Sedalia police are investigating the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy.

Police say in a news release that Andrew Meyers died Friday after being found outside a Sedalia home suffering from a gunshot wound.

The Sedalia Democrat reports investigators say they found several drug-related items and numerous illegal firearms inside a nearby home. They believe Meyers was shot inside that home and made it outside to the road before police were called.

Police commander Adam Hendricks says investigators are pursuing several leads and have a suspect in mind.

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Information from: The Sedalia Democrat, http://www.sedaliademocrat.com 

Two people were found dead inside their rural Mountain Home residence early Sunday morning. 

According to the Baxter County Sheriff's Office, deputies first went to the home off State Highway 201 North in the area of Pigeon Creek at approximately 12:55 a.m. after being asked by a family member to check on a man. Deputies spoke with the man on the front porch of the home for several minutes then left.

At approximately 3:06 a.m., deputies received a second call from another family member who believed there had been a struggle inside the home and that the man's girlfriend was dead. Deputies responded a second time and found the man they had spoken to previously and a woman deceased from gunshot wounds. 

A neighbor told investigators that he had seen the pair between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Saturday.  The neighbor stated that he heard several gunshots in the area of the home at around 9:00 p.m. A firearm and spent casings were recovered and taken into evidence at the scene. 

The deceased were identified as Terry C. Mills, 57, and Sandra Christine Douglas, 47. Both bodies were taken to the Arkansas State Medical Examiner's Office in Little Rock for autopsy. The incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide. 

Kansas City police are investigating a shooting at a family party that left two people dead and three others injured. Police say the shooting happened early Sunday in eastern Kansas City. One person was dead at the scene and another died at a hospital. The conditions of the three who were injured were not immediately available. No information on a possible suspect was released.

(AP) - Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has been named vice chair of the National Governors Association Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee.

Hutchinson's office announced the selection on Saturday.

The Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee handles issues dealing with homeland security; the National Guard and homeland defense; criminal justice and public safety and veterans affairs. Committee members are responsible for ensuring that governors' views are represented in shaping federal policy.

Hutchinson says the recent shootings in South Carolina, Tennessee and Louisiana "serve as a sober reminder" that securing the homeland and ensuring citizens' public safety is the most important thing elected officials do.  

Monday, July 27, Springfield City Council will hear a second reading and vote on a bill that City staff think is the next step in addressing chronic nuisance properties.

At a series of nine listening meetings in Springfield’s northwest quadrant in May, Zone 1 residents made it clear that they are concerned about chronic nuisance properties (vacant or poorly maintained properties with overgrown yards, trash and abandoned cars).

“What became very apparent as a result of these Community Listen meetings, is that we need more teeth in our City ordinances when it comes to nuisance properties,” said City Planning & Development Manager Brendan Griesemer.

At its May 26 meeting, City Council took the first step in dealing with problem properties by unanimously passing an ordinance to create a series of penalties for property owners that continue to fail to maintain their property, to make clarifying changes concerning special tax bills and additions to real-estate-tax bills, and to codify due-process-of-law provisions for enforcement actions.

Sponsored by Zone 1 Councilwoman Phyllis Ferguson, Council Bill 2015-177, if approved Monday night, will replace the existing Chapter 74 Nuisance and Housing Code with code that is more clear, better aligns with state law, holds property owners responsible for compliance and allows for better and more timely enforcement and abatement.

According to the proposed code, property owners will be notified (by mail or in person and by a notice posted on the property) of nuisances on their property. The property owner will then have 15 business days to respond to the notice or improve the condition of the property.

After 15 business days, if the property owner has not responded to the nuisance notice, the City can then abate the nuisance at the owner’s expense. Costs of abatement will be recovered through assessments, real estate taxes and property liens.

The proposed code removes the tenant from the equation, as well as the requirement to hold a hearing each time a nuisance property needs to be abated, i.e., mowing tall grass or removing trash or abandoned vehicles from a property.

NEOSHO, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a 5-year-old boy drowned in a creek in Newton County, becoming the third drowning victim in the creek in two days.

The patrol says Anthony Martinez was in a kayak Saturday night in Shoal Creek when the kayak hit a submerged log and overturned. The boy, who was wearing a life jacket, was pinned beneath the kayak. The accident happened about four miles west of Redings Mill.

The Neosho Daily News reports the boy (http://bit.ly/1SIPrKa ) died Saturday evening at a hospital in Joplin.

The patrol says two men from Neosho died in the creek Friday after one disappeared underwater and the other tried to save him.

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Information from: Neosho Daily News, http://www.neoshodailynews.com

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals traded for Johnny Cueto, and then used Yordano Ventura's seven sharp innings to beat Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros 5-1 on Sunday.

Ventura (5-7) allowed one run and six hits in just his second win in his last seven starts. The right-hander, who won 14 games last year, was demoted to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday and then recalled the next day after the Royals learned left-hander Jason Vargas would miss the rest of the year with an elbow injury.

The Royals announced during the game that they had acquired Cueto from Cincinnati for minor league left-handers Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed, drawing a big cheer at Kauffman Stadium.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adonis Garcia's first career home run broke a tie and rookie Matt Wisler worked seven strong innings in helping the Atlanta Braves to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

Wisler (5-1) limited the Cardinals to seven hits and walked three in his longest outing since he worked eight innings to beat the Mets in his debut June 19.

The Braves took advantage of Michael Wacha's wildness for a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Ryan Lavarnway doubled into the left-field corner to score Eury Perez, who had worked a one-out walk. Following a two-out walk to Jace Peterson, Cameron Maybin singled in Lavarnaway. Wacha needed 51 pitches to get through the first two innings.

The Cardinals evened the score with runs in the fourth and fifth. Matt Holliday's double into the right-field corner scored Kolten Wong, who had doubled, to tie the game in the fifth.

The Heat Advisory has been extended into Monday for all of the Ozarks. Find out how long this week the hot weather will last by watching the forecast.

 An anonymous woman gives KY3 an insider's look at a Facebook page which organized parties at a mansion now in the middle of a rape investigation.

On July 17th, Greene County Sheriff's Deputies served a search warrant at a mansion near Bois D'Arc in connection to several rape allegations. The search warrant also says deputies were searching for evidence that minors were being served alcohol.

The mansion is owned by James G. "Jim" Bonis, the CEO of a publication called "American Sporting Trade Magazine." Online, a search for James G. Bonis also brings up a website for a company called Pyramont North America, operating out of Rochester, NY. The Pyramont website says it provides marketing for shooting sport related companies.

The search warrant for the mansion also names Jeremy Wilson, who is described by investigators as uncooperative.

Jeremy Wilson was also administrator of a Facebook page called "417 house parties" according to an anonymous source.

The private page only permits approved members to see what is on it, KY3's anonymous source is a member of the page.

She says the rape allegations are not shocking after seeing the content of the page.

"I was not surprised and I was actually sickened," says the woman.

She says the page exists to organize parties and despite posts stating frustration with minors attending some parties and other posts asking only 18-year-olds to leave the page, several other posts describe the presence of minors at parties with alcohol.

"They were talking about drug use often," says the woman.

KY3's anonymous source says many of the groups more than 1,000 members are high school students.

She took screen shots of a response to the rape allegations. The post is attributed to a member of the page named Parker Bonis.

"The son of the owner got on there and commented about how the only reason that this girl is claiming she was raped is because she's fat and wants attention," says the woman.

In the post attributed to Parker Bonis, an alleged victim is accused of inventing the rape story. The post is no longer visible on the page which has since been closed. "This is the 417 house parties, the new page, that was created," says the woman, as she showed KY3 the new page set up for organizing parties.

The new page was apparently established July 20th, after the search warrant was served, and the 2 page administrators were appointed by Jeremy Wilson.

KY3's anonymous source says she came forward because she sympathizes with the alleged victims.

"The girls were threatened and bullied into not speaking out about their rape... I don't think that's fair. I think they deserve all the justice in the world," says the woman.

KY3 has reached out to Jim Bonis by phone, email, and his lawyer, but we have not had any response.

No one has been charged in the rape investigation and the Greene County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman declined comment on Friday.

Jim Bonis is awaiting sentencing for a fraud case in which he plead guilty back in April. The fraud charges stem from a 2014 investigation into a scheme in which Bonis admitted he was importing Chinese gun sights which had disclaimers saying they were not suitable for military or police use and then re-branding them as made in the USA military gun scopes.

Chance Coffer and his family benefit from the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"About 14 years ago I was in a hunting accident and was shot in the head and it left me partially paralyzed on my left side," says Coffer at his home north of Springfield.

Chance uses an electric wheelchair to get around, both for playing with his children, and for work. Chance and his wife, Ashley Coffer, say the most significant impact of the ADA on their life is the protection from discrimination in the work place.

"When I finally got a job, it helped me keep a job and me not worry about what's going to happen if I get hurt, is the job going to keep me," says Chance.

"If something is related to his disability, he can't be fired once he has a job," says Ashley.

A quarter century after the landmark human rights legislation, Chance and others benefit from accessibility rules, but not everything is accessible yet.

"Something a couple of inches, 3 or 4 inches, you might as well just put a mountain in front of me," says disabled veteran William Stork.

Stork volunteers with the Southwest Center for Independent Living to educate people about disabilities and accessibility issues.

"If you own a department store, don't stack clothing racks so close to each other," Stork says, pointing out common obstacles for people restricted to wheel chairs.

"I think that 25 years in, our whole thing is we really want to commit to keep using it [the ADA] and keep improving it. But we do want to recognize that it doesn't go far enough," says Shelby Butler, the access coordinator for the Southwest Center for Independent Living.

Butler, Stork, and the Coffers all agree the next obstacle that has to be overcome is a shortage of wheelchair accessible houses for sale in the Springfield area.

The Coffer family is just now settling into their new place after a long search for an accessible home.

"The doors have to be wider and there has to be enough room to turn around, and so we're searching for a house, we looked for over a year before we happened to find one that was owned by someone disabled before us so it was already for us," says Ashley Coffer.

The Coffers say they view Chance's disability as normal, and they hope others can see past his wheelchair and other people's disabilities. They say attitudes can't be changed by law, but they hope education will reduce prejudice.

Some people living in Laclede County are fighting mad and they're fighting back against thieves. "They'd pull into here and they went around behind the house," says Sleeper resident Billy Owen. After he and his neighbors had been repeatedly had their homes burglarized, Billy Owen decided to put up a surveillance camera outside his house. "Some of the stuff they took, most of it was my stuff but some of it was my son's stuff," says Owen. And he says several of his neighbors have done the same. "He's had to update his security too, he's been robbed a couple different times," says Owen. After thieves burglarized the home of Billy Owen he decided to set up a security camera so the next time they came he caught them on tape. 'You can see right there where the camera is by the satellite dish with the wires hanging out in plain view so they're not like super clever criminals even though you can obviously tell they do this all the time," says Owen. Owen's camera caught two thieves this week stealing guns, computers, and even a safe from Owen's house in broad daylight. "Most burglaries that occur during the daytime when people are at work, very rarely at night," says Sgt. Robert Finley with the Laclede County Sheriff's Office. "We're going to work every day, they're doing this every day or every week," says Owen. Owen just hopes his video will help bring the thieves to justice. If you recognize anyone from the surveillance video or have any information you're asked to call the Laclede County Sheriff's Office at (417) 532-2311.

The last week of July is set to feature plenty of heat. Find out when cooler weather may arrive by watching the weather.

Nearly three months after announcing that he's running for the Republican nomination for Governor, State Senator Mike Parson is dropping out of the race.  Instead Parson will seek the Lieutenant Governor's job. 

Parson sent this tweet out over the weekend, "this will give me a better path to win real reform for Missouri and promote Positive Politics."

On May 1 Parson made his gubernatorial announcement in front of hundreds at Bolivar High School.

Five other Republicans remain in the governor's race, right now there is one candidate for the democratic nomination.

                             ***News Release from Mike Parson**** 

Senator Mike Parson has released the following statement regarding his decision to seek the office of Lieutenant Governor:  “After much conversation with my family, friends, and supporters, we have decided to redirect our campaign toward the office of Lieutenant Governor.  This race is not now, and never has been, about me.  It is about winning real reform for Missourians.  It is about fundamentally changing the indefensible way in which state and political business is too often conducted today.  It is now clear that there is more agreement than disagreement among the GOP candidates for Governor on the vital economic, social, and individual liberty issues facing Missouri families and businesses.  I am confident that when Missourians select a Governor from this Republican field, we will have leadership with a commitment to a better future for Missourians.  As Lieutenant Governor, I will do everything within my power to see that we move swiftly and surely toward that brighter future for Missourians.  It is also clear that our message of ‘Positive Politics’ deserves a separate campaign and focus that transcends the issues of a single political cycle.  The reason I chose to run in the first place was to change the tone of Missouri politics and government.  The office of Lieutenant Governor serves as the People’s Advocate, focusing on issues facing veterans, the elderly, rural economic development, and education.  It is also the perfect platform to be the People’s Advocate for real ethics reform and reforming our state’s political system to make it worthy of the respect of Missouri’s citizens,” said Senator Mike Parson.  Senator Mike Parson, a former Sergeant in the U.S. Army, served as Polk County Sheriff for twelve years, served in the Missouri House of Representatives, and is currently working for Missourians in the State Senate.  Senator Parson was the Senate leader in the effort to put the Right to Farm Constitutional Amendment before the voters, helping to protect Missouri agriculture.  Senator Parson has consistently defended and worked to strengthen our Second Amendment rights, is 100% pro-life, and has a strong record of defending the right to life.  Senator Parson, a Missouri native and third-generation farmer, lives in Bolivar with his wife, Teresa, where they own and operate a cattle farm.  They have two children and five grandchildren and are members of First Baptist Church of Bolivar. 

A man from Neosho nearly drowned while swimming in the Shoal Creek in Newton County.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Water Patrol Division, 52-year-old Kevin Everett was swimming at the Lime Kiln Access near the dam when he was pulled in by the hydraulic at around 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Everett was taken to a Joplin hospital with serious injures.

Two men drowned in the same area on Friday after they were caught by an undercurrent. 

A heat advisory remains in effect, and a few storms are possible.

When people fall on hard times, taking care of and providing for a pet can become more difficult. The Republic Paw Pantry steps in during these situations, and they're hoping a new location will help expand their reach.

The pet food bank started in 2012 to provide pet  supplies to families who are in financial crisis or dealing with a chronic illness.

Until now the organization had never had an office location, but instead operated out of a small shed.

A grant allowed the paw pantry to begin leasing a space off Highway 174 in Republic. Leaders of the organization say it's three times the size of the old space and will allow them to be more visible in the community, and possibly help more families.

"We wanted to open an office so we had a place for people to come. A storage unit isn't ideal for that because no one wants to meet at a storage unit. So this is a place where they can come apply for an application, drop off their donations," said Nicole Ferrucci, Republic Paw Pantry Executive Director.

To date The Republic Paw Pantry has helped - 156 dogs, 81 cats, 3 birds, and 1 rabbit. They are funded entirely through grants, donations, and fundraisers.

The Republic Paw Pantry is located at 806 East Highway 174 in Republic, Missouri.

Authorities in far southeastern Missouri are investigator whether a stray bullet wounded an 11-year-old girl who was shot in the neck while traveling with her family on Interstate 55.

Pemiscot County investigators tell KFVS-TV that the girl from Kirksville was treated at a hospital after the shooting Saturday evening and was released Sunday morning.

Pemiscot County Sheriff Tommy Greenwell says the vacationing family was southbound when they say the driver's side window suddenly blew out.

Greenwell says deputies have been contacted by a person who was shooting his pistol about the time the girl was shot, perhaps making the bullet a stray one and the shooting accidental.

The family resumed its trip after the girl was released from the hospital.

There was no immediate word about any arrests.

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Information from: KFVS-TV, http://www.kfvs12.com 

Viewer submitted photos of flooding in Houston, Missouri, where four to five inches of rain fell on Sunday, swelling the Brushy Creek. No injuries were reported. 

The Arkansas attorney general's office has rejected five proposed ballot titles that would have asked voters to legalize marijuana for various purposes. But Robert Reed says he isn't giving up and is planning to appeal the most recent denials, on July 20, by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who cited ambiguities in two of the proposals Reed submitted. Reed tells the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he suffers from a painful bone disease and fears the potential side effects of painkillers now available to him. Four of Reed's proposals would have let voters decide whether to approve a constitutional amendment allowing for either industrial or agricultural uses and medical uses of marijuana. The other proposal would have let voters decide whether to pass an amendment legalizing all uses of marijuana.

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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com