News-Press NOW
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Chamber of Commerce is helping one local business celebrate its grand opening.
Tee’d Up is an indoor golf simulator business open year-round for people with all different golf-skill levels.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at noon on Friday, June 13, at 504 Edmond St.
Tee times and pricing are available on their website, teed-upgolf.com.
Patrick Holleron
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Fans of the Pokémon card game have always dreamed of “catching them all”, but high demand for new sets and scalpers who seek to resell the card packs for more have made it hard to find any at all.
“There’s kids that aren’t getting the product because there just isn’t (any available),” Pokémon fan Colt Skouby said. “There’s people that are staying six, seven hours outside of the store so they can get this product. It’s making a future generation not able to play this game because right now is the economic boom of Pokémon,” said Skouby. “These people aren’t collectors, they just see a paycheck in all of this.”
The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) has been a constant issue, which dates back to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has forced major retailers like Target, Walmart and Game Stop to have limited stock available for purchase.
Even local card shops like Titanium Cards LLC have had less cards available for purchase, with new and popular sets being harder to come by due to a higher MSRP.
“It’s like (running) a bakery,” Titanium Cards LLC owner Kyle Richards said. “There’s only so much that the production can make at a time. When more people want the chocolate pie, the better tasting pie, you have to divvy out smaller pieces. The local card shops have less compared big stores like Walmart and Target.”
As retailers continue to limit the supply customers can purchase, the high demand won’t be decreasing any time soon.
News-Press NOW
PLATTE CITY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A 34-year-old St. Joseph man is in the Platte County jail after being arrested in connection with two burglaries in a Platte City, Missouri, neighborhood.
Logan Tipton was charged Wednesday with two counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of property damage. His bond has been set at $50,000 cash only.
The crimes occurred in the Timber Park residential area of Platte City, west of Running Horse Road and south of where Interstate 29 intersects with Highway 92.
According to a probable cause statement, Tipton broke into an occupied house around 4 p.m. Wednesday. The occupant called police, and Tipton was still on the premises when officers arrived. While being arrested, Tipton told officers he had broken in to find food and water. He later admitted to detectives that he had broken into the house through a basement door.
Also, according to the probable cause statement, Tipton broke into another house earlier that day. When confronted by an occupant, he fled in an unknown direction. Police canvassed the area but were unable to locate Tipton.
Platte County court records list a St. Joseph address for Tipton. He pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary in 2019 in Buchanan County and was sentenced to nine years in prison. He was later released to the Missouri Department of Probation and Parole.
News-Press NOW
PLATTE CITY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A 34-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in the January shooting death of a Platte City sports reporter.
County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd held a press conference Wednesday and announced that his office has charged Ruslan Huseynov with causing the death of 50-year-old Dennis Sharkey. Sharkey was a sports reporter for the local newspaper, the Platte County Citizen.
Huseynov also faces charges of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
According to the Platte County Sheriff’s office, the incident happened between 6:30 and 7 p.m. Jan. 10 on southbound Interstate 29 near Northwest 72nd Street. The sheriff’s office investigated the incident early on as road rage. Investigators received information that Sharkey and another vehicle had stopped on the interstate and the suspect got out of his vehicle and fired a single shot in to Sharkey’s vehicle.
When Kansas City police officers responded to the area, they found Sharkey in his vehicle unresponsive and he appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound. He was transported to an area hospital and later pronounced dead.
A search warrant related to data from Sharkey’s phone showed communication on the night of the shooting with a cell phone tower near the location where an ATF canine found a single 9mm shell casing.
That phone lead investigators to Huseynov’s phone that was in a vehicle that stopped on I-29 around the time of the shooting, according to court documents.
On Tuesday, authorities interviewed Huseynov and he allegedly confirmed his cellphone number denied owning a gun, according to court documents. However, a search warrant was executed at his residence and authorities located a 9mm Stoeger pistol in a safe in his bedroom.
Court documents also said testing by the Kansas City Police Crime Laboratory confirmed that the shell casing located at the scene of the crime and the bullet, removed from Sharkey’s body during the autopsy, were identified and verified. They allege the pistol recovered from Huseynov’s bedroom was the weapon used.
Huseynov is being held in the Platte County Jail without bond.
Jenna Wilson
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Missouri Department of Conservation’s announcement of the indefinite closure of the Pigeon Hill shooting range has sparked controversy among community members.Â
The Department announced the closure following an incident involving improper gun use at the range.Â
St. Joseph residents say that while safety is an important concern, the closure of the range creates a significant inconvenience for many gun users across the northwest region.Â
“I don’t see why they shut it down completely,” said resident Tony Casias. “Because a lot of people actually hunt and they like to go target practice, even our police.”
The shooting range in St. Joseph is among numerous unstaffed facilities throughout Missouri, prompting some to believe that the lack of supervision may encourage illegal activities at the location.
Staff at Bull’s Eye Trading Guns and Range in St. Joseph said that despite some backlash from the community over the closure, safety should remain the top priority.Â
“I can understand peoples’ concern about it being shut down because it’s one less place for serious shooters to shoot locally,” said Bull’s Eye Shop Manager James Wymore. “But at the same time, if the person standing next to you isn’t serious about gun safety, it’s probably a good idea to just shut it down completely.”
Missouri Department of Conservation Media Specialist Erin Woodiel provided an updated statement to News-Press NOW about the future of the Pigeon Hill shooting range.Â
“As of right now, we are going to still have the Pigeon Hill range as an option for educational programming within MDC, but we do not have plans at this time to reopen it for public use. We will evaluate as time goes on, but currently, we don’t have any concrete plans in place. We want to make sure everyone is following our rules to make it a safe place for everyone. When that doesn’t happen, we have to make such calls.”
Officials are reminding the community to use this situation as a reminder to always practice safety when operating a firearm.
“You have to always be aware of where you’re pointing that firearm,” Wymore said. “It’s a lethal weapon. It is also a tool but it’s only as safe as the person holding it.”
Crystal Olney
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The appointments of two administrators for the 2025-26 academic year were approved by the St. Joseph School District Board of Education.
Shawna Gilliland will take on the role of principal of Benton High School for the upcoming school year.
Gilliland has 24 years of experience in education and most recently served as assistant principal at Central High School for the past two years. That position followed a year as an administrative intern and 21 years as a Central mathematics teacher.
Along with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Missouri Western State University, Gilliland has a Master’s in Mathematics Education and a Specialist in Education Administration from Northwest Missouri State University. She is National Board Certified in Mathematics and was named the 2024-25 Northwest Region Assistant Principal of the Year.
Brad Spinner was appointed to assistant principal at Central beginning in August.
Spinner brings 25 years of education experience to the role. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Mathematics from Oklahoma State University. He was a teacher in Texas for four years, before moving to St. Joseph in 2004, and has spent the last 21 years teaching and coaching at Lafayette High School. He also has served as the Lafayette activities director for three years.
The new administrators will assume their positions on Tuesday, July 1.
Cameron Montemayor
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Customers in St. Joseph and surrounding communities will now see increased water rates reflected on their monthly bills following approval by state regulators in May.
Effective May 28, a customer in St. Joe using 4,600 gallons a month will now pay $62.53 a month on average, an increase of approximately $9 a month, or $108 annually. This amount will vary based on how much a customer uses.
The increase comes after the Missouri Public Service Commission approved an agreement with Missouri American Water on May 7 to increase annual water and sewer revenues by $143 million. The company initially requested a 34% increase that would have raised rates by roughly $18 a month.
Customers will receive information about the new rates on their Missouri American Water bill. Information will also be available on the company’s website under Customer Service Billing, Water and Wastewater Rates.
Missouri American Water offers customers bill payment assistance programs including a payment installment plan and budget billing options available on the customer MyWater portal at missouriamwater.com. Income-eligible customers may also apply for assistance through the company’s Help to Others (H2O) Program.
The increase was made to help cover part of $1.5 billion in completed or planned system improvements across the state from January 2023 to May 2026. Overall investments include the replacement or installation of approximately 250 miles of aging water and wastewater pipes to help reduce main breaks and sewer overflows.
Additional projects include upgrading of treatment plants, fire hydrants, storage tanks, wells, pumping and lift stations across the state.
In March, the company began the process of replacing nearly 41,000 feet of aging water pipe, or roughly 7.5 miles, in St. Joseph. St. Joseph’s infrastructure project also includes enhancements to the Faraon and Randolph Water Boosters, a critical component of the water system that impacts water pressure and service reliability for residents and the effectiveness of 3,500 fire hydrants across St. Joseph.
Missouri American Water serves nearly 1.6 million Missourians and supplies drinking water to more than 31,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in St. Joseph.
Chris Fortune
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A local artist’s work is being featured in the St. Joseph Museums as part of the celebration leading up to Juneteenth.
A gallery featuring the work of Afrocentric Artist T’Asia Coker can be found in the Black Archives section of the Museum. The 23-year-old law student at Missouri Western State University remembers when she started sketching at the age of 13.
“I was at my house, and I was so bored I was like, ‘Okay, I’m just going to try to draw,’ and then I really got in to sketching,” Coker said.
Then she found what she truly loved.Â
“I liked sketching, but I just really love being able to express myself through color with different skin tones, complexions and backgrounds,” Coker said.
The inspiration came from the hair salon her mom has owned for nearly 12 years.Â
“I just watched her do the hair of the people in my community and I get a lot of inspiration from them,” she said.
T’Asia’s mother, Kristina Buchanan, owns Karamel Natural Hair Care at 1702 Olive St. in St. Joseph. T’Asia’s first color art piece is still hanging inside the shop.
“We just always thought that she was amazing,” Buchanan said. “Her progression speaks more, I think, to her work ethic, her determination to keep perfecting her craft to always be the best that she can be, and I’m in awe of my daughter.”
What starts as a concept in T’Asia’s head changes as she begins to work on a piece. She enjoys painting women in front of mystical backgrounds.
“I’m a fantasy person to my core, so I like seeing art that depicts that,” Coker said.
The opportunity to showcase her art in the St. Joseph Museums came from a February event where her mother displayed her work. A Black Archives Committee member was in attendance and suggested her art be displayed in the museum.
“My mom was buying picture frames and, you know, getting everything labeled,” Coker said. “It came together really nice.”
Coker’s work is on display now through Monday, June 30, to highlight Black artists and celebrate Juneteenth.
“I’ve been watching her just do great things anyway, so every painting is my favorite,” Buchanan said. “This is the beginning for her.”
A calendar featuring T’Asia’s work will be on sale in September, and it will feature perforated pages so the art can be detached and kept. Copies of the calendar can be purchased at Karamel Natural Hair Care.
Kyle Schmidt
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Tennis players will soon have a fresh playing surface to enjoy at the Noyes Sports Complex courts.
Parks Director Jeff Atkins, with St. Joseph’s Parks and Recreation department, said this project will take roughly three to four weeks to finish.
“It’s a good rule of thumb, every five to seven years at the very best, you have to go in and repair small cracks in courts and resurface them,” Atkins said. “If you don’t, they will continue to disintegrate and then you’ve got bigger and more expensive problems.”
On top of resurfacing, new led lights will go up around the tennis and horseshoe courts. These will take longer to finish than the resurfacing project but the courts will be open while the lights are being worked on.
“We are going to reuse the posts on the tennis courts where they are so we won’t have to do any new trenching,” Atkins said. “They’ll run new wiring under the existing card or through the existing conduits but we don’t have to dig anything up.”
The new lighting will be cleaner and brighter, as well as cheaper. He said the new lighting burns a lot cheaper and will save money in the long haul.
The project is being funded by the parks tax fund and a $23,900 contribution from the St. Joseph School District.
When the courts are relined, no pickle ball lines will be added because of United States Tennis Association tournaments being played at the complex.
“We’re lucky enough to get to host USTA tournaments here, and part of their regulations are their courts have to be tennis court(s) only,” Atkins said. “You can’t have any other type of markings on the courts.”
Crystal Olney
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Motorists will need to seek alternates routes as the Missouri Department of Transportation is set to close ramps on Route 36 as part of an ongoing project.
Multiple ramps along the eastbound and westbound lanes of Route 36 (U.S. Highway 36) in St. Joseph will close overnight starting on Monday, June 16, through Tuesday, June 17.
The following ramps in Buchanan County will be impacted:
Ramps to and from Riverside Road (Route AC) on June 16
Ramps to and from Interstate 29 on June 16
Ramps to and from the Belt Highway (U.S. Route 169) on June 17
Ramps to and from 28th Street and Hill Top Road on June 17
Ramps to and from 22nd Street on June 17
The closures will take place intermittently between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. All schedules are weather permitting and subject to change.
The work will be done by Vance Brothers Inc. working with MoDOT.
