Author: News-Press NOW

News-Press NOW

By: Darren Doyle

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — Doorsteps around the country are expected to see high traffic in the near future as consumer holidays approach.

The St. Joseph Police Department offered tips to ensure shipments stay in the right hands. 

Each year, around $16 billion is lost through package theft, according to the credit card company Capital One.

While some buyers feel they may not have options for keeping their package safe, the SJPD shared some simple tips to keep the package safe and ensure special gifts don’t go missing. 

“A lot of people aren’t going to brick-and-mortar stores anymore. The criminals know that, and they take advantage of that opportunity,” SJPD Sgt. Jeremy Peters said. “You know, as the volume increases around the holidays, you’ll, you know, we’re going to run into more of that problem.”

The number one tip for consumers is to have packages delivered to a store for in-person pickup. This can include having packages shipped to UPS drop-off lock boxes at convenience stores or around town. 

For some consumers, time may be a significant constraint, especially when they aren’t able to make it to the store or pickup locations to get packages. 

“You don’t want to leave stuff sitting out on the porch for too long. Also, if you can keep an eye on your neighborhood, because there are people who follow some of these delivery trucks around, and if you see something like that, call us as soon as you can so that we can look into it and try to intercept these vehicles and figure out what they’re doing,” Peters said.

SJPD also suggests a porch lockbox for the safekeeping of packages or a secure porch container to conceal incoming packages.

Peters and the Crime Prevention Crew also said being aware of neighborhood happenings and other suspicious activities is important.

He offered the advice, “If you see something, say something,” to all homeowners who spot a suspicious vehicle that may be surveying a neighborhood. Or if someone witnesses a package being stolen from their neighbor’s doorstep.

Security cameras can also help with general lookout of packages and other neighborhood happenings. Although it cannot suggest which video cameras to get, the SJPD crime prevention group offers free sight security assessment surveys to St. Joseph residents.

During these site surveys, crews make sure all cameras are positioned correctly to see as much of the property as possible. It can also identify people or vehicles that come into view of the cameras. 

“That would help us, as far as investigations go, if something were to happen, we want it to be the most useful for you and for us, so that we can solve that case,” Peters said. 

Local law enforcement also suggests having the package delivered when someone will be home to grab it. Another added layer of protection to this tip is to require a signature upon delivery of the package. 

Courtesy of SJPD via Facebook.

For more information on that free site security assessment from the SJPD, email crimeprevention@stjosephmo.gov or call 816-236-1473. 

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Carter Ostermiller

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — With Black Friday and online shopping deals hitting stores early, the United States Postal Service is preparing for its busiest time of year.

As Americans plan to splurge on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday deals, there are important guidelines the USPS recommends shoppers follow.

The St. Joseph United States Postal Service (USPS) is in its 250th year and preparing for another holiday season of delivering to people nationwide. 

For the delivery service, one of the biggest concerns for customers is arrival time and how to properly ship their packages.

“If you’re mailing a package, especially presents, we ask that you don’t wrap the package. If you do wrap the package, place it in another box, make sure that the package is large enough and then the contents are well secured,” USPS Strategic Communications Specialist Tara Jarrett said.

For USPS, the earliest shipping times are the most important tip for this time of year.

The USPS recommends packages shipping domestically by these dates to arrive before the Christmas holiday:

USPS Ground Advantage Service: Dec. 17 

Priority Mail Service: Dec. 18 

Priority Express Service: Dec. 20

For those concerned about arrival times, USPS, like many other postal services, has package tracking for shipped items.

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News-Press NOW

By: Darren Doyle

ANDREW COUNTY, Mo. (KQTV) — Andrew County residents are wearing their swimwear while they’re “out and about” for social media videos, spreading awareness of local fundraising for a new pool.

“Because if we didn’t have a pool” has been the justification and mission of Andrew County area residents who have been sporting swimsuits at nail salons, Dentist Offices, Movie theatres and more.

The new trend takes inspiration from the ALS’s Ice Bucket Challenge; the Andrew County Aquatics Initiative (ACAI) is on a mission to raise awareness of its efforts to build a new pool. 

“It just felt like this is important, and the community wants this, and they are behind it, and we have felt that. In every step of the way, with just the simple donations to all the businesses that have come forward and wanted to help,” ACAI member Christie Lightle said.

To participate, residents are challenged by other ACAI members partaking in the trend, and are encouraged to nominate their own friends and family.

Participants can film a video of themselves in swim gear, goggles, a snorkel or other gear in an unusual place.

Interested participants also do not have to be directly nominated; they can mention the original post and start a new line of nominations. 

“I would say, just have fun with it. I mean, we don’t always get to be crazy and do silly things. And I mean, I personally did mine in the middle of the movie theater when I was watching Wicked. It was funny, because we were getting ready to start the movie, and I was in, I was clothed, but I kind of just shimmied out of my clothes into my swimsuit,” Lightle shared. “(Someone behind me was worried, but then had already seen the video.) The video had only been out for a few hours, and the announcement had only been out for a few hours, and they were so excited that they were there to witness it. So we’ve had such a good reception from people.” 

The ACAI said it plans to continue its fundraising journey through the end of the year.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Transportation planners have kicked off a monthslong study of four well-known and heavily-trafficked intersections in St. Joseph, studies that could pave the way for changes from traffic light improvements to potential roundabout construction.

The City of St. Joseph and GFT Infrastructure officially began a intersection improvement feasibility study Tuesday after City Councilmembers approved a $79,172 contract for the work at Monday’s council meeting.

“These were some of the highest priority (intersections) we wanted to look at,” said Max Schieber, transportation planner with the City of St. Joseph and the Metropolitan Planning Organization. “We’re going to be looking at crash data, traffic flows, to say ‘How can we improve this?'”

The four intersections in the study include:

Intersection No. 1: Outer Road and Riverside Road/Route AC.

Intersection No. 2: Ashland Avenue and Lover’s Lane.

Intersection No. 3: Ashland Avenue, Sherman Avenue, Osage Street and Northwest Parkway.

Intersection No. 4: Noyes Boulevard and Frederick Avenue.

All four of the intersections will be assessed to determine potential safety, operational and geometric improvements. The intersections each present a unique layout that can make it prone to accidents and injuries.

“Ashland and Northwest Parkway is definitely a tough one that we’ve had a number of accidents at,” Schieber said. “Outer Road and Route AC is one of our biggest.”

The study, expected to be complete by next spring, will include traffic data collection, evaluation of current intersection conditions and development of conceptual alternatives.

He said the improvements could also be as simple as adjustments in traffic light patterns to improve traffic, ease congestion and reduce accidents.

“Roundabouts are something we’re definitely looking at,” he said. “And then also any possible changes with lights.”

Schieber said the feasibility study likely wouldn’t be possible without a Consolidated Planning Grant from the Federal Transit Administration, which is covering 80% of the $79,000 study.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The St. Joseph School District has provided a timeline on the reopening of tracks for public use at all three high schools, facilities often used by residents for walking and exercise.

A sign informs pedestrians the Central High School track is closed due to renovations.

The St. Joseph School District track installation project is nearing completion, but is not yet final. The tracks at all three high schools remain closed, according to a statement from the district.

The district recently carried out an extensive $6.5 million improvement project to install new turf fields and replace aging tracks at the high schools, part of a $20 million bond approved by voters in April 2024.

“With colder temperatures and winter weather approaching, conditions are not ideal for safely reopening the tracks for public use. To protect the integrity of the new surfaces and ensure long-term durability, the District will keep the tracks closed throughout the winter months,” the statement reads.

The district anticipates the tracks will reopen for public walking and community use on March 1, 2026, weather permitting.

“We appreciate everyone’s patience and flexibility. Limiting access now ensures that our tracks will be ready for spring activities and helps us avoid delays caused by late-season weather.”

A full list of 2024 bond-funded projects can be found here.

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Praji Ghosh

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — After months of waiting for a final decision on Plan 4BR, the plan that keeps Benton and Central as the district’s two high schools, the school district is now preparing for some major changes. 

Superintendent Ashly McGinnis said the district’s current feeder patterns help students move smoothly from elementary to middle to high school. With the new Plan 4BR model, she admits the transitions can be bigger and more challenging for both families and staff.  

Even so, McGinnis said no one will be going through this alone.  

“Our message to them is that we are in this with them. We want to take care of our staff, and we want to take care of our students,” McGinnis said.  

One of the district’s biggest priorities right now is having a staffing plan to make sure teachers and staff are placed where they’re needed most to best support kids and families.  

“So right now our staff wants to know, for example, if they were at Lafayette, where are they going to be next year?” McGinnis added. 

She explained, the district will follow clear criteria as they make those decisions, and they’ll try to accommodate staff preferences whenever possible.  

“I think there’s been a lot of uncertainty for several months. I have a sense of relief knowing that we have a direction,” McGinnis said.  

With the board’s vote now behind them, McGinnis hopes the district can focus on moving forward and helping families and staff adjust — even though the transition may be tougher for some than others.

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TaMya Bracy

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — The AFL-CIO Community Services Adopt-A-Family program said it needs more adopters.

The organization has seen an influx of applications this year since the day applications opened up. So far, it’s reached over 700 families, with 182 being adopted.

Nichi Seckinger, executive director of the agency, said they feel like they’re falling behind in working with adopters due to the high volume of adoptee applications received.

“Any more adopters that we can get is always wonderful, and we do need more adopters,” she said. “If those numbers end up being what we’re anticipating that they’ll be, and we’ll have over a thousand families, we’re absolutely going to need more adopters.”

This will be the third time the program will see over a thousand families. The previous times the program saw an influx of this many applications were the Great Flood of 1993 and the Housing Crisis of 2009.

Seckinger said the influx of applications could be because of the economy and the effects of the government shutdown.

“A lot of it is probably also due to the issues with SNAP that we saw, because that’s going to put a lot of folks into catch up mode till the end of the year and the shutdown with the government, because we have had quite a few military families that have applied and folks that were employed by the state who are trying to play catch up,” Seckinger said.

Along with adopters, Seckinger said the organization needs volunteers and toys for its gift room.

AFL-CIO will take adopter applications until Christmas Eve. Applications can be picked up in person or filled out online.

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Leah Rainwater

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — The MINK League’s off-season is active with tapping new leadership and introducing new teams.

Clifton Glidewell was named the league’s new commissioner and Bob Coons was named deputy commissioner.

Glidewell fills the role left by Ron Rodriguez in August and brings over 40 years of baseball experience to the position at every level.

Glidewell, a Kansas City, Missouri, native, was drafted out of New Mexico State University in the 30th round of the 2000 MLB Amateur Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After playing his career, Glidewell eventually joined the coaching ranks, working from the high school level up through junior college, NAIA and NCAA Division I. He also umpired high school, college and professional baseball.

Coons spent his previous two years as the league’s assigner. He’s umpired for the MINK for 10 years, has worked the Missouri State Show-Me Games since 2013 and was recognized as the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s Umpire of the Year in 2024.

Glidewell and Coons will take on various roles, focusing on helping the league continue to grow.

Ky Turner, president and CEO of the St. Joseph Mustangs and Chris Whitaker, general manager of the Carroll Merchants, were re-elected to their positions as league president and vice president.

Following the league’s annual winter meeting, its leadership announced the 2026 schedules will have a different look.

The MINK League will see the departure of the Sedalia Bombers and Jefferson City Renegades; however, it will gain the North Missouri Nattys of Kirksville, as well as a second team, which will be revealed soon.

The Nattys will play their home games on the full synthetic turf baseball field at Kirksville High School. The complex is about three years old, after a nearly $3 million sports project was completed in 2022.

The MINK League will also celebrate its 30th year of entertaining fans on the baseball diamond across the Midwest in 2026.

According to a news release, league officials have special announcements on the horizon with a nod to MINK history. The league said the complete regular season and postseason schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

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Cameron Montemayor

ATCHISON, Kan. (News-Press NOW) — Email addresses, phone numbers and more information may have been compromised in a recent cyberattack on a public alert used system used by Atchison County and numerous communities nationwide.

The OnSolve CodeRed public notification system remains down nationwide following a targeted cybersecurity incident according to an update from Atchison County Emergency Management.

The outage continues to prevent Atchison County from sending alerts through CodeRed until a vendor migrates the county to a new notification platform.

“This includes weather updates from the National Weather Service sent through CodeRed. We are still waiting on OnSolve to complete this transition. Once the transition is finished, a test notification will be sent to all users,” a statement from Atchison County Emergency Management said.

OnSolve has also notified the agency that contact information from CodeRed user accounts may have been compromised, including names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and CodeRed account passwords.

At this time, there is no evidence the information has been misused or published online, but there is potential for it to be leaked.

As a precaution, the agency recommends changing passwords if the same one has been used for multiple accounts.

“Be alert for phishing attempts — especially during the holiday season. Avoid suspicious emails, links, or attachments.”

Atchison County can still issue life-safety alerts through IPAWS during this outage.

Those with additional questions or concerns are encouraged to contact OnSolve CodeRED support at: crsupport@crisis24.com

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Leah Rainwater

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — St. Joseph’s City Hall will shine bright on Friday with festive red and green lighting to celebrate the start of the Christmas season.

The lighting installation, which was completed over the past few weeks, debuts in conjunction with the opening of Holiday Park and South Pole displays at Krug Park and Hyde Park on Friday, Nov. 28.

A total of 14 LED fixtures have been added around City Hall, including five on the north and south sides and two each on the east and west sides.

The system allows for customizable colors to mark holidays, community events, awareness campaigns and to celebrate local sports teams’ achievements.

The lighting project is one of several ongoing improvements the City is partaking in to prepare for the 100th anniversary of City Hall in 2027.

So far, sidewalks have been replaced, new period lighting has been installed along the balustrade facing Civic Center Park, the fountain on the north side of the building is being replaced and rebuilt, hallways are being repainted and elevators are being upgraded, among other improvements.

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