Mosaic Life Care Foundation and emPowerU announce afterschool enrichment programs

News-Press NOW on January 9, 2026

Patrick Holleron

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Additional learning experiences are coming for St. Joseph youth in the near future as part of a six-part program designed to spark an interest in science, technology, engineering and math.

The Mosaic Life Care Foundation and emPowerU’s STEAM will be holding various STEM-based afterschool activity programs on Tuesdays from Feb. 3 to March 10, at the emPowerU facility on 518 S. 6th St. The program will run for a total of six weeks and admission will be $50 for students.

The program will immerse students in a number of different technologies from coding and robotics to virtual reality.

Lego Powered Machines and Mechanisms (grades 3-5): Students will get hands on opportunities to design, build and test machines in real-life scenarios.

Lego SPIKE Prime Robotics (Grades 6-8): Students will build and code robots with Lego building elements.

TYNKER Coding (Grades 3-8): TYNKER coding will code and build video games with their own characters, music, controls and game logic.

Virtual Reality Explorers (Grades 6-8): Students will explore immersive technology as they create three-dimensional art as they explore different environments.

For additional information or questions contact Director of Program Operations Devran Brower at (817)-271-7910.

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2 charged in shooting on Dunklin Street in Jefferson City

KMIZ on January 9, 2026

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two people were charged with felonies in a Jefferson City shooting that occurred on Tuesday.

Dustee Mathis, 29, of Jefferson City, was charged with two counts of armed criminal action and two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. An arraignment was held on Friday and Mathis pleaded not guilty by video from the Cole County Jail, where she is being held without bond.

Armion McCann, 25, of Jefferson City, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action, two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and a single count of tampering with evidence. He also pleaded not guilty by video from the jail during a Friday afternoon arraignment/ He is also being held without bond.

A counsel status hearing for both people is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday.

The probable cause statement says someone described as a witness had made a derogatory comment about Mathis, who was sitting in a vehicle in front of a residence, and an argument ensued. Mathis and McCann had left the area and came back.

A witness claimed Mathis was first holding a gun, but McCann ended up holding it, the statement says. One of the witnesses claimed McCann fired shots and that no one from the home fired any, court documents say.

McCann allegedly told officers that he fired the gun after someone at the house had used pepper spray and fired a shot, the statement says.

Video allegedly showed shots being fired after an argument, and police noted that shots could have been fired from two different guns, the statement says.

Police found 10 shell casings in the street near the home, along with another on the front porch, shattered glass from a door that was hit and a bullet hole in the living room wall, court documents say.

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Teenager accused in Dick’s shots fired scene, carjacking charged with 3 felonies

KMIZ on January 9, 2026

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A court official has confirmed that the 17-year-old boy accused of firing shots on Saturday night inside Dick’s Sporting Goods has been charged with three felonies.

A Boone County juvenile court officer has not revealed the name of the youth accused in the shooting, but confirmed in an email that he is charged with unlawful use of a weapon, carjacking and armed criminal action.

Chief Juvenile Officer Angie Bezoni confirmed the charges were filed on Monday.

The next court appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20. There is currently no hearing scheduled to certify the juvenile as an adult.

The Columbia teenager was later arrested by troopers in Pettis County after he was accused of firing shots inside Dick’s Sporting Goods at The Shoppes on Stadium and stealing a car before driving away on Interstate 70. He led troopers on a chase after troopers tried to initiate a traffic stop near Sedalia, previous reporting shows.

The juvenile was arrested after crashing the vehicle on Route V near Bahner Road, previous reporting shows.

No one was injured after shots were fired at Dick’s.

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Mountain lion spotted in Palm Springs neighborhood Friday morning

KESQ on January 9, 2026

Jesus Reyes

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – Police issued an advisory to the community after an apparent mountain lion was spotted in a Palm Springs neighborhood Friday morning.

The adult mountain lion was reportedly seen between approximately 6:00 and 6:30 a.m., near the Upper West Vista Chino area, in the vicinity of the 500 block of Vista Chino. The reporting party later lost sight of the animal, the Palm Springs Police Department announced.

PSPD’s Animal Control Officer followed up on the incident, officials said.

Wildlife officials have been notified and are aware of the activity in the area. Police said the situation is being monitored.

Police reminded residents that wildlife does frequent in the desert community.

“We encourage everyone to remain aware of their surroundings when outdoors. Residents with pets are advised to keep them supervised and within view when outside, rather than allowing them to roam unattended,” reads a PSPD announcement. “If you encounter a mountain lion or other wildlife, sightings should be reported directly to the Wildlife Incident Reporting System at wildlife.ca.gov. This allows wildlife officials to track activity and determine if further action is needed.”

The Palm Springs Police Department can also be notified at 760-327-1441 so they are aware and can assist if necessary.

Additional resources can be found at https://wildlife.ca.gov/Living-with-Wildlife

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Police search for suspect involved in Friday shooting on Locust Street, victim suffers non-life threatening wounds

News-Press NOW on January 9, 2026

News-Press NOW

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — One man suffered non-life-threatening injuries after being shot at the 1000 block of Locust Street just before 3 p.m. Friday.

A KQ2 reporter on scene observed a few different police cars, as well as an emergency services vehicle.

St. Joseph Police Department Sgt. Ken Schroeder said officers received a call about a disturbance between two individuals on the front porch of a residence in the area.

The suspect is not currently in custody, SJPD said they were told the subject took off, heading west, from the location.

The victim is currently receiving treatment at Mosaic Life Care.

Schroeder said the investigation is still ongoing.

KQ2 will update this article as more details become available.

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Officials provide construction update on TownePlace Suites Hotel

News-Press NOW on January 9, 2026

Carter Ostermiller

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — Construction is in its early stages on the new Marriott TownePlace Suites Hotel on 1401 N. Woodbine Road.

According to City of St. Joseph Plans Review Coordinator Dale Reuter, the four-story, 129-room hotel, proposed in June of 2024, has a market value of $10 million, plus.

Construction officially began sometime in late October 2025.

The building will include a breakfast area, a fitness area, an indoor pool area and an outdoor pool.

“St. Joe is a great place to come and build, and we do need more of the hotels in our area for our interstate people and people traveling through,” said Reuter.

According to Reuter, construction crews have poured the foundations. Now, underground plumbing and electricity are just being put in for the building.

Reuter said early conversations have indicated that the plans for the building to be finished are hopefully by June of this year, as Kansas City prepares for the FIFA World Cup.

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‘It’s Oatmealing!’ A snowplow driver’s goldmine while attacking winter storms

KRDO on January 9, 2026

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo (KRDO) – Thursday night was an all-call for the Colorado Springs snowplow drivers. Record levels of snow, and a full crew of drivers patrolling the city from 12 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“When Mother Nature comes in, Mother Nature just wins,” said Public Works Operation Manager Corey Farkas.

At 6 a.m., with six hours left before his shift change, plow driver Marcus Brooks made room in his snowplow cab for KRDO13’s Bradley Davis.

“They’ve been pretty messy this morning,” Brooks said.

“How many cars have you seen spin out this morning?” Davis asked.

“A lot. A lot. At least seven.”

It snowed over nine inches from Thursday into Friday across most of the city. Until about 5 a.m., both Farkas and Brooks said progress was not easy going, like bailing water out of the ocean.

“At a rate of 1-2 inches of snowfall per hour, we have so much infrastructure we just can’t keep up,” Farkas said.

The snow started to slow from then on, and the plows started to catch up.

“You just see the snow just blow everywhere, so that’s always pretty cool. You just know you’re hitting it,” Farkas said while rolling a big pile out of the road.

“Whenever you put the blades down, you should always be putting product down,” Brooks said.

The city said it’s been expanding its chloride de-icer tanks year-after-year.

“Those bigger storage tanks give us the capacity to expand our work,” Mobolade said.

Between the lighter snow, lots of snowplows and a healthy portion of chemical de-icer, Brooks finally started to find what he had been digging for.

“Oatmeal!” Brooks said. “When all the snow starts to break up and gets all wet, we call it Oatmealing.”

“Do we like oatmeal?” Davis asked.

“We love oatmeal!” Brooks replied.

Brooks said it’s a point of pride for himself and his coworkers.

“Keeping the community safe, that’s always cool. I have brothers who has to drive. A mother who has to drive. Family. And just throwing snow, I love it!”

Friday, community appreciation came from an unexpected source.

“I just want to tell you thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for getting up so early while everyone is sleeping to help the streets. I appreciate y’all, and I love y’all,” Mobolade said over Brooks’ and the other drivers’ radios.

The cool tempuratures Friday will keep the next plow shift on the roads for a while, but with the snow moving Southeast, the roads should drastically improve each hour.

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Firefighters contain mulch fire in Thermal; Mop up expected to last several days

KESQ on January 9, 2026

City News Service

THERMAL, Calif. (KESQ) – A mulch fire that erupted today in Thermal was contained.

The non-injury blaze was reported shortly after 5:30 a.m. Friday in the 82200 block of Airport Boulevard, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.  

The agency stated that crews contained the 100-by-100-foot fire shortly before 9:50 a.m.  

Mop-up was expected to last for a few days.  

There was no immediate word on what might have triggered the fire.

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Food Recall: Thousands of tater tot cases pulled from Idaho and Utah Freezers

KIFI on January 9, 2026

Seth Ratliff

IDAHO/UTAH (KIFI) — Nearly 39,000 cases of frozen potato products are being pulled from shelves in Idaho, Utah, and 24 other states after reports of “clear hard plastic fragments” found in the food.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, McCain Foods USA Inc. has initiated a voluntary Class II recall for two specific frozen potato brands: Ore-Ida Tater Tots and Sysco Imperial Potato Tater Barrels.

The recall, which began on December 3, 2025, impacts the following specific batches:

Brand
Item Number
Packaging
Batch Codes

Ore-Ida Tater Tots
OIF00215A
30lb clear unlabeled poly bags
1005479808, 1005480444

Sysco Imperial Potato Tater Barrel
1000006067
6/5lb clear unlabeled poly bags
1005482717, 1005485660

Food service providers and Idahoans are directed to check their freezers immediately. If the code on the back of the packaging matches those listed above, do not eat the product. The FDA directs consumers to discard the frozen product immediately or return it.

Other States affected include:

Alaska

Arizona

California

Colorado

Florida

Hawaii

Iowa

Illinois

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Mississippi

Montana

Nebraska

New Mexico

North Dakota

Nevada

Oregon

Texas

Washington

Wisconsin

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Riverside County veteran hospitalized in Philippines amid dispute over medical bills

KESQ on January 9, 2026

Garrett Hottle

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) A Riverside County veteran, Charles Hunter, remains hospitalized in the Philippines, where his family says a dispute over medical bills is preventing him from returning home for continued care.

The veteran became critically ill while visiting the Philippines, suffering what relatives describe as a severe foodborne infection. He is currently in an intensive care unit, on a ventilator, according to the family.

Relatives say the hospital has declined to release him because his California-based insurance is not accepted overseas and outstanding medical costs continue to grow. The family says his visa has also expired, complicating efforts to bring him back to the United States.

Family members are working to raise money to cover medical expenses and transportation costs. If you want to help you can visit this link.

News Channel 3 will be speaking with the veteran’s family later today to learn more about his condition, the financial hurdles they are facing, and what help they are seeking to bring him home.

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