A car accident has claimed the life of the director of tourism for Pulaski County.
Karen Simpson died at a Columbia hospital from injuries suffered in a crash on I-44 Saturday.
Simpson was about to start a new job as tourism director for the city of St. James.
Fire investigators say an extension cord connected from a house to a shed started a fire in Springfield Tuesday.
Firefighters responded to a house in the 900 block of East Livingston near Doling Park.
A family of five escaped the house.
Firefighters contained the blaze to one room.
The Shed had fire damage as well.
A Christian County attorney has pled guilty to failing to file a personal income tax return.
Terry Garner faced charges of failing to pay his income taxes and failing to pay employment taxes at his business.
The total of the unreported income adds up to more than $600,000.
Garner faces up to six years in prison on both counts.
Springfield City Council has voted against a bill that would require police to respond to every traffic crash in the city, no matter how minor or severe it is.
Since 2014, police have responded only to crashes involving injuries or in instances where vehicles can’t be moved.
Police Chief Paul Williams says he would like to be able to respond to all crashes, but doesn’t have enough officers to do that.
The department is currently down 50 officers.
Williams says police will respond to a crash if called.
The National Weather Service in Springfield says severe thunderstorm chances are increasing for Wednesday night into Thursday morning in the Ozarks.
Forecasters say moisture levels across the Gulf of Mexico are elevated, and this airmass will move into the Ozarks prior to Wednesday night.
However, instability levels for Wednesday night and Thursday morning remain uncertain, and that can play a big role in our severe storm potential.
Damaging winds of at least 60 miles per hour are the greatest threat with any storms at this time.
As of midday Monday, more than $27,000 has been raised to help Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Colton Beck, who was shot in the face following a pursuit Friday night in Springfield.
Beck was rushed to a hospital in Springfield, where he is in stable condition.
The GoFundMe account also had nearly 330 donations by early afternoon.
Beck is a six year veteran of the Missouri Highway Patrol.
According to court documents, a man accused of shooting and wounding Highway Patrol Trooper Colton Beck Friday night confessed to the shooting.
The documents show Justin Jackman told investigators he shot Trooper Beck with a sawed off shotgun.
Beck has serious injuries to his head.
The court records also show Jackman told authorities where to find the sawed off shotgun used in the crime.
Jackman has multiple felony convictions in several counties.
He’s now charged with first degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm and resisting arrest.
Dry conditions and low afternoon humidity will lead to the potential for outdoor fires to rapidly spread Monday.
The National Weather Service says southerly winds with gusts up to 25 miles per hour will be possible in southwest Missouri.
Outside burning is discouraged, except by experienced fire personnel.
Story by Christina Randall, KOLR-10
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation near Republic Road around 10:50 p.m. Friday, December 10.
The driver of the vehicle refused to stop and drove off the roadway onto East Amory Court in Springfield.
The driver was armed with a shotgun and fired at the trooper. The trooper was struck and sustained serious injuries. The trooper returned fire and the suspect fled on foot.
The trooper was transported to a local hospital and is in stable condition, according to the report.
During the investigation, Justin M. Jackman, 37, of Bolivar was identified as a person of interest and at approximately 7:25 a.m. on December 11, Jackman was located.
As KOLR-10 reports, Jackman was transported to the Greene County Jail and placed on a 24-hour hold.
Springfield City Utilities says as of early Saturday morning, just under 250 customers are still without power following Friday evening severe storms that moved through the area.
Here’s the latest from City Utilities Spokesman Joel Alexander in a news release:
Electric line crews from City Utilities, with the assistance of several additional contract line and tree trimming crews, have worked through the night to restore power to customers. Currently, approximately 240 electric customers of CU remain without electric service the CU service territory. Crews continue working to retore power to all customers.
The storms last night resulted in a total of around 4,500 customers without electric service. This is due to a combination of downed lines, trees and limbs into lines and electric structure, and damage to electric structures. At this time, 12 utility poles of various heights were broken throughout the service territory. This includes the top of a structure in southwest Springfield owned by a neighboring utility which also damaged CU lines in the area.
Additionally, damage was not contained to easily accessible areas. Several of the customers who remain without service, are severed by powerlines in backyards or areas that are requiring special equipment to access and repair the damage and replace structures.
Crews will continue working until all customers who can accept power, have been restored. Those who cannot accept power would be due to damage to the entry point for power service to the residence or business. It is not known how many customers this might be.
Thanks you for your assistance and patience as we continue to safely restore service to our customers.