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Editorials

The harsh reality of Chiefs camp

Kansas City Chiefs training camp always brought excitement to St. Joseph. Every July, the team’s arrival would put the city on the map. Three weeks later, Chiefs owners, GMs and coaches would give the community an “atta-boy” before heading south to start the long season. Amid the emporia, there was always that seed of doubt.

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The AI job cliff is getting closer

For recent college graduates, something big lurks beneath the surface. It builds so slowly it’s almost imperceptible at first. Then, before you know it, people are telling stories about what it was like before artificial intelligence (AI) changed everything. Three decades ago, college graduates might have sensed something similar about the emerging internet and its

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It also becomes necessary to avoid self-inflicted injuries. To its detriment, Western has failed to do that.

Has Missouri Western turned the corner?

In higher education, enrollment isn’t anyone’s favorite conversation topic. The last few enrollment reports have been painful affairs for Missouri Western State University, including the most recent one from the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education. It showed a 25% drop in total headcount enrollment and a 30% decline in full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment since

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St. Joseph gets some sports swagger

St. Joseph put its best foot forward this month at the 2025 MSHSAA Girls Volleyball State Championship. The tournament brought 20 teams to a freshly painted Civic Arena in Downtown St. Joseph. In recent years, the city has invested considerable funding into this 45-year-old facility, replacing the scoreboard and making or planning upgrades to seating,

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Profiles in vacillation

The St. Joseph Board of Education needs to make a decision about the future of public high schools. This decision needs to be based on what’s best for children – not just today but two or three decades from now. The board is under no obligation to appease the Facebook groups or bend to the

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It also becomes necessary to avoid self-inflicted injuries. To its detriment, Western has failed to do that.

Lack of transparency compounds Western’s problems

These are difficult days for higher education. The Trump administration wages war on elite universities and takes the economically reckless stance of restricting international students. When budgets get tight, state governments fail to support public colleges and universities. As costs rise, families re-evaluate the value of a college degree. Facing a “demographic cliff,” institutions compete

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Edgar goes out with a bang

Just days before his retirement, Superintendent Gabe Edgar is scheduled to present a long-range plan to the St. Joseph Board of Education. If approved, this plan would eventually leave the St. Joseph School District with just two high schools. Benton becomes a middle school, while Central and Lafayette remain the city’s two public high schools

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