Group sues to block land auction of Cole County farmland that was originally intended to become a county park

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A group of people sued Hawthorn Bank and Cole County on Friday in order to block the land auction of a piece of land that was intended to become a county park by its former owner.

Gary Scheperle, Mark Knapp, Tony Porter, Steve Brandt, Gary Bemboom, Tony Brenneke and Charles Steck are listed as the plaintiffs in the case.

Nearby landowners have organized to stop the bank's auction of Lawrence Renn Jr.'s land for several months. Friends of Renn have said the cattle farmer left the 178 acres in Elston to the county for use as a park. The group claims the administrator of Renn's trust, Hawthorn Bank, was not being honest with the county on how much money the trust had when the commission discussed the issue in 2024.

Mark Knapp and others had asked for a 60-day pause to sort through and verify trust documents, previous reporting shows.

The petition from the group asks the judge to remove Hawthorn Bank as a trustee, to give temporary relief by blocking the Feb. 7 auction and to appoint a successor trustee. It also asks the judge to set aside a consent judgement issued in Hawthorn Bank’s lawsuit against the county in 2024.

Judge Daniel Green recused himself from the case on Monday, according to court filings. Judge Joseph Shetler was assigned to the case on Monday and a civil setting was scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, the day before the auction is set to take place.

The Cole County Commission last week said it would not sue Hawthorn Bank to stop the land auction, with Commissioner Sam Bushman claiming the county had "no valid ground" to sue.