SUMMARY: Nearly two years after six members of an online cult called the University of Cosmic Intelligence vanished from their homes in St. Louis County, there are still no leads. Among the missing is 25-year-old Michaela Wicker and her three-year-old daughter, Millenia. The cult, led by convicted child molester Reshad Jamal, has been linked to various crimes, including human trafficking. Loved ones believe Michaela was struggling with mental health issues and was convinced by the cult to sever ties with her family. Authorities warn parents to monitor their children’s online activities to prevent similar situations. Michaela’s case will be featured on America’s Most Wanted Missing Persons.

Police say the individuals were part of an online cult that reportedly has 10,000 followers. All six disappeared without a trace, with some believing they may be in Mexico. FOX 2’s Max Diekneite reports.

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by Annelise Hanshaw, Missouri Independent
April 24, 2025

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s makeover of the State Board of Education is nearly complete, with the state Senate set to confirm the last of his four new appointments this week.

The turnover on the eight-member board also means its longtime leadership has been pushed aside. That includes Charlie Shields, the former Republican lawmaker who has served on the board since 2012 and was its most recent board president.

Shields told The Independent he was willing to continue serving but supports the governor’s appointments.

“We’re in a good position to move education forward,” he said.

The shakeup has created some friction in the confirmation process, with Ash Grove Republican state Sen. Mike Moon and Florissant Democratic Sen. Angela Mosley asking pointed questions of appointees during their Senate hearings.

That continued on Wednesday, when Moon was the lone “no” vote on the appointment of Thomas Prater, an eye surgeon from Springfield.

Moon said during the hearing he had received complaints from his district stemming back to Prater’s time serving on the Springfield Public Schools Board of Education.

“There are some people in Springfield who were concerned about things that have happened on the school board after I left,” Prater told The Independent. “So I didn’t have much control over it.”

On the board, Prater helped in the hiring process of former superintendent John Jungmann in 2014 shortly before his departure.

Jungmann faced criticism, as reported by the Springfield News-Leader in 2021, over his diversity and equity training that some labeled “critical race theory.” He was also under fire for his choices on safety measures during the pandemic.

Moon asked Prater how he supported a superintendent who was a proponent of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and what that means today with a governor who has spoken against diversity programs.

Prater said Jungmann was “by far the most experienced and qualified candidate that we interviewed.”

“I don’t remember any kind of DEI discussions coming up in our interviews with him that would have given us the indication, one way or the other, where he stood,” Prater told Moon.

Mosley pushed back on the notion that DEI is harmful.

“You don’t feel that diversity is important,” she said, asking where Prater stood. “All the districts are pretty diverse, so you need to know how to effectively support each area of diversity.”

Prater said he was “right between” Mosley and Moon on the subject, giving an anecdote that he supported the hiring of a Black football coach over a similarly qualified white candidate.

The board is set up to not be dominated by a political party, with law stipulating there can be a maximum of four members of a party. Many appointees, on other state boards as well, take on the “independent” title to conform to this rule.

Prater is joining the board as an independent. His political contributions include donations to Democrats like state Rep. Betsy Fogle of Springfield and St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. But the majority of his donations benefit Republican candidates, with $21,000 given to Kehoe’s political action committee, American Dream PAC, and numerous donations given to former U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt. 

Prater said he has been an independent for “as long as he can remember.”

Shields has repeatedly spoken about board matters with a bipartisan, or nonpartisan, perspective. He told The Independent that the board is intended to be this way.

Appointments are eight-year terms, setting members up to look at issues long-term. These two pieces are “important,” Shields said.

He feels confident that the appointees he knows, Prater and attorney Jon Otto, will take the “same view.”

“I know them to both be really thoughtful, high quality people,” he said. “I think they’ll make great board members.”

Prater was appointed by former Gov. Mike Parson a year ago, serving in an interim capacity while a filibuster blocked full confirmation. He has been sitting in the audience at state board meetings, he said.

Tawni Hunt Ferrarini was appointed at the same time last year by Parson, but Kehoe did not reappoint her to the board and instead chose Brooks Miller for the seat.

Miller, former president and CEO of Jordan Valley Community Health Center in Springfield, takes on the role after recently serving on Truman State University’s board.

He told committee members Wednesday that his experience in community health will help him look for needs inside Missouri’s schools.

“I think that (community health) really kind of goes hand-in-hand with serving children,” he said. “It’s hard to teach a child that has a toothache or other illness.”

Miller is identified as a Republican in his appointment. He donated to President Donald Trump’s campaign and U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison, but also gave $1,000 to Crystal Quade, who lost her bid as the Democratic nominee for governor in November. Quade is from Springfield, which Miller has strong ties to despite currently residing in Sunrise Beach.

Last week, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Otto and Mike Matousek.

Matousek, a Republican from Kansas City, recently served on the Platte County School Board and is the former legislative director for U.S. Rep. Sam Graves.

In his campaign for school board, Matousek opposed mask and vaccine mandates and carried conservative stances on hot-button issues into his time on the board. He was the only member to vote for the district to take up an official bathroom policy that would restrict transgender students’ access to restrooms that fit their gender identity.

Moon complimented Matousek’s willingness to stand alone on an issue.

“You’re not afraid to take those issues on, or at least ask the questions and let them be deliberated,” he said during the hearing.

Matousek has made contributions to several Republican candidates, including state Rep. Josh Hurbert, a Smithville resident who works for Christian private school advocacy and assistance organization Herzog Tomorrow Foundation. Hurlbert also donated to Matousek’s campaign for school board in 2022.

Matousek told The Independent that he was approached about joining the State Board of Education and thought it over before embracing the role.

“Public education is changing in Missouri, and I’d rather be at the table,” he said.

During the Senate Gubernatorial Appointments Committee hearing last week, Mosley asked Matousek questions about his stance on open enrollment and charter schools, asking if he would support funding for public schools or lean on alternatives to neighborhood schools.

Matousek is generally supportive of open enrollment, if the state legislature chooses to pass it into law, but is concerned about provisions that would obligate school districts to transport students that enroll outside their home district. But those decisions are up to state lawmakers, he said.

Mosley’s questions were halted after Moon whispered to the legislative aide of the committee chair, who then asked her to reserve the rest of her questions for time outside of the hearing. Matousek was confirmed by the full Senate the next day. 

The Senate also confirmed Otto, who currently serves as general counsel for Evergy.

Otto is a noted advocate of charter schools. He helped found Académie Lafayette Charter Schools in Kansas City and has served on the board of the Missouri Charter Public School Association.

He told The Independent he didn’t have definitive plans for the board, saying he had to “get in and see what is working” first but noted potential for “a lot of new things.”

Otto has made a few contributions solely to Democratic candidates, like a $500 donation to U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids from Kansas.

Gabby Picard, a spokeswoman for Kehoe, said selections were made with the governor’s priorities in mind.

“Gov. Kehoe hopes that the board will continue to address and prioritize increased accountability in school performances and student outcomes, supporting opportunity across geographic and socioeconomic lines and supporting non-traditional school options like charter or virtual schools,” she said in a statement.

Prater and Miller’s appointments must receive final approval in the Senate before they can take office.

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.

The post Senate set to approve Missouri governor’s shakeup of state education board appeared first on missouriindependent.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Right

The content is largely focused on the appointments to the Missouri State Board of Education by Republican Governor Mike Kehoe, detailing the political backgrounds of the appointees and their views on significant education policies. While it includes viewpoints from both Republican and Democratic Senators during the confirmation process, the emphasis on Republican appointees and the supportive comments from other Republicans indicate a slant towards the right. The mention of "diversity, equity, and inclusion" issues, often contentious topics in contemporary education debates, suggests a framing that aligns more with center-right perspectives in the context of the current political landscape. However, the article maintains a degree of neutrality by providing quotes and perspectives from both sides, preventing it from being categorized as explicitly right-leaning or far-right.

SUMMARY: Dennis Brian Clump Jr., a 50-year-old man with a criminal history including a murder conviction, has been arrested in St. Louis County for felony harassment after allegedly disturbing local synagogues over the past year. Prosecutors claim he made unwanted visits and disturbing calls, causing emotional distress to congregants. While the head of security for the Jewish Federation stated that the harassment does not appear to be driven by anti-Semitism, he noted an increase in threats against Jewish communities recently. The ADL reported a spike in anti-Semitic incidents in the area, particularly following recent conflicts. Clump is held on a $500,000 bond.

A man previously convicted of 2nd degree murder has been arrested after prosecutors said he repeatedly harassed people at local synagogues over the course of the past year. FOX 2’s Max Diekneite reports.

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