MOUND CITY, Mo. (AP) – Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Holt County will be closed Jan. 7-8 for the annual muzzle-loader deer hunt.

The refuge’s 10-mile auto tour will be closed during the hunt.

Hiking trails east of U.S. Highway 159 will be open.

Officials at the refuge near Mound City in northwest Missouri say only those whose names have been drawn will be permitted on the refuge during the hunt.

The deer hunts started in 1988 to reduce the size of the deer herd, which was damaging refuge habitats and causing collisions with vehicles.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Missouri Department of Conservation sponsor the hunt.

Repairs have started to levee’s along the Missouri River but concerns continue over when the may be finished.

The Corps of Engineers estimate repairs along the river system at more than $600 million from last years flooding.

Winter weather and damage not yet found by the Corps could hinder the timeline of repairs, Corps of Engineers General John McMahon said.

The future also remains uncertain as to flood control.  A study by an independent group says the Missouri Basin rainfall variability is becoming more extreme. There’s a limit to how prepare the Corps can be extremes, McMahon said.  Prepping for extreme events is difficult, he said.

 

 

There’s bipartisan unhappiness in the Missouri House over the new district boundaries drawn by a panel of judges. Majority leader Tim Jones says 23 of the new House districts include two incumbents, and three more include three incumbents.

Jones and House Minority Leader Mike Talboy cite the Sunshine law in demanding all documents used to decide where to draw the lines. An attorney for the redistricting commission says the Sunshine law does not apply. Jones says there’s no reason why it shouldn’t, and this may be the time to talk about reforming the redistricting process. 

 

After more than two years and $8.5 million, work on the Brownville Bridge over the Missouri River on US-136 Highway will open for two way traffic starting the week of December 26th, weather permitting.

The Missouri Department of Transportation announced the temporary traffic signals will be removed and the bridge will once again return to two-way traffic.

The work on the Brownville Bridge has been underway since September 2009. Cramer and Associates of Des Moines, Iowa were awarded the contract for this work. The final cost for this project is estimated at just under $8.5 million. The cost of the project is shared between the Nebraska Department of Roads and MoDOT. This project was also a part of the President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The contract included a new bridge deck, repairs to the structure, and bridge painting. Because the bridge serves as a vital link between Missouri and Nebraska, the improvements were done in staged construction which allowed the bridge to remain open to traffic during construction, except for some weekend closures.

The original completion date of the bridge was scheduled for December 1st, but this year’s flooding delayed the project when the contractor could not work under the bridge. During the 2012 construction season, the contractor will return to the bridge and work briefly to perform the final repairs. MoDOT will also take the opportunity to seal the bridge at that time. The bridge will be narrowed to one-way traffic for a one to two week time period while this work is completed.

Officials at the nation’s aerospace command are ready once again to keep children up to date on Santa’s Christmas Eve trek. Families can go to the special website NoradSanta.org to see images of Santa Claus getting his sleigh ready and watch “Santa cams” of his gift deliveries around the world. A global interactive map will show where Santa is.

Santa tracking by the North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD started in 1955. That’s when a local holiday ad with a phone number for reaching Santa mistakenly directed children to a defense operations center.

NORAD officials enlist the help of hundreds of civilians and volunteers to handle all the phone calls and emails they get from kids every Christmas Eve about Santa’s whereabouts.

All the families signed up through the Adopt-A-Family program have been adopted as of Thursday afternoon.

Penny Adams of the AFL-CIO says all the more than 800 families have been adopted.

Just in time for Christmas, the office will now spend the time leading up to Christmas day contacting families and having them pick-up their items. Wednesday, more than 140 families remained to be adopted.

A large push for adoptions came Wednesday and Thursday to wrap-up this years successful program. The Adopt-A-Family program assist families needing help during the holiday season. It started in 1983.  

 

There’s been an upswing in thefts from vehicles this Christmas season in Saint Joseph. Police Chief Chris Connally says unfortunately the increase is not unusual. It began Black Friday, when shopping kicked up a notch.

Connally some thefts can be prevented. He says prevention starts with putting purchases out of sight, preferably in the trunk. Many trunks can be reached from inside the car by flipping down the back seat. Connally recommends making sure the seat latch is locked. The Chief says one of the most important things you can do is to simply be aware of your surroundings so you know when to take precautions.