A ceremony dedicating a portion of the Belt Highway in St. Joseph as the “Walter Cronkite Memorial Highway” will take place at 3 p.m. Friday, April 4, at the Walter Cronkite Memorial inside Missouri Western State University’s Spratt Hall atrium. The ceremony is free and open to the public.
The late, legendary CBS News Anchor Walter Cronkite was born in St. Joseph in 1916. His legacy of journalistic ethics made him a role model for the generations of citizens who watched his newscasts as he anchored the CBS Evening News from 1962 until 1981. His reputation led him to be consistently named “The Most Trusted Man in America” in public opinion polls. In January, the Missouri General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight approved Missouri Western’s application to honor the renowned newsman by designating U.S. Highway 169 (the Belt Highway) from Missouri 6 (Frederick Avenue) south to Interstate 29 as the Walter Cronkite Memorial Highway.
Representatives from Missouri Western, the city of St. Joseph, the Missouri Department of Transportation, and the General Assembly will take part in the dedication ceremony and unveil the highway signage.
Missouri Western dedicated the Walter Cronkite Memorial Nov. 4, 2013, which would have been the newsman’s 97th birthday. The permanent, 5,000 square-foot memorial in the atrium of Spratt Hall includes video, audio, photographs and memorabilia to help tell the story of Cronkite’s life and the historic events he covered. For more information, visit www.waltercronkitememorial.org.
Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high-quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.