ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work in the Northwest Missouri region planned for the week of Jan. 21 – 27 from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

MoDOT reminds the public to stay alert, watch for road work, buckle up, slow down, and drive with extreme caution through work zones and in changing weather conditions.

For more information about a project, please contact MoDOT at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest. You can also follow MoDOT’s Northwest Missouri District on Twitter @ModotNorthwest and on Facebook.

Atchison County

U.S. Routes 136 and 59 – Pothole patching, Jan. 21 – 25

Buchanan County

U.S. Route 59 – Pothole patching from U.S. Route 45 to the city limits of St. Joseph, Jan. 22 – 24

Grundy County

U.S. Route 65 – Shoulder work just north of Trenton, Jan. 22 – 25

Holt County

Interstate-29 – Pothole patching from mile marker 84 (near Mound City) to mile marker 65 (near U.S. Route 59), Jan. 22 – 25

I-29 – Bridge maintenance in the southbound lanes at the Nodaway River Bridge, Jan. 22 – 25. This may include around the clock lane closures.

Linn County

U.S. Route 36 – Pothole patching from the Macon County line to Route 139, Jan. 22 – 25

Sullivan County

Route 139 – CLOSED at the Newtown Branch Bridge for a bridge replacement project. The contractor plans to have work completed mid-March, weather permitting. For more information, click here.

Route PP – CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE at the East Medicine Creek Bridge after a regularly scheduled inspection revealed critical deterioration to the structure. The bridge is currently scheduled for replacement in fiscal year 2020.

Worth County

Route YY – CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE at the Middle Fork of the Grand River after a regularly scheduled inspection revealed critical deterioration to the structure. The bridge is currently scheduled for replacement in fiscal year 2021. For more information, visit the project’s web page.

Free health screenings and information on health and wellness services will be available at the 12th Annual Health and Fitness Fair in Maryville.

Rita Miller is the Community Relations and Development Manager at SSM Health St. Francis Hospital in Maryville. Miller said they developed a partnership with Maryville Parks and Rec to put on the health fair each year.

“We’re always hoping that our residents in the area understand they just need to get up and move and see what services and products might be available to them to help achieve some of their health goals,” Miller said. “We know that obesity and heart disease are the two key areas in our community that need to be addressed and we’re hoping that some of those individuals that may be having some concerns about those disease conditions in their lives might come out and see what we might have available to achieve some goals.”

At the health fair, free screenings will be offered for blood pressure, lung capacity and  finger-stick cholesterol and glucose.

“It gives people the opportunity to check and see where their health is… so they can maybe set some goals for the rest of the year,” Miller said.

Anyone planning to take part in the blood draw is asked to fast for at least 8 hours (no food or drink except water). The blood screening will be limited to the first 100 participants and will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Miller said there will be 25 to 30 vendors at the fair including Advanced Dermatology, Curves,  Lettuce Dream, the University of Missouri Extension and Rogers Pharmacy, a sponsor of the health fair. There will also be free samples and giveaways, door prizes and a bounce house for kids.

The Health & Fitness Fair will be held from 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, January 26, at the Maryville Community Center, 1407 N. Country Club Road.

The St. Joseph Police Department released its Crime Analysis Report for 2018 which showed a decrease in total number of crimes reported.

There were 11,715 crimes reported in 2018 compared to 12,112 in 2017.

According to the report (see below), total crime represents all offenses including status offenses, lesser included offenses under Incident Based Reporting and police productivity crimes.

In February 2018, the St. Joseph Police Department switched over to Incident Based Reporting, which St. Joseph Police Chief Chris Connally said the whole country will be switched to by 2020. The switch was made from Uniform Crime Reporting, which has been the reporting system since the 1920s. Connally said Uniform Crime Report is based on a hierarchy.

“If you had an incident with multiple crimes, for example, a burglary that involved an assault and a large destruction of property, it used to be, that was recorded in a hierarchy, that would have just been reported as the highest crime, it would have been reported as one burglary,” Connally said. “Under Incident Based Reporting… that’s reported as a separate burglary, a separate assault and a separate destruction of property, they’re called ‘Lesser Included Offenses’ now. So it creates a different picture.”

Connally said there are several encouraging things in the report including a 26% decrease in stolen vehicles.

“We had 200 less cars stolen this year… and that’s less than both the last two years, but it’s still way too many for a community of our size. That’s an area of crime that, really, with the help of the community, we can have a lot bigger impact on that. Just last week, we had four vehicles stolen that had the keys in the car and the car running.”

Connally said with all the crimes reported, the underlying cause is an issue.

“Alcohol, drug addiction, mental health issues, a lot of these are the root causes of crime and these are a lot of the issues that we need to work in,” Connally said. “I’ve seen a lot of great response from our community in these areas, we have the opioid task force, we’ve got some new treatment centers.”

One of the increases in reported crimes was in the area of aggravated assault, which could include someone being shot, someone with broken bones or some type of serious injury.

“Those were up by six, which doesn’t sound like a huge number, but the fact is, it’s too many,” Connally said. “What’s significant about that is, last year’s aggravated assaults, 47% were domestic related, in other words, involved some type of intimate family relationship or relationship by child. This year, 58% were domestic related… that’s something that we also need to work on. When we go to domestics and domestic assaults, we try to provide information on resources that are available and we need to keep pushing that as well.”

 

The St. Joseph Police Department’s 2018 Annual Crime Summary:

There were six homicides reported in 2018, compared to eight in 2017.

There were 36 rapes reported in 2018, which is the same number reported in 2017.

There were 63 robberies reported in 2018, compared to 97 in 2017.

Aggravated Assault – 280 aggravated assaults were reported in 2018, compared to 274 in 2017. Of the aggravated assaults reported in 2018, 58% were domestic related, compared to 47% in 2017.

Violent crime – Violent Part I crime was down 7% for 2018, compared to 2017, with 386 crimes reported. In 2017, 415 rimes were reported.

Arson – 12 arsons were reported in 2018, compared to 15 in 2017.

Burglary – 723 burglaries were reported in 2018, compared to 751 in 2017.

Stealing – 3,436 stealing offenses were reported in 2018, compared to 3,666 in 2017.

Motor vehicle theft – There was a 26% decrease in motor vehicle thefts in 2018, with 574 thefts reported. In 2017, 781 thefts were reported.

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Registration is now open for employers and graduate schools interested in meeting and networking with prospective employees during Northwest Missouri State University’s spring Career Day.

According to a press release, Northwest will host Career Day from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, at the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse. Career Day focuses on internship and full-time employment opportunities in a variety of different employment sectors.

Early bird registration is $100 for Career Day; the cost increases to $125 after Feb. 6. Registration is free for secondary schools; government and non-profit entities may register for a reduced rate of $75. Employers may register for the Career Day by clicking here.

“Career Day is a wonderful opportunity to connect students with potential opportunities and to connect employers with our career ready Bearcats,” Jill Brown, Northwest’s director of partnerships and placement, said.

At Northwest, 97 percent of bachelor’s degree earners and 99 percent of master’s degree earners secure employment or continue their education within six months of graduation, according to the most recent data. Zippia, a career website, has named Northwest the best college in Missouri for getting a job.

For more information about Career Day, Education Expo or any of the available services at Career Services contact (660) 562-1250 or www.nwmissouri.edu/career.

A developing storm system is expected to emerge out of the southern Rockies and track across northern Texas into Arkansas later Friday through early Saturday morning.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), widespread snow is expected across the region with heaviest snow accumulations over northern Missouri and far northeastern Kansas. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 8 inches are expected.

A Winter Storm Warning for snow means severe winter weather conditions will make travel very hazardous or impossible. The NWS says if you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.

Several schools in the area are dismissing early Friday due to the expected winter weather. Click here for a full list.

The St. Joseph School District will dismiss classes two hours early on Friday.

According to the school district, the early dismissal is due to the winter weather expected Friday afternoon.