Rita Jean Stout, also known as Gram to her grandkids, passed away at age 96 in Belton on Thursday, November 6, 2025. Rita Jean Stout Rita was born in Tulsa, Okla., to Thomas Jay and Gertrude Margret (Keim) Essley on March 15, 1929. She had one sister and one brother. She married Raymond McDonnell Stout II on February 18, 1950, in Tulsa. Ray and Rita relocated to Johnson County, Kan., in 1957 with three children, purchased a farm, and added an additional five children. She rel

By Allen Edmonds allen@northcassherald.com Many of us have complained the past few years about having lost the ability to distinguish news from propaganda in today’s marketplace of ideas. That “marketplace” includes the news media, social media and the old standby, street talk. A lot of this applies mainly to Washington – what we hear from Congress and the President, and gets transmitted through media and pundits with various viewpoints. But today, I woke up to this post, pic

By Allen Edmonds allen@northcassherald.com HARRISONVILLE – A 73-year-old retired Raymore business owner is being held on $250,000 bond following his arrest on two counts of child molestation. Paul Joseph Dusselier Paul Joseph Dusselier, who operated the Paul Dusselier Basement Co. from 1978 until his retirement in 2019. is accused of “placing the confidential victim’s hand on the defendant’s genitals” for the purpose of “arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of the defenda

By Allen Edmonds allen@northcassherald.com The Belton Council on Tuesday approved Mayor Norman K. Larkey, Sr.,’s slate of new Park Board...