Local agencies are teaming up to offer free HIV testing in St. Joseph in recognition of National HIV Testing Day.

Northwest Health Services and the St. Joseph Health Department are encouraging area residents to get tested to try and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

National Testing Day is Monday, June 27. Northwest Health Services Family Medicine Associates Clinic (2303 Village Drive) will be giving free HIV testing with the Health Department from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Anyone can come in and get tested for free.

Northwest Health Services said getting tested helps you to protect yourself, your partners, your friends and family. Knowing what your status is allows you to take appropriate measures, if positive.

Northwest Health and the St. Joseph Health department will also be having an additional testing day on Tuesday at the North End Health Center located at 1515 St. Joseph Avenue from 8 a.m. t o 12 p.m.

St Joseph police have a 51-year-old man in custody in what they’re calling a homicide investigation.

Captain Jeff Wilson says officers were sent to the 2900 block of Dover Street at about 8:15 p.m. Friday.

The initial call was the report of shots fired. A 54-year-old man was found dead. Capt. Wilson would not confirm the cause of death until investigators get the results of an autopsy. He would not release the victim’s name until family has been notified.

As of yet no charges have been filed, and police have not released the name of the man they took into custody.

The Platte County Sheriff’s Office hopes you can help identify a woman using stolen credit cards and checks.

Officials released these photographs of the white female suspect, who they say has been using credit cards and checks which were stolen out of vehicles in the Platte City area. The thefts occurred each day between June 16 and June 20.

The Platte County Sheriff’s Office believes there are six to eight thefts from vehicles that are related to this suspect.

The suspect has charged in excess of $600 on stolen cards and checks. The suspect is believed to be associated with a tan or silver Lexus LS 400 and may be with an unknown white male.

If you can help, contact the Platte County Sheriff’s Office at 816-858-3521, the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS or submit a TIP via the Platte County Sheriff’s Office website at plattesheriff.org/crime-tip-form.

The American Angus Association is celebrating its 60th anniversary in St. Joseph.

Allen Moczygemba, CEO of American Angus Association, said the association is holding an open house on Wednesday, June 29.

“We’ll be open from 8-4:30 p.m. People are welcome to come by and take a tour,” Moczygemba said.

Moczygemba said the association itself has existed for more than a century.

“We’re 133 years old as an association. We moved here from Chicago in 1956,” Moczygemba said.

Moczygemba said the relationship between the association and St. Joseph is a solid one.

“We’re proud to be here. It’s important to us to be a good corporate neighbor. We’ve made a big commitment to this community over the years. That’s not going to change. There’s a lot of history in our building. A lot of great events have occurred over the years here in St. Joseph. In my opinion, the American Angus Association is synonymous with St. Joseph, Missouri. I don’t see us leaving anytime in the foreseeable future,” Moczygemba said.

Moczygemba said the purpose of the American Angus Association is specific.

“The mission of the association first and foremost is to serve our members by promoting the angus breed of cattle. As a whole the American Angus Association is for the United States and it’s with black angus cattle only. There are red angus cattle, but they have their own association which is located in Denton, Texas,” Moczygemba said.

Moczygemba said many market shaping decisions have been made at the building there on Frederick Avenue.

“Whether that be the move into genetic testing of our cattle which has become very commonplace nowadays or the launch of our own brand in 1978, certified angus beef, the board of directors have voted on a number of important decisions over the years,” Moczygemba said.

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Update (2:38 p.m.) – Federal authorities have identified a person of interest believed to be tied to bank robberies in two states including one earlier this week in Dearborn.

A federal arrest warrant has been issued for Jesse Bud Leaverton for the bank robbery on June 10 at the Arvest Bank in Tulsa, Okla.

The FBI said it believes multiple bank robberies from Oklahoma and Missouri are related.  Saturday, the Arvest bank was robbed in Tulsa, Okla., then Monday the Platte Valley Bank was robbed in Dearborn and Thursday the Bank of America was robbed in Tulsa and Friday the Security State Bank was robbed in Fairfax, Okal.

The suspect in all three robberies is described as a white man in his mid-50s with tattoos on both arms and a tattoo on the right arm possibly an image of a woman’s face.  The FBI said in all three robberies the suspect entered the bank, approached the teller and showed a demand note and threatened the use of a weapon.  Each time the suspect has fled the bank on foot.

Anyone with information about any of the robberies is asked to call the TIPS Hotline in Oklahoma City at 918-596-COPS or in Kansas City at 816-474-TIPS.

A downtown watering hole is about to change hands.

Nathan Karr has offered Fosters Martini and Wine Bar for sale. Karr says he’s had a pretty good run for the last ten years, but he says it’s time to get out of the business. The business has been offered for sale in the newspaper, and Karr says he’s had a few inquiries.

“Being across from what’s going on here will be pretty exciting for whoever buys this,” Karr said. “People see the vision of the place.”

Fosters is located at 726 Felix Street in downtown St. Joseph, just across the street from Coleman Hawkins Park. On Friday, the front door noted that the bar is closed.

Two men were flown to the hospital Thursday morning after being shocked by power lines near Burlington Junction.

Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White said crews responded around 11:30 a.m. to a rural location several miles west of Burlington Junction.

“Apparently the workers were replacing a utility pole when somehow it became entangled in the power lines,” White said. “The extent of their injuries is yet unknown. Unfortunately with electrical burns like this it can take some time before the full extent of the injuries can really be determined.”

Both PAR Electrical workers were flown to hospitals for treatment.

“They were both conscious and talking to us when they were transported,” White said. “They were both transported by helicopter, one to a hospital in Omaha and the other to a hospital in Kansas City.”

He said the workers were on the ground when the incident took place.

It’s the second power line injury incident in northwest Missouri we’ve reported on this week.  OSHA announced Wednesday it’s investigating after two workers of Capital Electric Line Builders were injured Monday near Union Star.

Authorities have identified the man whose body was pulled from water where a submerged vehicle was found earlier this week.

48-year-old Ezequiel Contreras-Vasques of St. Joseph has been identified by the Missouri State Highway Patrol as the individual found in water Tuesday night near Bankers Crossing just off of 59 Highway.

As we previously reported, authorities responded around 7:30 p.m. to a call of a partially submerged vehicle but when the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department arrived on scene less than 12 minutes later the vehicle was already fully submerged.

The Highway Patrol was called in to assist about 15 minutes later.  The vehicle was removed from water with no one inside.  A search of the water in the area lead to the discovery of Contreras-Vasques’s body.

The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department has previously said the Patrol is taking over the case as it appears to be a crash however the Patrol has not yet ruled it an accident.  The Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control continues to investigate.  Autopsy results are pending.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has released the names of the teenagers injured in a rollover crash south of St. Joseph Thursday morning. All of them are male and from St Joe.

Four were transported by ambulance to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of what were described as moderate injuries. They are identified as Hayden Ellison, 17, the driver; Lane Ellison, 13; Kaden Anderson, 13; and Jacob Anderson, 16.

In an online crash report, the Missouri State Highway Patrol says six teenagers were in Honda Civic that crested a hill at high speed near SE 32nd Road and SE Barnett Road at 8:19 a.m. Thursday. Traffic investigators say the vehicle careened from one side of the roadway to the other before ramming into a tree and overturning.

One of the teens was ejected in the crash. The vehicle came to rest on its top in a culvert.

Two other occupants, Jordan Anderson, 13, and Bernard Eaton, 15,suffered minor injuries but refused treatment at the scene.