Articles by Summer Ballentine

Ex-Staffers of Missouri Boarding School Face Suit Alleging Abuse of Students

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yet another civil lawsuit filed Wednesday against a Missouri Christian boarding school by a former student accuses staffers of forced child labor, physical abuse and tactics aimed at hiding mistreatment from authorities. The lawsuit, filed …

Iowa to Pay $10 Million Settlement to Siblings of Starved Teenager

Iowa will pay $10 million to the siblings of an adopted 16-year-old girl who weighed just 56 pounds (25 kilograms) when she died of starvation in 2017, according to a state board that approved the settlement Monday. Sabrina Ray was …

Lawsuit Filed to Take Recreational Marijuana off Missouri Ballot

An anti-drug group on Monday announced support for a lawsuit to take a recreational marijuana legalization proposal off Missouri’s November ballot. Jefferson City resident Joy Sweeney filed the lawsuit Friday with support from the national anti-drug group Protect Our Kids. …

Missouri Voters to Consider Recreational Marijuana Legalization

A campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Missouri gathered enough signatures to make it on the November ballot, Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft announced last week. If voters approve the constitutional amendment on marijuana, those age 21 and older …

Upgrades Urged at Missouri Amtrak Crash Site, But No Action

The chief elected official in the Missouri county where an Amtrak train slammed into a dump truck said Tuesday that residents and county leaders have been pushing for a safety upgrade at the railroad crossing for nearly three years. Meanwhile, …

Missouri Officials: Teacher Information Data Breach to Cost $50M Outline

Help for roughly 100,000 teachers whose Social Security numbers were made vulnerable in a massive state data breach could cost Missouri as much as $50 million, the governor’s office confirmed. The estimate includes the cost of credit monitoring and a …

Paper Uncovers Major Security Flaw in Missouri State Database

Republican Gov. Mike Parson condemned one of Missouri’s largest newspapers for exposing a flaw in a state database that allowed public access to thousands of teachers’ Social Security numbers, even though the paper held off from reporting about the flaw …

Bill to Stem Virus-Related Lawsuits Advances in Missouri Senate

Missouri senators on Feb. 3 advanced a bill that would shield hospitals, manufacturers and other businesses from lawsuits over alleged wrongdoing during the coronavirus pandemic. Senators gave the measure initial approval after hours of debate and negotiations. The bill would …

Missouri Bill Would Allow Giving Guns to Minors Without Parents’ Permission

Missouri lawmakers have advanced a bill that would legally allow people to give firearms to children without their parents’ permission after the governor had initially sought to increase the penalty for the crime. “Recklessly” giving guns to minors without parents’ …

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. …