KIRX News

The City of Kirksville’s Parks and Recreation Department is now accepting registrations for the Tiny Tykes Soccer program. Tiny Tykes Soccer is an exciting and engaging four-week program, for children ages 3 through 5, that teaches soccer using play-based learning. Tiny Tykes Soccer will be held for children ages 3 through 5 on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting September 19, 2023. Registrants will choose either a 4:30 pm to 5:15 pm session, or a 5:30 pm to 6:15 pm session when registering online at parks.kirksvillecity.com or in person at the Parks and Recreation office located at the Kirksville Aquatic Center, 801 E. Mill St. Registration is $30 per participant and each player will receive a Tiny Tykes Soccer t-shirt. All Tiny Tykes Soccer will be held at the Tiny Tykes Soccer Field located next to the Pee Wee Baseball Fields at the North Park Complex, 3000 Novinger St.
For more information, please contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 660.627.1485.

After a summer of declining donations, the American Red Cross needs the public’s help to prevent a blood shortage. When a donor makes and keeps an appointment to give blood in the weeks ahead, they can help ensure trauma patients, those undergoing cancer treatment, and people with lifelong blood disorders can get the blood they count on. Right now, the Red Cross especially needs type O negative, type O positive and type B negative blood donors. Donors of all blood types can schedule an appointment to give by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

The Kirksville Police Department says with temperatures at the end of this week predicted be over 100 degrees, the Kirksville Police Department would like to remind everyone of the dangers of leaving children in a vehicle. As of just a few days ago, 14 children had died in hot cars the United States so far in 2023.
Here are a few tips from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
Parents and Caregivers
1. Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended for any length of time. Rolling windows down or parking in the shade does little to change the interior temperature of the vehicle.
2. Make it a habit to check your entire vehicle – especially the back seat – before locking the doors and walking away.
3. Ask your childcare provider to call if your child doesn’t show up for care as expected.
4. Place a personal item like a purse or briefcase in the back seat, as another reminder to look before you lock. Write a note or place a stuffed animal in the passenger’s seat to remind you that a child is in the back seat.
5. Store car keys out of a child’s reach and teach children that a vehicle is not a play area.
Secure Your Car
Always lock your car doors, year-round, so children can’t get into unattended vehicles.
Act Fast. Save a Life
If you see a child alone in a locked car, act immediately and call 911. A child in distress due to heat should be removed from the vehicle as quickly as possible and rapidly cooled.

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.