In a short time of posting a question on Facebook Wednesday morning, the St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau heard from dozens of people planning to travel to St. Joseph to view the Total Solar Eclipse.

The Eclipse 2017 St. Joseph, Missouri Facebook Page posted, “5 MORE DAYS!!! Who’s coming to #StJoMOEclipse and from where???”

“In two hours we’ve gotten 59 comments, very little city duplication on where people are traveling from and they’re coming from everywhere,” said Beth Conway, Dir. of Communications with the CVB. “It’s really shocking and exciting to see how vast the range is for people coming to St. Joseph for this eclipse.”

Conway said it’s hard to know exactly how many people will be in St. Joseph on Aug. 21, 2017 for the celestial event.

“We don’t and we never will.  We do know we’re 100 percent sold out in lodging for Sunday night and that’s about 1,200 hotel rooms so you can average four to a room,” Conway said. “What the facts are showing is that while we do know a lot of people are coming to St. Joe, a lot of people are staying with family and friends. While we can count lodging and count the camp grounds we won’t know all the people that come up and spend the night with friends and family and we won’t know the number of people who come up just for a day trip.”

While she said people will see a big increase in traffic Friday, she anticipates the biggest influx will take place Monday morning.

“Not just coming from Kansas City, coming down from Des Moines, coming down from Wisconsin, coming across from Chicago, definitely coming up from Texas, Arkansas seems like a really big draw,” she said.   “We’re encouraging people to leave just as early as they possibly can, if not the night before so they don’t get stuck in traffic.”

She said people from other countries have also messaged her to let them know they will be in town for the eclipse as well.

Eclipse observers in St. Joseph will see about 2 minutes and 38 seconds of totality.  CLICK HERE for more information on the eclipse in St. Joseph.

Buchanan County has seen a huge decrease in the number of people applying and renewing concealed carry permits.

New legislation went into effect January 1, making concealed carry permits unnecessary for Missourians in many places. Last year, lawmakers passed constitutional carry legislation which allows Missourians 21 and older who can legally own guns carry them concealed anywhere they can openly carry and do so without a permit. In Buchanan County, Sheriff Bill Puett said, applications went from an average of around 180 a month to less than 20.

“People have gone away from getting the concealed carry permits,” Puett said. “We’re also seeing some folks who aren’t renewing.”

Even though both Missouri and Kansas have similar legislation regarding concealed carry, Puett said a permit is required if you’re not a state resident.

“The constitutional carry only applies to Missouri residents,” Puett said. “If you go to Kansas and you’re carrying a concealed weapon you’re in violation because you’re not a Kansas resident.”

Puett said individuals carrying still need to follow gun laws.

“At least with a permit class you get to discuss all the legal requirements, use of force, all the places you can go and can’t go and what happens if you violate the law,” Puett said. “The requirement of going to class to get the permit is really good because it gives the person carrying a weapon a little more information.”

Puett said even if someone isn’t applying for a concealed permit it’s still a good idea to get training on how to safely handle a weapon, gun laws, and how to act if a firearm were needed to be used for defense.

“If you put a gun on you need to know what you’re getting into when you do that,” Puett said.

Update: St. Joseph Public Library levy passes by 87.82 percent.

Voters approved the continuance of a .15 levy for the St. Joseph Public Library system with 3,054 votes: 2,682 yes and 372 no. Voter turnout came in at 8.54 percent

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(12 p.m.) Fewer voters than anticipated were hitting the polls Tuesday morning to vote on the St. Joseph Public Library levy renewal.

Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey reported that as of 11 a.m. only 2.3 percent of voters had cast a ballot. Originally, she had anticipated a turnout of around 10 percent for the election. However, with a slow start Tuesday she said 10 percent could be too high.

Tuesday’s special election will decide if a portion of the St. Joseph Public Library system’s .15 levy is renewed for another 20 years for the library to operate and maintain facilities. If approved, the levy would continue in 2020. As we previously reported, Library Director, Mary-Beth Revels said the levy was initially approved by voters in 1999.

The total library levy is .42 cents, of that .27 cents is permanent. Revels said it generates about $3.2 million a year. She said the library realizes the community appreciates the inclusion of a sunset clause so the .15 cents is up for renewal every 20 years.

Polls are open until 7 p.m. CLICK HERE for ballots and polling locations.

Bikes will now be available to borrow at various locations in downtown St. Joseph.

The City of St. Joseph is launching its Pony Express Bike Share (PEBS) program with a ribbon cutting Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Civic Center Park. Stephanie Malita with the Health Department said the free program will allow people to borrow bikes and take short trips within the city.

“We’re going to open it up in the downtown area because it’s a flatter area,” Malita said. “We’re hoping people will find it easier to ride in the downtown area because it’s not quite as hilly.”

Malita said 40 bikes will eventually be available at a total of seven locations. Those locations include: Patee Park, Transfer Station, Coleman Hawkins Park, Radisson Hotel, Visitors Center, Buchanan County Courthouse, and Remington Nature Center.

“You get on a bike from a rack and ride it to any other rack or ride it back to the rack that you borrowed it from. We ask that people use it for four hours or less at a time,” she said. “If you stop at a location and want to go into a business for a meal or to shop, which we hope people will do, then you can turn the seat sideways…Which will indicate that it’s in use.”

The project was supported by a block grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and community partnerships.

For more information on the program CLICK HERE.

The St. Joseph Police Department is inviting the community to take part in a National Night Out event next week at Civic Center Park.

Sgt. Roy Hoskins with the Crime Prevention Unit, said the police department will hold National Night Out from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, August 1st at the park. The nationwide initiative is meant to promote police-community partnerships and neighborhood relationships to improve safety.

“It’s an opportunity for neighborhood watch members and other community members to come out and meet local law enforcement and meet other watch group members and community members,” Hoskins said. “Just to get a good dialogue going about some crime prevention things we can address here in the city.”

Hoskins said the annual event is sponsored by Target which will assist in providing games, food and drinks and coloring books for the kids.

“We really want anyone interested in being an active partner in their neighborhood or community to come out,” Hoskins said. “We would just like to get together and have a casual conversation about some things going on in the city.”

Habitat for Humanity bestowed a St. Joseph mother with the keys to her new home Thursday.

Ashley Carpenter said she started the process of applying for home ownership with Habitat last spring. After finding out she was approved, Carpenter said she dedicated the 200 hours required by helping to build her home and working in the ReStore.

“You have to do a lot of homeowner classes. You have to do your 200 hours, you have to have your family and friends do 200 hours,” Carpenter said. “I love having my family and friends see the transformation in what we’ve all accomplished.”

Carpenter said she has a 5-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl. She said without assistance from Habitat it would have been a lot more difficult to become a homeowner.

“I get my keys today at 1 o’clock and I get to go after that,” she said.

New Habitat for Humanity Executive Director, Cate Manley attended the 66th home blessing in the 3100 block of Locust. Manley said she officially started with the agency last week.

“I have not interacted a lot with this new homeowner because it’s only been a week and a half but we have seen her several times and she’s worked really hard for this house,” Manley said.

Manley said she’s looking forward to taking on her new role with Habitat.

“I’m really looking forward to integrating into the community myself,” Manley said. “I haven’t been in the community for about 25 years and really growing and expanding our collaboration with other partners and our volunteers.”