News

By Kirsten Stokes In the eyes of Robert and Kim Sigrist, educating youth and motivating them to serve is the reason they’ve dedicated so much of their lives to education. Robert has dedicated 31 years to education, holding positions like assistant principal at Central for 13 years, science teacher at Cameron and currently assistant superintendent

By Jenna Wilson Sheri Gray never fails to give her time and talent to lift up Special Olympics athletes in Northwest Missouri. Gray graduated with a Physical Education major not realizing this would be the gateway to her journey as a coach for Special Olympics Missouri. Gray now juggles a busy schedule coaching multiple sports

By Jenna Wilson If you don’t recognize Ron Auxier by his name, you certainly may have seen his composition around the city of St. Joseph. A retired architect, Auxier spends his time delivering mobile meals through InterServ and currently sits on the InterServ Board of Directors. Over the course of a successful career, Auxier carried

By Kirsten Stokes After four hours of sleep each day, Debb “Dog Lady” Allen has no time to rest when rehabilitating dogs in need. Since 2004, Allen has put all of her energy into building a credible and safe space for dogs through her nonprofit “Against All Odds Animal ResQ, Inc.” (AAO). Her journey toward

By Cameron Montemayor It‘s the fond memories of a sprawling Downtown that Christy George remembers, much like her grandparents before her, that drive her to create the same experience for residents and families through a variety of roles. “I think downtowns are the heart of every city,” said George, president of Main Street Downtown St.

By Kendra Simpson For Isaac “Ike” McDonald, football is more than just a game. He considers his youth football program to be a family and himself as the players “coach for life.” Growing up, McDonald learned much from his uncle, who he considered to be a great leader and role model. Today, he emulates his

By Jenna Wilson Even through the hardest parts of being a special education teacher, Deirdra “Deedie” Killgore finds joy in empowering students, even in retirement. Killgore spent the majority of her life working as a special education teacher for the St. Joseph School District and several other areas – educating infants to young adults. “There

By Kirsten Stokes Ever since she was young, Trina Earl has advocated for animals. Her passion ultimately lead to the creation of a new rescue in Doniphan County. In 2020, Earl held meetings throughout Doniphan County in hopes of getting a pet rescue. There wasn’t one at the time and that meant countless animals were

By Cameron Montemayor It’s hard to imagine where Mosaic Life Care’s anesthesiology department would be without the leadership of Moe Matthias over nearly four decades. Matthias has been integral in numerous processes and plans to improve perioperative and anesthetic care within the hospital system to the benefit of countless patients. “Anesthesiology was a lot riskier

By Cameron Montemayor In an age of podcasts, streaming and cell phones, Bob Ford is always seeking new ways to adapt and spark a passion for St. Joseph’s history and the lessons it can provide. Each week is a new adventure and opportunity to educate for the St. Joseph native and author, who spends his

By Jenna Wilson While her original life journey didn’t include advocating for abused children, Carrie Watkins had a change of heart and felt the need to be a voice for so many in St. Joseph. Watkins graduated from Missouri Western in 2003 with a bachelor’s in social work and a minor in gerontology, with an

By Kendra Simpson Everyone wants to know their family members are receiving the best possible treatment when dealing with an illness as scary as cancer. Those who have had the honor of meeting Dana McDaniel knew they would receive that very treatment. “I get to see people at their most vulnerable states which is something

By Cameron Montemayor Over the last 14 years, longtime Central High School history teacher Jeff Carter has helped turn the school’s Scholar Bowl program into a state powerhouse while mentoring countless students to academic success along the way. A desire to coach ultimately led Carter, a former Central alum, to start the Scholar Bowl program

By Kendra Simpson Growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean Paul Mundungu experienced first hand the privilege of clean water, which is why he’s dedicated so much time, effort and money to helping others across the world. In 2011, after being drafted into the Diversity Visa Lottery, Mundungu moved to St. Joseph with

By Kendra Simpson Annie Bramlage knew exactly the person she wanted to be by the age of 10. Today, she’s not only living out her dreams but also teaching hundreds of students to live out their own. Bramlage has lived a life dedicated to theatre. Her father passed on his passion of theatre to Bramlage,