Lee’s Summit, Mo.  —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a road rage incident involving a St. Joseph man.

Just after 7:30 p.m. Saturday, emergency crews were dispatched to the area of northbound M-291 Highway near the Interstate 470 merger on the report of a man stumbling in traffic, according to Lee’s Summit Police.

When crews arrived they found a man who had collapsed in the inner median; the man identified as 24-year-old Cody M. Harter of St. Joseph was pronounced dead at the scene.  At this point investigators have the man’s truck which was found on the shoulder of the roadway.

Detectives have interviewed a handful of witnesses who described what they saw as a possible road rage incident. They reported seeing another vehicle stopped in front of Harter’s vehicle, according to a media release from police.  Harter and the suspect were arguing outside of their vehicles.  It is believed that Harter suffered a single stab wound to the chest during the altercation and stumbled back into the lanes of traffic where he died.

The suspect and suspect vehicle then fled north on I-470.   Police are asking anyone that was travelling along I-470 Saturday night around 7:30 p.m. or anyone that may have seen the victim’s vehicle travelling north on M-291 from 50 Highway to call and speak with Detectives.  The number to call is 816-969-1705.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The loess hills of northwest Missouri offer unique topography and native plant communities.

Landowners can see examples of how to manage both timber and grasslands on the steep slopes or ridge tops when the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) hosts the free Loess Hill Timber and Prairie Field Day beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 12, at the Jamerson C. McCormack Conservation Area in Holt County.

According to a press release, loess hills in Holt and Atchison counties are a unique geographic landmark. Sometimes the slopes are covered in forest dominated by oak and hickory trees, or they may be more open woodlands. Also the west-facing slopes are hosts to Missouri’s only dry-land prairie remnants, natural areas that often have prairie species normally found farther west.

MDC foresters will begin the workshop by taking participants on a walk through forest. They will cover topics such as timber stand improvement, timber sales, and how to obtain a forest stewardship plan.

A free lunch will be provided by MDC. The McCormack Conservation Area is located off U.S. 159 highway south of Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge near Mound City.

The afternoon session will focus on loess hill prairie restoration. A walking tour will showcase what MDC has accomplished preserving and restoring prairie species. The benefits and challenges associated with prairie restoration will be covered. MDC staff will also discuss cost share opportunities for both forest and prairie improvements.

For more information and to RSVP, contact Jim Pierson, MDC private land conservationist, 660-442-3173, ext. 114, or [email protected].

MDC has several programs to assist private landowners with wildlife and habitat improvements on their property. For more information, visit mdc.mo.gov/property.

The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art will be offering two different weeks of Kids Summer Art Camp for the first time this year.

Molly Ring is the Kids Summer Art Camp Coordinator. Ring said this year’s theme is linked to an exhibition that will be at the museum

“It’s based on abstract art so our camp this year is called, ‘Awesomely Abstract,’” Ring said. “I like to, each day, link what we’re doing with a new technique and skill for the kids but also a little bit of art history, so we’ll be learning about some different abstract artists through history over the course of the week.”

Ring said the camp offers a way to keep kids active over the summer and each day will include a lot of new and different experiences for the campers.

“We’ll throw them into a whole bunch of new experiences, including collage, painting, different sculptural work. We’re going to do a project based on Alexander Calder, so we’ll be working with mobiles, which are sculptures that hang,” Ring said. “So I really try to give them experiences maybe that are messy or use materials that aren’t as readily available in the home so they’re really coming and experiencing something new in camp.”

There are two sessions offered this year. There will be a morning session for ages 5-7 that runs from 9 a.m. – noon and an afternoon session for ages 8-11 from 2-5 p.m.

The camp sessions are Tuesday through Friday, June 19 – 22 or Tuesday through Friday, June 26 – 29. The cost is $75 per student for AKMA Members and $90 for non-members.

For more information on the camp or to sign up, contact the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art at (816) 233- 7003 or click here.

The Community Alliance of Saint Joseph is conducting its fifth effort to survey St. Joseph and Buchanan County residents about issues relating to community livability.

According to a press release, surveys will be mailed next week to 1,800 randomly selected residents of St. Joseph and Buchanan County. These survey results will be compared to the survey results from previous years to see how the community has progressed.

The residents are randomly selected for statistical validity of +/- 3.7 percent, meaning that if the survey was given 100 times, the results would be the same, +/- 3.7 percent.

The survey is distributed through, and analyzed by, ETC Institute, an Olathe, Kan., company that has performed similar surveys in 500 cities throughout the United States.

“We will compare the 2018 results against the previous surveys in St. Joseph and also again be able to benchmark ourselves against other communities served by ETC,” said Steve Johnston, Director of the Community Alliance of Saint Joseph.

While St. Joseph and other cities both survey residents on opinions about city services, St. Joseph goes beyond those questions and asks about education, volunteerism, poverty, economic development and arts/culture.

All individual survey results are completely confidential and only the total scores are reported. Results are expected in late June.

The Community Alliance will discuss the findings in presentations to the public.

Apple Blossom festivities kick off Friday in St. Joseph.

The “Made With Uncommon Character” campaign is putting on the Apple Blossom BBQ this year. This is the 12th year of the BBQ, but the first year that the Uncommon Character campaign is putting on the event and adding more activities to the weekend.

According to Campaign Director Kristi Bailey, the festivities begin at 5 p.m. Friday at Civic Center Park with the People’s Choice Tasting & Pulled Pork BBQ Meal. The evening will include music by Blue Oyster Culture Club, carriage rides by Duncan Carriages and more.

“At the Apple Blossom BBQ Contest this year, we’re really excited that we’ve been able to grow the event into much more than a BBQ contest, but also a community event that adults and kids will want to attend,” Bailey said.

According to a press release, GreatLIFE has provided frisbees for the first 2,000 meals purchased to support those plates of BBQ and to play with in the park. GreatLIFE also will have a chipping contest so adults and kids can brush up on their golf game.

The Apple Blossom parade begins at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday and runs from Noyes & Frederick to 4th & Felix Downtown. After the parade, there will be family friendly activities going on in Civic Center Park. There will be games and activities by Renovation Church including photo opportunities with representatives dressed like Batman, Supergirl and Joy from Inside Out.

“When we started talking about taking on the BBQ contest, one of the things we had heard was that the community wished there was more to do besides the BBQ contest. So we decided to try to grow it by adding more activities in the park,” Bailey said. “Because while it’s cool to be able to walk around and see teams compete like you would on Food Network, it’s really nice to be able to do that plus have a meal yourself, plus let your kids play in the park, so we’re really trying to grow into more of a festival with the contest.”

Find more details at uncommoncharacter.com.

OSBORN, Mo. – The speed limit in the work zone on U.S. Route 36 near Osborn has been reduced.

According to a news release from the Missouri Department of Transportation, in northwest Missouri, driving too fast for conditions continues to be a top contributing factor in 2018 traffic crashes. When that aggressive driving behavior occurs in a work zone, additional safety measures must be put in place.

As part of those safety measures, MoDOT has lowered the speed limit on U.S. Route 36 near Osborn. Eastbound traffic is limited to 55 miles per hour. The speed limit for westbound traffic is reduced to 45 miles per hour, due to the configuration of turn lanes at Route 33 North.

Through the beginning of July, U.S. Route 36 near Osborn is reduced to one lane, each direction, for a rebuilding and resurfacing project. MoDOT contracted with Herzog Contracting Corporation and their sub-contractors to complete the project.

For the duration of the head to head traffic pattern, drivers at the Route 33 North/Route M intersection will be restricted to right turns both onto and off of U.S. Route 36. Additionally, motorists will not be able to cross U.S. Route 36 at this intersection. Towards the end of this part of the project, access to Route 33 North will be closed to all traffic while a new intersection is constructed.

According to MoDOT, the project is an effort to make that section of Route 36 more safe as several crashes have taken place there.

Traffic control, signs and message boards are in place alerting motorists of the work. All work is weather permitting and could be rescheduled.

For more information on this or other MoDOT projects, call 1-888-ASK-MODOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest and view the online Traveler Information Map.

A Lafayette High School teacher was recently nominated for the Harris History Teacher Award.

Derek Frieling was nominated for the award by the State Historical Society of Missouri, administrator of the National History Day program in Missouri.

Each of the 57 National History Day affiliates may nominate one middle school and one high school teacher for the $5,000 national awards and Frieling is the high school nominee from Missouri.

According to a National History Day press release, the awards are presented to “teachers who demonstrate a commitment to engaging students in historical learning through innovative use of primary sources, implementation of active learning strategies to foster historical thinking skills, and participation in the National History Day Contest.”

Frieling said the National History Day contest gives students the opportunity to compete in five different categories.

“(Those categories are) writing a paper, building a website, producing a documentary, building an exhibit and putting on a performance,” Frieling said. “Students compete against each other. Each year there’s a theme, this year is ‘Conflict and Compromise.’ They have to work the project around that theme, show the importance of their event or the people involved and how it relates to that time and why it’s still important today.”

Several students this year presented projects on the Salem Witch Trials and Frieling said two of his students made state finals with projects on the Tuskegee Airmen and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

Frieling, also an adjunct professor at Missouri Western State University, said he’s not in it just to win contests, but to help students learn and apply history lessons to their lives.

“I really appreciate that people recognize my dedication to my students and the history profession,” Frieling said. “This is my 23rd year of teaching and I still find it important that students need to be able to relate historical events to their lives to make their own lives more important, more valid, and be able to learn those lessons so they can make better decisions in their own lives.”

Frieling said since the announcement of his nomination, he’s been hearing from former students and parents.

“Since the School District has put the announcement on their Twitter feed and on the website and everything, I’ve had a lot of people that have told me congratulations and posted stories about when they remember they were in my class or their kid was in my class… Can’t believe I had that sort of an impact. That’s been really cool to see those posts the last couple of days,” Frieling said.

The two national winners of the Harris History Teacher Award will be announced on National History Day on June 14th.

For more information about National History Day, click here.

Listen to the full interview with Derek Frieling below: