The political science program at Missouri Western State University is sponsoring two candidate forums in advance of the St. Joseph Municipal Primary Election.

According to a press release, candidates for mayor and city council districts I and V have been invited to the forum at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30, and at-large council candidates have been invited to the forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1. Both will be held in room 102 of the Hearnes Center on the Missouri Western campus, and are free and open to the public.

Each candidate will be permitted two-minute opening and closing statements. The forum organizers will ask their own questions, as well as questions solicited from the audience.

The primary election ballot on Feb. 6 will include five candidates for St. Joseph mayor, ten candidates for three at-large council seats, and three candidates each for city council in district I and district V. The other three council districts do not have a contested primary.

Forums are also scheduled for March 27 and 29, before the city’s general election.

For more information, contact Dr. Jon Euchner at (816) 271-4358 or by e-mail at euchner@missouriwestern.edu.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work in the Northwest Missouri region planned for the week of Dec. 29 – Feb. 4 from the Missouri Department of Transportation. In addition to the work listed below, there may be pothole patching, shoulder work, bridge maintenance, striping, brush cutting, guardrail repairs and other road work conducted throughout the region. Many of these will be moving operations and could include lane closures with delays. All scheduled maintenance and construction projects are subject to change.

MoDOT reminds the public to stay alert, watch for road work, buckle up, slow down, and drive with extreme caution through work zones and in changing weather conditions.

For more information about a project, please contact MoDOT at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (888-275-6636) or visit modot.org/northwest. You can also follow MoDOT’s Northwest Missouri District on Twitter @ModotNorthwest and on Facebook.

Andrew County

• U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching from the city limits of Maryville (Nodaway County) to Route B, Jan. 30 – Feb. 2

Daviess County

• Route KK – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from 120th Street to the end of state maintenance, Jan. 29 – Feb. 1, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Gentry County

• U.S. Route 169 – Bridge maintenance at the Middle Fork Grand River Bridge, Jan. 29 – Feb. 2

Linn County

• Route B – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route 5 to Route Y, Jan. 30, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Livingston County

• Route CC – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from County Road 257 to County Road 259, Jan. 31, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Nodaway County

• U.S. Route 136 – Shoulder work from the One Hundred and Two River Bridge to the Platte River Bridge, Jan. 29 – 31
• Route 113 – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from U.S. Route 136 to 210th Street, Jan. 30, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching from the city limits of Maryville to Route B (Andrew County), Jan. 30 – Feb. 2
• Route 113 – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from 240th Street to 260th Street, Jan. 31, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

A coworking space will be opening in downtown St. Joseph this week.

St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Patt Lilly said the coworking space offers an inexpensive opportunity for entrepreneurs or small businesses.

“You see some of these people today, they’re usually sitting at a Starbucks working on their computer but this gives them a more business environment, but we’ll still have the coffee, there will be copy machines that can be used, free wi-fi and so forth,” Lilly said. “This is a great opportunity for many of our young entrepreneurs and other people that are just starting business to have a space that is relatively inexpensive that they can do business out of and whether they’re working at their home now or struggling with maybe the cost of an office, this will be a great space. We’re a little late to the game as a community, but we’re excited about our new coworking space.”

CoJoe is located on the first floor of 518 Felix St.

According to a press release, the Chamber, along with a group of local entrepreneurs, small business owners and officials from Missouri Western State University’s Craig School of Business, the City of St. Joseph and Innovation Stockyard have been involved in CoJoe’s planning.

Space is offered for rent in a variety of ways such as table space in an open coworking space or private, furnished offices on a month-to-month or more long-term basis. A conference room also is available to rent by the hour or by the day for important meetings.

An opening reception at CoJoe will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – A circus duo will perform at Missouri Western State University this week.

According to a press release, the Western Activities Council at Missouri Western will present The Great DuBois.

The Great DuBois is a circus duo that presents a fast-paced, all ages variety show featuring incredible feats of juggling, hula hoops, unicycle, aerial, stunts, contortion, magic and audience interaction all wrapped in a blanket of comedy.

Viktoria Grimmy is an award winning fifth-generation circus performer, who created circus acts for the Tony Award winning “Pippin,” has performed with the Big Apple Circus, Ringling Brothers and the Britney Spears Circus Tour, and was featured in the film “Burlesque.” Michael DuBois has been performing for the past 12 years, has been featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with David Letterman and has been seen at over 600 colleges, cruise ships, theaters and fairs all over the world.

The performance takes place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31 in the Kemper Recital Hall, Spratt Hall room 101 and is free and open to the public.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Motorists traveling a stretch of U.S. Route 169 on the southeastern edge of St. Joseph will soon see a lower speed limit.

Engineers from the Missouri Department of Transportation conducted a speed and safety study, prompted by the calls of concerned citizens, on U.S. Route 169 between Route AC (Riverside Road) and Route FF. The study showed a crash rate 10 percent higher for the past five years than other similar roadways around the state.

Based on their findings, the speed limit will soon be lowered from 50 miles per hour to 45. MoDOT has worked with the City of St. Joseph, as the city must pass an ordinance for all speed limits throughout their jurisdiction. That ordinance passed and the new speed limit signs have been ordered. The signs should go up some time within the next month.

If you have a concern about your roadway, or would like information about this or other MoDOT projects, you may call 1-888-ASK MODOT (1-888-275-6636).

In addition, MoDOT provides updated information on Twitter @MoDOTNorthwest and Facebook.