Holt County Archives - Missourinet

UPDATE: Blizzard warning remains in effect for far northwest Missouri through 6 pm; southbound I-29 reopens (AUDIO)

January 15, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A blizzard warning remains in effect for far northwest Missouri until 6 p.m. on Friday. The warning includes heavily-traveled I-29 and covers four rural counties: Atchison, Nodaway, Andrew and Holt.

The National Weather Service’s blizzard warning in far northwest Missouri remains in effect until 6 p.m. (January 15, 2021 graphic courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter)

National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Brad Temeyer says blowing snow and 45 mile-per-hour winds have made travel very difficult today.

“We’re still continuing to see very low visibilities up there with the strong northwest winds that are continuing. Fortunately, the snow is starting to taper off up there,” Temeyer says.

The blizzard caused a crash Friday morning in northwest Missouri’s Atchison County, causing southbound I-29 to close for a few hours. It has since reopened.

Crews from the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) have been working around the clock in northwest Missouri, trying to clear roads.

“But with those strong northwest winds gusting currently to 40 to 45 miles an hour, we’re still seeing visibilities well below a mile in that far northwestern corner of Missouri,” says Temeyer.

Truckers and other motorists are being urged to avoid travel in those four counties, until the warning expires. Towns in the blizzard warning area include Tarkio, Fairfax, Maryville and Mound City.

Mr. Temeyer emphasizes to Missourinet that blizzard warnings are rare in Missouri.

“We only issue these for the worst of conditions when we expect visibilities to be well below a half-a-mile,” Temeyer says.

Our Missourinet Cameron affiliate KMRN reports more than 20 schools in the region canceled classes today, because of the blizzard.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Brad Temeyer, which was recorded on January 15, 2021:

Graves says northwest Missouri is still impacted from record 2019 flooding (AUDIO)

July 24, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A congressman who represents northern Missouri says it’s been about 500 days since the Flood of 2019 began, and that thousands of acres of the world’s most fertile farmland are still covered under water or silt and sand.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, visits with officials and residents in flooded Holt County in March 2019 (file photo courtesy of the congressman’s Facebook page)

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, says two small farming towns northwest of St. Joseph have been especially impacted.

“Craig, Missouri being one of those,” Graves says. “Corning, Missouri another. Those are just two that are in Holt County.”

Holt County saw record flooding in 2019, which covered heavily-traveled Highway 159. Graves says some residents there have lost their farms and homes, multiple times.

The Missouri Farm Bureau says more than 1.4 million acres of farmland in the state went unplanted in 2019, due to flooding. One of the hardest-hit areas was in Holt County.

Graves, the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is critical of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He says flood control and navigation should be the Corps’ top priority for the Missouri River.

He says 578-million tons of goods are shipped by barges annually.

Congressman Graves and Governor Mike Parson have both criticized the Corps. Parson and the governors of neighboring Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska have met with the Corps at least three times, to discuss what needs to be done differently in the future.

The governors have signed a four-state agreement to cooperate on issues relating to flood control and the Corps.

Graves tells Missourinet that some towns in his district are still behind temporarily-repaired levees.

“In many cases too, they’re building back to the exact same criteria that was there before,” says Graves.

Graves is optimistic that Congress will approve a major water resources bill before the November election. He says the bipartisan bill is aimed at helping communities impacted by repeated flooding.

“I think it will go very easily off the floor of the House. Again, it was unanimous out of committee, and then it will go over to the Senate and then we’ll work it out in conference,” Graves says.

He says the bill gives towns more help in planning and implementing flood control projects that limit the risk of future floods.

Graves, a dean in Missouri’s congressional delegation, represents 36 northern Missouri counties. He’s finishing his tenth term on Capitol Hill. His district includes Craig, St. Joseph, Chillicothe, Bethany, Macon, Kirksville and Hannibal.

Click here to listen to the full eight-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, which was recorded on July 17, 2020: