8 Blackhawks named to MHSVCA Academic All-State Team

 The following Adrian Blackhawk volleyball players were recently named to the MHSVCA Academic All-State team.

Requirements include: 3.6 cumulative GPA and played in at least 75% of all Varsity sets for the 2025 Fall season.

Congrats, ladies!

Front row:

Lizzie Clifton

Olivia Engeman

Lilly Talley

Back row:

Alexa Rodgers

Sydney Gach

Daisey Fenton

Grace Engeman

Aubrey Rodgers

Courtesy Adrian News Leader

Obituary - Joy Beeman

 Joy Mae Beeman, 96 of Nevada passed away on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at Moore-Few Care Center in Nevada.  Joy was born on June 30, 1929, in Shelbyville, IL to Cecil R. and Katie (Buskirt) Schultz.  She was married to Charles Eugene Beeman on July 19, 1958, in St. Charles, MO and he preceded her in death in 1991.  Joy graduated from Shelbyville, IL High School in 1948.  She worked for the A&P Tea Company in Illinois as a clerk and continued to work for the same company after moving to St. Charles, MO.  She moved to Milo, MO in 1983 and worked at the Nevada State Hospital as an aid for several years until her retirement. Joy was an avid book reader and enjoyed watching the birds.  She was a longtime member of the Church of the Nazarene in Nevada.

Joy is survived by four grandchildren, Katie Yockey of Nevada, MO, Kayla Underwood (Tim) of Nevada, MO, Ashley Beeman of Elkins, AR, and Zach Beeman (Michelle) of Nevada, MO; nine great- grandchildren; one great-great granddaughter; several nieces and nephews; and a daughter-in-law, Jeannie Beeman of Nevada.

  Joy was preceded in death by her husband, Charles; her parents; her son, Doug Beeman; her daughter, Eve Beeman; and four sisters, Faith Osburn, Hope Buford, Love White, and Charity Sherrington; and a half-brother Joseph Schultz.

    A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, February 2, 2026, at Ferry Funeral Home in Nevada with Lisa Claypool officiating.  A private burial will follow in the Sheldon Cemetery, Sheldon, MO.   Those who wish may contribute in Joy’s memory to the Church of the Nazarene in c/o the funeral home.

Flurries today, sub-zero temps tomorrow

Thursday basketball scores- Tournament action winds down

Boys 

Harrisonville 78
Adrian 44

Wheatland 59
Appleton City 20

Lone Jack 64
Archie 56

Midway 41
Butler 64

Rich Hill 61
Hume 20

Sherwood 30
Lexington 72

Warsaw 54
Montrose 15

Girls 

Montrose/Ballard 7
Appleton City 57

Hume 30
Archie 50

Lamar 40
El Dorado Springs 65

Wheatland 50
Osceola 46

Tonight:

Archie v Butler tipoff 6:30, consolation game

Archie Ladies play for 3rd place, 5 pm

Saturday 

Archie boys play 3:30 pm

Butler police make arrest, drugs found during search

On January 28, 2026 at approximately 7:22pm, a Butler Officer observed a H-Haul box truck fail to stop at a stop sign near the intersection of Fort Scott and Fran St. The Butler Officer conducted a traffic stop.

The driver was identified as Eric Cartwright and the passenger was identified as Kristen Eib. The driver and passenger both appeared nervous while speaking with the officer. Cartwright gave consent to search the vehicle.

A search of the U-Haul resulted in Officers locating multiple syringes, approximately 32.3 grams of methamphetamine, and a firearm.

Both Cartwright and Eib were taken into custody and transported to the Bates County jail where they were placed on a 24 hour hold.

The following day, warrants were issued. Both Cartwright and Eib received the following Charges:

Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

Unlawful Use of a Weapon - Possess Weapon and a Felony Controlled Substance

Trafficking Drugs or Attempt - 1st Degree

Cartwright and Eib remain in custody at the Bates County jail, each with a bond amount of $100,000 Cash Only.

BREAKING: Daniel Ross found guilty on all counts in murder of Wesley Cobbs

The three day trial of Jeffrey Daniel Ross Jr. in the Bates County Circuit Court came to an end this evening after a relatively short deliberation by the jury. The final verdict was guilty on all 5 counts related to the murder of Wesley Cobbs on September 12, 2024.

The defendant was accused in the fatal shooting of Cobbs at a residence just outside of Butler, MO over a disagreement regarding the sale of a pickup truck and missing tools.

At this time Ross is being held in the Bates County Jail awaiting  sentencing. A hearing will be held on March 13, 2026 to set the sentencing date.

More details regarding the trial will be disclosed soon.

As a matter of record

We at Mid America Live and the News-Review would like to take a moment to explain the logic behind how news is reported as readers often comment that we 'left something out' or 'pick and choose' in our reporting.

First and foremost, we only print what we can validate. While we often hear additional details, we do not initially add those as they possibly could be considered conjecture that may result in legal ramifications. Those ramifications range from libel or defamatory, up to possible jury tainting. By contrast, if those additional details come out later in legal proceedings, we report them accordingly.

On a related note, we have been questioned about comment moderation on social media and would like to make clear that even though everyone has a First Amendment right to say what they please, Facebook for example, makes the page administrator responsible for any legal action brought by others commenting on the page. Since Facebook openly will not state exactly what type of comments are considered a liability we may, and have, opted to remove comments to help insure there are no legal issues.

In rare cases, we have turned off comments altogether and invite readers to share and comment on their own pages. While this may seem extreme, we personally believe that people should be able to comment freely; but Facebook says otherwise and the page administrator(s) have indeed been held accountable in many cases.

Addressing another concern that we 'pick and choose' what to report- first, if we don't know about a news item we obviously don't report it. However, we do spend a considerable amount of time daily to monitor our sources as well as actively search for additional news while making every attempt to report it without political (or other) bias hence 'We report, you decide' is our motto. Every precaution is taken to be as fair and accurate as possible. Even while we strive to live by these rules, like everything, life isn't perfect and there are variations that can lead to confusion or discontent.

Our website and newspaper are free so we don't feel the need to sensationalize a particular story in order to increase our bottom line. In fact, putting out 'bad' news can be depressing but in order to be truly fair, we have to report the good and the bad- otherwise, we'd be picking and choosing.

All said, we are always open to constructive criticism and invite a debate as needed. In the meantime, we wish to thank everyone for supporting our services and we are grateful to be able to serve our wonderful community.

-Sincerely, the Review Crew

Obituary - Barbara Ann Kozma

Barbara Ann Kozma's wishes were to be cremated and remembered with fond memories.  There are no public services scheduled at this time.  Arrangements under the direction of the Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel and Crematory (660-679-6555) in Butler, Missouri.

Barbara Ann Kozma, age 80 of Appleton City, Missouri died Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at Appleton City Manor.  She was born October 29, 1945 to Arnie and Eleanor Mihle Thilesen in Brooklyn, New York.

Barbara is survived by one son, Wayne Kozma and wife Rhonda of Appleton City, Missouri.