Category: knpn-local-news

Praji Ghosh

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — InterServ is keeping a long-standing tradition going by handing out turkeys and a bag of sides Thanksgiving sides to community members.

This year, InterServ handed out 150 vouchers a few weeks prior. Those who received signed vouchers were able to pick up food packages Wednesday.

Jan Stone, InterServ’s individual and family services manager, said the tradition dates back many years, and it’s even more meaningful now, as the need in the community grows. 

“We do rely heavily on donors, and we have a wonderful donor who has donated the turkeys. And then we have funding throughout the year that people donate and that we kind of put back,” Stone said.  

The giveaway ran from 1 to 3:45 p.m. While Stone said she doesn’t expect anything to be left over,  anything not given out will go straight back into the food pantry’s regular stock for local families who need it.    

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News-Press NOW

By Zac Scott

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — With winter approaching, the St. Joseph School Department is searching for more bus drivers.

First Student School Bus Driver Jennifer Johnson has been transporting students for more than half a decade.

Johnson said, being the first person students see on their way to school gives her a chance to change their day for the better.

“I feel like us being a smiling face that they get to see every single morning and afternoon, a consistency  I feel like the kids really need in their lives, and so being able to help be consistent with some of the kids is just I really… I think that’s very important,” said Johnson

School bus drivers like Johnson assist local parents with transporting their students under different circumstances.

“Not all the parents have vehicles to get them to and from school. So, if we don’t have enough drivers, they’re just not going to get to school,” said Johnson.

First Student Location Manager Mark Alexander directs buses to give drivers the safest way to get students to school and back.

Alexander said school bus drivers are essential to the community, not because of who they transport, but what they transport students to.

“We are a part of this community, and not only do our children and grandchildren ride this bus,” said Alexander. We provide transportation for children to get them to school, to gain that education, to be successful, and to become great contributors to our own community.”

There is a stigma about school bus drivers being an underappreciated job. Alexander believes keeping students safe on their way to school will shut down the stigma.

“Individuals believe that a bus driver is a very thankless job and that they don’t want to drive a school bus because of the children,” said Alexander. You know what? Children are, children, right? And they’re going to be who they are. It just depends upon how you manage that bus, to keep your children in line and keep them safe.”

First Student is willing to work with anyone willing to transport the future of St. Joseph, safely, back and forth from school.

More information about job openings is on the First Student website.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The CodeRED public notification system used by Atchison County Emergency Management is currently offline due to a recent cybersecurity incident, the agency said in a public safety announcement today.

Atchison County KS Emergency Management is informing residents that its CodeRED public notification system is currently offline after a reported cybersecurity incident caused damage to the platform.

“At this time, the vendor has not provided a timeline for when the system will be restored. As a result, Atchison County is unable to send notifications through CodeRED until further notice,” a Facebook post from ACEM said.

During this outage, the County will use the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System for emergency, life-safety notifications only, if needed.

IPAWS cannot be used for non-emergency or convenience notifications. The system is federally regulated by FEMA and is reserved strictly for urgent public safety messages.

Residents are encouraged to monitor local news outlets, official County/City websites, and official social media pages for updates and information that would normally be distributed through CodeRED.

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Carter Ostermiller

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — A crash involving an out-of-town tractor-trailer hauling a load caused traffic to back up on northbound Interstate 29 Wednesday morning.

The tractor-trailer crashed into a guardrail on northbound I-29 on South 169 Highway around 8:48 a.m.

“Appears to have went to sleep. The wheel drifted. Hit the guardrail. Came across the roadway, hit the other guardrail, and came back to rest in the roadway,” Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett said.

A male in his 30s was operating the vehicle, and there are no reported injuries.

The traffic jam was around 20 to 30 minutes long and was due to the crash blocking traffic in the roadway until a tow truck removed the vehicle.

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Leah Rainwater

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — The 139th Airlift Wing has gained a new set of wings after receiving its first H3 variant of the C-130 Hercules aircraft.

The aircraft arrived on Tuesday, Nov. 4, and was transferred from the Montana Air National Guard’s 120th Airlift Wing. It features NP2000 eight-bladed propellers and avionics upgrades, including an electronic propeller control system.

The transfer is part of a broader divestment program aimed at phasing out older aircraft.

The aircraft will undergo an acceptance inspection, followed by an isochronal inspection before being cleared for flight operations through the 139th, according to Master Sgt. Danny Mears, a production superintendent for the 139th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

A C-130H3 Hercules aircraft assigned to the 139th Airlift Wing, Missouri Air National Guard, sits on the flightline Nov. 5, 2025 at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, St. Joseph, Missouri.

Mears also said the H3s are anywhere from three to six years newer than the wing’s current fleet of H2.5s.

The aircraft was flown from Montana to St. Joseph by aircrew from the 139th. Maintenance personnel accompanied the mission.

“The plane flew great,” said Lt. Col. Chase Bodenhausen, commander of the 139th Operations Support Specialist Squadron. “The eight-bladed props are quiet, and power adjustments are immediate with the electronic valve-housing as opposed to the mechanical systems we have on the older H2s.”

Crews said, beyond the propeller upgrades, one visible difference inside the cockpit is the location of the radar.

According to Bodenhausen, the radar sits on the dash of the H2 models, restricting the visibility for pilots across the cockpit. The H3 model has the radar on display on the lower right side of the dash for both the pilot and copilot, opening up visibility.

The 139th is slated to receive another H3 variant C-130 from the Illinois Air National Guard in the near future, as the Illinois unit has transitioned to the newer J-model aircraft.

A C-130H3 Hercules aircraft assigned to the 139th Airlift Wing, Missouri Air National Guard, undergoes an ISO inspection Nov. 17, 2025 at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, St. Joseph, Missouri.

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Cameron Montemayor

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The City of St. Joseph has announced a change in hours of operation for the Animal Services Shelter on Lower Lake Road.

Beginning Dec. 1, the shelter will adjust its hours to Tuesday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The shelter is not open to the public on Sunday or Monday now, but animal redemptions can be scheduled by appointment on those days.

Those looking to adopt can find a complete list of animals at petforu.com

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News-Press NOW

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — Local authorities are investigating the cause of a Monday evening house fire that caused significant damage and displaced multiple residents near St. Joseph Avenue.

St. Joseph firefighters were called to a reported structure fire around 7 p.m. Monday at 112 E. Franklin St., and discovered smoke and fire upon arrival.

One person was reportedly inside when the fire broke out but was able to escape the back without injury. The resident was one of multiple people who reportedly occupied the home.

Neighbors told News-Press NOW the front of the home was engulfed in flames before a large group of firefighters were able to bring it under control. Firefighters from Engine 12, Engine 9, Engine 4, Rescue 1, Truck 7, Ladder 5, and Battalion 43 were all dispatched to the scene.

The home has been condemned due to the level of damage sustained from the fire, which is currently under investigation. A fire department official told News-Press NOW it could take several months before a full investigation is complete.

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News-Press NOW

By: Zac Scott

MAYSVILLE, Mo. (KQTV) — The city of Maysville came together to congratulate the opening of a memory care unit at Sunset Home Nursing and Rehabilitation with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Sunset Home, located on 1201 S. Polk St., has been caring for Maysville residents for over 20 years. With the support of the community, Sunset Home opened up a new care unit to serve residents with Alzheimer’s and dementia. 

“We just opened this Alzheimer’s dementia unit. It’s a locked, secured unit. So it is to make sure they are safe and free to wander,” said nursing home administrator Brenda Moore.

Moore said the community has been helping Sunset Home with constant support for each patient and is always looking into more ways to help.

“We are very blessed in this community. We have so much community support, and it is wonderful,” said Moore. “They’ve always been very supportive, very active with our nursing home. We’ll have the kids come by in their tractors. I can’t say enough about how wonderful the community is and the support that we have with them. “

Social Service Director, Rachel Yates, has noticed an improvement in the clinic, with patients already pouring in for care.

“I think Memory Care is a huge need in this community. I’m very glad that we opened this,” said Yates.

Moore said Sunset’s unit is unique in a way that it can house all genders without fear of rooms getting mixed up.

“The way our halls are set up, we can have men and women,” said Morre. “They’re on separate halls, so a lot of units just can accommodate either men or women, and we’re able to accommodate both.”

The Sunset Home memory care unit is open and is accepting patients. For more information, call 816-449-2158.

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News-Press NOW

By: Zac Scott

TRENTON, Mo. (KQTV) — The City of Trenton is working toward reviving its downtown, just in time for the holidays.

The Main Street Trenton Group received a $10,000 Union Pacific grant. The group was able to match half the grant, giving the City a total of $15,000 to use to improve its small businesses.

Main Street Trenton Executive Director Luke Vale said, updating downtown Trenton will take time and effort, but it will be worth it once the work is finished.

“It’s not an overnight solution to bring it back, but it does take some urgency. You really have to act now,” said Vale. “With aesthetics being better with more businesses coming downtown, previous years have seen that same trend.”

The $15,000 will be going to four businesses to improve their exteriors. For more information on the grant system, visit the group’s website at www.mainstreettrentonmo.org.

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Patrick Holleron

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The City of St. Joseph is seeking the input of local youth in an effort to promote civic engagement and explore new ways to problem solve in local government.

Leaders from various city departments and students from more than a dozen local schools took part in a revamped “Student in Government” event on Monday, an opportunity for students to engage with city leaders and those from other schools.

This year’s event took on a new approach, shifting from the previous venue at City Hall to Mosaic Life Care’s emPowerU facility Downtown, where students brainstormed ideas on community needs and offered potential solutions as a cohesive unit.

“We’re learning about how we can make our community better,” Genevieve, a student at St. Joseph Cathedral School, said. “Were seeing by 2040 what we can do to make St. Joseph a better place that people want to go to.”

Genevie was one of nearly 90 students who participated in the event, along with students from all five St. Joseph high schools and all nine middle schools.

Some of the issues highlighted by students included trash on the streets, homelessness, modernizing businesses and using more modern forms of social media.

City Manager Mike Schumacher said utilizing more current forms of social media like Snapchat and Instagram is something that city can improve on.

“The gap (between age groups) can be bridged. As you guys probably know better than I do there are software platforms that will split between all the socials,” Schumacher said. “What I took away from those comments was, ‘OK, we need to do a better job of hitting all the different social media platforms. By doing that we’re getting our message out as far and wide as we possibly can.'”

Schumacher also explained that while some of the ideas proposed may not be able to come to fruition, it is important to have the input and feedback from the younger audience — potentially future city leaders — who can shape the direction of St. Joseph.

“If you don’t listen to these student councils and these kids, I think it translates to you’ve given up,” Schumacher said. “We have not given up. It will take this entire community to address some of the issues put out there, one step at a time. There is no magic bullet to address illegal drug use or the type of violations and issues that certain populations create.”

“That’s a national issue. It’s not just here in St. Joe, every city across America is facing it. That doesn’t mean that we don’t do our best to address locally, but it will take one community working together to make an impact.”

Leaders from the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce like CEO Natalie Hawn were also in attendance to give remarks and insight to students as part of the event.

The hope going forward is to work with school administers to have sessions more frequently, including potentially meeting with students before or after school and at lunch breaks.

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