A heat advisory is in effect for the area through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures are forecast to reach the mid to upper 90s with heat indexes as high as 107.

Angie Springs is the Executive Director of the American Red Cross of Northwest Missouri. 

Springs said the Red Cross wants to ensure that everyone takes the proper precautions to be safe during the next couple days.

“According to the CDC, more than 600 people in the U.S. are killed by extreme heat every year and we just want to ensure that everyone takes precautions so this does not happen here,” Springs said.

Springs said with the forecast over the next couple days, the Red Cross has some reminders for how to prepare for the heat.

“Avoid being outside during the midsection of the day when it’s the hottest,” Springs said. “If you have to be outside, wear lightweight clothing, make sure that you stay hydrated.. That means drinking plenty of water. Avoid caffeinated beverages and alcoholic beverages as they do not hydrate you.”

Springs said to also be sure and check on the most vulnerable in your community including the elderly, young or anyone who may be sick, making sure they are staying hydrated and cool. Also, if you don’t have air conditioning, Springs suggests heading to someplace cool, such as the mall or the library during the hottest parts of the day. Springs said they also want to remind people to never leave children or pets alone in vehicles.

Springs said heat exhaustion symptoms can include moist, pale or flushed skin, heavy sweating, a headache, nausea or dizziness.

“If you recognize that you have those symptoms or someone around you does, you need to go someplace that is cooler, remove or loosen any tight clothing and apply a cool, wet cloth to the skin,” Spring said. “Drink small amounts of cool water so you can cool down slowly.”

Springs said if anyone is experiencing heat exhaustion or heat stroke, they should seek medical attention. For more information, go to redcross.org.

AFL-CIO Community Services is seeking donations for its yearly shoe distribution in August.

According to AFL-CIO Executive Director Penny Adams, Soles for Christ is a program that provides new tennis shoes to children starting the school year.

“The goal of the program is to boost the kid’s self-esteem and excitement for the new school year,” Adams said. “It has a side effect that was never intended when it was started but the side effect is it helps the families financially, not having to purchase new shoes for their kids.”

Adams said the program began in 2003 and served 210 children and last year, 1,106 kids received shoes.

Adams said people can drop off shoe donations at their agency at 1203 North 6th Street in St. Joseph. They’re open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Adams said shoe donations should be dropped off by August 9th and they also will accept monetary donations.

Families that need shoes can come in during one of the distribution days and bring a form of ID for each child that’s receiving shoes.

“That could be a school ID or a report card, a birth certificate, medical records, anything that shows the child’s age,” Adams said. “The parents need to bring proof of residency because this program only serves kids in Andrew, Buchanan and Doniphan County, so they could bring a utility bill or a mortgage receipt, something like that.”

Distribution days will be Monday, August 14th, and Tuesday, August 15th.

For more information, contact AFL-CIO Community Services at (816) 364-1131.

Celebrating the Fourth of July holiday with the traditional fireworks displays can often cause stress to some pets and their owners. 

St. Joseph Animal Shelter Humane Educator Jenna Keyes said they encourage pet owners to watch their pet carefully over the Fourth of July. 

“If they’re nervous, it’s very easy for them to either hide under a bed, be scared, or sometimes they’ll actually dart away and try to run away from the noise and oftentimes we see a lot of pets running away from the home because they’re scared of fireworks,” Keyes said. “Or sometimes they like the fireworks and will try to run up and bite at them or chase them so it’s very important that you have an eye on your pet at all times and you are active in keeping them in a safe environment.” 

Keyes said to keep in mind that every pet reacts differently to stressful situations.

“Keeping them in a kennel or maybe in a room with a door closed to keep them quiet and comfortable during times of stress is often something that’s encouraged,” Keyes said. “Other animals may do the opposite, they don’t want to be left alone, they want to be right there with you, so a little bit of that comes with knowing your pet.”

Keyes recommends talking to your veterinarian for advice and suggestions on what to do to keep your pet calm if they are easily stressed by loud noises. 

In preparation for the Fourth of July holiday, Keyes said it’s a good time to get your pet microchipped if you haven’t already done so.

The St. Joseph Animal Shelter will be open from 1 to 5:30 p.m. on Monday and closed Tuesday for the Fourth of July.

A monthly program the St. Joseph Public Library recently started up again will feature local history this weekend about the upcoming solar eclipse. 

“History Speaks” started in May. 

Local History Librarian Jennifer Sanders-Tutt said the library used to put on a similar program called “Local History Stage” at the senior center. Now that they have a programming room at the Downtown Library, Sanders-Tutt said they decided to revamp the program. 

“It’s the same great programming that we brought people with Local History Stage but I’m trying to delve further into St. Joseph’s history… and find things that maybe not many people have heard about,” Sanders-Tutt said. “I think there is a lot of interest in local history, especially right now, and maybe people don’t know how to get involved or may be kind of hesitant because they think it’s going to be kind of boring, but what the St. Joseph Public Library is trying to offer is an interesting, involving and fascinating view of local St. Joseph history.”

This weekend, the speaker will be Suzanne Lehr. 

“She is a renowned local historian and she’s published many items and she’s very active with Mount Mora Cemetery,” Sanders-Tutt said. “She will be talking about the eclipse and some of the people that were involved in kind of, celestial history, that there were astronomers here in St. Joe that were world-renowned. She’s just going to be covering the eclipse and the history leading up to it.”

The next History Speaks program will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 1, at the Downtown Library location, coinciding with First Saturdays. 

Sanders-Tutt said another local history project started recently has gotten great feedback from the community. 

The library’s audio history project is ongoing with the purpose of gathering a variety of stories from residents. 

There are several interviews gathered so far that are available to listen to on the library’s website.

According to Sanders-Tutt, the library has partnered with the Friends of St. Joseph to begin a series of interviews focused on the history of the Livestock Exchange Building and southside history. 

For more information about “History Speaks” or the library’s audio history project, contact Jennifer Sanders-Tutt at (816) 232-8151 or jstutt@sjplnow.com.

St. Joseph Police are investigating a shooting Sunday night.

According to Sgt. Brett Kelley with the police department, at 9:49 p.m. Sunday, dispatch received calls of several shots fired in the area of the 700 block of South 15th. Officers responded and found several shell casings and a blood trail in the street. At 10:04 p.m., officers were notified of a St. Joseph man in his early 20s who arrived at Mosaic Life Care with a gunshot wound to his upper left thigh and an injury to his left wrist. He was reported to be in stable condition and later transferred to University of Kansas Medical Center.

Sgt. Kelley said there are no suspects at this time and the incident is still under investigation.

With temperatures starting to reach 90 and above, it’s important to make sure pets are staying cool and hydrated throughout the summer. 

St. Joseph Animal Shelter Humane Educator Jenna Keyes said whether pets are indoors or outside, it’s important to watch for side effects from the heat that could turn into heat exhaustion or heat stroke.  

“Some signs to look for are just excessive panting, the animal is very lethargic, they just aren’t quite acting right, they’re really down, their bodies may actually be warm to the touch,” Keyes said. “If you see an animal and you feel like it might be ill… may have heatstroke, always, we recommend, call your veterinarian, let them know the symptoms and they would be able to direct you as to what a good course of action for treatment would be with that animal.” 

Keyes said good habits to get into with your pet during the summer include taking your pet for a walk in the morning or evening when the temperature is not as hot and having fresh water available for pets spending a lot of time outdoors. 

Keyes said Animal Control and Rescue often gets calls during the summer months about pets being left in a car. 

“It’s very tempting, sometimes you’re running errands, you have that pet with you, maybe you just stop by the store with them,” Keyes said. “But cars heat very quickly, to the point that it is very dangerous for animals to be left inside of a car, even with the windows cracked.” 

Keyes said if the temperature outdoors is 70 degrees, within about 10 minutes, the inside temperature of a vehicle can reach up to 89 degrees and within 30 minutes, up to 104 degrees.

A nationwide day encouraging people to ride their local public transit system takes place this week.

St. Joseph Transit General Manager Mary Gaston said Dump the Pump Day is Thursday, June 15th. 

“It’s the only day of the year that we offer free rides on the entire system to anybody,” Gaston said. “They can ride all day as much as they want to, whichever routes they’d like to. It’s a great day to get out and explore the system, try using the bus if you have not used it ever before or maybe you haven’t used it in a long time. It’s a good day to get out and give it a try.”

Gaston said deviations still cost 50 cents but regular fairs are waived for the day. 

For more information, call the Transit Office at (816) 233-6700.