For decades, I have been doing basic things while reporting that many other reporters do — and that I believe could be of benefit to you, the general public.
The Hauxeda is a nonprofit. We have a mission statement and I've actually read it: “To inform our community and be a catalyst for good. Our vision is to reinvent local news in Metro Springfield by telling the stories of our community, bringing issues to light, encouraging discourse and inspiring citizens to take action.”
In an attempt to fulfill that, let me provide some tips on taking action and bringing issues to light.
My editors have agreed to make this column available to all readers, not just subscribers.
I admit I have a secondary goal in writing this. I'm hoping people will rely less on what they read on social media and unsourced memes that often are intended to misinform. Sadly, this tactic seems to be working. Exhibit A: QAnon.
Instead, here's a way to gather accurate information from public records.
Who owns property? Go to assessor's website
How many of you would like to know but don't know who owns the apartment or the house you rent?
Maybe you're having trouble getting the plumbing fixed or maybe you want to know who owns the house next door because the wild and rude neighbors who are renting the place seem to be having living room bonfires?
Go to the Greene County Assessor's Office website.
If you don't have a computer, there is one available to the public at the office, which is in the county building at 940 N. Boonville Ave., in the basement, Room No. 37.
If you go there, it's better to enter the building from the east on North Robberson Avenue, where there's better parking.
Go to the website and click “Search By Address.”
The disclaimer pops up. Read it. Click on “agree.”
Type in the Greene County address. Hit “search.”
If you don't have the address number but know the street, type in the street name and see who lives on the street.
People whose first name is actually their middle name
I live on South Eureka Terrace. If you want to see who lives on my block just type in “Eureka” and then use the pull-down tab to select “TER” for “Terrace.”
Hit “search.”
You can also search property by name of the owner. But this is a bit trickier.
Same website: Click on “owner search.”
Type in the last name, space, first name. Hit “search.”
Searching by owner name is more nuanced; it requires patience. When I type in POKIN, for example, I can find my house. When I type in POKIN STEVEN I cannot.
Try “Steve” or “Steven” or “Stephen.” Or if “Jonathan” doesn't work, try “Jon.”
In addition, you will be surprised by the number of people whose first name — as you know it — is actually their middle name in legal documents.
Also, a house might be in the name of one spouse and not the other.
How to try to find name behind a company
When researching Answer Man questions, I often come across owners that are companies.
I recently checked on who owns the former Missouri Hotel at 420 E. Commercial Street. I started by typing in the address.
The answer is the Historic Commercial Development LLC.
The “LLC” stands for “limited liability company.” This is common. In an LLC, the members are not personally liable for the company's debts.
The address for Historic Commercial Development is listed. It's on Primrose.
But what good is knowing that the owner is the “Historic Commercial Development LLC”? Who is that? I want a name.
Go to the Missouri Secretary of State's website. You'll see a big photo of John R. Ashcroft.
Click on the tab for “search for a business.” Don't worry about “My Account.” Instead, go straight to the middle column “Business Search” and click on “Search by name.”
Type in “Historic Commercial Development LLC” and hit search.
You'll get one result: “Historic Commercial Developments, LLC.”
The first thing I noticed is that the Greene County document has “Development” and the Secretary of State document is “Developments.”
Be sure it's the same company. In this case it is. The limited liability company was created on Oct. 26, 2016. The registered agent is Titus M. Williams.
The registered agent might be the actual owner or it might be an employee or a lawyer hired by the company to act as the agent in dealings with the state.
I have contacted Titus M. Williams and, yes, he is the owner of the Missouri Hotel.
I use News-Leader archives all the time
In writing stories, I often run the names of people and companies I don't recognize through the Springfield News-Leader archives. For this, you need a subscription.
I can run the name “Kemery Baldwin” through the archives and discover, for example, that she was one of seven people who in 2019 signed a letter-to-the-editor in support of Bread for the World. She also happens to be my wife.
Just recently, I used the News-Leader archives to respond to an Answer Man question regarding an empty lot at 1209 E. Holiday St.
I plugged the address into the archives and found information about the house that once stood there years ago. You would be surprised in archive searches involving real estate by the amount of information that comes from ads and not news stories.
By the way, while the Daily Citizen has only been around for less than a year, you can also search our archives for information. Just use the little magnifying glass at the top right of the website and type in your search terms. You do not have to be a subscriber to search our archives, but you may need a subscription to read multiple articles. (Once you have registered, you can read up to 3 articles free in a 30-day period.)
Go to Case.net to check court records
My final tip for accessing public information is Case.net, Missouri's free online database for courts.
If you've got a bad vibe about someone you just connected with on Tinder and are meeting for the first time Friday, go to the website.
Click on “litigant name search.”
While you're at it, if his company or business seems shady you might as well check that out, too, to see how many times he's been sued.
Where it says “last name,” it also says “or Business Name.”
To cast a statewide net, use “all participating courts.”
For a person, type in the last name. Type in the first name.
But if the name is something like “John Smith” you better know the middle name and it better be something like “Charlemagne.”
To search closer to home, use the drop down menu for “Greene County — 31st Judicial Circuit.”
Speaking of odd names, how about ‘Pokin'?
The odder the name you are searching, the more precise the search.
For example, I have an odd name. If you check “Pokin” in the 31st Judicial Circuit you'll see that I've got a clean slate.
But if you check for me in “all participating courts,” you'll discover I sued a guy in small claims in 2003 in St. Charles County.
I had put down earnest money to buy his house. He had agreed to replace the roof, but didn't. I sued and got my money back. My wife and I ended up buying a different house.
In other words, I've never lost a court case. I might put that on a local billboard.
This is Pokin Around column No. 85.
