KIRX News

Bridge work will temporarily close Adair County Route T this week. Today through Wednesday, MoDOT crews will close Adair County Route T at Nork Fork Salt River bridge, located just west of Shadow Way, for bridge work from 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. each day. The bridge will be open each evening. Motorists will need to use alternate routes during closure times.

A woman was injured in a crash in a parking lot in Scotland County. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the crash happened late Saturday morning at the BP Gas Station in Memphis. 40-year-old Toni Middelton struck a concrete pillar in the gas station’s parking lot. Middlteon suffered moderate injures and was transported by ambulance to Scotland County Hospital. The report doesn’t state a cause of the crash.

The Adair County Health Department confirmed three new cases of COVID-19 last week. All three were verified on Monday, May 24th. The cases involved a 34-year-old female and males ages 29 and 36. The county’s total case count is 2,476. As of Friday, there are two active cases and 2,454 people who have left isolation. Adair County’s COVID-related death toll is 20. A total of 21 new cases were confirmed in May, following April’s new case count of 39.

The City of Kirksville’s annual Founders Day 2021 Virtual Ceremony is now available to watch online. As part of the ceremony, three new gravestones are dedicated to replace those damaged by vandalism, or where none had previously existed. The new gravestones mark the final resting places of Don Carlos Hewitt, former Mayor William Gibbons, and Civil War veteran Wesley C. Fickel. The event was hosted by the City’s Friends of Forest-Llewellyn Cemetery Committee. See the ceremony on the City of Kirksvile’s Facebook and Youtube pages.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is urging safety for the Memorial Day weekend. Colonel Eric T. Olson reminds motorists the Patrol will be participating in Operation C.A.R.E. (Crash Awareness Reduction Effort) during the long holiday weekend. This means every available trooper will be on the road enforcing traffic laws and assisting motorists. This year’s counting period for the holiday weekend begins at 6.tonight, and ends at 11:59 p.m., May 31st. Troopers will focus their attention on seat belt use, use of child safety seats, impaired drivers, hazardous moving violations, and speed violations. Over the 2020 Memorial Day holiday weekend, 10 people died and 444 were injured in 1,081 traffic crashes. Last year, troopers made 118 DWI arrests. The Memorial Day weekend is also an unofficial start to the boating season. During the 2020 Memorial Day weekend, there were 11 boating crashes which included one fatality and seven injuries. One person drowned over last year’s holiday weekend. Troopers arrested 11 people for boating while intoxicated last year.

A lawsuit seeking to uphold a voter-approved constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid coverage in Missouri will go to trial on June 18th. Governor Mike Parson ordered the state on May 13 to discontinue implementation of Medicaid expansion planned for July 1 after the general assembly didn’t appropriate funds for it. The lawsuit seeks an order for the Department of Social Services to allow newly eligible Missourians to enroll and receive coverage starting July 1st. Voters approved expansion of the Medicaid Program last August.

As the Memorial Day Weekend gets underway, AAA says motorists will see the highest gas prices since 2014. The current national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline is $3.04 per gallon, 16 cents more than a month ago and $1.08 per gallon higher than last year. The average price per gallon of unleaded in Missouri is $2.72. In Adair County it’s $2.75.

The annual Battle of the Badges is today, and the Kirksville Police and Fire Departments are asking for your help to make the event a success. This year they are dedicating the event to the late Kirksville Chief of Police Steve Farnsworth. Organizers say Chief Farnsworth was a faithful blood donor and it seemed fitting to honor him this way. The Kirksville Police and Kirksville Fire Departments have teamed up with the American Red Cross to have a friendly competition to see who can recruit the most blood donations. When participants give blood, they will have an opportunity to cast a vote for either department. The Battle of the Badges Blood Drive is today from noon to 6 p.m. at the NEMO Fairgrounds in Kirkville. Visit the American Red Cross, or the link provided on the Kirksville Police Department’s Facebook page for more information and how to sign up:

AAA expects a significant rebound in the number of Americans planning to travel this Memorial Day holiday weekend. More than 37 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more between May 27 and May 31. That’s a 60-percent increase from last year, when only 23 million traveled, the lowest on record since AAA began recording in 2000. In Missouri, AAA Travel expects 50% more Missourians will travel this Memorial Day holiday weekend. Debbie Haas, Vice President of Travel for AAA says, “A year’s worth of pent-up demand is being unleashed this summer, as Americans anticipate the kickoff to the season.”

The wading pools at both Brashear and P.C. Mills parks will open on Saturday and will both be open daily from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Once the new Kirksville Aquatic Center opens next month, the wading pools will return to their normal schedules.