Author: News-Press NOW

Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — As he stood at the podium to deliver his closing remarks, Mayor John Josendale ended his address with a call to action, challenging those in the audience to continue rallying for St. Joseph.

In his eyes, success … and challenges, will be accomplished and overcome with the help of community partners, from each resident and employee to the abundance of businesses and organizations that support it.

“It makes me proud to see individuals, groups and organizations stepping up to lead the charge,” Josendale said. “If you want to make St. Joseph great, each of us has to be a part of that … working together, we’ll continue to accomplish great things.”

Over the course of Wednesday’s State of the City address at the InspireU Children’s Discovery Museum — a cornerstone of years of Downtown re-development — Josendale highlighted a variety of community gains and progress achieved over the past year, while also laying out new objectives for growth and improvement moving forward.

The speech was organized as part of the Chamber of Commerce’s latest Public Affairs Coffee event.

Strengthening the city’s core services and building stronger connections with the community are two of the top priorities within its strategic vision. This past year saw the continuation of needed upgrades to both police and fire department equipment to enhance operations and improve the community’s access to public safety, including the new southside Fire Station 10.

A recently-launched community survey of St. Joseph residents on those core city services will play a vital role in the direction the city takes moving forward.

“St. Joseph is a great place. How do we make it better?” he said. “The survey is very important to this. We want that input. We want to have a roadmap on what to look at and how to move forward with it.”

Josendale said a continued focus on sustainability and long-term planning is key to ensure positive development continues, highlighting the creation of hundreds of jobs, development of new facilities like the now-open Missouri Western CTAC building or a planned UMKC School of Medicine on Riverside Road this year, as well as significant investments to key assets like the park system, new-and-improved Civic Arena and Rosecrans Memorial Airport, among others.

A new animal shelter, hotels and conference center, aquatic facilities at Hyde Park and Northside Complex (formerly Krug Pool) and renovations to Krug Park are next in line.

“Many elements are coming together to enhance our reputation as a destination for history, arts, entertainment, sports, recreation, business and technology,” Josendale said during his address.

Josendale applauded the work of volunteers, organizations and neighborhood groups in growing efforts to beautify and clean up St. Joseph, including groups like Beautify St. Joseph, Friends of Krug Park and Missouri Western’s Center for Service.

Housing gap improvements and reducing blight have and will remain one of the top priorities for the city as it works to boost population and meet the needs of residents and a growing workforce. Close to $95 million in capital investments were secured in the last year, including the recently-announced expansion at Daily’s Premium Meats and a Nortian Foodtech protein manufacturing facility on Alabama Street.

“In the last month alone, we’ve announced about 250 new jobs coming this way. We need to have housing for that. And we need all levels of housing,” Josendale said. “If you look at the new UMKC building, we’re looking at putting apartments around that location. We’re also looking at putting some new condos and homes out north.”

Josendale touted the addition of the St. Joseph Goats arena football team and accomplishments by the St. Joseph Sports Commission and Convention and Visitors Bureau to secure a wide variety of premiere athletic, entertainment and trade show events at the Civic Arena.

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Jenna Wilson

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A historic structure at 303 East Hyde Park Avenue in the south end of St. Joseph, long valued by community members, will soon be relocated. 

City officials confirmed earlier this week that the new South Side fire station will be placed at this location for efficient response times. 

However, community members say other areas within the city could have been explored without interfering with a South Side artifact – The Chief White Cloud statue.

“It doesn’t make sense, there’s plenty of other land they could be using,” said resident Joyce Clark.

According to SJFD Interim Fire Chief Jamey McVicker, the current station was placed on the east side of the railroad tracks to leave room for a second station on the other side, if one is needed in the future. 

“We chose 303 East Hyde Park over 212 Alabama because it’s farther east,” McVicker said. “That way, if we ever need to build another firehouse on the west side of the tracks, they won’t end up too close together.”

Jeff Atkins, director of Parks and Recreation, explained the history behind the White Cloud statue and said he understands why some South Side residents are frustrated. 

“The statue and the teepee behind it were both placed in 2004,” Atkins said. “When you think about it, that’s a long time, and for some people, it’s been there their entire life. But there’s nothing historically significant about the ground where it stands.”

The St. Joseph Fire Department and Parks & Recreation are in early discussions with the Iowa Tribe about relocating the statue, with plans for it to remain along the King Hill stretch. 

“The tribe doesn’t have any strong attachment to that site, and they’re okay with us relocating it,” Atkins said. “Since it’s tied to the King Hill Overlook, we want to make sure it stays nearby, close to the overlook.”

Still, longtime residents who grew up with the statue argue there’s no need to move it or build anything new in such a busy area.

“There are plenty of other places they could put that fire station,” said resident Lyle Hays. “Down the street or anywhere near 59, there’s a lot of open land there. Putting it here will just clutter things and make traffic worse. It’s already bad in the mornings when people are heading to school. It makes no sense.”

City officials will visit tribal leaders in person to get input on relocating the statue. 

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Leah Rainwater

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Ales West Beer Festival is returning to celebrate craft beverages and community spirit at Coleman Hawkins Park for it’s seventh year in a row.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 7 and will showcase various samples from breweries, distilleries and more from across the region.

The festival will feature live music, which will be showcased in partnership with the St. Joseph Downtown Association, featuring area artist Casey Brett.

With the event being held at Coleman Hawkins Park, the festival provides an open-air setting for an afternoon of tasting, music and connection.

Guests can expect a laid back, welcoming atmosphere with food vendors, live entertainment and space to relax and explore.

Ales West is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit event, where all proceeds are donated to local charities and initiatives. Funds raised in past years have gone toward neighborhood improvement projects, food security programs, youth services and more.

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Jenna Wilson

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) – Truth-in-Sentencing laws require people to serve a certain percentage of their sentence behind bars. 

In the past few years, Missouri has seen several bills related to Truth-in-Sentencing, some aiming to strengthen these laws and others focusing on reducing incarceration periods. 

Despite stalled bills and mixed opinions on whether longer sentences improve public safety, the Buchanan County Sheriff says they still support keeping the policy in place locally to keep criminals off the streets. 

“When a judge says, ‘I’m giving you X sentence,’ then that’s what should be served—not just a fraction of it,†said Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett. “It’s just not fair to the victims.â€

Opponents argue that Truth-in-Sentencing laws could increase prison populations and limit opportunities for rehabilitation or early release based on good behavior, while Missouri HB 728 seeks to establish programs that allow offenders to earn 50 or more days of good time credit. 

Additionally, some also argue that longer jail and prison sentences fail to deter crime or enhance public safety. 

“It’s important to consider circumstances from all angles,†said Puett. “Simply put, when criminals are incarcerated, they can’t commit crimes. While others may still be committing crimes, those in jail or prison are held accountable and no longer able to offend.†

Puett also emphasized the importance of criminals serving their full sentence, particularly in cases involving violent or abusive partners. 

Missouri HB 862, which focuses on Truth-in-Sentencing, would require offenders with one or two prior felony convictions to serve 50% of their sentence, and those with three or more to serve 80%, keeping them incarcerated much longer. 

While these bills show little promise in the legislature, Puett says the Buchanan County jail will continue housing criminals as long as possible. 

Historically, when someone’s sentenced to county jail, they serve most of their time,†Puett said. “It’s usually the full sentence or around 75%. Compared to prison, people in county jail tend to serve more of what the judge actually gave them and again, the importance in this is holding them accountable.†

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News-Press NOW

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The St. Joseph School District Board of Education will hold a Special Board of Education meeting to review and possibly select a candidate to fill Rick Gehring’s spot on the Board.

The Special Meeting agenda came in right after filings closed at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13, where seven candidates have shown interest in the position.

The Special Meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, at the SJSD Administration Building, formerly known at Noyes Elementary, located at 1415 N. 26th St.

Dr. William (Bill) Couldry is a retired educator and has experience in the teaching field as an educator and administrator.

Tom Richmond works at Altec and has served on various boards throughout St. Joseph.

Cassandra Veale, who also ran for the Board’s two open positions in April, is a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at the Samaritan Counseling Center.

Jacob McMillian, who has previously run for the Board of Education, serves in many positions throughout the community. McMillian has been a PTA Board Member at Pickett Elementary, and has served on the Vision Forward Committee for SJSD. He is also a Lead Pastor at Journey Baptist Church and has a Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Preaching.

Katherine Seufert was a former employee at SJSD, and is currently an actor for the Performing Arts Association. Seufert taught at all four middle schools in the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Department.

James Young served in the United States Army and Air National Guard and has obtained a degree in History and Political Science from Missouri Western State University, as well as a Master of Divinity from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Young has worked as an educator in both the Platte City School District and SJSD.

Kenneth Reeder has previously served on the Board of Education and currently owns different rental, Airbnb and VRBO properties in the area. Reeder has attended, taught and lived in the SJSD his entire life.

Wednesday’s agenda notes the “Review and Possible Selection” as well as the “Possible Swearing in of New Board Member”.

News-Press NOW will provide more updates when they become available.

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News-Press NOW

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Rallies will be held across Missouri to give voters a chance to express concerns for politicians interfering with ballot measures that have already been passed by voters.

The “Save Our Say” rally in St. Joseph will be held at 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, at Civic Center Park and is sponsored by RespectMoVoters.

In a press release sent to News-Press NOW, the RespectMoVoters group said, “The rally will inform those in attendance of the actions of the Missouri Legislation to subvert the will of Missouri voters. Missourians have used the citizen initiative process for over 100 years to have a say in laws of the state.”

The press release also mentioned the efforts Missouri politicians have put forth to take away “the say” of Missouri voters in this legislative session, by overturning Amendment 3 and Proposition A- which were both passed by voters in November 2024, as well as other ballot initiatives in recent years.

RespectMoVoters is a non-partisan grassroots effort of volunteers across the state, that will draft a citizen-led petition, which will ban politicians from interfering with initiatives voters have already passed.

The canvassing of petition signatures is expected to begin on July 1 by RespectMoVoters volunteers. The group aims for the petition to appear on the November 2026 ballot.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) – Four days of public budget discussions for fiscal year 2026 wrapped up Tuesday evening with a closer look at the city’s Public Works and Transportation Department.

The department is expected to command the largest share of department funding in the upcoming fiscal year with a proposed budget of $94.2 million, more than twice as much as the next closest department.

The proposed Public Works budget for 2026 includes an overall increase of $7.8 million, or 9%, with grant funding playing a key role in the increase. The department oversees a wide variety of areas, including street maintenance, aviation, water protection, mass transit and the landfill.

Capital improvements within the department will see a notable budget increase from $15.8 million in 2025 to $22.7 million for 2026.

Director Abe Forney said one of their key efforts has been finalizing formal guidelines for coordinating with utility companies on projects that impact pavement and other property, the changes — called utility cut standards — are designed to make projects less disruptive to residents and property and more efficient overall. 

“They understood the expectations and we tried as hard as we could to make them comply with it. But there was no standard that we could point to them and say, ‘Hey, this is how we would like it done,'” Forney said. “I know it’s an inconvenience for some of those, customers out there. And it’s an inconvenience for us … this should be good for everybody.”

Aviation is proposed to see one of the largest year-to-year increases largely due to $3.9 million in additional grant funding, jumping from $794,333 in 2025 to $4.7 million in 2026 for widespread capital improvements to Rosecrans Memorial Airport and the 139th Airlift Wing.

Key projects for fiscal year 2026 include design of the new runway apron, fuel system and continued development of a new air traffic control tower.

A budget for Mass Transit is proposed to increase from $8.6 to $12.9 million, primarily due to a large increase in capital improvements.

Nearly 50% of planned expenditures for Public Works in 2026 are allocated for the Water Protection Division, which is set to continue critical upgrades — including a multi-million dollar blower replacement project — in order to replace aging and outdated infrastructure, part of federally mandated improvements.

Those improvements are closely tied to a new long-range Water Quality Integrated plan, which lays out close to $200 million in sewer and stormwater-related projects over the next decade-plus.

The integrated plan is designed to balance critical long-term infrastructure improvements with ways to reduce compliance costs to the city and St. Joseph customers.

“Anything that we do with the Wastewater Treatment Plant, we’re upgrading the facility to make sure that we’re trying to reduce the rates on the ratepayers,” Forney said. “A lot of that infrastructure is very old.”

That plan and potential sewer rate adjustments will be the topic of discussion at an upcoming public hearing scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 9, at City Hall.

With public budget meetings now over, a finalized plan is expected to go before City Council for first reading on May 27 followed by a final vote on June 9.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A historic and deteriorating piece of Civic Center Park and City Hall is coming to an end as crews began the process of removing the park’s balustrade on Tuesday.

Crews with Auxier Construction Company were on scene Tuesday morning removing the roughly 87-year-old sandstone structure that lines much of the west portion of Civic Center Park.

While the balustrade will be removed entirely, the $494,000-ARPA funded project will see the west entry stairs replaced with an entirely new structure. The new stairs will feature concrete steps, complemented by natural stone veneer posts, caps, and wall panels.

The hillside will have to be re-sloped to create a more natural slope from the park to the sidewalk. Old and unhealthy trees have already been removed in some places on the west side of the park, with new adult trees to be planted in certain locations.

During a work session last August, it was decided the balustrade would be removed entirely, rather than repaired or replaced, primarily due to costs being nearly double to repair as opposed to removing it.

A separate balustrade that adorns City Hall is also in the midst of deep cleaning and repairs.

In addition to renovating the Pony Express Monument and carrying out widespread sidewalk repairs to Civic Center Park, the balustrade project is one of several projects planned in preparation for City Hall’s centennial celebration in 2027. 

New lighting will be installed throughout the park and at City Hall to mimic the classic-period lighting found throughout much of Downtown. Civic Center Park’s fountain is also in line for significant repairs.

Crews with Auxier Construction Company are pictured removing the Civic Center Park balustrade on Tuesday in Downtown St. Joseph.

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Leah Rainwater

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Governor Mike Kehoe announced the passing of former U.S. Senator, Missouri Governor, Christopher S. “Kit” Bond on Tuesday.

Bond died on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 in St. Louis, Mo. at 86 years old.

In a written statement, Gov. Kehoe said, “Kit Bond was a skilled statesman, public servant and a man who truly loved Missouri. I am blessed to have known Kit and honored to call him a friend and a mentor…”

Missouri Western State University is home to the Christopher S. “Kit” Bond Science and Technology Incubator, which was to honor the, then U.S. Senator, as he had assisted in procuring some of the center’s funding.

Kehoe also announced a State Memorial Service honoring the life and legacy of Governor Kit Bond will be held in the Rotunda at the Missouri State Capitol at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20. The public is invited to attend.

Governor Bond will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda for a 24-hour period immediately following the State Memorial Service, allowing members of the public to pay their respects.

A celebration of Bond’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, at Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church. All who knew and loved Kit are welcome to attend.

Governor Kehoe ordered flags to fly at half-staff at all government buildings statewide beginning on Tuesday, May 13 until sunset on Thursday, May 22.

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Kyle Schmidt

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Summer is right around the corner and hotter temperatures are beginning to hit locally, sparking concern for pets outside in the heat.

Aubrey Silvey, an animal care specialist at St. Joseph Animal Services, said heat stroke is a serious issue for pets outside during hot days.

“If your pet is outside in the elements, or you see any dog or cat outside in the elements, and you see behavior that doesn’t seem typical, that seems abnormal, definitely give us a call,” Silvey said. “If it’s your pet, take them to the vet get them checked out.”

Some of the abnormal behavior to watch out for is labored breathing, acts lethargic and drools excessively. She said it is important to check the heat index and to know the temperature outside.

“Especially if your pets spend a good deal of time outside, making sure that they have proper access to fresh water and making sure they’re not going to be on a concrete surface that’s too hot,” Silvey said. “They can scald or burn their paw pads.”

According to Morris Animal Refuge, risks for animals increase significantly at temperatures 85 degrees and above. Temperatures become dangerous for most dogs above 90 degrees.

Silvey said during the hottest days of the summer and coldest days of the winter, the shelter takes in more animals.

“That’s what we are here for at the end of the day,” She said. “So if you see a pet that you’re concerned about, especially a stray, give us a call and we’ll get it taken care of.”

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