Month: July 2026

Editor’s note: The number of protection orders filed against Dusty Blue has been corrected to two.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Questions about a Missouri state senate candidate’s past have resurfaced after a website documenting his legal history was created and campaign flyers featuring excerpts from a decade-old probable cause statement began popping up.

Dustin “Dusty” Blue is one of three Republican candidates running for Missouri’s 18th Senate District, a sprawling district that covers nearly 7,400 square miles, an area large enough to fit both Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. It includes Audrain, Macon, Monroe and Randolph counties.

The GOP primary race between Blue, of Mexico; State Rep. Ed Lewis, of Moberly; and Greg Sharpe, of Ewing; could effectively decide the next state senator for the 18th District, where a Democrat has not won election since 2006. 

The trio is vying to succeed Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin (R-Shelbina), who cannot seek reelection after reaching her term limit.

Blue’s campaign states he enlisted in the Army in 2008 and served in the 101st Airborne Division. He later worked as a commercial helicopter pilot in Kansas City before meeting his wife, Jennah, and moving back to Mexico, where he raised two children. In 2018, he launched his own business, Expert Roofing and Exteriors.  

On Tuesday, the Mexico Department of Public Safety shared on social media that flyers had started circulating featuring a quote from a Mexico police officer that stated, “I believe [Dusty Blue] poses a danger to the community or to any other person…”

In a statement on social media, the department said, “The quote is part of the standard language taken from a probable cause statement for a case the flier states was filed in 2012. When a case is filed, portions of the probable cause statement become open record,” adding, “Mexico Public Safety does not endorse or condemn any political candidate.”

This comes after a Political Action Committee by the name “Let’s Go Brandon PAC” launched a website documenting Blue’s “troubling past.” 

Records obtained by ABC 17 News found that Blue has two misdemeanor convictions in Audrain County: a 2005 first-degree trespassing charge a 2012 violation of an order of protection, and two orders of protection entered against him from 2005 to 2012.

Blue did not respond to ABC 17 News’ multiple requests for an interview, but posted a video on his campaign website, addressing what he called a “whisper campaign against me.” 

“Politics is a dirty game and the special interest and the consulting class funding the attacks against me are scared and they should be. My story is the American dream,” Blue said in the video. 

Blue also said in the video that he grew up in Section 8 housing in Mexico and later joined the military to bring “discipline and direction to my life.” 

“I fought hard to give my family a different life,” Blue said.  “Clawed my way out of poverty and refused to let my circumstances define my future. We defied all odds and built a life we’re proud of.” 

In May 2005, a Mexico, Missouri, resident petitioned for an adult abuse/stalking order of protection against Blue, writing that they “have no relationship other than respondent has stalked me.”  

In his sworn statement, the petitioner alleged that during the last week of April 2005, Blue pushed him. Then on May 5, 2005, he claimed Blue and his father tried to fight him. In his statement, he alleged that Blue and his father drove up and down his street, then threatened to assault him while calling him homophobic slurs. The man told the court he feared being paralyzed because of an existing back condition. 

Judge Linda Hamlett later granted a full order of protection on June 14, 2005. 

On July 1, 2005, Mexico police were called to a Casey’s General Store after witnesses said Blue confronted the man at the gas pumps in violation of the order.  

A probable cause statement says Blue walked up behind him and his girlfriend and said, “Don’t think a protection order is going to stop me.” He was arrested later that day and charged with a class A misdemeanor violation of an order of protection. Court records indicate he was found guilty in November 2005.

“They’re saying I threatened to beat up a guy. That’s true. I did threaten him because he was bullying and putting his hands on my little brother. I’ll own that. When you grow up with very little, and someone is trying to hurt your little brother, your instinct is to protect your family,” Blue said in the video posted on his campaign website. “I’ve grown a lot in the last 20 years, but at that time, I stood up for my brother. And I won’t apologize for loving my family enough to be willing to fight for them.” 

In a separate case, prosecutors charged Blue in August 2005 with first-degree trespassing, a class B misdemeanor, for entering a Mexico Housing Authority property from which he had been banned. 

An officer wrote that a housing authority employee saw Blue leaving Hassen Drive on the morning of July 26, 2005, and that Blue later admitted he knew he was barred, but went back to get personal belongings.  The court sentenced him to 15 days in jail and placed him on two years of probation. 

In June 2012, Blue’s then-girlfriend, whom he had dated for two years, sought a protection order, alleging that Blue repeatedly called her while she was in Springfield, Missouri, and accused her of cheating, according to her statement in the filing. 

Her petition and attached statement accused Blue of “punching holes in walls,” “punching doors” and her “car dashboard” and making her “anxious” during the relationship.  

“I’m not a perfect person. But let me tell you this. I’ve never laid my hands on a woman, and I never will.  I refuse to let my life be affected by false accusations of a jealous ex-girlfriend,” Blue said in response.   

Judge Wesley Clay Dalton entered a full order of protection on Oct. 5, 2012, barring Blue from any contact with her and again triggering federal firearms restrictions. 

A July 11, 2012, probable cause statement alleges Blue violated that order by sending the woman flowers at her workplace and messages through a third party. Prosecutors first treated the case as a felony based on his 2005 conviction for violating an order of protection, then filed substitute information charging him with a class A misdemeanor violation.

COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia Public Works has entered into an agreement with a contractor to perform maintenance on the “no-mow zones” around the city after areas started overgrowing from rain this month.

The no-mow zones, or Roadside Pollinator Program, was initiated to help promote biodiversity in Columbia and was strategically placed based on habitat potential, according to Columbia Public Work’s Engineer Manager Richard Stone.

Maintenance is set to start this week and is expected to last for the next two-to-three weeks, according to Stone.

Stone said the zones that need the most work are Scott Boulevard and Range Line Street, which is where maintenance will start and then go to any other remaining areas that need work.

“Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to be doing some trimming of some of the bushy and woody elements that are in those areas,” Stone said.

Stone said little work was done on the zones last year, and that was partially due to the potential cost of consistently maintaining all pollination zones. The estimated cost last year was $85,000.

“Last year we did not do very much maintenance on those areas. We just barely managed them,” Stone said. “Some of those issues are coming back, where we’re going to need to do some more maintenance,  more aggressive maintenance.”

Right now, Stone and his team are trying to find a balance to keep the zones clear and not create a traffic hazard, while also finding an alternative to lower maintenance costs.

“We’re trying to find that balance of how much to spend on maintenance of these vs. long-term,  you know, where the break-even is going to be on spending maintenance on maintaining them,” Stone said.

Some residents along Scott Boulevard spoke briefly with ABC 17 News about their concerns on the overgrowth.

Andrea Smith, a resident in southwest Columbia, said she likes the environmental benefits of the pollination zones, but wishes they would be trimmed down. Smith said sometimes it is hard to see emergency personnel when driving around the “no mow zones.”

Residents were not officially informed of the upcoming maintenance that will occur in these zones, but Public Works spokesman John Ogan said he plans on sharing updates on the department’s social media.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo. (KMIZ)

Following 12 years on the job, Cole County Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman decided to not seek reelection.

With that seat now vacant, two candidates are vying for it in the upcoming Republican primary.

Voters will be able to choose between a state lawmaker with more than a decade of legislative experience and a Jefferson City chiropractor who has served on the Jefferson City Police Department personnel board.

Paul Dupuis, a chiropractor at his family’s office in downtown Jefferson City, said he decided to run for office to give voters another option. If elected, Dupuis said that his first priority would be to complete a tour of all county facilities and make sure the county is heading in the right direction, economically.

“I want to make sure we’re not wasting money, make sure we’re spending it where it needs to be spent. Make sure that we are doing the projects that are the highest on the list first, prioritizing those and working through those projects,” he said.

Dupuis also emphasized that he is a community leader and not a politician.

“I don’t think politics belong in county politics and county government. This is a role of running a business. I have all my experiences through running a volleyball club, being president of the Missouri Chiropractic Physicians Association, and working with budgets there,” he said.

Also running for the seat is current State Sen. Mike Bernskoetter (R-Cole County), who is now term-limited in the legislature. Bernskoetter said that if elected, he wants to represent the community well.

“I don’t know that I have a [top] priority. You know, even as a state rep and senator, I just wanted to represent my community, represent their constituents,” he said.

Bernskoetter added he believes his experience owning a local business and working in the state legislature makes him qualified for the position.

“Actually, I think it fits my talents very well. I’m a business owner here in town. And so, you know, I manage the business. And so I think managing the finances and the operations of the county fits very well, and I’ve got 16 years of legislative experience,” he said.

For the full unedited interview with Bernskoetter and Dupuis, you can find it on the ABC 17 News Your Voice, Your Vote Voter Guide.