JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Conservation Commission approved recommendations by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) at the Commission’s December meeting for 2019-2020 turkey-hunting and deer-hunting season dates.

2019 SPRING AND FALL TURKEY HUNTING DATES

• Spring Youth Portion: April 6 and 7
• Regular Spring Turkey Season: April 15 through May 5
• Fall Firearms Turkey Season: Oct. 1 – 31

2019 – 2020 ARCHERY DEER AND TURKEY HUNTING DATES

• Sept. 15 through Nov. 15 and Nov. 27 through Jan. 15, 2020

2019 – 2020 FIREARMS DEER HUNTING DATES

• Firearms Deer Early Youth Portion: Nov. 2 and 3
• Firearms Deer November Portion: Nov. 16 – 26
• Firearms Deer Late Youth Portion: Nov. 29 through Dec. 1
• Firearms Deer Antlerless Portion: Dec. 6 – 8
• Firearms Deer Alternative Methods Portion: Dec. 28 through Jan. 7, 2020

Details on hunting regulations, harvest limits, allowed methods, required permits, and other related information will be available in MDC’s “2019 Spring Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information” and MDC’s “2019 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information” booklets. Both will be available where permits are sold prior to the related seasons.

Learn more about deer and turkey hunting in Missouri at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov.

Buy Missouri hunting permits from numerous vendors around the state, online at mdc.mo.gov/buypermits, or through MDC’s free mobile apps, MO Hunting and MO Fishing, available for download through Google Play for Android devices or the App Store for Apple devices.

– MDC News Release –

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is asking motorists to make safety a priority this holiday season.

Last year, there were 1,618 traffic crashes during the Christmas counting period. In those crashes, seven people were killed and another 541 were injured. During the 2017 Christmas holiday, troopers arrested 92 people for driving while impaired.

The patrol said a few things you can do to improve traffic safety this holiday season are to check your vehicle before you travel to ensure that it is in good working condition, to make sure you are well rested before driving to your destination, no matter how short the distance and to keep an eye on the weather. Above all, they ask that you obey all traffic laws, be a courteous driver, and drive sober.

Remember: Holiday drivers will affect traffic patterns. Check the weather forecast and plan accordingly. The Road Condition Report number is 1-888-275-6636. Allow extra time to reach your destination and obey all traffic laws.

The 2018 Christmas holiday counting period begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, December 21, 2018, and ends at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, December 25, 2018.

If faced with a traffic emergency, motorists can contact the Missouri State Highway Patrol at 1-800-525-5555 or *55 on a cellular phone. This emergency number will ring into the nearest Highway Patrol headquarters. Motorists should use this number if they are in a traffic crash, witness a crash or crime, or observe a stranded motorist in need of assistance, or other traffic emergencies.

CAMERON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a Cameron man who is accused of threatening to shoot President Donald Trump and a Missouri sheriff had 30 firearms in his home when he was arrested.

Forty-two-year-old Christopher Kelley was charged Wednesday with possessing a firearm despite a domestic violence order of protection.

Federal charging documents say Kelley talked about killing the Clinton County sheriff and the president in October while at the county courthouse. He subsequently was banned from possessing weapons and denied having any when officers went to his home Monday. But after telling a witness he “might hurt somebody,” police obtained a search warrant. They found multiple shotguns, handguns and several M1 .30-caliber rifles.

Charging documents describe Kelley as a veteran with PTSD.

The 2018 St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce Shop St. Joseph program winner may be using some of the $10,000 grand prize to purchase a much-needed new furnace.

Lindsay Verbick, 40, is an avid shopper at Consentino’s Price Chopper, where the award was given.

“I go to Price Chopper every day,” Verbick said. “If it’s not for a few groceries, it’s to go to the in-store Starbucks.”

According to a press release from the Chamber, the married mother of a 9-year-old son works and volunteers at her son’s school. She was PTA Volunteer of the Year at Oak Grove Elementary School last year. An avid shopper who loves to buy local, she said she jokes that she volunteers so much “to keep me out of the stores.”

However, most of the $10,000 prize winnings will not be going into a shopping spree. The day before the Shop St. Joseph drawing, she asked on Facebook if Santa brought furnaces for Christmas.

“Tuesday morning, our furnace went out,” she said. “Luckily, it’s been on the warmer side, but that is a huge expense that we weren’t expecting.”

Her Shop St. Joseph ticket was verified as the official ticket at the St. Joseph Chamber office Wednesday night. The winning ticket was in the middle of a long string of other tickets.

“What’s funny is, I didn’t even want to go shopping that night, but we were out of milk and really needed groceries,” Verbick said. “I’m really glad now that I went!”

After the furnace is paid for, she hopes to do something fun for her family with anything remaining.

Shop St. Joseph is in its 11th year. Dozens of second chance prizes are also being awarded. Click here to see the list.

The Shop St. Joseph grand prize was claimed, but there are still chances for more prizes with second chance numbers.

If shoppers have a winning ticket for a second chance prize they must go to the store where they got the ticket to claim their prize.

Winners have 30 days to claim the prize.

Click here to view the list.

St. Joseph Transit riders can now purchase bus passes with their smartphone.

Token Transit is a free app that allows riders to purchase their bus passes on their smart phones using a credit or debit card. The app displays a digital pass on the phone’s screen, eliminating the need for a paper pass. It also eliminates the need to purchase a monthly pass at a specific time.

“Right now, you buy it and it expires at the end of the month, regardless of whether you bought it on the first or the 21st of the month,” Bruce Woody, St. Joseph City Manager, said. “This new system, once you buy a 30-day pass, it’s good for 31 days from the date you purchase it, so you get the maximum use of your pass.”

In addition to monthly bus passes, customers may purchase single ride tickets, 10-Ride Ticket Books, and Deviations with the app. The app also allows customers who are eligible for a discounted fare (seniors, disabled, and youth riders) to purchase their discounted fares on their smartphone. 

“This app makes paying the bus fare much more convenient,” Andy Clements, Director of Public Works and Transportation said. “We encourage any customer with a smartphone to try it… there is a fifty percent discount for the customer’s first purchase using the app.”

The app is being used by over 50 transit systems around the country, including Springfield Utilities in southern Missouri.

Go to: tokentransit.com to get the app, or search for it in the Apple or Google Play stores.

(UPDATE 7:28 p.m.) – The grand prize Shop St. Joseph winning ticket number 0457129 has been claimed.

A check presentation will be at Price Chopper Thursday afternoon.

Shoppers are encouraged to keep their tickets as second-chance prize numbers will be released Thursday.

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The winning number for the Shop St. Joseph Holiday Program is: 0457129

The shopper with the winning ticket has 24 hours to come forward to claim the $10,000 prize. Shoppers are urged to keep their tickets because if the winner hasn’t come forward by 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, another number will be announced. This process will continue at 5 p.m. on weekdays until a winner comes forward with the correct ticket.

The winner must call the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce at (816) 232-4461 during business hours or (816) 261-3610 after business hours to arrange a time to verify the ticket. He or she must come to the Chamber office at 3003 Frederick Ave. before 5 p.m. Thursday to claim the prize.

The winner must be 18 or older. Proof of age, Social Security number, home address and place of employment (if applicable) is required to claim the prize. Chamber of Commerce staff, Chamber officers and their immediate family members (dependents living at the same address) are not eligible to win the grand prize. Participating business owners, managers and employees are eligible to win, with the exception of tickets distributed through their own place of business (including other participating locations).

The winner will be responsible for any applicable taxes.

This is the program’s 11th year and almost 1.9 million tickets were distributed this year, which is the most in program history. In 2017, 1.8 million were distributed, in comparison to 400,000 in 2007.

There were 120 merchants this year compared to 108 last year. In 2007, there were 59 merchants.