ST. JOSEPH, MO— The Trails West! ® festival proudly announces its 2015 entertainment lineup, which includes well-known artists chosen to appeal to all generations. From top-charting musicians to exciting newcomers, the Civic Center Park main stage will have something for everyone. The 2015 arts and entertainment festival runs from August 21-23 in Civic Center Park in St. Joseph.

Taking the stage Friday night is Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, a 1980’s favorite. Saturday night starts with up and coming country artist Kelsea Ballerini, who opens for The Charlie Daniels Band. Sunday features Sanctus Real, a Christian rock band.

“Get ready to sing along,” said Jeremy White, co-chair of the Trails West! ® festival with his wife, Shannen. “You will know these artists and these songs. It’s a diverse lineup that holds onto the tradition of Trails West!® .”

Starship featuring Mickey Thomas is the venerable San Francisco band behind several of the 20th century’s biggest pop and rock anthems, including “We Built This City,” “Sara” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.” The band’s most recent album, Loveless Fascination, is the group’s first studio record in more than 20 years.

Kelsea Ballerini is breaking on to the country music scene with her catchy single, “Love Me

Like You Mean It” from her debut EP. The singer and songwriter moved to Nashville at the age of 15 to chase her dream of becoming a songwriter and signed a publishing deal by 19.

The Charlie Daniels Band has performed for decades, and has many well-known hits, including “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” “Long Haired Country Boy” and “Uneasy Rider.” A western and southern icon, Charlie Daniels is loved for his music style, a mix of rock, country, bluegrass, blues and gospel.

Sanctus Real is a multiple Grammy-nominated Christian rock band who has topped the Christian Billboard charts for almost 20 years. Festival attendees will recognize songs like “Beautiful Day,” “Everything About You,” “The Fight Song,” “Forgiven,” “We Need Each Other” and “Lead Me.”

“We are very excited to announce this year’s lineup,” says Teresa Fankhauser, executive director, Allied Arts Council of St. Joseph. “Trails West!® offers a fantastic weekend of entertainment for a very affordable price. We believe this lineup will be a great draw for the region’s largest arts festival.”

Admission to the festival is by souvenir button or 2015 Trails West! ® t-shirt. The buttons, good for admission to all three days of the festival, are $8 in advance and $10 at the festival gates. Sunday only admission is $2. All festival guests over the age of 10 will need a button for admission. Trails West! ® t-shirts must be purchased in advance and can be worn to the festival as an alternative option to purchasing an admission button. For the most up-to-date list of t-shirt and button sales locations, visit http://www.stjoearts.org/trails_west.htm

Trails West! ® is an arts festival celebrating the unique cultural heritage of St. Joseph. A program of the Allied Arts Council, the festival is coordinated by a volunteer steering committee, and receives financial assistance from the St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau, the City of St. Joseph, and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

Trails West! ® Chooses Artwork to represent “heART for the City”

The Allied Arts Council is proud to announce the winner of the 2015 Trails West!® Artwork Competition,  Ryan Sowers. With more than 80 submissions, Sower’s artwork stood out among many great entries and was selected to embody the festival theme“heART for the City.”

“I created the heART for the City illustration by examining the personality and history contained within the buildings and landmarks of St. Joseph,” said Sowers. “I chose a simplified hand-drawn quality to evoke the idea of each building and place. Through this style, I wanted to create the feeling that while these places and structures are important to the overall character of the city, what really matters is the people and memories we associate with them.”

Sowers is a Kansas City based artist and illustrator who “enjoys old bicycles, good sandwiches, and goofy adventures with friends.” He grew up right outside Wichita, KS and attended the University of Kansas where he received a degree in Illustration and Art History.

“Art can work to encapsulate these feelings and present familiar objects and renewed perspective. My hope is that this work combines the concepts of character and history in the city of St. Joseph with the people that strive to preserve excellence and craft culture and community for the future.”

Although Sowers is based out of Kansas City, he entered the competition to learn more about St. Joseph. “I chose to enter the competition so I could not only learn more about St. Joseph, but also support and promote a festival that celebrates expression, learning and culture,” said Sowers.

Trails West!^® is an outdoor arts festival, hosted by the Allied Arts Council, celebrating the unique cultural heritage of St. Joseph, Mo. Now in its 23^rd year, the festival features fine arts, folk arts, culinary arts, music, dance, and theatre. The 2015 festival will be held August 21-23 at Civic Center Park.

5:19 p.m. Update: alert canceled. According to scanner traffic the child was located with her grandmother safe.

ST JOSEPH PD: Missing Child Kayden Hall has been located, no further action is required at this time.

—————-

The St Joseph Police Department seeks your help in locating a missing child:

Missing Child: Kayden Hall 4, black female 45 pounds, brown eyes and black hair last seen at 1803 Mitchell Ave
Kayden is described as a black female 300, 045 lbs. Kayden was last seen at 1803 Mitchell Ave at 3:15pm wearing a gray dress. Child was possibly seen at Speedy’s convenience store at 1704 Mitchell Ave at 1548 hours.

If you have information that can assist in helping safely locate Kayden Hall, please call 911 or contact the police.

Instructions:
If you have information that can assist in helping safely locate Kayden Hall, please call 911 or contact the police

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Faculty and students representing Northwest Missouri State University’s Department of Agricultural Sciences are hosting a forum to educate the public about current issues facing the agricultural industry as well as future impacts.

The forum will be Thursday, March 19, at the American Legion, 1104 E. Fifth St., in Maryville. Registration begins at 1:30 p.m., and a meal will be served at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

With a population expected to exceed 9 billion people by 2050, the world will have to turn to science and technology to meet food consumption needs, noted Dr. Arley Larson, associate professor of agricultural sciences at Northwest, and the solution will require a well-informed populace concerning the agricultural industry.

“The industry in this day and age is often misunderstood and maligned regardless of a reputation of producing abundant high quality food and fiber products for the consuming public,” Larson said. “There seems be considerable concern among consumers about modern production methods, often intensified by misinformation concerning food nutrition and safety.”

Larson noted the agricultural science department has assembled a capable and well-informed group of leaders in the agricultural industry to identify the nature of challenges facing the industry and possible solutions. The panel will include representatives of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, Center for Food Integrity, Missouri Corn Growers Association, Missouri Farm Bureau, Missouri Pork Association, Missouri Beef Industry Council, Missouri Dairy Association and the National Association of Farm Broadcasters.

The forum agenda is provided below. For more information or to RSVP, contact the Northwest Department of Agricultural Sciences at 660.562.1155.

1:30 p.m. Registration

2 p.m. Welcome and Introductions (Tom Brand, National Association of Farm Broadcasters)

2:15 p.m. Why are Consumers Skeptical? (Keynote Speaker J.J. Jones, Center for Food Integrity)

3:30 p.m. Industry Panel

· Blake Hurst, Missouri Farm Bureau

· Samantha Davis, Missouri Corn Growers Association

· Don Nikodim, Missouri Pork Association

· Mark Russell, Missouri Beef Industry Council

· Sean Cornelius, chair of the Missouri Farm Bureau Dairy Advisory Committee

4:30 p.m. Missouri Agricultural Initiatives (Charlie Hopper, Missouri Department of Agriculture)

5 p.m. Bridging the Divide between Consumers and Science (J.J. Jones – Center for Food Integrity)

6 p.m. Meal

The Trenton Police Department is investigating after an ATM was stolen from a hotel lobby.

According to Police Chief Tommy Wright police began looking into the commercial burglary of the Lakeview Motor Lodge and Restaurant Monday where an ATM was taken from the lobby.

Wright said the suspect or suspects forced their way through the front glass door.

He said the police department visited many business Monday with ATM’s and advised them of the incident as well as steps to help prevent such future actions.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Trenton Police Department at 660-359-5557.

(March 11, 2015)— The St. Joseph School District announced new principal hires after the
March 9, 2015 Board of Education meeting.

Mark Weis has been hired as Principal of Robidoux Middle School. Weis replaces Precious Kurth, who has taken a position with another school district. Weis has been Assistant Principal at Robidoux since 2012. Weis has a Master of Science Education with a major in Educational Leadership from Northwest Missouri State University. He received his Bachelor of Science in Education from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville as well.

Heather Beaulieu has been hired as a Principal, but has not been assigned a building at this time. Beaulieu has a Master of Science Education from Northwest Missouri State University with a major in Educational Leadership. She is currently pursuing her Educational Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Baker University. Beaulieu has been an Administrative Intern at Humboldt Elementary School and Edison Elementary since 2013.

Kick Butts Day is being celebrated in St. Joseph to encourage youth to stand out and speak up against big tobacco with a dodgeball tournament.

The St. Joseph Health Department, St Joseph Youth Alliance, Live Well St. Joe, and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services are sponsoring the tournament that will be held March 17.  Registration and check-in begins at 5:30 p.m. at the St. Joseph REC Center located at 2701 Southwest Parkway in St. Joseph.

The tournament is for grades 6th-12th. An Anti-Tobacco themed contest will also be held with categories including team name, team theme, team poster, and team vine/video challenge.

The cost is $20 per team at the door or free if you pre-register by March 15.

Click Here for dodgeball registration form 2015 TEAM

It’s the 20th year for Kick Butts Day.  The organization said it’s a national day of activism to empower youth the take action against tobacco.

This year more than 1,000 events in schools and communities are expected to be held in the U.S. and across the world.

For more information on the event or to sign up call (816) 236-1491

The Kansas Department of Transportation announced that permits will be issued to landowners wanting to harvest hay on Kansas highway right of way.

Those with land adjacent to the right of way will be given permit priority from Jan. 1 until March 31. After March 31, permits to harvest will be issued in the order in which they are received. The permits will expire Sept. 30.

Hay harvesting on right-of-way along state and federal highways without a permit is illegal and is trespassing, according to KDOT.

Permits can be canceled at any time by either party and all operations shall be in accord with requirements and guidelines set by KDOT. Any person, firm or corporation wanting to mow or bale hay will need to submit a permit application to the KDOT office in their area. No hay harvesting will take place along Interstates, and access to any right of way shall be determined by KDOT.

For additional information, contact your local KDOT office listed below; or call the KDOT Bureau of Maintenance in Topeka at (785) 296-3576.

St. Joseph, Mo. —March 11, 2015—The Department of Theatre, Cinema and Dance presents its third annual 48-Hour Film Challenge, open to anyone with a passion for filmmaking. Teams will create short films March 20-22 with a festival screening and awards ceremony on March 26 at the Paradox Theatre in downtown St. Joseph. There is no entry fee, but teams must register by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 18. Registration forms are available atwww.missouriwestern.edu/theatrecinema.

“The goal of the 48-Hour Film Challenge is to promote creativity and to light a spark under future filmmakers, challenging them to put their visions into action within a short time frame,” said Dallas Henry, assistant professor of theatre and cinema and organizer of the challenge.

Teams must consist of a minimum of three individuals, with one designated as a team leader. Team members do not have to be affiliated with Missouri Western; they can be students at other universities, high school students or community members.

The challenge will kick off at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 20 in the Kemper Recital Hall inside Spratt Hall. Each team will randomly select a genre for its film, and organizers will also announce a prop, line of dialogue and a character that must be included in each film. All creativity – writing, shooting, editing and adding a musical soundtrack – must occur within the 48-hour window beginning at 6 p.m. Friday evening and ending at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 22.

The final screenings and awards will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 26 at the Paradox Theatre, 107 South 6^th Street. Entries will be judged on artistic merit, technical merit and adherence to the assignment. Trophies will be presented to the Best Film Overall and Second Best Film Overall (as selected by a panel of industry professionals) as well as the Audience Choice. Awards will also be presented for Best Directing, Best Writing, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Acting (Male and Female), Best Use of Character, Best Use of Prop, Best Use of Line and Best Sound Design.

For more information, contact Henry at 816-271-4442 ordhenry2@missouriwestern.edu.

A Plattsburg, Mo. man is facing multiple charges after allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old.

54-year-old Randall Dean Kelley was charged Monday with second degree felony statutory sodomy and second degree statutory rape in Clinton County.

According to a probable cause statement an officer spoke with the 16-year-old victim on March 5 who said Kelley and her had been drinking and smoking Marijuana at Kelley’s home somewhere on or about March 4 when Kelley allegedly got her intoxicated and had sex with her in his Plattsburg home.

The victim also reported to the officer another instance in the past month time span when Kelley allegedly forced her to preform oral sex on him at his home.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Kelley, is listed as registered sex offender in the state of Missouri at his address located at 507 W Walnut St and was currently listed as compliant.

However, according to online court documents in September of 2010 Kelley failed to register as a sex offender and was sentenced to one year in the Missouri Department of Corrections consecutive with any other sentence.

No court date or bond has yet to be listed on online court documents for Kelley’s current charges.