Author: News-Press NOW

Associated Press

By JAVIER CORDOBA and ANDREW DALTON – Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Malcolm-Jamal Warner the actor who played teenage son Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” has died at age 54 in an accidental drowning in Costa Rica, authorities there said.

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department said Monday that Warner drowned Sunday afternoon on a beach on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. He was swimming at Playa Cocles in Limon province when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean.

“He was rescued by people on the beach,” the department’s initial report said, but first responders from Costa Rica’s Red Cross found him without vital signs and he was taken to the morgue.

Warner created many TV moments etched in the memories of Generation X children and their parents, including a pilot-episode argument with Bill Cosby’s Cliff Huxtable about money and an ear piercing he tries to hide from his dad. His Theo was the only son among four daughters in the household of Cliff Huxtable and Phylicia Rashad’s Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom, and he would be one of the prime representations of American teenage boyhood on a show that was the most popular in America for much of its run from 1984 to 1992.

He played the role for eight seasons in all 197 episodes, winning an Emmy nomination for supporting actor in a comedy in 1986. For many the lasting image of the character, and of Warner, is of him wearing a badly botched mock designer shirt sewed by his sister Denise, played by Lisa Bonet.

Warner later appeared on the sitcom “Malcolm & Eddie,” co-starring with comedian Eddie Griffin in the series on the defunct UPN network from 1996 to 2000. And in the 2010s he starred opposite Tracee Ellis Ross as a family-blending couple for two seasons on the BET sitcom “Read Between The Lines.” He also had a role as O.J. Simpson’s friend Al Cowlings on “American Crime Story” and was a series regular on Fox’s “The Resident.”

His film roles include the 2008 rom-com “Fool’s Gold” with Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. A poet and a musician, Warner was a Grammy winner, for best traditional R&B performance, and was nominated for best spoken word poetry album for “Hiding in Plain View.”

Warner was married with a daughter, but chose to not publicly disclose their names. Warner’s representatives declined immediate comment.

AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton reported from Los Angeles. AP National Writer Jocelyn Noveck contributed reporting from New York.

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News-Press NOW

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Former St. Joseph Central High School golf star Ali Perry will receive the Bill Snyder Woman of Impact Award at this year’s Hall of Fame banquet.

After winning the Missouri Class 5A individual state championship at Central, Perry completed her freshman season at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year. Perry won the NCAA Division II Regional Individual Championship. That win qualified her and her teammates to compete in the Division II national championship.

Perry also excelled in the classroom, earning a WGCA All-America Scholar award.

The Woman of Impact Award recognizes a female athlete, coach, administrator, or contributor who achieved an outstanding season or accomplishment over the past year. The award is named after legendary coach and St. Joseph native Bill Snyder, who frequently discusses the impact his mother, Marionetta, had on his life.

Snyder will present the award personally at the 2025 Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony at Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center on Aug. 24. The event starts at 4 p.m. and the enshrinement ceremony begins at 5 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased at stjomosports.com or by calling (816) 233-6688.

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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The St. Joseph Police Department conducted a targeted enforcement operation in response to information received about a planned vehicle “side show” event on Saturday, July 19.

The operation resulted in 53 vehicle stops, leading to 19 citations and 25 warnings being issued.

Eight tickets were issued for improper or expired license plates

Three tickets were issued for driving while suspended or revoked

Two tickets were issued for driving without insurance

“Side show” events are characterized by reckless driving, illegal street racing and dangerous vehicle stunts. They pose a significant threat to public safety and not only endanger participants, but also bystanders and uninvolved motorists.

The SJPD said it remains vigilant in identifying and responding to illegal activities before they result in injuries or fatalities.

“We take illegal street activity seriously. Our priority is to ensure that all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians are safe on our roadways. Reckless driving and unlicensed operation of vehicles will not be tolerated in our community,” said SJPD Police Chief Paul Luster in a news release. “We’re committed to proactive enforcement to prevent tragedy before it strikes.”

SJPD encourages residents to report suspicious or dangerous driving behavior.

This is the second time in less than a week that the SJPD has conducted a targeted traffic enforcement operation.

Officers made 61 traffic stops, issuing 40 citations and 22 warnings on Friday. SJPD also issued 23 tickets for expired or improperly displayed state license plates and eight drivers were cited for operating a vehicle without valid insurance.

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Abigail McCluskey

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — This week’s heat will be brutal and it’s not just humans who are at risk.

Without proper precautions, the intense temperatures can seriously affect the health and safety of pets.

From Monday, July 21 through Sunday, July 27, daily highs are expected to reach into the 90s, with heat indices soaring close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Days that may feel tolerable to humans can be dangerously hot for four-legged companions.

It’s important to understand the risks and be prepared. Just like people, pets are vulnerable to heat-related illnesses. Staying hydrated and keeping them cool is essential.

According to the National Weather Service, asphalt and concrete surfaces can be 10 to 20 degrees hotter than the air temperature during the day. What feels moderately warm to humans could be scalding to your pet’s paws.

Aubrey Couch, an animal care specialist with St. Joseph Animal Services, shared this tip:” The best rule of thumb is to put the back of your hand down on the pavement. and if it’s hot for you, it’s hot for them.”

Couch warns, pets can burn the pads of their feet, leading to painful sores and blisters. But, hot pavement isn’t the only concern.

Heat exhaustion and heatstroke are serious health threats for animals. Some of the common signs of heat-related illness in pets include an irregular heart rate, excessive drooling, lethargy, refusal to eat and heavy panting.

While some panting is normal in dogs, excessive panting can indicate distress. In cats, however, any panting at all is considered abnormal and may be a red flag for heat exhaustion or other health issues.

Couch reminds pet owners to pay close attention to their pets’ behavior.

“If you see they are acting off and they’ve been out in the heat, it is really important to get them checked out and to contact your veterinarian as soon as you can,” said Couch.

Local ordinances are also in place to protect pets. According to City of St. Joseph Ordinance Chapter 5, Article 2, tethered animals may not be left outside when temperatures exceed 85°F.

For more information on animal heat saftey you can visit www.weather.gov/wrn/summer-article-keep-your-pets-cool.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — City Councilmembers will take a close look at potentially increasing security at St. Joseph’s Downtown bus station to address ongoing issues with disruptive behavior.

Monday’s City Council agenda includes a one-year agreement with Missouri-based security firm Triple B Security Services, LLC, for $47,211, to allow for security during hours of operation. The deal includes options for an addition three years.

According to the city, the bus transfer center at Sixth and Angelique Streets has experienced frequent issues with non-bus riders of late, including disruptive behavior, property damage and threatening transit riders.

“The consistency of this behavior has caused discomfort and fear for paying passengers and damage to the facility. Transit Supervisors constantly monitor the transfer station and ask these people to vacate the facility. Once staff leaves, however, the violators quickly return,” the ordinance reads.

The St. Joseph Police Department has responded regularly when requested, but the occurrences are too frequent and it’s not reasonable to expect police personnel to permanently station a staff person at a single location.

The hope is that having a security officer present during hours of operation will deter this type of conduct and enable St. Joseph Transit to react to incidents more rapidly, as well as provide a safer environment for the patrons who wait for the bus.

News-Press NOW will update this article.

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News-Press NOW

DEKALB COUNTY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A driver and two passengers suffered serious injuries due to a crash in DeKalb County just after 7:00 a.m. on Saturday.

The 59-year-old driver of a 2020 Lexus GX460 was westbound on U.S. 36, east of southwest Taylor Road, when the vehicle traveled off the north side of the roadway, down an embankment and overturned.

The vehicle came to rest on its top, facing northeast.

The vehicle contained one driver and three passengers. The driver and both a 58-year-old female passenger and a 52-year-old female passenger, who was not wearing a seatbelt, suffered serious injuries.

A 15-year-old female passenger also suffered moderate injuries.

All three passengers were transported to by DeKalb/Clinton County EMS to Mosaic Life Care. The driver was transported by Buchanan County EMS to Mosaic.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Missouri State Highway Patrol with this crash.

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ANDREW COUNTY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — One man is dead from being thrown off his motorcycle after hitting a deer in Andrew County on Friday evening.

The 64-year-old male driver of a 1993 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide was eastbound on Route O, two miles west of Cosby, Missouri.

The motorcycle struck a deer after it entered the roadway, ejecting the driver.

The driver came to rest in the eastbound lane, and the vehicle traveled off the south side of the roadway, coming to rest in the grass on its right side, facing east.

The driver was pronounced dead at Mosaic Life Care at 9:10 p.m. on Friday, July 18.

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Praji Ghosh

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A National Ice Cream Day event at Kris and Kate’s also offered a chance for the St. Joseph Police Department to expand its team.

The event, which took place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 20, at Kris and Kate’s, located at 2330 N. 36th St, featured a car show and a concert performed by Molly Rodriguez.

SJPD was able to bring in SWAT vehicles and other equipment for community outreach and recruiting purposes.

“Hopefully, we can bolster our numbers and get some good recruits to get enrolled in the academy,” said Sgt. Jeremy Peters with the SJPD.

Peters said he was happy to utilize this event as an opportunity to interact with community members and bring more awareness about SJPD’s upcoming events and to hand out flyers to people as they come in.

This is the first time SJPD has decided to be a part of this event.

“We have a pretty cool vehicle to bring in and show everyone. We also have one of our Tahoes with us today, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to come out here and be active,” Peters said.

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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — As the school year quickly approaches, The Salvation Army is gearing up for its annual back-to-school events.

The Salvation Army will be sorting through school supplies on Monday, Aug. 4, stuffing backpacks on Tuesday, Aug. 5 and will be distributing school supplies on Thursday, Aug. 7.

Distribution will take place from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at The Salvation Army, located at 602 Messanie St.

Those in need of school supplies must provide a birth certificate and social security number for all child(ren), a photo ID of a parent or guardian and the name of the school(s) the child(ren) will be attending.

For questions, call (816) 232-5824.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Longtime pilot Julius Rice remembers growing up as close to the seat of an aircraft as a kid possibly could, with photos as an infant sitting in an airplane evidence to back it up.

“My dad and my grandpa always had airplanes. So I grew up around airplanes,” said Rice, manager of Rosecrans Memorial Airport in St. Joseph and deputy chief of staff with the Missouri Air National Guard’s 139th Airlift Wing.

The spark for Rice’s aviation career, though, would come just a few years later: an elementary school field trip to the Air National Guard’s 138th Fighter Wing in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one of the country’s premier units for tactical fighter planes.

“That’s the earliest memory of me going ‘I want to be in aviation,'” he said. “Those field trips with the young kids, that’s pretty important.”

Organized field trips to Rosecrans Memorial Airport and the 139th Airlift Wing are now a point of pride for Rice as a staple of their community engagement efforts that have taken off in recent years with an infusion of new events, technology and opportunities to take to the skies and enter the field of aviation.

Coupled with the success of flight leaders like Lute Atieh and his FlyTech Pilot Academy, launched in 2024, the two are expanding St. Joseph’s footprint in aviation and boosting efforts to inspire new generations to pursue careers.

Rosecrans Memorial Airport Manager Julius Rice, left, and FlyTech Pilot Academy co-founder Lute Atieh speak at the new Rosecrans terminal building in July in St. Joseph.

“I was like, well, let’s try flight school and see how that goes. And that went wildly well and very quickly,” Atieh said. “We’ve been really fortunate on the flight school side of things.”

While his earliest airplane memories may not date back as far as Rice’s, Atieh’s passion for flight and supporting careers in aviation has been just as unwavering, including working alongside Rice to put on the award-winning Sound of Speed airshows, winner of Best Airshow in 2021 and 2024 courtesy of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.

Now, the focus has been supporting long-held and beloved airshow events — next scheduled for 2026 — with new opportunities that continue the buzz of aviation.

“We have such a great airport. I don’t think a lot of people here realize it. We’re in a unique situation and we want to share that and make this accessible and available,” he said. “It’s an exciting time.”

With more than $35 million in widespread infrastructure upgrades over the last several years, including a new terminal building, runway and air traffic control tower nearing completion, the 86-year-old Rosecrans Memorial Airport is transforming from an aging and outdated facility to a state-of-the-art complex ripe for more opportunities.

Rice and Atieh successfully organized a first-of-its-kind aviation event for St. Joseph this June in the Pony Express STOL (short takeoff and landing), a competitive series where STOL aircraft orchestrate difficult and precise landings and takeoffs on shorter runways. The inaugural event drew strong crowds and pilots from a variety of age groups.

A large crowd of people watches aircraft perform in the Pony Express STOL at Rosecrans Memorial Airport this summer in St. Joseph.

“The more people you can get out here using the airport, the more activity, the more planes, the more pilots. That’s something that’s important,” he said.

Rice said a wealth of opportunities currently exist for an aviation career, some becoming available as early as high school and after graduation, while others can pursue more advanced degrees.

With critical staffing needs in the aviation industry only heightened by recent U.S. aviation disasters, from air traffic controllers to pilots and critical positions like mechanics and electricians, Rice and Atieh understand the importance of renewed interest in the success of the industry long-term, both for the public and private sectors.

“If we don’t go out and actively pursue the next generation of aviation enthusiasts, they’re not going to exist,” Rice said. “Across the board in aviation, there’s a shortfall in people.”

New flight simulator technology at Hillyard Technical Center offers another immersive layer to St. Joseph’s aviation scene, a particularly valuable tool for young aspiring aviators with little flight experience.

Atieh credited the St. Joseph School District with helping support efforts to engage students in aviation, including a new aviation maintenance program in the works at Hillyard.

“You’ve got the next wave of this electronic vertical takeoff and landing. It’s huge,” Atieh said. “One day, I think all of us hope to attract that type of a manufacturer out here. We’ve got plenty of land, plenty of space, lots of great workforce. And so that’s the long-term goal.” 

In the short term, Rice and Atieh are focused on the upcoming International Council of Airshows in December, part of the 2026 Sound of Speed Airshow planning process that could reveal which jet teams come to St. Joseph.

With high-level airshows and aviation events often coming with costly price tags, Rice and Atieh said support from the community and sponsors like Sunshine Electric, Altec and Mosaic Life Care, among many others, continues to make the events a possibility for the community.

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