KIRX News

John Gardner will be sworn-in to the Kirksville City Council on Monday following his win yesterday in the Municipal Election. One of his first issues will be helping to appoint someone to another City Council Seat, as Chuck Long resigned at this week’s meeting. Long said his resignation had to be effective immediately because he is taking a new job near the Lake of the Ozarks and will be moving there at the end of this month. Long joined the council in 2016, served as mayor in 2018, and was re-elected to the City Council in 2019.

The Macon County Clerk’s Office will be conducting a recount this morning regarding the tie in the unofficial results of the Ward 3 Macon City Council Election. Both Chris Walk and Jeff Skjeveland received a reported unofficial total of 23 votes each in Tuesday’s election.

The new Kirksville Aquatic Center’s grand opening celebration is being pushed back. The original plan was to open the facility on Memorial Day. But the city says due to delays by the project contractor in obtaining necessary construction materials, the celebration for the outdoor water park will be delayed until Saturday, June 19th. Passes for the water park will be available for purchase starting on Monday, April 26th at the Parks and Recreation Office on the first floor of City Hall, or online at parks.kirksvillecity.com.

The wading pools at both Brashear and P.C. Mills parks will open on Saturday, May 29, 2021, and will both be open daily from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Once the new Kirksville Aquatic Center opens, the wading pool at Brashear Park will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and the P.C. Mills wading pool will be open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Here are results of the Municipal Election for Kirksville and Adair County.

For Kirksville City Council, there were four candidates vying for one open seat. John Gardner won the seat by recieving 56.05 percent of the vote. Kabir Bansal had 27.85 percent of votes. Dana McDowell 11.53 percent and Kevin Alm 4.34 percent.

There were 6 candidates running for two seats on the Kirksville R-III School Board. Angela Caraway won one of the seats with 26.43 percent of the vote and Nick Billington won the second seat with 22.29 percent.

Eight candidates ran for three seats to serve on the Adair County Health Department Board of Trustees. The top three vote getters were: Dr. Brenda Higgins with 19.88 percent, Curt Platz with 15.73, and Robin Jones Darr with 14.80 percent.

The majority of Adair County voters were in favor of a quarter-cent sales tax proposal to fund repairs of the courthouse, with 55.77 percent voting yes.

For Brashear Mayor, Rob Mayfield was the winner over Joanne Kincaid. Mayfield won 55.26 percent of the vote.

The two At-Large seats for the City of Greentop went to Doug Lindquist and Justin Ray.

The two At-Large seats for the City of Novinger went to Janice Pearce and Matthew Davis.

There’s a tie in the race for a school board seat for the R-1 Novinger School District. Justin Klingsmith won the first seat with 26.93 percent. There’s a tie for the second seat with both Sharon Barnes and Robin Carter each receiving 21.04 percent.

According to the Adair County Clerk’s Office, 2,915 of the county’s 14,555 registered voters cast a ballot – that’s a 20.03 percent voter turnout.

The 2021 Municipal Election is today. Municipal Elections allow Adair County residents the opportunity to elect city council members, aldermen, and school board members, and vote on bond and local sales tax issues. On the ballot today, there are 6 candidates running for two seats on the Kirksville R-III School Board. For city council, four candidates are vying for one open seat. Both school board and council terms are for three years. The Adair County Commission has added a quarter-cent sales tax proposal onto the Municipal Election ballot, which, if approved, would fund repairs of the courthouse. Polls will be open from 6:00am – 7:00pm. Find your voting location, and the 2021 Municipal Election sample ballots at: adaircountymissouri.com/clerks-office.

A.T. Still University and Kirksville Family Medicine is hosting a COVID-19 vaccine clinic today and tomorrow. The clinic hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Gutensohn Clinic in Kirksville. The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be administered at no cost to patients age 18 and older. Vaccines will be given by appointment only and are scheduled in 15-minute intervals. Sign up by email at covidvaccinesignup@atsu.edu, or call 660-626-2191. A consent form and directions will be sent to those who use email.

Five cases of COVID-19 confirmed by the Adair County Health Department since April 1 brings the county’s total of known cases to 2,392. There are currently 12 active cases and 2,360 people who have left isolation. The county’s COVID-related death toll remains at 20. One case confirmed April 2 involved a 34-year-old male. Also on April 2, an 86-year-old female previously reported as admitted to Samaritan Hospital March 25 was discharged to her home. Two cases confirmed April 3 were those of a 16-year-old female and a 22-year-old male. Cases confirmed yesterday involve females ages 54 and 55.

The 17-year-old suspect in last week’s murder of a Kirksville resident has been charged. Brendon Lene, of La Plata has been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and resisting/interfering with arrest. On Thursday, officers arrived at a residence on the 800 block of South Baltimore after a report of a man assaulted with a knife. When officers arrived, they found 49-year-old Jared Newman with a large cut across his throat. He was transported to Northeast Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased. A witness told police Newman was arguing with a person in the home when Lene attacked the victim from behind with the knife.

Ameren Missouri filed a proposal with the Public Service Commission for a rate hike to improve its electric and natural gas systems. The new rates would take effect in 2022 to reflect major upgrades to electric and natural gas system reliability and resiliency for customers, as well as investments to support the transition to cleaner energy for the benefit of customers and local communities. If approved by regulators, the rate adjustment in 2022 would cost an average electric customer about $12 a month (based on approximately 1,029 kilowatt-hours of usage per month). For Ameren Missouri’s natural gas customers, largely located in central and southeast Missouri, the adjustment in base rates would cost about $4 a month for the average residential customer. If approved, the new electric rate request reflects a 5.4% total increase over an almost five-year period, a yearly average of approximately 1%.

Baltimore Street improvements in Kirksville set to begin this week. The project consists of resurfacing, American with Disabilities (ADA) improvements and drainage improvements. The project will run from just north of Illinois Street to just south of Patterson Street. MoDOT Area Engineer Amy Crawford says with these improvements safety will be increased for everyone.