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Young Eagles Programs gives local youth free flights

Screenshot 2025-05-10 140101
Instructors setting up the planes to be flown.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) --The Young Eagles Program offered local youth the chance to make their flying and aviation dreams a reality on Saturday.

Free flights were given for kids between the ages of 8 to 17 at Rosecrans Memorial Airport, with experienced pilots teaching them about the technical skills and the process of flying a plane. The program started back in 1992 and has given over 2.5 million kids the opportunity to learn about flying.

"Most of us started our flying careers by being little boys and girls who run out of the house every time they hear a plane every time," Young Eagles Coordinator Mark Tyrrell said. "Every time they see a control, they want to go check out a plane. We're able to give them that experience just by introducing them the same way we were introduced by getting out, seeing and flying."

The Young Eagles program will offer another session of free flights in the fall.

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Patrick Holleron

Patrick Holleron joined News-Press NOW as a multimedia journalist and anchor in February 2025. Prior to coming to Missouri, Patrick had lived in a many different states including New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, Washington, and Arizona.

He completed his bachelor’s in Media and Communication at the University of Washington in June 2023 and his masters from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University in Sports Journalism in December 2024.

One of the most memorable events Patrick covered during his time in school was the 2025 Chick-fil-A Peach between the Arizona State Sun Devils and Texas Longhorns at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. This game was one of the first in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

In his free time he enjoys watching sports& movies, and writing. If anyone runs into him he’s always open to have a conversation about sports of any kind.

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