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New Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick takes oath of office

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick took office Monday during a ceremony at the Jefferson City Capitol building, pledging that reviews of K-12 public schools will be a top priority for his office.
“Parents and taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent by their schools and that their kids are being provided an appropriate education,” Fitzpatrick said in a speech to supporters and fellow elected officials.
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Serving as the 39th state auditor, Fitzpatrick said he expects to find fraud and embezzlement when investigating local municipalities and K-12 schools.
“What we’ve had here in the last few years, is unprecedented amounts of money being sent to local governments that they’ve never received before with very few strings attached, so there has to be a level of concern,” Fitzpatrick said. “The response to COVID resulted in the most significant increases in government spending in our lifetime.”
Fitzpatrick said of the 500-plus school districts in the state, on average only is audited a year.
“The reality of it is that two-thirds of the kids in Missouri are not proficient in math, or in science according to our own tests and over half the kids do not read at grade level despite schools receiving record funding each year,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s the second-largest expenditure of taxpayer money in our state, behind social welfare programs, is K-12 education.”
The 35-year-old Republican replaced former Democratic Auditor Nicole Galloway, who chose not to run for another term after making a failed bid for Missouri governor in 2020. He thanked Galloway, who attended his inauguration, for her help as he transitioned into the Auditor’s Office.
Republican Gov. Mike Parson named Fitzpatrick state treasurer in 2018 after Eric Schmitt left the office to replace now-Sen. Josh Hawley as attorney general.
Voters re-elected Fitzpatrick as treasurer in 2020, then voted him auditor in 2022.
He previously led state budgeting work in the Legislature as the former House Budget Committee chairman.
Gov. Mike Parson appointed Vivek Malek, an immigration lawyer in St. Louis and a Southeast Missouri State University Curator, as treasurer to replace Fitzpatrick. Malek will be sworn in next week.
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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.
Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.
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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.
According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.
Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.
Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.
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St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.
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Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.
The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.
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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.
A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.
The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.
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