Month: June 2021

Emilee Kuschel, KOLR

SPRINGFIELD, Mo- As of Friday, June 25th, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department has seen a 26% increase in new COVID-19 cases over the past week, with over 750 new cases reported.

Springfield hospitals are currently treating 168 COVID patients as of June 25th. Many new patients are younger and without underlying health conditions.

As KOLR-10 reports, local healthcare officials urge everyone over the age of 11 to vaccinate as soon as possible as the average age of new infections is 38.5 years old.

After last year’s event got wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Honda Gold Wing’s annual “Wing Ding” is a go next weekend in Springfield.

The city will host an estimated 5,000 motorcycle enthusiasts June 29th through July 3rd.

Springfield last hosted the Wing Ding in 1999, when it drew around 13,500 people.

St. Louis Street between Kimbrough Avenue and the parking garage west of Hammons Tower will close starting at 4 a.m. Monday, June 28th to accommodate food trucks and vendors, reopening by 8 p.m. Saturday, July 3rd.

Here’s more information from a City of Springfield news release regarding rolling street closures and the schedule of events:

Rolling street closures to accommodate a cruise through Springfield will begin at 6 p.m. July 2 and will include Jefferson Avenue and its side streets south of Chestnut Street and Sunset Street east of Jefferson Avenue and its side streets until all of the estimated 300 motorcycles in the cruise turn south into the Macy’s entrance of the Battlefield Mall at approximately 7 p.m. 

Wing Ding 42’s headquarters will be at the University Plaza and Expo Center, but several events-within-the-event are scheduled, including: 

• A welcome party, 6-9 p.m. June 29 at Jordan Valley Park, 635 E. Trafficway;
• A luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, June 30 at the Route 66 Car Museum, 1634 W. College St.; and
• A cruise with as many as 300 motorcyclists will start at 6 p.m. July 2 at Chestnut Street and Jefferson Avenue and travel to the Battlefield Mall via Jefferson Avenue to Sunset Street east to the Macy’s entrance. It’s estimated the cruise will be finished by or before 7 p.m. 

“On behalf of the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, we want to thank Springfield citizens and downtown businesses for their cooperation and understanding as we work to stage a fun and safe event for our guests,” said CVB President Tracy Kimberlin. “This group loved Springfield when they visited in 1999 and we know they’ll love being here again.”

Parking

Visit itsalldowntown.com for a map of parking lots and garages in downtown Springfield. 

The City of Branson will be receiving almost $10 million in overall funding for the construction of a flood wall around the Compton Drive Wastewater Treatment Plant after the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded the city a $3 million grant.

The $3 million in federal dollars will be matched by $6.6 million in state funds toward the estimated $10.2 million project cost.

“I am thrilled that the EDA is investing substantial funds into the construction of a flood wall to protect the Compton Drive Wastewater Treatment Plant,” Congressman Billy Long said in a statement. “This facility is critical to the community and a flood wall will ensure that businesses and residents will not be disrupted should substantial flooding occur.”

The grant was requested as part of a regional planning effort from the Southwest Missouri Council of Governments, which is funded by the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA.)  The funds are provided through the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019. 

“President Biden is committed to helping communities impacted by natural disasters implement strategies to protect and grow their communities,” Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo said in a statement. “This EDA investment will protect the primary wastewater treatment plant that services Branson’s popular tourism districts, preventing potential disruption and loss of jobs due to natural disasters.”

The federal and state funding comes after the Branson Board of Aldermen approved a resolution to accept funding from the Missouri Department of Economic Development Community Block Grant (CDBG) program that provided over $2.7 million toward improvements around the Compton Drive facility.

The Greene County Prosecutor’s Office is dropping charges against a Kansas man who had been charged in connection with a shooting in downtown Springfield.

Jawaun Thompson, 23, had been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action related to a shooting outside Zan nightclub in Springfield on April 25 that left a man with serious gunshot wounds. The assault charge could have brought a possible life sentence.

Thompson had traveled to Springfield with two friends from Kansas to check out Springfield’s nightlife.

Thompson had claimed from the beginning he had only fired shots after he was jumped by two men that followed him from the nightclub. Court documents say that around 1:20 a.m. a man approached Thompson and tried to fight with him. Thompson and the man fell to the ground and that’s when a third person tried to get involved, and that’s when Thompson fired two shots.

After reviewing the evidence, including police body camera footage, the prosecutor felt they could not dispute Thompson’s self-defense claims.

“We are unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jawaun Thompson did not act in self-defense in this incident and have dismissed the case,” assistant Greene County Prosecutor Scott Lucy told KWTO.

Leaders from businesses and organizations across a wide variety of disciplines in the Springfield area participated Wednesday in Zimmer Communications’ 1st CEO Roundtable in Springfield.

The luncheon event was held at our KWTO studios on east Chestnut Expressway in Springfield.

Presidents and CEO’s from the chamber of commerce to the banking and loan industry, home builders, education, automobile industry, entertainment and education gathered at a luncheon to talk about the future of our community and how we can make Springfield a better place to live and work.

“We are collaborative,” “I love this. I think it’s a great idea,” and “anything we can do to drive growth,” are some of the comments from the presidents and CEO’s in attendance.

From workforce and economic development, to the area housing market, to public infrastructure, to challenges in the automobile and entertainment industry and crime concerns, this special group of thought leaders talked candidly about the issues facing the Springfield community.

Our elected leaders in Springfield and Greene County will have a combined $100 million decision to make in the next year: how to allocate money from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package.

Our CEO’s weighed in on the ARPA money and ideas they have on how it should be spent.

You’ll be hearing more about that topic and others that developed from the roundtable on KWTO in the coming days and weeks, including guests on Wake up Springfield, Springfield’s Happy Hour and Watching the Ozarks with Bonnie Bell.

We’ll also feature news stories on topics that are addressed in this and upcoming CEO Roundtables.

Our next quarterly CEO Roundtable is coming up in September.

KWTO and Zimmer Communications would like to thank our roundtable guests, including:

Matt Morrow: President and CEO of Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce

Mark Harrington: President and CEO of Old Missouri Bank

Dori Grinder: Executive Officer of Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield

Judy Hadsall: President and CEO of Multipli Credit Union

Ann Marie Baker: Executive Vice President of UMB Bank

Geoff Steele: Executive Director of Gillioz Theatre

Lynn Thompson: President of Thompson Sales Company

Hal Higdon: Chancellor of Ozarks Technical Community College System

Brad Farris: President of Farris Mortgage Company

The president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Bob Kendrick, is coming to Springfield on June 27.

Kendrick will be giving a presentation on the negro leagues at the Springfield-Greene County Park Board’s Timmons Hall at 2 p.m. on June 27. The program will feature information about Herman “Doc” Horn, Jr., a Springfield native who played five seasons with the Kansas City Monarchs.

“I couldn’t be more excited about bringing Bob Kendrick to Springfield,” Christine Peoples, Timmons Hall Coordinator, said in a statement. “It is truly an honor. At Timmons Hall, we are intentional on raising the bar in education, history and cultural programming.”

The presentation is part of the Park Board’s celebration of the second anniversary of the reopening of Timmons Hall in 2019.

Registration is required to attend the presentation, with admission costing $2.50 per person. You can register online or call 417-864-1046 by 5 p.m. on Friday, June 25.

A man who is facing multiple federal drug charges in Springfield has been captured by a fugitive task force.

U.S. Marshals announced Thursday that 39-year-old Untavious Davenport of Chicago had been captured in a rural area near Zwingle, Iowa, a community with a population of less than 100 people.

 “Davenport’s arrest resulted from the combined efforts of talented investigators across three states,” Mark James, U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Missouri said in a statement. “Davenport will now face the justice he’s fled for so long.” 

Davenport was indicted in Springfield on charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Shortly after the federal indictment was handed down by a grand jury in Springfield, Davenport fled to his hometown Chicago area. The Chicago Strike Force, a part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, joined the hunt and was able to track Davenport to Iowa. They provided information to U.S. Marshals who took Davenport into custody around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23, 2021.

Davenport surrendered without incident.

The U.S. Marshals Midwest Violent Fugitive Task Force—Springfield Division, partners with members of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, the Christian County Sheriff’s Office, the Springfield Police Department, and the Billings Police Department in seeking to stop drug trafficking and other violent crime in southwest Missouri.

CoxHealth announced Thursday they will be giving their former hospital building in Monett to an area church.

Cox donated the building to Life360 Church’s Community Services outreach.

“We have great affection for our former hospital and are grateful for the many lives it was able to serve throughout its history,” Darren Bass, president of Cox Monett Hospital, said in a statement. “This transition is something we are very excited about, especially since it means the facility will continue to serve our friends and neighbors, and make a difference here in Monett.”

Life360 is expected to complete the transfer of ownership in August. The new programs that will be offered to the community by the church include mental health services; foster care; crisis pregnancy services; nutrition; youth and childcare, including an on-site preschool. Other services will be added as the facility is developed for Community Services.

“We are excited to partner with the Monett community to see this facility into its next chapter,” Ted Cederblom, CEO of Life360 Community Services, said. “We look forward to the many partnerships that will benefit our neighbors in Monett.” 

The former Cox Monett hospital was built in 1953 and operated until January 2021 when CoxHealth opened the new hospital facility.

We have the potential for strong to severe thunderstorms for parts of the Ozarks from Wednesday afternoon into the evening hours.

The National Weather Service says the primary hazards will be damaging wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour and hail the size of ping pong balls.

The highest threat area is west central and central Missouri along and north of a line from Nevada to Rolla.

Parts of central Missouri have already had storms move through late Wednesday morning, with lightning, heavy rain, small hail and gusty winds.

Portions of Morgan and Benton Counties were under a severe thunderstorm warning during the 10 a.m. hour with the potential for 60 miles per hour winds and nickel size hail.