Public Safety

By Kirsten Stokes The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department will be out this Halloween evening conducting sex offender compliance checks around the area. Before going out on patrol, officers at the law enforcement center had a meal and briefing from 5 to 5:30 p.m. to go over protocol and where each officer will do checks. Sheriff

By Leah Rainwater Although Halloween serves as a night full of fun and frights, the St. Joseph Police Department is giving some safety “tricks” for those out getting treats. In a Facebook post, officials with the SJPD listed ways to stay safe.  That includes making sure that costumes are bright and reflective. Adding glowsticks or

By NewsPress Now St. Joseph police responded to a crash at the intersection of Alabama Street and Memorial Highway early Wednesday morning. Police said a man driving on Alabama got to the train tracks and froze when the signal arm descended. Officers told News-Press NOW that it was unclear if a train collided with the

By Jenna Wilson The November election is sparking theft and vandalism of political campaign signs in Buchanan County. Local campaign sign destruction is seemingly rising ahead of the Nov. 5 election, but residents are reporting incidents on social media rather than to law enforcement — or just keeping them to themselves. Despite people deciding to

By NewsPress Now A St. Joseph man sustained serious injuries following a crash around 6:08 p.m. Monday in Gentry County, just west of Darlington, Missouri. The crash occurred as Michael S. Cole, 56, of Fish Creek, Wisconsin, was eastbound on Route E and Brandon M. Church, 43, of St. Joseph, was westbound, according to a

By Jenna Wilson Police are warning citizens to be on the lookout for credit card skimmers appearing in the community. St. Joseph residents have taken to social media to warn people about the increasing threat of card skimmers in the area after noticing unauthorized charges to their bank cards. Credit card skimmers are illegal devices

By NewsPress Now Two people are in the hospital with serious injuries following a UTV crash early Monday morning in Polo, Missouri. Justin Chapman, 46, of Polo was driving the UTV at 12:40 a.m. in a field south of Templeton Drive with a passenger, Elizabeth Gutierrez, 27, of Holt, Missouri, on board when he hit

By NewsPress Now St. Joseph’s Youth Alliance Partners for Prevention is getting a boost in its efforts to fight drugs with a $625,000 federal grant. The money from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will help ongoing efforts to prevent youth substance use locally. “We are proud to share this mission and

By Jenna Wilson Andrew County residents will vote on a proposed sales tax Nov. 5 that aims to improve school and public safety in the community. Andrew County officials held a forum ahead of the election to discuss a half-cent public safety sales tax increase that would fund a full-time prosecutor in the county and,

By NewsPress Now The Doniphan County Sheriff’s Department is asking for help in finding out who is behind a string of burglaries of cars and buildings in Troy, Kansas, earlier this week. The burglaries happened in the early morning hours of Oct. 21, and officials are looking for security or doorbell video that shows suspicious

By Leah Rainwater One person was sent to Mosaic Life Care with minor injuries following a crash that deployed airbags on Monday evening.  At approximately 7:10 p.m. the St. Joseph Police Department responded to a call on the 3400 block of Faraon Street heading West.  Parts of the intersection at 36th Street and Faraon, near

By Jenna Wilson The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office will have an increased presence throughout local neighborhoods this Halloween to ensure the safety of community members. “Obviously we are always proactive with our traffic enforcement, but we’re stepping up enforcement in the coming days because we typically have several issues toward the end of October,” said

By Jazmine Knight As more families begin preparing for Halloween, it’s important to make sure you take a few extra precautions to promote safety for all. Frank Till, executive director of the St. Joseph Safety Council starts with costumes. He says the most important thing to consider is if the child can see properly. “If

By NewsPress Now After several months of work, drivers can use the Cook Road Bridge over Interstate 29. The bridge reopened Thursday afternoon, along with the southbound lanes of I-29 below it where crews were finishing work on the project. The bridge has been closed since late June. The bridge’s driving surface was replaced and

By Ashley Luthans The Youth Alliance of St. Joseph is collaborating with Missouri American Water to host a prescription drug take-back event next Saturday. On Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., people can safely dispose of prescription drugs in a spot set up in the East Hills Shopping Center parking lot. The purpose

By NewsPress Now An Eagleville, Missouri woman suffered serious injuries in a Thursday afternoon crash. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports that, while driving north on I-35, about three miles south of Eagleville, 37-year-old Holly K. Richardson struck the back of a tractor-trailer traveling the same direction. She suffered serious injuries, and was transported by

By Jenna Wilson Drivers may have noticed an increase in Missouri Department of Transportation trucks on the road Thursday as crews conducted an annual statewide winter weather drill ahead of the winter. “Annually we try to do these drills in October and November to kind of get peoples mindset thinking about the winter,” said Greg

By Jenna Wilson St. Joseph police report that a woman is dead after an incident Wednesday night at South 40th Street and Commonwealth Drive. Emergency crews were called to that location for a crash at about 9:05 p.m. Wednesday, but when they arrived, they determined a person in the vehicle had suffered a gunshot wound.

By NewsPress Now Those driving on Highway 36 between Missouri and Kansas can see a $527,000 project in progress. The guardrail improvement project stretches along four miles in Doniphan County from the state line with Missouri to the eastern city limit of Wathena, Kansas. While officials with the Kansas Department of Transportation say traffic impacts

By NewsPress Now A 64-year-old man was hospitalized with serious injuries after crashing his semi and overturning near Stewartsville, Missouri, on Thursday morning. Jianying Chi, 64, of Olathe, Kansas, was westbound on U.S. Highway 36 around 8:45 a.m. when his 2022 Peterbilt 337 traveled off the road, struck an embankment and flipped, coming to rest

By NewsPress Now A Maryville, Missouri, woman is seriously injured after she struck a deer Thursday morning near Conception Junction. Holly Smiley, 49, was headed east on U.S. 136 when she hit the animal at 6:55 a.m. west of 300 Street, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report. Smiley, who was wearing a

By NewsPress Now A man charged in a Buchanan County child abuse case will serve 15 years in prison following a guilty plea on Wednesday to similar charges in a 2022 incident involving a Ray County baby. Antonio Campos, 25, was charged last week with abuse or neglect of a child in Buchanan County in

By Jenna Wilson Sex offenders in the state of Missouri are no longer required to place “no candy” warning signs outside of their doors this Halloween, drawing some concern from local families. For years, under Missouri law, registered sex offenders were required to post a sign to their homes reading, “No candy or treats at