Sears Holdings Corporation on Thursday released a list of 79 Sears and K-Mart stores that will be closing soon, and so far, St Joe is not on the list. Only two stores in Missouri and one in Kansas are set to close

The company announced last week it would be closing between 100 and 120 stores because of weak holiday sales.

Missouri will lose two Sears stores, one in Lee’s Summit and one in St Louis. Just one Kansas retail outlet is on the list, a Sears store in Lawrence.

There are 54 Sears stores and 25 Kmart stores on the partial list released Thursday. Click here to download the list.

Nationwide interest in the list was demonstrated online, as hordes of users hoping to see the list nearly dragged the company’s media Web site to a halt.

The company says it will not provide a total number of employees affected by the closings until the entire list is published. The company gave no indication when the rest of the list will be released, other than to note that additional updates would be posted online as they became available.

A poor year-end and quarterly bottom line led the company to close the stores, and take other measures designed to increase profits. The company hopes to bring in a quick $140 million to $170 million through the sale of inventory from the closed stores, and expects even more cash to roll in as the real estate involved is sold or sub-leased.

They hope to reduce fixed costs by between $100 million and $200 million. They expect other gains through changes in inventory management practices, including reducing their peak inventory by $300 million.

ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) – Benedictine College has canceled its men’s basketball game Friday because of a player’s death. Reginald Demps Jr., a 20-year-old sophomore guard, died Dec. 21 in a traffic accident as he was driving to Kansas City International Airport. He was headed to Aurora, Colo., for the holidays.

His funeral is scheduled for Saturday in Orlando, Fla.

The university announced on its website that the team decided it would be best not to play the game against Midland University the night before the funeral. The team held a private memorial on Monday.

Another player, Quaran Johnson, suffered minor injuries in the accident.

Negotiations continue between the cable provider Suddenlink and Meredith Corporation, which owns KCTV in Kansas City, but Suddenlink officials now say Meredith is asking for too much money.

Suddenlink’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications Pete Abel says Meredith is asking for a 65% increase in what it receives to carry the station.

Abel says that’s not fair and not justified.

” If our customers are not getting a 65% raise, neither should Meredith and its stations,” he said in a news release.

“In the last two months we have completed new contracts with more than 60 other companies representing more than 100 other TV stations. They have not asked for increases on the scale that Meredith is demanding.”

Earlier, KCTV warned that Suddenlink can’t carry the station if the two sides fail to reach agreement by midnight Saturday.

The station noted that the Chiefs/Broncos season-ender is scheduled Sunday, January 1st, and some Chiefs fans could have trouble viewing the game.

Our radio coverage of the game will not be affected. You can tune in the game on Q Country 92.7 FM and 680 KFEQ AM. The pre-game show starts at 2 p.m. Central Time Sunday. The kickoff is scheduled at 3:15 p.m.

Abel says historically these negotiations can go right up to the last minute, but he was hopeful Meredith would agree to continue business under the old contract if they cross the deadline Saturday.

“If they extend the current contract, they continue to get paid, and our customers continue to have uninterrupted access to these stations,” Abel said.

Meredith Corporation owns several TV stations, including KCTV, KSMO, KPHO,  and WSMV.   

Suddenlink is now encouraging customers to contact Meredith and its TV stations “…and ask them, first, to be reasonable in their demands and, second, to consider extending their current contract with Suddenlink until a new one can be signed. “

A group of about 80 people walked shoulder-to-shoulder through some huge Holt County farm fields Wednesday, as the search for missing State Trooper and Water Patrol Officer Fred Guthrie resumed.

Sergeant Sheldon Lyon of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said some of the farmers have been used earth movers to remove some of the silt left behind by this summer’s flooding. Lyon says they are hoping they’ll unearth something that will lead them to the recovery of Guthrie’s body.

“We’ve assembled a team to do a very thorough grid search of the fields that are up here,” Lyon said.

“The fields are just enormous, and if we stand shoulder-to-shoulder, and walk in a line, using upwards of 80 people, we can do a very thorough search of these fields.”

Guthrie and his dog Reed were apparently swept away by fast-moving floodwaters near Big Lake Village in August. His funeral was earlier this month, after he was declared dead in October.

“As long as Trooper Fred Guthrie has not been located, and we feel that we have activities up here that would give us a chance to find him, we’ll continue to search for him,” Lyon said.

The State Auditor on Wednesday criticized the Missouri Department of Conservation for runaway expenses in its elk-restoration project, as well as flawed monetary controls and closed meetings, but gave the department an overall rating of “good” in a recent audit.

State Auditor Tom Schweich released a report showing the MDC did not include the cost of salaries, habitat improvements or monitoring in its cost estimates for the elk project.

The Department requested $411,185 to reintroduce 150 elk.

As of June 30, 2011, the MDC had spent more than $1.23 million to reintroduce just 39 elk, spending three times more to reintroduce about one-fourth as many elk as planned.

The report also noted the Missouri Conservation Commission and MDC staff might have violated the Sunshine Law when they met three times in closed session to discuss the project.

According to the report, the MDC did not have area management plans for 59% of applicable conservation areas and accessess. A previous audit was critical the MDC Had not prioritized such plans.

Schweich says the MDC needs to improve internal controls over procurement cards. He says MDC employees split transactions to avoid transaction limits or bidding requirements. The MDC agreed to pay a retired former employee at least $155,000 to write a book about Missouri rivers and streams. The MDC did not solicit bids or document its reasons for this sole source procurement.

For the complete audit report, Citizens Summary and the audit rating scale, visit: http://auditor.mo.gov/press/2011-120.htm

Posted by Aimee Lehmuth, http://mdc.mo.gov/blogs/fresh-afield/colors-winter

When many people think of color they think of the beautiful blooms of spring and summer or the bright leaves that adorn many of the trees in fall, but what about the winter? Where did all those beautiful colors go that once adorned our landscape?

The weather had just turned cold a few days before and I was already getting tired of the indoors. So donning my hat and coat I decided I would take a walk around my property in Cole County. I didn’t expect to see much, considering it was cool and not many animals like this weather nor did many plants’ blooms survive the first frost. So you can imagine my surprise when I saw the bright red berries of the deciduous holly as they seemed to burst from the drab winter woods. After spending several minutes admiring the lavish plant I decided to move on to see if I could find any more colors that brightened the muted winter landscape. It wasn’t long before I spotted a vibrant blue jay sitting on a bare tree branch looking out at the world. The blue and white coloration of the bird seemed to glow in comparison to the gray tree bark on which it was perched.

I furthered my walk to nearby Binder Lake in hope of spotting more colorful excitement and I was not disappointed. As I approached the lake I saw several mallards floating on the darkened water. The iridescent green on the drakes’ heads shimmered in the light and enhanced the water giving new life and vibrancy to the muted world around them. This gorgeous sight was not the last of the day; I also chanced upon a red-headed woodpecker pecking away at a nearby tree. Though most of its body was covered in the uninteresting winter colors of gray, white and black, the red patch on the bird’s head brought colorful relief to the scene as it bobbed back and forth in search of food.

These and many more wonderful surprises not only brightened my day but changed my pessimistic outlook on the colors of winter. So if the winter “blah” has come over you, take a step outside and enrich yourself with the lavish colors a Missouri winter does have to offer.

Although some question whether it’s necessary, in-person absentee voting in the Missouri’s presidential preference primary has begun.

Election authorities began accepting absentee ballots across the state Tuesday for Missouri’s Feb. 7 primary.

In Buchanan County, an important tax question is also on the ballot, but by Wednesday afternoon, no one had cast an absentee ballot here.

Those who vote absentee must have a reason, such as being out of the state on Election Day or a physical disability or illness.

Absentee ballots can be cast until Feb. 6. Missouri’s primary won’t have any official bearing on the presidential nominee. The party convention delegates will be chosen later in 2012.

Missouri taxpayers will pay between $4 million and $8 million for the non-binding presidential vote. The primary includes four Democrats, 10 Republicans and one Libertarian candidate.

In Buchanan County, voters will once again be asked to approve the county’s CIP sales tax. Voters overwhelmingly rejected continuing the quarter-cent tax in August in a ballot measure that did not include a sunset provision.

In February, voters will consider renewing the tax with a ten-year sunset clause.

Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey has about 800 voters on the permanent absentee voter list. They have received ballots, and will return them by mail. All other absentee voters will be asked to cast ballots at the Clerk’s office in the Buchanan County Courthouse at 411 Jules in St Joseph.

Baack-Garvey does not expect a big turnout for the February election, either by absentee ballot or on election day at the county’s polling places.

The Holidays seem to have a way to leave families with an empty wallet after cooking big meals and buying all those gifts, not to mention holiday travel.

Especially after new reports this week say holiday sales were up this year largely because of higher prices.

But how can families overcome the financial gap without dipping into the pockets too deep? Some say coupons can help. But the use of coupons does take some strategy.

Robert Weagley is the University of Missouri Chair of the Person Financial Planning Department. Weagley says before clipping through those large newspapers, you need to start with making a plan for saving.

“They should be doing that(saving) without worrying about coupons,” Weagley says.  “By using coupons you can actually expand you budget constraint.”

He says coupons have regained in popularity in recent years after hitting a peak in usage in 1999. The Internet helped propel the use of coupons through group offerings, giving consumers the chance for big savings if the purchase as a group.

 

 

 

The city of St. Joseph, once again, will help you dispose of your “live” Christmas tree.

The drop off site is the parking lot of Drake Softball Field, located at the northwest corner of 22nd Street and Southwest Parkway.

Residents of the city may drop off trees beginning through January 20, 2012. All trees must be free of decorations and tree stands, as the trees are put into a chipper and composted.

Keith Jones returned to St Joseph from the Vietnam War, kicked around a few jobs here before landing one at the then-new Dunkin’ Donuts at 3705 Frederick in August of 1972.

Less than ten years later he had earned a business degree at Missouri Western and bought the franchise. He has operated the store ever since.

On Tuesday, Jones made good on an earlier announcement and closed the store. But he says three local businesspeople will make soon announce a new Dunkin’ Donuts franchise at a new location.

Jones said his franchise agreement and his lease agreement ended at roughly the same time, and the decision was made not to continue with Dunkin’ Donuts.

“The financial feasibility of operating the store without a drive-through just wasn’t there,” Jones said. “You need a drive-thorugh in this day and age to be a Dunkin’ Donuts.”

Jones says a new franchise is coming, and says we can expect a formal announcement in a couple of weeks.

“I could have put up another store, which I chose not to do because I’ll be 62 this summer,” Jones said.

Jones says a new franchise agreement would have required a ten-year commitment, and putting up a new building would have required a 20-year agreement.

Jones says his son has managed the store, and agreed not to move forward with Dunkin’ Donuts.

But he says Dunkin’ is a “strong brand,” mainly in the northeastern United States and moving west.