KIRX News

Vaccination numbers continue to rise in Adair County. According to the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker, 34.1% of the eligible population – or 8,638 people, have received at least 1 dose. 30.6% – or 7,773 people have been fully vaccinated. Statewide, 43% of the population has been vaccinated with at least one dose, and 35% are fully vaccinated.

A Kirksville man has been convicted of murder. In Adair County Circuit Court yesterday, 20-year-old Andrew Head, was convicted of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. The charges stem from the shooting death of a 17-year-old in 2019. The state said Head was the accomplice of the shooting and that another suspect, Drake Zanoni was the one who fired the weapon. The victim, Izaiha McFarland was shot in the chest an apartment on North Franklin Street, following an altercation with Head and Zanoni. The suspects are being tried separately. Zanoni’s trial is scheduled for late August in Lewis County. Head’s sentencing is scheduled for July 20. He could receive up to two life sentences for the crimes.

A northeast Missouri woman was seriously injured in a crash in Macon. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol report, 50-year-old Melissa Hendricks was at Maffry Avenue at Highway 63 on a UTV Tuesday afternoon, when her vehicle traveled off the right side of the street and the UTV overturned. Hendricks was flown to University Hospital in Columbia for treatment.

United Way of Northeast Missouri announced the leaders of the 2022 drive. Chade Shorten will serve as the 2022 United Way Campaign Chair and Stephanie McGrew will be Assistant Campaign Chair. Shorten says she’s honored to join an experienced and dedicated team for the 2022 Campaign Drive. She added that through the drive, they hope to expand the community’s involvement with the United Way and look forward to bringing in a new generation of donors. McGrew said serving the community has always been a priority and she’s happy to team up with Shorten to work on providing resources for those that need it. The drive, which will start the beginning of September, will raise funds to support 11 local agencies during their 2022 fiscal year of operations.

At-home tests that check for presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are now available for free to Missouri residents. You can order the free testing kit online, and it will be delivered to your home in two days. The kit is good for six months and comes with easy-to-follow instructions. It’s a nasal swab test that you send out using FedEx with free shipping. Test results are then provided via email within two days. Health officials say testing remains a key tool to keeping Missourians safe. Learn more at: health.mo.gov/communitytest.

Kirksville Regional Economic Development, Inc recently held a series of virtual seminars on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for regional companies. K-REDI partnered with A.T. Still University’s diversity & inclusion coordinator, Stephanie McGrew, who conducted the seminars. Companies were able to take part in one or all three of seminars for a nominal fee, and those fees collected by K-REDI were used to purchase Colors of the World makers and crayons, and book for each classroom at the Early Childhood Learning Center and each kindergarten class at the Kirksville Primary. As more seminars are held throughout the year, more classes will receive the kits. Executive Director, Carolyn Chrisman said it was K-REDI’s goal to offer seminars to local businesses in order to increase awareness of the topics. Then, push the impact and information forward to the next generation by making small kits available to the local preschool and kindergarten classes.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is hosting a virtual open house on passenger rail as part of the development of the 2021 State Freight and Rail Plan. The content will be live through June 16, and accessible via MoDOT.org. The virtual open house format allows members of the public to access the materials at any time through June 16.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol released their Memorial Day counting period results. During the counting period, whichw was 6 pm on Friday through 11:59 pm Monday, six people died in traffic crashes. Troopers investigated 270 traffic crashes during the counting period which resulted in 82 injuries and 4 fatalities. The patrol made 112 DWI and 77 drug arrests statewide. The Patrol also investigated 10 boating crashes which resulted in 2 injuries and 1 fatality. There was 1 drowning in the State over the Memorial Day weekend. Troopers made 8 BWI and 2 drug arrests. There were no fatalities in the Troop B area.

The Kirksville Fire Department will conduct their annual flow testing of City fire hydrants beginning this month. The testing will continue throughout June and will ensure the hydrants function properly by flushing the hydrants, measuring their water output, and identifying and repairing any defects in the hydrants. KFD says this process may produce a temporary reddish-brown color in your tap water. If you notice this change in water color, simply run your tap water until it clears. The water does not pose a safety hazard and a boil order is not necessary. KFD also asks that when you are driving, exercise caution when encountering Fire Department personnel conducting the tests, and drive slowly through any standing water.

The Kirksville Police Department is thanking all those involved for making the 2021 Battle of the Badges Blood Drive a success. During the event, they were able to collect 85 units of blood, which exceeded the goal. The police department won the friendly competition with the fire department by collecting about twice as many votes. This year’s The Battle of the Badges Blood Drive, which was held last Thursday, was dedicated to the late Kirksville Chief of Police Steve Farnsworth, who was a frequent blood donor.