Category: knpn-local-news

Carter Ostermiller

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — On Aug.28, Gov. Mike Kehoe signed modifications to Senate Bill 43.

One of the key modifications was on the Champion for Children Tax Credit. It provides a tax credit for contributions to qualified child advocacy centers or crisis care centers.

The tax credit will increase from 50% to 70% for all qualifying donations ranging from $100 to $50,000 in any tax year.

Melissa Birdsell from the local child advocacy center, Voices of Courage, said donors will get more money back in their pockets with the credit.

“For every, $100, you would receive a credit of $70, donated,” said Birdsell.

Birdsell said she believes this new modification will be a new incentive for donations to child advocacy centers.

The tax credit redeemed in a fiscal year would not exceed $2.5 million.

SB 43 also extends the original expiration date of Dec. 31, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2031.

To learn more about Senate Bill 43 and the Champion for Children Tax Credit, you can visit senate.mo.gov.

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Praji Ghosh

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — At least 50 fish were found belly-up at Krug Park on Tuesday afternoon.

News-Press NOW reached out to biologists at the Missouri Department of Conservation, who explained the die-off is tied to a drop in oxygen levels in the water — something that can happen for a few different reasons.  

“There’s no photosynthesis happening, which produces oxygen with all the vegetation, so then the fishes start dying because of the lethal dip in O2 in the water,” said Tori Mason, a MDC fisheries management biologist.

According to Mason, reports of dying fish at the pond aren’t new.  

Dead fish are pretty common this time of year, but the department plans to restock the pond with trout by November.  

“I am getting calls all the time on the exact same thing. It’s really unfortunate, and if we had the aeration and fountains, then this wouldn’t have happened,” Mason said.  

Mason explained this isn’t unusual and assured the public there’s no risk to people. Mason also explained, the real culprit is a large algae bloom, which released toxins into the water and led to the fish dying.  

“We will get it stocked back up, and it will be good as new here in short order and there will be plenty of fish to catch for people,” Mason said.  

Mason said the timing made conditions tougher for the fish, but the MDC expects to have the issue resolved soon for residents.  

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Rebecca Evans

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The League of Women Voters of Northwest Missouri will host a public forum Friday, Sept. 26, featuring nine current St. Joseph city leaders.

The event will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Rolling Hills Library’s Upper Story Room, 1906A North Belt Highway. Admission is free, and light refreshments will be served.

Participants scheduled to attend include three City Council members, St. Joseph’s City Manager, Community Development Director, Police Chief, Health Director, City Clerk and Director of Parks, Recreation and Civic Facilities.

Each official will give opening remarks and provide updates on current projects and initiatives. They will also highlight upcoming efforts they believe will improve the city.

Audience members may submit written questions ahead of the forum, which will be reviewed and selected by forum organizers.

Organizers said the goal is to inform the public about current issues and encourage civic engagement.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes voter education, registration and participation. For more information, contact lwv.nwmo@gmail.com or 816-646-8621.

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TaMya Bracy

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The St. Joseph Fire Department has been awarded $1,000 from the Missouri American Water Company.

With this funding, SJFD said it will purchase a new supply hose. Assistant Fire Chief Jamey McVicker said that Missouri American Water has been fantastic and has helped SJFD for several years.

“That thousand-dollar grant will go towards replacing some of the hose that is either broken, in disrepair, or is just aged,” he said.

SJFD plans to replace one of its smaller hoses, which is primarily used for house fires.

McVicker said SJFD appreciates the support of the community.

“We have been blessed with the support of this community through grants from different businesses, and we are so very thankful for that,”  he said.

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Alec Pascuzzi

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A local senior living community opened its doors to the public Tuesday to showcase its new renovations.

Benedictine Living Community, located at 1202 Heartland Road, hosted an open house event from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, in St. Joseph.

The senior care facility recently remodeled their assisted and independent living apartments and gathering spaces, such as the dining hall, with minimal impacts to the facility’s daily functions.

The apartments were renovated with new paint and finishes to enhance resident comfort.

“It makes it much more homey, much more like home instead of living in, you know, just living in an apartment — (it has a) much more homey feeling to it,” said Deborah Flint, a resident at Benedictine Living Community.

The goal of the upgrades was to provide a better living environment for the facility’s residents.

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Praji Ghosh

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The St. Joseph School District recently took part in the Beginning Teacher’s Assistance Program, also known as BTAP, at Lafayette High School. 

The training was led by Darbie Valenti-Huff and was all about helping new teachers get their careers off to a strong start — offering professional development, mentorship and a chance to build connections with other educators.  

This program is part of the Missouri Teacher Development System, or MTDS — a statewide effort to give educators continuous opportunities to grow.  

“We are able to bring our mentors as extra support, so then when we come back to the school and we want to implement things, we have someone who was there as a veteran,” first-year teacher Arianna Davis said.  

Davis said the training is required for all first-year teachers so they can learn how to recognize students’ needs in the classroom — and put that knowledge into practice during lessons. 

The goal of the training is to boost teachers’ confidence and encourage collaboration that helps build stronger relationships between students and educators in the classroom.  

“Of course, we don’t know everything that’s going on at home, but just being familiar with the signs for each of those things helps us understand our students more,” Davis said.  

Davis said she plans to use some of the techniques from the training to better capture her students’ attention.   

“Being able to take the nontraditional aspects and learning and bringing that to the classroom to help them transition into middle school, I think, is extremely important,” Davis said.  

She said her goal after completing the BTAP program is to grow as a teacher for her sixth graders, so she can serve them better and connect with them on a deeper level.  

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TaMya Bracy

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — On Friday, the City of St. Joseph made an announcement of being awarded $252,000 in federal funding through the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) to improve pedestrian safety at key crossings across the community.

The Safe Crossings of St. Joseph project will cost $315,000, with $252,000 provided through the federal TAP grant and $63,000 contributed by the City of St. Joseph.

The Safe Crossings project was developed in direct response to concerns raised by community members during Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee meetings and the Metropolitan Transportation Plan public engagement process.

The project will install modern pedestrian safety technology at three high-risk locations in the city.

Jackson Lohman, a transportation planner with the City, said the project will help with safety for pedestrians. 

“This is going to help to give them safe marked areas to cross where it otherwise didn’t exist, especially because all three of these crosswalks are in high pedestrian areas with roadways that are either higher speed or heavily trafficked,” he said.

The grant will add a new Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) at St. Joseph Avenue at Krug Park/Parkway Trail. The installation will include pedestrian push buttons, dual-sided LED flashers and high-visibility crosswalk markings.

Parents and staff also identified the need for safer crossings in a Safe Routes to School survey conducted in partnership with the St. Joseph School District.

The grant will add a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) at Hyde Park Avenue near Hyde Park and Benton High School. The additional RRFB will provide safety to children and safety.

Additionally, the grant will replace an outdated pedestrian signal with a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) at Spring Garden Middle School. According to the U.S Department of Transportation, the new technology is shown to reduce over 50% in pedestrian crashes.

Lohman said the Hybrid Beacon reduces pedestrian crashes because it’s similar to a red light.

“So hot beacons are like a red light,” Lohmna said. “So it actually, instead of asking traffic to yield, that actually gets them to stop, and it’s treated just like a stoplight would be.”

Public Works is hoping to get the new RRFB and PHB added to the crosswalks in the Spring of 2026.

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Praji Ghosh

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) –The St. Joseph School District Board of Education was met Monday to discuss the district’s special education policy and an event agreement for Tiny Tot Town. 

The Board met at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 22, at the Troester Media Center, located at 3401 Renick St.  

Board members will either approve or deny a motion to implement the Progressive Community Services Funding Application for SJSD’s All Students Achieve (ASA) program, located at Mosaic Life Care. 

“Everyone deserves quality education and it doesn’t matter if they have extra needs and my is that every child or every individual in the community is able to receive equal education,” LaTonya Williams, President of the School Board said.   

ASA is a collaboration between SJSD and St. Joseph organizations, which provide intensive training and development to high school seniors with developmental disabilities. 

Students will gain real-life experience to help them prepare for the job market.  

The BOE looked at a rental agreement between SJSD’s Parents as Teachers and the City of St. Joseph to lease Civic Arena during the annual “Tiny Tot Town” interactive, simulated community event for kids.  

Civic Arena transforms into a kid-sized city, where children get to play grown-up for the day—running errands, trying out jobs and learning real-world skills in a fun way.  

“It gives kids in the community an opportunity to look at agencies and organizations in the district which shows love and support to them and educate them and help them explore,” Williams said.  

The event was a favorite for families, helping boost enrollment and giving parents and kids a chance to connect in the past.   

Board members also talked about policy GCB-2 that allows the superintendent to make decisions about promotions, demotions and termination of all non-contractual employees in the school district.   

The GCB-2 item on the agenda was brought to the board with concerns regarding staff beginning employment prior to board approval. 

“The board members voted to approve it. And even though I was a no vote I completely support the decision of the board since it was a different changing of policy.”  

Williams says the reason this needed to change was because they did not have good policy compliant in the approval of the hires.  

The BOE will meet again at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 13, at the Troester Media Center. 

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News-Press NOW

CLINTON COUNTY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Three juveniles were seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash, which occurred in Clinton County on Friday, Sept. 19.

The crash happened at 7:40 a.m. at Route PP at U.S. Highway 69, just three miles north of Lawson, Missouri.

A 17-year-old female driver of a 2014 Ford Escape was going south on U.S. Highway 69, while a 28-year-old male driver of a 2014 Ram 1500 was going north on U.S. Highway 69.

The Ford Escape also had two 15-year-old female passengers.

The driver of the Ram 1500 attempted to turn left onto Route PP when the front of the Ford Escape struck the Ram, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

The Ford Escape came to rest in the southbound lane of U.S. Highway 69, facing northwest. The Ram came to rest partially blocking the southbound lane of U.S. Highway 69, facing southwest.

The 17-year-old driver was taken to Liberty Hospital with serious injuries by the Lawson Fire Department. One of the 15-year-old passengers was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital with serious injuries by the Lawson Fire Department and the other 15-year-old passenger was taken to the Liberty Hospital with serious injuries by the Holt Fire Department.

All drivers and passengers were wearing seatbelts. Both vehicles were totaled in the incident.

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News-Press NOW

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Board of Directors of St. Joseph Christian School (SJCS) announced a leadership transition set to take effect next school year.

Now under a Co-Superintendent model, SJCS will return to a single Superintendent model in the 2026-2027 school year.

Current Co-Superintendent and Secondary Principal, Danny Maggart, will step into the Superintendent role. A nationwide search will begin immediately for a new Secondary Principal to succeed Maggart.

Co-Superintendent and Elementary Principal, Rose Dunlap, will serve solely as the Elementary Principal.

Both Maggart and Dunlap have led SJCS through the challenges of COVID-19 and two building campaigns over the past seven years.

Until a candidate is identified to serve as a new Secondary Principal, the current leadership team will continue in their existing roles to ensure a smooth transition.

The shift aims to clarify roles, prevent leadership burnout and further support the school’s mission: “To glorify Jesus Christ by equipping students to impact their world for Him.”

“We are confident that this step will strengthen our ability to serve students and families well into the future,” said the SJCS Board in a written press release.

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