The St. Joseph Police Department is investigating after a man was shot Wednesday night in midtown.

Police responded to 17th and Messanie near A’s J R’s McGaughy Lounge shortly before 9 p.m. Capt. Jeff Wilson said a 41-year-old St. Joseph man was taken by private vehicle to the hospital after being shot in the neck.

The shooting is still under investigation.  Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 238-TIPS.

Endless fries are coming to St. Joseph this week as part of a grand opening promotion at one McDonald’s.

According to franchise owner and operator Chris Habiger the concept for the “McDonald’s of the future” began years ago. Construction on the St. Joseph location began in March. 

“We’re so excited to bring a modern, progressive burger and breakfast destination to St. Joe,” Habiger said. “It has tremendous amenities from interactive play for kids of all ages to customization where you can build a burger or chicken sandwich of your dreams.” 

According to Habiger, the way the endless fries promotion works is when a customer orders a burger or chicken sandwich and makes it a meal the fries are endless. The promotion will last for two months or possibly longer depending on how it goes. Fries are served in a basket so employees know to refill the fries while the customer is in the restaurant. 

Habiger said even with it being a more digital experience, at this new location they had the opportunity to hire more than 100 people. 

“This restaurant will have our highest staffing levels of any of our restaurants,” Habiger said. “Even with the kiosks, we have individuals, our concierge service, to guide our customers through that digital experience. The kiosks really are more about giving customers choice through the process on how they can pick their own ingredients, they’re not there to replace our employees, it’s really about helping give our customers the kind of choices they want at McDonald’s.” 

At 10 a.m. Thursday the St. Joseph McDonald’s location at 3417 North Belt Hwy will officially open to the public.

Enrollment is underway for an English language program at Webster Learning Center.

St. Joseph Adult Education & Literacy is holding its English Language Learners information day Aug. 3, 4, 10 & 11.

Betty Wymore, AEL director said anyone interested in registering for classes needs to come in.

“They must come to these information sessions in order for us to sign them up,” Wymore said. “If they’re wanting to study English or get their citizenship we work with them here.”

She said on average around 200 students will sign up for classes.

Registrants can come in and register at 9 a.m, 10 a.m, 3 p.m, 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. on the days listed above. The registration process takes around an hour, to fill out paperwork and take an initial assessment. Students will be given choices of what time to attend class, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Students will then sign up for a time the week of Aug. 16 to come back and do their testing assessment.

There are some classroom changes.

“They need to park in the back parking lot because we’re at the same location at the Webster Learning Center but come in the back parking lot and come in door 4 because that’s where we are located,” Wymore said.

She said there are 11 part-time teachers in the program.

“During any given semester, we have at least 32 different languages represented in our classes,” Wymore said. “Students come from many different walks of life, some with no education in their native country and some professionals in their own countries, such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, many different professions.”

For more information on the program call the Webster Learning Center located at 1211 N. 18th St. at (816) 671-4020.

Voters in Buchanan County have passed a sales tax to repair area river levees by more than 77 percent.

Tuesday voters approved the implementation of a countywide sales tax of 1/4 cent for a period of 4 years from the date it’s first imposed for the purpose of construction and repairs to the Missouri river levees. 10,860 voting yes and only 3,222 voting no.

Bob Wolleman is the campaign chairman for the Committee to Save Jobs and the owner of Deluxe Truck Stop, one of the business protected by the levees. He said he’s pleased with the show of voter support.

“We are so proud of the residents of Buchanan County recognizing the significant interest and the importance of getting this quarter-cent sales tax passed. We are just absolutely thrilled that the residents of Buchanan County recognized this very very essential project,” Wolleman said.

He said the levees are in great need of repair.

“What we’re finding is maybe a little piece of mind for the residents of south St. Joe, for the businesses that invest in both the Kansas side of the river and the Missouri side of the river that they know these levees are going to be restored. The levee on the west side will be re-certified again by the corp of engineers because it’s been de-certified since 1993,” Wolleman said.

The project is estimated to cost more than $70-million. However, Wolleman said the federal government is providing 65 percent of those funds.

Missouri’s polling places closed at 7 p.m. after Primary Elections Tuesday. Here’s the unofficial results for Buchanan County.  Refresh this page for the latest updates as they come in.
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Voter turnout numbers in Buchanan County have county clerk Mary Baack-Garvey optimistic about hitting her forecast of 28 percent.

As of 11 a.m. 8.3 percent of 50,100 registered voters had cast a ballot.  By 3 p.m. that number was up to 16.1 percent.

“I’m still certain 28% is the golden number,” Baack-Garvey said during the latest update.  “Maybe squeeze by with 30%!”

Contested issues in Buchanan County include the republican race for Eastern District Commissioner, the republican race for Buchanan County Sheriff and both the republican and democratic races for 5th Judicial Circuit Court, Division 2, which covers Andrew and Buchanan counties.  Voters will also decide whether or not to pass a 1/4 cent sales tax for Missouri river levee repairs.

Marcia Mckee said the levee tax is an important issue that drew her out to cast a ballot.

“I want to be sure that goes through because I don’t want to be in another flood,” Mckee said. “I was not only in the flood of ’93 here but I lived in Jefferson City at the time and I was flooded down there.  I’m very passionate about the flood issue.”

We talked to several voters who said voting is their civic duty.

“I think it’s my responsibility as a citizen of the country to help pick the right people to lead us,” one voter said.

Polls are open tonight until 7.  For polling locations and ballot information in Buchanan County CLICK HERE.

Kansas City’s Kemper Arena will soon be renamed Mosaic Arena.

In a news release, officials say Mosaic Life Care on Tuesday finalized an initial agreement with Foutch Brothers, LLC, to become the Naming Rights Sponsor of the historic Kemper Arena in Downtown Kansas City.

Upon finalization, Kemper Arena will become Mosaic Arena.

“The commitment of Mosaic Life Care is a symbolic first step for our redevelopment of the former Kemper Arena. A partner like Mosaic will be a catalyst to launch our youth sports project in the Stockyards District,” said Steve Foutch, CEO of Foutch Brothers, LLC.

In addition to naming rights, Mosaic will also open an on-site medical clinic in the facility that will be open to the public. Other services will include, but are not limited to, sports medicine consultations, urgent care, and massage therapy. The opening of this clinic signifies a big step forward as Mosaic continues to expand its footprint into the Kansas City Metro area.

“Improving population health within the communities we serve and helping people individually adopt a lifestyle focused on health and wellness is the very core of how Mosaic Life Care is providing a new kind of health care,” said Mark Laney, MD, CEO of Mosaic Life Care. “This partnership allows us not only to expand health-care services in this area slated for tremendous growth and development, but also supports our vision to transform communities.”

Mosaic Life Care, a health system headquartered in St. Joseph, Mo., operates seven primary care clinics in Kansas City’s Northland offering urgent care, outpatient services and specialty care. Mosaic Life Care’s approach to health care is focused on creating healthier communities by looking at health care beyond traditional physical health.

Mosaic’s providers look at the patient as a whole – not just the set of symptoms currently present. Also focusing on preventive care, Mosaic strives to provide excellent sports medicine services to keep people active, which is why the new partnership is so important to the organization.

“Anything we can do to promote community wellness and staying active is important to us,” said Dr. Laney. “This new facility goes a long way toward helping Kansas City do just that.”