Don’t Miss This: Investigators searching for anwers in Maryville explosion

Don’t miss these top stories Friday on BND.com:

▪ Investigators continue to try to sort out the circumstances that caused a massive fireball to erupt Wednesday in Madison County.

The explosion and fire in Maryville was caused by a heavy equipment operator who struck a buried gas line. He was hospitalized with burns over 70 percent of his body.

▪ Less than a year after a fire destroyed popular Fairview Heights eatery Lotawata Creek, its owners are again feeling the heat.

Rodney Archer, 50, and Kenneth Archer, 52, have pleaded guilty to federal charges of income tax evasion. They admitted that they intentionally under-reported sales to avoid paying the full amount of taxed they owed.

The men, who are brothers, face a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine each while the corporation theyfounded to operate the restaurant, Lotawata Creek Inc., faces a fine of $500,000 plus restitution.

▪ Who dunnit?

News-Democrat Answer Man Roger Schlueter sheds light on the 1978 murder of Joseph Dressler near Freeburg.

Authorities thought they had the case cracked at one point. But a teenage girl who confessed to being a part of plot was later found to have made the whole thing up.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 8:02 AM with the headline "Don’t Miss This: Investigators searching for anwers in Maryville explosion."