Month: July 2021

A fire has destroyed a Polk County landmark.

Roberts Livestock Auction, which has been in Bolivar since 1959, burned early Monday morning.

Seven fire departments assisted with the blaze that was first reported around 5:30. Officials say the front half of the building, which housed a cafe and the auction area, were completely destroyed. The roof also caved in on that part of the building. Crews worked to save as much of the cattle holding area as possible.

The auction only takes place Saturdays, so no animals were harmed in the blaze.

A fire official said the building was old, so they aren’t sure yet what caused the blaze. An investigation into the fire will be conducted by state fire officials.

The man accused of killing another man on Independence Day in Ash Grove has been identified.

Lakota Gilbert Tucker, 20, of Walnut Grove, has been booked into the Greene County Jail on charges of second degree murder and armed criminal action. A spokesman with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to KWTO that Tucker was booked into the jail in connection with the Ash Grove incident.

Formal charges against Tucker are pending.

Greene County Deputies were called to the 8700 block of North Farm Road 43 on Independence Day around 7:45 p.m.. They arrived to find a man dead. Tucker was taken into custody at the site of the incident.

The investigation is continuing and additional details are being withheld pending formal charges and next of kin notification. We will update the story when we obtain more information.

A man was found dead in Ash Grove on Independence Day.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office says they were called to the 8700 block of North Farm Road 43 in Ash Grove around 7:44 on Sunday night. When the deputies arrived, they found a man dead.

One person has been arrested in connection with the incident.

The GCSO has not released any identifying information on the victim or person arrested.

This is a breaking news story; we will update when we obtain more information.

Christina Randall, Robert Jehle, KOLR

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — As we celebrate Independence Day, we’re honoring a local veteran who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) recently helped identify the remains of a local Korean War soldier–Sergeant Lloyd Alumbaugh.

This story begins in the summer of 2018. Former President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to stop the country’s advance of nuclear weapons. Four key agreements were reached with this meeting, including turning over remains of U.S. Korean War soldiers.

As KOLR-10 reports, Dr. Veronica Keyes, an anthropologist, was on the team that examined 55 boxes in North Korea.

Connor Wilson, KOLR

GREENE COUNTY, Mo.– A fatal car crash on Highway 266 West of Springfield early Sunday has left one dead and one injured.

Storm Cooper, 29, was a passenger in a vehicle traveling Northbound on the highway when at about 1 a.m. the vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign and was struck by an oncoming vehicle.

As KOLR-10 reports, Cooper was pronounced dead at the scene.

Christina Randall, Mike Landis, KOLR

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A busy holiday weekend is expected at the Springfield-Branson National Airport and passenger numbers are on the rise.

Officials say in June the airport came close to matching numbers from June 2019 and expects the same match in July.

“We are hoping to come back soon,” said Angel Brunetti an airline passenger.

Brunetti and her family came here for an early vacation.

“We came to visit some family that lives in Springfield and we went to Branson,” said Brunetti.

Now it’s time for the family to head back to Idaho.

“Last year we were going to make the trip, but with the pandemic and everything we were unable to, so this year we wanted to make it happen,” said Brunetti.

“There is so much vacation travel, which I think is driven by the fact that people want to get the heck out of the house,” said Kent Boyd, a spokesperson with the Springfield-Branson National Airport.

As KOLR-10 reports, in 2019 the airport hit a record high number of passengers and this year as the pandemic hits a record low things are taking off again.

Christina Randall, Tony Nguyen, KOLR

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Summer is offically here, which means barbecues, beaches, and injuries.

Unforunately, the 4th of July ranks as one of the most dangerous holidays in America.

As KOLR-10 reports, the team at YourLocalSecurity.com surveyed 1,170 Americans on Pollfish in May to test their knowledge of firework-related injuries and compared the most-popular predictions to the most recent Fireworks Annual Report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

A Springfield pastor has been given a full pardon by Governor Mike Parson.

John Stroup, the co-founder of Springfield-based Freeway Ministries, was issued the pardon on May 28 after applying two previous times for the pardon. The pardon means Stroup has had all his rights as a citizen restored and will be able to continue ministering within the state prison system.

“Few have done more to inspire and turn around the lives of others than John Stroup,” State Senator Eric Burlison said in a statement. “After serving his time, he did more than go on with his life. By dedicating his life to the salvation of others, he has immeasurably improved our community.”

Stroup had been arrested in 2008 for selling drugs in a school zone. He was convicted and sentenced to prison. While in prison, he became a Christian, and then after his release partnered with two other men to start Freeway Ministries in 2011.

When considering our penitentiary system, many think ‘crime and punishment.’ We need to start thinking ‘justice and restoration,’” State Representative Bishop Davidson said in a statement. “John Stroup exemplifies justice and restoration. It’s time he now be restored in the eyes of the State – complete with rights a good citizen like him deserves. I was honored to play even a small part in his pardoning, and I hope this marks the beginning of broader reform.”

Freeway Ministries offers programs to addicts to help find freedom from their addictions. They also offer meals, classes, and services to hard-to-reach and underserved populations in the region.

They continue to operate their prison ministry to local, county, and state jails & prisons.

A Springfield man will spend three decades in federal prison after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.

Anthony Thompson, 40, pleaded guilty in October 2020 to one count of the sexual exploitation of a minor. Thompson admitted using a minor to produce child pornography on July 1, 2018.

U.S District Judge Roseann Ketchmark sentenced Thompson Thursday to 30 years in federal prison without parole, followed by ten years of supervised release.

CoxHealth Branson staff foiled the father of a baby who was attempting to kidnap the child from the Labor and Delivery floor of the hospital.

Branson police were called to the hospital on June 28, 2021, after a report of the attempted kidnapping of an infant.

Court documents say Noah Shane Wilson was attempting to take the child who had been ruled a ward of the state.  The state intervened because the child tested positive for methamphetamine.

Wilson put the child in a duffle bag and attempted to leave the monitored OB unit.  A nurse thought Wilson was acting in a suspicious manner and challenged him.  Wilson then attempted to flee.

A security officer was able to detain Wilson until police arrived on the scene to make an arrest.

Wilson admitted to police that he knew he could have caused “severe injury or death” to the baby because he placed him in the duffle bag wrapped in a blanket “which could have suffocated” the child.

“We are proud of the way Cox Medical Center Branson handled this situation and the partnership that the police department has with them,” Branson Police Chief Jeff Matthews said in a statement.  “This is why it is so important for all organizations to have a plan in place and to regularly train for those ‘what if’ scenarios.”

Wilson was booked into the Taney County Jail on charges of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.  If convicted on all counts, Wilson could receive a term of 5 to 15 years for the kidnapping charge, and up to seven years on the endangerment charge.

Wilson has been released on $15,000 bond, and is scheduled to appear before Judge Renee Tiffany Yarnell on August 3, 2021.

CoxHealth provided KWTO the following statement about the incident:

Due to patient privacy restrictions, we are unable to comment in detail on this situation. However, we can share that patient safety is a top priority at CoxHealth. We have policies and procedures in place to protect our patients as well as highly responsive staff who are dedicated to the care and safety of our patients.

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