St. Joseph police have identified a 40-year-old
St. Joseph man as the suspect in wake of the robbery and hit-and-run at Menards
Tuesday.

Police identify the suspect as Travis Graham.

Police say the woman, an employee at Menards, who
Graham allegedly ran over with his pick-up fleeing the store is being treated
at the Mosaic Life Care St. Joseph hospital. Police report the 59-year-old
woman suffered serious injuries, but they do not appear to be life-threatening.
Officials have not released her name.

The St. Joseph Police Department reports officers
responded to a call from Menards early Tuesday afternoon. The store off I-29
reported a man entered the store and stole several items. When an employee
attempted to stop him from driving off in a black pick-up, he allegedly ran her
over, causing serious injuries.

Graham fled the scene in the pick-up. Officers
arrested him later and impounded the truck.

St. Joseph police identify suspect in Menard robbery/hit and run

USDA’s Economic Research Service says the impact of COVID-19 on processing rates was short-lived in the largest pork-producing region. 

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska compose the largest hog processing region in the United States, where more than 40 percent of all U.S. hogs are processed. 

The region is also home to more large and medium-sized processing plants than other regions. In the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, March-May 2020, the region experienced a 40 percent decline in hog slaughter compared with rates during the same period in 2019. 

Labor shortages attributed to COVID-19 infections among workers resulted in slow production and temporary shutdowns at large processing plants for about ten weeks. 

However, when looking at hog slaughter and reported COVID-19 cases for the entire year, slaughter increased even as cases of infection also increased. From June 2020 through the end of December 2020, weekly slaughter rates were generally on par with 2019 levels.

USDA: COVID-19 impact on pork processing short-lived

The Department of Agriculture Wednesday announced a $1 billion investment to improve critical community facilities in 48 states, Puerto Rico and Guam. 

USDA says the infrastructure funding will increase access to health care, education and public safety while spurring community development and building sound infrastructure for people living in rural communities. 

USDA Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh says, “These loans and grants will help rural communities invest in facilities and services that are vital to all communities.” 

Bronaugh highlighted 731 projects that USDA is making in five programs that will fund essential community services. These programs include Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants, Community Facilities Loan Guarantees, Community Facilities Technical Assistance Training Grants, Community Facilities Disaster Grants, and Economic Impact Initiative Grants. 

More than 100 types of projects are eligible for funding. Eligible applicants include municipalities, public bodies, nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes. Projects must be in rural areas with a population of 20,000 or less.

USDA invests $1 billion to improve community infrastructure in rural towns

The Department of Agriculture will conduct the first-ever National Agroforestry Survey. 

The National Agricultural Statistics Service is mailing the survey to 11,000 farmers and ranchers next week to gather information on agroforestry practices used for climate, conservation and production. 

NASS Agricultural Statistics Board Chair Joe Parsons says, "The results of this survey could catalyze important change by helping policymakers and farm groups more fully understand and support this aspect of agriculture." 

The survey is conducted cooperatively with the USDA National Agroforestry Center, a partnership between USDA's Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

The center will release the data in studies and publications. Highlights will give an overview of how agroforestry practices are used in regions across the United States. 

Producers can respond to the survey securely online at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail. The survey will take no longer than 50 minutes to complete if producers have all five agroforestry practices on their operations.

USDA to conduct first-ever National Agroforestry Survey

The International Dairy Foods Association, the Port of Los Angeles, and CMA CGM, a French shipping and logistics company, have formed the Dairy Exports Working Group. 

It will work to identify and address supply chain issues hampering U.S. dairy product exports. The announcement was made at the Dairy Forum, which is the annual IDFA conference. 

The groups will focus their efforts on West Coast ports, which is where most U.S. dairy products leave the country. The Hagstrom Report says they’ll also look at ways to streamline shipping from the nation’s midsection to the West Coast. 

“U.S. dairy exports reached a near-record $6.4 billion in 2020 and continued at a strong pace in 2021 because of high demand,” says Michael Dykes, IDEFA President. “That total could be much higher with more reliability and predictability in the supply chain.” The CMA CGM Group promised to offer more empty containers to U.S. exporters to help speed up shipping efforts.

Groups come together to work on supply chain issues

Officials in Washington, D.C., are gearing up to debate reauthorizing the next farm bill in 2023. One group of grower-leaders intends to be a valuable resource for both corn growers and policymakers. 

The Risk Management and Transportation Action Team is a group that oversees much of the National Corn Growers Association’s public policy work on transportation, the farm safety net, and federal taxes. 

That group intends to play an active role in preparing NCGA for the 2023 Farm Bill. “We will be spending time evaluating the current farm bill commodity and crop insurance programs, supporting strong risk-management tools, and looking for areas of improvement,” says team chair Bill Leigh. 

“The work to protect key tax provisions never stops in Washington.” The current estate and gift tax exemptions will automatically lower in several years unless addressed by Congress. The Action Team will continue working to protect important tax provisions while the farm bill debate takes place in Washington.

Ag groups ready to help with developing new farm bill

The Swine Health Information Center started a coalition to study ideal methods for cleaning and disinfecting feed mills following a potential African Swine Fever Outbreak. 

Other organizations include the Institute for Feed Education and Research, the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada, and the United Soybean Board. 

“SHIC continues to look into all the ways diseases can get into and spread throughout the country,” says Executive Director Paul Sundberg. 

“It’s not just to identify pathways but to do something about them with this kind of research.” He also says that once the ASF virus gets into a feed mill, it will stay there for a long time, meaning the work is essential to address the risk to the U.S. swineherd. 

The project will examine the optimal methods for disinfecting feed mills, paying close attention to feed manufacturing equipment that’s not designed for disinfection. “Again, this work is essential to protecting the swineherd,” he adds.

Coalition to study decontamination in the event of an ASF outbreak

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall says a federal vaccine mandate on non-U.S. citizens traveling to the U.S. will lead to more supply chain issues.

 Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced enforcement of the vaccine requirement, which includes essential workers, traveling to the United States. Duvall says Farm Bureau is concerned that the decision “will limit agriculture’s ability to grow safe and nutritious food.”

 Farm Bureau says DHS failed to provide proper notice of the mandate, which gives farmers, ranchers and agriculture suppliers no time to prepare. Farmworkers and truck drivers provide critical skills and have been designated as essential by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. 

Duvall adds that further limiting the available workforce will exacerbate existing supply chain issues as families face rising prices and fewer options at the grocery store. The Homeland Security Department says the travel restriction will remain in place until April 21, 2022.

AFBF: Vaccine mandate will lead to more supply chain troubles

A survey from Farm Futures shows fertilizer prices are changing planting intentions. 

The January 2022 Farm Futures survey found that high input costs will drive U.S. growers to plant fewer corn acres in 2022 in favor of other crops with less expensive production costs. Some 93 percent of growers expect high input costs this year to slash profits. The survey results put Farm Futures 2022 projected corn acreage at 90.4 million acres and soybean acres at 92.4 million acres. 

The last and only time soybean acreage surpassed corn was in 2018, when 296,000 more acres of soybeans than corn were planted. Double crop winter wheat and soybean rotations have likely already consumed many of those corn acres, according to Farm Futures, which projects winter wheat acreage at 35.2 million acres. 

USDA releases its first look at 2022 acreage estimates Thursday, March 31, 2022. Farm Futures will conduct another grower survey ahead of the Prospective Plantings.

Farm Futures Survey: More soybean acres than corn this year

New data from USDA’s Economic Research Service shows retaliatory tariffs reduced U.S. ag exports annually by $13.2 billion. 

Specifically, the research points to six trading partners, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Mexico, and Turkey, that announced retaliatory tariffs affecting agriculture and food products in 2018. The retaliatory tariffs followed U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from major trading partners and on a broad range of imports from China. 

The agricultural products targeted for retaliation were valued at $30.4 billion in 2017, with individual product lines experiencing tariff increases ranging from two to 140 percent. USDA estimates annualized losses from mid-2018 through the end of 2019 totaled $13.2 billion across 17 commodity groups, led by soybeans, sorghum, and pork. 

While retaliatory tariffs affected all states, the Midwest experienced the largest losses. ERS researchers estimated Iowa lost $1.46 billion, Illinois, $1.41 billion, and Kansas, $955 million, all on an annualized basis.

Retaliatory tariffs reduced U.S. ag exports annually by $13.2 Billion

One of Iowa’s most plentiful resources is corn stover. 

The Iowa State Extension website says that stover is now being used to create renewable natural gas that heats Iowa homes and businesses. The Verbio North America Plant in Nevada, Iowa, has been converting chopped corn stalks into natural gas since December 7. Once converted, the natural gas enters an Alliant Energy pipeline that traverses central Iowa. 

Using anaerobic digestion, eight large digesters combine the corn stover with the bacteria of livestock manure, which results in the conversion of corn residue into biomethane gas that’s equivalent to the natural gas found in fossil fuels. The plant is in its early stages and plans to expand in the next several months, and the goal of the expansion is to provide enough renewable gas to heat up to 5,000 homes.

 Iowa produces the most corn in the United States, and the stover is what’s left behind on the ground after harvest.

Iowa Plant converting Corn Stover to Natural Gas

The Apple Blossom Parade returns to the streets of St. Joseph this spring, celebrating the reopening of a classic St. Joseph entertainment venue. 

Parade Executive Director Michelle Wolfe says the theme of this year's parade is garden parties.  Wolf says a big inspiration for this year's theme, was the reopening of the Cool Crest miniature golf course. 

"You know we're always looking for something that we can celebrate in St. Joseph," Wolfe tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "So, with the reopening of Cool Crest, I think that just worked out perfect, and we thought well we'll incorporate that into the theme." 

Wolfe says to help celebrate Cool Crest, David Freidel with Freidel's Lawn and Landscaping will recreate a Cool Crest float that was featured in the parade in the 1960's. 

Wolfe says after the parade was forced to cancel in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, it returned last year in a slightly smaller fashion. 

"We would just do it, and if we only got 20 entries, then we'd just do the 20 entries," Wolfe says. "And we had, I think if I remember right, we had about 60 entries last year." 

Wolfe says normally the parade averages 70 to 75 entries, and she believes things will continue to get back to normal.  

"I think it will continue to get back up to where it was, I think this theme will help with a lot of interest in doing something," Wolfe explains.  

Wolfe says the number of floats in the parade has stayed about the same over the years, and hopes more people will get involved in creating one.  And Wolfe says for those that do, the prize money incentive has gone up. 

"We did raise our prize money, we used to just do 300," Wolfe says. "And so, we decided, you know, we were told by a few people that gave us feedback that said if you want to get some good floats, you need to raise your prize money." 

Wolfe says now instead of splitting the prize money over five entries, the top two floats will earn prize money, with the top float earning $1000 and the second place winning $500. 

The parade is on May 7th running its normal route.  Entries for the parade will be accepted until April 15th, with entry fees increasing until April 28th, after which no entries will be accepted.

Apple Blossom Parade will celebrate reopening of Cool Crest

ATCHISON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man after a second drug arrest this month.

Just before 9:30p.m. Tuesday, police arrested 48-year-old Brian M. Johnston of Atchison in the 100 block South 5th Street in Atchison, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.

Johnston is being held on a District Court warrant for possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.&nbsp;

On January 17, police arrested Johnston in the 500 block Kansas Avenue in Atchison on requested charges of&nbsp; possession of methamphetamine, possession of an hallucinogenic drug, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Wilson.

&nbsp;During the arrest he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, synthetic cannabinoid, and drug paraphernalia.

Kansas man jailed second time in 8 days on drug allegations

A St. Joseph man is in custody, facing charges he robbed the St. Joseph Menards and ran over an employee as he fled the store.

The suspect has been identified as 40 year old Travis Graham of St. Joseph.

The employee suffered serious injuries and is currently at Mosaic Life Care.  The injuries do not appear to be life threatening

The St. Joseph Police Department reports officers responded to a call from Menards early Tuesday afternoon. The store off I-29 reported a man entered the store and stole several items. When an employee attempted to stop him from driving off in a black pick-up, he allegedly ran her over, causing serious injuries.

Graham fled the scene in the pick-up. Officers arrested him later and impounded the truck.

Suspect faces robbery, hit-and-run charges after St. Joseph Menards incident

Missouri Western State University has seen a spike in the number of students admitting to Missouri Western for the fall semester.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Melissa Mace says the university has seen a 47-percent increase in the number of students being admitted to Missouri Western.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Mace says despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the university decided to get back out and meet with prospective students.&nbsp;

"We're seeing our students, you know our prospective students, engaging with us, asking us great questions," Mace says. "We're meeting them out in the high schools, which is huge, have a great team of admission counselors who are meeting with prospective students face-to-face, texting with them."&nbsp;

Mace says she is excited about the future for the university as more students are engaging and choosing Missouri Western as their college destination.&nbsp;

Mace says Missouri Western has also put together a fun competition with its rival.&nbsp;

Mace says Missouri Westerns Student Government Association (SGA) has challenged the Northwest Missouri State University SGA to a pound for pound food drive.&nbsp;

"The two&nbsp;SGAs, or the two institutions, are doing this food drive where community members, the&nbsp;institution&nbsp;members, can bring in food and it's all weighed, or they can bring in a donation, a monetary donation," Mace tells Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.&nbsp;

Mace says the amount of the money donated will amount to the number of pounds added to each school. Missouri Western is accepting both nonperishable and perishable food donations.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Mace says the food drive will run until February 3rd, with the winner between the two schools being announced at the Missouri Western and Northwest basketball games on February 5th at the Looney Indoor Sports Complex.&nbsp;

More students coming to Missouri Western; MWSU challenges NWMSU to food drive

The St. Joseph School District hasn't ever had a sanctioned middle school or junior high football program, but that'll be changing soon.

The school board last year approved the creation of two junior high football teams, involving seventh and eighth grade students, starting in the 2022-23 school year.

Spring Garden and Truman Middle School will combine for one team, while Bode and Robidoux Middle School combine for another. Dr. Robert Sigrist, the district's director for student services, updated the board Monday night on what this program will look like.

Sigrist says this fills a long-time need in the community.

"It's been a gap for a few years in St. Joe," he said. "This is a great opportunity for us to get a large number of kids active and involved in something. Also, we think the gravy of that is we think it'll also help us from a competitive standpoint."

The team colors will be in teal and gray - same color scheme as the St. Joseph School District. The mascots, which were chosen by district students, are 'Panthers' and 'Jaguars.'

"We wanted to make sure that we didn't do anything that was skewed toward any one of the high schools," Sigrist said. "The district's logo is teal and gray, and we thought, 'what a great opportunity to use that color scheme for uniforms.'"

The goal is to have about 60 players per team, involving seventh and eighth graders. The Panthers and the Jaguars will both have an 'A' and a 'B' team - the 'A' team having the top players on it. Sigrist the 'A' and 'B' teams will not be based on age level.

"We're not necessarily going to say it's eighth grade-seventh grade," Sigrist said. "It's similar to what we've done in basketball the last few years. If our seventh graders are able to compete on the A team, we do that. We want kids to be able to compete at the level they can compete at."&nbsp;

St. Joseph's junior high students used to participate in Bantam football - a volunteer-based youth program that filled the need for middle school football for years - until it fell off about six years ago.

That could be part of why St. Joseph high school football hasn't had as much success as nearby programs like East Buchanan or Maryville.

Benton, Lafayette and St. Joseph Central all had losing records in football in 2020. The Cardinals haven't had a winning season since 2010. For Central, not since 2013.

The Irish have had the most success with nine winning seasons since 2010, including four playoff wins in the last six years and a 6-4 mark in 2021.

Middle school football had been a discussion in the St. Joseph District for years. The discussion really ramped up within the past year and earned unanimous approval from the board in 2021.

The cost of starting junior high football will be about $100,000. While uniforms and equipment need to be ordered, Sigrist says the other big piece to figure out is where these junior high teams will practice.

"The Truman-Spring Garden team will practice there," Sigrist said. "There's an area there behind Truman that'll be a good practice. Then, the Robidoux-Bode team will practice behind Robidoux. There's some good space up there."

Now with the board's approval, the district is also looking to hire coaches for the junior high program - a position that previously didn't exist.

"We hadn't a position in the district of middle school football coach," Sigrist said. "So, we kind of had to go through that (approval process). It was a formality, but we are taking applications right now for both head and assistant coaches for those programs."

While being more competitive at the high school level is an incentive, Sigrist says the far more important motivation for this is giving the city's youth an extra opportunity to compete, develop and succeed overall.

"It's going to have 120 kids engaged and involved in an activity," Sigrist said. "All of the research indicates that kids who are involved in activities, their attendance is better. Their grades are better. Everything is a positive for them in terms of school. It gives them more opportunities to be engaged at school."

You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

St. Joseph School District gives update on new junior high football teams

A
mask mandate has been issued for two Savannah R-3 School District elementary
schools and the Savannah Middle School.

Savannah
school district officials have announced masks will be required on the
Amazonia, John Glenn, and Savannah Middle School campuses for all students and
staff, beginning today. The Savannah R-3 guidelines call for a mask requirement at schools in
which more than 5% of its population tests positive for COVID-19. The mask
mandate will be dropped once the positivity rate falls below 5% for at least
two weeks.

Savannah
school officials say they hope the mask mandate is temporary. The requirement
only applies to the Amazonia, John Glenn, and SMS campuses.

Savannah schools announce mask mandate for 2 elementary schools, middle school

ATCHISON COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged failure to appear.

Early Tuesday, police arrested Kilah M. Castillo, 44, of St. Joseph on a Wathena Municipal Court warrant for failure to appear in court, according to Police Chief Mike Wilson.

Police took her to the Atchison County Jail. She is no longer in custody, according to online jail records.&nbsp; Police released no additional details.

Police: St. Joe woman jailed for alleged failure to appear in court

St.
Joseph public schools hope to return to at least somewhat normal operations
this week.

School
Superintendent Doug Van Zyl says most school bus routes have opened, with only
a few canceled today.

“So,
some of our staff is feeling better, coming back in,” Van Zyl tells host Barry Birr
on the KFEQ Hotline. “It’s not necessarily all COVID-related, because there’s a
bunch of other crud going around out there. So now we’re down to nine routes
and our community really did a nice job yesterday by getting the students into
school. We had some really good attendance. It wasn’t hugely impacted by the bus
routes not running.”

Simple
addition led to the cancelation of public school last week.

Van
Zyl says the counting began before the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday on
Monday, the 17th.

“The
Friday before, we had about 55 open classrooms, where we didn’t have enough
substitutes or people from across the district to fill those positions,”
according to Van Zyl. “We also had quite a few students out as well. So that
helped a little bit, but that puts quite a bit of pressure on our staff.”

How
to get students to class also became a problem.

Bus
drivers, due to COVID-19 or other illnesses, couldn’t report to work, leaving
about half the district’s roughly 60 daily bus routes without drivers. Enough
returned today for the district to operate all but nine bus routes: 2, 14, 18,
19, 22, 41, 43, 54, 65 and all bus routes for students who attend the St.
Joseph Early Learning Center. All bus routes for Bode, Edison, Ellison, Eugene
Field, and Parkway Schools are back in operation.

&nbsp;Van Zyl says the district appreciates that
staff stay home when they feel sick.

“We
also know that it’s vital for our staff to be in front of our students and it’s
vital for our students to be in the classroom. So, we’re doing everything that we
can, in my opinion, to try to continue to move that forward,” Van Zyl says. “We
also, because of some of the days that we’ve missed, we’ve eliminated our early
out Wednesdays for the rest of the year. So that recaptures about 12 to 13
hours of instruction that we lost and we’re looking at other options as well to
be able to recoup some of those hours.”

Students
who had no transportation to school and reported it to their school will be
excused from classes. Time will be given for makeup assignments.

More
detail on bus routes can be found at <a href="http://www.sjsd.k12.mo.us">www.sjsd.k12.mo.us</a>.

More bus routes reopen as St. Joseph schools try to return to normal

By MATT PIKE St. Joseph Post

The St. Joseph Pregnancy Resource Clinic will hold a maternity clothes giveaway this weekend at the St. Joseph clinic. 

Executive Director Libby Owens says the clinic provides crisis clinics in both St. Joseph and Cameron, helping women at no cost through their pregnancy.

"A lot of times, crisis just means it's overwhelming, and it can be that way. But, again, the community has said this is so important that we provide a service to women. We've been doing this since 1998, and the last couple years just been offering the crisis pregnancy clinic also in Cameron," Owens tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "Last year, we helped over 170 women just in our clinic." 

Owens says the Pregnancy Resource Clinic is completely community funded by individuals, businesses and churches in the St. Joseph area.  

Owens says clinic workers see women come from all over, not just northwest Missouri. Last year, the St. Joseph clinic saw more than 170 women come through its door.  

Owens says the clinic was not exempt from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing a decline in appointments as well as not having as many opportunities for women to come to the clinic. 

"The crisis continued, even while there was a pandemic. Women were still facing really hard times, and yet, some of the appointments, maybe we weren't having as many calls as normal, and that's just because people weren't socializing. They weren't out and about as much," Owens explains. "Just within the last six to eight months, we've seen that sort of increase." 

Owens says the clinic seeks to help women feel calm as they consider their decision, even with the effects of the pandemic piling on top of each other, complicating their pregnancy.  

The St. Joseph Pregnancy Resource Clinic will hold a maternity clothes giveaway Friday and Saturday. 

Owens says the maternity closet is just in its third year of existence at the clinic. The idea came from some of her workers at one of the clinic retreats. 

"And I looked at them like, 'Are you kidding? Are we going to have enough clothes?' I was just imagining one little rack and a line of women that wanted to come for one little rack," she says. 

But Owens says in the first year of the maternity closet, more than 400 items donated. She couldn't believe it. 

"So, when that happened, I realized, this is important. No excuses now, we have the clothes," Owens says. "So, we continually have items going out the door, but we are always getting more donations in."

Owens says when that process is happening on its own in an organic way, it reaffirms her belief the service is one that is needed. 

The clothes giveaway at the clinic is by appointment. Call 816-387-8090 to set an appointment. 

You can find more information <a href="https://stjosephprc.org/event/maternity-closet/">HERE</a>.

St. Joseph Pregnancy Resource Clinic to give away maternity clothes this weekend

St.
Joseph public health officials report 740 new COVID-19 cases since last
issuing their report on Thursday. Buchanan County also recorded an additional
death.

The
St. Joseph Public Health Department recorded 297 new coronavirus cases on
Friday and 443 cumulatively over the weekend, plus Monday. The department says
a woman in her 80’s died of COVID-19 complications.

Mosaic
Life Care reports it is treating 78 COVID-19 patients as of Monday morning; 74
in St. Joseph and four in Maryville.

Buchanan
County reports 34,300 residents have received their first dose of the coronavirus
vaccine, nearly 40% of the population. More than 36% of the county has received
both doses of the vaccine. The COVID-19 positivity rate in Buchanan County has
risen by more than 6% to 33.93%.

Buchanan
County has recorded a total of 22,277 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began,
resulting in 242 deaths.

Andrew
County reports 210 active COVID-19 cases. Andrew County has recorded a total of
4,393 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began and 46 deaths.

Doniphan
County’s latest report stated the county had 154 active cases. Doniphan County
has recorded 1,984 cases since the pandemic began, resulting in 29 deaths.

St. Joseph health officials record 740 new COVID cases, one additional death

WARRENSBURG - For the second time this season, it took overtime to decide the Missouri Western-Central Missouri women's basketball matchup.

In a battle of top five teams in the MIAA, the No. 25 Griffons (15-3, 9-3 MIAA)&nbsp;battled through foul trouble and made an outstanding 31-of-36 free throw attempts to outlast the Jennies for an 82-77 win at the UCM Multipurpose Building Wednesday.

It was Missouri Western's first victory in Warrensburg since December 2015, and it completed their first season sweep of the series since the same 2015-16 season. The Griffons beat UCM earlier this season, 68-67 in overtime, on Dec. 11, 2021 in St. Joseph.

"We're just enjoying winning," coach Candi Whitaker said after. "It's&nbsp; fun thing to do and we have a fun group that celebrates one another and is really happy for one another. Even if some don't get to play or don't get opportunities, they know they have value and they help prepare us and they help us in-game with the energy they bring on the bench."

In a game that featured a combined 52 foul calls and a combined 66 free throw attempts, the Griffons at one point made 15 free throws in a row between the fourth quarter and overtime period. Brionna Budgetts&nbsp;led the Griffons with 20 points and 6 rebounds, including a 7-of-8 effort at the foul line and a 3-of-6 shooting night from beyond the arc.

"It was about having the mindset and playing smart and making smart decisions at the end of the game and thinking, 'Yeah, we're going to go get this win,'" said Budgets.

Missouri Western led for 38:25 in Wednesday's game and led by two with just over 16 seconds left in regulation. However, coming out of a timeout, &nbsp;Budgetts' inbounds pass was stolen by Littrell, who went coast-to-coast for a lay-up to tie the game at 62 with 10 seconds remaining.

Western had the final shot of regulation but set the offense late. &nbsp;Budgetts hit a 15-footer from the free throw line just as the buzzer sounded, but the basket was reviewed and waved off. The Griffons opened overtime on an 8-0 run, and made 14 of their last 16 free throw attempts to seal a victory.

"It wasn't necessarily the most pretty game," Whitaker said. "But, I don't even care what the stat sheet says. It's about making plays down the stretch and finishing games and we did that in overtime. I thought our overtime was exceptional."

Connie Clark just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. Clarke was also a perfect 8-for-8 on free throws and blocked to critical layups from UCM's lead scorer Brooke Littrell in the extra period.

"I thought we guarded so well to start overtime," Whitaker continued. "Connie had really figured out how to guard (Littrell). She struggled with her early, got a little better as regulation went on and then in overtime, it was like, 'Okay, now I know I can gap and need to close the gap and contest.'"

Jordan Cunningham&nbsp;added 14 points as well.

Littrell&nbsp;led UCM (14-7, 10-4 MIAA) with 35 points and nine rebounds. Nija Collier had 24 points, seven rebounds and played all 45 minutes for UCM, who a saw a five-game winning streak snapped Wednesday.

MWSU men get off to sluggish start, eventually get trounced by UCM&nbsp;

The&nbsp;Missouri Western men were held to a season-low scoring output and got beat in every phase in an 83-46 loss at Central Missouri on Wednesday. &nbsp; The Griffons (8-11, 4-7 MIAA) shot just 28.8% (17-59 FG) and committed 18 turnovers in their seventh straight loss. Without starters&nbsp;Reese Glover&nbsp;(personal reasons) and&nbsp;Alex John&nbsp;(injury) for the second straight game, Western struggled out of the gate, unable to find offensive rhythm. The Mules (9-8, 6-7 MIAA)&nbsp;shot 51.6% from the field and led by double figures for&nbsp;26 of the game's final 40 minutes.&nbsp; "It's sickening to come out and lose by (almost) 40 and I take a lot of that responsibility," senior Caleb Bennett said. "I've gotta be better. &nbsp;For anybody that doesn't believe in us right now- that's alright. We lost seven straight games last season and still made it to the NCAA Tournament.

"I believe anything is possible. &nbsp;We just need to get out of our heads. &nbsp;I think we have some time to turn this thing around as long as we get our heads straight and continue to believe in this program." Both Griffon teams are back home Saturday to host Lincoln. Tip-off is set for 1:30 and 3:30. Both games will be carried on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3).

MWSU women earn thrilling OT win, Griffon men get blown out at UCM Wednesday

Cameron tournament Cameron 35 Lawson 25

Gilman City tournament St. Joseph Christian 53 East Harrison 20 Pattonsburg 49 Union Star 24

Hamilton tournament East Buchanan 46 Trenton 22 East Atchison 50 Hamilton 19

North Platte tournament Mid-Buchanan 42 North Andrew 30 North Platte 51 Plattsburg 37

Cameron tournament Maryville 49 Lawson 39 Cameron topped Chillicothe, though no final score was reported.

Gilman City tournament St. Joseph Christian 59 Union Star 16

Hamilton tournament Lathrop 58 Hamilton 49

North Platte tournament Plattsburg 45 North Andrew 32 Mid-Buchanan 62 Polo 33

The Mid-Buchanan’s boys’ and girls’ teams are KCI champions after sweeping a home triangular against Lathrop and Lawson. It marks the third straight conference crown for the Mid-Buchanan boys’ team.

KFEQ/St. Joseph Post area high school scoreboard - January 25, 2022

The Missouri Western men's basketball team got off to a strong start, playing their first game in 11 days Monday, but Fort Hays State (14-3, 8-3 MIAA) built a 17-point second half lead, and held on for a 76-71 win at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

In a game that had been postponed from Jan. 15, Missouri Western (8-10, 4-6 MIAA) started off strong, jumping out to a 13-5 lead in the first five minutes.

Fort Hays State responded, going on a 14-3 run later in the first half to go up 36-25 with 2:05 left until halftime. The Griffons punched right back, ending the first on an 8-0 run and trailing only 36-33 at the break.

"The way we started the game is what we're capable of," Missouri Western men's coach Will Martin said. "All of the credit in the world to our guys who are stepping up."

Missouri Western was without starting guard Reese Glover and starting forward Alex John Monday.

The Tigers, who won their third straight game overall, started the second half on a 15-7 run and went up 51-40 with 14:53 left. Both teams traded baskets for awhile after that, but Hays' lead eventually ballooned to 68-51 with 6:10 remaining.

Missouri Western, who lost its sixth in a row, did not quit. Key three-pointers in the final four minutes by Taye Fields, Q Mays and Zion Swader put the Griffons back in contention.

Western's last prayer was a clutch three by Swader with 24 seconds left, which made it a 74-69 ballgame. After Hays went 1-for-2 at the free throw line with 20 seconds to go, the Griffons had the ball back and got a key layup from fields, but it came with only six seconds left, and Western still trailed 75-71.

Local

Region

Sports

Agriculture