Month: November 2025

Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The City of St. Joseph will receive millions in state grant funding to design a state-of-the-art facility capable of maintaining the coveted C-130J model aircraft.

St. Joseph and the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission have agreed to terms on a $7.49 million airport grant agreement for design phase services for a new aircraft maintenance facility for the 139th Airlift Wing at Rosecrans Memorial Airport.

Grant funds will be provided through the State Airport Aid Fund on a reimbursement basis, allowing the city and the Missouri Air National Guard to initiate critical early steps for facility planning.

“The state gave us the money saying the 139th Airlift Wing is extremely important for our state and our community,” St. Joseph Public Works Director Abe Forney said. “The 139th is not just local. It’s a local and a federal mission.”

The addition of a new and expanded maintenance hangar serves as a major checkmark for securing the long-sought C-130J, the U.S. Air Force’s primary transport aircraft and a major upgrade from C-130Hs currently at Rosecrans.

The C-130J is also viewed as the backbone of NATO’s airlift superiority, with a fleet of more than 540 C-130Js across 70 countries.

“One of the things that didn’t allow them to say the J-model was perfect for Rosecrans was the aircraft maintenance hangar was not big enough according to specifications,” Forney said. “This is a bigger maintenance facility for the J models … I think this is the exact thing that needed to happen.”

The current plan is to design the new maintenance facility to be large enough to hold two C-130J models.

While the facility doesn’t guarantee approval of the C-130J, which often involves a highly competitive bidding process, Forney credited the work of many local and state government officials for putting St. Joseph in as strong a position as possible to secure it.

“City Council worked on this. The representatives from the state worked on this. The senators worked on it. All the way up to Gov. Kehoe,” Forney said. “If we didn’t get this grant, we would be waiting on the Department of Defense or the Federal Government.”

City Councilmembers are now scheduled to hear a first reading for the grant agreement on Monday before final approval takes place at the Nov. 17 meeting.

The announcement comes as the 139th Airlift Wing continues the long-term process of relocating to the north end of the base.

Between it and the 86-year-old Rosecrans Memorial Airport, more than $35 million has been invested in widespread infrastructure upgrades in recent years, including a new terminal building, runway and air traffic control tower nearing completion.

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Leah Rainwater

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — Traffic will soon be reduced to one lane on Walter Welsh Avenue north of St. Joseph’s City Hall.

The closure comes as work begins Monday, Nov. 10, on a planned City Hall fountain improvement project.

The north lane of the one-way street will be closed to allow demolition to begin on the existing fountain located on the north side of City Hall, between Walter Welsh and Frederick Avenues.

The lane closest to the building will remain open and ADA-accessible parking in front of City Hall will still be available. The City Hall parking lot will still remain accessible throughout construction.

The $190,000 Capital Improvement Program project includes a complete demolition of the existing fountain and retaining wall.

The site will be regraded to street level to improve visibility and pedestrian safety. A new fountain and circular sidewalks with benches will be constructed in its place.

The “No Turning Back” statue, currently located on the site, will be reinstalled as part of the new design.

The fountain project is scheduled for completion in April 2026.

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TaMya Bracy

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — As winter weather approaches, driving may become a little trickier.

Drivers will have to deal with limited visibility, longer braking distances, snowfall and icy roads.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, there were over 3,370 vehicle crashes in Missouri in 2024 during periods of snow, sleet, hail or ice, which resulted in 819 injuries and 10 deaths.

Sgt. Shane Hux said it’s important to check your local weather forecast before making any travel arrangements.

“Look on the internet for the local weather conditions. Not only is it important to check the weather where you live,  but also where you’re traveling to and in between,” he said

Hux said it’s very important to make sure your vehicle is winter-ready.

“Very important to make sure that your tires are properly inflated.  The vehicle’s in good mechanical condition,  you know, the antifreeze, everything good battery,  because what we don’t want is for people to get stranded  during inclement weather,” he said

Hux said driver’s patterns should change in the winter due to the snow and ice.

“Make sure you decrease your speed and increase your following distance. Just because the speed limit is 70 miles per hour on the interstate, that doesn’t mean that you can always travel 70 miles per hour,” he said. “There’s times where you maybe you can only do 25, 30 miles per hour.” 

Hux gives tips on what to do if your vehicle starts to skid on the road.

“It’s one of those moments where you don’t want to break.  You want to counter steer and try to get that vehicle to come out of it,” he said.

Hux said one thing remains constant every year: vehicles are more likely to strike Missouri Department of Transportation snowplows.

“If you cannot pass them safely, then don’t pass them at all. Just stay behind them and travel them at a safe distance to give them time to where they can remove the snow from the roadway,” he said.

Overall, Hux said, sometimes it’s best for the public to stay home where there is inclement weather.

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