Spots are still available for students to be a part of the Missouri Western State University Children’s Lifetime Sports Academy and Adventure Sports Academy next week.
Dr. Britt Johnson is with Missouri Western’s Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. Johnson said the goal of physical education is to help students find an activity they want to do for the rest of their life.
“My dad’s a great example of this, he chose golf. He just absolutely loves golf… and he’s closing in on 70 now and still plays a couple of days a week, so he’s physically active,” Johnson said. “That’s all that we want, whether it’s going out and doing hunting, going backpacking, orienteering, camping… we try to introduce students to as many activities as possible so that each student can find something that they want to do for the rest of their life.”
The Children’s Lifetime Sports Academy for children ages 8 through 12 has been offered for over 40 years. Instruction is offered from 1:30 to 5:15 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 4-8. The week includes archery, canoeing, rappelling, swimming and more. For more information or to register, click here.
The Adventure Sports Academy for students grades 6-8 started in 2015 as a way to build on the success of the Children’s Lifetime Sports Academy. Classes are offered from 1:30 to 5:15 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and from Thursday evening to Friday morning for an overnight camping experience. The week includes scuba diving, martial arts, ropes courses and more. For more information or to register, click here.
For information on either Sports Academy, call (816) 271-4491.
Veterans Memorial in Gower. Photo by Tony Gardner.
Veterans Memorial in Gower. Photo by Tony Gardner.
Veterans Memorial in Gower. Photo by Gower Mayor Chip Holman.
Veterans Memorial in Gower. Photo by Gower Mayor Chip Holman.
A dedication was held on Memorial Day for the new Gower Veterans Memorial.
Mayor Chip Holman said over 600 people attended the event to show their support for Veterans and Active Duty Service Members.
“It was just an amazing event for our town. Our American Legion, Tony Gardner, which is the gentleman who designed it and is the project manager, did an amazing job,” Holman said. “What’s even neater about this is you’re looking at a $100,000 project that was done for less than half of that because of all the volunteers, the stuff that was donated, as far as equipment, time, it was just amazing. What I like, as the mayor, is the fact that the taxpayers put very minimum into this as far as out of our budget. The city Parks Department, we bought the flags… then we laid the sod around it, other than that, this was all fundraising and it was amazing how Tony and the American Legion was able to put this together and it was just an incredible event.”
The memorial is located at 311 Railroad Avenue in Gower.
Two rounds of storms are expected today with the first entering the area early this morning. This line of storms will move toward northeast MO, weakening as it does. It should exit the area in the early afternoon. The early afternoon is also when we will see the second round of storms begin to develop. These storms should develop across central MO, with a few potentially becoming severe. Isolated wind gusts up to 60 mph and hail up to 1 inch are the main concerns right now. These storms should out of the area around sunset. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Southwest wind 5 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 65. Southwest wind around 6 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 95. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m. Increasing clouds, with a low around 70. Southeast wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Southeast wind 8 to 16 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 85.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 61.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 85.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 90.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67.
The United Way is searching for volunteers to help students maintain their reading skills throughout the summer.
United Way of Greater St. Joseph Director of Community Investment Jodi Bloemker said they are recruiting volunteers to read with small groups of school-age children in summer child care programs.
“We have a brief training just kind of (to) go over some reading tips to help prepare (volunteers). Then they would sit with a group of, typically, four or five children… and you just go around in a circle and you read together. The volunteer would take a page, the next child would take a page… and you just help them with their words, you go through the book,” Bloemker said. “The importance is keeping kids reading over the summer, because when they are out of school, a lot of kids don’t read. By bringing in these volunteers, we keep them reading over the summer to help them maintain their reading skills.”
Some sessions have started, but more volunteers are still needed as sessions run through July. Bloemker said volunteering for the United Way Reading Adventure is an easy way to volunteer.
“It’s also a great way to get youth volunteering, so we will have middle school and high school students who come and read with students, so if you’re needing to get volunteer hours as a youth, this is a great way to do it,” Bloemker said. “It’s also very easy because we’re so flexible, you sign up for whenever you are able to volunteer and you’re not committing to a long term effort.”
The Reading Adventure is a program of the United Way Profit In Education, one of the United Way’s seven initiatives. The program will be held at YMCA, Lindbergh, Hyde, Edison, Parkway, KinderCare, City REC Center, Bartlett Center, and Cathedral.
For more information on volunteering for the United Way Reading Adventure, visit stjosephunitedway.org.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Prosecutors agreed to drop one of two felony criminal cases against Missouri Gov Eric Greitens after the governor’s attorneys said he would resign if the allegations were dismissed, a spokeswoman for St. Louis’ top prosecutor said Wednesday.
A day after Greitens announced that he would step down, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said her office decided to dismiss a charge of computer data tampering following conversations with defense team for the governor, who was once a rising star in the Republican Party.
“I remain confident we have the evidence required to pursue charges against Mr. Greitens, but sometimes pursuing charges is not the right thing to do for our city or our state,” Gardner said.
A spokeswoman for Gardner’s office, Susan Ryan, said the defense approached prosecutors with an offer to resign if the case were dropped. Prosecutors agreed.
Defense attorney Jim Martin acknowledged reaching out to Gardner to resolve the issue but added, “I don’t think that’s exactly the full play.” He did not elaborate.
The charge, filed in April following an investigation by the Missouri attorney general’s office, accused Greitens of using a donor list from the veterans charity he founded, The Mission Continues, for his 2016 gubernatorial campaign.
Responding to Grietens’ past statements calling the prosecution “a witch hunt” that inflicted pain on his family, Gardener said the governor had brought the charges upon himself “by his actions, his statements, his decisions, his ambition and his pursuit for power.”
Many of Greitens’ former colleagues and friends “cooperated with our prosecution, not because they were threatened or harassed, but because it was the right thing to do,” she said.
Had the governor been convicted, she said, it was unlikely that he would be sentenced to prison, given the type of charge he faced and the fact that he would be a first-time offender.
The governor also was indicted on invasion-of-privacy charges in February in St. Louis for allegedly taking an unauthorized and compromising photo of a woman during an extramarital affair in 2015, before he was elected. The charge was dropped earlier this month, but a special prosecutor is considering whether to refile it.
The special prosecutor, Jean Peters Baker, said Tuesday that no deals have been made by her office with Greitens’ attorneys.
Martin said he expected the remaining charge to be resolved soon, but he offered no details.
“I think what folks need to know is it’s now time to leave the governor alone and let him and his family heal,” Martin said.
Greitens’ departure becomes official at 5 p.m. Friday — marking a stunning political defeat for the 44-year-old, self-made warrior-philosopher who had aspirations of someday becoming president.
For those fellow Republicans who had strenuously urged his resignation, Greitens’ exit provides the divided party a chance to reunify at the start of a summer campaign season that will include intense efforts to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.
The resignation also allows Greitens to avoid the distinction of becoming the first Missouri governor to be impeached. A House investigatory committee had subpoenaed Greitens to testify next Monday during a special monthlong session focused solely on his potential discipline.
Fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Parson — a former state lawmaker and sheriff — is to serve the remainder of Greitens’ term, which runs until January 2021.
Greitens could face other investigations. The chairman of the House investigatory committee and an attorney representing the woman’s ex-husband both have said they have shared information with FBI agents looking into the governor.
A complaint also remains pending at the Missouri Ethics Commission alleging Greitens filed a false campaign report last year about the source of the charity donor list.
On May 17, Greitens suggested to a crowd of supporters gathered for an agricultural event that he wouldn’t give up.
“No matter what they throw at me, no matter how painful they try to make it, no matter how much suffering they want to put me and my family through and my team through … we are going to step forward day after day after day, and we are going to continue in our mission to fight for the people of Missouri,” Greitens said then.
On Tuesday, Greitens remained defiant even while resigning.
“I am not perfect. But I have not broken any laws or committed any offense worthy of this treatment,” he said. “I will let the fairness of this process be judged by history.”
Greitens is a married father of two young sons who traveled the world on humanitarian missions before joining the Navy. After being wounded in Iraq, he founded a veterans’ charity and became a best-selling author and motivational speaker.
He campaigned as a political outsider in 2016, winning an expensive Republican gubernatorial primary and then defeating Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster in the general election to give Missouri Republicans control of the governor’s mansion for the first time in eight years.
The Rhodes scholar with a doctoral degree in politics had a sometimes rocky relationship with the GOP-controlled Legislature, once comparing them to third-graders and frequently denouncing them as “career politicians.”
His support in the Capitol began to unravel after the night of Jan. 10, when a St. Louis TV station aired a report featuring an audio recording secretly made by a woman’s ex-husband. In that, the woman describes how Greitens allegedly bound her hands, blindfolded her and took a compromising photo while threatening that he would distribute it if she ever spoke of their encounter. Greitens denied threatening blackmail, but hasn’t directly answered questions about whether he took the photo.
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St. Louis’ top prosecutor is pushing back against Gov. Eric Greitens’ past statements that the charges she initially filed against him were part of a coordinated “witch hunt.”
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced Wednesday that she’s dropping the computer tampering charge against Greitens, who is resigning on Friday. A special prosecutor is weighing whether to refile another criminal charge against him.
Gardner says she made the agreement to dismiss the computer charge after conversations with Greitens’ attorneys. She says there was enough evidence to bring the charge but that if he were convicted, it’s unlikely Greitens would have served any jail time due to his status as a first-time offender.
As for Greitens allegations of a witch hunt, Gardner said she rejects his “shameful personal attacks” and “dangerous and false rhetoric about the criminal justice system and the rule of law.”
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11:05 a.m.
Missouri’s top legislative leaders are meeting with Lt. Gov. Mike Parson to plan the transition in power when Gov. Eric Greitens resigns.
Parson met Wednesday with House Speaker Todd Richardson, Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard and Senate Majority Leader Mike Kehoe.
The lawmakers said they have invited Parson to deliver a speech to a joint session of the Legislature in the coming weeks.
Greitens announced Tuesday that he was resigning Friday instead of continuing to fight a criminal charge and potential impeachment proceedings over alleged sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations.
Among those meeting Wednesday with Parson was Sarah Steelman, Greitens’ administration commissioner. Parson also was receiving enhanced security that is supplied to incoming governors.
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10:40 a.m.
The prosecutor’s office in St. Louis will drop a felony charge of computer data tampering against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, now that the Republican governor has announced his resignation.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced the decision Wednesday, a day after Greitens’ surprise announcement that he would step down effective Friday afternoon.
The charge, filed in April following an investigation by the Missouri attorney general’s office, accused Greitens of using a donor list from the veterans charity he founded, The Mission Continues, for his 2016 gubernatorial campaign.
Greitens also was indicted on felony invasion of privacy in February in St. Louis, stemming from an extramarital affair in 2015. The case was dismissed earlier this month and a special prosecutor in Jackson County is still considering whether to refile the charge.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on allegations against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (all times local):
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner
7p.m.
The special prosecutor considering whether to refile an invasion of privacy charge against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says the investigation continues, even though the governor is resigning.
The Republican governor announced Tuesday that he will step down on Friday. A short time later, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said in a statement that her office had reached “fair and just resolution” on criminal charges against Greitens.
Gardner said only that more details would be released Wednesday.
A felony indictment in February accused Greitens of taking an unauthorized and compromising photo of a St. Louis woman during an extramarital affair in 2015
The charge was dropped earlier this month, but Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker was appointed special prosecutor to consider whether to refile it.
Baker says in a statement that the investigation is ongoing and will continue “until our work on the case is completed.” She says no deals have been made by her office with Greitens’ attorneys.
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6:05 p.m.
A national Republican operative says the resignation of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens could help Republicans unify before an important U.S. Senate race
Greitens announced his resignation Tuesday while facing a criminal charge and a legislative investigation that could have led to impeachment.
Some Republicans were worried that Greitens’ issues could cause problems for GOP Senate candidate and state Attorney General Josh Hawley in his challenge of Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.
But two people with close ties to Republican officials in Washington and Missouri told The Associated Press there was no coordinated effort to push Greitens out.
Senate Leadership Fund President Steven Law says Greitens resignation could help unify Missouri Republicans.
It also could free up money. Some donors had been approached recently to contribute to Greitens’ legal defense fund.
The above normal temperatures continue and are, unfortunately, expected to last for the foreseeable future. Isolated storms are possible this afternoon across central MO as the remnants of Alberto brush the area. This activity should be sub-severe. More widespread storms are possible during the day Thursday, mainly for those south of HWY 36. Some storms could become strong to severe with isolated damaging winds and hail being the main concerns right now. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. West southwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 67. Southwest wind 6 to 11 mph.
Thursday: A slight chance of showers after 1 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Southwest wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67. Southwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph in the morning.
Friday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m. Mostly clear, with a low around 72. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Saturday: A chance of showers after 1 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 64.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, a sometimes brash outsider whose unconventional resume as a Rhodes Scholar and Navy SEAL officer made him a rising star in Republican politics, abruptly announced his resignation Tuesday after a scandal involving an affair with his former hairdresser led to a broader investigation by prosecutors and state legislators.
Gov. Greitens booking photo courtesy St. Louis Police Department
The 44-year-old governor made the announcement nearly 17 months after taking the oath as Missouri’s chief executive with a pledge to root out “corrupt career politicians.” The investigations of him widened to include questions about whether he had violated the law in financing the campaign.
Greitens said his resignation would take effect Friday.
A St. Louis grand jury indicted Greitens on Feb. 22 on one felony count of invasion of privacy for allegedly taking a photo of the woman without her consent at his home in 2015, before he was elected governor. The charge was dismissed during jury selection, but a special prosecutor was considering whether to refile charges.
In April, the local St. Louis prosecutor’s office charged Greitens with another felony, alleging that he improperly used the donor list for a charity that he’d founded to raise money for his 2016 campaign.
Less than two weeks ago, the Missouri Legislature began meeting in special session to consider whether to pursue impeachment proceedings to try to oust Greitens from office.
A special House investigatory committee had subpoenaed Greitens to testify next Monday.
Greitens’ brashness alienated some GOP legislators even before his affair became public in January.
The woman’s then-husband released a secretly recorded conversation in which she described the alleged incident. The woman later told a Missouri House investigative committee that Greitens restrained, slapped, shoved and threatened her during a series of sexual encounters that at times left her crying and afraid.
Greitens said the allegations amounted to a “political witch hunt,” and vowed to stay in office. But the report’s release created a firestorm, with both Republicans and Democrats calling for his resignation.
His departure elevates fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Parson to the governor’s office.
Greitens’ administration was thrown into chaos the night of Jan. 10, when a St. Louis TV station aired a report about Greitens allegedly taking the compromising photo and threatening to blackmail the woman if she ever spoke of their encounter. The report aired shortly after Greitens delivered his State of the State address to lawmakers.
Greitens admitted to having an affair but denied any criminal wrongdoing. He said the criminal case was politically motivated and called St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, a Democrat, a “reckless liberal prosecutor.”
Lawmakers from both parties immediately began questioning whether Greitens could continue to lead the state in the wake of the scandal. The House authorized the legislative investigation a week after the indictment.
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley also launched an inquiry into a veterans charity Greitens founded. Federal law bars 501(c)(3) charities such as The Mission Continues from intervening in political campaigns on behalf of candidates.
The Associated Press first reported in October 2016 that Greitens’ campaign had obtained a list of individuals, corporations and other nonprofits that had given at least $1,000 to The Mission Continues. The AP reported that Greitens raised about $2 million from those who had previously given significant amounts to the charity.
Hawley, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, turned evidence over to Gardner, saying April 17 that he believed Greitens had broken the law. Her office charged him with tampering with computer data for allegedly disclosing the donor list without the charity’s permission.
A May 2 report from a special House investigatory committee indicated that Greitens himself received the donor list and later directed aides to work off it to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign. A former campaign aide testified that he was duped into taking the fall when the campaign tried to explain how it had gotten the list.
The invasion-of-privacy indictment stated that on March 21, 2015, Greitens photographed the woman and transmitted the photo “in a manner that allowed access to that image via a computer.”
During her testimony to the House investigative committee, the woman said Greitens invited her to his home and offered to show her “how to do a proper pull-up.” The woman said she initially thought “this is going to be some sort of sexy workout.” But once in his basement, Greitens taped her hands to pull-up rings, blindfolded her, and started kissing and disrobing her without her consent, according to her testimony.
Then she saw a flash and heard a click, like a cellphone picture, she said. The woman testified that Greitens told her: “Don’t even mention my name to anybody at all, because if you do, I’m going to take these pictures, and I’m going to put them everywhere I can. They are going to be everywhere, and then everyone will know what a little whore you are.”
Greitens, a married father of two young boys, repeatedly denied blackmailing the woman. He declined to say whether he took a photo.
Greitens, who had also served as a White House fellow and written a best-selling book, entered the 2016 gubernatorial race as a brash outsider. He won an expensive Republican primary, then defeated Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster in the general election to give Republicans control of the governor’s mansion for the first time in eight years. Some considered him a potential future presidential contender.
Republicans also controlled the Missouri House and Senate, but there were frequent clashes between lawmakers and Greitens, who compared them to third-graders and labeled them “career politicians.”
He confronted criticism from some educators and lawmakers for working to pack the State Board of Education with members who would fire the education commissioner. Greitens’ use of a secretive app that deletes messages after they’re read also sparked a review by Hawley.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Missouri Western State University Board of Governors formally approved a contract Tuesday with the Kansas City Chiefs to keep the NFL team’s training camp in St. Joseph this year.
According to a press release, the contract, which formalizes the agreement Missouri Western and the Chiefs announced in January, also includes an option for an additional one-year extension that would cover training camp in 2019.
“We are quite proud of our relationship with the Chiefs, and we’re pleased to welcome them back this summer, and we hope for many years to come,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president.
Under the agreement, the Chiefs and Missouri Western agree to cost-reducing measures related to rental equipment and labor expenses. Other conditions of the 2015 contract amendment and the original 2009 contract remain in place.
“We are pleased that the Missouri Western Board of Governors approved the contract agreement that we reached early in 2018,” Chiefs President Mark Donovan said. “The entire Missouri Western community and the city of St. Joseph have fully embraced Chiefs training camp and have provided our team with tremendous facilities and service for almost a full decade. We are very excited for the upcoming season and know our fans are going to enjoy getting their first glimpse of the 2018 team on the campus of Missouri Western this summer.”
The Chiefs have held training camp on the campus of Missouri Western every year since 2010, when the club returned its training camp to the state of Missouri for the first time in 20 years. The 2018 version of Chiefs Training Camp will mark the ninth year at Missouri Western.
The Chiefs expect to announce this year’s training camp schedule next month.
Nine people died in traffic crashes over the 2018 Memorial Day weekend.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, last year, nine people were killed during the three-day weekend. During the counting period of 6 p.m., Friday, May 25, through 11:59 p.m., Monday, May 28, 2018, the Highway Patrol investigated 294 traffic crashes which included 124 injuries and eight fatalities. Troopers also arrested 121 people for driving while intoxicated and made 102 drug arrests. During the 2017 Memorial Day holiday weekend, the Patrol investigated 345 traffic crashes which included 128 injuries and five of the nine fatalities. Over last year’s holiday weekend, troopers arrested 107 people for driving while intoxicated and made 125 drug arrests.
There were zero boating fatalities over the 2018 Memorial Day weekend. Marine operations troopers investigated 12 boating crashes involving 10 injuries. There were no drownings during the 2018 Memorial Day holiday. Marine operations troopers arrested 16 boaters for boating while intoxicated and made 29 drug arrests. There were zero boating fatalities over the 2017 Memorial Day weekend. Troopers investigated 14 boating crashes involving seven injuries. Three people drowned over last year’s Memorial Day holiday. Troopers arrested 20 people for boating while intoxicated and made six drug arrests.
Of the nine traffic crash fatalities, eight were investigated by the Patrol. Three fatalities occurred in both the Troop A, Lee’s Summit area, and the Troop C, Weldon Spring area. One fatality occurred in both the Troop D, Springfield area, and Troop H, St. Joseph area. The St. Louis County Police Department investigated the remaining fatality.
No traffic fatalities occurred on Friday, May 25, 2018, during the counting period.
Five people died in traffic crashes on Saturday, May 26, 2018. Kristen D. Moore, 18, of Independence died when a possible vehicle defect caused the vehicle to skid and travel off the right side of the roadway. The vehicle overturned multiple times and came to rest on the grassy embankment. Moore and three passengers were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, they were all ejected from the vehicle. The three passengers sustained serious injuries in the crash. A fourth passenger was wearing a seat belt and was not ejected. The fourth passenger sustained serious injuries. The crash occurred in Saline County on Interstate 70 at the 68-mile marker. RN Michele Duckett pronounced Moore deceased at Centerpoint Medical Center. The Sweet Springs Police Department and the Saline County Sheriff’s Department also responded to the scene of the crash.
Jerald R. McDaniel, 38, of Bethany died when the motorcycle he was riding began skidding, overturned, crossed the center line, and came to rest off the west side of the roadway. McDaniel was ejected from the motorcycle and came to rest off the east side of the roadway. The Harrison County coroner pronounced McDaniel dead at the scene. The crash occurred in Harrison County on southbound Interstate 35 at the 98.8-mile marker, north of Bethany. The Harrison County Sheriff’s Department and NTA Ambulance also responded to the scene.
Christopher H. Kent, 48, of St. Louis and Anthony J. Nolda, 62, of St. Louis died when the vehicle Kent was driving traveled off the right side of the road and struck a mailbox, then re-entered the roadway, traveled off the left side of the road, overturned, and struck a utility pole. Neither Kent nor Nolda were wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. Sullivan EMS personnel pronounced Kent deceased at the scene. Dr. Kunkel pronounced Nolda deceased at Missouri Baptist Hospital. The crash occurred in Franklin County on westbound Missouri Route W east of Twin Springs Road. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department also responded to the scene.
Alan Landis, 79, of St. Louis died when another vehicle struck the motorized scooter he was operating. Landis was ejected from the motorized scooter. He was pronounced dead at Mercy South Hospital. The other driver was not injured in the crash; he was wearing his seat belt. The crash occurred in St. Louis County near the intersection of Telegraph Road and Barracksview Road. The St. Louis County Police Department investigated the crash.
Three people died in traffic crashes on Sunday, May 27, 2018. Charles W. Ridenour, 48, of Cadet died when the vehicle he was driving crossed the center line and struck another vehicle head-on. Ridenour was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The driver of the second vehicle was not injured; he was not wearing a seat belt. A passenger in the second vehicle sustained minor injuries in the crash; she was wearing a seat belt. Dr. Michael Kutmas pronounced Ridenour deceased at Washington County Memorial Hospital. The crash occurred in Washington County on Missouri Highway 21 south of Thomlinson Road.
Ruth King, 88, of Wichita, KS, died when the driver of the vehicle in which she was a passenger went off the roadway into the median, crossed the roadway, struck an embankment, and overturned. King was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The driver was not wearing a seat belt; he sustained serious injuries in the crash. The crash occurred in Lawrence County on Interstate 44 west of Halltown. Dr. Courtney Beard pronounced King deceased at Mercy Hospital.
Larry G. Kelly, 75, of Kansas City, KS, died when the driver of a second vehicle crossed into the path of Kelly’s vehicle and struck its front. Kelly was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. AMR EMS Paramedic James Dir pronounced Kelly dead at the scene. The driver of the second vehicle was not wearing a seat belt; she sustained serious injuries in the crash. A passenger in the second vehicle was wearing a seat belt; she sustained serious injuries in the crash. The crash occurred in Platte County on Missouri Highway 9 after Riss Lake Drive. The Parkville Police Department also responded to the scene.
One person was pronounced dead due to a traffic crash on May 28, 2018. Richard Watson, 23, died when the motorcycle he was riding traveled off the right side of the roadway and overturned. Watson was ejected from the motorcycle and came to rest in some trees. The crash occurred in Ray County westbound on Missouri Highway 210 after Missouri Highway EE. It is unknown what day or time the crash occurred; Watson was reported missing on May 28. Ray County Coroner Bart William pronounced Watson deceased May 28 at the scene. The Ray County Sheriff’s Department also responded to the scene.
We will get a break from the storms for part of the day today, but storm chances return late afternoon through the overnight hours. A storm or two could become strong to severe with hail and damaging winds being the main concerns. Storm chances continue for Wednesday and Thursday as well, with some potential for strong to severe storms Thursday. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Light southeast wind increasing to 9 to 14 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.
Tonight: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Southeast wind 5 to 14 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 89. Light south southwest wind becoming west southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67. Southwest wind 5 to 8 mph.
Thursday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. South southwest wind 3 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 93.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Spots are still available for students to be a part of the Missouri Western State University Children’s Lifetime Sports Academy and Adventure Sports Academy next week.
