Business/Consumer

By Cameron Montemayor One of St. Joseph’s newest businesses on the South Belt Highway is now open and letting customers lead the way with their own style. After years of operating exclusively online, Imaginable Creations celebrated its first day of business at the new storefront Wednesday at 300 South Belt Highway Suite B near Country

By Charles Christian Small businesses in St. Joseph are finding creative ways to grow by exchanging ideas and supporting one another. The local Chamber of Commerce, which is sponsoring special events for Small Business Week, estimates that over 75% of its membership consists of small business owners. This week, special workshops on starting a new

By Jenna Wilson A major truck driver shortage has reached a record high this year and could further impact supply chain costs. “There’s always been a demand for truck drivers,” said Ken Pratt, owner of area company Ken Pratt Trucking. “But the problem with truck drivers right now is they’re older and not a lot

By Cameron Montemayor Residents looking to purchase or renew their home insurance policy this year could be in for sticker shock. The average annual homeowners insurance policy has increased in Missouri by nearly 20% on average since 2021, according to insurance marketplace data from QuoteWizard. Residents and businesses across the area are seeing increases from

By Charles Christian Small Business Week in St. Joseph is giving local business owners a chance to enhance their business skills and see an uptick in customers. St. Joseph joins the rest of the nation in celebrating Small Business Week from April 29 through May 5. During this week, the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce

By NewsPress Now An outage that began Tuesday persists for some United Fiber customers, who are now going on four days of service interruptions.  United Fiber CEO Jim Bagley posted a new update Friday, apologizing multiple times for the inconvenience. “We are working diligently to get you back up and running,” Bagley said. He said

By Charles Christian Some United Fiber customers are entering their third day of interrupted service. What started as a brief interruption on Tuesday, continues into Thursday for about 10% of United Fiber’s 35,000 customers. An email to United Fiber customers on Thursday morning stated: “As of early this morning, we are seeing progress on customers’

By Charles Christian United Fiber customers continued to experience service issues Wednesday after an outage and emergency repairs began the day before. An update posted to United Fiber’s website on Tuesday at 2:51 p.m. said the company would be conducting “emergency maintenance” on its equipment due to “issues caused by this morning’s power outage.” The

By Kendra Simpson The Angry Swede will be undergoing a sweet transformation in the coming months, combining with another local business to bring beer and brunch to Downtown under a new name. Janaha and John Anderson, co-owners of the St. Joe Cookie Company, will officially be taking over The Angry Swede in early June after

By Cameron Montemayor As hundreds of farmers across Northwest Missouri ramp up work for the start of another season of raising corn, a recent announcement in Washington D.C. will open a long-awaited door for an industry facing projected downturns in income. Eight Midwest states, including Missouri, received the green light to sell 15% ethanol year-round

By Jazmine Knight Owning a business of any kind is challenging, but when you throw in being a female-owned company in a male-dominated industry, the stakes get higher. St. Joseph recently was recognized as one of the top places to start a business by Site Selection magazine, and Kristi Bailey, director of communication and marketing

By Jazmine Knight A once-popular scooter is dwindling in St. Joseph in wake of the bankruptcy of electric riding company Bird. The scooters were popular among teens in St. Joseph who were just looking to get out the house and do something fun. Bird was also utilized by adults who traveled between bars on the

By Cameron Montemayor As the banners and billboards come down one by one across St. Joseph following the Women’s Division II National Championship, local leaders are stressing the importance of addressing a growing need for hotel space. By 2026, a new $22 million Marriott by Courtyard Hotel is expected to sit across from the Civic

By Charles Christian Although lumber prices have dropped noticeably since the COVID-19 pandemic, local builders and consumers are still cautious about building new homes in St. Joseph. Scott Laderoute, owner of Sprint Lumber in St. Joseph, said that even though the prices are not as low as before the pandemic, prices for lumber have stabilized.

By Jazmine Knight April 15 marks the deadline for all tax filings, which means if you haven’t already received one, tax refunds are soon on the way for those who qualify. Some people put their refunds in savings, some use it to pay bills and others even use it for a vacation. And according to

By Jazmine Knight Understanding finances isn’t an easy task for everyone, but taking the time to learn the basics can be a big help when it comes to tax season and beyond. April recognizes Financial Literacy Month. Financial literacy refers to the understanding of financial components such as budgeting, investing, taxes, credit and more. Having

By Kendra Simpson St. Joseph vendors have a new place to call home when it comes to selling their products. And for the shop’s owner, it’s a fairy tale come true. With its official opening on April 3, the Frog Prince artisan market and boutique, located at 112 S. Eighth St., has already seen a

By Charles Christian After the economic misery of COVID-19, fast-food restaurants in St. Joseph are experiencing better times both in profit and employee retention. Both large chains and locally-owned establishments faced the same kinds of challenges other businesses faced during the pandemic, including supply chain difficulties. However, because of the close contact workers have with

By Chris Fortune St. Joseph residents might want to set aside some dough because there’s another food truck to try in town. Chef Baldee’s Pizza is located at 1013 Seneca St., near Patee Park and the Pony Express National Museum, where the white and blue mobile pizza kitchen sits behind a home on the property.  The pizza kitchen,

By Cameron Montemayor A popular and long-standing barbecue destination is celebrating an expansion from food truck to storefront this week in Midtown St. Joseph. Big Daddy & Son’s BBQ will christen its new storefront, which will go by Big Daddy BBQ, at 2121 Francis St. with a soft opening this Friday and Saturday from 11

By NewsPress Now EXP Gaming Lounge announced on social media Thursday that it will be closing its doors in April. “We are very sorry to our amazing customers,” the post said. “Unfortunately, we are no longer in a position to keep our doors open.” The store, located at 1401 S. Belt Highway, thanked its customers

By Jenna Wilson The Rolling Hills Library has announced plans to build a new St. Joseph facility to replace its Belt Branch, which could be open by early 2026. Director Michelle Mears said the library was seeking a piece of ground that was accessible, affordable and relatively flat to minimize site preparation costs. The new

By Jazmine Knight St. Joseph will be welcoming a new distillery next month. Parkway Distillery, located at 415 N. 13th St., is scheduled to host an open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 16. “To our knowledge, this is the first distillery in St. Joseph since Prohibition,” said Edison Derr, co-founder

By Chris Fortune Efforts to build a new animal shelter have been renewed. The City of St. Joseph and the nonprofit group Friends of the Animal Shelter of St. Joseph will move forward with a plan to build a new animal shelter at 3405 S. Belt Highway. It will replace the current shelter at 701

By Ashley Luthans A fan-favorite Chinese restaurant in St. Joseph reopened its doors Friday after closing in December 2023. Twin Dragon, located at 2604 N. Belt Highway, is under new management. Amber Chumil Perez, an employee, said the previous chef has returned, but the restaurant will also be seeing a couple of changes. As of

By Chris Fortune A federal grant could provide a lifeline for East Hills Cleaners, which is growing to better serve its customers. The Community Development Block Grant provides grants to cities through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. St. Joseph is permitted to allocate funds to small businesses through the program to support

By Jazmine Knight What should have been standard HVAC repairs left one St. Joseph woman inconvenienced and out thousands of dollars, and she’s warning others to do their research before hiring anyone. It all started back in June of 2023, when Amy Bowman hired a local contracting company to install the HVAC. Even though it

By NewsPress Now A St. Joseph man is Missouri American Water’s new vice president of operations. Jody Carlson joined the company in 2015 and has served as senior operations manager, director of Northwest operations and vice president of engineering and business development. He previously was the city’s director of public works and was an engineer

By NewsPress Now St. Joseph’s Chamber of Commerce president is one of the state’s 2024 Women of Achievement Award winners. Natalie Hawn was one of 10 women selected from more than 500 nominated statewide. The award was established in 2022 by Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe to recognize the accomplishments of residents in conjunction with Women’s

By Cameron Montemayor A popular local Chinese restaurant is set for a comeback in St. Joseph under new management after closing its doors in December. Twin Dragon owner Mohammad “Sharif” Nazar confirmed to News-Press NOW the restaurant will reopen at its previous location at 2604 N. Belt Highway. While no official reopening day has been