Chip Holman of Gower joined KFEQ to bring us up to date with the entertainment that you can enjoy in July during Gower Days. Listen to it below.
Category: Local News
Man arrested after reportedly displaying firearm and running from police
A 43-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after reportedly displaying a firearm and running from police officers.
According to St. Joseph Police Capt. Jeff Wilson, shortly before noon, officers responded to the area of 800 S. 6th Street in reference to a call reporting a man who possibly displayed a firearm.
Once in the area, an officer located the man who fled on foot. After a short foot pursuit, the man was arrested in the area of 800 Mary Street. Officers located a BB gun on the path of the foot pursuit.
The man was identified as Lawrence R. Kieser Jr. According to Wilson, Kieser has an active probation warrant for his arrest.
Gov. Parson comes to St. Joseph to sign St. Joseph Land Bank legislation
By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri’s governor made the trip from Jefferson City to St. Joseph to sign legislation aimed at getting the plywood off vacant buildings and spurring renovation of historic homes and businesses in the city.
The St. Joseph Land Bank is modeled after similar non-profit entities in Kansas City and St. Louis.
State Rep. Shelia Solon of St. Joseph sponsored House Bill 821 and Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer carried it in the Senate.
Both accompanied Gov. Mike Parson recently when he came to St. Joseph to observe flood damage. The two pulled the governor aside and made a pitch: why not come to St. Joseph to sign HB 821 into law.
Parson says the two, “started telling me how important this bill was to St. Joe and to the people and what it was going to do and, as Tony said, more tools for the tool box to make the town better.”
They kept at it, adding, “’We really want you to come up here and we really want you to sign this.’ And I said, okay, okay, I got it. I said let’s let the water go down a little bit and I’ll come back.”
Parson jokes that it’s good to come to St. Joseph for something other than to observe flooded northwest Missouri. He says the state remains concerned about the flood, but hopeful now that floodwaters are receding.
HB 821 creates the St. Joseph Land Bank. The Land Bank can buy abandoned property and re-sale the property to individuals or groups which promise to renovate them. If a buyer cannot be found, the property can be put to public use.
St. Joseph has 4,891 vacant or abandoned buildings. Owners cannot be located for 478 of them. The city spends $300,000 annually in upkeep of vacant homes and businesses.
Parson praises St. Joseph area legislators who pushed for the bill aimed at resurrecting some of the old, historic buildings which have fallen into disrepair.
“Really to get this bill done this year with so many other moving parts that were happening, it’s pretty remarkable, I’ll just tell you that,” Parson says. “And you don’t get that done if you don’t have good leadership.”
Creation of a local land bank was a top priority of St. Joseph city government. Several city councilmembers and county officials attended the bill signing ceremony held in the city council chambers at city hall.
“My first session, to be able to work with the legislators, both in the House and the Senate, to accomplish real meaningful things and today we’re going to get the opportunity to sign something that’s going to be very beneficial to your community and hopefully in the near future you’re going to see lots of positive changes because of this and hopefully you ask me back someday when we (will) see some of these accomplishments are made.”
Temps near 80 with a chance of rain and storms tonight
Scattered storm chances return this evening and stick around through Wednesday afternoon for those near the KS/MO border, and Wednesday evening for those in central MO. A few stronger storms are possible in far northwest MO/northeast KS during the evening hours. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. South wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 58. South southwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. 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 7 a.m., then a slight chance of showers between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 72. Breezy, with a west wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north northwest 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49. North northwest wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 23 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind.
Thursday Night: A slight chance of showers after 1 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79.
Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Saturday: A chance of showers after 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 85.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 83.
Much at stake with new Farm Bill and as USDA considers move from DC, possibly to Missouri?
By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A Missouri Congresswoman says Congress is anxious to see how the Department of Agriculture implements changes in the Farm Bill.
Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, says she wants to see how the USDA handles changes made to benefit the dairy industry.
“The dairy industry is really hurting and we tried to change a lot of the Farm Bill programs for their insurance program to be worth their while in participating and to provide them that revenue they need to keep them viable,” Hartzler tells KFEQ Farm Director Melissa Gregory.
Hartzler says the Agriculture Committee has been holding hearings with USDA officials, getting updates on implementation of changes to the Farm Bill.
Hartzler is excited about other changes proposed by the USDA.
Missouri has a real shot at landing two USDA divisions, bringing nearly 700 high-paying jobs and a lot of prestige to the region.
The USDA announced earlier it plans to re-locate the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture away from Washington, D.C.
Three finalists have been chosen out of the 136 potential sites in 35 states: the greater Kansas City area, the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina, and locations in Indiana. USDA plans to make the move by the end of the year.
Hartzler is excited about the possibilities.
“I have advocated that they come to Kansas City,” Hartzler says. “I know they got a lot of applications and was really excited to hear that we made the finals of the top three that they are going to look at, and, actually, St. Louis is one of the alternates. So, between those two, Missouri has a really good chance of being the center for agriculture service in this country.”
Economic Research provides data which the USDA uses to decide policy. The Institute of Food and Agriculture awards more than a billion dollars’ worth of competitive grants on sustainable agriculture.
Missouri driver hospitalized after he swerves to miss deer
NODAWAY COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 12:30a.m. Tuesday in Nodaway County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1996 Plymouth Breeze driven by Jacob I. Young, 24, Conception Junction, was eastbound on U.S. 36 two miles south of Ravenwood. The driver swerved to avoid a deer. The vehicle traveled off the road and struck an embankment.
A private vehicle transported Young to Mosaic in Maryville. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.
Buchanan County Jail Activity (6/8-6/10/19)
Here’s the latest booking activity from the Buchanan County Jail. All persons included in this post are innocent of crimes until proven guilty in a court of law. These are courtesy photos.
This information is provided by the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office and is not criminal history. The St Joseph Post assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, or completeness, of this information.
Kelly requests ‘major presidential declaration’ for Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly is seeking a major presidential declaration for public assistance for 63 Kansas counties recovering from record rainfall and severe weather.
The declaration would cover damage from record rains and numerous tornadoes beginning April 28 through May. The Public Assistance program helps pay for restoration of public infrastructure and other damage caused by the severe weather.
The request filed Monday follows one Kelly sent in May seeking a federal disaster declaration. That provides federal money for shelter management, water rescues, human services support and other needs.
The following counties are listed in Monday’s request:
Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Edwards, Elk, Ellsworth, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Gray, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Hodgeman, Jefferson, Kingman, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Norton, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Riley, Rush, Russell, Saline, Sumner, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, and Woodson.
Man sought in Atchison shooting still at large
By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A man accused of shooting and wounding a 42-year-old near a festival in Atchison, Kansas early Sunday morning remains at large.
Atchison Police Chief Michael Wilson says the department’s Special Response Team executed a search warrant on Kevin Maxey’s residence Sunday evening, but he wasn’t home.
Maxey, who is 31, is the suspect in the 3am shooting Sunday that left a man wounded from two gun shots. Emergency crews rushed him to a St. Joseph hospital, where he remains. He has not been identified by Atchison police. His wounds are considered life-threatening.
Wilson says detectives have been gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses. They got an arrest warrant for Maxey Sunday afternoon, but he has yet to be located.
If anyone has seen him or knows where he can be found, please call the Atchison Communication Center at 913-367-4323. The department says callers do not have to give their names.
As Red Cross shelters close, flood relief efforts continue in other ways
By SARAH THOMACK
St. Joseph Post
As Red Cross shelters for flood victims begin to close, the organization is still helping with relief efforts in other ways.
Red Cross Disaster Program Specialist Teri Layton said the Mound City shelter closed last week and another in Buckner will close this week. Layton said the closings are a good thing.
“It’s a wonderful thing. That means… waters are going down, the folks that were in the shelter were able to find transitional housing.”
The Red Cross is continuing relief efforts in other ways through providing disaster emergency supplies for families in areas where water is receding and doing further case work in those areas. Layton said there are different levels of relief efforts and as those continue, donations are always necessary and volunteers are always needed.
“If your heart is moved by all the hard work that people do to help their community, please get involved with the Red Cross, get trained up so when the next event happens, you’re trained and ready,” Layton said. “When we open up a shelter, we don’t just throw cots up inside and leave. People have to be there to help maintain the shelter, help with the needs of the clients in the shelter, we need people willing to help serve food… there’s just lots of different ways people can be of assistance in a large scale event and the day-to-day events.”
The Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Red Cross has 34 counties in the surrounding area on the Missouri and Kansas side, including northwest Missouri counties.
“I work with seven of those counties… directly with their emergency managers,” Layton said. “We make sure that we have good volunteer capacity in our communities and we work on preparedness, we work with their families who are affected by everyday emergencies like home fires. We do all kinds of stuff just to make our communities ready for the next event that happens, because it’s not an if it’s a when. The more prepared we are, the better we can respond and recover.”
For more information about area Red Cross relief efforts or volunteering, click here.