News Staff

This Saturday, July 29th , is the Macon County Health Department’s 2nd annual end-of-summer health fair! The health fair will have fun filled activities for all ages from 10 am – 12 pm at the La Plata Christian Church (120 W. Moore St).
We will have a variety of activities to help you beat the heat this weekend, while encouraging healthy choices, such as:

Blend your own smoothie with our smoothie bike
Water infusion station
Obstacle course
Yard games
Free child ID kits
Crafts
Face painting
Community booths

The Kirksville Arts Association says Summer on the Square resumes this Friday, July 28th with a performance by Matt Kennedy and The Busted String Band playing Country and Western. The concert will begin at 7 pm on the lawn of the Adair County Courthouse and is sponsored by Kirksville Tourism and the Missouri Arts Council. In the event of rain the performance will be moved to Club One located at 301 W. McPherson.

A.T. Still University’s College of Graduate Health Studies (ATSU-CGHS) has been awarded grant funding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This grant funding has enabled ATSU-CGHS to offer the Public Health Workforce Certificate program to residents of Missouri tuition free. Through this program, students will work to become leaders in various public health settings, addressing COVID-19, health equity, and emergency services in rural and urban areas of Missouri and among underserved populations.

Kirksville Parks and Rec says the indoor pool at the Kirksville Aquatic Center will be closed July 23 through July 30, 2023, for routine annual maintenance. This includes deep cleaning, paint touch ups and water replacement.
During this time, lap swimming will be available at the outdoor pool Monday through Friday from 6:00 am to 9:30 am, and 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. Water walking will be available in the outdoor current channel on those same days and times. The arthritis class will meet at its usual time, Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 9:00 am, in the outdoor pool. The Friends Aerobics class will move to 11:00 am to 12:00 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
For any questions, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 660.627.1485.

Truman State University says The Student Recreation Center’s main gym will reopen soon with a newly renovated floor. The gym has been closed since the end of December due to damage caused by a frozen water line. The entire floor was removed and replaced, and now includes the Truman Bulldog logo. The new court is striped for basketball, volleyball, badminton and pickleball. During the summer the Student Recreation Center is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Fridays. Slacklining will take place 4:30-6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays on the quad. Yoga with Janes will take place at 12 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 10:30 a.m. Fridays. The track is currently under construction and is expected to reopen at the end of July.

We’re approaching Missouri’s tax-free weekend. The sales tax holiday starts at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 4th, and goes through Sunday, August 6th. During that time, a lot of back-to-school items will be exempt from the state sales tax. The holiday applies to items like clothing, school supplies, computers, and other items. The state says an article of clothing cannot exceed a taxable value of $100. School supplies are not to exceed $50 per purchase and graphing calculators are not to exceed $150. Computer software cannot exceed a taxable value of $350 and personal computers or computer peripheral devices cannot exceed $1,500.

The 79-year-old pilot of a small plane died after the plane crashed in a soybean field near Kearney. Fox 4 says the pilot of the plane landed at the Midwest Regional Air Center to refuel, and the plane went down in the field shortly after the pilot flew out of the airport. Emergency responders said the plane carried 140 gallons of fuel at the time of the crash, and the plane burst into flames went it crashed. The pilot has been identified as Alan “Doug” Moler of Valley Center, Kansas. The man was reportedly headed to an airport in Wichita.

The Department of Economic Development (DED) is proud to have partnered with four companies throughout Fiscal Year 2023 to assist them with expansion and job creation that is helping Missourians prosper in the state’s northern region. In total, the companies are investing nearly $6 million and creating up to 31 jobs. AAIM Datacenters, Inc., a company that builds custom-suited data centers matching organizations’ needs, is establishing in Moberly, investing $4 million and creating 10 new jobs. New positions will pay an average salary higher than the county average. MTM Analytics, a data processing company, is establishing in Moberly, investing $637,000 and creating 2 new jobs. New positions will pay an average salary higher than the county average.

The Missouri School Boards’ Association says Julie Sneddon, a member of the Kirksville R-III Schools Board of Education, has achieved Advanced Board Member Certfication from the Missouri School Boards’ Association. The board member certification program establed by the MSBA recognizes school board members who choose to complete additional professional development requirements beyond the 18 1/2 hours of training required by the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993 for new school board members. To achieve Advanced Certification, board members must earn at least 12 additional training credits, complete annual Refresher training requirement through MSBA, read two books related to school board service, attend at least two MSBA regional or statewide events and write an essay relating to their study.

Governor Mike Parson announced he has selected Michael Leara as the next State Supervisor for the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control within the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Mr. Leara, of St. Louis, has served as the Chairman of the Missouri Gaming Commission since August 2019. He has also owned and operated Gateway Advisors, LLC, in St. Louis since 1999. He has grown his business from a financial consulting firm offering public and private pension services to a now corporate and governmental retirement and pension plan consulting firm. Mr. Leara also served as a State Representative for the 96th District from 2009-2017. During his time as a State Representative, he served as Vice Chair on the Board of Trustees for the Missouri State Employee Retirement System. Mr. Leara attended Saint Louis University.