Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I was reading one of those year-end summaries of the news in Missouri for the year 2025. In that report came a few sentences about how Missouri will no longer require vehicle inspections in most situations and will expand vehicle registration options allowing drivers to select longer registration periods for vehicles. I was gratefully and happily spending time with all the family in town when I read this year-in-review from an otherwise respected news source in the state. I remember saying to myself: “Self, wow. I don’t remember this at all. How the hell did I miss this? How did I not know about these changes in state law about vehicle inspections and such? What an idiot. I’ve got to get this reported in one of our early Landmark editions in 2026.”
I shamed myself over it and literally chewed my own ass for a solid 15 minutes. I felt like I had let you guys down, and that’s never a good feeling. And then I went back to hanging out with the grandkids until Jan. 4.
Then on Jan. 6, I received this email from the Missouri Department of Revenue. The email was headlined: “Inaccurate reports regarding changes to Missouri vehicle registrations.”
You guessed it. The reports I had read–and I’m sure many other news junkies read them as well–of changes to vehicle inspection law and vehicle registrations were inaccurate. Turns out I could stop beating myself up over this topic, because those reports were hogwash.
“Several outlets have released information reporting that Missouri, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, will no longer require vehicle inspections and will expand vehicle registration options allowing drivers to select longer registration periods for vehicles,” read the email from the Missouri DOR. “This information is incorrect,” the DOR emphasized. “Missouri law has not changed regarding these issues. Vehicle registration and safety requirements remain unaltered. For clarity, similar proposals have been introduced in recent legislature sessions but never became law.”
The DOR said it was issuing this email advisory “to correct inaccurate information being circulated through some media outlets–most likely generated from artificial intelligence (AI) sources regarding changes to Missouri vehicle registration requirements.”
And the DOR was as perturbed about the misinformation being circulated as I was at myself for thinking I had failed to report something of significant interest and importance.
“When misinformation is circulated it causes confusion and inconvenience. The Missouri Department of Revenue encourages the public and media to rely on official Missouri DOR communications and website resources for accurate and up-to-date information regarding motor vehicle laws and requirements,” the DOR said in its Jan. 6 email.
Anyway, if you saw the inaccurate reporting by some news outlets across the state toward the end of 2025 and are now confused about vehicle inspections and titling and such, go to dor.mo.gov for a refresher filled with the accurate state requirements.
The meltdown, for lack of a better word, that Scott Fricker, Platte County’s presiding commissioner, had on his Facebook page Friday evening was epic. Kudos on the dramatic performance. See our front page story for details of some posts that Fricker made primarily about Eric Zahnd, longtime prosecutor for Platte County.
About 7:15 Friday night, Jan. 23, I received the first text alerting me to some wild posts Fricker was making on his Facebook page. It’s not even close to being the first time this has happened. The Landmark and I have occasionally been on the receiving end of some of his emotional outbursts, so long ago I developed a protocol when it comes to Fricker fracking. That protocol is to immediately go to his page and start taking screenshots of his posts, because history has shown that after Fricker has these tantrums he will eventually go back and delete those posts. So if you snooze, you lose. Think of my screenshots as being like the National Archives for this type of thing.
And the 7:15 text alert wasn’t the only one I received. Texts, emails and online messages started rolling in from multiple sources who wanted to be sure I was aware of the drama unfolding on Fricker’s Facebook page. I’m sure similar text chains were fired up all across the county Friday night, with folks speculating what was causing the latest blowup and how it will all play out in the long run.
Anyway, just as anticipated, by Saturday morning the fiery posts had all been deleted.
Look, we’re all human and all of us–yours truly included–at some point in our lives have communicated words we’d like to take back. But with Fricker this is now a three-year pattern of online over-the-top outbursts followed by attempted erasure. The repeated lack of emotional self-control is stunning and concerning for an adult serving in a role of public service. The political scene in Platte County hasn’t seen this level of online self-harm since the days of former Parkville mayor Nan Johnston. And we all recall how that turned out.
It’s not like deleting the posts will help matters. The damage had been done. You can’t fire off public missives like that, including accusing a man of having lost his mind and being unfit to serve, and expect there to be a reconciliation anytime soon.
Some folks have a good temperament for public service and elected office. Some don’t. The presiding commissioner should have the role of being the adult in the room. Simply speaking in a loud voice isn’t leadership. Don’t expect folks to follow your lead, respect your position, or believe your words just because you’re speaking them very loudly.
He has been in office for three years and Fricker often can’t or won’t control his public emotions. To be completely fair, he apparently realizes this is a problem for him because in a phone conversation we had this week he told me he has a plan for how to get better at it and is working on it. A thin skin and extremely quick temper are not helpful if he wants a long tenure in office. Erratic or overly emotional behavior is tough for a lot of voters to embrace long term. Smooth and steady typically wins the race.
Election year 2026 will not be dull.
(If you happen to see an elected official melting down right before your eyes email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)
