The Springfield News-Leader

Man Allegedly Attacks Girlfriend Over "Like" on Facebook, Searches Body for Cheating Evidence

Springfield resident Marcus O'Neal's jealousy erupted this month -- allegedly over a Facebook "like" of his girlfriend. O'Neal, 28, is accused of shutting his windows so neighbors wouldn't hear the screams of his girlfriend -- or the cries of four children forced to watch as he attacked her. And ... More >>

Missouri State University Misspells Own Name On Book Bags

An embarrassing mistake by the Missouri State University Bookstore is going viral this afternoon, after the Springfield News-Leader noticed an interesting typo on a bag being distributed on campus. It appears the bags came free with the bookstore's "textbook reservation" service, which conveniently ... More >>

Pitchfork Writes Lazy, Cynical, Dickish Thing: Surprise!

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin is playing the Old New Rock Festival in Ekaterinburg, Russia next month. The Springfield band will also -- at the request of the festival's organizers -- visit a school as part of an ambassador program. So that's a thing that is fairly cool. Not the most notewor ... More >>

Akin Praised, Reviewed Unit of Militia Group He Recently Claimed He Had Nothing to Do With

Updated with response from Akin's spokesperson Rick Tyler. In 1995, a month before the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, Todd Akin sent a local militia group what he later called "a courtesy letter." The now-defunct group, the 1st Missouri Volunteers militia, had invited Akin to spea ... More >>

Dude Throws Tantrum at Springfield McDonald's

Look, when a man orders a chicken sandwich with no mayo, he wants a chicken sandwich with no mayo. But see, that's not what the McDonald's employee in Springfield heard through the drive-thru intercom on Sunday afternoon. No, the employee heard something about a chicken sandwich ... More >>

The Electric Pencil: A long-lost cache of sketches by a state mental hospital inmate finally yields up some of its secrets

Samantha Edwards: Charged with Naked Ice Capades in Greene County

The Jordan Valley Ice Park in Greene County (near Springfield, MO) has a recurring roof problem. And that problem is that Samantha Edwards, 27, allegedly keeps geting buck naked on the roof for 30 minutes at a time.According to the Springfield News-Leader, Edwards was spotted on the roof of the ice ... More >>

Four Accused in Southwest Missouri Horse-Slashing Incident

Something weird was happening in a barn in Taney County, Missouri, just south of Springfield. Dee Dee Ulrich told the Springfield News-Leader that she returned from vacation to find her barrel-racing horses with open slash wounds, some of them 18 inches long. They also showed signs of having been ri ... More >>

Vern Minor: Book-Banning Superintendent of Republic, MO, School District Resigns

​Vern Minor, the superintendent of the Republic School District, brought some unfriendly attention to his work last year when he banned Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five and Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer because they were too graphic, profane and crude for high schoolers (does Minor actually ... More >>

Springfield Tables Red-Light Cameras Following St. Louis Judgment

​Red-light cameras in Springfield have been turned off for nearly two years following a March 2010 Missouri Supreme Court decision that found the city violated state law in the way it prosecuted people ticketed by the cameras. After weeks of negotiations, Springfield officials were hoping to once ... More >>

Woman Calls Police On Crack Dealer Who Sold Her Sugar

​Are stupid people drawn to crack? Or does crack make people stupid? YES. Take it away, Springfield News-Leader! Police were called to the 1700 block of North Sherman Avenue about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, after the woman said she had paid $40 for crack cocaine but got sugar instead, according to an inci ... More >>

The 10 Stupidest Crimes of 2011

Yesterday's list of the 10 Most Heinous Crimes of 2011 may have made you want to weep for the evil of humanity. Today we bring you the 10 Stupidest Crimes of 2011 in and around St. Louis (listed in order of dumb to dumber), which may also make you want to weep, but this time for stupidity. Or you ma ... More >>

Missouri State Band Reignites Debate Over "Dixie"

Image via"Dixie" came out of blackface minstrel shows in the mid-19th Century.​The song "Dixie" was born from the blackface minstrel shows of the mid-19th century. The lyrics take the perspective, and exaggerated dialect, of a free slave who aches to return to his days of plantation bondage. The f ... More >>

Steelman For Payroll Tax Cut, Akin Against Payroll Tax Cut, Brunner... Against?

​A few days ago, the Springfield News-Leader published a Q&A with the three candidates in Missouri's GOP Senate primary race. It's still early in the race and Sarah Steelman, Rep. Todd Akin and John Brunner have all positioned themselves as rock solid conservative candidates. As such, it's a ... More >>

Nooooo! Yakov Smirnoff Ending Branson Performance

Photo: Jennifer SilverbergBranson is great, but America? "What a country!" And Yakov says it's time to see more of it.​After twenty years, Ukranian comic Yakov Smirnoff is winding down his live performance in Branson. Smirnoff will continue his act at his theatre through 2012. He then plans to tak ... More >>

Banned Books Restored to Republic, MO, School Libraries -- Sort Of

image viaGuess who left Hogwarts to go work at the Republic school libraries?​Hey, guess what kids? Banned Books Week starts on Saturday, and the fine, upstanding citizens of Republic, Missourah, are all ready to celebrate. In June, you may recall, Republic's school board banned two books from ... More >>

Missouri School District Bans Books: Slaughterhouse 5, Twenty Boy Summer

Too hot for Republic P.S.D.!​Last year Daily RFT told you about Missouri State professor Wesley Scroggins and his effort to ban three books from his children's school district that he found offensive and contrary to the teachings of the Bible. Yesterday the Springfield News-Leader reported that Sc ... More >>

Missouri Congressman Billy Long Equates U.S. Debt to Amy Winehouse's Addictions

Missouri's freshman congressman Billy Long (R - Springfield) stirred up a hornet's nest (or, in this case, a beehive) yesterday when he opined on the death of singer Amy Winehouse. Winehouse had battled drug addictions, though it remains unclear what caused her death Saturday in London. Congressman ... More >>

Naked Burglar "Desecrated" Victim's Lucky KU Jayhawks Attire

Suspect was naked as a jaybird until he found some Jayhawks garb.​We're guessing that Donald Watson is a Mizzou fan. Why? Because he's comfortable in his own skin, and he just pulled off the biggest insult ever to a Kansas Jayhawks fan. Watson, 45, was arrested Wednesday after police received call ... More >>

Missouri Legislators Deploy "Rosa Parks Highway" Tactic Against Neo-Nazis

biography.comThe unveiling of the Rosa Parks Highway.​A couple of state reps from Springfield are trying to rename a stretch of highway in their district after a Jewish rabbi now that the roadway has been adopted by the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Movement.As the Springfield News-Leader repo ... More >>

Show Me Clowns for Jesus Gathering in Springfield for Annual Convention

Not sure what your plans are for this weekend, but consider this:Show Me Clowns for Jesus will hold its 26th annual convention Thursday through Sunday in Springfield. Admission is just five bucks, and events include a discussion on "God's sense of humor" and a special "clown worship." Here's a video ... More >>

Guy Who Rear-Ended Amish Wagon and Killed Its Driver Gets 8 Days in Jail

Image viaTwo worlds colliding...​Jeffrey Fleming of Staunton, Illinois may or or may not have been texting when he slammed into the back of an Amish horse-and-buggy and killed its driver, 29-year-old Eli Borntrager, last January up near Moberly. But one thing's for sure: he's gonna do jail time. E ... More >>

Businessman Proposes 100,000-Seat NASCAR Track in Branson

Here's betting that NASCAR plays big in Branson.​Some things just go great together. Cookies and milk. Beach chairs and paperbacks. Captain and Tennille. Branson and Nelly. Err, we mean Branson and NASCAR. A month after St. Louis' Gateway International Raceway closed down after a decade of trying ... More >>

Tea Party Crasher: Hard-charging Ed Martin wants to win your vote — and Russ Carnahan's congressional seat

Authorities Seize $58,000 in Stolen Candy

flickr.com/photos/tinfoilraccoonWhat the hell do we do with THIS?​Last week, law enforcers in western Missouri area sniffed out a huge trove of hot merch: about four tractor trailers worth of car batteries, lampshades, pillows and, yes, $58,000 in assorted Halloween candy. Candy? you ask. Is there ... More >>

In Missouri, Banned Books Week Starts Early

image viaThis is Wesley Scroggins, the man who will protect the children of Republic from dirty books.​And by "banned books" we don't mean honoring books that allegedly concerned parents want removed from library shelves so they don't corrupt their sweet little innocents. We mean a concerted e ... More >>

Ed Martin FOIA Request Reeks of Hypocrisy; Earns Great Zinger from Carnahan Campaign

Ed Martin: All about transparency​So, let's get this straight. Back in 2007 political reporter Tony Messenger (then with the Springfield News-Leader) exposed how Ed Martin was deleting political emails sent from his government computer as chief of staff for Gov. Matt Blunt. Blunt told Messenger th ... More >>

Nelly Will Be Getting Hot in Herre -- Er, Branson -- After All

Well, it appears that Nelly's Branson concert is on after all: According to Fox 2 (via the Associated Press): A promoter says the much-delayed concert by rapper Nelly has a venue in Branson. Concert promoter Paul Dunn said Nelly will perform indoor at the Mansion Theater on Aug. 21. According to t ... More >>

No Nelly Outdoors in Branson

Last night in Branson, Missouri, the board of aldermen nixed a proposed outdoor concert by the Lou's hip-hop superstar, Nelly. According to the Springfield News-Leader: The Branson Board of Aldermen Tuesday night rejected an appeal from a production company looking to hold an outdoor concert at the ... More >>

The Next State to Pass an Arizona-style Immigration Law? It Might be Missouri.

Image viaThe flag in the background is all the proof of citizenship Mark Parkinson needs.​Arizona's strict new immigration law gives police the authority to check a person's documentation when "reasonable suspicion" exists that the suspect is in the country illegally. As public outrage against the ... More >>

Senate Endorses Bill to Ban Red-Light Cameras, But Don't Rejoice Yet

Lembke demonstrating his "deer caught in red lights" look.​State Senator Jim Lembke (R - South St. Louis County) saw his long struggle to outlaw red-light cameras clear a major hurdle yesterday. For the first time, the Senate endorsed Lembke's bill SB211 to ban the cameras throughout Missouri. The ... More >>

Drug Companies Fight Missouri Effort to Make Sudafed a Prescription Drug

Mmm, yummy! The building blocks of meth.​Missouri state representative Scott Lipke (R-Jackson) wants to limit the sale of medications such as Sudafed and Clairtin-D only to consumers with a doctor's prescription.Lipke's bill (H.B. 1210), introduced to the General Assembly last week, aims to curb t ... More >>

Missouri Supreme Court to Weigh In Today on Red-Light Cameras

​Five years after they first began popping up in intersections across Missouri, red-light cameras are finally having their day before the state's highest court. Today the Missouri Supreme Court will hear the case of Adolph Belt Jr. a retired Missouri Highway Patrol trooper, who's fighting the red- ... More >>

Republican Senators Line Up Bills to Drug Test the Poor

All of you on drugs, please step aside.​A slate of Republican state senators have each introduced bills that would require certain welfare recipients in Missouri to be drug tested before receiving state aid. The senators, all from rural Missouri, include:Jack Goodman, Mt. VernonGary Nodler, Joplin ... More >>

RE: Sarah Palin's Book Tour of Bumblefuck U.S.A. Coming to Sam's Club Far From You

​Regarding my post yesterday on how Sarah Palin's book tour is avoiding major cities and Democratic strongholds in favor of discount retailers in podunkville...Yesterday the Springfield News-Leader reported a tidbit that supports my premise. Palin is in fact stopping in Missouri to promote her boo ... More >>

Radio Killed the Bloggering Star

Last night, Erik Manning over at Future Redbirds recorded the first ever edition of Future Redbirds Radio. He featured Matt Baker, who covers the Springfield Cardinals for the Springfield News-Leader, and yours truly. I thought it went really well, although I do feel bad that I have a bit of a cold ... More >>