Month: December 2025

Patrick Holleron

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Three local museums will be the recipients of sizable financial gifts this holiday season thanks to a passionate community of local runners.

The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday that more than $15,000 was raised and presented to Robidoux Row, Patee House Museum & Jesse James Home and Mount Mora Cemetery as part of the popular 5k run/timed walk hosted by the Chamber.

St. Joseph runners showed out in force this year with approximately 400 people joining the race, a notable increase from around 300 runners in 2024. Just over $5,000 will now go to each of the museums.

The Donut Dash is a family friendly run through the streets of downtown St. Joseph, featuring Mount Mora Cemetery, Patee House Museum and Robidoux Row. Along the route, participants can stop at designated areas for beverages and donuts courtesy of Gold-N-Glaze Donut & Coffee Shop.

A donation raised from the 2025 Donut Dash is presented to Mount Mora Cemetery.

Click here to follow the original article.

Prajukta Ghosh

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — An online safety seminar at the East Hills Library brought parents together to talk about one big topic—how to protect kids online.  

The session, held from 6 to 7:30 p.m., focused on what signs to look for when a child’s behavior suddenly shifts, what types of games attract online predators and how parents can stay ahead of potential dangers.  

Cybersecurity Specialist Byron Gorman said over 9,000 predators are active on Roblox, an online platform and game-creation system primarily used by the youth, and stressed that his job is to make sure families know what their kids might be exposed to.  

“Australia banned their youth. Anybody under 16 can no longer be on social media. It is good in some respects, but in other respects it’s not,” Gorman said.  

He urged parents to take the time to really assess what’s going on if their child seems upset or withdrawn—especially when it comes to cyberbullying.  

One of his biggest pieces of advice, according to him, is to create a safe space for kids to open up.  

“Never make your child feel as though they’re going to get in trouble if they tell you. So if a child comes, most of the time, they’re scared because the parent wants to take their device away. We don’t want to do that,” Gorman said.  

Gorman told parents to take three steps if something happens: make sure the child feels safe, record what’s going on and then report it to authorities so legal action can be taken if necessary.  

“Technology is so fluid right now. Everybody’s connected. There’s nothing we do on a daily basis that we’re not connected to technology,” Gorman said.  

Gorman said his mission is to help protect anyone who spends time online—and to make navigating the digital world safer for kids and teens. 

Click here to follow the original article.

News-Press NOW

By: Darren Doyle

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — A local Domestic Violence survivor is advocating for a Colorado woman’s petition to establish a registry for Domestic Violence Offenders.

Depending on laws and location, a Domestic Violence Offender can get certain charges expunged from their record. Renee Lopez from Denver, Colorado, wrote a petition calling for a nationwide registry to keep individuals safe.

Lopez caught inspiration for this possible countrywide registry from Clare’s Law in the United Kingdom. Although some details aren’t quite worked out for how the registry would work, it is hoped to provide an open-access resource to partners or potential partners to find out if their partner has a history of Domestic Violence.

Getting the law established is not only for anyone who has already survived traumatic relationships, but also for those who haven’t had the experience, according to Lopez.

“A lot of people, thankfully, were brave enough to leave their stories, you know. When you look at these stories, you realize, I’m not alone in this,” said Lopez. “But also that’s really staggering that this many people have, at least once in their life, experienced some form of domestic violence”.

One local woman has been highly vocal about this possibly life-saving tool, which she hopes will be developed.

Cassandra Brandon said she is a survivor of an 11-year traumatic relationship where she endured abuse from her then-partner. After being made aware of the petition, she’s been doing what she can to spread awareness and help make it a reality.

Not being able to search her partner’s past is one of the factors she said led her into her situation.

“My abuser was able to, after two felony charges, he was able to remove those and keep them off public record. For me, I think that was the biggest shock, but also like the biggest blow,” Brandon shared. “There was nothing to hold him accountable or prevent him from doing that to somebody else, and you just kind of feel like you’re just invisible in some ways.”

Since the petition began three weeks ago, it has received over 12,000 signatures.

Click here to follow the original article.