Articles by Jim Salter

Jim Bakker, Missouri Church Settle Suit over COVID-19 Claims

Jim Bakker and his southwestern Missouri church will pay restitution of $156,000 to settle a lawsuit that accuses the TV pastor of falsely claiming a health supplement could cure COVID-19. Missouri court records show that a settlement agreement was filed …

Inspector General Finds Trump EPA Officials Improperly Influenced Dicamba Approval

Environmental Protection Agency officials improperly influenced a decision to re-approve use of dicamba, a herbicide blamed for crop damage in hundreds of lawsuits, during the Trump administration, according to an internal agency report. “We found that the EPA’s 2018 decision …

28 Election Employees in 1 Missouri County Test Positive for Virus

Twenty-eight employees of the election board in one of Missouri’s largest counties have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks, and a director believes they most likely got infected from voters, though local health officials aren’t convinced. The Jackson …

Business Owner at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks Defends Weekend Actions

The owner of a business that hosted crowded pool parties over the Memorial Day weekend at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks says no laws were broken and safety measures were in place to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. …

Man Arrested, Charged with Hate Crime in Missouri Islamic Center Arson

Prosecutors have charged a 42-year-old man accused of setting fire to a Missouri mosque on April 24 with a hate crime and other counts. Nicholas Proffitt, who spent time in prison for defacing the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau more …

Corps Says Some Midwest Levees Damaged in 2019 Still Vulnerable

With flood concerns already high in the Midwest, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is warning that many levees on the Missouri and Kansas rivers that were damaged during devastating floods last spring remain vulnerable to high water. The National …

Ferguson Settles Lawsuit Over Court Fees Deemed Discriminatory for $1.7M

The city of Ferguson, Missouri, has agreed to a $1.7 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit that accused its municipal court of charging illegal court fees, attorneys involved in the case said. A judge on March 24 approved a preliminary …

St. Louis Jury Hands Johnson & Johnson a Win in Talc Case

A St. Louis jury has ruled in favor of Johnson & Johnson in the latest of several lawsuits alleging that the company’s baby powder caused ovarian cancer. The jury ruled 9-3 late on Dec. 20, denying 56-year-old Vickie Forrest’s allegation …

NTSB: Coast Guard Ignored Duck Boat Safety Recommendations

Federal transportation safety investigators criticized the U.S. Coast Guard Wednesday for ignoring suggestions over nearly two decades to improve tourist duck boats, changes they say might have prevented last year’s Missouri accident that killed 17 people. The National Transportation Safety …

Ex-St. Louis County Exec, Stenger, Gets Nearly 4 Years in Prison for Fraud Scheme

Steve Stenger, once among the most powerful elected officials in Missouri, has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for orchestrating a pay-for-play scheme. Stenger, 47, the former Democratic St. Louis County executive, pleaded guilty in May to federal …