Traffic on westbound Highway 60 had to be detoured through the town of Billings Thursday morning after a semi filled with hundreds of live turkeys collided with a farm tractor.
As of 7:30 a.m. the left lane was still shutdown westbound on Highway 60. The eastbound lanes have remained open.
The Highway Patrol says the driver of the tractor was injured and rushed to a local hospital.
The state veterinary office was also called in to assist on scene.
The heavy rains have ended across southwest Missouri, but many roads and low water crosses remain flooded south of Springfield.
The National Weather Service says at 5:30 a.m. Thursday, guage reports indicated river rises to near or above flood stage in southeastern Greene County, northwestern Christian County, and southern Webster County.
Between one and three inches of rain fell over the last 12 hours.
Several other communities south of I-44 remain under a flood warning into the afternoon hours, although the flash flooding threat has ended.
The City of Springfield announced Wednesday that two qualified design-build teams responded to the call for Statements of Qualifications for the Grant Avenue Parkway project and will be competing to gain the contract for the corridor improvement project.
“We received a lot of good questions and interest from the contracting community over the last several months,” Project Manager Leree Reese said in a statement. “We are excited that two qualified teams have come forward and both have the depth and expertise to execute the community’s vision and deliver a really great end product.”
The two teams that will compete are:
• GAP Collaborative Team – Radmacher Brothers; CFS Engineers; Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects
• Hartman Team – Hartman & Company, Inc.; Great River Engineering (GRE); Horner & Shifrin, Inc.; Hunter-Chase & Associates, Inc.
The Design-Build concept is a new one to public entities, and it combines the design and construction phases into the same contract. This would allow for the teams to work in parallel and provide time and cost savings to all involved in the project.
The City will issue their Request for Proposals June 1, with a deadline for proposals of August 20. The winning team is scheduled to be chosen by August 31.
The project is expected to begin in 2022 with a completion by 2026.
Severe thunderstorms producing damaging winds, possible tornadoes and intense rainfall producing flash flooding moved across the southern Ozarks Wednesday morning.
Numerous tornado, severe thunderstorm and Flash Flood Warnings were issued by the National Weather Service.
We’ve had reports of multiple trees down and light towers blown over Indian Point Road just east of Silver Dollar City.
There have been numerous reports of flooding in and around Branson, including Roark Valley Road and Veterans Boulevard, with a report of 2.5 inches of rain in 30 minutes near Table Rock Lake Dam.
Large trees were reported down on Highway 76 near the Branson High Road and Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Theater.
A funnel cloud was reported one mile west of Kimberling City just before 9:15 a.m.
Several vehicles went into a flooded road in the Cape Fair area at Highway 173 north of Highway 76. All occupants were rescued.
The National Weather Service reported a tornado debris signature with rotation moving into the southern part of Chadwick around 10:00 a.m.
Forecasters say a confirmed tornado was located eight miles south of Sparta just before 10 a.m., moving northeast.
A Tornado Watch that was in effect for several counties south of Springfield had been cancelled for most counties by noon.
The Nixa Eagles are flying high.
The new list of school rankings by U.S. News and World Report has been released with Nixa being named the area’s top school, and the #36 school in the entire state of Missouri.
The survey ranks more than 17,800 public high schools on how well they serve students of different social and/or economic backgrounds.
Nixa scored 81.3 on the magazine’s 100 point scale, with high marks for a 94% graduation rate. The school reported 74% reading proficiency and 69% math proficiency. The Eagles were #36 in the state, and #3,340 nationally.
The top ten for the Springfield area are:
In addition to Nixa cracking the state’s overall top 100, eight other southwest Missouri schools made that list:
“Families can use the Best High Schools rankings to see how schools compare at the national, state and local level on factors like graduation rates and college readiness,” Anita Narayan, managing editor of Education at U.S. News, said in a statement. “The rankings also provide insight into academic performance among underserved groups.”
Heavy rain and flash flooding are possible across much of the Ozarks Wednesday.
The National Weather Service says widespread showers and storms will occur through Wednesday night.
Storm total rain amounts will range from 1.5 to 4.5 inches, with the highest amounts generally along and south of Interstate 44, where storms may repeatedly move or train over the same areas.
Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms may also be possible late Wednesday morning and in the afternoon in areas where daytime heating produces instability.
Quarter size hail will be the biggest risk, although damaging wind gusts will be possible.
A woman from Republic has been found guilty of abuse and neglect of a child in her care.
Judge Calvin Holden found Samantha Dillbeck guilty of Abuse or Neglect of a Child and Establishing/Maintaining/Operating a Child Care Facility without a license.
According to court documents, testimony by doctors backing the prosecution’s case were the determining factor for Judge Holden. Three separate experts said injuries that happened to the victim could not have been accidental injuries.
The crime took place in March 2017. Prosecutors say Dillbeck was stressed, and while she didn’t mean to hurt the child, shook the baby. The doctors who testified pointed to specific eye and brain injuries to claim the shaking took place.
The defense said there was no sign of stress and that the incident was an accident.
Dillbeck will go back before Holden in July for sentencing, where she could receive up to 15 years in prison.
A man is in custody after leading Greene County deputies on a chase early Tuesday morning.
It started around 3 a.m., when a deputy saw a pickup truck at a cemetery, and the driver took off.
Authorities followed the man on Farm Roads 102, 143 and 147 before the driver stopped the truck on Farmer Avenue.
The man was arrested for resisting arrest, possession of drugs, trespassing, property damage, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
A man from Kansas accused of shooting another man during a fight outside of Zan The Club in downtown Springfield over the weekend says he acted in self defense.
Jawaun Thompson, 23, from Coffeyville, Kansas, is charged with assault and armed criminal action for the shooting just after 1 a.m. Sunday.
Officers say the incident began with a fight between two men in the club.
Investigators say Thompson told police he made it clear he didn’t want any trouble, but then noticed another man following behind him.
Police say Thompson claimed he was tackled to the ground by two men and says he fired the shots in self defense.
Officers were already on scene outside the nightclub when they heard shots fired.
Thompson was taken into custody at the scene.
After a dry and warm day on Tuesday, rain begins to move into the Ozarks overnight, with several rounds of rain and potential flooding Wednesday into Thursday.
The National Weather Service says the heaviest rain should fall Wednesday and Wednesday night, with the highest rain amounts expected along and south of the I-44 corridor.
Total rainfall amounts are projected to be 2-3 inches from Joplin to Springfield up to Lebanon and Rolla.
Forecasters say they will need to monitor for possible flooding of creeks and low water crossings.
The weather service says isolated strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible Tuesday evening and overnight, mainly over southeast Kansas and western into central Missouri.
With widespread showers and thunderstorms expected Wednesday into Wednesday night, isolated severe storms will again be possible, but we’re not expecting widespread severe weather.