A Bethany was killed in a one vehicle crash Friday morning in Harrison County.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 35-year-old James L. Redmon was driving a Ford Focus west on Route AA about seven miles south of Bethany at 5:53 a.m. Friday. Redmon failed to stop his vehicle at a stop sign, which then crossed US-69 and hit an embankment before coming to rest in a field.
Redmon was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:50 a.m. According to the crash report, he was not wearing a seat belt.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – An Oklahoma custom home builder and a co-defendant have pleaded guilty to charges related to an interstate theft ring.
Court documents show that 44-year-old Richardson Homes owner Dennis Lee entered the plea Friday on charges of possessing stolen property and being a felon in possession of firearms. As part of a plea agreement, additional charges of possessing stolen property were dismissed.
Prosecutors say vehicles and other items were stolen in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Some of the goods were found at Lee’s Oklahoma City business.
Court documents also show that 53-year-old Kenneth Dale Smith pleaded guilty to a charge related to his attempt to hide how he came to own the stolen property.
Four other co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to charges in the case.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work in the Northwest Missouri region planned for the week of Nov. 6 – 12 from the Missouri Department of Transportation. In addition to the work listed below, there may be pothole patching, bridge maintenance, striping, brush cutting, mowing, guardrail repairs and other road work conducted throughout the region. Many of these will be moving operations and could include lane closures with delays. All scheduled maintenance and construction projects are subject to change.
MoDOT reminds the public to stay alert, watch for road work, buckle up, slow down, and drive with extreme caution through work zones and in changing weather conditions.
For more information about a project, please contact MoDOT at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest. You can also follow MoDOT’s Northwest Missouri District on Twitter @ModotNorthwest and on Facebook.
Andrew County
U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching from Route B to Route U (Nodaway County), Nov. 6 – 9
Atchison County
U.S. Route 136 – CLOSED at the Little Tarkio Creek for a bridge replacement project. The road will remain closed through December.
U.S. Route 136 – Railroad maintenance at the crossing in Phelps City. One lane at a time will be closed. Nov. 6, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Route U – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route E to U.S. Route 136, Nov. 6 – 7, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., daily
Interstate 29 – Pothole patching, Nov. 6 – 10
U.S. Route 136 – Shoulder work from the city limits of Rock Port to the city limits of Tarkio, Nov. 6 – 10
Buchanan County
Route DD – CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the bridge over I-29 at Faucett at Exit 35. The bridge will remain closed through mid-November.
I-229 – CLOSED for sign installation at the ramp from southbound I-229 to eastbound U.S. Route 36, Nov. 7, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Route 371 – Culvert repair and tree trimming from Route CC to Route A, Nov. 7 – 8
Route H – Drainage work from Route M to Route FF, Nov. 7 – 10
Chariton County
Route HH – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Peabody Road to McDonald Road, Nov. 6, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Route KK – Drainage work from Moses Hurt Road to Bill Bass Avenue, Nov. 7 – 8
Route WW – Drainage work from Route KK to Salem Avenue, Nov. 9
Clinton County
Route M – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from East Wells to 352nd Street, Nov. 6 – 7, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
DeKalb County
Route EE – Milling and pothole patching, Nov. 6 – 9
Gentry County
Route F – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from 320th Street to County Road 546, Nov. 6, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Route W – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from 317th Street to 310th Street, Nov. 7, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Route W – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from 327th Street to 317th Street, Nov. 8, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Grundy County
Route K – Sealing from the Livingston County line to Route E, Nov. 6 – 8
Harrison County
Route P – CLOSED for sealing from Route TT to U.S. Route 69, Nov. 6, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Route D – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from 300th Street to 290th Street, Nov. 9, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Route D – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from 270th Street to 280th Street, Nov. 10, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Holt County
Route 118 – The ramp from Route 118 to southbound I-29 is CLOSED for the Davis Creek Bridge replacement project through mid-December.
I-29 – Bridge replacement project at the Davis Creek Bridge near Exit 84. I-29 will be narrowed to one lane in each direction. This includes a 12-foot width restriction. The lane closures will remain in place through mid-December.
Linn County
Route C – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route V to Route 11, Nov. 7, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Livingston County
Route K – Sealing, Nov. 8 – 10
Mercer County
U.S. Route 136 − CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the Muddy Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through February 2018.
Route JJ – Bridge maintenance at the East Honey Creek Bridge, Nov. 6 – 9
Nodaway County
Route 148 – Bridge maintenance at the One Hundred and Two River Bridge and Beard Creek Bridge, Nov. 6
U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching from Route B (Andrew County) to Route U, Nov. 6 – 9
Route M – Bridge maintenance at the One Hundred and Two River Bridge, Nov. 7
Sullivan County
Route M – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from King Road to Gentry Drive, Nov. 6, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Route M – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from King Road to Grove Drive, Nov. 7, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Route M – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Grove Drive to Route B, Nov. 7, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Worth County
Route Z – CLOSED for a culvert replacement two miles south of Route 46, Nov. 7, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Six Missouri utilities will use nearly $120 million in federal loans to upgrade the infrastructure for electricity in rural parts of the state.
The Missouri grants are part of $2.5 billion in loans the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently awarded for rural electricity projects.
The Central Electric Power Co-op will receive the largest loan in the state with $40 million. The utility plans to use the money to build 11 miles of transmission line and improve another 77 miles of lines.
Associated Electric Co-op will receive $29.2 million. And Howell-Oregon Electric Co-op will receive $27 million.
RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities have arrested a suspect for allegedly stealing a police vehicle.
Just after 6:30p.m. Friday officers were conducting a traffic stop near the intersection of 5th and Yuma in Manhattan, according to Riley County Police spokesperson Hali Rowland.
During the stop involving several suspect one of them drove off in a police vehicle.
Officers recovered the vehicle a short time later, according to Rowland.
Just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday, police arrested Anthony Johnson, 32, Junction City, in connection with the incident. He is being held on multiple charges and a $32,000 Bond. He has previous convictions for Aggravated Battery and Burglary, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The 31st Annual Mayors’ Thanksgiving Dinner later this month will feature food and comedy.
The dinner helps raise awareness of hunger in the community and proceeds benefit the Second Harvest Community Food Bank.
St. Joseph Mayor Bill Falkner, along with former mayors (listed in term order) Glenda Kelly, Larry R. Stobbs, David J. Jones and Ken Shearin, will host the annual dinner.
Mayor Falkner said this year’s entertainment will be provided by comedian Devin Henderson.
“We’ve had so much going on that we felt we needed some comic relief to start the holiday season off,” Falkner said. “This is always a fun event to do. It raises money for our food bank, Second Harvest, and it also recognizes some businesses and individuals that have made a difference in our community over the last year.”
Doors open for the dinner at 4 p.m. and dinner begins at 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 18, at the Civic Arena. Tickets are $30 per person, $50 per couple or $250 for a table of eight. The deadline for reservations is Friday, November 10.
For more information and for tickets, contact Second Harvest Community Food Bank at (816) 364-3663 or Mayor Bill Falkner’s office at (816) 271-4640.
According to a press release, two of the music performances previously announced have been canceled: the Music Technology Ensemble Concert on Nov. 7 and the Faculty Recital by Sascha Groschang on Nov. 8.
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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Department of Music at Missouri Western State University has several performances scheduled in this week. All concerts are free and open to the public.
· Music Technology Ensemble Concert, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, Kemper Recital Hall inside Spratt Hall.
· Faculty Recital: Sascha Groschang, cello, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, Potter Hall Theater. Groschang is an active recitalist and chamber musician, having performed across the United States and Asia. She has appeared at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall numerous times, and gave her solo debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2009. She has shared the stage with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Michael Bublé, Peter Gabriel, Josh Groban, Sarah Mclachlan and has extensive recording experience, including sessions for NBC, Atlantic and Rhino Records. She is an adjunct faculty member at Missouri Western.
· Music Department Recital, noon Friday, Nov. 10, Potter Hall Theater. Instrumental and vocal music majors will perform various musical works at the monthly department-wide recital.
· Faculty Recital: Dr. Paul Hindemith, baritone, and Dr. Nathanael May, piano, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, Potter Hall Theater. Dr. Hindemith’s professional career has taken him from coast to coast and overseas performing opera, oratorio, operetta, musical theatre, and art song. Hailed as “touching and expressive” by the Washington Times and as “vocally and theatrically sturdy” by the Baltimore Sun, the baritone has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra; the San Diego, Utah Festival, Ohio Light, Skylark, and Fargo-Moorhead Operas; and theatre companies like Theatre Latté Da in Minneapolis and the Robidoux Resident Theatre in Saint Joseph. He is director of vocal studies at Missouri Western. As a festival producer, concert organizer, recording artist, consultant, educator, and pianist, Dr. May seeks to engage audiences with music of the modern era. Noted for ‘quicksilver grace’ (Fanfare) and ‘highly developed, extremely differentiated touch and sound’ (Fuldaer Zeitung), he has performed on three continents and was named the 2012 Winner of the American Prize in recorded solo piano performance. He is associate professor of music at Missouri Western.
By Jim McLean
The group of experts tasked with forecasting how much Kansas will collect in taxes raised their two-year estimate by $225 million after meeting Thursday to compare notes on the performance of key sectors of the state economy.
That’s better than the trend of downward revisions in recent years but not the robust increase that some lawmakers who voted to repeal Gov. Sam Brownback’s 2012 income tax cutswere hoping for.
“Obviously, this better than going the other way,” said Sen. Laura Kelly, of Topeka, the ranking Democrat on the Senate’s budget-writing committee.
But, Kelly said, it’s well short of what lawmakers will need to comply with yet another Kansas Supreme Court order to boost funding for public schools and to make a looming deferred payment to the state employee pension fund.
The message from Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, an Overland Park Republican, was much the same.
“There’s not that much wiggle room,” Denning said, saying that years of revenue and budget problems have created “infinite demands” on what are still limited resources.
“We have many, many resource needs,” he said.
Those include restoring cuts to the state highway fund, from which lawmakers will continue to borrow through the remainder of this budget year and the next.
The higher estimate anticipates increases in sales and corporate tax receipts. The forecasting group made no change in its estimate for individual income taxes, preferring to wait and see what comes in from business owners exempted by Brownback’s tax plan who must resume paying taxes on their pass-through, or non-salaried, income.
If the estimates are on target the the state would have ending balances of $380 million in the current fiscal year and about $475 million the following year.
However, ending balances of that size would likely be tempting targets for lawmakers needing additional cash to increase funding for public schools, maintain state highways and shore up the state employee pension plan.
Mixed signals
Sam Williams, secretary of the Kansas Department of Revenue, said increasing sales and corporate tax collections are indications “of an improved economic climate taking root.”
There also are some warning signs in the data.
“There are certain sectors that are showing positive signs of growth. There are others, like the agriculture and energy sectors, that continue to struggle,” said Shawn Sullivan, Brownback’s budget director.
The struggles of those two key sectors of the Kansas economy are cause for concern, said Raney Gilliland, director of the Kansas Legislative Research Department.
“The value of Kansas crop production in 2017 is likely to be at its lowest level since 2009,” Gilliland said, noting that low commodity prices were depressing land values and making it harder for farmers to access operating capital.
Cautious projections
The picture is even bleaker for the oil and gas industry. Low prices and rapidly declining natural gas production in southwest Kansas are dramatically reducing severance tax revenues. Collections that totaled $125.8 million as recently as 2014 will drop to $37.5 million next year and $30 million the year after, according to projections.
The forecast also anticipates a reduction in both personal income and the state’s gross domestic product.
The experts see a disconnect between the rising sales, income and corporate tax receipts that Williams said were signs of an improving economy and the factors depressing wages and the state’s economic output.
“I think that’s one of the reasons we are somewhat cautious in the projections,” Gilliland said.
Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
The Agri-Business Expo Center will be presenting an educational movie this week about GMO products.
Betty McPhee is on the board of the Ag Expo Center Commission. McPhee said one of the purposes of the Ag Expo Center is to provide education for the community. McPhee said the movie they will be presenting this week is called Food Evolution.
“It’s a very unique look at GMOs and how they have developed into this mass fury of people who may not even know what GMOs are, but they think that it’s something that they should not have,” McPhee said. “We don’t really have a stance on this, one way or the other. What we’re trying to do is bring an educational series to the community and that’s one of the things that the Ag Expo wants to continue to do and this is the first of many series.”
The movie will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Historic Missouri Theater in St. Joseph and will be followed by a panel discussion with experts from the Food and Agriculture industries.
Tickets are $8.00 and are available at Hy-Vee, the Performing Arts Association or the Ag Expo Office.
For more information, call (816) 273-0590 or visit the Ag Expo Facebook page.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill says her husband is home and doing well after a heart attack.
The Democratic senator thanked supporters in an email Saturday and said her husband, developer Joseph Shepard, is now recovering. He had been hospitalized in an intensive care unit.
McCaskill said the “near-death experience” helped her put things into focus. She says she’s going back to the U.S. Senate on Monday.
McCaskill and Shepard have been married since 2002. They have a home in suburban St. Louis.
