Latest posts
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Stoddard County Family Alleges Retaliation After Speaking Out Against Authorities
A Stoddard County family says they are being targeted by local officials after publicly criticizing law enforcement and child welfare authorities, raising questions about accountability and due process in Missouri’s 35th Judicial Circuit. The case began in April 2024, when the family’s children were removed following concerns tied to a medical episode involving their daughter,
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Blanket Recording Bans in Lake of the Ozarks Courthouses Raise Constitutional Questions
By Corey Thompson, MoFreePress Residents and transparency advocates are raising concerns over what appears to be a blanket prohibition on recording devices inside multiple courthouses across the Lake of the Ozarks region, including Morgan County, Miller County, and Camden County. According to individuals familiar with courthouse policies, the restrictions are not limited to courtroom proceedings,
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A Look At Where the City of Eldon, Missouri Taxpayer’s Money Goes: Public Records Released
MOFreePress is making the City of Eldon’s expense reports from May 1, 2019 through December 31, 2024 available to the public. These records were obtained through Sunshine Law requests submitted to the city, with the cost covered entirely by donations from our readers. The volume of records is too large for our small team to
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The $919,000 Silence: A Timeline of the Odessa ECA Overcharge
By Jon Lee, MOFreePress This Monday, March 30, the City of Odessa is scheduled to open applications for a utility credit program designed to address a multi-year Energy Cost Adjustment (ECA) error. However, a series of public statements and digital records indicate that the discrepancy, totaling approximately $919,000, may have been identified months prior to
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MoFreePress Releases Recording Raising Questions About Prosecutorial Decision in Multi-Agency Vehicle Dispute
MoFreePress is releasing an audio recording involving Sgt. Detective Salerno of the Osage Beach Police Department and Melissa DeVries, which is raising questions about how local authorities and prosecutors are handling a dispute that spans multiple jurisdictions and agencies. The recording follows Det. Salerno’s reported attempt to obtain a search warrant in an effort to
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From Raid to Rap: How Afroman Turned a Police Search Into a Courtroom Victory
By MoFreePress A quiet August night in rural Ohio turned into a national flashpoint over police power, free speech, and the limits of retaliation—ending years later with a courtroom victory for a platinum-selling rapper. In August 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the home of Joseph Foreman, better known as Afroman. Deputies
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Why the Pentagon Has Failed Eight Straight Audits
By MOFreePress For eight consecutive years, the United States Department of Defense, the largest government agency in the world, has failed its annual financial audit. Despite controlling hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars each year, auditors have repeatedly concluded they cannot verify the department’s financial records well enough to issue a clean opinion. The failures have
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Where Your Tax Dollars Go: A Look at Eldon School District Spending
By MOFreePress For residents of Eldon, Missouri, property taxes and state funding support the local public schools—but few taxpayers see a clear breakdown of how that money is spent. Missouri Free Press reviewed publicly available payroll records and financial data from the Eldon R‑I School District to provide a clearer picture of how the district
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Eldon Taxpayers Send Over $9 Million to the School District Every Year
By MOFreePress Every year, taxpayers in Eldon collectively contribute more than $9 million to fund the local school district. For the average household, that works out to thousands of dollars per year — often without residents realizing how much they are paying. By examining publicly available financial reports from the Eldon R-I School District, we
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Federal Agents Fatally Shoot Man During Operation in Minneapolis
By MOFreePress MINNEAPOLIS — January 24, 2026 A man was fatally shot Friday by federal law enforcement officers during an operation in Minneapolis, according to state and federal officials. The shooting occurred near 26th Street West and Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis. Authorities said the officers involved were federal agents with the U.S. Department of