Month: September 2025

Rebecca Evans

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — For one mother and daughter, taking a leap out of an airplane is more than just an adrenaline rush, it’s a way to give back.

Sharon Carter, along with her daughter Ashley Stroud, are preparing to skydive as part of the ‘Soaring with Kindness’ fundraiser for the Noyes Home for Children.

“This has been on my bucket list, so when she told me she was going I said, ‘I’m going too,'” said Carter. “I’ve always wanted to do this, and what better cause?”

The event, held in partnership with Falcon Skydiving in North Kansas City, challenges participants to raise $500 or more to take part in a tandem jump.

“Anytime you can do something that you want to experience, as well as contribute towards a charitable organization that you believe in, then I think you should,” Stroud said.

Founded in 1894, the Noyes Home for Children provides care and stability for children and families in crisis. A leader at the local nonprofit said fundraisers, like ‘Soaring with Kindness,’ help the organization provide necessities for those in need.

“This helps to ensure that our kids have food, clothing, all of the things that we need to provide in our own homes, but on a much larger scale,” Executive Director Chelsea Howlett said. “Typically, somewhere between 25 and 30 children at any given time.”

Commitments to participate must be made by Oct. 6, with funds due by Oct. 22. The jumps will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 26.

Community members can support the effort by donating to a skydiver of their choice online, noting the participant’s name in the comments. Donations can be made through the nonprofit’s website.

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TaMya Bracy

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Frederick Towers will see improvements to its office spaces as a local family plans to turn it into a startup entrepreneurship hub for St. Joseph.

The building, located at 2400 Frederick Ave., originally opened in 1916 as Noyes Hospital. In 1955, Anchor Serum purchased the building to use as an office space. Later the building would become what is now known as Frederick Towers.

The local family who recently purchased the building aims to empower entrepreneurs and create a multi-functional space for businesses, according to a mission statement on Frederick Towers Innovation Hub’s website.

Colby Campbell, the owner of Frederick Towers, said it has been a dream of his to own the building.

“My dad had an office in this building for years. I mean, we’re talking like 20 years,” Campbell said. “And I would tell him, ‘someday I’m going to own the building,’ as a joke. And then here in the last, probably at the end of last year, we had made a decision to try and find a new place to grow and build a business.”

Campbell said that they want Fredrick Towers to be an affordable place to rent office space and help people who want to start a business.

“So, someone can bring their idea. We can then introduce them to the professionals that they will need to set themselves up as a legitimate business so they can start building their business credit,” he said.

Campbell’s goal is to use Fredrick Towers to attract new, younger people to the city.

“We want this to be a place that’s part of the growth and development of St. Joe, so that we can help grow the city of St. Joe and bring in new, younger blood,” Campbell said.

Campbell said that if anyone has history of the building, he would like to know more.

“We love those stories. And we’re actually going to be building a timeline of these stories and the companies and experience on the walls of the hall on the first floor,” he said. “So when people come in,  they can see the history of this building.”

Campbell said he hopes to have the building completely renovated in five years.

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Carter Ostermiller

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Operation Christmas Child helps bring joy to children in need and has inspired a former gift receiver to become a spokesperson for the project as an adult.

The project was created by Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization that has sent shoeboxes of gifts and the gospel of Jesus Christ to those in need all around the world.

One of those children was Ekaterina Haselden, who is now a spokesperson for Operation Christmas Child and shares her story with others.

As a child in the former Soviet Union, Haselden had her struggles but also had faith in God. She recalls her father being imprisoned and her mother’s abandonment as moments that created a childhood with trials and tribulations.

Haselden and her sister were put into multiple orphanages as children and she said one of those orphanages was full of abuse.

“That orphanage was a cruel place, caregivers were really mean,” Haselden said. “…They would do torturous things.”

Haselden said she would often question if things would ever get better until one day, Operation Christmas Child arrived and changed her life.

“They spoke of Jesus and of his love. They showed us (a) Jesus film and him dying on the cross, they gave us Bibles. They spent time with us.” Haselden said.

Haselden recalls she received a shoebox with gifts such as a coloring book, crayons and a bar of soap.

She said she felt then that God answered her prayers. Haselden and her sister were adopted and moved to the United States soon after that.

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Kyle Schmidt

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The school year is now over a month in and Superintendent Ashly McGinnis has her focus on many areas.

Academics is her number one priority for St. Joseph School District students specifically, which involves attendance as well.

“We landed at 81.2%, we’re in the 85% range now. Historically that attendance percentage drops throughout the year, trying to hold on to that 85% for as long as we can…,” McGinnis said. “This is the first year since I’ve been in the district office that we’ve actually got points on our annual performance report for attendance.”

‘Slow and steady progress’ is how McGinnis described it. Going back to 2022, attendance levels were 76%, now above 80%.

The annual performance report, also known as APR, listed SJSD at 67.5% — McGinnis wants to get that number up to 70%.

“We haven’t been there in the last three years,” she said. “We are hopeful we are going to get there because we have seen some academic gains, but it’s been a battle to come back from COVID.”

A collaboration between MoWest and SJSD was announced during the first week of the academic year granting high school graduates access to a direct admission program.

Currently, McGinnis said SJSD is in the process of updating its continuous school improvement plan (CSIP). Board policy states it must be updated every five years through community focus groups, staff feedback, academics committee meetings and feedback from stakeholders on goals and priorities for the district.

Finance is another key area of focus for McGinnis and the school district. She said board policy states financial reserves should not be lower than 20% — currently reserves stand at 10.02% for fiscal year 2025.

It was previously announced an audit is being conducted for the latest approved budget. McGinnis said an update on that audit will come in November.

“We know we have inefficiencies within our district and so looking at those pieces but also being mindful of climate and culture,” McGinnis said. “When we are put in this situation, where we are at financially, we want to make sure we are mindful and sensitive with how it impacts our people.”

McGinnis said they have ‘a lot going on right now with facilities’ and she can see the vision of the possibility of a new high school, but trying to get to the other side of that is a challenge.

“It’s not something that people take lightly, it’s not something that’s going to be pain free in getting there because we know that our schools and buildings are more than just structures. There’s heart, there’s culture, there’s traditions and removing those pieces are very difficult,” McGinnis said. “I’m tasked with looking at the bigger picture of our entire district and making sure we’re sustainable and can maintain efficiency for years to come.”

Pointing to the declining enrollment, now at 9,969 K-12 students, compared to 30 years ago when the number was above 12,000.

“With change comes growth, and I know that is challenging for everyone but we are at a point right now where we need to take some action,” she said.

The Eugene Field Elementary alumnus McGinnis, with now 19 years working in the district, thinks there’s ways to preserve some of the history, culture and heart of the facilities but continue to move forward.

“I understand the ties but we also have to be cognizant of our financial situation and this hope for three high schools just isn’t sustainable.”

Pointing around the state, she mentioned no city with student enrollment under 10,000 has three high schools. McGinnis said a decision regarding facilities will come during the October board meeting.

When asked why the district upgraded three football fields if three high schools are not a guarantee, McGinnis countered ‘those facilities are being used right now.’

“Those kids deserve to have that opportunity right now,” she said. “We have to plan sometimes, for not only the future, but to make sure we’re doing right by kids right now.”

Acknowledging the current situation did not happen overnight, and now the district is at a point it has to take action.

“We walked into these new roles as new leaders… We walked into this situation, we are going to be the cleanup crew that gets us out of this situation,” McGinnis said. “I’m blessed that I have great people that are going to get us out of this situation, who care deeply, who are intelligent. I hear what people are saying and they can point the finger at me. I’m still going to make the right decisions that will best serve our district for years to come, I have to.”

The SJSD Board of Education announced McGinnis as the new superintendent in December 2024 and she replaced Gabe Edgar on July 1.

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