sanders, Shaman’s owner, previously told The Independent.Shaman was the first company to make 7-OH products. Its products are called 7-OH White Vein and Green Vein chewable tablets.&nbsp;Sanders told The Independent in July that the company conducted three research studies on its products, including using rodents and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25999061-dfr-mgn-25-001-27jun25-crrdoc/" target="_blank">beagles</a>, which he believes shows they are safe.“We’ve spent an enormous amount of money and time on this,” Sanders said, regarding the scientific studies, in July. “My 82-year-old mother takes it twice a day. She was in so much pain… and it changed her life.”&nbsp;Aside from pain relief, Sanders has advocated in Washington, D.C., and in the media that the product can also be a harm reduction tool for people addicted to opioids.“There’s some addiction specialists that are just like, ‘Hey, this is too important,’” Sanders said. “The public needs this product. We can’t lose it, so we’re going to have some big voices on our side.”Sanders couldn’t immediately be reached on Tuesday for comment on the health advisory.

Missouri warns consumers of health risks associated with 7-OH products

The Missouri Department of Social Services won’t distribute November benefits until further notice, at the instruction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, due to the federal shutdown

By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/squinn/">Steph Quinn</a>- <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

For Whitney Jackson and her four children, not knowing if her family will receive federal food assistance next month means trying “to make the most of a smaller meal so we can save the food stamps.”

Jackson, a single mother from Columbia working as a certified medical assistant, said she has $44 of her family’s October benefits left.

“I’m trying to stretch it until the end of the month,” she said, “but is $44 going to make it until November, when we don’t know what’s going to happen?”

As Congress remains deadlocked on a plan to fund the federal government, and families who rely on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program wait, food pantries across Missouri are confronting how to make up for the potential loss of a key pillar of food security in their communities.

“We rely on families getting food stamps,” said Andrew Diemer, executive director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wellstoncenter.org/" target="_blank">St. Augustine Wellston Center</a>&nbsp;in St. Louis County. “We’re just there to make a couple of the hard questions go away…. When families might not even have the money to buy food for the rest of the month, I don’t know. If this continues, fundamentally the role of our food pantry has changed.”

The Missouri Department of Social Services, which disburses SNAP benefits in the state, announced Oct. 20 it won’t be able to pay&nbsp;<a href="https://mydss.mo.gov/federal-shutdown-impacts" target="_blank">benefits</a>&nbsp;until further notice, after USDA informed states that funding would run out.&nbsp;

Approximately 650,000 Missourians receive SNAP benefits.

Four days later, the USDA said it couldn’t legally shift contingency funds to sustain SNAP, despite&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/10/24/repub/usda-says-it-cant-shuffle-funds-to-extend-food-assistance-during-shutdown/">an earlier USDA shutdown plan</a>&nbsp;indicating that was the department’s intention. USDA last month&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/nutrition-program-women-infants-and-children-stay-afloat-through-end-month" target="_blank">transferred</a>&nbsp;$300 million into its Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, from an account funded partly by tariff revenue to keep that program running.

Food pantry directors said they are already seeing heightened demand, from families of furloughed or laid off federal workers, SNAP users trying to stock up in case their benefits pause and those struggling to cope with rising food prices.

Suzanne Wilber, executive director of&nbsp;<a href="https://goodsam-genesis.org/" target="_blank">Good Samaritan of the Ozarks</a>&nbsp;in Pulaski County, said the group gave out 125 bags of food during its monthly mobile distribution to food insecure students at Ozarks Technical College on Thursday. It’s typical to distribute 30 to 35 bags of food per month, Wilber said.

“Some federal employees are getting paid and some are not here,” Wilber said. “We have had a number of folks last week come that had not come before. And again, we’re just expecting that to increase.”

Beginning Nov. 12, Wilber said the food pantry will be open later on Wednesdays, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., to accommodate people who work or have limited transportation. The food pantry is currently open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In the St. Louis area, the federal shutdown and potential suspension of SNAP is compounding heightened need from tornadoes earlier this year and a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/10/22/us-senate-committee-slams-boeing-for-cutting-health-care-to-striking-st-louis-workers/">strike of Boeing workers</a>&nbsp;that has lasted almost three months.

Angela Gabel, executive director of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rccfoodpantry.org/" target="_blank">Ritenour Co-Care Food Pantry</a>&nbsp;in Overland, one of the largest pantries in St. Louis County, said she doesn’t know how food pantries will be able to take the place of SNAP.

“It’s like we were invited to Thanksgiving dinner and asked to bring a side dish, and now all of a sudden the cooks quit, and we have to make a whole meal,” Gabel said.

On Wednesday alone, the food pantry served 185 families, Gabel said, and registered 25 new families. The pantry is preparing to increase the number of volunteers signing up new clients and helping them shop the pantry’s shelves.

“Another part of the plan that we haven’t worked out,” Gabel said, “is how are we going to manage inventory for all of these new faces that are likely to appear because all of a sudden, they have no food budget?”

Patrick McKelvey, executive director of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gatewayfoodpantry.org/" target="_blank">Gateway Food Pantry</a>&nbsp;in Arnold, said the pantry served a record 135 families Thursday. The previous daily record was 122 families in September — double the number of families the food pantry was serving on a typical distribution day two years ago, McKelvey said. The pantry signed up 40 new families in a recent week.

“We are setting new records every day, month, week, quarter,” he said.

McKelvey said the food pantry’s support from its largest food source is down $300,000 from January to September.

“In the past week, I’ve spent $10,000 just to shutdown-proof my pantry,” McKelvey said.&nbsp;

The pantry is likely to open extended hours and extra days to meet demand, McKelvey said.

Food banks throughout the state source food from an array of retailers, private donations, federal programs and their own purchases.&nbsp;

“We try not to put all of our eggs in one basket,” said Katie Adkins, chief communications officer at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&amp;pf=1&amp;ai=DChsSEwi2-OL5_cSQAxUZNggFHYPrILsYACICCAEQABoCbWQ&amp;co=1&amp;ase=2&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwsPzHBhDCARIsALlWNG2O0qbvgV73fX_vcjTxVVF-t0eGFpYrtNbWhRT4JYTfLawzk-8UAZkaAgpLEALw_wcB&amp;cid=CAASQ-Rol3H08HUrV461qWRpLQt9RtojaP5t6DNwo5F7QM1vfAlvtguien8t15aUCDrc8EQLz9FmWWVih0xQhC38Y63wnfE&amp;cce=2&amp;category=acrcp_v1_32&amp;sig=AOD64_1pHOGnYZHDg15LjBcVK0yqrT5m4Q&amp;q&amp;nis=4&amp;adurl=https://sharefoodbringhope.org/donate/?gad_source%3D1%26gad_campaignid%3D22356717337%26gbraid%3D0AAAAADL1gwk5ud6fDKZNDXsWaRecFzgxL%26gclid%3DCj0KCQjwsPzHBhDCARIsALlWNG2O0qbvgV73fX_vcjTxVVF-t0eGFpYrtNbWhRT4JYTfLawzk-8UAZkaAgpLEALw_wcB&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjd7Nf5_cSQAxWErokEHdZKMdMQ0Qx6BAgNEAE" target="_blank">Food Bank for Central &amp; Northeast Missouri</a>&nbsp;in Columbia.

The food bank, one of six members of the statewide coalition Feeding Missouri, turns around about two million pounds of food every two weeks, Adkins said.

Adkins said that although the food bank receives strong community support, resources are finite.&nbsp;

“We can continue to try to use those other avenues of food sourcing to grow what we have,” Adkins said, “but when you have a specific amount, and you’re serving more people, that could mean that people are taking home less when they’re seeking help.”

Several St. Louis area food pantries have formed a coalition of their own, said Diemer, director of the Wellston Center.&nbsp;&nbsp;

McKelvey said St. Louis area food banks are sharing information on the cheapest places to buy food items and planning to exchange supplies to allow variety for clients. They’ve started to pool bulk food orders in order to split shipping costs.

“That is new,” McKelvey said. “That is basically in direct response to the food crisis we’ve seen since the beginning of the year.”

McKelvey said people receiving food have been expressing frustrations about the federal lawmakers’ lack of a plan to end the shutdown or fund SNAP.

“There are people making decisions about their lives hundreds of miles away in Washington, D.C., and [they’re saying] how can we tell them how badly we need it?” McKelvey said.

Jackson, the single mother from Columbia, said she has been trying not to worry, “because it just causes stress and anxiety for my family.”&nbsp;

“But it’s just me and my four kids,” she said, “so how can you not?”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761681378131.png" alt=" Danielle Dohm, left, Claire Little and Chloe Washington, students at the University of Missouri, sort donated potatoes at the Food Bank for Central &amp; Northeast Missouri in Columbia last week (Steph Quinn/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption> Danielle Dohm, left, Claire Little and Chloe Washington, students at the University of Missouri, sort donated potatoes at the Food Bank for Central &amp; Northeast Missouri in Columbia last week (Steph Quinn/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The Missouri Department of Social Services won’t distribute November benefits until further notice, at the instruction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, due to the federal shutdown</h2>By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/squinn/">Steph Quinn</a>- <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>For Whitney Jackson and her four children, not knowing if her family will receive federal food assistance next month means trying “to make the most of a smaller meal so we can save the food stamps.”Jackson, a single mother from Columbia working as a certified medical assistant, said she has $44 of her family’s October benefits left.“I’m trying to stretch it until the end of the month,” she said, “but is $44 going to make it until November, when we don’t know what’s going to happen?”As Congress remains deadlocked on a plan to fund the federal government, and families who rely on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program wait, food pantries across Missouri are confronting how to make up for the potential loss of a key pillar of food security in their communities.“We rely on families getting food stamps,” said Andrew Diemer, executive director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wellstoncenter.org/" target="_blank">St. Augustine Wellston Center</a>&nbsp;in St. Louis County. “We’re just there to make a couple of the hard questions go away…. When families might not even have the money to buy food for the rest of the month, I don’t know. If this continues, fundamentally the role of our food pantry has changed.”The Missouri Department of Social Services, which disburses SNAP benefits in the state, announced Oct. 20 it won’t be able to pay&nbsp;<a href="https://mydss.mo.gov/federal-shutdown-impacts" target="_blank">benefits</a>&nbsp;until further notice, after USDA informed states that funding would run out.&nbsp;Approximately 650,000 Missourians receive SNAP benefits.Four days later, the USDA said it couldn’t legally shift contingency funds to sustain SNAP, despite&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/10/24/repub/usda-says-it-cant-shuffle-funds-to-extend-food-assistance-during-shutdown/">an earlier USDA shutdown plan</a>&nbsp;indicating that was the department’s intention. USDA last month&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/nutrition-program-women-infants-and-children-stay-afloat-through-end-month" target="_blank">transferred</a>&nbsp;$300 million into its Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, from an account funded partly by tariff revenue to keep that program running.Food pantry directors said they are already seeing heightened demand, from families of furloughed or laid off federal workers, SNAP users trying to stock up in case their benefits pause and those struggling to cope with rising food prices.Suzanne Wilber, executive director of&nbsp;<a href="https://goodsam-genesis.org/" target="_blank">Good Samaritan of the Ozarks</a>&nbsp;in Pulaski County, said the group gave out 125 bags of food during its monthly mobile distribution to food insecure students at Ozarks Technical College on Thursday. It’s typical to distribute 30 to 35 bags of food per month, Wilber said.“Some federal employees are getting paid and some are not here,” Wilber said. “We have had a number of folks last week come that had not come before. And again, we’re just expecting that to increase.”Beginning Nov. 12, Wilber said the food pantry will be open later on Wednesdays, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., to accommodate people who work or have limited transportation. The food pantry is currently open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.In the St. Louis area, the federal shutdown and potential suspension of SNAP is compounding heightened need from tornadoes earlier this year and a&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/10/22/us-senate-committee-slams-boeing-for-cutting-health-care-to-striking-st-louis-workers/">strike of Boeing workers</a>&nbsp;that has lasted almost three months.Angela Gabel, executive director of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rccfoodpantry.org/" target="_blank">Ritenour Co-Care Food Pantry</a>&nbsp;in Overland, one of the largest pantries in St. Louis County, said she doesn’t know how food pantries will be able to take the place of SNAP.“It’s like we were invited to Thanksgiving dinner and asked to bring a side dish, and now all of a sudden the cooks quit, and we have to make a whole meal,” Gabel said.On Wednesday alone, the food pantry served 185 families, Gabel said, and registered 25 new families. The pantry is preparing to increase the number of volunteers signing up new clients and helping them shop the pantry’s shelves.“Another part of the plan that we haven’t worked out,” Gabel said, “is how are we going to manage inventory for all of these new faces that are likely to appear because all of a sudden, they have no food budget?”Patrick McKelvey, executive director of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gatewayfoodpantry.org/" target="_blank">Gateway Food Pantry</a>&nbsp;in Arnold, said the pantry served a record 135 families Thursday. The previous daily record was 122 families in September — double the number of families the food pantry was serving on a typical distribution day two years ago, McKelvey said. The pantry signed up 40 new families in a recent week.“We are setting new records every day, month, week, quarter,” he said.McKelvey said the food pantry’s support from its largest food source is down $300,000 from January to September.“In the past week, I’ve spent $10,000 just to shutdown-proof my pantry,” McKelvey said.&nbsp;The pantry is likely to open extended hours and extra days to meet demand, McKelvey said.Food banks throughout the state source food from an array of retailers, private donations, federal programs and their own purchases.&nbsp;“We try not to put all of our eggs in one basket,” said Katie Adkins, chief communications officer at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&amp;pf=1&amp;ai=DChsSEwi2-OL5_cSQAxUZNggFHYPrILsYACICCAEQABoCbWQ&amp;co=1&amp;ase=2&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwsPzHBhDCARIsALlWNG2O0qbvgV73fX_vcjTxVVF-t0eGFpYrtNbWhRT4JYTfLawzk-8UAZkaAgpLEALw_wcB&amp;cid=CAASQ-Rol3H08HUrV461qWRpLQt9RtojaP5t6DNwo5F7QM1vfAlvtguien8t15aUCDrc8EQLz9FmWWVih0xQhC38Y63wnfE&amp;cce=2&amp;category=acrcp_v1_32&amp;sig=AOD64_1pHOGnYZHDg15LjBcVK0yqrT5m4Q&amp;q&amp;nis=4&amp;adurl=https://sharefoodbringhope.org/donate/?gad_source%3D1%26gad_campaignid%3D22356717337%26gbraid%3D0AAAAADL1gwk5ud6fDKZNDXsWaRecFzgxL%26gclid%3DCj0KCQjwsPzHBhDCARIsALlWNG2O0qbvgV73fX_vcjTxVVF-t0eGFpYrtNbWhRT4JYTfLawzk-8UAZkaAgpLEALw_wcB&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjd7Nf5_cSQAxWErokEHdZKMdMQ0Qx6BAgNEAE" target="_blank">Food Bank for Central &amp; Northeast Missouri</a>&nbsp;in Columbia.The food bank, one of six members of the statewide coalition Feeding Missouri, turns around about two million pounds of food every two weeks, Adkins said.Adkins said that although the food bank receives strong community support, resources are finite.&nbsp;“We can continue to try to use those other avenues of food sourcing to grow what we have,” Adkins said, “but when you have a specific amount, and you’re serving more people, that could mean that people are taking home less when they’re seeking help.”Several St. Louis area food pantries have formed a coalition of their own, said Diemer, director of the Wellston Center.&nbsp;&nbsp;McKelvey said St. Louis area food banks are sharing information on the cheapest places to buy food items and planning to exchange supplies to allow variety for clients. They’ve started to pool bulk food orders in order to split shipping costs.“That is new,” McKelvey said. “That is basically in direct response to the food crisis we’ve seen since the beginning of the year.”McKelvey said people receiving food have been expressing frustrations about the federal lawmakers’ lack of a plan to end the shutdown or fund SNAP.“There are people making decisions about their lives hundreds of miles away in Washington, D.C., and [they’re saying] how can we tell them how badly we need it?” McKelvey said.Jackson, the single mother from Columbia, said she has been trying not to worry, “because it just causes stress and anxiety for my family.”&nbsp;“But it’s just me and my four kids,” she said, “so how can you not?”

‘How can you not worry?’: Missouri food pantries brace for families to lose federal aid

WASHINGTON, D.C. –&nbsp;Congressman Derek Schmidt announced he will cosponsor legislation to maintain food assistance for Kansans in need if the federal government shutdown continues, according to a media release from the office of the 2nd District Representative.

“This shutdown has been unnecessary from the beginning and hurts many Kansans,” Schmidt said. “It should not have happened, it has made reaching bipartisan agreement on many important funding priorities for the coming year harder not easier, and it needs to end. In my view, the right thing to do is to reopen the entire government and resume negotiations on full-year funding bills, but if a minority of U.S. Senators keeps refusing that approach then reopening critical parts of the government like food assistance is better than nothing at all.”

Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance program is expected to run out after November 1 if the government remains shut. The bill Schmidt will cosponsor, H.R. 5822, would continue SNAP funding for Kansans in need.

More than a month ago, the House of Representatives voted to temporarily continue funding all government operations while bipartisan negotiations for full-year funding priorities continue. A bipartisan majority of U.S. Senators agrees with keeping the government open during negotiations, but a minority of senators has repeatedly refused and under Senate rules that minority is able to block funding bills.

Schmidt has voted in favor of every government-funding bill that has come to the House floor this year. On September 19, he voted for the clean, short-term continuing resolution to maintain government operations for seven more weeks while bipartisan negotiations on annual funding bills continue. He also voted for full-year funding for the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies including the Army Corps of Engineers when those funding bills came before the House of Representatives.

Since the shutdown began, Schmidt has cosponsored several targeted bills intended to resume funding for specific federal services. In addition to the SNAP funding bill he cosponsored today, Schmidt has cosponsored standalone legislation to pay U.S. troops (H.R. 5401) and air traffic controllers (H.R. 5455).

In the absence of congressional action, Schmidt has favored actions by the Trump Administration to reallocate funding within the limits of the law to meet urgent priorities. Actions by the administration so far include paying U.S. troops and law enforcement officers, temporarily extending funding for the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, and reopening Farm Service Agency offices.

Schmidt also has cosponsored legislation to prevent future government shutdowns by continuing current funding levels whenever Congress allows annual appropriations to lapse (H.R. 5130 and H.R. 5552).

“This chaotic shutdown approach is no way to run the government of a great country,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt has also cosponsored a Constitutional Amendment that would prohibit Members of Congress from receiving pay during a government shutdown (H.J.Res. 128).

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1760987168428.png" alt="Rep. Derek Schmidt from a video on his social media page last week" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Derek Schmidt from a video on his social media page last week</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON, D.C. –&nbsp;Congressman Derek Schmidt announced he will cosponsor legislation to maintain food assistance for Kansans in need if the federal government shutdown continues, according to a media release from the office of the 2nd District Representative.“This shutdown has been unnecessary from the beginning and hurts many Kansans,” Schmidt said. “It should not have happened, it has made reaching bipartisan agreement on many important funding priorities for the coming year harder not easier, and it needs to end. In my view, the right thing to do is to reopen the entire government and resume negotiations on full-year funding bills, but if a minority of U.S. Senators keeps refusing that approach then reopening critical parts of the government like food assistance is better than nothing at all.”Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance program is expected to run out after November 1 if the government remains shut. The bill Schmidt will cosponsor, H.R. 5822, would continue SNAP funding for Kansans in need.More than a month ago, the House of Representatives voted to temporarily continue funding all government operations while bipartisan negotiations for full-year funding priorities continue. A bipartisan majority of U.S. Senators agrees with keeping the government open during negotiations, but a minority of senators has repeatedly refused and under Senate rules that minority is able to block funding bills.Schmidt has voted in favor of every government-funding bill that has come to the House floor this year. On September 19, he voted for the clean, short-term continuing resolution to maintain government operations for seven more weeks while bipartisan negotiations on annual funding bills continue. He also voted for full-year funding for the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies including the Army Corps of Engineers when those funding bills came before the House of Representatives.Since the shutdown began, Schmidt has cosponsored several targeted bills intended to resume funding for specific federal services. In addition to the SNAP funding bill he cosponsored today, Schmidt has cosponsored standalone legislation to pay U.S. troops (H.R. 5401) and air traffic controllers (H.R. 5455).In the absence of congressional action, Schmidt has favored actions by the Trump Administration to reallocate funding within the limits of the law to meet urgent priorities. Actions by the administration so far include paying U.S. troops and law enforcement officers, temporarily extending funding for the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, and reopening Farm Service Agency offices.Schmidt also has cosponsored legislation to prevent future government shutdowns by continuing current funding levels whenever Congress allows annual appropriations to lapse (H.R. 5130 and H.R. 5552).“This chaotic shutdown approach is no way to run the government of a great country,” Schmidt said.Schmidt has also cosponsored a Constitutional Amendment that would prohibit Members of Congress from receiving pay during a government shutdown (H.J.Res. 128).

Rep. Schmidt calls for continuing food assistance during shutdown

A new report shows Missouri has the potential to pull in $75 million in annual THC drink sales, dependent on how state leaders and law enforcement respond to the fast-growing, unregulated market

A recent economic study on THC beverages found the industry has the potential to reach between $9.9 billion and $14.9 billion in national sales.&nbsp;

In Missouri — where the product faces attacks from law enforcement, state legislators and local governments who say it’s part of a public health crisis — that potential is $75.4 million annually.

“That’s the potential if you normalize this and provide consumers with access nationally,” said economic analyst Beau Whitney, whose study titled “<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26196832-whitney-economics-us-thc-beverage-report-2025/" target="_blank">The U.S. THC Beverage Report</a>” was released last month.

Whitney is talking about products like the cans of low-dose THC seltzers that Missouri companies including Mighty Kind, Triple and URLit are producing. They’re currently found in bars, restaurants and stores like Randall’s and Total Wine.&nbsp;

Whitney estimates that in 2024, actual sales nationwide were between $1 billion and $1.3 billion – with 76% of that being hemp-derived THC beverages and 24% being products sold in marijuana dispensaries.

For the marijuana industry, the estimated $270 million in THC beverage sales in dispensaries only represented about 1% of the industry’s total sales in 2024.&nbsp;

Most brands average $2 million per year, the study found, while top brands can easily exceed $10 million or more in annual sales.&nbsp;

Joshua Grigaitis, owner of St. Louis-based Mighty Kind Co., which makes various kinds of hemp seltzers, says Whitney’s numbers are in line with what he’s seeing in the market.

Mighty Kind was among the first THC beverage products in Missouri, and Grigaitis has seen many brands pop up over the last year. Now, he said the competition to get products in bars and restaurants is “full on.”&nbsp;

“It’s a great sign of growth for the whole space,” Grigaitis said. “It’s bringing awareness and credibility. Lots of brands are paying their lawyers to lobby for this. It’s not just us and a couple of the brands anymore.”

In Missouri, THC beverages are legal but completely unregulated by any government agency — which means there’s no age restriction on who can buy them. Distributors and retailers have self-imposed the same regulations they use on alcohol products, by requiring testing certification and that buyers have to show ID that they’re 21 or older.&nbsp;

While the Missouri legislature attempted to pass regulations for THC beverages in the spring, the proposal drew heavy opposition – and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/04/10/intoxicating-hemp-regulations-stall-in-missouri-senate-after-7-hour-filibuster/">ultimately failed</a>&nbsp;– because it would have prohibited THC edibles, vapes and other products from being sold outside of dispensaries.&nbsp;

Catherine Hanaway, who was sworn in as Missouri’s new attorney general this month, has vowed to make it a top priority to “utilize all vested authority in this office to attack the problem head on,” said James Lawson, her deputy chief of staff.&nbsp;

“Our focus is on the health and safety of Missourians,” Lawson said. “This is an unregulated industry that makes untested, unknown substances available to the public without any oversight, including children where we think it’s particularly detrimental.”

Whitney’s report forecasts overall growth of THC beverages in 2025 to be 25%.&nbsp;

“This would be more aggressive given the trajectory of the market, however, there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty at both the federal and state levels that could inhibit the growth potential of the industry,” it states.&nbsp;

Many are watching the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.marijuanamoment.net/gop-senator-pushes-to-study-rather-than-ban-hemp-products-as-state-attorneys-general-call-for-thc-prohibition/" target="_blank">debate in the U.S. Senate</a>&nbsp;to potentially ban hemp THC products. By the end of this year, Whitney anticipates there will be “greater clarity” on a regulatory framework for hemp-derived THC, and in 2026, there will be an acceleration of the growth.

Currently, THC beverages are legal in 28 states and legal but restricted in another nine, according to the report. They can only be sold in marijuana stores in seven states, and they’re illegal in six states.

This spring, Steven Busch, owner of Krey Distributing in the St. Louis area, was a key player in trying to get Missouri regulations passed for not only beverages but also edibles and vapes. Nowadays THC liquor, a national brand, is a major item for his company, he said.&nbsp;

However, Busch&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/03/14/lawmakers-vote-down-a-second-bill-to-regulate-intoxicating-hemp-products-in-missouri/">ultimately opposed a bill&nbsp;</a>he initially backed because the amended proposal would’ve allowed for the continued sales of THCA flower.&nbsp;

THCA flower looks and delivers the same high as marijuana buds, but the main difference is that it’s harvested in a way that allows it to be classified as hemp. Since hemp is not a federally controlled substance, it’s being sold in some smoke shops and hemp stores in Missouri.

However in June, former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sent several&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/06/09/missouri-attorney-general-threatens-legal-action-against-18-hemp-companies-more-to-come/">cease-and-desist</a>&nbsp;letters to companies selling THCA flower, threatening legal action if the companies continue to sell it.&nbsp;

Busch said state lawmakers need to either pass legislation that regulates hemp-derived THC products this year or enact a total ban.&nbsp;

“That would impact me in a negative way, but I think we have to think in terms of consumer safety and kids getting hold of these products,” Busch said. “So, yeah, if we can’t figure it out, then I think we need to ban it all. And I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Brian Riegel, owner of URLit beverage company, has a hemp farm nearWashington, Mo., that will soon be able to produce enough harvest to sustain his two THC businesses, he said. He believes Whitney’s numbers are promising.&nbsp;

For the past four years, Riegel has been involved in stopping legislation that would require his beverages and edibles to only be sold in marijuana dispensaries. That would ban his products because only items that come from licensed marijuana cultivators can be sold in dispensaries.&nbsp;

This year, Riegel said he’s excited about&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/09/09/new-initiative-petition-would-regulate-missouri-marijuana-hemp-products-the-same-as-alcohol/">initiative petitions</a>&nbsp;that would ask voters next year to allow marijuana and intoxicating hemp products to be sold in the same stores as alcohol and tobacco.

He also hopes lawmakers at a minimum will pass requirements on age gating, childproof packaging and making sure every package identifies who is the manufacturer and distributor.&nbsp;

“Those are three very minimalistic things that should be a no-brainer thing to get done,” said Riegel, who is also a leader with the Missouri Hemp Trade Association, “and will cost nobody anything, but could give law enforcement the proper channels to penalize somebody if they’re misbehaving.”

“If they were just to start labeling and regulating the packaging, you would start holding people accountable,” he said. “Right now, it’s the wild west. As soon as there’s even five rules on a piece of paper that everybody can see, everybody’s going to fall into place with those because you don’t want to be left out.”&nbsp;

And he also agrees with Busch that THCA flower shouldn’t be included in the regulation conversation yet. The biggest reason, Grigaitis said, is that there’s no real consensus on the definition of THCA flower, and that needs to be agreed upon before it can be regulated.

“There needs to be a solution to that one before it’s allowed,” he said. “I’m not saying close the door, but that I could say that about a lot of things. If the drinks have something figured out, then let them through.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761648026753.png" alt=" Karen Brady, the mother of Mighty Kind owner Josh Grigaitis, waits to talk to shoppers at Fresh Thyme grocery store in St. Louis about the company’s hemp THC seltzers (photo submitted)." />
 <figcaption> Karen Brady, the mother of Mighty Kind owner Josh Grigaitis, waits to talk to shoppers at Fresh Thyme grocery store in St. Louis about the company’s hemp THC seltzers (photo submitted).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>A new report shows Missouri has the potential to pull in $75 million in annual THC drink sales, dependent on how state leaders and law enforcement respond to the fast-growing, unregulated market</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rebecca-rivas/">REBECCA RIVAS</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>A recent economic study on THC beverages found the industry has the potential to reach between $9.9 billion and $14.9 billion in national sales.&nbsp;In Missouri — where the product faces attacks from law enforcement, state legislators and local governments who say it’s part of a public health crisis — that potential is $75.4 million annually.“That’s the potential if you normalize this and provide consumers with access nationally,” said economic analyst Beau Whitney, whose study titled “<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26196832-whitney-economics-us-thc-beverage-report-2025/" target="_blank">The U.S. THC Beverage Report</a>” was released last month.Whitney is talking about products like the cans of low-dose THC seltzers that Missouri companies including Mighty Kind, Triple and URLit are producing. They’re currently found in bars, restaurants and stores like Randall’s and Total Wine.&nbsp;Whitney estimates that in 2024, actual sales nationwide were between $1 billion and $1.3 billion – with 76% of that being hemp-derived THC beverages and 24% being products sold in marijuana dispensaries.For the marijuana industry, the estimated $270 million in THC beverage sales in dispensaries only represented about 1% of the industry’s total sales in 2024.&nbsp;Most brands average $2 million per year, the study found, while top brands can easily exceed $10 million or more in annual sales.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761647904035.png" alt="Beau Whitney’s economic analysis forecasts overall growth of THC beverages in 2025 of 25% (Screenshot of Whitney’s report)." />
 <figcaption>Beau Whitney’s economic analysis forecasts overall growth of THC beverages in 2025 of 25% (Screenshot of Whitney’s report).</figcaption>
 </figure>Joshua Grigaitis, owner of St. Louis-based Mighty Kind Co., which makes various kinds of hemp seltzers, says Whitney’s numbers are in line with what he’s seeing in the market.Mighty Kind was among the first THC beverage products in Missouri, and Grigaitis has seen many brands pop up over the last year. Now, he said the competition to get products in bars and restaurants is “full on.”&nbsp;“It’s a great sign of growth for the whole space,” Grigaitis said. “It’s bringing awareness and credibility. Lots of brands are paying their lawyers to lobby for this. It’s not just us and a couple of the brands anymore.”In Missouri, THC beverages are legal but completely unregulated by any government agency — which means there’s no age restriction on who can buy them. Distributors and retailers have self-imposed the same regulations they use on alcohol products, by requiring testing certification and that buyers have to show ID that they’re 21 or older.&nbsp;While the Missouri legislature attempted to pass regulations for THC beverages in the spring, the proposal drew heavy opposition – and&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/04/10/intoxicating-hemp-regulations-stall-in-missouri-senate-after-7-hour-filibuster/">ultimately failed</a>&nbsp;– because it would have prohibited THC edibles, vapes and other products from being sold outside of dispensaries.&nbsp;Catherine Hanaway, who was sworn in as Missouri’s new attorney general this month, has vowed to make it a top priority to “utilize all vested authority in this office to attack the problem head on,” said James Lawson, her deputy chief of staff.&nbsp;“Our focus is on the health and safety of Missourians,” Lawson said. “This is an unregulated industry that makes untested, unknown substances available to the public without any oversight, including children where we think it’s particularly detrimental.”<h2>Potential Missouri regulations</h2>Whitney’s report forecasts overall growth of THC beverages in 2025 to be 25%.&nbsp;“This would be more aggressive given the trajectory of the market, however, there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty at both the federal and state levels that could inhibit the growth potential of the industry,” it states.&nbsp;Many are watching the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.marijuanamoment.net/gop-senator-pushes-to-study-rather-than-ban-hemp-products-as-state-attorneys-general-call-for-thc-prohibition/" target="_blank">debate in the U.S. Senate</a>&nbsp;to potentially ban hemp THC products. By the end of this year, Whitney anticipates there will be “greater clarity” on a regulatory framework for hemp-derived THC, and in 2026, there will be an acceleration of the growth.Currently, THC beverages are legal in 28 states and legal but restricted in another nine, according to the report. They can only be sold in marijuana stores in seven states, and they’re illegal in six states.This spring, Steven Busch, owner of Krey Distributing in the St. Louis area, was a key player in trying to get Missouri regulations passed for not only beverages but also edibles and vapes. Nowadays THC liquor, a national brand, is a major item for his company, he said.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761647957187.png" alt="Hemp THC beverages can be sold legally in 28 states outside of the marijuana dispensary system. Nine states restrict the sale of THC beverages by limiting the amount of THC in the beverages, and seven allow them only to be sold in dispensaries. They’re illegal in six states (Screenshot of The U.S. Beverage Report by Whitney Economics)." />
 <figcaption>Hemp THC beverages can be sold legally in 28 states outside of the marijuana dispensary system. Nine states restrict the sale of THC beverages by limiting the amount of THC in the beverages, and seven allow them only to be sold in dispensaries. They’re illegal in six states (Screenshot of The U.S. Beverage Report by Whitney Economics).</figcaption>
 </figure>However, Busch&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/03/14/lawmakers-vote-down-a-second-bill-to-regulate-intoxicating-hemp-products-in-missouri/">ultimately opposed a bill&nbsp;</a>he initially backed because the amended proposal would’ve allowed for the continued sales of THCA flower.&nbsp;THCA flower looks and delivers the same high as marijuana buds, but the main difference is that it’s harvested in a way that allows it to be classified as hemp. Since hemp is not a federally controlled substance, it’s being sold in some smoke shops and hemp stores in Missouri.However in June, former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sent several&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/06/09/missouri-attorney-general-threatens-legal-action-against-18-hemp-companies-more-to-come/">cease-and-desist</a>&nbsp;letters to companies selling THCA flower, threatening legal action if the companies continue to sell it.&nbsp;Busch said state lawmakers need to either pass legislation that regulates hemp-derived THC products this year or enact a total ban.&nbsp;“That would impact me in a negative way, but I think we have to think in terms of consumer safety and kids getting hold of these products,” Busch said. “So, yeah, if we can’t figure it out, then I think we need to ban it all. And I hope it doesn’t come to that.”Brian Riegel, owner of URLit beverage company, has a hemp farm nearWashington, Mo., that will soon be able to produce enough harvest to sustain his two THC businesses, he said. He believes Whitney’s numbers are promising.&nbsp;For the past four years, Riegel has been involved in stopping legislation that would require his beverages and edibles to only be sold in marijuana dispensaries. That would ban his products because only items that come from licensed marijuana cultivators can be sold in dispensaries.&nbsp;This year, Riegel said he’s excited about&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/09/09/new-initiative-petition-would-regulate-missouri-marijuana-hemp-products-the-same-as-alcohol/">initiative petitions</a>&nbsp;that would ask voters next year to allow marijuana and intoxicating hemp products to be sold in the same stores as alcohol and tobacco.He also hopes lawmakers at a minimum will pass requirements on age gating, childproof packaging and making sure every package identifies who is the manufacturer and distributor.&nbsp;“Those are three very minimalistic things that should be a no-brainer thing to get done,” said Riegel, who is also a leader with the Missouri Hemp Trade Association, “and will cost nobody anything, but could give law enforcement the proper channels to penalize somebody if they’re misbehaving.”Grigaitis agrees with Riegel.“If they were just to start labeling and regulating the packaging, you would start holding people accountable,” he said. “Right now, it’s the wild west. As soon as there’s even five rules on a piece of paper that everybody can see, everybody’s going to fall into place with those because you don’t want to be left out.”&nbsp;And he also agrees with Busch that THCA flower shouldn’t be included in the regulation conversation yet. The biggest reason, Grigaitis said, is that there’s no real consensus on the definition of THCA flower, and that needs to be agreed upon before it can be regulated.“There needs to be a solution to that one before it’s allowed,” he said. “I’m not saying close the door, but that I could say that about a lot of things. If the drinks have something figured out, then let them through.”

THC beverage boom faces Missouri crackdown amid regulatory concerns, safety risks

LIVINGSTON COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just after 6:30p.m. Monday in Livingston County.&nbsp;

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a Chevy Silverado driven by a 24-year-old Chillicothe man was northbound on Route Y at LIV 518 four miles west of Chillicothe. The pickup traveled off the east side of the road, returned to the road, traveled off the west side of the road and overturned onto its top.

Chillicothe EMS transported the driver to Hedrick Medical Center. He was properly restrained, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY —One person was injured in an accident just after 6:30p.m. Monday in Livingston County.&nbsp;The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a Chevy Silverado driven by a 24-year-old Chillicothe man was northbound on Route Y at LIV 518 four miles west of Chillicothe. The pickup traveled off the east side of the road, returned to the road, traveled off the west side of the road and overturned onto its top.Chillicothe EMS transported the driver to Hedrick Medical Center. He was properly restrained, according to the MSHP. The Patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Mo. man hospitalized after pickup overturns

Apart from a drafting error, the summary written by Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was deemed ‘sufficient’ by a Cole County judge.

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

A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sos.mo.gov/petitions/2026IPcirculation#2026071" target="_blank">ballot summary</a>&nbsp;describing a proposed amendment to Missouri’s Constitution as “limiting parental choice in education” is sufficient, a Cole County judge ruled last week.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins must only correct a drafting error for his description of the initiative petition to be “concise, neutral and sufficient,” Judge Cotton Walker wrote.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Petitioners%20Trial%20Brief.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3689575" target="_blank">lawsuit</a>, filed by attorney Duane Martin of the public education law firm EdCounsel, says the amendment seeks to “prohibit the use of state and local public funds for nonpublic schools for nondisabled students.”

Martin argued that Hoskins’ ballot summary contained several statements “that are unfair, insufficient or misleading.” Specifically, he pointed to the summary’s statement that the initiative petition would “eliminate existing programs that provide direct aid to students with special education needs by prohibiting the use of public funds for educational services provided by nonpublic schools.”

This is “misleading at best,” Martin wrote, since the amendment states that “public funds or public aid may be used to pay private individuals or entities for educational or other services to be provided to individuals with disabilities.”

Hoskins argues that the amendment is likely to upend MOScholars, the state’s K-12 scholarship program, which benefits nondisabled and disabled students.

“Even if the State could find workable statutory amendments or regulations to restrict the MOScholars program to comply with the proposed amendment, the program would be eliminated in its current form and need substantial alterations to comply with the proposed language,” wrote Andrew Crane, the deputy chief counsel for the attorney general’s office.&nbsp;

Martin also disputes the characterization that the proposed amendment would “limit parental choice.” He wrote that the amendment wouldn’t eliminate nonpublic schools, so private education would continue to be available — though it wouldn’t be subsidized by the state.

“The only thing that would change is that public funds would not be used to pay the tuition of a nondisabled student, if the parent chooses to send their child to an in-person, private school,” he wrote.

Hoskins argues that limiting education to what parents can afford is indeed “limiting parental choice.”

“Limiting parental choice programs is a central aim of the proposed amendment and the first bullet point is necessary to properly inform voters on that point,” Crane wrote.

Walker didn’t get into the details of the debate over private school funding, but he wrote that Hoskins’ description “fairly and impartially states the purpose and probable effect of the proposed constitutional amendment.”

“Courts do not ask whether the secretary chose the best possible wording, only whether the language fairly and impartially summarizes the measure’s central purpose,” he continued in his five-page decision.

The only issue is a bullet point that says the amendment would “define most charter schools as nonpublic unless approved by voters or school boards before June 30, 2025.”

The proposed amendment would not change the status of charter schools operating prior to June 30. Only new charters would be considered nonpublic.

Walker’s ruling directs Hoskins to fix the “drafting error,” but otherwise upholds the other two contested bullet points.

Martin plans to appeal the decision, he told The Independent.

“We are disappointed in the decision, particularly in light of the plain language of the proposed amendment creating an exception for students with disabilities,” he said.

A&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/lawsuits-challenge-deceptive-summaries-for-missouri-public-education-ballot-measures/">court challenge</a>&nbsp;of a separate pro-public-education petition is still pending.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761588411941.png" alt=" Cole County Circuit Court Judge Cotton Walker listens to arguments during a Sept. 8, 2022, hearing (pool photo courtesy of Emily Manley/Nexstar Media Group)." />
 <figcaption> Cole County Circuit Court Judge Cotton Walker listens to arguments during a Sept. 8, 2022, hearing (pool photo courtesy of Emily Manley/Nexstar Media Group).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Apart from a drafting error, the summary written by Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was deemed ‘sufficient’ by a Cole County judge.</h2>By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ahanshaw/">Annelise Hanshaw</a>&nbsp; <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sos.mo.gov/petitions/2026IPcirculation#2026071" target="_blank">ballot summary</a>&nbsp;describing a proposed amendment to Missouri’s Constitution as “limiting parental choice in education” is sufficient, a Cole County judge ruled last week.Secretary of State Denny Hoskins must only correct a drafting error for his description of the initiative petition to be “concise, neutral and sufficient,” Judge Cotton Walker wrote.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/Petitioners%20Trial%20Brief.PDF?courtCode=19&amp;di=3689575" target="_blank">lawsuit</a>, filed by attorney Duane Martin of the public education law firm EdCounsel, says the amendment seeks to “prohibit the use of state and local public funds for nonpublic schools for nondisabled students.”Martin argued that Hoskins’ ballot summary contained several statements “that are unfair, insufficient or misleading.” Specifically, he pointed to the summary’s statement that the initiative petition would “eliminate existing programs that provide direct aid to students with special education needs by prohibiting the use of public funds for educational services provided by nonpublic schools.”This is “misleading at best,” Martin wrote, since the amendment states that “public funds or public aid may be used to pay private individuals or entities for educational or other services to be provided to individuals with disabilities.”Hoskins argues that the amendment is likely to upend MOScholars, the state’s K-12 scholarship program, which benefits nondisabled and disabled students.“Even if the State could find workable statutory amendments or regulations to restrict the MOScholars program to comply with the proposed amendment, the program would be eliminated in its current form and need substantial alterations to comply with the proposed language,” wrote Andrew Crane, the deputy chief counsel for the attorney general’s office.&nbsp;Martin also disputes the characterization that the proposed amendment would “limit parental choice.” He wrote that the amendment wouldn’t eliminate nonpublic schools, so private education would continue to be available — though it wouldn’t be subsidized by the state.“The only thing that would change is that public funds would not be used to pay the tuition of a nondisabled student, if the parent chooses to send their child to an in-person, private school,” he wrote.Hoskins argues that limiting education to what parents can afford is indeed “limiting parental choice.”“Limiting parental choice programs is a central aim of the proposed amendment and the first bullet point is necessary to properly inform voters on that point,” Crane wrote.Walker didn’t get into the details of the debate over private school funding, but he wrote that Hoskins’ description “fairly and impartially states the purpose and probable effect of the proposed constitutional amendment.”“Courts do not ask whether the secretary chose the best possible wording, only whether the language fairly and impartially summarizes the measure’s central purpose,” he continued in his five-page decision.The only issue is a bullet point that says the amendment would “define most charter schools as nonpublic unless approved by voters or school boards before June 30, 2025.”The proposed amendment would not change the status of charter schools operating prior to June 30. Only new charters would be considered nonpublic.Walker’s ruling directs Hoskins to fix the “drafting error,” but otherwise upholds the other two contested bullet points.Martin plans to appeal the decision, he told The Independent.“We are disappointed in the decision, particularly in light of the plain language of the proposed amendment creating an exception for students with disabilities,” he said.A&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/lawsuits-challenge-deceptive-summaries-for-missouri-public-education-ballot-measures/">court challenge</a>&nbsp;of a separate pro-public-education petition is still pending.

Missouri judge upholds ballot summary of amendment targeting private school vouchers

Former longtime KFEQ
salesman, Ken Gabler, has died.

Gabler was born in
St. Louis November 24th of 1930.

Gabler served as a
salesman for KFEQ Radio for years, often voicing commercials.

After retiring
from the station, Gabler took up several hobbies and spent time with his family.
Gabler and his wife, the former Helen Isaacs, were married for 68 years and had
three children.

Gabler was a
member of the Barbershop Quartet and Chorus and performed for the U.S. troops
on a U.S.O. Tour.

Farewell services
and public livestream will be held 1 p.m. Tuesday, October 28th, at the Ashland
United Methodist Church; interment at Memorial Park Cemetery.

The family suggests
memorial contributions to Ashland United Methodist Church.

You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761584883903.jpeg" alt="Ken Gabler" />
 <figcaption>Ken Gabler</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostFormer longtime KFEQ
salesman, Ken Gabler, has died.Gabler was born in
St. Louis November 24th of 1930.Gabler served as a
salesman for KFEQ Radio for years, often voicing commercials.After retiring
from the station, Gabler took up several hobbies and spent time with his family.
Gabler and his wife, the former Helen Isaacs, were married for 68 years and had
three children.Gabler was a
member of the Barbershop Quartet and Chorus and performed for the U.S. troops
on a U.S.O. Tour.Farewell services
and public livestream will be held 1 p.m. Tuesday, October 28th, at the Ashland
United Methodist Church; interment at Memorial Park Cemetery.The family suggests
memorial contributions to Ashland United Methodist Church.Ken Gabler was 94.You can follow&nbsp;Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ

Former longtime KFEQ salesman, Ken Gabler, dies at age 94

Jail-based pilot programs from the Missouri Department of Mental Health are enabling some people to stand trial while they wait for a state hospital bed in jail or out on bond, but the backlog is still growing

A man jailed on felony drug possession charges has been waiting 469 days in the Clay County Detention Center for mental health services that could allow his case to move forward.

It took him 75 days just to get a court-ordered evaluation from the Department of Mental Health, according to Sarah Boyd, spokesperson for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

He hasn’t been convicted of a crime. He was found incompetent to stand trial and has been in limbo ever since – stuck in jail until a bed becomes available in a state psychiatric hospital or services from the mental health department or the jail enable him to satisfy a judge that he can stand trial.

“We want folks to be restored to competency, so that they don’t have their constitutional rights violated,” Boyd said, referring to the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. “We want that to happen, and we wanted it to happen here, but that hasn’t really been the case.”&nbsp;

In September, an average of 487 Missourians were waiting for a bed in a psychiatric hospital run by the department. The waitlist has grown by a third since September 2024 and almost 88% since September 2023.&nbsp;

In August, that average number reached 492, an all-time high.

These numbers include people who are receiving services – including medication, therapy and competency education — in jails or out on bond, according to the department.

Lawmakers in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/23info/pdf-bill/tat/SB106.pdf" target="_blank">2023</a>&nbsp;authorized the department to provide jail-based competency, and programs have been established in St. Louis city and county, along with Jackson and Clay counties. The law also allows outpatient treatment for individuals who can be safely released on bond.&nbsp;

The department has also expanded two mobile teams of clinicians who provide medication and case management to people on the waitlist through in-person jail visits and telehealth.

A year after the launch of the first jail-based competency programs, sheriffs, corrections medical staff and jail administrators say that although the new initiatives have helped address mental health needs, they aren’t enough to tackle the waitlist — or address the underlying need for mental health and substance use treatment that keeps some people cycling in and out of jail.

Only 12 people have so far attained competency after completing a jail-based pilot program, according to the department, and 52 people have participated.

Dr. Jeanette Simmons, deputy director of the state mental health department, said the growing waitlist&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/02/07/missouri-chief-justice-calls-for-action-as-hundreds-wait-in-jails-for-mental-health-services/">isn’t a surprise</a>.

“Our numbers have increased,” Simmons said. “We predicted that they would increase.”

Simmons attributed the increase to a static number of hospital beds and increasing numbers of competency evaluation requests from courts.

“As that number continues to increase, I’m not surprised that the number of folks found incompetent increases,” Simmons said. “It clearly correlates together.”

Simmons said the department has dialed up efforts to help people take first steps toward competency while they are waiting in jail, and that the mobile teams in particular have seen successes. Last year, 117 people attained competency through the teams’ work,&nbsp;<a href="https://oa.mo.gov/sites/default/files/FY27%20DMH%20Appropriation%20Book.pdf" target="_blank">according to the department</a>.&nbsp;

“Just by virtue of getting people started on their medications and stabilizing their psychiatric condition, they have restored to competence,” Simmons said.

Boyd, the spokesperson for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, said Sheriff Will Akin was initially “frustrated” with the pilot program because it wasn’t clear to him at first that his jail would be expected to take patients from Platte, Buchanan and Andrew counties.&nbsp;

Boyd said the program has been successful for those who participated in it and that Akin and the department have agreed on a plan to work together.

“We definitely want to continue with the program here,” Boyd said, “and we’re moving forward in a way that he thinks will make it successful.”

The idea of county jails housing mental health patients from other counties has been a deterrent for some to participate. Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/27/missourians-waiting-in-jail-for-court-ordered-mental-health-care-reaches-all-time-high/">told The Independent</a>&nbsp;in January that was the reason he opted out of the pilot program.

“I’m not going to participate in a warehousing contract of people that are mentally ill that shouldn’t be in jail in the first place,” Arnott said in January.

There are currently six people participating in the Clay County program, Boyd said on Monday. Four were transferred from counties in the Kansas City metro area and northwestern Missouri. Seven people are waiting for a spot in the pilot program or a hospital.

Boyd said that although the department pays the sheriff’s office $900 a day to cover program costs, the jail has sometimes had to send general population inmates to other detention centers to keep a pod available for competency restoration, at a daily cost of $65-$100 per inmate.

Dr. Paula Oldeg, director of corrections medicine in St. Louis County, said that while jail-based services will not eliminate the waitlist, participants in the county’s pilot program have received a higher level of care than is usually available in the jail.

“A jail is not the best place to really treat any condition,” Oldeg said. “A jail is not designed for that. That said, if we don’t treat it, my gosh, people can languish. They can decompensate. They can really suffer, not just mentally but physically.”

A man who waited months to be transferred to a psychiatric hospital&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/23/man-dies-in-kc-jail-after-waiting-months-for-court-ordered-mental-health-treatment/">died</a>&nbsp;in a Kansas City jail in May. He started harming himself and lost touch with reality after being detained.

The St. Louis County pilot program, which accepted its first patients in January, has had 16 participants in all. Two have been deemed competent. One person was classified as permanently incompetent after multiple assessments. Two were released on bond or transferred. Two were dismissed for violent behavior. Two others opted out of the program.

Sheriffs in rural counties have had to rely on their own resources and community relationships to meet mental health needs in their jails.

Pemiscot County Sheriff Joe Bryant said his office contracts with a local company to provide services in his jail.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761562673953.png" alt="The Missouri Department of Mental Health building in Jefferson City in 2023 (Annelise Hanshaw | Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption>The Missouri Department of Mental Health building in Jefferson City in 2023 (Annelise Hanshaw | Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Jail-based pilot programs from the Missouri Department of Mental Health are enabling some people to stand trial while they wait for a state hospital bed in jail or out on bond, but the backlog is still growing</h2>By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/squinn/">Steph Quinn</a>- <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>A man jailed on felony drug possession charges has been waiting 469 days in the Clay County Detention Center for mental health services that could allow his case to move forward.It took him 75 days just to get a court-ordered evaluation from the Department of Mental Health, according to Sarah Boyd, spokesperson for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.He hasn’t been convicted of a crime. He was found incompetent to stand trial and has been in limbo ever since – stuck in jail until a bed becomes available in a state psychiatric hospital or services from the mental health department or the jail enable him to satisfy a judge that he can stand trial.“We want folks to be restored to competency, so that they don’t have their constitutional rights violated,” Boyd said, referring to the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. “We want that to happen, and we wanted it to happen here, but that hasn’t really been the case.”&nbsp;In September, an average of 487 Missourians were waiting for a bed in a psychiatric hospital run by the department. The waitlist has grown by a third since September 2024 and almost 88% since September 2023.&nbsp;In August, that average number reached 492, an all-time high.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/10/1761562637503.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>These numbers include people who are receiving services – including medication, therapy and competency education — in jails or out on bond, according to the department.Lawmakers in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/23info/pdf-bill/tat/SB106.pdf" target="_blank">2023</a>&nbsp;authorized the department to provide jail-based competency, and programs have been established in St. Louis city and county, along with Jackson and Clay counties. The law also allows outpatient treatment for individuals who can be safely released on bond.&nbsp;The department has also expanded two mobile teams of clinicians who provide medication and case management to people on the waitlist through in-person jail visits and telehealth.A year after the launch of the first jail-based competency programs, sheriffs, corrections medical staff and jail administrators say that although the new initiatives have helped address mental health needs, they aren’t enough to tackle the waitlist — or address the underlying need for mental health and substance use treatment that keeps some people cycling in and out of jail.Only 12 people have so far attained competency after completing a jail-based pilot program, according to the department, and 52 people have participated.Dr. Jeanette Simmons, deputy director of the state mental health department, said the growing waitlist&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/02/07/missouri-chief-justice-calls-for-action-as-hundreds-wait-in-jails-for-mental-health-services/">isn’t a surprise</a>.“Our numbers have increased,” Simmons said. “We predicted that they would increase.”Simmons attributed the increase to a static number of hospital beds and increasing numbers of competency evaluation requests from courts.“As that number continues to increase, I’m not surprised that the number of folks found incompetent increases,” Simmons said. “It clearly correlates together.”Simmons said the department has dialed up efforts to help people take first steps toward competency while they are waiting in jail, and that the mobile teams in particular have seen successes. Last year, 117 people attained competency through the teams’ work,&nbsp;<a href="https://oa.mo.gov/sites/default/files/FY27%20DMH%20Appropriation%20Book.pdf" target="_blank">according to the department</a>.&nbsp;“Just by virtue of getting people started on their medications and stabilizing their psychiatric condition, they have restored to competence,” Simmons said.Boyd, the spokesperson for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, said Sheriff Will Akin was initially “frustrated” with the pilot program because it wasn’t clear to him at first that his jail would be expected to take patients from Platte, Buchanan and Andrew counties.&nbsp;Boyd said the program has been successful for those who participated in it and that Akin and the department have agreed on a plan to work together.“We definitely want to continue with the program here,” Boyd said, “and we’re moving forward in a way that he thinks will make it successful.”The idea of county jails housing mental health patients from other counties has been a deterrent for some to participate. Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/27/missourians-waiting-in-jail-for-court-ordered-mental-health-care-reaches-all-time-high/">told The Independent</a>&nbsp;in January that was the reason he opted out of the pilot program.“I’m not going to participate in a warehousing contract of people that are mentally ill that shouldn’t be in jail in the first place,” Arnott said in January.There are currently six people participating in the Clay County program, Boyd said on Monday. Four were transferred from counties in the Kansas City metro area and northwestern Missouri. Seven people are waiting for a spot in the pilot program or a hospital.Boyd said that although the department pays the sheriff’s office $900 a day to cover program costs, the jail has sometimes had to send general population inmates to other detention centers to keep a pod available for competency restoration, at a daily cost of $65-$100 per inmate.Dr. Paula Oldeg, director of corrections medicine in St. Louis County, said that while jail-based services will not eliminate the waitlist, participants in the county’s pilot program have received a higher level of care than is usually available in the jail.“A jail is not the best place to really treat any condition,” Oldeg said. “A jail is not designed for that. That said, if we don’t treat it, my gosh, people can languish. They can decompensate. They can really suffer, not just mentally but physically.”A man who waited months to be transferred to a psychiatric hospital&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/05/23/man-dies-in-kc-jail-after-waiting-months-for-court-ordered-mental-health-treatment/">died</a>&nbsp;in a Kansas City jail in May. He started harming himself and lost touch with reality after being detained.The St. Louis County pilot program, which accepted its first patients in January, has had 16 participants in all. Two have been deemed competent. One person was classified as permanently incompetent after multiple assessments. Two were released on bond or transferred. Two were dismissed for violent behavior. Two others opted out of the program.Sheriffs in rural counties have had to rely on their own resources and community relationships to meet mental health needs in their jails.Pemiscot County Sheriff Joe Bryant said his office contracts with a local company to provide services in his jail.“They’ll come do that for us,” Bryant said, “which is great for us, because before that, there was really nothing.”Perry County Sheriff Jason Klaus said there’s no room in his budget to hire a medical team, but he partners with a local provider to deliver substance use treatment in his 35-person jail at no charge to the sheriff’s office.&nbsp;Klaus said that while he appreciates the mobile teams’ work, the competency restoration process doesn’t necessarily meet behavioral health needs.He said that when possible, he works with attorneys and judges to allow inmates to enroll in residential treatment programs on bond or medical furlough. He’s looking into doing this for people in his jail on the competency restoration waitlist.“I want to hold people accountable,” Klaus said. “No mistake about that. However, I also believe that somebody sitting in jail for an indefinite amount of time, it’s not getting anyone any kind of justice.”

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