Feature

By Charles Christian For 15 years, retired mail carrier Jeff Boyles has been on a mission to make sure letters from local children to Santa get answered. His tradition started during his mail route with the St. Joseph Post Office and has continued into retirement. He said it began with just two letters that he

By NewsPress Now Savannah, Missouri’s, City Hall will be closed for a day next week due to a movie filming there. City Administrator Bruce Lundy said the building will be closed Tuesday, Dec. 17, for the filming of “A Chrismystery.” Information about the city of Savannah can be found at savannahmo.net and facebook.com/savannahmo.

By Leah Rainwater A local woman has fulfilled her goal of running all throughout St. Joseph. Candice Knuteson started her running journey in 2009, running races, dashes and trails of all kinds. She started her goal of running through St. Joseph on Sept. 7, 2021, tracking all of her work through CityStrides, a website that

By Ashley Luthans A multitude of activities in Downtown St. Joseph aim to spread cheer this holiday season. Events kick off on Saturday, Nov. 30, with the annual Downtown Lighting Ceremony at Coleman Hawkins Park at Eighth and Felix streets. Live music, Mayor John Josendale, Santa Claus and more will be present at the event.

By NewsPress Now St. Joseph is back in the spotlight again as the backdrop for a new holiday movie filming in December. “A Chrismystery,” is a family-friendly movie about a small town having its Christmas decorations stolen with residents working to figure out the culprit. Locations in both St. Joseph and Savannah will be used

By Kirsten Stokes Two local spirit squads have something to cheer about after taking home some statewide honors. The Savannah and Central high school cheerleading teams each placed second in the 3A small coed and 5A large divisions, respectively, at the Missouri state competition recently. Members of the teams reflected on the moment they heard

By Kyle Schmidt A 12-foot skeleton is just the start of what a pair of neighbors on Ashland Avenue have in store for trick-or-treaters Halloween night. Brenda LaFollette and Meaghan Walker share a passion for going all out for the holiday. The two live in neighboring homes that are easy to spot at the north

By Ashley Luthans Making it to the Olympia is the ultimate goal for many bodybuilders around the world, and Hunter Henderson is no exception. Henderson, from DeKalb, Missouri, earned her spot in the bodybuilding competition last month and competed on the international stage on Oct. 11. She finished in 13th place, and said she’s grateful

By Leah Rainwater One St. Joseph woman is using her songwriting as a creative outlet to raise awareness for those in need. Taylor Presley didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up until she discovered what she describes as a “pull” to go to Maui, Hawaii, in 2012. “When I got there,

By Kyle Schmidt What started as a challenge between three guys has turned into more than 600 people running daily and making St. Joseph capital of streak running. Streak running might conjure a certain image, but in this context, it actually is about running a mile in under 20 minutes every day for 365 days

By Leah Rainwater About 20 employees were celebrated for their various years of service at Specialty Industries on Wednesday afternoon. Families and friends were invited to come celebrate with their loved ones and take a tour of the facility. “We’re a packaging company, but it’s our mission to provide meaningful employment for people who have

By Kirsten Stokes Planks of wood lie dormant in a garage, but every day, a father-son duo work together to transform them into symbols of encouragement and purpose. The father, Robert, and son, Marty Schnabel started a project in 2016, mailing and delivering handmade crosses all over the country to places like California, New York,

By Charles Christian A former St. Joseph School District Board of Education president has written a new book meant to help organizations achieve harmony. David Foster, who was elected to the school board in 2021 served as president for 2022-23, said the idea of this book came two years ago when he was president of

By Leah Rainwater Almost 13-year-old Artist Wilkinson has already led an interesting life. From dealing with a complete hearing loss in his left ear to finding out about his mom and grandmother having cancer more than one time, he still perseveres.  When is mom and grandma were diagnosed, Wilkinson mentioned feeling worried. “(I felt) Sad

By Kendra Simpson At 17, Brandi Dredge did not consider herself a victim. Today, she’s grateful for those who fought for her regardless. “The wrestling with my identity was huge in that I’m a wife, but the law is saying I’m a victim,” Dredge said. “I’m a mother, but my child’s DNA is evidence of

By Kyle Schmidt A studio fire in late February put a pause on yoga classes for Evolve owner Jessica Bledsoe, but it didn’t hold her back for good. “The biggest thing is keep going cause if you give up then you start going down a route of negativity,” Bledsoe said. “I’m a pretty positive person

By Leah Rainwater Ten years ago, East Hills Shopping Center hoped to get some traffic with a back-to-school commercial featuring mall employees. Little did they know, the advertisement would become known worldwide, even a decade later. Tyson Huff-Garza, who was “boots and pants,” is a Realtor for the St. Joseph Real Estate Group. He said

By Charles Christian A Canadian sport that owes its popularity to the Winter Olympics is launching a new season in St. Joseph. The St. Joseph Curling Club started its summer/fall season this week, and club president Patrick Turner said that he hopes the sport will continue to grow in popularity. “Like most people around here,

By Cameron Montemayor Nearly 450 miles away from home, Chris and Mike Tonn stood inside the Robidoux Row Museum on a late July evening surrounded by a group of people they had just met for the first time, but one they somehow already felt so close to. With the help of a stethoscope and with

By Kirsten Stokes Kamia Bradley and Amelia Rose Earhart have piloted in the air and have made inspiring moves on the ground, accomplishing what they want and encouraging others to do the same. But their connection to one another didn’t start on the tarmac. Rather, a scholarship brought them together. “A pilot is more than

By Ashley Luthans An unusual pet was rescued earlier this month thanks to the help of people in the community. Maya the parrot is 10 years old and lives with Cindy Majors. Majors and Maya are best friends, spending most of their time with each other. One recent evening, Majors decided to bring Maya outside

By Charles Christian If you take a trip out to Rosecrans Memorial Airport, you might come across a 93-year-old man providing guidance to younger mechanics or newly-licensed pilots about how to do their jobs safely and effectively. Ralph Holaday has been working on all kinds of airplane engines for over 60 years. He works six

By Kyle Schmidt Joshua Brandon, director and writer of “25 Miles to Normal,” and stars Bruce Davison and Lucas Bryant visited News-Press NOW morning edition Thursday. The men said everyone on the crew is enjoying their time in St. Joseph and added that the community has been great to them.  They will film in Kansas City

By Kirsten Stokes A Missouri Western State University graduate and upcoming author is releasing his memoir, “25 to Life,” later this month. “I kind of still don’t believe in my life. Sometimes you wake up and it’s very difficult. You never not think about it,” Corey Blevins said. What was supposed to be a birthday

By Kyle Schmidt Players from all over the country come to St. Joseph to play for the Mustangs in the summertime, and while they bond with each other, sometimes the strongest bonds are formed off the field. “We treat them like we do our kids,” said Larry Orth, who has been hosting Mustangs players for

By Kirsten Stokes A Bishop LeBlond student is sharing her story and raising awareness for childhood cancer. Isabelle Giles is a 16-year-old athlete in St. Joseph, but she’s not had the easiest path. Giles has dealt with microblastoma since the age of 6, when they first discovered a tumor in her brain. “So, the first

By Riley Funk St. Joseph Habitat for Humanity and community members welcomed a St. Joseph mother and her children to a new home Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting and house blessing ceremony. Samanta Mujagic, along with her three children, will now live at a house on East Highland Avenue, which was once a dream. “It feels

By Cameron Montemayor When Ryan Coffman saw an opportunity to help, loved ones say he jumped at it without hesitation. When he sensed something was wrong, his infectious smile, compassion and sense of humor shined through like few others could. Going above and beyond for others was simply in his nature. Brittany and Tyler Ziolkowski