Bayer has donated nine acres needed for the construction a new interchange in Buchanan County, the last piece in the puzzle that will allow for new access off Highway 36 for the development of the Ag Expo.

“Through the donation of these nine acres, Bayer aims to help the region accelerate its economic growth and continue its central role in agriculture and animal health,” says Ian Spinks, president and general manager, Bayer HealthCare Animal Health.

The interchange will be located about a mile east of Riverside Road and serve the Ag-Expo and 36 corridors. Ag Expo has worked with Bayer to secure the right of way needed for the project, and Sharon Cornelius, Expo president, explains this is a big win for the area. “This new interchange will not only grant easy access for the Ag Expo but help relieve congestion at the Riverside exit. We are thankful for Bayer’s support, and excited about what this endeavor means for the community.”

This will be first new interchange in Northwest Missouri in several years, and is part of an economic development grant from Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDot). The bid letting for the interchange, which is a folded diamond design and includes a stylized overpass, will take place on Jan. 22, 2016.

Construction should begin soon after, and Ag Expo is planning a ground-breaking event to celebrate this milestone.
The Agri-Business Expo Center aims to celebrate agriculture and improve the quality of life in the region. The Center will be a multi-use campus focused on agriculture, commerce, entertainment, cultural activities and educational interests. A gathering place in the heart of America, Ag Expo Center will host conventions, youth activities, trade shows, concerts, exhibitions, etc., and have an annual impact of $54 million.

A St. Joseph man has been charged in connection with an attempted robbery at US Oil Monday morning.

Henry Burney, 61 is charged in Buchanan County with a felony for unlawful use of weapon.

According to court documents, Burney pointed a gun to a woman at the convenience store located at 601 South 22nd Street and made a statement that made her fear for his life.

“Stating ‘you know what I want and I’m gonna get it,” said Det. Davis with the St. Joseph Police Department. “According to the victim, the defendant then pulled a black handgun from his left breast pocket and pointed it at her.  He then placed the handgun back into his pocket. He previously told the victim that he ‘had just shot up his wife’s house.'”

Davis said the victim told responding officers she was in fear for her life.

“The defendant was taken into custody on the parking lot, and was found to be highly intoxicated,” Davis said. “A black handgun was recovered from the defendants vehicle.”

Burney has a criminal history that includes arrests for DWI.

He is currently being held on $25,000 bond. An arraignment is set for Jan. 5.

A Grant City man is accused of giving a 15-year-old a ride to and from St. Joseph while under the influence of drugs.

Jason Spainhower, 46 is charged in Andrew County with a felony for possession of marijuana, and misdemeanors for vehicular endangering the welfare of a child, DWI, unlawful use of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana.

According to court documents just after midnight on Monday Andrew County Investigator Grant Gillett said he pulled over an SUV driven by Spainhower on U.S. Highway 169 at County Road 243.

“I followed the vehicle for approximately three miles and the vehicle traveled from 35 MPH to 55 MPH crossing the painted yellow center line 10 times and the driver was applying his brakes very often while traveling down the roadway,” Gillett said. “While speaking to Jason I noticed his tongue was white in color his eyes were bloodshot and his speech was very slurred. I asked Jason if he had been drinking and he stated ‘no’. I asked if he had been using narcotics and he paused and stated ‘today or what do you mean’. I asked if he had used drugs today and he again paused and refused to answer.”

Gillett said Spainhower refused to perform a field sobriety test and kept reaching for his jeans pocket.

“Thinking Jason possible has a weapon I placed him into cuffs and patted him down. I felt something in his pocket and asked what it was. Jason stated ‘I don’t know but you can look’. I removed a plastic container that had what appeared to be white in color crystal substance inside the container. I then advised Jason of his Miranda Rights,” Gillett said. “I asked Jason what was in the container and he stated ‘a bag of meth earlier that I used at my house.'”

A search of the vehicle led the the discovery of a plastic bag with marijuana and a metal pipe according to Gillett.

Also, Gillett said a 15-year-old boy unrelated to Spainhower was in the vehicle at the time.

“Stated that they went to St. Joseph and while on the way home Jason was acting funny and was having a hard time driving,” Gillett said. “He stated that Jason kept stating he was looking for a stop sign on the roadway that is why he was all over the road and kept hitting his brakes.”

The teen was released into the custody of his mother.

An arraignment in the case was held Tuesday and a case review has been scheduled for Jan. 12.

    A Kentucky man was sentenced in federal court yesterday for traveling to Missouri for illicit sex with a 15-year-old girl.  He was also changed with attempting to entice a second child victim for sex.

Saint Joseph police and the FBI investigated.

53 year old Marvin Herren of Owensboro, Kentucky,  was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Herren to a lifetime of supervised release following incarceration.

Herren admitted traveling to Missouri with the intent to engage in illicit sex with a minor and to attempting to use the Internet to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Herren initially contacted the child victim through social media on March 1, 2014. After a few days of communicating through social media, Herren began asking her questions of a sexual nature and they exchanged nude photos of themselves.

Herren drove from Kentucky to Missouri and met the girl and her friend at a restaurant near her high school. He drove them back to the high school, at which time her friend left them. Herren parked near the school and he and the girl engaged in illicit sexual activity in the back seat of his car.

In May 2014, while investigating allegations by the first girl, an FBI special agent assumed an undercover identity on Facebook of a female named “Jenny.” Although Herren was aware of the federal investigation related to the first girl, he began communicating with the undercover agent.

Herren made arrangements to meet “Jenny” at a Kansas City, Mo., restaurant. When he arrived at approximately midnight on Jan. 23, 2015, he was placed under arrest.

A Missouri Western State University Student has been charged in connection with a shooting Christmas Eve at Broadmoor Apartments that sent his twin brother to the hospital.

Cori Smith, 32 is charged in Buchanan County with a felony for Unlawful Use of Weapon.

As we previously reported, police responded around 12:30 a.m. Thursday to Broadmoor Apartments after an argument led to a shooting.

“Pointed a semi automatic handgun at the victim and shot multiple rounds from that weapon at the victim, striking once in each leg,” Det. Frank Till said in a probable cause statement. “The victim and the defendant are twin brothers.”

The victim was taken to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of what police described as non-life threatening injuries.

Court documents said Smith is a student at Missouri Western State University but is not from St. Joseph.

Smith is out on $25,000 bond.  An arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.

 

With a winter storm warning in place drivers are being advised to check road conditions before heading out the door.

The National Weather Service said the winter storm warning will remain in effect for northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas until 9 p.m.  Periods of snow, fleet and freezing rain are anticipated to continue through much of the day before coming to an end later this evening. The weather service has updated its snow and ice amounts to bring the heavier snow amounts a bit further south toward St. Joseph, Atchison and Bethany, where 4″ to 6″ of snow and sleet could fall. A band of icing was also anticipated to occur from the KC metro northeast toward Chillicothe and Milan. However, the potential is there for quite a bit of sleet to fall, and if too much sleet falls these snow and ice amounts will go down. Areas that see more than a tenth of an inch of ice could see tree damage and power outages due to very gusty winds later tonight.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is urging drivers to check road conditions using MoDOT’s traveler information map before heading out.  CLICK HERE to see the latest.

 

…Winter Storm Watch In Effect From Sunday Evening Through Late Monday Night…
The National Weather Service In Kansas City/pleasant Hill Has Issued A Winter Storm Watch…Which Is In Effect From Sunday Evening Through Late Monday Night.
* Snow And Freezing Rain Are Possible From Sunday Evening Through Late Monday Night.
* Total Snow Accumulations Of Up To 7 Inches And Ice Accumulations Of 2/10 Of An Inch Are Possible.
* Significant Reductions In Visibility Are Possible.
* The Ice Could Result In Difficult Travel Conditions.
Precautionary/preparedness Actions…
A Winter Storm Watch Means There Is A Potential For Significant Snow…Sleet…Or Ice Accumulations That May Impact Travel.
Continue To Monitor The Latest Forecasts.

Counties included: ATCHISON KS-MIAMI-LINN KS-DONIPHAN-LEAVENWORTH-WYANDOTTE-
JOHNSON KS-ATCHISON MO-NODAWAY-WORTH-GENTRY-HARRISON-MERCER-
PUTNAM-SCHUYLER-HOLT-ANDREW-DE KALB-DAVIESS-GRUNDY-SULLIVAN-
BUCHANAN-CLINTON-CALDWELL-LIVINGSTON-PLATTE-CLAY-RAY-JACKSON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…ATCHISON…PAOLA…MOUND CITY…TROY…
LEAVENWORTH…KANSAS CITY KS…OVERLAND PARK…OLATHE…TARKIO…
ROCKPORT…MARYVILLE…GRANT CITY…ALBANY…STANBERRY…
BETHANY…PRINCETON…UNIONVILLE…LANCASTER…DOWNING…OREGON…
SAVANNAH…CAMERON…GALLATIN…JAMESPORT…TRENTON…MILAN…
GREEN CITY…ST. JOSEPH…PLATTSBURG…KINGSTON…HAMILTON…
POLO…CHILLICOTHE…PARKVILLE…PLATTE CITY…WESTON…LIBERTY…
EXCELSIOR SPRINGS…RICHMOND…KANSAS CITY…INDEPENDENCE

The Kansas City Aviation Department is anticipating one of its biggest travel days this year to bring in thousands Sunday.

During the 2015/16 winter holiday KCI anticipated to will serve more than 509,000 passengers on 4,780 arrivals and departures. Sunday is one of the peak days that will see approximately 37,000 travelers in and out of KCI.

Consistent with historical patterns, the lightest travel days were expected to be Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The total number of revenue passengers boarding aircraft in scheduled service volumes are expected to range from 1.9 million to 2.4 million during the 17-day period, with the busiest days seeing more than 10 percent more passengers than the average day in 2015.

The other busiest travel days were Sunday, January 3; Friday, December 18, and Wednesday, December 23, respectively.

Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, projects that 38.1 million passengers will fly on U.S. airlines during the 17-day period from Friday, December 18 through Sunday, January 3. That is an increase of more than three percent or approximately 73,000 more travelers nationwide each of those days from the comparable period a year ago. Last year, 36.9 million customers were estimated to have traveled by air. A4A projects that 12 percent of those traveling will be on international flights.

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office says scammers are working overtime around the Holiday trying to steal identities and money.

“Many residents have reported over the last two weeks about being contacted by several known scams about verifying credit card information to being sued by the IRS, which we have reported to you in the past,” said Sheriff Steve Cox.

He said scammers are hitting people up over the Christmas season.

“People are in a hurry, more giving, and more likely to have been using their credit or debit cards,” Cox said.

As of Thursday the office did not have anyone reporting they have been victimized.

“Most everyone has been quick to realize they were speaking with a criminal,” Cox said. “If you do become a victim and lose money, please report that to your local law enforcement agency.”

One man was injured in a shooting early this morning at the Broadmoor Apartments in Saint Joseph.

Police Sergeant Brett Kelly says the incident began as an argument between two men in an apartment in Building D.  The argument became an altercation that led to a shooting shortly before 12:30 am.

Sergeant Kelly says the victim was shot at least once and was taken to Mosaic Life Care for treatment of injuries that appeared to be non-life-threatening.

A suspect was taken into custody and booked for investigation of domestic violence.  Police are not looking for any other suspects.  The investigation continues.