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North Area

Area Contact Information

3725 Gene Field Rd, Ste B, St Joseph, MO 64506
Phone: 816-233-6232 / Fax: 816-233-0130

Area Staff:
Melody Prawitz, Development Director

Mitch Curran, Program Director

Charlie Phillips, Office Assistant

Counties served:
Adair, Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Clark, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Knox, Lewis, Linn, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Putnam, Ray, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby, Sullivan and Worth

North Area Sponsors

Randolph Seating and Mobility
HyVee logo
Progressive Community Services logo
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Sunshine Electronic Display

North Area events

North Area Basketball

North Area Basketball

January 24 @ 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
917 College Ave
Maryville, 64468

Team entries and physicals due Thursday, January 8th. Please email entries to curran@somo.org. This event will be held at Northwest Missouri State University at Bearcat Arena. Click here to volunteer:…

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2026 Chillicothe Polar Plunge

February 7 @ 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
1503 Walnut St
Chillicothe, Missouri 64601 United States

This “unbearable” event is a unique opportunity to show your bravery as you support local Special Olympics Missouri athletes by walking, running or crawling into the frigid winter waters. In…

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2026 Maryville Polar Plunge

February 21 @ 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

This “unbearable” event is a unique opportunity to show your bravery as you support local Special Olympics Missouri athletes by walking, running or crawling into the frigid winter waters. This…

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2026 Kirksville Polar Plunge

February 28 @ 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
20431 St Hwy 157
Kirksville, MO 63501 United States

This “unbearable” event is a unique opportunity to show your bravery as you support local Special Olympics Missouri athletes by walking, running or crawling into the frigid winter waters. In…

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State Basketball 2026

March 21 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
2026 MO Magic Logo

Team Missouri Meeting/Training

March 27 - March 29
Purdy, 65734 United States

Details coming. Questions? Contact Susan Shaffer

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North Area Spring Games (East Buchanan)

April 11 @ 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
100 Smith Street
Gower, 64454 United States

Team entries and physicals due Thursday, March 26th.  Questions?  Please contact Mitch Curran: curran@somo.org

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North Area Spring Games (Kirksville)

April 18 @ 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
1300 S Cottage Grove Ave
Kirksville, MO 63501 United States

Team entries and physicals due Thursday, April 2nd.  Questions?  Please contact Mitch Curran: curran@somo.org

2026 MO Magic Logo

Team Missouri Meeting/Training

May 9
305 Special Olympics Dr.
Jefferson City, MO 65101 United States

Details Coming. Questions? Contact Shaffer

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State Summer Games

May 29 - May 31
Kirksville, Missouri

reach out to Craig Hall for information hall@somo.org

SOMO Sum Ups - weekly recaps & headlines

Charlie Phillips shows off his letter announcing his nomination to the 2023 Special Olympics World Games at Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph, Mo. on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022

SURPRISE VIDEO: Special Olympics Missouri athlete nominated to compete at 2023 Special Olympics World Games

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Special Olympics Missouri (SOMO) is very excited to announce longtime athlete Charlie Phillips has been nominated to represent Special Olympics Missouri and Special Olympics USA at the…

Special Olympics Missouri athletes played against athletes from Special Olympics Kansas at Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph, Mo. at Chiefs Training Camp on Thursday, August 4, 2022.

Special Olympics Missouri athletes compete at Chiefs Training Camp

ST. JOSEPH – The Kansas City Chiefs were not the only football team training at Missouri Western State University on Thursday. Special Olympics Missouri and Special Olympics Kansas faced off…

Two SOMO volleyball teams shake hands at the State Summer Games at the MizzouRec on Friday, May 20, 2022 in Columbia, Mo.

SOMO hosts successful State Summer Games in Columbia

COLUMBIA – Special Olympics Missouri hosted its State Summer Games May 20-22 in Columbia. It was SOMO’s first full three-day event since 2018. “SOMO has been through so much these…

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Meet the Team: Team Missouri 3 on 3 basketball

Meet the team that will represent Missouri in 3 on 3 basketball at USA Games, this summer at Disneyland in Orlando, Florida, June 5-12. They are led by their coach…

Athlete poses with award and smiles at camera

Jared Niemeyer named SOMO Athlete of the Year, other athletes honored

All of the athletes below were recognized for their outstanding contributions to Special Olympics Missouri from their respective areas at the SOMO Annual Awards Luncheon Oct. 19 in Columbia. Each year,…

Athlete smiles at camera with a red microphone in front of them

Athlete-Leader guest post: My experience at the United Nations

This blog post was written by athlete-leader and SOMO board of directors member Jared Niemeyer. In June, Niemeyer attended the United Nations 12th Conference of State Parties to the Convention for…

Second Harvest community Food Bank

SOMO participants play part in northwest Missouri flood recovery

During the month of March, mid-western towns along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers battled unseasonably heavy rainfall and rising river levels. One area hit particularly hard by the flooding was…