One woman is in custody after crashing a stolen vehicle early Monday morning.

According to the St. Joseph Police Department, shortly before 2 a.m., a vehicle was stolen in the area of Binswanger and Block Streets and crashed about a block later.

A woman was arrested for investigative charges.

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Two people are in custody after crashing a stolen car on Frederick Avenue Sunday afternoon.

According to the St. Joseph Police Department, around 1:30 p.m., an officer attempted to stop a silver Pontiac which drove off at a high rate of speed. A short time later it was reported that the Pontiac had crashed into another vehicle and then hit Frederick Inn Steakhouse at 1627 Frederick Ave. The car reportedly was on fire after the crash, but the flames were extinguished before damaging the building.

According to police, the car was believed to be stolen. The occupants of the vehicle, a male and a female, attempted to leave the scene but were later taken into custody.

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 Nov. 20 – 26 from the Missouri Department of Transportation. In addition to the work listed below, there may be pothole patching, bridge maintenance, striping, brush cutting, mowing, 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 will halt temporary lane closures throughout the state to accommodate an increase in traffic due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Most temporary lane closures will stop at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 22, and resume again Monday morning, Nov. 27.

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 at www.facebook.com/MoDOTNWDistrict.

Andrew County

• U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching from Route B to Route U (Nodaway County), Nov. 20 – 21

Atchison County

• Interstate 29 – Pothole patching, Nov. 20
• Routes M and N – CLOSED in two-mile sections for a resurfacing project, Nov. 20 – 22, 24, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
• U.S. Route 59 – Pothole patching, Nov. 21
• U.S. Route 136 – Pothole patching from Route M to the Brownville Bridge, Nov. 22

Buchanan County

• I-29 Striping on the ramps to Route DD at Exit 35 (Faucett), Nov. 20
• U.S. Route 36 – CLOSED for sign installation at the ramp from westbound U.S. Route 36 to northbound I-229, Nov. 20, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Route A – Shoulder work from I-229 to Route 371, Nov. 20 – 22
• Route 371 – Shoulder work from Route 752 to the Platte County line, Nov. 20 – 22
• U.S. Route 36 – Sign installation on westbound U.S. Route 36 at the I-229 interchange, Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The driving and passing lanes will be closed and traffic will be directed through the intersection using the turn lane.

Carroll County

• Route KK – Drainage work from County Road 101 to County Road 121, Nov. 20 – 22
• Route W – Drainage work from County Road 191 to County Road 209, Nov. 20 – 22

Chariton County

• Route FF – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Indian Grove Road to Enyeart Road, Nov. 21, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Route KK – Shoulder work just south of U.S. Route 24, Nov. 22

DeKalb County

• U.S. Route 36 – Drainage work one mile west of Route J, Nov. 20 – 22

Gentry County

• Route FF – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from 615^th Road to 610^thRoad, Nov. 20, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Grundy County

• U.S. Route 65 & Route 6 – Pothole patching, Nov. 20 – 21
• U.S. Business Route 65 – Drainage work in the city limits of Trenton, Nov. 20 – 22

Harrison County

• Route Z – Pothole patching from U.S. Route 69 to the end of state maintenance, Nov. 20 – 22

Holt County

• Route 118 – The ramp from Route 118 to southbound I-29 is CLOSED for the Davis Creek Bridge replacement project through mid-December.
• I-29 – Bridge replacement project at the Davis Creek Bridge near Exit 84. I-29 will be narrowed to one lane in each direction. This includes a 12-foot width restriction. The lane closures will remain in place through mid-December.
• I-29 – Pavement repair southbound from mile marker 99 (Corning Exit) to mile marker 84 (Mound City), Nov. 20 – 22, 24 – 25

Linn County

• U.S. Route 36 – Pavement repair eastbound from Route F to Route 5, Nov. 20 – 21. This includes an overnight lane closure.
• U.S. Route 36 – Pavement repair westbound from the Mussel Fork Bridge (Macon County) to Route 129, Nov. 21 – 22. This includes an overnight lane closure.

Mercer County

• U.S. Route 136 − CLOSED for a bridge replacement project at the Muddy Creek Bridge. The road will be closed through February 2018.
• Route M – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Bugle/Buck Avenue to Bronco Place, Nov. 20, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Nodaway County

• U.S. Route 71 – Pothole patching from Route B (Andrew County) to Route U, Nov. 20 – 21
• U.S. Route 71 – Signal and intersection work at Main Street in Maryville. Most work will be off the roadway, but there may be some lane closures with flaggers at the intersection, Nov. 20 – 22, 24 – 25

Putnam County

• Route NN – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from 120^th Street to 135^thStreet, Nov. 20, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Route EE – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route BB to Route K, Nov. 21, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Route 129 – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Route CC to Route Y, Nov. 22, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sullivan County

• Routes K, TT, W, WW and ZZ – Pothole patching, Nov. 20 – 22

Worth County

• Route 246 – Shoulder work, Nov. 20 – 22

Two chapters authored by Dr. John Katsion, associate professor of communication at Northwest Missouri State University, are being published in an upcoming book, “Communication in the Classroom: A Collection of GIFTS.”

According to a press release, the book is a compilation of more than 100 Great Ideas for Teaching Students, or G.I.F.T.S.

Katsion contributed text about a classroom activity for teaching the concept of power dynamics within a small group. He also submitted an idea for teaching non-verbal communication that aims to help students understand the way nonverbal immediacy cues work and uses an episode of TV’s “The Bachelor.”

“Both of these teaching activities were ones I created while teaching at Northwest,” Katsion said. “I was asked to submit G.I.F.T.S. that I presented at various conference for this book project, along with a lot of other scholars in communication studies. Thankfully, two of my activities were chosen out of a very large pool of great ideas.”

Katsion joined the Northwest faculty in 2010 and teaches communication courses. He taught previously at Hannibal-LaGrange College in Hannibal, Missouri, and at Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon. He has a Ph.D. in communication studies from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia; a master’s degree in speech communication from Minnesota State University, Mankato; and a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Pillsbury Baptist Bible College in Owatonna, Minnesota.

The Pony Express Bike Share program has experienced both good times and flat tires in its first few months.

The program launched in August as a free program allowing people to borrow bikes from a rack and take short trips within St. Joseph.

Health Educator with the City of St. Joseph Health Department Nancy Taylor said they’ve heard positive feedback from people enjoying the bikes, but the biggest issues so far with the program have been maintenance related.

“We’re running across some issues with flat tires and some other maintenance problems, loose handlebars and pedals, things of that nature,” Taylor said. “So we’ve pulled the fleet, we have over 30 bikes back in the shop and we’re doing some extended maintenance based on some suggestions from the folks with Green Apple Bikes that we are modeling our bike share program after, there in Manhattan, Kansas.”

Taylor said they plan to put out a reduced number of bikes as the “winter fleet” in the next couple of weeks. In the spring, they plan to add more bikes with better quality tires and Taylor said they’re learning as they go with the program.

Taylor said the program got started with a Healthy Eating Active Living grant through the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. From there, local businesses sponsored or adopted bike racks. Taylor said expanding the bike program to more locations in St. Joseph depends on sponsorships.

“A business or organization would adopt a bike rack and the bikes that go with it,” Taylor said. “So every year your sponsorship would pay for the repairs to replace parts or whatever for those six bikes and then it would buy six more bikes that next coming year and then to help some of the other operational costs that may be incurred with running the program.”

Taylor said, in reference to some initial reactions to the program, so far, stolen bikes do not seem to be a big issue.

“Our theft prevention is really the citizens in our community, they’ve done a great job of calling, texting the phone number, sometimes the police, when they see a bike abandoned or… needs to be repaired,” Taylor said. “We feel pretty good about the program. I’m not really concerned that just because the bike racks are empty, doesn’t mean that they’re stolen. I think it’s just they’re being used.”

Taylor said community members have also used the phone number on the bike to voice their appreciation.

“They’re just really thankful that we’re able to offer this to our community so that’s been really good to hear the feedback from that. People have posted pictures on our Facebook page (saying) they haven’t been on a bike in a long time or they just think it’s really cool, so we’ve gotten lots of good feedback,” Taylor said. “(Also) we’ve identified, through this program, that there is a large need for people that are needing bikes as a regular means of transportation to get around town.”

For more information on the bike program, click here.

Maryville, Mo. – A Northwest Missouri State University student was inspired to create a mural this fall in downtown Maryville after a summer internship that exposed her to public artwork.

Emily Stark, a senior graphic design major from Holt, Missouri, painted the mural on the exterior wall of Northwest Audio Visual, on Market Street near the downtown square.

“I tend to gravitate toward drawing women a lot, and I just sort of wanted to have something that looked hopeful,” Stark said, adding the title of her mural is “Nurture and Grow.” “I want to plant a seed in Maryville that will nurture and grow the artistic community within the city.”

The mural is Stark’s senior show, a requirement of art majors to display a final piece of artwork prior to graduating.

Stark decided to create the mural after she interned during the summer with InterUrban ArtHouse in Overland Park, Kansas, and saw a need in Maryville for more murals and public artwork. She interned with muralist Nicole Emanuel and mosaic artist Julie Forsyth, and the internship provided her with experiences in design, website management and social media. She assisted on three public art collaborations, including a 16-foot mosaic mural installation.

The mural was Stark’s first experience working with a mosaic, and Forsyth taught her how to work with the materials.

“Throughout the duration of these projects I just I fell in love with public art,” Stark said. “I was incredibly inspired and motivated by the talent and passion of both Nicole and Julie, which led me to want to create a public art piece of my own. If I had not done the internship, the thought to paint this mural in Maryville probably never would have occurred to me.

To create the mural, Stark completed a series of approval processes. She contacted Joyce Cronin, president of the Maryville Public Arts Committee (MPAC), who helped Stark push to get the project approved and find a location. They met with Maryville City Manager Greg McDanel, who viewed Stark’s sketches and ideas and approved the project. Cronin and MPAC contacted several local businesses, and Northwest Audio Visual agreed to provide an exterior space for the mural.

Stark says she has gained experience beyond displaying her artistic talents and developed more confidence as an artist.

“The process of gaining approval taught me a lot about being able to advocate for myself as an artist and the ability to demonstrate the confidence and pride that I have my work,” Stark said.

Emily will host her senior show from 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18 at the completed mural at 202 E. Third St. in Maryville.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP, Post Staff) — The driver of a stolen vehicle involved in a crash that killed four people has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.