The extreme heat that Missouri has suffered during past weeks is the most intense and destructive in our recent history. It has taken its toll on our poor and elderly. Between July 1 and July 23, 314 confirmed heat-related deaths and 328 suspected heat-related deaths occurred within our state, the majority in metropolitan Kansas City and St. Louis. The mortality of Missourians and the suffering of citizens is not the full tragedy of the 1980 heat wave. Crop and pastured losses are estimated at nearly $1.5 billion. Many farmers are being forced to liquidate their herds and there is great concern that the heat and drought have caused declines in milk production and reproduction of livestock.
Platte County primary voters Tuesday rejected the reelection bids of their eastern and western district administrative court judges and bucked the state trend of nominating Joseph Teasdale for governor on the Democratic ticket. Housewife Sue Dance, 56, defeated Eastern District Judge Charles E. Kutz, 34, for the Democratic nomination. Dance tallied an unofficial 1,129 votes to Kutz’s 882. F. B. Anderson, a 49-year-old retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, beat Alfred L. Kyle, 43, for the party’s western district administrative judge nomination. Anderson received 1,858 votes and Kyle 1,175.
