Government

By Chris Fortune Buchanan County is receiving help from law enforcement officials to find who is issuing checks made to look like they are from the county. The county treasurer’s office reconciles checks from the bank every day and noticed some of the checks this month did not match its reports. County fraud protection measures

By Chris Fortune A Buchanan County official gave the green light to contribute funds to the YMCA for its indoor pool project. In August, Presiding Commissioner Scott Nelson approved a $500,000 contribution over three years from economic development funding starting in 2024 and ending in 2026. An additional $100,000 will go toward pool operations for

By Chris Fortune Buchanan County officially has guidelines for any future development of solar farms on its land. The Buchanan County commissioners unanimously approved solar farm regulations last week after receiving the final draft in July. It took two years working in tandem with the planning and zoning commission to establish guidelines for large developers

By Cameron Montemayor St. Joseph’s growing mountain bike landscape will see a new and enhanced attraction in the future following approval from city council on Monday. Council members authorized an agreement with American Ramp Company for design-build services for a new pump track at Huston-Wyeth Park using $347,395 in transient guest tax funds. The project

By Chris Fortune City officials are seeking input from the community for the future development of Coleman Hawkins Park. The St. Joseph Parks, Recreation and Civic Facilities department is hosting a community engagement open house at the Felix Street Square concessions building at Felix and Seventh streets on Friday during the Sounds of Summer concert

By NewsPress Now A city official’s interim leadership position has become permanent. Dawn Lanning has been named director of the city’s finance department. A St. Joseph native, she has been with the city since 2000 and served as interim finance director since March 2023. The department has enhanced analysis and reporting, improved the annual budget

By Chris Fortune A recent settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency will help clear the way for the city of St. Joseph to redevelop a Downtown building. The Midwest region of the EPA entered into a settlement agreement on Wednesday with the city of St. Joseph to move forward with the cleanup and demolition of

By NewsPress Now Bryan Carter has announced his resignation as St. Joseph’s city manager, effective Sept. 6, 2024. Carter has served in the city manager role since January 2021, when he was initially named interim city manager following the resignation of then-city manager Gary Edwards. Carter previously served in the city’s legal department beginning in

By Cameron Montemayor City leaders took steps to prepare for the future of the Aquatic Park lap pool should they decide to replace it with a new one or move forward with a YMCA partnership for a new facility up north. On Monday, council members approved a $23,500 work order with Snyder & Associates to

By Chris Fortune Before deciding to put water back in Lake Contrary, a path must be cleared for a dredge to do its work. Buchanan County held its second public meeting for Lake Contrary at the Remington Nature Center on Thursday night as a potential dredging project continues to gain traction. A representative with Opterra

By Cameron Montemayor City leaders and elected officials began the process of mapping out how to distribute the last remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds dispersed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of St. Joseph has around $1.6 million remaining in ARPA funds that must be obligated by Dec. 31 and spent by Dec. 31,

By NewsPress Now Extensive window replacement work at St. Joseph’s chief administration building continued in the sweltering summer heat on Monday. Large scaffolding could be seen blanketing the front of City Hall on Monday part of a large window replacement project that began in June and is expected to last until the fall. Access through

By Chris Fortune An engineering report yielded positive results for the county as it continues working toward acquiring a permit to dredge Lake Contrary. Terracon, an engineering consultant based out of Lenexa, Kansas, collected soil samples around Lake Contrary in June. It was a seepage analysis to assess the risk of undermining the nearby levee,