By Cameron Montemayor Zachary Fetty will look back on a series of events in September 2023 as a turning point for the rest of his life. The Marine Corps veteran first found himself lying in a hospital bed after realizing he had just undergone lifesaving surgery. Fetty, a 48-year-old St. Joseph native, has spent the
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By Chris Fortune The onset of spring brings the beginning of annual repairs on local roads that will continue late into the summer. Buchanan County began repairing County Line, Maxwell, Amazonia and Oscar Roads, including Huntoon Road east of Interstate 229, this week. It’s part of the county’s goal to repair 18 miles of road
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By Marcus Clem Administrators are wasting no time after a big vote on Tuesday gave them the go-ahead to borrow $20 million and spend it on local school buildings and services. An initial step taken Wednesday is the hiring of S.M. Wilson & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, in the role of manager-at-risk for all
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By Riley Funk The St. Joseph City Council selected Jason Eslinger on Thursday to fill the District II seat. The seat was left open after former council member Taylor Crouse resigned due to his planned move outside the district boundary. Eslinger is no stranger to the South Side. He grew up and attended school in
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By Jenna Wilson Family Guidance Center’s Behavioral Health Urgent Care center has been open to patients for a year now, and employees are reflecting on the clinic’s successes. The Behavioral Health Urgent Care center opened its doors April 3, 2023, and has served more than 1,300 patients since then. On average, they see 110 patients
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By Riley Funk While voters approved the majority of proposed city charter amendments on Tuesday, two propositions failed, meaning two boards will not move under the city administrative code. Proposition 5 would have removed the Museum Oversight Board and the Personnel Board from the city charter and added them to the City of St. Joseph
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By Marcus Clem Several St. Joseph Board of Education members agreed on Wednesday to censure Whitney Lanning for her actions on Feb. 26 following a previous board meeting. Board member Kim Miller, following a closed-door consultation with district legal counsel, proposed to censure Lanning for alleged inappropriate conduct that has prompted a charge of second-degree
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By Charles Christian When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, students nationwide suddenly found themselves learning from home. It’s an arrangement many decided to stick with even after classrooms reopened the next academic year. Before public school buildings existed, formal education happened primarily in churches and homes. The homeschool movement has diversified and become a growing source
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By Chris Fortune More residents seemingly wanted their voices to be heard on Tuesday, as voter turnout in the general municipal election exceeded last year’s by nearly 10%. Buchanan County saw 22.5% voter turnout on April 2, which was a jump from the 12.6% mark in April 2023. County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey expected low voter
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By Marcus Clem An attorney for St. Joseph Board of Education member Whitney Lanning responded to criticism of her client on Wednesday during an initial court appearance on a pending charge of second-degree harassment. Terri Lowden, who represents Lanning on behalf of Mark H. Wissehr P.C. of St. Joseph, stood with Lanning before Associate Circuit
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By Marcus Clem LaTonya Williams, Ronda Chesney and Mike Moore secured seats on the St. Joseph Board of Education on Tuesday night, according to unofficial election results. Williams, the incumbent board president, secured first place from the start of counting in Buchanan County and never fell from that position. Moore was in second, and Chesney
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By Marcus Clem More than 6 in 10 voters approved Proposition St. Joseph School District on Tuesday night, clearing the way for upgrading various facilities with support from private investors, who will be paid back via an existing tax levy. With the margin of voters in favor required to exceed 57.143%, at total of 7,018
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By Chris Fortune Rolling Hills Library will remove the sunset portion of its overall tax levy. Voters approved the decision to eliminate the tax levy, allowing a reset of the library’s overall tax levy from $0.31 to $0.28 per $100 assessed valuation. With 100% of precincts counted, the tax passed with 62% of the vote.
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By Riley Funk The city charter will be seeing some changes soon, as voters approved five of seven amendment propositions on Tuesday’s ballot. Propositions that passed Proposition 1 will stagger the terms of the St. Joseph City Council. Voters passed the proposition with 69.32% approval. Proposition 2 will restrict a person to running for only
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By Riley Funk A construction project of four homes on Highland Avenue will move forward after the city approved funding Monday. Bill No. 769-22 unanimously passed at Monday night’s city council meeting, meaning $249,689 will be added to an agreement between the city and the Habitat for Humanity. The project, which will cost $514,629 in
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By Riley Funk The city council approved funding for emergency dispatch services and city agencies Monday night. St. Joseph City Council members voted unanimously 8-0-0 to approve upgrades to the local 911 operating system with Bill No. 778-22. The city will now file an application to the Missouri 911 Service Board to request funding to
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By Cameron Montemayor A popular skater statue and centerpiece of the northeast parkway will be saved after it was discovered in Andrew County last week. Park officials confirmed the bronze statue from the “Catch Me If You Can” display near Corby Pond was delivered to Machine Head, a Kansas City conservator, on Monday. The statue
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By Marcus Clem East Buchanan Middle School has for decades required many of its local students to be bused 10 miles away from home and back, but the project to end that is now underway. The $16 million construction of a new campus situated next to the existing elementary and high school got started on
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By Marcus Clem Local voters continue receiving mailed flyers endorsing two school board candidates who said they have nothing to do with that effort, and it’s not clear who is paying for it all. The Families for a Strong St. Joseph political action committee has to date reported nearly $68,000 in debts incurred toward support
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By Jazmine Knight A St. Joseph home and its owners will be seen on nationwide TV later this month. Will and Amanda Unzicker will be featured on season 5 of Magnolia Network’s hit show, “First Time Fixer,” with their episode airing on Friday, April 26. Will, the owner of Upstanding Contracting, and Amanda, the owner
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By Marcus Clem Tens of millions of dollars are available in reserve for the St. Joseph School District to tap as deficit spending accelerates in the name of giving teachers and staff higher pay. The district’s cash reserves currently exceed $30 million, a resource that looks to be needed in the months to come. The
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By Kendra Simpson Rick Gehring and other St. Joseph School District representatives rallied students in the area to create a video encouraging the public to vote “Yes” on the bond issue Tuesday. “As we get closer to Tuesday in and you just go back and you look at the things that this bond is going
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By Chris Fortune Vacation rental homes will be subject to new rules and regulations after the most recent city council meeting. The city council approved an amendment to the city’s code of ordinances this month with requirements for short-term rentals, like Airbnbs, to be properly licensed, be in appropriate zoning districts and pay all applicable
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By Jazmine Knight An area kindergarten readiness program is expanding, aiming to provide more young students with the tools to be successful on the first day of school. United Way’s KinderClub will now be offered at Riverside Elementary, St. Paul Lutheran School and Avenue City Elementary beginning April 8. For St. Paul and Riverside, this
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By Kirsten Stokes MidCity Excellence is working to encourage and engage young men in the community as the organization gears up for its Men of Valor and Excellence breakfast. From 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on April 20 at Green Acres Ballroom located at 3500 North Village Dr., men and teen boys in the community
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By Kyle Schmidt As families and kids gather to celebrate Easter with baskets of treats, it might be a good idea to save some candy for later. Dietitians say it’s important to remember how sugary candy can be, especially for young kids. “I recommend parents set a limit with their kids on how much candy they
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By Chris Fortune Lottery players in St. Joseph are feeling hopeful as the Powerball jackpot continues to climb. Another drawing this weekend will give players across the country another shot at the enormous $935 million jackpot. The Cenex at 320 Edmond St. has its regulars who buy lottery tickets, but when the Powerball reaches a certain
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By Ashley Luthans In 1974, 6-month-old Erin Willoughby celebrated her first Easter by shining on the front page of the St. Joseph News-Press in a homemade bunny costume. Fifty years later, the bunny costume has become a staple of the family’s Easter celebrations. The costume was made by Willoughby’s great-aunt, Betty Osburn. Gary Redden, Willoughby’s
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By Kyle Schmidt Spring cleaning might leave you with some items you don’t know how to dispose of, but several city programs, like Clean Sweep, are kicking off in April and can help get rid of waste. Clean Sweep runs April 1-7 and allows residents two days of free disposal at the city landfill for
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By NewsPress Now Marriage applications Rafael Olain Bustos Reyes, 37, and Yisel Conde Izquierdo, 32, both of St. Joseph. Kaleb Erik Caudle, 39, and Cortney Louann Cornelius, 34, both of St. Joseph. John Eugene Sandifer, 60, and Cheryl L. West Todd, 59, both of St. Joseph. Juan Daniel Bautista Lopez, 30, and Juana Diego Velasquez,
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