News – Thursday, September 17th, 2026

An accident happened at 8:50 Tuesday night in Shannon County on Highway 106 about two miles west of Eminence that took the life of a man. According to the highway patrol report, a westbound 2016 Nissan Frontier driven by a 28-year-old man from Sallisaw, Oklahoma, was making a left-hand turn into a private drive when it was struck by an eastbound 2004 Harley Davidson driven by a 43-year-old man from Eminence. The Harley ricocheted off of the Frontier and struck a 2024 Toyota Corolla driven westbound by a 23-year-old woman from Eminence. The driver of the Harley was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:23 in the evening. The Harley driver was not wearing safety equipment at the time of the accident. The drivers of the Nissan and Toyota were wearing seat restraints when the accident occurred. The Toyota sustained moderate damage and was driven from the scene. The Nissan sustained moderate damage and was towed from the scene by Sartin’s Towing. The Harley was totaled and removed from the scene by Sartin’s Towing. The body of the Harley driver was taken to the Bradford Funeral Home.

The Salem Public Library has released that Salem Publishing Company has donated photo negatives that appeared in its print editions from the 1950s through the 2000s. These negatives will now be available to the public, alongside bound editions of The Salem News and other local papers dating from the early 1900s through early 2025. Donald Dodd, his wife Felicia and Dodd’s daughter and former managing editor, Catherine Wynn, made up the board of Salem Publishing when The Salem News was sold and agreed that the library is the perfect place to house the archives so they can be used for a variety of not-for-profit purposes, including genealogy by the general public and research by local historians and others needing to know more about events and history that shaped the community. The Dodds and Wynn are also going to donate a photo negative scanner so not only the library, but those accessing the archives, can obtain digital versions. The library has had possession of the archives for a couple months and will soon roll out information on how they can be viewed, its policies for use and availability. People making requests can help library staff locate articles and images expediently by providing as much detail about the dates as possible. Currently, library staff is able to take photos of articles or images from the newspapers and email them to patrons. If patrons prefer to have the information on paper, it can be printed in black and white for 25¢ per page. In the future, staff will be able to scan negatives in order to print photos. The charge for that service has yet to be determined. For more information, contact the library at 573-729-4331 or salemmopubliclibrary@gmail.com.

On Wednesday, Sept. 16th, Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an executive order establishing safeguards on Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) technology, including Flock Safety cameras. Stated intentions of Executive Order 26-18 is to prevent the misuse of the personal location data of Missourians while preserving legitimate law enforcement uses of the technology. Kehoe commented in a press release that the executive order is the first step in creating safeguards against abuse of citizen’s data. Executive Order 26-18 directs the Missouri Department of Public Safety (DPS) to establish statewide safeguards for state agencies and state-funded local law enforcement entities using ALPR technology. Any misuse of ALPR technology shall trigger immediate disciplinary proceedings, criminal referral, where appropriate, and a mandatory report to the Director of DPS for officer license revocation or discipline. Until the General Assembly establishes a permanent statutory framework, the executive order requires the following minimum standards: Requiring most license plate and vehicle data to be permanently deleted within 30 days; Prohibiting vendors from selling, sharing, or commercializing Missouri-generated data; Limiting the use of ALPR technology to legitimate criminal justice and lifesaving purposes; Requiring accountability measures to prevent and penalize misuse; and Prohibiting the integration of artificial intelligence facial recognition technology with ALPR systems. Local agencies are encouraged to voluntarily commit to adhering to these best practices, where possible under existing contracts and law, as stakeholders and lawmakers work towards a comprehensive statutory framework. To find the executive order, and all executive orders that have been signed in 2026, visit the Missouri Secretary of State website at sos.mo.gov and click on the “Executive Orders” tab. Visit governor.mo.gov/actions for more information on actions taken by Kehoe.