Author: News-Press NOW

Chris Fortune

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — As warmer weather arrives, so do efforts to revive a recreational lake on the south side of St. Joseph. 

A Buchanan County project to dredge Lake Contrary is gaining traction, with weed spraying estimated to begin at the end of the month. The county contracted an Oklahoma company for the job. 

“They’ll allow the chemical that goes on there to work its magic, and it’s going to kill the root ball,” Buchanan County Commissioner Ron Hook said. “Everything all the way down. It’s aquatic safe.”

Clearing the weeds is a crucial step toward dredging to prevent weeds from clogging dredging equipment. At a public meeting last August hosted by the county, officials discussed a plan to use an aquatic herbicide called Clearcast. 

It’s just the beginning of an effort to restore what was once a community asset. St. Joseph resident Steven Ball remembers visiting the lake with his family to swim, ride jet skis and go swimming. 

He said the water was not very deep back then, but still, he can’t believe how much the lake has changed since then.

“I can’t bring my kids down here now to go swimming or to have a picnic or to build sandcastles or do whatever, you know, there’s nothing here anymore,” he said.

Lake activities are more difficult to participate in as weeds protrude multiple feet above the lakebed.  Another Lake Contrary resident of nearly 30 years also remembers a livelier lake.

“We used to come boating down here a lot,” Dave Polley said. “I remember a lot of boats coming down here, but you don’t see that much anymore. And people used to go swimming down here a lot, but not that much anymore.”

Less water and more plants have taken away from the lake life. Cattails and other vegetation continue to grow quickly in the area.

“It’s almost desolate out here,” Ball said. “You don’t see nothing going on. It’s a tragedy.”

The contractor completed their survey of the lake, the land and the plants at Lake Contrary earlier this year. They believe all the plants that are alive will be easier to target and ready to spray by the end of May.

“We’re going to put out to all the public that live around this area the day that (the spraying is) going to be done when when we get it so they can do whatever they want to feel that they are safe,” Hook said.

Buchanan County would like to stay in the $6 million range to dredge the lake. Ball believes the project will boost the local economy and inject life into the community.

“It’s going to be a task, of course, but it’s going to put people to work too,” he said. “It’s going to create jobs to do this.”

Hook said the dredging project is important to him because he believes an area the size of Buchanan County needs to have a recreational lake.

One of the final hurdles to overcome before dredging is gaining the final permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. The decision on whether or not to provide a permit is expected any day.

“The county set aside some money to get it done, and we’re ready to move on it,” Hook said. “So just continued prayers.”

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Kirsten Stokes

ST. JOSEPH, MO (News-Press NOW) — As Catholics and others alike react to the historic announcement of the first American pope, some St. Joseph residents shared their thoughts on this once-in-a-lifetime moment.

“You just always hope that they do the best in this position and that its fruitful and beneficial to those that need it,” said Chelsea Teater, a resident of St. Joseph.

While mountain biking, a Kansas City resident, who goes by the first name Paul, said he believes this will be a great opportunity for America to bring back unity to the world.

“The idea that we finally have the first American pope, I think is going to revitalize our country and hopefully revitalize Christianity all across the world…I think this is the message the pope will share all across the world.”

Resident Penny Atterberry had just learned about the announcement when asked for her perspective, but said she is hopeful it will bring more safety for travelers.

“Sometimes people look down on Americans when we travel, so hopefully this will make it better for us,” Atterberry said.

News-Press NOW will continue to update this story.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Public safety funding for fiscal year 2026 took center stage at City Hall on Thursday evening as budget planning shifted to St. Joseph’s police, fire and health departments for day three of discussions.

Councilmembers and city leaders returned from a one-day break Thursday for the third of four planned budget work sessions, which are set to conclude on Tuesday.

As mentioned previously, overall Public Safety funding will experience a recorded budget decrease of roughly $16.6 million for FY26 as the result of planned budget policy changes such as the elimination of fund transfers, particularly for the Public Safety and the Police Tax funds.

This change resulted in marked decreases in budgeted revenues and expenditures by fund to align with this new policy. Ultimately, the budgeted amounts by function are consistent with prior years.

St. Joseph Fire Department: $19.4 million budgeted (27% decrease)

St. Joseph Police Department: $25.1 million budgeted (26% decrease)

Early this week, City Manager Mike Schumacher voiced his desire to see increased funding for additional fire department training in fiscal year 2026. The department recorded an all-time high in training hours in 2025 as it successfully filled open positions.

Additional funding could be used for courses like confined space training, a vital component used to equip firefighters with the knowledge and skills to safely enter and rescue individuals from confined spaces.

“It’s been 23 years since I’ve had that kind of training. And I want to bring that back and take some pride in our tech rescue,” Interim Fire Chief Jamie McVicker said.

The department will also see an increase of $100,000 in funding for machinery and other equipment, along with delivery of a previously-purchased ladder truck.

A key topic of discussion centered around construction of a new $4.7 million southside fire station, which is budgeted for next fiscal year. The department recently reached an agreement with the architect firm SEH to begin conceptual work on the new Fire Station 10 on the south side at three identified locations.

A follow-up work session will be held next Monday, May 12, from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. to identify a final location for the fire station, which is funded by the Capital Improvement Program sales tax.

Fire Department planned initiatives:

Present a fleet replacement proposal to plan for the spread of financial burden while continuing to replace the aging fleet.

Serve on a federal task force to identify best practice for FD response to homelessness.

Begin to create specifications for a new ladder truck to serve the west side as part of the CIP plan (3-year build-time).

Pursue a partnership with MWSU or NCMC in the creation of a fire academy for local recruitment.

As the meeting shifted to the St. Joseph police budget, Chief Paul Luster noted the department has 17 open positions at this time, but 11 of those individuals are currently going through the hiring process now, including at the police academy. 

New software purchases, fleet enhancements and additional resources for a new crime analyst position created last year are three areas in 2026 that Luster pointed to as priorities. 

“Making sure that that that person has the right tools to do their job. Our hope is that position makes us more efficient. We’ll be able to to track criminal patterns, hotspots, if you will, in the city and deploy our resources more efficiently,” Luster said. “There’s a lot of robust software out there that that helps you do that. So very excited about that.”

Police Department planned initiatives

Initiated a large-scale project to procure body-worn cameras and to replace vehicle and interview room cameras.

Continue to move forward with our mission to become accredited with the Missouri Police Chief’s Association.

Remain focused on plans to replace the aging fleet and provide members with the most functional patrol vehicles.

Along with police and fire, a $4.7 million budget for the St. Joseph Health Department — a projected 9.5% decrease from last year — was also up for further discussion, including achievements and funding talks for general health services and animal control.

Animal Control, which now goes by Animal Services, implemented widespread technology and platform upgrades this past year, including Pet Hub high-tech digital licensing tags, an online licensing platform for pets to increase accessibility and a progressive field services program offering free microchips in the field and increasing efforts to reunite dogs with their owners in the field. 

Upgrades will continue in fiscal year 2026, including a transition to a new software platform to increase the quality of records and to reduce waste and improve operations.

Budget discussions will wrap up on Tuesday with the meeting centered exclusively on St. Joseph’s Public Works and Transportation Department, the largest of the city’s funded departments for fiscal year 2026. 

A finalized budget 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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News-Press NOW

VATICAN CITY (News-Press NOW) — Robert Francis Prevost is the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.

Prevost, from Chicago, Illinois, will take the name ‘Leo XIV’.

Prevost earned his bachelor’s in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and went on to receive his diploma in theology from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.

He was later sent to Rome to study canon law at the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University and was ordained as a priest in June 1982. Later in his career, he taught canon law in the seminary in Trujillo, Peru.

While it is often said cardinal electors would always shy away from choosing a pope from the US due to America’s outsized global political influence, Prevost’s long experience in Peru may have mitigated those fears among the electors.

“He’s somebody that, even though he’s from the West, would be very attentive to the needs of a global church,†said Elise Allen, CNN’s Vatican analyst. “You’re talking about somebody who spent over half of his ecclesial career abroad as a missionary in Peru.â€

Allen added that he is seen as an apt leader in Vatican circles because “he’s able to accomplish things without necessarily being authoritarian about the way he did things.â€

“Prevost is somebody who is seen as an exceptional leader. From very young, he was appointed to leadership roles,†Allen said. “He’s seen as somebody who is calm and balanced, who is even-handed, and who is very clear on what he thinks needs to be done… but he’s not overly forceful in trying to make that happen.â€

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Leah Rainwater

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Hillyard Technical Center will host a plant sale to support the Future Farmers of America (FFA).

The sale will go from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, May 9 and starting at 7 a.m. on Saturday, May 10 and until plants are sold out.

The sale is cash only and will be in the back of Hillyard Technical Center’s building, located at 3434 Faraon St.

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Leah Rainwater

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Persisterhood of St. Joseph will dedicate eight newly-planted oak trees along St. Joseph’s Northwest Parkway at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 10.

Persisterhood’s “tree guru”, Dr. Elizabeth Sawin, will lead the dedication of the new trees and a tree walk following, to point out trees planted in prior years.

Trees are dedicated in memory or honor of loved ones and/or social justice causes.

“We’ve planted 92 trees since 2017, thanks to Betty’s (Elizabeth’s) persistence and the generosity of community members,” said Jane Frick, Persisterhood, co-leader. “We want to make St. Joseph a greener place for generations to come and have pledged to reach out goal of 100 new trees along the parkway during 2025 when we hold our fall tree walk and dedication in October.”

In April, St. Joseph Persisterhood received a 2025 Sustainable Environment Award form the city’s Sustainable Environment Committee (SEAC) for its tree planting project.

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Leah Rainwater

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Members of local law enforcement agencies will gather to honor and remember personnel killed in the line of duty in Northwest Missouri.

A special service will be held during the 2025 National Police Week, which will be celebrated Sunday, May 11 through Saturday, May 17.

The service will begin at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14 at the Northwest Missouri Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Civic Center Park on the south side of City Hall, located at 1100 Frederick Ave.

The event is sponsored by Northwest Missouri FOP Lodge #3. Members of the St. joseph Police Department, Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop H and other Northwest Missouri agencies will participate in the ceremony.

Families of fallen heroes and members of the public who wish to show support for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the community are invited to attend.

Lexi Dekraai Ussary, the daughter of St. Joseph police officer Dan Dekraai, who died following a training exercise in 2010, will speak at the service.

In the event of inclement weather, the service will be moved inside City Hall.

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Patrick Holleron

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The 2025 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Central/Midwest Regional is officially underway.

Golfers from multiple colleges across Missouri will be participating, including Missouri Western’s Jeffery Johnston, who went to high school at Bishop LeBlond.

“It’s a good course to watch golf on, just good natural settings,” St. Joseph Sports Commission director Brett Esley said. “I think this is a community that has a great golf tradition. Folks that love golf like to watch these events, but there’s also some local intrigue, with guys like Jeffrey Johnston from Missouri Western.

“He plays (at the) Saint Joseph Country Club, has a lot of family, friends and followers of his here. Couple all that together and we’ve got a really good championship environment for golf this week.”

The championship will be ongoing until Saturday, May 10. The top three teams and the top two student-athletes not with a team from each regional will advance to the finals at the PGA national resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, from May 19-23. 

Updated scores and rankings for the regionals can be found at Scoreboard

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Kendra Simpson

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Small business owners throughout St. Joseph gathered Thursday morning for a roundtable discussion as part of Small Business Week.

The roundtable meetings are held quarterly and hosted by the membership council of the Chamber of Commerce.

“They’re basically just conversations getting small business with small business, kind of letting them help one another and we just facilitate that conversation,” Brett Steiner, a representative of the membership council, said.

The group discussed the post-pandemic climate for small businesses, touching on online reviews, attracting new business, maintaining professional relationships and overcoming daily obstacles.

“Hearing how small business deals with different problems they’re having in their businesses kind of helps us kind of grow and how we can help them down the road,” Steiner said.

Small Business Week in St. Joseph aims to raise awareness of the many locally owned businesses in St. Joseph and support them. The week’s events include virtual summits, workshops, photo contests and challenges for customers like “Self-Care Saturday” and “Sunday Fun Day.”

“It’s a great time to go out and support your local small businesses,” Steiner said. “We need to keep them growing and thriving. They’re essential for our community.”

To learn more about Small Business Week and the week’s remaining events, visit the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce website at saintjoseph.com.

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Kendra Simpson

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A beautiful weekend full of sunshine and activities promises to keep things entertaining in St. Joseph. News-Press NOW’s Kendra Simpson planned this weekend’s top activities in entertainment in this week’s edition of See St. Joseph.

Most people dream of flying like an eagle at some point in their lives. The FlyTech Pilot Academy offers kids that chance this weekend with its free Young Eagles Flight program.

For over 30 years, the program has introduced and inspired kids to explore the world of aviation with free rides in an airplane. More than 2.5 million young people have experienced what it’s like to be a pilot through this program. The Young Eagles flights will go from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday at Rosecrans Memorial Airport.

After soaring with the birds, why not come back down to Earth and snuggle with the puppies? Hazel’s Coffee, with the help of the Pony Express Therapy Dogs, will host the Snuggles, Mom and Me and Lattes Saturday morning.

What’s better than spending time with moms, a bunch of dogs and enjoying a refreshing cup of coffee? Hazel’s will be accepting donations to the St. Joseph Animal Shelter, so attendees can bring food, treats, blankets, toys and other pet essentials to donate. The puppy love goes from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Hazel’s Coffee, located at 3829 Frederick Ave.

For moms who prefer a nice brunch to a bunch of dogs, the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art is hosting the Mother’s Day Brunch and Bloom.

Whether celebrating Mother’s Day, planning a girls’ day out, or craving a little beauty and creativity, this event is the perfect way to savor the season. There’s going to be crepes prepared by the museum’s Executive Director, Eric Fuson. Of course, it’s not brunch without the essentials: mimosas, bloody marys and mocktails. After brunch, get creative with a hands-on paper flower-making activity, or maybe just explore the museum’s exhibits in full bloom. The doors open at 10 a.m. and brunch will be served at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art. To reserve a spot, visit the event’s webpage at albrecht-kemper.org.

Whether flying high in the sky or playing in the dirt and flowers, there’s always something to do to celebrate Spring in St. Joseph. Tune in to News-Press NOW every Thursday for more See St. Joseph.

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