The year 2025 started out with tragedy for The Citizen and for Platte County, with the murder of sports reporter Dennis Sharkey, but the first half of the year wasn’t short on other news...
JANUARY
January 1 – A Parkville veteran, Robert Buck, moved into a specially adapted home retrofitted by Texas-based Helping a Hero, allowing him to live independently; The Platte County Health Department received the 2024 Innovative Leadership Award from the Missouri Center for Public Health Excellence for their work in encouraging increased water intake and mental health awareness.
January 8 – Winter Storm Blair dumped more than a foot of snow on the Kansas City metro area, snarling traffic and canceling schools; Rotarian Erik McGuire was name district governor for the organization; Weston’s Black Ancestors Awareness Campaign and Weston United Methodist Church announced their third annual If These Walls Could Talk celebration, honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and others; A Platte County robbery ended in Jackson County with a six-vehicle collision.
January 15 – The Platte County Citizen’s sports reporter Dennis Sharkey was shot and killed on Interstate 29 at Northwest 72nd Street in an apparent road rage incident; Local filmmaker Scott Roberts’ film Letters Home, which was filmed in Platte City, was released on streaming services; If These Walls Could Talk was rescheduled.
January 22 – A child reported missing in Parkville was located just hours after his alleged abduction, a suspect was apprehended that day; Platte City announced the selection of Jeff Wilson to succeed Chief Joe Wellington after his announced retirement; Platte County Commissioners approved the 2025 budget, using a new financial system.
January 29 – The Platte County R- School District Hall of Fame announced it would induct Morgan Ayers, Lenora Miles and Raymond Mahowski; The rest area on northbound Interstate 29 closed for renovations; Wesley Teague of DeKalb was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he struck and killed a man who was clearing grass from a ditch in rural Platte County.
FEBRUARY
February 5 – Trustees and volunteers from the Weston Historical Museum toured the Harry S. Truman Museum to learn ways to move forward with their own museum’s enhancement; Armando Navarro was arrested and charged in a triple homicide that occurred in Kansas City North, three women in the same family were murdered; The Parkville Police Community Fund received a donation from the Taste of Parkville event; Catholic Charities of Kansas City – St. Joseph offer services to help the community with hunger and other needs.
February 12 – Work continued on the Riverside Community Center pool renovation project; The Little Pantry of Hope, established by Ernie Martel in 2021, was still going strong and seeking donations; Armando Navarro Jr. was scheduled to appear in court after he was charged with the deaths of three women in the same family and the attempted murder of a fourth; The Park Hill School District voted to place two propositions on the April election ballot, seeking a tax increase.
February 19 – Seigrist Elementary School’s Career and Community Student Leadership Team completed their third annual winter clothing drive; Platte County High School juniors Kylie Kinzey and Rayan Abdikarim were chosen for the Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership Program; A presentation on the Camden Point Female Academy and Orphan School was scheduled to be held at the Camden Point Firehouse; An audit uncovered problems in 2024 in the county treasurer’s office after the death of a key employee.
February 26 – Platte County voters filed a suit to take the county commission to court over its refusal to implement the voter-approved children’s mental health services tax; County Treasurer Rob Willard resigned his position to take a position with a private law firm; The Firehouse Market planned its March return to the Central Platte Fire Protection District’s Platte City Firehouse; The City of Platte City planned an open house on potential improvements to Highway 92 east of the city.
MARCH
March 5 – The Platte County Sheriff’s Office and the Riverside Police Department were investigating a double homicide and kidnapping in Riverside that involved a man – George Manning – also identified in a Kansas City, Kan. carjacking, shooting and assault; Dr. Jay Harris, superintendent of the Platte County R-3 School District, announced his retirement effective June 30, 2026; Current Park University President Shane Smeed was named as the next president of Utah Tech University, sparking a search for a new president.
March 12 – The City of Riverside hosted a vigil to honor the memory of 12-year-old Giuliani Calderon, who was killed in a shooting a week prior; Two men – Jordan Willis and Ivory Carson – were charged with distribution of a controlled substance and three counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of three Chiefs fans in 2024; The Missouri Highway Patrol announced the arrest of Timothy Johnson of Platte City, who was charged with possession of child pornography; Thomas Carson was charged with second degree assault after allegedly beating his victim into a coma in Ferrelview; Platte City Administrator Tom Cole announced his resignation after a short time with the city.
March 19 – The North Platte Historical Museum hosted its Educating Our Daughters series about the former Camden Point Female Academy and Orphan School; Interim Platte County Treasurer Christopher Kendall, of Farley, was named to fill the role vacated by Rob Willard; Parkville introduces its new Citizens’ Academy program to teach residents about city government; One person was injured when a train struck a truck near downtown Parkville.
March 26 – A group of Weatherby Lake-area women formed Winning Women Wednesdays and hosted a town hall meeting at the Weatherby Lake Community Center; The Northland Regional Ambulance District placed a proposal on the Tuesday, April 8 election ballot seeking to expand district capacity and build a new headquarters; Three candidates – Shawn Chiddix, Alisha Elliott and John Ready – ran for two seats on the Platte County R-3 Board of Education.
APRIL
April 2 – Riverside resident Jason Sessoms was charged in Clay County with the shooting death of his parents at a Clay County motel; The iconic orange Platte City water tower was repainted in a brighter orange after a coloring error earlier in the year; Long-time city clerk Kim Kirby ran for mayor of Weston against Allison Roberts; Several candidates, including alderman Brian Whitley and candidate Abby LacKamp running for seats on the Parkville Board of Aldermen.
April 9 – A Platte County judge ruled the county commission had the authority to not levy the voter-approved children’s mental health services tax; Kim Kirby receives 60 percent of the vote to become the next mayor of the City of Weston; The Platte County R-3 School District announced Dr. Drew White will be the next superintendent of the district, starting in July 2026; Shawn Chiddix and Alisha Elliott win seats on the Platte County R-3 Board of Education.
April 16 – Interstate 29 near Camden Point was closed for several hours over the weekend due to a fatality roll-over crash in the northbound lanes; The Kansas City Northern Miniature Railroad underwent an expansion project, set to open later in the year; Tiffani Clark, vice president of Synergy Services Child Advocacy Center, received the 18th annual Sara Andrasek Memorial Award for her work with victimized children.
April 23 – Rogers and Peg Strickland, Weston residents, made 70 trips over 25 years to assist the people of San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala; The world’s top hide-and-seek champion, Bigfoot, was set to be found as part of Weston’s fourth annual Bigfoot Search; Park University’s Board of Trustees appointed Katherine Swanson as the university’s interim president; The annual Parkville Microbrew Fest reached drinking age this year with its 21st event in English Landing Park.
April 30 – Pizza Shoppe, Fetterman’s, Sonic, Roxanne’s and Dollar General were all burglarized in Platte City, with thieves making off with little money and leaving a mess to clean up; The City of Kansas City invested $25 million in the new Northland Career Center, which will be called the Northland Workforce Development Center; A California man – Juan Rivas Jr. – received two years in prison for assaulting a police officer after an in-flight disturbance caused an emergency landing at KCI Airport in 2022; Six-year-old Lincoln Domino reeled in a 16-inch crappie.
MAY
May 7 – A domestic dispute at Argosy Casino led to a shooting, a pursuit and a dramatic showdown between a suspect and law enforcement on Interstate 29 near Interstate 435, ending with the death of suspect Dustin Johnson; Ribbon was cut for the newest medical provider in Platte City – Guthrie Chiropractic; The KCI Rotary Club helped to create a butterfly and bee park area at Michael Gunn Park in southern Platte County.
May 14 – Park University celebrated its 150th anniversary with special observances; The Park Hill Board of Education heard an update on a plan to ban all cell phones in classrooms for the next school year; The Platte County Sheriff’s Office moved forward with plans to achieve Missouri Blue Shield Program designation, opening the way for additional state grant funding; The Platte County School District honored its teacher and service person of the year, Cherie Thatcher and Jon Brady, respectively.
May 21 – Platte County High School’s class of 2025 graduated at HyVee Arena; The City of Parkville moved forward with plans to seek a renewal of a 16-cent property tax for an additional 20 years; Platte County Commissioners approved a $1.1 million purchase agreement to build a playground at Michael Gunn Park at Platte Meadows; Platte City Shelter Insurance agent Kurt Smart celebrated 35 years with Shelter Insurance.
May 28 – The Platte Purchase Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution celebrated the opening of their Little Lending Library at the Ben Ferrel Platte County Museum in Platte City; Tyione England-Stewart, of Kansas City, faced multiple charges after he led authorities on a chase across southern Platte County; The Platte County Sheriff’s Office earned Missouri Blue Shield designation from the Missouri Department of Public Safety.
JUNE
June 4 – The Platte County 4x400-meter boys relay team of Ty Christopher, Joshua Fraker, Jack Johnson and Jackson Goodale celebrated the program’s first state title since 2018; The South Platte Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7356 recently opened its new post at the old Park College Power Plant, only to find out it was in the possible way of the City of Parkville’s road construction project; The Platte City Police Department warned citizens of a jury duty scam; Parkville changed its short term rental rules for the 2026 FIFA World Cup; Platte County Emergency Management and the City of Tracy installed a new tornado siren in Tracy.
June 11 – Three sets of bridges on Highway 9 in southern Platte and Clay counties were being replaced, forcing a full closure of that stretch of highway for the summer; Another pedestrian was struck and killed on the dangerous stretch of Interstate 29 by Barry Road; A person of interest was identified in the shooting death of Citizen sports reporter Dennis Sharkey; Pirates baseball took the state title; The newly-formed Indivisible Platte City group held a protest at Highway 92 at Prairie View Road; Teachers in the Park Hill School District will receive a pay bump in the next school year after Board of Education action.
June 18 – A Kansas City man – Ruslan Huseynov – was charged with the murder of Citizen reporter Dennis Sharkey; A press conference featuring Sharkey’s family was held, hosted by Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd; Dante Draper was charged in Platte County for allegedly taking part in a burglary ring targeting dispensaries; Logan Tipton of St. Joseph was captured and charged with two counts of burglary after a manhunt in the Timber Park neighborhood.
June 25 – Demolition of a portion of Platte County High School got under way as the Platte County R-3 School District works on its strategic plans; Ground was broken in Riverside for construction of the KC Current’s secondary stadium and performance space; Motorcycle enthusiast and Platte City resident Brian Weed was preparing for the Ride Extreme Team’s journey on the Trans America Trail in Colorado, stretching to Oregon.