MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University announced its 2016-17 Distinguished Lecture Series. 

According to a news release, the schedule features The Onion’s co-founder, the first openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish institution and a Roman Catholic nun.

The series begins Wednesday, Oct. 12, with co-founding editor of The Onion Scott Dikkers.

The Onion’s longest-serving editor-in-chief is the godfather of its unique comedic vision and best-selling author whose work has won the Thurber Prize for American Humor, a Peabody and more than 30 Webby Awards. 

“To have someone of Dikkers’ stature here, and especially so shortly before the General Election, presented an opportunity we simply couldn’t pass up, especially when he offered to take time during the afternoon to conduct a master’s class for our creative writing students,” Kenton Wilcox, the chair of the Distinguished Lecture Series Committee and an English instructor at the University said.

The series also includes Dr. Joy Ladin, the first openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish university, and Sister Helen Prejean, an American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.

Ladin will speak on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Her memoir, “Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders,” was a finalist for a National Jewish Book Award, and she was named to the 2012 Forward 50 list of influential or courageous American Jews. 

Sister Helen Prejean will speak Wednesday, Feb. 15. From 1985 to 1995 she served on the board of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and was chairperson of the Board from 1993 to 1995.

Her book, “Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty,” was No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller List for 31 weeks. In 1996, the book was developed into a major motion picture starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. 

All lectures are free and open to the public and begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Charles Johnson Theater at the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building on the Northwest campus.

To view 2017 times and dates CLICK HERE.
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(Sept. 2016) – The Museum Association of St. Joseph will celebrate America’s heritage and culture by offering free admission for a day.

Museum Day Live!, created by Smithsonian Magazine, is in its 10th year and 40,000 institutions are expected to participate including St. Joseph. 

Some members of the Museum Association of St. Joseph will provide guided tours while others will feature special exhibits or programs and activities.

Museum Day takes place on Saturday, September 24th.

The participating Museum Association of St. Joseph members, their location, and their hours for Museum Day are:  

• Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art, 2818 Frederick, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Pony Express National Museum, 914 Penn, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Remington Nature Center, 1502 MacArthur Drive, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Robidoux Row Museum, 3rd and Poulin, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• St. Joseph Museum, Black Archives Museum, and the Glore Psychiatric Museum, 3406 Frederick Ave., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• The Wyeth-Tootle Mansion, 11th and Charles, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  
• At the Walter Cronkite Memorial on the MWSU campus, 4525 Downs Drive, the public invited to visit between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  
• The Andrew County Museum, 202 E. Duncan Drive in Savannah, Missouri, will also participate and they will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Many of the participating museums will feature special exhibits or activities during Museum Day Live! in addition to their permanent exhibits.  An interactive treasure hunt within the collection will be available at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art throughout the day. An art instructor will help families create a “Leaf Print Family Masterpiece” on canvas to take home with them.  The class will take place from 1:30 to 3 p.m. and the fee is $20 per family.  In their main floor gallery the featured art exhibit will be “NINE:  Missouri Western Art Faculty Exhibit.”  On the lower level, the most recently acquired art pieces will be showcased in an exhibit called “Expanding the Collection: Recent Acquisitions.”  

At the Andrew County Museum, guests can explore several new temporary exhibits in the Duncan Gallery including “From the Vault” and “Many Layers:  The Art and Science of Dolls.”  

Guided tours of the history of mental health treatments will be given at 11 a.m. and at 1, 2, and 3 p.m. at the Glore Psychiatric Museum.

The Pony Express National Museum will have docents and junior docents to guide visitors from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  The “Buffalo Bill in St. Joseph” exhibit, scheduled to close in December will be available for tours. The exhibit includes original objects from Buffalo Bill’s personal and professional life that have a connection to St. Joseph and the Pony Express. The Pony School on the grounds will also be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Every half hour the “school marm” will accept new students so they can have the one-room school experience.  

At the Robidoux Row Museum, docents will be available as guests explore what life was like in St. Joseph during the 1840s.   

At 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., archaeology professor Dr. Jimmy Albright will present “Pots Speak to Archaeologists” in the conference room at the St. Joseph Museum.  

At the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion docents will be available to share the history of the Mansion and children can enjoy activities related to architecture.

For more information on participating sites and activities, visit www.stjomo.com/smithsonianday or call the St. Joseph Museums at 816-232-8471.

SAVANNAH, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon announced Friday a $1 million investment through Missouri Start Smart to expand access to quality early childhood education opportunities in Savannah.

According to a news release from Gov. Nixon’s office, the investment will ensure that more Missouri children start kindergarten ready to succeed in school and beyond.

“The first five years of a child’s development have an impact that lasts a lifetime,” Gov. Nixon said. “That’s why our Start Smart initiative is helping to make preschool more affordable and accessible throughout the state, including this $1 million investment here in Savannah.”

The Governor announced that, through the Missouri Start Smart initiative, the Missouri Department of Economic Development will authorize a $1 million Community Development Block Grant to the City of Savannah on behalf of the Savannah R-III School District to expand and improve its early childhood education program. The district will use the funds to construct a new, 7,088 square foot Early Childhood Education Center, to provide 80 child care slots to local families. The new center will be staffed by professional educators, and will also serve as a teaching accreditation location for education majors at Missouri Western State University and North Central Missouri College.

“We are honored that the Governor came to Savannah with this great news,” said Savannah Schools Superintendent David Brax. “We are extremely pleased to receive a Start Smart grant to build a preschool targeting low to moderate income students. The students of Savannah R-III will greatly benefit from their preschool experiences.”

To date, $23.1 million in Missouri Start Smart grants has been awarded for 24 projects across the state, which will serve up to 2,325 preschool age children.

Most recently, the Fiscal Year 2017 budget signed by the Governor includes his recommendation to fund early childhood education through Missouri’s school foundation formula, which will provide more than 2,500 children with access to high quality preschool.

A 24-year-old St. Joseph man was charged Friday with Unlawful Use of a Firearm after an incident Thursday afternoon near the Belt and Faraon.

Jeremiah Sweet was charged with a Class D Felony of Unlawful Use of a Firearm.  Bond is set at $50,000.

As previously reported, Detective Sgt. Jason Strong with the St. Joseph Police Department spotted a disturbance in a white SUV shortly after noon Thursday. When Sgt. Strong tried to pull the vehicle over, Sweet got out and fled.  A woman in the vehicle warned Strong that Sweet had a gun.  She had already been shot in the shoulder earlier.

According to Sergeant Roy Hoskins, Strong called for backup and Sweet was soon found hiding in a shed in the mobile home park and was arrested.

The woman, a 25-year-old St. Joe woman, was transported to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of a single gunshot wound to the clavicle.  Sgt. Hoskins said her injuries were not life threatening.

(UPDATE)  St. Joseph police say a detective sergeant on the department spotted an active disturbance in a white SUV near the Belt and Faraon shortly after noon Thursday.

Detective Sgt. Jason Strong tried to pull the vehicle over and arrest a man inside the vehicle, who left the vehicle in the street and fled.  A woman in the vehicle warned Strong that the man had a gun.  As it turns out, she had already been shot in the shoulder at another location.

According to Sergeant Roy Hoskins, Strong then fell back and called for backup, as the suspect fled into the mobile home park northeast of the intersection.

The suspect, a 24-year-old St. Joe man, was soon found hiding in a shed in the mobile home park and was arrested.  The woman, a 25-year-old St. Joe woman, was transported to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of a single gunshot wound to the clavicle.  Sgt. Hoskins says her injuries were not life threatening.

The SUV was left behind in the right turn lane.  It was eventually towed.