Author: News-Press NOW

Leah Rainwater

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Mayor John Josendale will hold the Mayor’s National Day of Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, May 1.

The event is coordinated with the National Day of Prayer, with the Opening Prayer happening at 6:45 a.m.

The event will take place at Civic Arena, where local pastors, students and community leaders will be participating in the program.

USA Softball three-time Olympic gold medalist, Leah Amico, will be this year’s guest speaker and will provide inspiration and insight for achieving success.

The public is invited to attend the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast with free first come, first serve seating on the Civic Arena Upper Level, entering the main entrance.

Breakfast is not included with Upper Level seating. To purchase tickets, call (816) 271-4717.

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Leah Rainwater

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The St. Joseph Arts Association has announced it will take on a new name to provide renewed energy within its organization.

While the association’s official legal name will remain as the Performing Arts Association of St. Joseph, Inc., for marketing and branding purposes, it will be known as ‘816 Live’.

“Our legacy is not changing, it is growing,” said Paul Storiale, executive director of 816 Live. “With 816 Live, our goal was to create a brand that feels more distinguishable and fresh, while continuing to embody the spirit of live events. We remain committed to our mission of delivering world-class entertainment to Saint Joseph and the entire region.”

The change will be a gradual transition, and the association said patrons will still enjoy the concerts and events they have come to love.

The 2025-2026 season for ‘816 Live’ will be announced on Thursday, May 1. Country music legend, Randy Travis will kick off the brand new season on Saturday, Sept. 20.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Upwards of $3 million in funds to upgrade the city’s Wastewater Treatment Facility and various sewer main lines received the green light from City Council on Monday. 

Councilmembers unanimously approved an ordinance to accept a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the blower replacement project at the Water Protection Facility, a critical device that pumps air into water to boost its oxygen content. 

“We had around eight old ones (blowers) and they’re extremely old, they’re falling apart and they don’t make parts for those old blowers anymore,†St. Joseph Public Works Director Abe Forney said. “With the help of Congressman Sam Graves, we got some of that money from the Corps of Engineers into this overall budget.â€

An additional $7.8 million in Capital Improvements Project funding has been budgeted for the project, which will satisfy a requirement to have 25% local matching funds. 

In an effort to expedite equipment purchases and get the new blowers online quickly, the city intends to utilize a construction management at-risk delivery method, a process that merges the responsibilities of a construction manager and contractor into one entity. 

The project is the latest in a long-line of federally-mandated improvements to the city’s collection system, wastewater treatment and stormwater systems that began in 2009 to reduce combined sewer overflows and its impact on water quality in the Missouri River. 

“All of the money that is paid for improvements out of that facility either comes from a grant or it has to come from ratepayers,†Forney said.  “So having the help from Congressman Graves to get us this big chunk of money is going to be absolutely wonderful.â€

Monday’s meeting also saw the approval of a $963,891 work order with SAK Construction for sewer main repairs at various locations across the city.

Repairs will be carried out at more than 25 locations using a process called cured-in-place pipe lining, a less invasive method of repairing aging, defective sewer mains that are still structurally intact. 

CIPP differs significantly from open-cut construction, which involves digging pipe out and replacing it, often involving significant damage to surface improvements and traffic delays.

A full list of scheduled sewer repairs can be found below. 

CIPP PLACING LOCATIONS-pages-2Download

New Woodbine hotel takes next step

Councilmembers approved an ordinance to accept a $9,778 payment from Towneplace Suites for future professional services costs associated with the development of a Marriott hotel at 1401 N. Woodbine Road.

Funds will be used for building plan review services from the city’s consultant GBA. Additional permit fees collected by the city will provide the funds needed to fully compensate GBA for the services it performs in connection with the new hotel project.

TownePlace Suites, a Marriott-operated hotel brand, is eyeing a four-story building with 129 rooms, a breakfast area, a fitness area, an indoor pool and an outdoor patio. The hotel would be located on a 4.7-acre plot of land next to Stoney Creek Hotel. The land is currently owned by Altira St. Joe Hotel LLC.

Funds accepted for New Mosaic Speciality Care Clinic building 

Council members accepted a $15,889 payment from Lehr Construction for preliminary development services, including building plan services, for development of a new medical office building for Mosaic Life Care at University Hills development. 

Mosaic Life Care is in the initial phases of developing a new $12.5 million specialty care clinic. The clinic is designed to offer ambulatory care, specialty and general clinics, primary care, pediatrics and total med family.

Other bills approved by City Council

Execution of change order No. 2 with M-CON, LLC, for the city sanitary landfill cell 8 emergency excavation project in the amount of $233,018. 

An ordinance authorizing a three-year agreement with Premier Pyrotechnics, Inc. in the amount of $22,500 per year to provide the city’s 4th of July fireworks display. 

Board and committee appointments

Councilmember Marty Novak nominated Lee Sawyer, former Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner, for reappointment as a member of the St. Joseph Regional Port Authority for a term expiring May 7, 2032.

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Kyle Schmidt

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW)– A record-tying 15 home runs in the first three games for the New York Yankees, brought attention to the wooden bats the club used.

The torpedo style bats caught the eyes of many fans. The style eventually made its way to St. Joseph.

Co-owner of Walkoff Wood Bat Co. Kevin Kerns said teams wanted torpedo bats made for the 54-team high school tournament, which is now in it’s second year of running.

“It became big about a week and a half before the tournament and so a lot of teams, once they knew we were making torpedoes they ordered a few,” Kerns said. “Then each weekend we sold out of torpedoes we had at the fields that we were selling.”

The key difference between a regular bat and a torpedo, is the latter gets thicker near the handle quicker.

When measuring the two bats Kerns created, the torpedo is roughly a quarter inch thicker than the regular bat before the sticker. That quarter inch is taken off the tip of the bat by the head.

“The sweet spot is farther down towards the handle of the bat,” Kerns said. “A lot of times if a kid miss hits a wood bat, they’re hitting it off the handle. They get, instead of a break in or going nowhere, a little bit more out of it.”

Kerns said, coaches made an effort to point out that kids in the tournament liked using the torpedo bats.

He said he was told by coaches, many of the kids in the tournament liked using the bats. He also noted the difference in the swing.

“The sweet spot is farther down towards the handle of the bat,” Kerns said. “A lot of times if a kid miss hits a wood bat, they’re hitting it off the handle. They get, instead of a break in or going nowhere, a little bit more out of it.”

Kerns said, coaches made an effort to point out that kids in the tournament liked using the torpedo bats.

He said he was told my coaches, many of the kids in the tournament liked using the bats. He also noted the difference in the swing.

“(The torpedo) Lot smoother flow of the swing, more weights down towards your hands,” Kerns said. “The concept “more meat on the handle” makes sense.”

Wooden bats are most known for breaking, while only two torpedo’s broke during the 2025 tournament, Kerns said the thickness by the handle should make it “more likely not to break.”

While no high school teams hit 15 home runs like the Yankees did in the first three games of the season, loud cracks were heard across St. Joseph, Mo. during the tournament.

Kerns said, although the effectiveness of the bats have shown through, it’s still uncertain whether they will continue to be used other tournaments.

“I don’t know if it’s going to stick around or if it’s a fad but I did hear some kids really hit the ball well,” Kerns said. “If they are hitting it well I don’t see why they would go away from it.”

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Kyle Schmidt

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW)– Three original one act performances will be put on by the 2nd Act program at the Robidoux Resident Theater.

2nd Act is a program for adults 50 years or older. Coordinator Cheryl Wood said many theater companies across the nation are realizing more adults are interested in an opportunity like this.

“Our approach is, we’ve had our careers, we’ve had our families, those were all in our first act,” Wood said. “Now we’re in our second act of our lives so we get to do the things we want to do not necessarily the things we have to do.”

This group does a spring show and a winter show. The upcoming shows will be at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 9 and at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10. Wood said production rehearsals started in January. The group meets once a week for an hour and a half.

“Toward the end we always put in a few extra rehearsals and the actors want to do this,” Wood said. “I don’t tell them that they have to… They want to do things well.”

The acts will all be original. Two are by Mike Wilson titled ‘Not going’ and ‘Hearts.’ Another by Nancy Piercy, is called ‘Biker Babes.’ Each play is 15-25 minutes long.

The group has three first-time directors helping the actors understand the characters and story and working with them to bring it to life.

“The whole point of this is to help people who’ve maybe they were on stage and did some stuff in high school or early on and then wend on with their lives with their families and they want to get back on stage and get back into that bug,” director Fred Olson said. “So that’s what 2nd Act is all about.”

General admission tickets are available at the door and will cost $14.

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