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
Hillyard Chkrbrd TCR 3clr PMS301 Black PMS422 01
Sunshine Electronic Display

North Area events

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2026 State Bowling – West

January 10, 2026 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
North Area Basketball

North Area Basketball

January 24, 2026 @ 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, 2026 @ 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, 2026 @ 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, 2026 @ 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, 2026 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
2026 MO Magic Logo

Team Missouri Meeting/Training

March 27, 2026 - March 29, 2026
Purdy, 65734 United States

Details coming. Questions? Contact Susan Shaffer

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North Area Spring Games (East Buchanan)

April 11, 2026 @ 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, 2026 @ 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, 2026
305 Special Olympics Dr.
Jefferson City, MO 65101 United States

Details Coming. Questions? Contact Shaffer

SOMO Sum Ups - weekly recaps & headlines

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…