Category: knpn-local-news

Cameron Montemayor

MARYVILLE, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Maryville’s top administrator will officially remove the ‘interim’ from his title moving forward.

The city of Maryville announced Tuesday that City Councilmembers had unanimously approved the appointment of interim City Manager Ryan Heiland to the position fulltime, this coming after an executive session was held June 9.

Heiland has been with the city for the last 13 years and has served as interim city manager since March following the resignation of longtime city manager Greg McDanel, who accepted a city manager position in Seaside, California.

A graduate of Northwest Missouri State University with expertise in urban planning and municipal development, Heiland holds a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in public policy from Drake University. He is also a certified planner.

Heiland began his career in local government in Phoenix, Arizona, before making the move to other communities in Arizona, Iowa and Missouri, acquiring a wealth of knowledge of municipal operations along the way.

“I’m honored to step into this role and thankful for the City Council’s support. Maryville is a great community, and I look forward to working with our team and residents to continue our momentum and enhance the quality of life for everyone,” Heiland said in a press release.

Click here to follow the original article.

Crystal Olney

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — There is still time to register for InterServ’s Miniature Golf Tournament happening this week.

The event starts at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 12, at Cool Crest Garden Golf, located at 1400 N. Belt Highway in St. Joseph.

Those interested in signing up will need to register in teams made up of four players. The cost per team is $120 and all age groups are welcome to participate, according to InterServ’s website.

The proceeds from the tournament will benefit the nonprofit’s programs for youth, families, seniors and individuals.

For more information about the event or to sign up with a team, visit faithfullyserving.org/events.

Click here to follow the original article.

Patrick Holleron

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — United Way of Greater St. Joseph and its donors are providing fans to people in need as the summer heat starts to take effect.

Residents will be able to start picking up fans at various locations across St. Joseph on Wednesday, June 11.

Anyone is able to get a fan from one of the local agencies. No proof of residency or form of identification is required in an effort to make the process as barrier free as possible, according to the United Way.

“We are limiting one fan per household, unless it’s a larger family, and then we can do one for every four family members,” said Social Services Director Emily Bravo at The Salvation Army.

For those in need, the following locations have fans available:

InterServ 5400 King Hill Ave.

The Salvation Army 602 Messanie St.

Northwest Missouri Community Services 1203 N. Sixth St.

United Way of Greater St. Joseph 118 S. Fifth St.

The fan giveaway is first come, first serve while supplies last.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jenna Wilson

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Juneteenth celebration events will kick off this weekend in St. Joseph, with a performance of ‘Our Town’ taking center stage.

The Juneteenth Celebration Committee is set to present a compelling production of Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town’ beginning Friday, June 13.

“This is the third play we’ve done for Juneteenth,” said Mike Wilson, a local director and playwright. “It’s a really interesting play because it uses a very minimalist stage — basically, a very bare stage.”

The play has been hailed as ‘the greatest American play ever written’ by renowned playwright Edward Albee. 

Set in a small town, the story follows a stage manager who guides the audience through the everyday lives of residents, traces a childhood friendship as it blossoms into marriage and reveals profound truths about the essence of life.

“The stage manager talks to the audience a lot and that’s not normal,” Wilson said. “Usually, actors don’t talk directly to the audience and she gives them a lot of facts and figures about the play.”

The production relies on pantomiming to tell the story through expressive bodily and facial movements rather than props.

“We don’t use any props, so when you see the women cooking breakfast, they’re doing it with no pots, no pans, nothing,” Wilson said. “It makes the audience use their imagination.”

Committee members prioritized assembling a mixed-race cast to mirror the Broadway revival of the play, which featured notable actors like Jim Parsons from ‘The Big Bang Theory’.

In honor of Juneteenth, community members are encouraged to attend the performance and reflect on this significant moment in history, commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people.

“This play has an interesting underlying message and that is, we don’t really appreciate life as we live it,” said Wilson. “It’s an important message and that’s one of the reasons it’s such an interesting play.”

The play will be performed at the Missouri Theater in Downtown St. Joseph at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 13, and Saturday, June 14, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 15. Tickets are $15.

To purchase tickets, visit https://www.stjosephmuseum.org/juneteenth and select the event.

Click here to follow the original article.

Crystal Olney

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — St. Joseph Transit switched to fixed routes only starting Tuesday, June 10.

With the implementation of fixed routes only, this means there will be no deviations and riders will have to walk to the nearest designated bus stop to be picked up.

While there will be no deviations from routes for pickups, arrangements can be made with drivers for drop-off deviations, according to a City of St. Joseph social media post.

Demand Response will still be available in the south end. Residents can call (816) 233-6700 for their ride.

This is a temporary change made by the city and officials hope to have point deviations pickups back in place soon.

For a list of bus routes, visit the city’s website at stjosephmo.gov.

Click here to follow the original article.

Crystal Olney

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Mosaic Life Care is now the official health care provider for the St. Joseph Goats Arena Football team.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Mosaic shared that it will provide physician coverage to all Goats players during home games at Civic Arena in St. Joseph.

“This partnership is a natural fit,†said Chief Administrative Officer Davin Turner, DO, in the social media post. “We’re excited to support the St. Joseph Goats as they bring high-energy sports entertainment to our community. Just as they’re dedicated to excellence on the field, we’re committed to providing exceptional care off the field.â€

Click here to follow the original article.

Chris Fortune

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — After a 24-hour delay, a Buchanan County contractor was able to take on the task of spraying weeds at Lake Contrary. 

A helicopter pilot sprayed Clearcast Aquatic Herbicide, an EPA-approved product, on more than 300 acres of land. High winds delayed the two-day project that was supposed to start on Monday and turned it into a one-day job on Tuesday. 

“I believe that he wanted a drone photo of it sometime last week just to kind of see where the green was and all that stuff because there are certain areas where certain types of vegetation need a little bit more (Clearcast),” Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner Scott Nelson said.

A product overview on its website says the growth of sensitive plants will stop 24 hours after application. Nelson estimates that it will be six weeks before the aquatic herbicide kills the vegetation.

“I think this takes a little while for it just because it’s got to get absorbed, and then it’s got to move down the root stem to the root ball, and then it starts to work on the root ball,” he said. “I’m assuming that we’re going to see the color changes and that sort of thing.”

The Missouri Office of Administration told the Buchanan County commissioners last October that taking care of the lake was their responsibility once it dried up. Nelson said removing the weeds is primarily to remove fire hazards.

“This is the first step since we’ve been mandated by the state to maintain it,” Nelson said. “So this is what we’re doing to maintain it.”

Buchanan County received a permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources on Friday to allow weed spraying, but the county still has not received a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the lake.

“Other things have kind of crept up and overtaken it on the to-do list,” Nelson said. “The big one being the (juvenile) detention center.”

Nelson said the weed spraying on Tuesday is the largest effort to remove vegetation at Lake Contrary that he can think of. Now, the county commission will observe the results over the next couple of months.

“This is 300 acres that we want to get beat down and basically see how it does and then how long it lasts,” Nelson said.

Click here to follow the original article.

News-Press NOW

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Kansas City is partnering with a local car dealership for a Test Drive Event aimed at ending impaired driving.

Community members will be able to test drive vehicles, while learning more about the critical conditioned to end impaired driving.

The family-friendly event is more than just a test drive, it’s an opportunity to support a lifesaving cause, connect with first responders and engage in conversations about road safety and prevention.

The event will take place from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, at Reed Chevrolet, located at 4200 Commonwealth Court.

The event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.

Click here to follow the original article.

News-Press NOW

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Missouri Department of Conservation announces the indefinite closure of shooting ranges at Pigeon Hill Conservation Area to the public.

The rest of Pigeon Hill will remain open to the public, according to a press release on the MDC website.

A MDC investigation found ‘evidence of range misuse at Pigeon Hill CA that put public safety at risk.’

“Unfortunately, the actions of unsafe, irresponsible shooting range users created a situation that we could not allow to persist,†said Justin McGuire, MDC’s Hunter Education and Shooting Range Coordinator, in the press release.

The shooting ranges located in St. Joseph are some of the unstaffed ones across Missouri.

Conservation area goers are encouraged to report unsafe or unlawful activity to the Operation Game Thief at (800) 392-1111 or contact a local agent. To find agents by county, visit https://mdc.mo.gov/contact-engage/local-mdc-contacts.

Click here to follow the original article.

Kirsten Stokes

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Molly Rodriguez, with her passion for sharing the gospel and hope to inspire the younger generation, has won the Life 88.5 radio contest.

Entering the contest with Katy Nichole’s Hold On, Rodriguez was announced as the winner on Thursday, June 5.

The young singer will now open for Colton Dixon, Caleb & John and Allison Eide at the Life 88.5 Free Concert on Saturday, June 21, at the Kearney Amphitheater, located at 3001 N. Highway 33 in Kearney, Missouri.

“I was listening to the station and I heard her say it, and I was like, oh my gosh,” Rodriguez said. “Then the radio station sent me the video, so I could actually see her singing it and it was crazy because this all kind of started just submitting a video of a song I really enjoyed.”

For Rodriguez, it’s not just about music, it’s about the message. She hopes her story and her songs will inspire others, especially young people, to boldly share their faith.

“When I first started, it was a lot of nerves but now I’ve had to learn to just put the focus fully on God,” Rodriguez said.

Now, the young singer is preparing to open for the headliners and hopes that this will be one of her big breaks in music. Rodriguez will have family, church members and friends support her.

“I’ve definitely been practicing a lot because I am a little nervous, but I’m excited,” Rodriguez said. “I do have a lot of my family coming and then I do have friends that have told me they’re going to come and, my church is going to come support.

You can find information on the free concert on https://www.life885.com/event/life-88-5-free-concert-kearney/

Click here to follow the original article.