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By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and JIM SALTER Associated Press A woman whose murder conviction was overturned after she served 43 years in prison was released Friday, after Missouri’s attorney general fought for more than a month to keep her behind bars. On Friday, Sandra Hemme left prison in Chillicothe, hours after a judge threatened to hold

By NewsPress Now A man who pleaded guilty for his role in distributing fentanyl in Northwest Missouri was sentenced Tuesday to nine years in federal prison. Lucas Ryan Coltrain, 24, of Newtown, Missouri, admitted guilt in February to participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl from Oct. 27, 2020, to Jan. 24, 2023, and being

By NewsPress Now Sky Real Estate, a Kansas City-based investment firm, has acquired the American Family Insurance campus in St. Joseph. The space, which spans more than 360,000 square feet, will be rebranded as STJ Office Campus. The deal includes a leaseback agreement with American Family Insurance for about 60,000 square feet. STJ plans to

By NewsPress Now A St. Joseph man has been charged with animal abuse in the case of a dog that was thrown off an Andrew County bridge. Arnold D. Thomas is charged with the Class E felony in Andrew County. Sheriff’s deputies found the female dog, which was still alive at the time, below a

By NewsPress Now Another state office now is involved in the case of the death of a Savannah police dog. Andrew County Prosecutor Monica Morrey said the Missouri Attorney General’s office will serve as special prosecutor in the death of Savannah K-9 officer Horus. Morrey said she first heard of the dog’s death on June

By NewsPress Now Riverwalk Trail in St. Joseph has been shut down until further notice due to rising levels on the Missouri River. City officials confirmed that the Riverwalk Trail between Remington Nature Center and Riverfront Park is now closed. Pedestrians are asked to stay off the trail as a safety precaution. As of 9:35

By NewsPress Now Several people were arrested Thursday morning at a St. Joseph residence after a three-month-long investigation involving several law enforcement agencies. Six St. Joseph residents ranging in age from 30 to 58 years old were taken into custody after a search warrant was served by the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office/St. Joseph Police Department

By NewsPress Now A St. Joseph man was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison Wednesday for his role in an $8 million wire fraud conspiracy involving a Christian health care sharing ministry. Craig Anthony Reynolds, 62, will serve 17 years and six months without parole and was ordered to pay more than

By NewsPress Now A St. Joseph school board member admitted guilt Tuesday afternoon to a misdemeanor charge stemming from an incident involving another elected official. Whitney Lanning entered a guilty plea to the charge of second-degree harassment at a hearing in front of Associate Circuit Judge Chad Gaddie. She will be placed on probation and

By NewsPress Now The St. Joseph School District Board of Education has fired a Robidoux Middle School math teacher charged with first-degree sodomy. Everett “Tim” Harding’s employment was terminated at a meeting Monday night. In a statement, officials said “The District’s highest priority is the safety and well-being of our students. Upon hearing concerns, the

By NewsPress Now A St. Joseph woman faces a charge in connection with a weekend shooting at a Belt Highway entertainment center. Amari Dydell, 18, is charged with unlawful use of a weapon in the incident, which happened late Saturday at Belt Entertainment, 210 N. Belt Highway. A probable cause statement in the case said

By NewsPress Now A teacher facing a charge involving sexual contact with a student will remain jailed for now. A judge again denied bond for Everett “Tim” Harding at a hearing on Wednesday morning. The Robidoux Middle School math teacher entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of first-degree sodomy related to a

By Chris Fortune A Robidoux Middle School math teacher has been arrested on allegations of misconduct involving a district student. St. Joseph School District leaders were notified by an employee of the allegations against Tim Harding, according to a statement. District officials are conducting their own investigation in addition to the inquiry by police. “The

By NewsPress Now The lights are back on in St. Joseph after an early-morning outage left much of the city in the dark. At one point, almost 30,000 customers were without power in the area. The incident forced the St. Joseph School District to cancel classes on Wednesday. Courtney Lewis, a senior communications manager with

By Marcus Clem More fallout has arrived from a Feb. 26 St. Joseph Board of Education incident with a new lawsuit filed by Isaura Garcia against fellow board member Whitney Lanning. Alleging a single civil violation of assault, Garcia’s lawsuit recounts the events of that night, in which Lanning confronted Garcia over what Lanning has

By Jacob Meikel Missouri Western head coach Candi Whitaker will leave the women’s basketball program after a five-year run, officials announced Monday. Whitaker will head back to the Division I ranks as it was also announced Monday that she will become the next head coach of the women’s basketball program at North Alabama. Whitaker was

By NewsPress Now The St. Joseph City Council has a vacancy following the resignation of one of its members. District II Councilman Taylor Crouse’s departure from the city’s governing body is effective immediately. He cited changes in his family life that will lead to him moving outside the boundaries of his district as the reason

By NewsPress Now A power outage has forced News-Press NOW’s Downtown office at 825 Edmond St. to be closed to the public today. Customers in need of assistance can call 816-271-8500 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. but no in-person services will be available. Weather and the restoration of power permitting, the building will reopen