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The Joplin Globe explores how the public is treated when making requests for public records. The two-article series reveals that some local government agencies in Missouri fail to comply with the state's Sunshine Law. For example, one sheriff's department refused to release any records, and one city suspected the researcher of being engaged in "improper criminal discovery." The city of Pineville, Missouri, failed to respond to a written open-records request for more than three months.The probe discovers that Joplin City Council has been improperly meeting in secret during dinner sessions.