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Governor Mike Parson ordered the U.S. and Missouri flags to be flown at half-staff at government buildings in Camden and Miller counties and at all police stations across Missouri on Thursday, September 5, to honor Osage Beach Police Department Officer Phylicia Carson. On August 31, Officer Carson was responding to assist another officer in a vehicle pursuit when her patrol vehicle ran off the road and struck a tree, killing Officer Carson. Governor Parson said, “Officer Carson was a member of the Osage Beach Police Department for just under a year, but in that short period she made a difference for Osage Beach and contributed to an enduring legacy of public service.” Officer Carson was a recipient of the Missouri Blue Scholarship program and graduated from the University of Missouri Law Enforcement Training Institute on September 14, 2023. She was commissioned as an Osage Beach Police Officer on September 15, 2023.

The Kirksville Police Department is pleased to announce the hiring of a new officer. Steven Van Luvan was sworn in and began his duties on August 30, 2024. Van Luvan is a Kirksville native and graduate of Novinger High School. He graduated from the Law Enforcement Training Institute in 2023 and served with the Truman State University Department of Public Safety for one year. Van Luvan also spent seven years in the National Guard as a Military Police Officer.

A project to resurface portions of U.S. Route 59 is scheduled to begin Monday, Sept. 9. Herzog Contracting Corp., working with the Missouri Department of Transportation, will resurface the first portion of Route 59 from the intersection of Missouri Route 46 near Fairfax in Atchison County to the intersection of Holt County Route O near Oregon. Crews will begin work near Fairfax and work toward Oregon. During construction, the roadway will be narrowed to one lane with flaggers and a pilot car guiding motorists through the work zone from 6 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. A 10-foot width restriction will be in place. These routes are planned to be resurfaced by November 2024.

The Moberly Police Department SWAT Team has completed various in house training this summer. In June, Ofc. Maag and Cpl. West instructed team members on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care. Officers learned how to provide trauma care in critical situations. In August MPD hosted Revenant Training Group, who instructed a Close Quarters Combat course, teaching officers on how to move safely and effectively in close quarters.

The next bridge replacement project included in the Northwest Bridge Bundle project is scheduled to begin soon. The Putnam County Route M bridge over Medicine Creek Fork, located near Powersville, will close beginning Monday, Sept. 9. The project to replace the bridge is expected to continue through mid-January 2025. During construction, motorists should seek an alternate route around the closure. The Medicine Creek Fork Bridge was built in 1953 and has a traffic volume of approximately 53 vehicles per day.

Weather permitting, a resurfacing project located on 8.5 miles of Missouri Route 202, from the Iowa State line to U.S. Route 63 near Lancaster in Schuyler County, is expected to begin the week of September 3. The $14M contract was awarded last year to Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc. of Columbia, Missouri. The contract includes an additional resurfacing project located on 24 miles of U.S. Route 63 in Schuyler County, from the Iowa state line to 0.6 mile north of Bus. 63 near Kirksville, which is nearly complete. All work scheduled to be completed by November 1, 2024. Motorists can expect delays as traffic will be reduced to one lane with a 12-foot width restriction in place where crews are actively working. Flaggers and a pilot car will be used to direct traffic through the work zone. All work is weather dependent and schedules are subject to change. Signs and message boards will be in place to alert motorists, as schedule changes occur.

MODOT says U.S. Route 61 is NOW OPEN to traffic following a temporary closure, from just south of the Iowa State line to east of U.S. Route 136, near Alexandria in Clark County, to install new culvert pipes on a 1.3 mile project to raise the roadway approximately 2.5 feet. The next phase of work is scheduled to begin this Fall to complete grading work for the reconstruction of the roadway. Pavement will be installed using successive lifts (or stairstep layers) of asphalt to raise the grade of the highway and allow for reduced future traffic impacts due to seasonal flooding experienced in this area.

The National Weather Service says Kirksville picked up 3.03 inches of rain yesterday. That broke their daily rainfall record of 1.19 inches set in 2004.

Weather permitting, the week of August 26, work is set to begin on a slide repair project located in Warren County on Route U, between Rodgers Drive and Lake Ridge Lane, approximately 1.25 miles north of Missouri Route 94. The contract was awarded to Karrenbrock Construction, Inc. in the amount of $1,485,763. All work is scheduled to be completed by November 6, 2024. The route was initially closed on May 9 due to roadway damage caused by shifting and unstable soil resulting from excessive rainfall. Route U will remain closed until the project is complete. The preferred detour around the closure is to use Missouri Route 94 to Missouri Route 47.

Serious injuries in a single-vehicle crash that happened in Chariton County early Saturday morning. The Highway Patrol says 49 year old Chuck McKinstry was driving a Polaris Trailblazer at the intersection of Ridge Street and State Street in Keytesville and failed to negotiate a curve. The vehicle hit a utility pole. McKinstry was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle. He was taken to University Hospital in Columbia.