By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Interstate 29 has reopened.

Flooding in southwest Iowa caused I-29 to close twice this year. Once, the Missouri Department of Transportation reopened it briefly, only to close it again when the Iowa Department of Transportation closed the interstate just across the Missouri-Iowa state line.

MoDOT reports it reopened I-29 after Iowa transportation officials reopened it in southwest Iowa. Traffic might narrow to one lane in some locations between St. Joseph and I-80 at Council Bluffs in Iowa. MoDOT says both it and the Iowa Department of Transportation will work diligently to keep I-29 open as well as work to reopen other routes caused by flooding in mid-March and late May.

Missouri closed I-29 to through traffic at U.S. 71 north of St. Joseph so traffic could be redirected away from the flooded interstate in Iowa. Missouri River flooding first closed the interstate in March. It reopened only to be closed again when renewed flooding swamped southwest Iowa and northwest Missouri in late May.

In fact, MoDOT reopened its portion of I-29 May 29^th, but had to reclose the interstate to through traffic only hours later when flooding again closed I-29 in Iowa.

MoDOT suggested interstate commerce take U.S. 71 into Iowa or divert to I-35, but many truckers opted to travel U.S. 36 into northeast Kansas, then take U.S. 75 into Nebraska as an alternative route, clogging those two-lane roads for much of the spring.

Click here  for up-to-date information on the flood impact in northwest Missouri.

 

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Major highways remain closed as transportation officials work to repair damage left in the wake of the second flood of the four-state region.

Damage cannot be assessed for some roads, because water remains over the pavement.

Area Engineer Adam Watson with the Northwest District of the Missouri Department of Transportation says MoDOT still has Interstate 29 closed to through traffic at US 71, because floodwaters remain over the interstate in southwest Iowa after flooding returned at the end of May.

Watson says the biggest flood damage occurred west of the interstate to the Missouri River.

“The water just up and staying up between I-29 and the river is just devastating, that northwest corner of the state, both economically, with the ability to get around, with the collateral damage from the repairs:  rock truck after rock truck after rock truck, going to repair, whether it’s our highways, going to repair the railroad, whatever needed flood repairs,” Watson says as a guest of the KFEQ Hotline. “We understand it. It’s just a lot of damage.”

Bridges over the Missouri River, carrying traffic between northwest Missouri and southeast Nebraska, withstood the forces of Missouri River flooding, but remain closed to traffic.

Watson says flooding did ruin the approaches to the bridges, even wiping out smaller bridges over Missouri River tributaries; one that they are watching as floodwaters recede.

“(U.S.) 136, we had a bridge we were watching real closely from March and with the second event in May we might have substantial damage on that bridge,” Watson says. “We’re not sure, we haven’t been able to look. There is still too much water going over that section of 136 for us to really get a good idea of the damage, but personally I’m afraid we might have lost that bridge as well.”

Watson says emergency crews had begun making repairs from the March floods when the May floods forced them to abandon their work. He says the crews cannot return until the water goes down.

“The highways are covered with water. That’s why they’re closed,” according to Watson. “The approach bridges over the smaller tributaries, that’s where we had the damage, that’s where we had the bridges damaged. If the water goes down and we can get the roads cleaned and make the minor repairs. Even with those tributary bridges damaged, we’ll be able to get ‘work arounds’ so that they’ll be able to use the Missouri River crossings.”

U.S. 59 to Atchison, Kansas remains closed, waiting for floodwaters to recede in southern Buchanan County. Emergency repairs could get that link across the Missouri River open in a few days, rather than weeks.

Click here for the MoDOT Northwest Missouri Flooding report.

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

DeKalb County has issued an Endangered Person Advisory for a 23-year-old woman missing since June 4^th.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department says Leah Marie Dawson has been missing from 3111 NE State Rt. A in Maysville since 2am on June 4th.

Dawson is described as a while female, age 23, 5 foot 1 inch tall, weighing approximately 120 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes, and a light complexion; clothing unknown.

The sheriff’s department says Dawson was last seen with her boyfriend in the Cameron area.  She has not gotten in touch with her family, which is unusual. She left all her personal belongings and pet cat at her residence in Maysville. Dawson does not have a working cell phone and no vehicle for transportation.

Anyone seeing the missing person, suspect, associate, or vehicle, or anyone having any information related to the endangered missing person should immediately dial 911 to contact the nearest law enforcement agency or call the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department at 816-449-5802.

 

 

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Gov. Mike Parson signed the new, $30 billion state budget without issuing any line-item vetoes.

That is unusual in state government. There normally are at least a few spending proposals passed by the General Assembly that the governor rejects.

Parson credits legislative leaders with working with his office on the state spending plan.

“It was a good session this year from the budget proposals we made back early on before session started,” Parson tells reporters. “Then, working with the House and the Senate all this year to come up with the budget, working together all through that process. I think it was a good budget. It was probably the first time in a long time, if not ever, that there was no withholds and there were no vetoes in the budget.”

State lawmakers added more than $61 million to the Foundation Formula, the public school funding plan, bringing its total to $3.54 billion.

Legislators approved giving every four-year state university or college an extra $1 million for its core budget.

Infrastructure will get a big boost in this budget. While legislators tweaked the governor’s plan to repair the 250 worst bridges in the state as determined by the Missouri Department of Transportation, they did agree to an aggressive repair plan. The state will issue $301 million in bonds, while spending $50 million in General Revenue funds on bridge repair. Another $50 million has been set aside for state matching funds local governments can access for road and bridge repair. Appropriation of the money is contingent on the state qualifying for federal infrastructure grants.

State employees will get a 3% pay raise in the budget with Department of Corrections employees in line for greater incentives to help the state attract and retain Corrections staff.

Parson says it’s a sound spending plan for the fiscal year which begins July first.

“And the good news is we left probably about $180 million on the bottom line for next year and I think that’s just a good way to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money, to be prepared for things.”

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

A female Trenton police officer remains in critical, but stable condition after being shot in a struggle over her gun while transporting a prisoner to St. Joseph.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports 24-year-old Jasmine Diab, who is from Moberly, suffered a serious gunshot wound to her abdomen while struggling with her prisoner, 38-year-old James (Jamey) Griffin, in transit. Griffin was shot in the hand.

Griffin faces numerous charges in the incident.

According to the patrol, Diab was taking Griffin to St. Joseph for a mental evaluation at Mosaic Life Care. The two struggled Friday afternoon in Winston on U.S. Highway 69. Griffin was restrained, but allegedly managed to shoot Diab with her own gun.

Other officers responded to the scene, rushing Diab to the hospital and apprehending Griffin. Diab underwent surgery Friday night and remains in intensive care.

Griffin has been charged with Assault First Degree, Armed Criminal Action, and Unlawful Use Of A Weapon in the shooting, according to Daviess County Emergency Management and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

 

DAVIESS COUNTY —The Daviess County prosecuting attorney has charged 38-year-old James Aaron Griffin in Friday’s shooting of a Trenton police officer with Assault First Degree; Armed Criminal Action and Unlawful Use Of A Weapon, according to Daviess County Emergency Management and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

As of 3 p.m. Saturday, Daviess County Emergency Management reported the Trenton Police Officer was still in critical but stable condition.

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By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

A female Trenton police officer has been shot and gravely wounded while transporting a prisoner to St. Joseph for a mental evaluation.

The prisoner was also wounded.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is declining to identify the officer, but reports she is in critical condition after being shot in the stomach.

The patrol says the Trenton officer was taking 38-year-old Jamey Griffin to St. Joseph Friday afternoon on U.S. Highway 69 for a mental evaluation at Mosaic Life Care. A struggle occurred in route inside the vehicle. The officer suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Griffin was shot in the hand. He was restrained.

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

A suspect in a fatal St. Joseph stabbing has been released as the investigation continues.

No names have been released from the stabbing Wednesday evening. St. Joseph police say two men, both 39, got into a fight in the 2500 block of Mitchell Avenue. The confrontation continued to southern 26^th Street.

Officers responded to disturbance call and, in route, were informed there had been a stabbing.

Officers found the victim suffering from stab wounds to the chest. He was taken to the hospital, but died of his wounds.

Officers took the other man into custody, but after no formal charges were filed within the state mandated 24-hour period, he had to be released. Prosecutors continue to review the case and charges could be filed later.