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News Brief

July 11, 2025 |  By: Gavin McGough

Technicality in election laws are holding up local projects

Nodaway Courthouse

The Missouri State Auditor's Office is holding back important funds for three townships in Nodaway County, along with funds for school districts, fire districts, and other entities across the state.

This is depsite voter support for those funds. It is due to a technicality in election law, which requires that bond issues be posted in local newspapers TWICE in the two weeks leading up to an election.

The notices for three bond issues on the ballot in Nodaway County appeared outside of that window, which, in the strict letter of Missouri election law, nullifies the results of those elections.

According to County Clerk Melinda Patton the funds impacted are for regular road maintenance in the Atchison, Jackson, and Monroe townships.

 According to Patton, " Bond language is usually fairly typical for any of the townships that run it. It's generally listed to be used for road maintenance, purchase of rock equipment, like a road grader, or to be used for equipment maintenance."

The Auditor is holding back those funds, so the townships are unable to proceed.

 "They will have to run through all the steps again to have that on a ballot, whether that be in November or April of 2026. They will have to rerun that language. Then until that is approved by the voters, they would not have that money.", says Patton. 

Patton said the sitaution is extremely frustrating.

It appears to be impacting nearly a dozen other taxing districts in the state. Much of the error comes down to newspaper publication dates.

In rural areas, newspapers are often published only once a week, making it dificult to fall within the posting windows.

Road crews in area townships have been left in the lurch due to the error.