Month: April 2021

If you’re looking for a career in construction, you have an opportunity Wednesday to speak with 15 different companies looking to fill jobs.

The Springfield Contractors Association is hosting a job fair on Wednesday, April 28, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Missouri Job Center, 2900 East Sunshine.

Approximately 15 companies will be in attendance with open positions Due to being considered essential during the COVID pandemic, many companies continued to operate, and a shortage of manpower has left positions unfilled.

If you have questions, visit the Springfield Contractors Association website.

The Springfield Fire Department will break ground Tuesday on its new Fire Station 4 at 2423 north Delaware.

The event begins at 4 p.m. and will be livestreamed from the @SGFFire Facebook page.

Those who attend in person will be required to wear a mask and practice social distancing.

Fire Station 4 is located on the boundary of the Doling and Robberson neighborhoods.

The old station was demolished back in March to make room for the rebuilt station.

The new fire station should be operational in about a year.

Governor Mike Parson came to Springfield Friday to talk about economic and workforce development during a stop at the John Deere Reman plant in Springfield.

The Governor’s stop the plant comes on the heels of the company’s announcement last month that they were moving drivetrain and hydraulic manufacturing operations to Springfield and expanding their facility, adding 130 more jobs to the community.

Jena Holtberg-Benge, manager of John Deere Reman Business, said that the policies of Governor Parson’s administration was a factor in the company’s decision to expand in southwest Missouri.

“Investing and the incentives that we received from the state was a big reason why we chose to expand here in Springfield,” Holtberg-Benge said. “The workforce development in particular and our work with Ozark Technical [Community] College and some of the things they’re able to do because of the funding from the state has been exceptional.”

Holtberg-Benge added the company can’t wait for OTC to open the Center for Advanced Manufacturing that was made possible in part through state funding.

The governor said workforce development programs like those at OTC are going to continue to be a priority of his administration and will see increased funding in future years.

“When I became governor three years ago…infrastructure and workforce development was key,” Governor Parson said. “We’re starting to take that into our high schools, our elementary schools, our middle schools, trying to prepare these kids for the workforce. Work ready programs we have now are in 57 counties and we want it to be in every county before I get out [of office.]”

The governor added funding workforce development will remain a priority.

“We’ve been funding [workforce development] all along and we will continue to fund it,” Parson said. “If you’re not, you’re going to get left behind. It’s as simple as that. Other states are aggressive at that, but when I start talking about “we’re second in the nation, we’re in the top ten,” the one thing that should tell you is when businesses look at our state…we’re very sure we’re being aggressive in making sure we’re meeting the demands of that workforce development.”

The gunman in a overnight shooting that has left a man hospitalized in critical condition has been identified.

The alleged shooter is Jawaun Marqeise Thompson, 23, of Coffeyville, Kansas.

Police say that as Zan The Club on South Patton Avenue in Springfield was closing early Sunday morning, a fight broke out between Thompson and another man. They say Thompson shot the victim, and officers confirmed hearing two shots.

Police took Thompson into custody and the victim to a local hospital where they were last reported to be in critical but stable condition. The wounds are non-life-threatening and the victim is expected to recover.

Thompson is in the Greene County Jail on a charge of first degree assault with bond set at $100,000.

Numerous law enforcement vehicles flooded the area around Glenstone and Sunshine in Springfield shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday following a crash that seriously injured two people.

Officers say one vehicle involved in the crash was stolen, and the driver of that car was also a wanted fugitive.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says shortly before the crash, a Greene County deputy saw a suspicious vehicle near Fremont and Seminole.

The deputy followed the vehicle, and while trying to catch up to it, saw the crash.

Troopers say the driver of a 2011 Mazda 3 failed to yield at Glenstone and Sunshine and hit a 2012 Ford Fusion.

The driver of the Mazda was thrown from the car and was rushed to a local hospital.

The suspect, a 21-year-old man from Springfield, is also accused of felony possession of illegal drugs, possession of a firearm, and possible DUI. He has not been formally charged.

The driver of the other vehicle, a 22-year-old woman from Springfield, was also rushed to the hospital.

Police are investigating a shooting early Sunday morning outside Zan The Club on south Patton in downtown Springfield.

Police were stationed outside the nightclub during closing when a fight broke out between two men.

Officers say one man pulled out a gun and shot the other man.

Police say the shooter is in custody, and the victim is in critical but stable condition at a local hospital.

The pastor of the influential megachurch James River Church has announced his cancer has spread.

Pastor John Lindell, in a video posted online Monday, is seen telling his church about the diagnosis after a checkup.

“Last month I went for a checkup, they did an MRI, they did some biopsies and I’ve got additional cancer,” Lindall said. “I’m one of three people in a ten year study that this has happened to, so it’s a little bit of an oddity. I’d rather have been one of three people who got a trip to Hawaii or something like that!”

Lindell then said he would having surgery on Wednesday morning.

“Nothing about our circumstance in any way diminishes by faith in God’s ability to heal,” Lindell said. “In fact, I have to be honest with you, they’re going to do some tests before they have to do the surgery, and I’m just asking the Lord to work a miracle.”

Lindell first announced in August 2020 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and would be undergoing surgery and treatment.

Lindell’s wife, Debbie, then announced Thursday that John had to be rushed to the hospital Thursday because of “post-surgery complications” which was later announced to be a severe infection.

“He is very sick but in good spirits,” Debbie Lindell posted to social media Thursday evening.

Greene County prosecutors have filed have filed a second degree murder charge against a man for a deadly shooting Wednesday night in Springfield.

Cody Browning, 32, is charged with second degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon in the death of Jacob Rowden, 28, Springfield.

Police responded to a home in the 1000 block of south Stewart near the intersection of Stewart and Delmar. Officers found Rowden on the ground. He was rushed to a local hospital where he later died.

A witness says she confronted Browning, who had a gun, and left through the back door of the home.

Another witness says earlier in the evening, Rowden was upset about drugs missing from his wallet, and argued with Browning.

Family members say the victim had five children and was staying at the home on Stewart temporarily.

Greene County is going to see a minor setback in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as Cox South is preparing to reopen their COVID-19 dedicated ICU.

CoxHealth CEO Steve Edwards broke the news on Twitter.

“CoxHealth Covid inpatient census 26, 8 in ICU,” Edwards wrote. “We are readying to reopen our dedicated Covid ICU as an important precaution to create capacity.”

CoxHealth spokeswoman Kaitlyn McConnell said that the hospital’s infectious disease expert Dr. Robin Trotman said that more patients are waiting longer to come in for care with COVID-19, leading to more severe cases and worse outcomes.

Edwards said that residents need to remember the variants are more dangerous than the original strains.

“A reminder, variants are thought to both 60% more infectious and 60% higher mortality,” Edwards said.

Edwards, CoxHealth, and the Springfield-Greene County Health Department all issued statements on social media about the importance of vaccinations to stop the spread of the disease.

Storms will develop Friday and move into the Ozarks, with thunderstorm chances increasing late in the afternoon into the evening.

The National Weather Service says there’s a low end threat or large hail and gusty winds prior to midnight, with the best chance for those strong to severe storms along and west of Highway 65.

Forecasters say there’s also some potential for heavier rain of around two inches in some areas, and the weather service is monitoring for excessive rainfall and possible creek and low water crossing flooding.

The KWTO News Team will keep you up to date with any watches and warnings across the Ozarks.