Month: December 2025

Patrick Holleron

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A group of devoted community members were officially honored as the next class of up-and-coming leaders in St. Joseph this week, highlighted by the dedication of one late member who long embodied the program’s core values.

United Way of Greater St. Joseph is celebrating the work of 28 local leaders who graduated from its longstanding Leadership St. Joseph program on Thursday, capping off a year-long program designed to boost leadership skills and promote community investment.

Leaders from a wide variety of career fields and professions were featured in this year’s class, including those in K12 and higher education, nonprofit services, government, healthcare, business, banking and more.

As part of this year’s class, the 2025 United Way Leadership St. Joseph Distinguished Leader Award was presented to the late Carole A. Dunn, who unexpectedly passed away on June 10, 2025, at the age of 56. Her daughter, Bridgette Ballinger, was presented the award on her behalf.

Dunn was a member of the 2002 United Way Leadership St. Joseph class and dedicated her life to volunteering and supporting a wide variety of local organizations, including the YWCA Board of Directors, the Women of Excellence Steering Committee and the Leadership St. Joseph Steering Committee.

“Carol is a beautiful example of leading in every room you are in, regardless of what your role is,” United Way President Kylee Strough. “She brought an energy, a spirit, and an inspiration to all she did what she did through her workday at the News-Press with Josephine, and AFL-CIO Community Services. She brought leadership to how she operated within the community as a citizen, championing for Downtown, small businesses, the arts, taking care of our community and making it better. It was our honor last night to recognize Carole with this award.”

Dunn was a vital member of the St. Joseph News-Press for more than three decades, helping lead the company’s marketing and community engagement efforts, Josephine magazine and supporting numerous other areas of the company.

United Way Leadership St. Joseph 2025 graduates include:

Shay Bernard — Progressive Community Services

Tom Brand — St. Joseph Community Alliance

Stephanie Bush — American Family Mutual Insurance Company

Summer Deatherage — City of St. Joseph

Jodi Deering — Hillyard Companies

Jace Drake — Mosaic Life Care

Angi Duty — Community Action Partnership

Stacey Fanning — Missouri American Water Co.

Lanea Furst — Altec Industries

Brooklynn Gill — Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation

Sarah Gockley — St. Joseph Public Library

Pete Hernandez — Nor-Am Cold Storage

Tyler Hoffman — American Family Mutual Insurance Company

Lindsay Hummer — Mosaic Life Care

Jackson Lohman — City of St. Joseph

Brandi Lopez — Altec Industries

Rafael Medeiros de Oliveira Silva — American Angus Association

Bubba Miller — Sponsored by Farmers State Bank, employed by Altec Industries

Kristen Neeley — Missouri Western State University

Kenney Newville — Modern Litho

Michelle Norman — Sponsored by Junior League of St. Joseph

Nikki Olt — Nestle Purina PetCare

Viviana Sanchez — Daily’s Premium Meats

Michelle Schulze — St. Joseph School District

Tammy Smith-Hinchey — St. Joseph School District

Cameron Talbot — Commerce Bank

More than 1,000 individuals have completed United Way’s program since its creation in 1982, equipping individuals with the skills and knowledge to serve as engaged community leaders. The program fosters a strong network of community commitment through service, collaboration and a deeper understanding of community needs.

The United Way Leadership St. Joseph Class of 2025 stands for a group photo.

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) — Gov. Mike Kehoe might be looking to phase out income tax in 2026, but to do that, the state would have to expand the sales tax base to include services, according to conservative group Americans For Prosperity.

The governor hasn’t released a plan to eliminate income tax, but a spokesperson said Thursday that he will unveil his tax and spending plan for fiscal 2027 at the State of the State Address on Jan. 12. That plan will be “comprehensive and responsible,” the governor’s office said.

Americans For Prosperity has been working closely with the governor to craft a plan that will keep more money in Missourians’ paychecks, legislative director Camellia Peterson said. The governor plans to phase out the income tax over five to 10 years, Peterson said.

Income tax accounts for about two-thirds of Missouri’s general revenue, according to the Missouri Budget Project. The state has to make up that loss from somewhere.

The state collected about $3.31 billion since December 2024, according to the state general revenue report for November 2025.

The bottom 20% of Missouri workers pay about 0.5% of their income, the top 20% pay about 3.6% and everyone in between pays somewhere between 1.4% and 3.6%, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Peterson said the governor’s plan would include widening the sales tax base to include services while also cutting spending. For example, realtor transaction fees and accounting services would be taxable under this proposed plan, Peterson said. Health care services would be exempt from this tax.

“Broadening the sales tax base really does help people at lower income levels because it also gives you more choice in how much tax you pay when there are budget shortfalls or when things get tight,” Peterson said.

The Missouri Realtors Association did not respond to a request for comment.

Traci Gleason from the Missouri Budget Project said services could include repairs, lawn service and pet grooming.

Missouri voters passed a ballot initiative in 2016 to keep sales and use taxes off services, according to Gleason.

Gleason said this would act like a tax break for the upper class because a larger share of their tax burden comes from income tax.

The other way the governor could make up for the income tax revenue is to increase sales tax, Gleason said.

The Missouri Budget Project estimates that sales tax would have to be about 12% to completely replace income tax, and when that’s combined with other local taxes, that number could jump to 17% to 19%.

Gleason said this projected sales tax could be costly for Missourians.

“We don’t add up the sales taxes that we pay every single day, and so it seems like it’s going to be something that’s going to help people, but when you add up what they’re actually paying, it’s going to hurt most Missourians in the long run,” Gleason said.

Peterson said the governor isn’t planning on an increase in sales tax. However, the governor hasn’t released his official plan.

The plan would also need voter approval because it’s considered a new tax, Peterson said. It would be on the 2026 ballot.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A statistic about income taxes paid by the top 1% of earners has been corrected.

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