ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Whiteout conditions in Northwest Missouri have closed Interstate 29 from the Iowa border to mile marker 84 in Mound City.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is urging drivers to avoid travel north of St. Joseph. MoDOT also anticipates additional closures throughout the day in the area.

The National Weather Service forecast calls for snow and high winds in the northern and central parts of the state throughout the day, meaning additional driving hazards for already packed roadways.

MoDOT urges drivers to avoid travel during whiteout conditions. If you must travel, here are some additional safety tips:

• Avoid travel in the northern part of the state if you can.
• If you must travel, allow extra time to arrive at your destination.
• Wear your seat belt, and don’t drive distracted. Buckle Up Phone Down.
• Don’t pass a snow plow and stay back six car lengths.
• If you encounter car troubles or are involved in a crash, please remain in your vehicle.

Stay informed about Missouri road conditions by using MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map, available online at traveler.modot.org, or through MoDOT’s free mobile app, available for iPhone and Android phones. The map offers real-time views of road conditions for Missouri interstates and highways. You can zoom in to a particular location, check live weather radar, and view images from MoDOT’s traffic cameras and message boards.

MOUND CITY, Mo. – The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), and partners will host the 40th annual Eagle Days at the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge.

The free event on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1-2 offers participants a close-up look at eagles and an indoor presentation by Springfield’s Dickerson Park Zoo staff. Visitors can also take the refuge driving tour and see waterfowl in the marshes or bald eagles perched in trees.

Extensive wetlands at Loess Bluffs attract large flocks of ducks and geese, often numbering in the thousands. Trumpeter swans are often spotted resting and feeding in the marshes. The wetlands are near Mound City in Holt County, north of St. Joseph. The refuge is a key stopover for southward migrating waterfowl and shore birds as winter arrives. Bald eagles follow the waterfowl flocks to feed upon ducks and geese.

Visitors can also hike on trails that begin at the visitor center and lead to high bluffs with remnant loess hill prairie.  The visitor center also has displays such as birds common to the area. Photographers taking the driving tour will want to have their cameras handy to photograph wildlife seen along the way. Interpretive sites and spotting scopes will be set up along the tour route.

Dickerson Park Zoo staff will present a live eagle show. The zoo cares for eagles that have been rehabilitated from injuries but cannot be released back to the wild. Zoo staff will talk about eagle lore, conservation and ecology. Visitors can take pictures of the eagles. Live eagle shows will be presented hourly 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The refuge driving tours and nature interpretive stops will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Guided bus tours of the refuge and food vendors will also be available.

The Loess Bluffs refuge is reached via Interstate 29 by taking the U.S. 159 exit west.

For more information about Eagle Days at the Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, call (816) 271-3100, or click here. The website also has weekly updates on waterfowl and eagle numbers at the refuge.

For information about bald eagles in Missouri, visit mdc.mo.gov.

– Missouri Department of Conservation news release –

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Local residents are invited to join the Northwest Missouri State University community Thursday, Nov. 29, for the 10th annual Holiday Tree Lighting on the lawn of the Thomas Gaunt House.

The event, hosted by the Jasinski family, begins at 5:15 p.m. Weather permitting, Santa Bobby Bearcat also will welcome guests for photos after the ceremony. Refreshments will be served.

The program will include remarks by Northwest Provost Dr. Jamie Hooyman, Maryville Mayor Rachael Martin, Dr. Travis Dimmitt on behalf of the Campus Ministerial Alliance, and songs performed by the Horace Mann Bearcat Choir and the Maryville High School Illumination show choir.

Additionally, the Jasinski family annually selects a philanthropy in conjunction with the Tree Lighting. This year, the Jasinski family will focus giving efforts on the University’s Pay It Forward Fund and Bearcat Food Pantry.

Requested items for the food pantry include:

• protein items, such as peanut butter, canned chicken or canned tuna
• fruit items such as fruit cups, canned fruit, jelly or jam
• grain items, including cereal, oatmeal, pasta, cereal bars, granola bars, pancake mix (complete preferred) and syrup
• complete meals and mixes, including spaghetti sauce, chicken and tuna helpers
• non-perishable crackers, fruit snacks, nuts, chips, cookies
• can openers
• personal hygiene items, including toilet paper, facial tissue and toiletries such as shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, tampons and razors

Donors may bring items to Northwest’s Office of University Marketing and Communication, located on the second floor of the Administration Building Nov. 26-29 or bring donations to the tree lighting.

Community members may find needed items and provide donations to the Food Pantry throughout the year by visiting nwmissouri.edu/studentaffairs/foodpantry.

The historic Gaunt House, located at the south edge of campus, was built during the 1870s and serves as the presidential residence. The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

– Northwest Missouri State University news release –

Captain James E. McDonald, commanding officer Troop H, St. Joseph, is requesting the public’s assistance in identifying a vehicle that left the scene of a fatal traffic crash.

The crash occurred at approximately 9:20 p.m. on Wednesday, November 21, 2018, on Interstate 29 at the 49 mile marker just south of the Genefield Road overpass in Buchanan County. The vehicle, a grey 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, was southbound on Interstate 29 and traveled off the right side of the road and overturned. There is no descriptive information on a second vehicle that may have contributed to this crash.

Members of the pubic who may have seen the second vehicle involved or have any information regarding this traffic crash are asked to contact the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 1-816-387-2345, or *55 from a cell telephone.

– MSHP News Release –

The public is invited to attend one or both holiday park lighting ceremonies scheduled for Friday in St. Joseph.

According to the City of St. Joseph Parks, Recreation, and Civic Facilities, the first ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. at Krug Park. Join the Mayor and city staff for a short presentation and to watch the kids help the Mayor transform Krug Park into Holiday Park at the flip of a switch. There will also be photo opportunities with the Apple Blossom court and light refreshments available. Stay after to drive or walk through the park or make your way to Hyde Park for the second ceremony.

The Hyde Park lighting ceremony begins at 7 p.m. with musical entertainment by the Hosea Elementary Handbell Choir, a visit from Santa and an opportunity for the children to help the Mayor flip the switch changing Hyde Park into the South Pole. Watch as the St. Joseph Bike club leads a small decorated parade around the park. Stay to visit with Santa, take photos with the Apple Blossom court, and walk around the winter wonderland.

Both events are free and open to the public.

After Friday, Holiday Park and the South Pole will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. each night through January 1st.

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University’s Madraliers will host their 45th annual Yuletide Feaste with an elegant royal banquet featuring performances by the Madraliers, the Recorder Consort and the Royale Brass Quintet.

“The Yuletide Feaste is a wonderful opportunity for members of the community to come to the Northwest campus and participate in a meaningful and special event with a distinguished history,” Dr. Brian Lanier, the Madraliers conductor and a Northwest professor of music, said. “The setting for the Feaste is unique to anything else that happens in the area and on campus. The food is absolutely fantastic and the overall experience is great. Many people come year after year and tell me that their holiday season begins with their attending the Yuletide Feaste.”

The Feaste will take place at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, and Saturday, Dec. 8, in the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom.

Tickets are $32 and may be purchased by check or cash in the main office of the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building. Credit or debit card orders may be placed online at nwmissouri.edu/finearts/music/yuletide.htm.

Attendance is limited to 320 guests each evening, and all tickets are reserved. No tickets will be sold at the door.

At the Yuletide Feaste, guests celebrate and rediscover Christmas through the evening’s programs and festivities, highly stylized after old England. The menu, performances and decorations are reminiscent of 16th century Tudor England.

The menu includes bacon, bleu cheese and cranberry cheeseball with pecans, carved steamship of beef with au jus and horseradish cream sauce, slow-roasted pork loin with winter fruit and port wine sauce, green beans with mushrooms and bacon, roasted parsnips and sweet potatoes with honey-pecan drizzle, rolls with cranberry butter, and pumpkin mousse with bittersweet chocolate sauce and ginger caramel crunch.

The Madraliers choral ensemble is a select group, consisting of 35 undergraduate students representing a variety of disciplines and majors at Northwest. In recent years, the choir has been invited to perform for prestigious choral organizations, including the American Choral Directors Association and the Missouri Music Educators Association. During the spring, the same students become Celebration, the show choir for the University.

For more information about the Yuletide Feaste, contact the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at (660) 562-1326.

– Northwest Missouri State University Press Release –