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Temps in the 50s today, cooler over the weekend

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Mostly sunny skies today with temperatures finally closer to normal. It won’t last long though, thanks to another cold front moving through Saturday. High temperatures tomorrow will occur in the morning and will gradually drop during the afternoon. It is going to be a little breezy as well, making it feel more like the teens and 20s in the afternoon and evening. Flurries/light snow is also possible tomorrow into Sunday morning. Accumulations up to 0.5” of snow is possible for those along and north of HWY 36, with up to a dusting possible for those south of HWY 36. The light snow should end early Sunday morning, with it still feeling like the teens outside. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today: Sunny, with a high near 53. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 32. Light and variable wind becoming northwest 5 to 8 mph after midnight.

Saturday: A slight chance of snow after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 36. North wind 9 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday Night: A chance of snow, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. North wind 7 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 36. North wind 5 to 7 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 23.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 47.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 26.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 45.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 52.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 35.

Thanksgiving Day: Sunny, with a high near 56.

Andrew County teen hospitalized after 2-vehicle crash

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ANDREW COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 9p.m. Thursday in Andrew County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Honda Accord driven by Camden M Cox, 16, Savannah, was northbound on U.S. 59 two miles north of Country Club.

The driver reported he swerved to miss an animal and overcorrected. The Honda slid into the path of a northbound 2005 Dodge Ram driven by Anthony M. Johnson, 27, St. Joseph, who was slowing to make a left turn on Country Club.

A private vehicle transported Cox to Mosaic Life Care. Johnson was not injured. Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.

Crews setting up for 37th year of Holiday Park

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Holiday Park
File Photo

Preparation for Holiday Park is well underway in St. Joseph with a little over a week left until opening day.

Work starts about eight weeks before opening day with crews checking wires and lights to see what needs replaced or fixed.

This will be the 37th year of Holiday Park. St. Joseph Parks, Recreation & Civic Facilities Assistant Director Jeff Atkins said the East Hills Optimist Club came to the Director of Parks at the time and asked if the club and volunteers could turn Krug Park into a holiday display.

“The community had been used to having the Candy Cane Lane area on Gene Field decorated and, the families there, it had just gotten too big for them to do and they had to quit doing their display. So for quite a few years, St. Joseph didn’t have an organized Christmas display and their goal was to bring that back,” Atkins said. “So they started this 37 years ago and now here we are, each year we get a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger. Our crowds keep growing a little bit, we’re up to right around 90,000 people a year will drive through the park during the month and look at our lights.”

Because of the growing number of people visiting Holiday Park each year, Atkins said they have set up another line at the park’s exit.

“Everybody has to stop, of course, get their free Cherry Mash and we do take collections. The local Optimist Clubs volunteer their time and… the money they collect is what funds the next year’s park,” Atkins said. “The last three or four years, the City has been contributing because we’ve had to make a change over from our incandescent lighting to the new LED lighting. They are a little bit more expensive, so the City is contributing money while we’re making this transition… but pretty much it’s the pennies, the nickels, the dimes, the dollars that people drop in at the end is what funds the park for years to come.”

Atkins said over the years they have always tried to add something new to Holiday Park whether it be big or small. This year, Atkins said they have added to the Holiday Express train next to Santa and the reindeer and are making some changes to the 12 Days of Christmas display.

Holiday Park file photo by Sarah Thomack.

“We still want to keep the Christmas feel, but we’re trying to design our displays now so they’re just a little bit more durable and a little bit easier to maintain,” Atkins said. “The Christmas lights at times are so fragile and… we’re just trying to come up with more durable designs and the 12 Days of Christmas will be our first attempt at that for this year.”

Atkins said with the increasing number of people visiting each year, the popularity of Holiday Park is growing across the state.

“We were just recently mentioned in an article in a Jefferson City magazine. They publish a monthly magazine for their city, and we were picked as the number two destination to come and view holiday lights this year,” Atkins said. “They’re suggesting that their people drive from Jeff City to come up and enjoy our light display, so that made us feel real good, made us proud of that.”

Holiday Park will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. starting Friday, Nov. 23rd, and each night through January 1st.

Brief: Topeka Tiger Cub Pics; KS Dem on Investigating Trump; Nov Weather Trends

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How will the new U.S. House of Representative members act toward Trump?

“I feel like that’s a pretty in the weeds question,” the Kansas Democrat said.

…

Davids said she believes she got “elected because I’m willing to work in a bipartisan way to actually get things done and that when Congress needs to be a check on the executive branch that will happen.”

 

Former Missouri Governor Eric Greteins barred concealed firearms two years ago.

Parson’s administration has proposed a rule change that would make it clear that guns are allowed, as long as they are not brought into the House or Senate chambers or into committee meetings.

The issue has been in limbo since the 2017 transition from former Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, to Greitens, a Republican.

 

Who is responsible for Kansas voters’ data loss?

Schmidt’s office argues that the U.S. Supreme Court “has never held that there is a constitutional right to prevent government disclosure of private information” and that Kobach is legally immune from a lawsuit. The ACLU is suing Kobach as an individual and in his official capacity as the state’s top elections official.

Lauren Bonds, the legal director for the ACLU of Kansas, said even if sensitive information isn’t constitutionally protected from disclosure, its release “was still reckless and extremely harmful to the voters who have had their information exposed.”

 

A bad joke?

“I don’t want you to think I’m picking on you, because, we’re part of the master race,” Klemp told Penelton, as he brought his fingers to his own teeth. “You know you got a gap in your teeth, you’re the masters, don’t ever forget that.”

Klemp told KSHB-TV off camera that his comment was a joke.

 

Weather stays on the cool side.

 

Cute cats, specifically, Sumatran tiger cubs:

 

Brief is a roundup from St. Joe Post and around the web. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Missouri unemployment ties for record low

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri’s unemployment rate has hit a tied record low.

Data released Thursday from the Department of Economic Development show the state’s unemployment rate tied for a record low of 3.1 percent in October.

Since data started being tracked in 1976, the only other time unemployment was so low was from October 1999 to January 2000.

The unemployment rate edged down slightly from 3.2 percent in September.

Seasonally adjusted employment went up by more than 6,000 jobs from September to October. It’s up by close to 33,000 compared to the same time last year.

One person injured in I-35 crash in Clinton County

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One person was seriously injured in a crash early Thursday on I-35 near Holt.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, shortly after 1:30 a.m., 22-year-old Caleb M. Vaughn of Peculiar was driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo north on I-35 at the 34 mile marker, one mile north of Holt. The vehicle went off the east side of the road, hit a guardrail and overturned. The vehicle came to rest on its top.

Vaughn was transported to Cameron Regional Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries. According to the crash report, he was not wearing a seatbelt.

U.S. Route 169 south of Grant City to narrow overnight

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GRANT CITY, Mo. – Pavement repairs will narrow U.S. Route 169 Thursday and into Friday.

Local maintenance crews from the Missouri Department of Transportation have closed one lane of U.S. Route 169 at the bridge over the Middle Fork Grand River, south of Grant City, for concrete replacement. The lane will remain closed overnight and should reopen before 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16.

A temporary traffic signal is in place to direct traffic around the work.

Motorists should be alert and follow all construction signs and message boards.

For more information about this and other MoDOT projects, call 1-888-ASK-MODOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest and view the online Traveler Information Map.

Three St. Joseph residents indicted as part of $2.1 million meth conspiracy

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Eight defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday for their roles in a $2.1 million conspiracy to distribute nearly 100 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Juan Guzman, also known as “Flaco,” 37, Luis Carlos Ramos Caraveo, 23, and Maria De La Cruz Nava, 22, all citizens of Mexico residing in the Kansas City, Mo, area; Chanthacone Senthavy, 44, a citizen of Laos residing in Independence, Mo.; Shelby Lanae Peterman, 26, Christopher Shawn Sharp, 40, and John Paul Gnat, 28, all of St. Joseph, Mo., and Jacob Dale Walsh, 32, of Denton, Kan., were charged in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. The indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Guzman and Senthavy on Oct. 19, 2018, and contains additional defendants and charges.

The federal indictment alleges that all eight defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and in a money-laundering conspiracy over a nearly four-year period from Jan. 1, 2015, to Nov. 14, 2018. In addition to the conspiracies, Guzman, Senthavy, Caraveo and Nava are charged together in one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Guzman is also charged with illegally reentering the United States after having been deported.

The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require the defendants to forfeit to the government $2.1 million, allegedly the proceeds of the drug-trafficking conspiracy (based on a sale price of $600 per ounce and distribution of more than 3,500 ounces – nearly 100 kilograms – of methamphetamine).

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, law enforcement investigators had identified Guzman as the supplier for the conspiracy. He allegedly provided one person with three kilograms of methamphetamine every other day; and another person with five kilograms of methamphetamine at each purchase. Guzman and Senthavy were arrested at Guzman’s residence on Oct. 18, 2018. At the time of their arrest, officers seized two rifles, three handguns, ammunition, methamphetamine, cash and drug paraphernalia from Guzman’s residence.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Buchanan County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration.

– News release from the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri –

Sunny today with temperatures near 50

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Despite a gradual warming trend for the rest of the week, temperatures will remain below seasonal normals. Cold air moves back in for the weekend and into early next week. Next chance for some light snow comes Saturday night into Sunday morning. A dusting to perhaps localized one inch amounts are expected through Sunday morning. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today: Sunny, with a high near 50. South wind 6 to 10 mph.

Tonight: Clear, with a low around 30. Southwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming northwest in the evening.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 53. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 31. South southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming north northwest after midnight.

Saturday: A slight chance of rain before 2 p.m., then a slight chance of rain and snow between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., then a slight chance of snow after 4 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 37. North northeast wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday Night: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 23. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 35.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 21.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 45.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 27.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 47.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 31.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 52.

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