This list is active listings available on 2/2/2012. If we can help you find something currently on the market, please feel free to contact us.

Saturday I was down near Passaic, MO showing one of our listings. A home for sale on 10 acres, since we lowered the price we've been getting a lot of interest!

I had gotten pretty hungry and didn't want to roll on over the the 2011 Bates County Fair without filling up first.  The Filling Station had only been open for about 4 weeks so I was pretty eager to check it out! Man, did I ever make the right choice!

The Filling Station serves locally raised corn-fed beef that is melt-in-your-mouth GOOD! They've got quite a menu from great steaks, burgers and broasted chicken to sandwiches, burn ends and more kinds of fries than you can name!

I was a little short on cash so I kept to the sandwich portion of the menu and ordered up the prime rib sandwich and some good iced tea! I was so impressed I darn near ordered another one to go! Tender, flavorful, juicy and just about perfect!  It was so good I called up a buddy I heard was headed to the Bates County Fair to see the Rodeo and told him to stop in too!

The Feedlot sits at the corner of Business 71 and F Hwy, you can reach them at 660-679-4363.

I'd really like to see this business thrive, the service was great, the food was fantastic and they got pictures of John Wayne on the wall! Can't get much better than that!

My buddy stopped in on his way to the Bates County Fair and had the same thing I did, he said "I think I inhaled it, that was good"! He also ordered the sweet potato fries which were also amazing!

BUTLER, Mo. - The Missouri State Highway Patrol says an autopsy has been scheduled for a Texas man who apparently shot and killed himself while being pursued by police in western Missouri.

The patrol said troopers were called to help Butler police with a vehicle pursuit in Bates County on Wednesday afternoon. The patrol said the suspect was being pursued after he reportedly left a convenience store without paying for gasoline.

The patrol said that during the pursuit the suspect displayed a handgun, and then died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

Patrol spokesman Collin Stosberg said the suspect was identified as 42-year-old Forrest Scott Smith of Houston, Texas. The autopsy is planned for Thursday in Jackson County.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/7642891.html#ixzz1RQn33GE6

A registered sex offender has been charged in a double homicide and arson in Bates County, the sheriff's department said.

Raymond S. Harvey Jr., 38, is facing two counts of first-degree murder and other charges after two bodies were found Wednesday inside a burning house in rural Bates County.

Raymond Harvey is listed on the Bates County Sheriff's Departments website as a registered sex offender, his profile there is one of the few with out a picture. His address was listed as, Rt. 1 Box 266 A Rich Hill, MO. The site lists his previous offense as Forcible Rape!

We found more information at the Missouri Sex Offender site. Raymond S. Harvey...

Raymond Samuel Harvey Jr. DOB: 12/05/1972

Convicted of raping a 17 year old girl in Kansas City, Mo on January 1, 1992 at the age of 19 years old.

Listed as 6' tall, 208 pounds with green eyes and Red or Auburn hair.

According to the Missouri Sex Offender Database his address there was listed as Rr 3 Box 170 Butler, MO 64730.

BUTLER, Mo. -- Two women were found dead inside a house that was on fire in Butler, Mo., and the case is being investigated as a homicide.

Bates County Sheriff's deputies were called to the fire Wednesday, 10 miles west of Butler, where fire officials told them there were two women dead inside the house.

The Missouri state fire marshal and the Missouri State Highway Patrol crime scene unit were called into assist with the investigation.The two victims' names have not been released, and autopsies are being conducted by the Jackson County Medical Examiner.

The Bates County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information to call 660-679-3232

CHARLENE KOEHN Charlene Koehn, 66, Rich Hill, MO died Feb. 20, 2011. Funeral services, 10:30 a.m. Wed., Feb. 23, Bethany Mennonite Church, Rich Hill, MO. Visitation, 6-8 p.m., Tues, at the church. Burial, Bethany Mennonite Cemetery. Rich Hill. Arrangements, Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel (660-679-6555) Butler, MO. Published in Kansas City Star on February 22, 2011
Read more: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kansascity/obituary.aspx?n=charlene-koehn&pid=148783821#ixzz1F5TAwpY4

Thank you for visiting Bates County Real Estate

Here is the up to date forecast for Butler, MO.

January 14, 2011 here are all the residential listings from the MLS that are available in Bates County, MO as to this date. This list changes daily, contact us if you want an updated list.

We finally have news that the long anticipated Walmart Supercenter will soon be under construction in Butler. Exciting as this news is we must also ask, what does that mean for other retailers in the area. The new site is rumored to be a 100,000 square foot facility on 15 acres at W. Fort Scott St. and Fran Ave. It is scheduled to open in October of 2011.

Most of us love our Country Mart and many of us frequent other small retailers in Butler and the surrounding communities. Does the new Supercenter with its grocery market mark the end of our beloved County Mart, I hope not.

While some bemoan the coming of the behemoth supercenter, others welcome it as a sign of progress. Looking at other nearby communities where similar events have transpired we often see a short term vacancy problem with the large big box stores that were there before, it is easy to point to those and say what will happen to our town with all this vacant property.

The truth is that often in a few short years growth continues and those old mothballed retail centers find a new use. The current Family Center in Butler sat vacant for some time before it became the vital resource it is now. In towns like Raytown, Mo the former Walmart is now being considered as a spot for a new Sutherlands Lumber store. As many of you know the new Sutherlands in Harrisonville is a wonderful shopping experience and a great asset to the community. When the old Walmart in Raytown closed, so did the neighboring Hy-Vee not to pack up and leave, but to move to a new bigger, better facility close to the newly constructed Walmart Supercenter in Raytown.

Many years ago Belton, Mo also lost a Walmart store, the new Walmart was bigger and better and over the years the old location was transformed into another useful and productive business for the community of Belton, MO.

I have worked for many years with commercial real estate, while most folks tend to think in terms of next month large commercial deals are more on the scale of the next several years. While the old Walmart building in Butler may face vacancy for some time, the fact is that it is a ripe opportunity for the right investor to develop it for future growth. With the coming of the new Interstate 49 and the passing away of MO Highway 71 many things will change in Bates County, it won't take weeks or even months; it will take years or even generations.

The new Butler Walmart Supercenter will bring new jobs and perhaps cause the short-term loss of some of the things we love about our community, but in the long run Butler and Bates County will thrive and be better and stronger for it. Don's Tire will survive and thrive on the service model they have lived by for ages, others will find a niche and fill a need and it will all come out for the better.

Competition is good, many good things come of it. Our country was founded on the principles of hard work and self reliance, the folks of Bates County will absorb this growth and be blessed by it. The winds of change are blowing and change can be good, or not so good it is all up to you and how you receive it.

God bless and have a wonderful 2011!