Category: knpn-local-news

Rebecca Evans

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Over 40 volunteers gathered Saturday, Sept. 13, to assemble hygiene kits for local teens in need.

The hygiene kits will be distributed to area schools to support students who may lack access to essential personal care items.

“Sometimes it is as simple as just like the sheer joy when a kiddo walks in at the beginning of August, and we get to hand them a backpack with school supplies,” said United Way’s of St. Joseph’s president, Kylee Strough, “To see their excitement for school and their new stuff, and to be a part of that is amazing.”

Volunteers participated as a part of United Way’s monthly Caring Connection crew, a monthly volunteer project.

Strough spoke about the importance of donating items, especially more uncommon ones, to help support families in need.

“Often times food pantries don’t have a lot of extra hygiene items and things. It’s pretty simple stuff, but it makes a really significant impact when you don’t have these things.”

The event took place from 1 to 3 p.m. at the United Way of Greater St. Joseph, located at 118 S. 5th St.

Those interested in volunteering for the United Way of Greater St. Joseph can visit their website here.

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News-Press NOW

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — One local staple is coming back, this time, with a Roaring 20s theme.

The 36th Annual Southside Fall Festival will take place on Friday, Sept. 19, through Sunday, Sept. 21 at 402 East Hyde Park Ave.

The weekend will feature local food, entertainment and vendors to kickstart the start of fall.

Additionally, the 36th Annual Southside Fall Festival parade will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20. The parade will begin at Green Hills Grocery and will continue on to King Hill Avenue to Missouri Avenue.

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News-Press NOW

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A crash on eastbound Highway 36, about a half-mile from the 22nd street exit, caused a shutdown of the left lane of traffic Friday afternoon as emergency crews worked the scene.

According to a firefighter, Ely Martinez, on the scene, there were no injuries reported.

One vehicle, driving in the left lane, traveled into the right lane and another vehicle struck the guardrail attempting to avoid a collision, according to Traffic Unit Officer John Foster.

News-Press NOW will update this story.

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TaMya Bracy

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) – On Friday morning, the YWCA hosted its 29th annual day of Commitment to Eliminate Racism Breakfast.

The day of commitment is a time to make a stand against racism of all kinds in the community.

Danielle Brown, YWCA chief executive officer, said the event is a chance for the community to stand together without any labels or titles.

“So whether it be race or gender biases that divide us in so many different circles that were in, we’re able to come together today without all of those labels and all of those titles and really try to stand together and to take that back out into our community,” Brown said.

The event featured different speakers, a music performance and two awards being presented to members in the community.

The 2025 Kelsy Beshears Racial Justice Award was won by LaTonya Williams.

Williams said she felt amazed and grateful when she found out that she won the award.

“A lot of times we do things in the community and I wonder if people are looking, if they’re noticing, or if they’re even appreciative of your work. And when I got the call, I was just really, really thankful,” she said.

There was a scholarship awarded to a MoWest student at the event. The 2025 Kelsy Beshears Scholarship was awarded to Jessica Laws.

The event ended with everyone reading the pledge to climate racism. This pledge was granted to use from Birmingham, AL.

Brown said her favorite part of the event is reading the pledge with the entire community.

“But the unity that comes from the pledge to eliminate racism when we all stand and say that together, it is very powerful and it’s something that, you know, I almost envision think just moving out into the community as we’re standing here taking it together,” Brown said.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Six of the eight sitting city councilmembers in St. Joseph have now signaled plans to seek reelection in 2026.

Councilmembers Andrew Trout (District 3), Jason Eslinger (District 2) and Michael Grimm (District 4) have formally requested petitions to run for reelection in 2026.

Trout and Grimm are both seeking a second term after voters elected them in 2022, while Eslinger is seeking his first full term after being appointed by the City Council in April 2024 following the resignation of former councilmember Taylor Crouse.

Petitions were also requested by Dana Stickley (District 3) and James W. Kindred (at-large), two newcomers to the race.

Stickley is currently a board member on the St. Joseph Human Rights Commission as well as an alternate member on the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Petitions for district seats

Councilmember Madison Davis, seeking third term (District 1)

Councilmember Jason Eslinger, seeking first full term after appointment in April 2024 (District 2)

Councilmember Andrew Trout, seeking second term (District 3)

Dana Stickley, seeking first official term (District 3)

Councilmember Michael G. Grimm, seeking second term (District 4)

Petitions for at-large seats

James W Kindred, Sr., seeking first official term

Collin Clibon, seeking first official term

Councilmember Marty Novak, seeking third term

Councilmember Randy S. Schultz, seeking second term

St. Joseph Mayor John Josendale also confirmed plans on Tuesday to run for a second term.

Tuesday marked the official start of next year’s municipal election process with petitions becoming available for those interested in running for mayor, city council and judge. All petitions must be filed with the city clerk between Tuesday, Oct. 7 and Tuesday, Oct. 28.

A minimum of 250 qualified voters must sign petitions for at-large seats. Petitions for candidates for district councilmember seats must be signed by no less than 75 qualified voters of the district.

St. Joseph’s Primary Election will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 3, followed by the General Election on Tuesday, April 7.

The 2026 municipal election will feature races for mayor and all eight City Council seats. Four at-large councilmembers will be elected to four-year terms while four district councilmembers will be elected to an initial two-year term, with a subsequent district election to occur in 2028.

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TaMya Bracy

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — On Saturday, the St. Joseph Fire Department will be hosting its annual IAFF Local 77 retirees and award banquet.

The banquet will honor 150 firefighters for their outstanding acts in the community. While it is invitation-only, all retirees are welcome to attend.

Those who wish to make a reservation should call or text 816-261-4700 or leave a message at 816-558-6541.

Jamey McVicker, assistant fire chief, said it’s a fun event and it’s nice to give everyone recognition for their hard work.

“These men and women give everything they have to this community, and for us to be able to recognize them means the world to us,” McVicker said. “And for us to be able to recognize them means the world to us.  So we want them to make sure that they know that they’re appreciated by not just the employers of the city, but it’s community,” he said.

McVicker expressed the importance of honoring SJFD firefighters and retirees.

“Just the simple acknowledgment of, ‘You did a good job,’ means so much more than really any monetary value,” McVicker said.  “We all have that personal inner pride, and to be recognized, we want to make sure that we’re fulfilling that need of our firefighters,” he said.

McVicker said he looks forward to celebrating with the entire SJFD crew and hopes retirees make their reservation.

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Rebecca Evans

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — More than 700 kindergarten families in the St. Joseph School District will receive free one-year family memberships to InspireU thanks to local donors.

Lowell and Leslie Kruse, local donors, alongside Julie Gaddie, president of Mosaic Life Care Foundation, posing with an InspireU Sign which reads, “Complimentary Family Membership for all SJSD Kindergarten Families!”

Lowell Kruse said, “These kids in here, they’re going to be the teachers. They’re going to be the principals, the governors, the people that run the hospital, the nurses. We need the best we can get right? It only happens through education.”

The Mosaic Life Care Foundation, alongside donors Lowell and Leslie Kruse, announced the initiative on Friday morning at Lindbergh Elementary School. This benefit will be given to every kindergarten family within the school district. 

Kindergarten students at Lindbergh Elementary celebrating their new InspireU memberships by jumping up and down in confetti.

“Inspire U was really built to engage young families,” said Julie Gaddie, president of Mosaic Life Care Foundation. “We wanted a place where young families can come to learn together about how to be healthy as a family from the start.”

InspireU is an interactive learning center that connects children with real-world opportunities through exhibits and programs focused on career exploration and skill-building.

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Carter Ostermiller

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Downtown St. Joseph Public Library building is undergoing renovations but not for the library, a new neighbor is set to move in.

Mary Beth Revels, director of the St. Joseph Public Library, discussed the changes happening in the building.

“(In) the summer of 2024, Northwest Health actually purchased this building, and the intent with them purchasing the building was to put their Downtown clinic in the lower level of the building,” Revels said.

Revels assures that the library is not going anywhere; the two will now share the building.

According to Revels, the library is leasing the space on a 100-year lease that costs them 10 dollars.

News-Press NOW reached out to Northwest Health Services to learn more about the renovations and have not heard back at this time.

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Praji Ghosh

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Missouri Western State University social work students are now one step closer to their careers, thanks to new legislation that opens the door for them to receive mentorship and sit for their licensing exam. 

In the past, students had to graduate from an accredited program before they could even take the exam. That created big hurdles, especially for those in Northwest and Northeast Kansas where the need for social workers in areas like mental health, substance use, and child welfare is critical  

“The rural population for substance use or mental health or child welfare need social services systems which desperately need our workforce so I wrote a letter to the licensing board saying would you all entertain the idea of addressing this stature,” Grey Endres, Associate professor of Social Work said.  

Working alongside colleagues in the department, Endres met with the board, researched how other states handled the issue, and found that Kansas and Iowa already had more flexible paths in place. That research helped push Missouri to act.  

Last spring, the team submitted a proposal, and by June, Missouri Western’s program was officially recognized as “in candidacy.” That means students don’t have to wait until full accreditation to gain the experience and mentorship they need. 

“The other states already had addressed this. Kansas says graduate from an accredited university or other university that has been approved by the licensing board,” Edres said.  

Senate Bill 150 carried the change through the legislature in 2024, passing with no opposition. Endres credits the success to a simple guiding principle: “Our goal was to do no harm.”  

“They looked at our policies and they looked at our procedures and they are developing assessment tools to collect data to see how effective are our students with the program,” Edres said.  

Already, students from the first two cohorts have contributed more than 32,000 hours of practicum work across the community — from hospice care and hospitals to child protection services, the Salvation Army, and Catholic Charities.  

“Our goal is to grow, this isn’t glass shattering legislation there are 30 other states that have already addressed this and there were only 20 states that had very specific barriers,” Eders said.  

With the new law in place, those students can now sit for the licensing exam, enter supervised practice, and begin working toward their clinical license. 

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Kyle Schmidt

NAPIER, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Purple Heart recipients will travel to a hunting club in Napier, Missouri, for an all-expenses-paid weekend.

The Wounded Warriors in Action foundation in the Missouri/Kansas chapter takes veterans hunting and trapping from Nov. 20 to 24.

“When these guys get together, they get the camaraderie, the brotherhood, sitting around the campfire telling stories about the day’s hunt,” Hunt Coordinator Kyle Evans said. “Just being in the outdoors, just getting to experience nature firsthand.”

The veterans will stay at the Napier Hunt Club and a majority will experience duck and deer hunting for the first time, along with trapping.

All of the funds are coming locally around northwest Missouri, many businesses donated checks. A fundraiser event is scheduled for Sept. 26 at the Eagles Lodge in St. Joseph, located at 2004 N Belt Highway.

Swift Kik will play at the fundraiser, which will have a $10 cover charge. Donations will help with the costs of flights, supplies, food and more for the event. HyVee is helping with supplying food for the weekend.

“Every day we ask them what they want to do, they want to go deer hunting, duck hunting, trap and we’ve got the people in our corner to make it happen,” Evans said. “We just show them a little bit about what we love and why we love it and a lot of them will take that back home and be able to experience the outdoors with their families.”

Anyone interested in donating to the event can email chsalumnibasketball@gmail.com.

“It’s a great organization, these heroes, it’s all about supporting them, thanking them for their services,” Evans said. “A lot of them don’t want any recognition, they don’t want anything special… This is just our way of giving back.”

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