Real estate sales in our area were higher than last year for the third month in a row.

The St. Joseph Regional Association of Realtors says home sales in July totaled $20.1 million, which is down slightly from June, but the total is nearly 10% higher than the totals from July of last year.

So far this year, realtors in the nine-county area have sold 842 homes, an increase of 5.65%. The year-to-date sales total is $108.7 million, up more than 9%.

A St. Joseph woman has enough money to pay off her student loans after winning thousands on a scratcher.

According to a news release last week from the Missouri Lottery, Elizabeth Kaahea, 36 bought a scratcher at City Star on Edmond St. July 29th on her way to work at Venture Foods.

“It’s a very regular stop,” said Kaahea, adding that it often includes a Scratchers buy. “Probably 50/50; some mornings I do, some mornings I don’t.”

She said she scratched the “Ruby Red 7s” ticket she bought that morning after she arrived at work.

“The first one I scratched was $777,” she said. “I kept scratching, saying, ‘No way. Someone gave me a fake ticket.’”

She ended up with the second top prize in the game of $77,777.

At first, Kaahea thought she would sit on the ticket for a while, but then she got nervous and rounded up her Hawaiian-born husband, Keoki, and two children to head to the Kansas City Lottery office. She said she planned to pay off her school loans from Missouri S&T and head back to school to finish her degree.

“I have an opportunity to go back now,” she said.

Not one but two new restaurants are coming next month to downtown St. Joseph.

As we reported in June, Foster’s Martini and Wine Bar closed after ten years in business at 8th and Felix Streets. According to the Kansas City restaurant guide Feast, the space will soon reopen as two restaurants.

Erik Borger currently operates Komatsu Ramen in Westport, and the Il Lazzarone restaurant in St. Joseph. He plans to open a second Komatsu Ramen location, along with an oyster bar called Ostrea, in the former Foster’s location.

Each restaurant will have its own separate entrance, but they will share a kitchen and a liquor license. Borger says he hopes to open both by the middle of September.

A 21-year-old Cameron man was injured in a single-vehicle rollover crash Wednesday afternoon.

Traffic investigators say Bret Johnson’s pickup left Route-BB east of Cameron at about 1:15 pm. The truck overturned.

According to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Johnson was transported to Cameron Regional Medical Center with what were described as moderate injuries.

A crash east of Tarkio sends a 19-year-old man to the hospital with serious injuries Wednesday night.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report says Matthew Robison of Tarkio lost control of his vehicle along U.S. Highway 136 shortly before 7pm. The Dodge Dakota left the highway and hit an embankment. The cab broke away from the frame of the truck and rolled over.

Robison was transported to Fairfax Community Hospital with serious injuries.