Community Calendar for September 16th, 2026

Community Calendar items are free of charge. To submit, email us at express@grm.net. All events are subject to change or last-minute cancelation.

REPEATING EVENTS

Mondays (except holidays) – Worth County Commissioners meet at 9 am.

Every 1^st & 3^rd Tuesday – Grant City Lions Club, Allendale Community Building, 7 pm.

Fridays – Bedford Jam, United Christian Presbyterian Church, 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm. Snacks and drinks available. Walk-ons are welcome. For information, call (712) 523-2282.

Fridays– Community Market, Memorial Park Shelter, Bethany. Fridays 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Saturdays – Stanberry Community Farmers Market, 8 am to noon. Crafts, donuts, and more. Located six miles north of Stanberry on Highway B to AF. 4371 Highway AF.

Every Second Wednesday – Worth County Suicide Prevention Coalition, 5:00 pm, Worth County Community Church.

REGULAR ANNOUNCEMENTS

September 16^th – North Harrison Elementary Title Night, 5:00 pm.

September 16^th – Worth County School Board Meeting, 6:00 pm.

September 16^th – North Nodaway School Board Meeting, 6:00 pm.

September 17^th – Shamrock Softball (JH/V/JV) vs. North Andrew, 4:30 pm. Senior Night.

September 17^th – Gospel Music Jubilee and sing-a-long, Bethany First Assembly of God, 6:00 pm with Pastor Eddie and Anita Birdsong.

September 17^th – NEN School Board Meeting, 7:00 pm.

September 18^th to 19^th – Turkey Run Flea Market and Swap Meet. 12 noon to 6 pm September 18^th; 8 am to 6 pm September 19^th. Anything tradable welcome from homemade goods, antiques, tools, toys, clothes, livestock, vehicles, auto parts, crafts, food vendors, and more. Space: $15. Electric Hookups: $25. Camper: $45. After September 7^th, add $5. If interested, call Adam Emery (660) 541-2984 or Sarah Emery (660) 853-0141.

September 19^th – Worth County Fall Carnival, Courthouse Square, Grant City, 10 am to 4:00 pm.

September 19^th – Dusty Cowgirl 5^th Anniversary Party, Grant City Square, 12 noon. This is a separate event from the Fall Carnival.

September 19^th – Clearmont Poker Run. Registration 12:30 pm, Little Red Schoolhouse. Vehicles out 1:30 pm. Free will donation meal 4 pm to 7 pm. Sponsored by the Clearmont Community Club.

September 19^th – 4^th Annual Private Treaty Open House, Thummel Angus, Ravenwood, 3 pm.

September 19^th – Pickering Community Dinner, Community Building, 5 pm to 7 pm.

September 20^th -- Tri-C Memorial Post 464 Pancake Breakfast, 7 am to 11 am, Conception Junction. $10 minimum donation per person. Children 6 and under are free. Proceeds to Sons of the American Legion Post 464.

September 20^th – 3^rd Annual Cody Lee Stiens Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser, Nodaway County Senior Center, 8 am to 1 pm. Raffle and Silent Auction. Adults $15, children four and under free.

September 20^th – Community worship with Girls Next Door at Silas Lee’s Park Stage, Albany, 10:00 am. Sponsored by the Albany United Methodist Church.

September 20^th – Gentry Baptist Church Fish Fry, 5:00 pm. Free and open to the public. Also serving sloppy joes and hot dogs. Hayrides. Music by Country-Gospel Reunion.

September 21^st – No school at North Nodaway. Professional development.

September 22^nd – Second Harvest Food Pantry, Gilman City First Baptist Church, 10:00 am. Free and open to the public regardless of income.

September 23^rd – Second Harvest Food Pantry, Pattonsburg City Hall, 10:00 am. Free and open to the public regardless of income.

September 24^th -- Hopkins Food Pantry, 3 pm to 5 pm, Hopkins Christian Church Parsonage.

September 25^th – Johnny & Gale Rowlett at Highway 13 Christian Church, Bethany, 6:30 pm.

September 26^th – North Harrison Softball Round Robin.

September 27^th – Ravenwood Community Breakfast, 8 am to 12 noon. The Northeast Nodaway cheerleaders will be helping serve.

September 27^th – Parnell United Methodist Church Fish Fry, 11 am to 1:30 pm. Free will donation.

September 27^th – Sheridan Express Cooperative Meeting, 5:00 pm, Sheridan Housing Laundry Room.

September 28^th – No school at NEN. Teacher in-service.

September 29^th – Kidsight Vision Screening at NEN, 9 am to 11 am. For PK through 1^st grade.

September 29^th – Data Center Informational Meeting, Graham Community Building, 6:30 pm. Topics: White Cloud Acres Data Center Project, White Cloud Generating LLC Project, Proposed White Cloud Township Zoning ballot measure. Cookies and beverages are provided. Free and open to the public.

September 30^th – North Nodaway National Honor Society Inductions, 6:00 pm.

October 1^st – Fall FFA Contest at Maryville.

October 1^st – Drive Thru Flu Shot Clinic, North Nodaway Elementary, 3:45 pm to 5:30 pm. Bring insurance card or $20.

October 3^rd – No school at North Harrison. Teacher in-service.

October 3^rd – Band Jamboree at Clarinda.

October 3^rd – Great Northwest Winefest, 1805 Nebraska Street, Mound City (Swimming Pool), 11:30 am. Proceeds will go to raise funds for Northwest Missouri Enterprise Facilitation.

October 3^rd – Big Brothers/Big Sisters Glow Walk/Run, 6:00 pm. The run will start at Mosaic in Maryville, follow the Safe Routes to School trail, through the Crestview Addition on South Munn, and return on the same route back to the hospital.

October 4^th – Legion Breakfast, Parnell Legion Hall, 8:00 am.

October 4^th – Pattonsburg Car Show. Registration 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Awards at 3:00 pm. Music, food, and vendors. $15 per car entry.

October 6^th – First Fluoride Treatment for NEN Elementary Students, 8:30 am.

October 6^th – Kids Sight Screening at North Nodaway at both Hopkins and Pickering, 8:30 am.

October 8^th -- Hopkins Food Pantry, 3 pm to 5 pm, Hopkins Christian Church Parsonage.

October 8^th – Bluejay Softball (V/JV) vs. King City, 5:30 pm. Senior Night.

October 8^th – Mustang Volleyball vs. Mound City, 5:30 pm. Senior Night.

October 8^th – Shamrock Softball vs. Putnam County. Pink Out Night.

October 9^th – Pot Luck, 12 noon, Worth County Senior Center.

October 10^th – Maryville Fall into Fun, 12 noon to 6 pm. Market vendors, music, kids activities, and more.

October 10^th – Grant City Lions Club Corn Maze, Allendale, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Play in the park, enjoy hot dogs, ride a way wagon, tackle the corn maze, and find the “Candy Lion.” “Littles” 3 & under free. All others $5. Food is extra.

October 10^th – Sheridan Halloween Lock-in, Sheridan Community Building, 6 pm. Please come pick up your child on October 11^th at 6:00 am. Your child does not have to stay all night if they don’t want to. For grades K-8. Pre-K can come, but parents should come get them after the activities. Costume contest, coloring pages, cookie decorating, face painting, movies, board games, pony rides, and more. Pizza, popcorn, and brownies along with drinks.

October 11^th – St. Joseph Catholic Church Fall Dinner, 11 am, church basement. Free will donation.

October 12^th – No mail delivery. Columbus Day.

October 12^th – No school at Worth County or North Nodaway. Professional Development.

October 12^th – GRM Networks 75^th Anniversary Open House, 11 am to 2 pm. Food, giveaways, door prizes.

October 12^th – Hawk Softball vs. Gallatin, 5:00 pm. Senior Night.

October 13^th – Kidsight vision screening at North Harrison, 9:00 am. For grades PK through 6^th grade.

October 13^th – Hopkins Historical Society Fall Meeting, 7:00 pm.

October 15^th – NEN School Board Meeting, 7:00 pm.

October 15^th – Tiger Football vs. Pattonsburg, 7:00 pm. Senior Night.

October 16^th – Early Dismissal at Gilman City. End of Quarter.

October 17^th – Missouri Days Marching Band Festival at Trenton.

October 17^th – Gilman City Barnwarming, 7:00 pm.

October 18^th -- Tri-C Memorial Post 464 Pancake Breakfast, 7 am to 11 am, Conception Junction. Proceeds to Post 464 membership.

October 18^th -- Grant City Lions Club Corn Maze, Allendale, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Play in the park, enjoy hot dogs, ride a way wagon, tackle the corn maze, and find the “Candy Lion.” “Littles” 3 & under free. All others $5. Food is extra.

October 21^st – Worth County School Board Meeting, 6:00 pm.

October 21^st – North Nodaway School Board Meeting, 6:00 pm.

October 22^nd – No school at NEN or North Harrison. Parent/Teacher Conferences.

October 22^nd – Early dismissal at Worth County and Gilman City. Parent/Teacher Conferences.

October 22^nd -- Hopkins Food Pantry, 3 pm to 5 pm, Hopkins Christian Church Parsonage.

October 23^rd – No school at NEN, Gilman City, North Harrison, or Worth County. End of Quarter.

October 23^rd – Last day to file as a write-in candidate for the November 3^rd election, 5:00 pm.

October 24^th – Halloween Costume 5K and Kids Trick or Treat, 2811 Yellowstone Avenue, Blockton, 3 pm. Sponsored by the Taylor County Conservation Board.

October 24^th – Haunted corn maze, Allendale. “Littles” from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. “Spooks” from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

October 25^th – Ravenwood Community Breakfast, 8:00 am to 12 noon. The Girls Softball Team will be helping.

October 29^th – Early dismissal at North Nodaway. Parent/Teacher Conferences.

October 30^th – No school at North Nodaway. End of quarter.

October 31^st – Northwest Missouri State Homecoming Parade.

November 3^rd – General election for Missouri. Polls open at 6 am and close at 7 pm.

November 15^th -- Tri-C Memorial Post 464 Pancake Breakfast, 7 am to 11 am, Conception Junction. Proceeds to Ladies Auxiliary Unit 464.

May 29^th – North Nodaway Alumni Reunion, North Nodaway School, 5:30 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Ruling Clears Way for 2022 Congressional Map

By Jae Jepsen, Jordan Davis and Anika Austvold, Missouri News Network

The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for the existing 2022 state congressional map to be used in the November election.

The action came in response to a federal district court judge’s ruling Tuesday that ordered Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to use a gerrymandered map passed a year ago.

Hoskins followed up by ordering county clerks to use the 2025 map, acting against a Missouri Supreme Court ruling issued a week ago that the map had never been valid.

Hoskins was summoned to the state Supreme Court on Thursday morning to explain why he should not be held in contempt for ordering the 2025 map be used. But Hoskins announced during a recess that he was directing local election authorities to use Missouri’s 2022 congressional map in November.

The Missouri Supreme Court ultimately held Hoskins in contempt Thursday for violating its previous order but announced it was satisfied with his move to use the 2022 map and withheld punishment.

Hoskins maintains that his decision to change was not motivated by the threat of repercussions, but a response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier in the morning. The state high court placed a stay on the federal judge’s order, taking the federal judiciary out of the matter for now.

“The only law and directive that we have right now is from the Missouri Supreme Court, and the Missouri Supreme Court says that the 2022 map is in effect,” Hoskins said.

Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Hatfield represented Richard Von Glahn of People Not Politicians, the group that opposed the 2025 map and sought a public referendum before it could be used in an election. Hatfield said he sees the state high court’s decision as a victory.

“It’s really important today that the judiciary sort of held tight against, what I consider, an attempt by Secretary of State Hoskins to alter what is the law and has always been the law,” Hatfield said.

However, Attorney General Catharine Hanaway stipulated that, while the current situation strongly suggests the 2022 map will be used, there is still room for further litigation. Namely, she says the 2025 map could be used if the U.S. Supreme Court makes an order directing it.

The federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is remaining active in the case, ordering an emergency hearing on the issue for Sept. 17.

“It’s very confusing, almost unprecedented, even in very complicated election law history,” Hanaway said.

Before Hoskins ever appeared in court, the dispute prompted a response from 14 Republican members of the Missouri General Assembly.

The lawmakers sent a letter to the Missouri Supreme Court threatening to seek impeachment proceedings against justices if Hoskins were held in contempt. They argued the court would be disregarding federal law by enforcing its order while a conflicting federal court order was in place.

“Should Secretary Hoskins be held in contempt, we will petition the Speaker of the House and legislative leadership to begin impeachment proceedings against the responsible members of this Court for willful neglect of duty, incompetency, and misconduct under Article VII, Sections 1 and 2 of the Missouri Constitution,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter was signed by Republican Sens. Joe Nicola, Brad Hudson, Ben Brown, Jamie Burger, Curtis Trent, Rick Brattin, Adam Schnelting, Jason Bean and Jill Carter, along with Republican Reps. Jeff Myers, Chad Perkins, Mike McGirl, Bob Titus and Hardy Billington. None offered additional comment.

Notably absent from the letter’s list of supporters was Republican Rep. Bob Onder, a fierce proponent of the 2025 map. Onder’s district went through dramatic changes as a result of the change in map, losing 11 counties and gaining five. He said the map debate, at its core, is about voting rights.

“It’s not about me,” Onder said. “It’s about the voters, that 1.2 million voters, including hundreds of thousands, in my district, who are disenfranchised by what the Missouri Supreme Court has done.”

Brattin, the Republican nominee for Missouri’s 5th Congressional District, won the August primary under the 2025 map, which significantly reshaped the Kansas City-based district currently represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, extending it into more Republican-leaning areas.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, Cleaver expressed his support for the U.S. Supreme Court’s action in favor of the 2022 map.

“A win for justice. A win for democracy. A win for the people of Missouri,” Cleaver said. “It is my hope that state officials will start following court orders and end this shameful attempt to break Missouri law and silence Missouri voters.”

House Democrats sharply criticized the letter, with House Minority Leader Ashley Aune calling it an attempt to intimidate the judicial branch and said the lawmakers could have violated state judicial tampering laws. Missouri law makes it a felony to attempt to harass, intimidate or influence a judicial officer in the performance of official duties.

However, Gov. Mike Kehoe continued to support Hoskins following Thursday’s hearing while suggesting that the legal fight over the map is not yet finished.

“While the reasoning behind today’s Missouri Supreme Court contempt hearings remain questionable, I am proud to stand behind Secretary Hoskins as he continues to serve as Missouri’s top elections authority,” Kehoe said in a statement on X.

“I look forward to the Eighth Circuit’s consideration of the merits of the Missouri First Map and remain confident in the legal process moving forward. Voters deserve certainty and clarity,” Kehoe said.

Hanaway also expressed her support for Hoskins, arguing that he was never in contempt of court.

“He wasn’t held in contempt, and he’s followed the law at every step of the way, and we’ve been proud to defend him at every step of the way, because he’s doing what he swore to do,” she told reporters.

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Hopkins Council Reviews Late Fees for Water, Sewer

The Hopkins City Council, at their regular meeting Tuesday, September 8^th, reviewed late fees for past due water and sewer fees. The prior system allowed the clerk to enter a 5% late fee for sewer and/or 10% for water. The new system does not have those report options, creating more work for the clerk. The council voted to charge a late fee of $15 for water and $10 for sewer, with accounts over six months having a finance fee added.

Two guests appeared at the meeting and apologized for dumping trash into the dumpsters at the Hopkins ball diamond in July. Chris Bird explained to the council what can and can’t be dumped under Missouri DNR regulations. The board decided not to proceed with further action.

The board voted to renew six CD’s that were up for renewal on September 25^th at the best possible rate.

Discussion was held on a fence ordinance need along with the current stockyard, livestock, and animal ordinance.

A 1947 ordinance passed by the council requires an annual $100 permit to erect, construct, own, operate, or maintain any slaughterhouse, pigpen, stable, or stockyard where hogs, cattle, sheep, or other farm livestock within the city limits. Approval of such licenses is up to the council. Keeping livestock within 500 feet of a residence, church, lodge, or business within city limits is prohibited, and violators are subject to a fine of $50 to $500 per day. A 2001 weeds & vegetation ordinance requires property owners to keep their properties mowed and kept clean of noxious weeks, grass, trees, shrubs, or poisonous vegetation. If a person is in violation, the city can come onto their property, mow and destroy the vegetation in question, and assess a tax lien. The city can also bring charges with punishment of not more than three months in jail and/or a $500 fine. A 2001 ordinance prohibits people from keeping junk cars and other junk vehicles on their property.

The Department of Revenue sent a letter to the city explaining HB 2819, which allows cities to round up or down for cash transactions. Cent totals ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 can be rounded down, while cent totals ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 can be rounded up. There is no rounding for non-cash payments. The city does not have to pass a new ordinance to implement the law. Implementation by cities is optional. The council voted not to round to increments of five cents.

The council voted to waive $396 from a sewer bill for 208 N. 6^th Street. There was a leak that did not go through the sewer.

The city received a letter from the EPA on lead and copper compliance. The city will send a letter to customers advising them that the status of lead in their water lines is unknown, along with information on its effects. Customers can send back feedback so that the city can update the system to stay in compliance. Customers who do so will receive a $25 credit to their water bill.

 The city will receive a visit from Maguire Iron to clean up the water tower. During that time, the city will get its water from Nodaway Rural Water.

Glenda Wyer-Nelson talked about the corner of Barnard & 10^th and Barnard & 11^th. The corner of Barnard & 10^th needs work to stop it from washing out. On Barnard & 11^th, there is a big pothole that needs to be filled, and there are branches that block the view to see if a car is coming or not. The city added the tree in question to the list of trees to be taken care of.

The council voted to post for a part-time labor position. 

Donations, Supplies Sought for Local Troops

Donations are being sought for Jeshua Blaine and Cash Jacobs' platoon. To donate, drop-off boxes are available at Prugh-Dunfee Funeral Home, Tiger Nutrition, Sheridan Christian Church, or Dr. Dallas Mullock's office in Maryville.

The following donation items are requested:

--Money to cover the cost of shipping items; drop off cash to Paige Cain, Stephanie Blaine, or Mollie Hardy or Venmo Stephanie-Blaine-6.

--Snacks such as beef jerky, trail mix, nut mixes;

--Powdered drink mixes;

--Candy (non-chocolate);

--Tuna or chicken pouches;

--Hot sauce packets

--Letters of encouragement. 

Please donate all items and money by September 21st. 

Tenley Griffith Fans 200th Batter, but Hali Smith Carries Shamrocks to First Win

Tenley Griffith struck out her 200^th batter Monday against North Harrison, but the previously winless Shamrocks snapped the Hawks’ five game winning streak and got their first win of the season as Hali Smith carried the team on her shoulders, delivering one of the best pitching performances of her career by striking out 10 Hawk batters and keeping a potent Gilman City lineup in check. Gilman City could not climb out of a 4-0 hole as the Shamrocks, who had trouble protecting the lead all year and who had trouble with adding runs when ahead, finally did so in Monday’s game in their 10-6 win. Addison Milligan said that Shamrock coach Justin Joiner did nothing special for Monday night’s game. “We were just locked in,” she said.

Lani Briggs started the game with a bad-hop single to second. Jaxcynn Hansel tapped a bunt in front of the plate, and catcher Avery Chadwick threw away the force try to second to put runners on second and third. Ava Rinehart tripled to the right field wall to put the Shamrocks up 2-0. Addison Milligan was plunked and stole second. Raegan Hogan tapped a ball in front of the plate and beat it out. Rinehart timed the throw to first perfectly and took off on the throw, making it in safely to make it 3-0. Katherine Parkhurst, who had started hitting the ball well in the Worth County game, kept up her improvement as she grounded out to the shortstop to bring in Addison Milligan to make it 4-0.

Tenley Griffith walked to start the Hawk first, but Hali Smith was on and was overpowering even the good hitters in the Hawk lineup. Finally, Nova Smith singled from right and Griffith, trying to give her team a spark, scored all the way from first to get Gilman City on the board, down 4-1.

A four-run lead was not safe for the Shamrocks, as they had led Worth County 7-3, only for them to come back. But when Gilman City failed to cash in a runner on third with nobody out in the second, Ava Rinehart doubled to the wall in center to start North Harrison’s third. Addison Milligan singled her home to make it 5-1. Milligan later came home on a passed ball to make it 6-1.

Alli Burke finally got Gilman City going when she crashed a ball fair just inside the first baseline. It sliced away from Katherine Parkhurst and Burke was standing up with a triple. An errant pickoff throw allowed her to come home. Nova Smith was plunked to start the Hawks again. Avery Chadwick grounded out to advance her, and Kayleece Puls, who kept the hot bat going with three hits Monday after getting three in the Grundy County game, singled her home to make it 6-3.

The Shamrocks had played errorless ball through the first three, but they looked like they would finally start to unravel in the fourth as a pair of errors brought home Tenley Griffith to cut the Hawk deficit to 6-4. But a dropped pop fly put Ava Rinehart on base, and Addison Milligan tripled her home in the Shamrock fifth to make it 7-4. Milligan came home on a wild pitch to make it 8-4.

With two outs in the sixth, Tenley Griffith tripled to the left center field wall; everyone wanted coach Danny Lisle to send her home, but Lani Briggs had the ball at the edge of the grass and was ready to throw home for what would have been a close play. Emily Chalfant walked. Alli Burke singled to right center to score Tenley Griffith to make it 8-5. But Chalfant was out trying to go first to third as Lani Briggs threw a perfect strike to Addison Milligan for the tag.

Once again, just as it looked like Gilman City would catch up, North Harrison added on. Hali Smith reached first on an error. Raegan Hogan hit a hard shot to Kayleece Puls at short; she made a great diving stop but had no play against the speedy Hogan. They took second and third on a wild pitch. Katherine Parkhurst hit a grounder to second. Hali Smith made the kind of daredevil play that Anna Gladstone used to do all the time for Worth County and Avery Gregg did for the Hawks last year. She dared Gilman City to throw her out, drew the throw to third, and took off for home, making it safely to make it 9-5 as Hogan took third. Hogan came home on a wild pitch to make it 10-5.

Later in the inning, Tenley Griffith struck out Shayla Vandiver for her 200^th career strikeout for the Hawks.

With two outs in the seventh, Kayleece Puls walked to keep the game going and took second on a passed ball. Emmery Smith got a single off her cousin Hali and kept the Hawks chances alive, making it 10-6 as Puls scored. But Hali Smith got her 10^th strikeout to end the game.

20 Statewide Commissioners Attend Nodaway County Commission Meeting on Data Centers

Thursday’s meeting of the Nodaway County Commission had the normal group of data center opponents present. But there was also a group of around 20 commissioners from around the state who shared their experiences with data centers. They were members of the County Commissioner’s Association of Missouri, of which Scott Walk is the board president. One of the duties of the president is to host a meeting of the group every year in his home county.

Jeff From reported that he had a discussion with Dan Scheffler of Scale Microgrids which lasted almost two hours. “A lot of the things he told me were great to hear, but they need to be documented,” said Mr. From. “That’s a big deal.” Mr. From offered to help do cost/benefit analysis for the county, accounting for all the impacts, both positive and negative.

In response to a question from Tim Schafer to the assembled group of commissioners, several opened up about their experiences in dealing with data centers. Like everyone else, one of the Audrian County commissioners said they were still in the learning phases of data centers.

One county commissioner reported on how their county passed a moratorium on data center development, framing it as an effort to protect the health and welfare of its citizens. The goal is to require data centers to prove that they can meet health and welfare standards and set up a process of inspection.

Kyle White of DeKalb County said that his county was in a unique situation; while the county as a whole does not have zoning, they have a township system, and three different townships have zoning. White Cloud Township in Nodaway County is seeking to pass zoning in November to regulate data centers.

If DeKalb County were to pass zoning, then Mr. White explained that zoning in the individual townships would trump the countywide zoning. Similarly, if Nodaway County were to pass zoning, it would not affect Maryville, which has its own zoning.

Lacy Miller of Marion County said that her county has had zoning since 1972. They have two cities with zoning. She said that they can’t single out any specific industry, or it will be challenged in court. They have a 40-page zoning manual with all the different regulations. One time, a hog farm wanted to put in a wash, only to get pushback from the other two commissioners. The project was delayed by several weeks. It was a $2.5 million project that employs 12-15 people. It took them four years to finalize regulations for solar farms.

Joe Galthouse said that there was a 6,000-acre solar farm that located in his county, and that one farmer put 3,000 acres of their land into the project. “We never even heard of solar in 2019,” he said.

Mr. From said that if the project is going to be built, that it should be built as cleanly as possible. “We want the commissioners to check all the boxes. Maybe they will relocate elsewhere. That’s fine,” he said. “I understand why landowners are doing what they are doing. I leased to the solar farm that was going to locate here, and then they backed out.” Mr. From called for transparency in the process. “When they approached me about the solar farm, I told my neighbors what was going on. That didn’t happen here,” he said.

Mr. White said that in the course of the process, many officials have gotten death threats, and a few have even quit. “There is so much hate in the human heart,” he said. “It’s sad to see it come to that point.”

Bruce Skoglund, a supporter of the project and a former superintendent of South Nodaway, talked about his fears of the legislature doing away with the Hold Harmless clause, which area superintendents fear could mean hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars in lost revenue. “When I look at the data centers, it means a windfall for our schools,” he said. “As a superintendent of a small school, I lost good teachers to St. Joseph and Maryville. If they don’t locate here, they’re going to locate somewhere.”

Dave Teeter, who formerly taught and coached at Worth County and who is now a commissioner of Montgomery County, talked about the impact the Google and Amazon data centers would have on his counties. The combined worth of the two centers in his county is around $25 billion. He noted that the Montgomery County schools will have more money per capita than anywhere else in the country. “I grew up here,” said Mr. Teeter. “Change is hard, but I know what schools are going to face.” Like everyone else, Mr. Teeter, as a teacher at Montgomery County, saw how the school was training up people, only to see them go elsewhere. “It’s a challenge,” he said. “We have lost 30% of our population. We could not keep doing what we were doing.”

Like everywhere else, Mr. Teeter talked about the pushback he got as a commissioner. “We were accused of taking bribes.” Talking about his job as a commissioner, Mr. Teeter said, “I understand what you guys go through. You’ve got a difficult job.” He noted that in Montgomery County, the FFA did a research project on what industry would be best for the county, and they chose having a data center. “They did an outstanding job of listing all the pros and cons. We did everything we could to protect human health.”

Talking about his background, Mr. Teeter said, “I grew up in Worth County. I went to Northwest. This is still home for me. One thing my dad told me was to never forget where you came from. I hope Nodaway County can weather this storm and that the positives can outweigh the negatives. This is still a place where I hold dear.”

Commissioner Chris Burns said that the draft development agreement was still in the hands of the attorney. “It’s still so vague that it doesn’t answer any questions,” he said. They are in the process of hiring a person to help the commissioners collect info. He noted that the developer didn’t have all the answers either. As an example, Mr. Burns said, “They’re still looking for a place to connect water from.”

“I’m frustrated like everyone else,” said Mr. Burns. “We have to wait for answers like everyone else.” Bruce Skoglund said that when the solar farm was considering locating in Nodaway County, it took a long time to get answers then. “If we’re not going to get answers, then we need to extend the moratorium,” said Mr. From.

Scott Wilson said that the turbine project from White Cloud Generating would generate 500 gallons of water per minute alone. “The data center would be separate. They’re not helping,” he said.

Kim Swyers asked what would happen if there were a significant archaeological find. Commissioner Burns said that DNR rules govern environmental and historical considerations and that it would take time to rule on the factors. Ms. Swyers noted that one such project found a mastodon that was 20,000 years old.

Mike Wilson noted that the Lottery promised money for schools, but that when it was passed, the state just cut the funding correspondingly. “It’s going to happen again,” he said.

Bruce Skoglund talked about his time at King City when they were putting in the wind turbines. “Do I think they will try to get rid of Hold Harmless? Yes, they might,” he said. He said that the purpose of the governor’s newly-touted report card was to make small schools look bad.

Nodaway County Assessor Rex Wallace noted that there had been an effort in the legislature to redistribute the tax money from wind farms from local schools to statewide, but that he, Allen Andrews, the State Representative for the area at the time, and another legislator got it stopped. He noted that while South Nodaway got money this year from the new Evergy substation, that next year, it would be state assessed, meaning it would be distributed statewide. “We don’t get money from the Royals or the Cardinals,” he noted. “If the data center wants to locate here, they need to pay taxes like everyone else.”

Mr. Skoglund said that in Gentry County, the commissioners there wanted to turn it into a pilot project and distribute the money from the wind farms to all three of the school districts there, which would have drastically reduced the revenue for King City, but that he got it stopped.

“They want to build the facility here because it’s right next to the Evergy substation,” said Scott Wilson. “You’re negotiating from a position of strength.”

 

Opinion -- Hawley Opens Investigation Into OpenAI

by Senator Josh Hawley's Office

On Thursday, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), as Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Disaster Management, launched an investigation into OpenAI for their AI agents’ hack of Hugging Face in July 2026. The investigation will also probe the existential risk of new AI products.

In a letter to CEO Sam Altman, Senator Hawley wrote, "As Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Disaster Management, I am investigating your AI agents’ hack of Hugging Face in July 2026 in light of new, disturbing evidence regarding the incident. My investigation will probe this AI hacking incident, along with growing allegations of the existential risk of new AI products."

He continued, "As you may know, in the public domain, more AI experts are warning about the existential risks of AI.  Just this week, three Anthropic researchers expressed publicly that there is a greater than 10% chance that AI could kill all human beings within the next decade. Your own chief scientist wrote just days ago that 'no lab has solved alignment and monitoring to a sufficient degree to continue responsibly scaling at maximum speed for much longer.' And there are immediate questions about the consequences of these hacks from rogue AI agents. What happens to critical infrastructure, banks, and utilities if AI agents hack into their systems? How can personal data of millions of Americans be properly safeguarded? And who is held labile when AI goes rogue?"

Senator Hawley concluded, "The American people deserve to know the details of what went on in the Hugging Face incident and other incidents of AI models going rogue. This investigation will seek those answers. To facilitate that, please produce all documents and information specified in the attached annex no later than October 1, 2026.  If you have questions about the scope of these requests, please contact my office to discuss."

Read Senator Hawley's letter to Open AI below. 

September 9, 2026

Sam Altman

Chief Executive Officer

OpenAI

San Francisco, CA 

Dear Mr. Altman:

As Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Disaster Management, I am investigating your AI agents’ hack of Hugging Face in July 2026 in light of new, disturbing evidence regarding the incident. My investigation will probe this AI hacking incident, along with growing allegations of the existential risk of new AI products.

OpenAI and its partner auditors’ August 26, 2026 reports indicate that, during your cybersecurity evaluations of your GPT-5.6 Sol model and a more capable undisclosed model (termed “highly-persistent internal model”), a self-organized swarm of more than 1,200 AI agents broke out of their testing environment.  Those agents then set up an unauthorized messaging channel and exchanged over 70,000 messages and files with each other.  Some 700 of these agents went on to launch a successful coordinated attack on Hugging Face’s machine learning development platform, gaining access to its production systems and private source code.  These AI agents were looking for the answer key to their evaluations and actively tampered with evidence of their activity to cover their tracks.  In short, they went rogue.

Such evidence of autonomous collusion and subversion of human oversight is alarming enough, but greater still is the evidence that OpenAI knew that the AI agents were exhibiting rogue behavior and let the evaluations continue anyway. By May 2026, OpenAI knew that its agents had been using unsanctioned message boards.  On June 26, the agents discovered an exploit that gave them administrator access to your software repository manager and were using it to leave messages for each other. And on July 4-7, despite knowing that there was a high volume of agents interacting with and gaining administrator access to a compromised testing environment, OpenAI leadership rebuilt the compromised server and approved restarting evaluations without understanding what the agents were doing.

This is reckless.  And this is merely what we know from what limited information you disclosed to and allowed your partner auditors to investigate.  The auditors were given complete transcripts of AI agent activity for only two days, when the events leading up to the Hugging Face breach took place over weeks. They had limited visibility into the circumstances leading to the attack and its aftermath. Specifically, the auditors were not given access to study what happened during July 13-19, 2026, during which your report indicates that agents launched a second wave of attacks on OpenAI’s internal systems. The auditors did not have any ability to query the “highly-persistent internal model,” which was involved in 95% of the agents’ attack activity. And OpenAI redacted many important details regarding this primary model involved in the attack, among other things.

As you may know, in the public domain, more AI experts are warning about the existential risks of AI. Just this week, three Anthropic researchers expressed publicly that there is a greater than 10% chance that AI could kill all human beings within the next decade. Your own chief scientist wrote just days ago that “no lab has solved alignment and monitoring to a sufficient degree to continue responsibly scaling at maximum speed for much longer.” And there are immediate questions about the consequences of these hacks from rogue AI agents. What happens to critical infrastructure, banks, and utilities if AI agents hack into their systems? How can personal data of millions of Americans be properly safeguarded? And who is held labile when AI goes rogue?

The American people deserve to know the details of what went on in the Hugging Face incident and other incidents of AI models going rogue. This investigation will seek those answers. To facilitate that, please produce all documents and information specified in the attached annex no later than October 1, 2026. If you have questions about the scope of these requests, please contact my office to discuss.

Sincerely,

Josh Hawley

Chairman

Subcommittee on Disaster Management,

Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs