DENT COUNTY – Motorists are advised to be on the lookout for chip seal work taking place on two routes near Salem. The work crew was slated to begin work June 8 as a contractor working for the Missouri Department of Transportation began chip sealing Route 32 between Salem and the junction of Route 72.…

SPRINGFIELD – For the past decade, the Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene /Close Memorial Park has hosted thousands of gardening and butterfly enthusiasts of all ages for a day of celebrating pollinators during the annual Butterfly Festival. This year, however, will look a little different. Due to public health concerns, organizers will take the…

JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick has announced that MO ABLE has reached 1,500 accounts, another major milestone for the program. Launched in April 2017, MO ABLE allows people with disabilities and their families to save up to $15,000 per year, tax-free, without losing federal benefits. “Since taking office in 2019, I have…

The disturbing circumstances and events surrounding the death of George Floyd have affected all of us. The police officer, Derek Chauvin, is seen on video pressing his knee down into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes despite Floyd pleading with the officer that he couldn’t breathe. It is hard to watch. Derek Chauvin and anyone…

The Legislature has adjourned for the year, and there are no current plans for lawmakers to return to the Capitol until the annual veto session in September. In the meantime, we watch and wait to see if the governor will sign the legislation we passed in 2020. Although the General Assembly truly agreed and finally…

ROLLA, Mo. June 8 –– Mark Twain National Forest is excited to offer free day-use at multiple locations on Saturday, June 13 in celebration of National Get Outdoors (GO) Day.  For the last 12 years there has been an inclusive, nationwide effort, called GO Day, focusing on a single day when people would be inspired…

By Dr. Glenn Mollette  The death of George Floyd at the hands of police should never have happened.  It was murder and a dark moment in America.  The looting, terrorism and burning of American cities by so called protesters is criminal and a dark moment in America. The Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s death…

American Heart Association urges the public to learn CPR during CPR and AED Awareness Week MISSOURI — Without CPR, Bobby Ballard of Joplin, Missouri, wouldn’t be alive today. Bobby had just finished a three-mile run when he had a heart attack. Thankfully, one of Bobby’s running partners recognized his symptoms and started CPR while another…

JEFFERSON CITY – Interested in attracting birds, bees, and other wildlife to your backyard?  The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites the public to join its free live Wild Webcast on Attracting Backyard Wildlife on Wednesday, July 1, at noon. MDC Urban Wildlife Biologist Erin Shank of Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center will explain the…

By Roger Wall In 1787, at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the founders and delegates were attempting to replace the Articles of Confederation among the States with a new constitution The former document had suffered mightily without a strong executive branch, no independent judiciary and especially no central US banking system or any method to…