Late Cole County farmer’s land sold at auction Saturday after three-year legal battle

COLE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A late Cole County farmer's 178-acre Elston land was auctioned Saturday morning, despite his reported wishes for it to become a public park.

Lawrence Renn Jr., who passed away in 2021, left behind a trust intended to turn his farmland into a county park.

However, the land was sold off after Cole County dismissed its lawsuit against Hawthorn Bank, the trustee overseeing Renn’s estate, who were not in attendance at Saturday's auction.

Nearly 100 people attended the auction, with four buyers bidding in person and one buyer participating online. The auction service reported 19 people registered on its online platform.

The 178 acres were divided up into six tracts.

• Tract 1: 38.4 acres, sold for $10,250 to a phone bidder, for an estimated total of $393,600, according to Wheeler Auction & Real Estate.
• Tract 2: 28.97 acres, sold for $13,250, with an estimated value of $376,610.
• Tract 3: 16.69 acres, sold for $8,000 — the lowest per-acre price of the day — totaling about $133,250.
• Tract 4: 16.94 acres, sold for $14,350, with an estimated value of $243,089.
• Tracts 5 and 6: totaling 74.95 acres, were purchased by the same buyer. Combined, they sold for $28,500, bringing the estimated total to more than $1 million.

According to Wheeler Auction & Real Estate, the total sale price for the 178 acres exceeded $2.2 million, averaging $12,587.99 per acre.

Ron Bandelier, a neighbor of Renn, was one of the first people to arrive at the auction on Saturday.

"He [Renn] was a good friend, a good neighbor and just everybody liked him," Bandelier said.

On Friday, Cole County Judge Joseph Shetler dismissed the case brought by Mark Knapp and Gary Scheperle, two men connected to the trust who had been fighting to stop the sale. In his ruling, Shetler stated Knapp and Scheperle are no longer beneficiaries of the Renn Trust and therefore do not have standing to sue.

"The administrators didn't do what they should do to support him [Renn]. I think they were looking after their own interest and the money in the bank. That's not what he wanted. He wanted that land to support the community of that area," Bandelier said.

Since 2024, the situation has been a legal dispute. Friends and family of Renn have claimed the trustee was not transparent about the amount of money in the trust.

Cole County had entered into a 99-year lease agreement for the property, but later withdrew after Hawthorn Bank disclosed how much money was available to develop and maintain the park.

In January, Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman told ABC 17 News the trust contained an estimated $15,000 to $20,000. He said that amount would not be enough to develop and maintain a county park without significantly affecting the county’s parks budget.

Family and friends of Lawrence Renn Jr. have insisted that millions of dollars were in the trust, specifically intended for the park.

Buyers Jared and Sarah Hotsenpiller, a married couple, purchased Tracts 5 and 6. They said they were aware of the land’s history and had previously signed the petition opposing the auction.

The Hotsenpillers plan to use the property to raise their family and build a farm.

“We are blessed to have the opportunity to buy it and continue that [Renn’s] legacy,” Jared Hotsenpiller said.

Another buyer told ABC 17 they plan to build a home on the land, while a third said they purchased their tract on behalf of a friend. Some community members told ABC 17 they hope none of the buyers decide to build apartment complexes on the property.

Bandelier said he was told most of the land would be used to build family homes. While he acknowledged that the idea sounds positive, he believes it is not what Renn would have wanted.

"He wanted the land to be to the community and it just seems like the bank didn't give proper concern about his interests," Bandelier said.

As of Saturday, Chuck Steck still has 39 cattle on Renn’s land. Steck said he had leased the property for more than 20 years, and about a year and a half after Renn’s passing, that lease expired. He said he reached out to several outlets to figure out how to continue making payments, but was ultimately told to keep his cattle on the land.

“Someone from the county kind of just flippantly said, ‘Well, if I were you, I’d just leave them out there until somebody told me to get them off.’ I wasn’t trying to take anything from anybody,” Steck said.

According to Steck, all of the cattle currently on the property are expected to be removed by early next week.

All buyers were required to pay a 10% downpayment Saturday, with the remaining balance due on or before Mar. 10.