Special Reports

By Cameron Montemayor A compromise on new dumping fees at St. Joseph’s landfill has put one public concern to bed, but long-term planning and work to address a substantial increase in waste remains. The St. Joseph Sanitary Landfill, a 14-cell facility opened in the mid-1980s, has seen a near 50% increase in yearly waste in

By Kirsten Stokes Missouri film credits are helping put St. Joseph in the spotlight with a second movie shooting in town this year. Long known for its history, the city is attracting attention from Hollywood as the holiday movie “A Chrismystery” films here this month. Its producers also were involved in another movie, “25 Miles

By Jenna Wilson It’s been six years since the murder of Lorenzo L. Lucas in St. Joseph and detectives are working through his unsolved homicide along with other cases to bring justice to families. The most visible part of what St. Joseph police do can be seen on any given day on local roadways. Still,

By Chris Fortune A heated presidential battle is driving election security to the top of the ticket for voters and Buchanan County officials charged with making sure ballots are counted accurately. Tens of thousands of voters are expected to turn out on Tuesday, Nov. 5, for the general election in Buchanan County. Whether you’re voting

By Cameron Montemayor With less than two weeks remaining before Missouri voters cast their ballots on Nov. 5, campaign disclosure reports are painting a striking picture of financial influence in this year’s election. Tens of millions of dollars already have poured into the Show-Me state this election cycle, with some of the highest contributions going

By Jazmine Knight For years, ACT scores were a key piece to college admissions. But now, schools are putting more emphasis on other factors like GPA as opposed to one test. Amid the COVID pandemic, many colleges and universities made the switch to test-optional models to accommodate the cancellations at ACT testing sites. Megan McCamy,

By Leah Rainwater No matter who you are or where you’ve come from, you or someone you love has probably heard, seen or even experienced domestic violence. The Young Women’s Christian Association reports, one in four women and one in seven men experience domestic violence in their lifetime.  Defining domestic violence  Corina Merritt, the survivor outreach specialist

By Ashley Luthans The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 5 general election is quickly approaching, and Missourians will see a handful of issues on the ballot that affect them and their state. In the 2020 presidential election, 3,025,962 votes were cast in the state of Missouri. Missouri Western State University student Cole

By Jenna Wilson Recent police data revealed some of the most dangerous intersections in St. Joseph when it comes to car crashes. In 2023, some intersections were marked as more hazardous than others due to the number of accidents, and if you ask residents why, they’ll tell you they all have one thing in common

By Calvin Silvers The Missouri State High School Athletic Association has approved using a 35-second shot clock for the upcoming season, applying it to varsity regular season tournaments and one-day shootouts. The decision made Missouri the 28th state to implement a shot clock in high school basketball. However, Lafayette boys basketball coach Kevin Bristol feels

By Chris Fortune Archie Randolph Jr. was working road construction, applying thermoplastic on K-5 Highway in Kansas when one of his coworkers sitting in an attenuator truck honked his horn to get everyone’s attention. A plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. “I thought he meant somebody flew in between them, and he said,

By Cameron Montemayor Among the numerous high-traffic areas across St. Joseph, few are constructed quite like the intersection at U.S. Highway 59 near Lake Avenue and Alabama Street, a vital junction for pedestrian, freight and rail traffic. Between sharp and awkward turns, line-of-sight troubles and limited turn space onto Route U from Highway 59, longtime

By Kyle Schmidt The number of teenagers 19 and under with a driver’s license has dropped by 24% over the past three decades, according to data from the Federal Highway Administration, and local experts think the biggest reason for this might just be a mindset change in today’s youth. In 1995, around 64% of teenagers 19 and

By Kirsten Stokes Kids headed back into the classroom this week, many carrying carefully chosen and must-have supplies ready for the new year ahead. Many of those items have their roots in the inventions of a St. Joseph native whose pioneering creations have impacted the educational experiences of students across states and generations. Jon Wyant,

By Jazmine Knight With teacher shortages nationwide, schools around the country are focusing on retention and recruitment. In St. Joseph, officials have been working on different strategies to attract and retain teachers. Some of the most notable are the free before- and after-school programs for the children of employees in partnership with the YMCA and

By Leah Rainwater St. Joseph is full of many histories, and one integral part of its past and growth is the implementation of railroads. If you look along the corner of Eighth and Olive streets, you’ll see grass growing over abandoned, rusted train tracks.  St. Joseph was home to the first railroad that ran east

By Cameron Montemayor As optimism builds for a potential lowering of interest rates in September, the lingering effects of elevated inflation and building costs continue to present challenges for long-term construction project planning.  While challenges are less extreme than what many witnessed in 2021, 2022 and early 2023, when inflation surged between 8% and 9%,

By Charles Christian Although there is no shortage of nonprofit organizations in St. Joseph, virtually all are struggling to find Spanish interpreters. United Way President Kylee Strough said that most nonprofits are meeting the growing need for Spanish-language interpreters by networking together. “Most of the time, we’re able to get through enough of what we

By Kendra Simpson You see them driving home from work, out on afternoon walks and posted all over social media. St. Joseph’s stray animal population grows every day and shows no sign of slowing down. The St. Joseph Animal Shelter takes in hundreds of cats and dogs every month. Surprisingly, about half of these animals

By Jenna Wilson It only takes a few seconds of checking a text of turning to speak with a backseat passenger while behind the wheel for a tragedy to occur. Distracted driving is something Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper John Harrison has seen the dangerous results of firsthand. “Unfortunately, I’ve seen several fatalities over the

By Cameron Montemayor Lingering unknowns surrounding a Lake Contrary dredging project and its long-term financial feasibility are sparking concerns among current and former county officials. In recent months, the Buchanan County Commission has taken steps toward a potential dredging project at Lake Contrary, including analyzing soil samples, reviewing lakebed ownership and considering necessary equipment among

By Cameron Montemayor In the heart of Downtown St. Joseph, a vision for a new and diverse city market in the coming years is taking shape. If the dream becomes a reality, Downtown will see a new hub offering residents and families everything from live entertainment to vendors and artisans selling fresh produce, food and

By Cameron Montemayor The question surrounding Lake Contrary’s ownership can at times be traced back to the earliest years of the state of Missouri, with authority over the lake bed being impacted by court rulings, legal opinions and other acts in the time since.  Despite that, gray areas still exist. Now, county officials are working

By Chris Fortune Buchanan County will need to bring in some heavy machinery if they hope to move forward with restoring a community asset. Scott Critchfield owns Critchfield Crane and dredges ponds and small lakes in the Kansas City area. Critchfield’s father introduced him to the profession as a teenager, and he has dredged for

By Chris Fortune As Buchanan County continues to explore the feasibility of dredging Lake Contrary, some nearby residents would like to see more efforts to clean the area before the project begins. Many residents in St. Joseph, especially those who live near Lake Contrary, support a dredging project, but even with water in the lake,

By Cameron Montemayor The long-sought dredging machine was on the doorstep of arriving at Lake Contrary a little more than 55 years ago, so the infamous story goes.  Somewhere during the dredging machine’s move to St. Joseph in the late 1960s, in a twist of fate for reasons unclear, the machine was waylaid to Sugar

By Cameron Montemayor Michelle Clark remembers the emotion she and her three business partners felt when they learned someone would call their first rehabilitated property a home in St. Joseph. What started with an idea and a shared goal over dinner with friends Sarah Weaver, Tara Horn and Ashley Albers on how to improve St.

By Marcus Clem The St. Joseph School District confronts an enormous financial and political challenge in a plan aiming to change the destiny of Benton, Central and Lafayette high schools. The 2024-2029 long-range plan presented earlier this year would spend hundreds of millions of dollars largely funded by a couple of taxpayer-approved bonds to construct

By Jenna Wilson A family felt forced to surrender custody of a 14-year-old boy to the Children’s Division, saying there is little to no support for him and other kids like him dealing with trauma. The juvenile’s parents have pointed to a lack of services, which they said has only made his behavior worse since

By Cameron Montemayor Artificial intelligence is known for enhancing everyday technologies and improving the efficiency of industries, and while it can be used to help, it also can become a tool to harm. As the rapidly growing technology becomes more accessible, some are using AI’s abilities to assist in the creation of highly sophisticated and