Editing Mendon, Missouri (section)

===Today===
On June 27, 2022, [[Amtrak|Amtrak's]] [[Southwest Chief]] [[2022 Missouri train derailment|derailed nearly a mile southwest of Mendon]], after hitting a dump truck.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shapiro |first=Emily |date=2022-06-27 |title=Amtrak train with 243 passengers on board derails in Missouri; injuries reported |url=https://abc7news.com/amtrak-derailment-train-missouri-accident/11998856/ |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=ABC7 San Francisco |language=en}}</ref> The city and surrounding community were applauded for their assistance to the injured. "There were farmers, off-duty nurses, truck drivers, soccer moms, Little League coaches and grade-schoolers. They were doling out food, first aid, bottled water and, most importantly, phone chargers."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dietrich |first=Sean |date=2022-07-03 |title=Mendon, Missouri |url=https://seandietrich.com/mendon-missouri/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=Sean of the South |language=en}}</ref>

A full year before the tragedy, a Mendon resident met with Chariton County engineers and stakeholders to warn them of the dangerous "steep incline leading up to the crossing." The crossing remains closed as of June 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-27 |title='A bad dream': Effects of Amtrak derailment still echoing in Missouri town |url=https://fox4kc.com/news/a-bad-dream-effects-of-amtrak-derailment-still-echoing-in-missouri-town/amp/ |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV {{!}} News, Weather, Sports |language=en-US}}</ref>[[File:Mendon_Cemetery-Mendon_Missouri-Chariton_County.jpg|thumb|Mendon Cemetery, established 1860, at the site of the original Old Mendon, Missouri, 2020]]Although freight trains on the Santa Fe railroad still pass through regularly, little remains of Mendon's business community.

Education for the town and surrounding rural area is provided by Northwestern High School.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greatschools.org/missouri/mendon/1409-Northwestern-High/|title=Mendon, Missouri schools|publisher=Great Schools.com|year=2014|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref> The school's athletic and academic teams compete in Missouri Class 1, the smallest of all classifications.

Mendon's proximity to the [[Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge]] has proven a source of income for the community, with business catering to waterfowl hunters who come to the region.