Month: July 2025

Patrick Holleron

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art’s “Kids Summer Art Camp” is in session this week.

Kids will learn new techniques, explore their creativity and let their imagination run wild. The hands-on activities planned will be themed around AKMA’s permanent collection.

“The advantage of taking a summer art camp at the Albecht Kemper is that we have the exhibition space,” AKMA Guest Services Official, Alex Asher, said. “We have all this artwork that we are being inspired by and get to visit in person. It’s really personal for the kids. They get to meet the artist. This is something that they’ll remember for years to come.”

Artists like Rachelle Gardner-Roe, who have their art displayed in the museum, will be brought in to show kids their style and how they can find inspiration from others’ work.

“One of the things I really like about my work is that it often does appeal to children,” Gardner-Roe said. “Sometimes I think of it like a ‘Where’s Waldo’ of the natural world. And to give them the chance to just constantly work, explore and find new things is always just such a joy.”

The sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., going from Tuesday, July 22, through Friday, July 25.

This is AKMA’s third summer camp session and will have its final Summer Art Camp session from 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., on Tuesday, Aug. 5, through Friday, Aug. 8.

The cost is $150 for non-members and $125 for members with family membership or higher.

Anyone interested in signing up can visit the museum’s website.

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Abigail McCluskey

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW)– With August just around the corner, the first day of school is quickly approaching, and St. Joseph School District administrators and staff are preparing to stay “weather ready”.

Before the 2024-2025 school year, SJSD began the year with five Alternative Methods of Instruction (AMI) days and three snow days.

After a winter marked by heavy snow and blizzards, as well as some heating issues in some elementary schools, SJSD ended up using all of its AMI and snow days.

Each year, SJSD reviews its academic calendar and designates a set number of snow and AMI days to prepare for weather-related or emergency closures.

This year, the district has prepared five AMI (Alternative Methods of Instruction) packets—up from three last year.

If SJSD exceeds the state-allowed 36 hours—or six days—of AMI time, additional instructional days must be made up in person.

Stacia Studer, assistant superintendent of academics and education services, explained how the district is preparing for another potentially snowy winter.

“This year, I sat down with the team and we prepared five days of AMI packets. We did end up having more snow days, and that’s why we had to add more this school year,” said Studer.

Studer also noted that the maintenance team has been working around the clock to ensure school buildings are equipped to handle Missouri’s intense winter weather.

At both the start of the school year and again in October, parents will receive pre-planned AMI packets by grade level. These materials will help students stay on task and continue learning during inclement weather.

Once the district uses its remaining AMI days, it will begin making up instructional time.

Instead of extending the school year into summer, make-up days will be taken from spring break—starting with Monday, March 9, 2026.

The district has submitted its AMI plan to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and is now awaiting official approval.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Missouri is pioneering new opportunities for a wide range of public safety personnel to further their education with free tuition awards for eligible members and their dependents.

Public safety personnel with at least six years of service will now be eligible for free college tuition awards worth up to 100% of their resident tuition charges under a new law signed this July by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, called the Public Safety Retention and Recruitment Act.

The new law applies to a wide range of positions, including firefighters, EMTs, police, sheriff’s officers, advanced EMTs, paramedics and telecommunicator first responders residing in Missouri, and requires them to commit to a university or community college within the state to receive an award.

“I think it’s fantastic,” St. Joseph Police Department Recruiting Officer and seven-year veteran Ethan Miles said. “I have not seen a whole lot of other places that offer anything close to what this offers.”

Miles said he receives questions from prospective hires about tuition assistance nearly every day, praising the law for opening new doors for so many public safety officers to either finish or pursue their degree, boosting their qualifications and benefitting departments and communities as a whole.

For active public safety members seeking awards, the law is designed to ensure that degree programs are related to public safety and public safety-oriented fields. Individuals who have already earned a baccalaureate degree are ineligible to use the tuition award to earn another degree.

“I think it helps keep people motivated to just keep learning … It’s extremely important to push yourself and continue to educate yourself,” he said. “Any of your cyber certifications, that kind of thing is going to help you when it comes to detectives, your criminal justice is going to be basically moving up in ranks.”

He said the law comes at a strong time for the department’s recruiting efforts following the hire of eight new officers, including seven from the Law Enforcement Academy in July. He’s hopeful the measure will become a successful tool to assist with recruiting potential officers from outside the state.

“I’ve seen more of an uptick in the past couple of months of people just wanting more information and interested in joining than I have the entire time I’ve been doing recruiting,” Miles said.

Additionally, the law states that a legal dependent of public safety personnel with at least ten years of service is eligible for a tuition award under similar parameters. They must commit to a Missouri institution and reside in the state for the next five years, but degree programs do not have to be related to public safety.

Public safety personnel and their legal dependents are eligible for tuition awards for up to five consecutive years.

“I actually have a son that’s starting college in August,” Jeff Werner, a captain and 15-year veteran of the St. Joseph Fire Department said. “This would help my family household tremendously.”

Werner is optimistic the law will benefit not just St. Joseph but the entire state and public safety personnel, creating a stronger pool of candidates for a range of positions that departments often struggle to fill.

“I’m glad it’s a first responder thing because recruiting has always been a big issue, finding those qualified applicants. So having a state backed resource would be beneficial for our department,” he said.

According to the law, tuition awards will not be issued if doing so would require an institution of higher education to create additional seats exceeding program capacity.

Law enforcement officials said some key questions remain on how the program will work, including how much will be allocated from the state.

The act states that in the event that funds are insufficient to provide tuition awards for all eligible applicants, public safety personnel shall be in the first class of applicants to receive the awards, and dependents shall be in the second class.

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Praji Ghosh

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) –Buchanan County EMS is hosting a renaming and dedication ceremony of Post 1 in honor of Steve Groshong.   

The ceremony will celebrate the impact he had on the community through his service, as well as his legacy and groundbreaking work in public safety and healthcare.

The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 22, at Buchanan County EMS’ Post 1, located at 5010 Frederick Ave.

Groshong died on Nov. 24, 2024, and had 45 years of experience in the EMS field.

Steve was involved in the emergency services of the community, from the paramedics to the sheriff’s office. He helped the community in every possible way.   

“He did so much behind the scenes that it’s just a fitting tribute that they chose to rename Post 1 for Steve,” Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett said.   

Groshong was always ready to step in for any assistance needed by people and was ready to adapt to the situation with a big smile on his face.   

“It’s just so hard to describe how many things Steve did for so many people, and my final thought would be to keep the Kent County EMS in your thoughts and prayers for all the support and work,” Puett said.   

Steve’s memory touched the hearts of both his personal and professional friends who had worked with him and were familiar with his work.

“So he’d always been a liaison between all of these different public services, and as you can see from the crowd, Steve had a major impact not just on EMS but also other agencies,” Patrick said.   

The county is hoping to set his legacy of dedication to EMS and use that as a primary example for others to come.  

A memorial fund has been set up Steve Groshong to bring more awareness to people in the community to help out in events like this one.   

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