The Missouri Department of Transportation is urging people to stay off of the roads if at all possible during the winter storm this week.
They are saying if you must travel, you should use caution, allow for slower travel times and consult the Traveler Information Map for road conditions.
MODOT says crews will be working 12-hour shifts day and night, but staffing is still short due to turnover and illness.
The state health director faced questions by senators Monday over his leadership of the department.
Gov. Mike Parson chose Don Kauerauf to lead the Department of Health and Senior Services in September, after Dr. Randall Williams was asked to resign in April.
It’s up to a Senate committee to approve his appointment.
Some senators are against Parson’s choice.
Since being appointed, Kauerauf has reiterated multiple times, he supports masking and the vaccine, but is against mandates.
Taney County prosecutors have charged Jason Lloyd, Justin Lloyd and Chrystal Pledger after conducting an 11-hour standoff with police.
Jason Lloyd and Pledger fled from police after an assault took place outside the city limits in Hollister Saturday night. Police tracked them to a house on Lynne Circle, where the three had barricaded themselves inside.
The suspects informed officers they had weapons inside the home, and even brandished a firearm to authorities, saying they would shoot. Multiple law enforcement agencies as well as a SWAT team arrived to assist local police.
During the standoff, the suspects threw a large firework at the officers on the scene, causing a large explosion and a small fire. The standoff lasted until around 9 a.m. Sunday morning, when officers were able to breach the home and apprehend the suspects.
Pledger and Jason Lloyd are charged with second-degree assault and armed criminal action. Justin Lloyd is being charged with assault and felony resisting arrest. The three suspects are being held in the Taney County Jail without bond, and prosecutors say more charges could be filed.
Laclede County man Alex Reed has been apprehended by police after being pursued by authorities for several weeks.
Reed was charged with a felony hit and run from an accident stemming from 2016 in which he’s accused of running a motorcycle off the road, killing the driver. Reed had a scheduled court date, but did not appear.
He is now being accused of leading law enforcement on a pursuit beginning in mid-January.
According to the Laclede County Sheriff’s Office, Reed was apprehended after the county sheriff offered a reward for Reed’s capture.
Reed was taken into police custody without incident.
The Springfield Police Department says its Criminal Investigation Division is looking into a deadly officer-involved shooting over the weekend in the 1000 block of east McDaniel.
Police say officers were dispatched to an apartment for a domestic disturbance where a man was armed with a gun.
When officers arrived at the scene Friday night just before 7:00 p.m., they confirmed a woman and her children were inside the apartment, along with a man with a gun.
The woman was not able to speak freely to officers, and investigators say it appeared she and her children were in immediate danger.
The officers forced entry into the apartment and “engaged” the man, resulting in an officer shooting the suspect.
Officers performed life-saving measures on the man, but he died on scene.
The woman and her children were not injured, and no officers were hurt.
The man who was shot has been identified as Mitchell R. Hooe, 29, from Arkansas.
The case will be presented to the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
The officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for all of southwest Missouri from late Tuesday night through Thursday evening.
Forecasters say this is shaping up to be an impactful winter storm, with mainly snow of six plus inches north of Interstate 44.
South of I-44, snow, sleet and freezing rain are likely with three or more inches of snow, sleet and light ice accumulation possible.
Rain will spread into our area Tuesday, and will change over to a wintry mix in central Missouri late Tuesday night.
That mix will reach areas near the I-44 corridor by 6 a.m. Wednesday.
The precipitation will transition to mostly snow Wednesday night.
Snow will continue Thursday before gradually tapering off late in the day.
Disruptions to travel are expected, and some power outages are possible where ice accumulation is higher.
The greatest chances for accumulating ice are in northern Arkansas and south central Missouri.
The National Weather Service in Kansas City tells our sister station 93.9 The Eagle in Columbia that 10 to 15 inches of snow is possible with this storm in the Columbia and Jefferson City areas.
In a statement from Missouri State athletics, former Missouri State and Drury Panthers swimming and diving coach Jack Steck passed away at the age of 80. Steck’s legendary career spanned over 40 years, with numerous conference and national championships within his resume.
Read the statement from Missouri State athletics, as well as quotes from several members of the Bear’s athletic department below.
SPRINGFIELD — Missouri State University Athletics is mourning the loss of long-time swimming and diving head coach Jack Steck who passed away on Friday, January 28 at the age of 80.
Steck coached both the Missouri State men’s and women’s programs, guiding the men for 29 seasons from 1983 to his retirement in 2012. He started the women’s program in 1998 and was the program’s only head coach in the program’s first 14 years of existence. He is one of just four people in Missouri State athletics history to coach men’s and women’s teams in one sport at the same time.
His men captured 11 conference titles, winning the Mid-Continent Conference in 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990, the Missouri Valley in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, and the Sun Belt in 2008. In years when the Bears had no conference affiliation, Steck won one Midwest Regional meet and one National Independent crown. He also oversaw the program’s transition to the MAC in 2010, guiding them to a third-place finish in the team’s inaugural season in that league. Overall, his men’s teams accounted for 62 individual conference champions during his tenure, while Steck earned conference coach of the year distinction honors on the men’s side eight times.
The MSU women won eight conference titles under Steck, with Missouri Valley crowns in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. He coached 73 conference champions on the women’s side and earned MVC Coach of the Year distinction seven times.
Steck came to Missouri State in 1983 after 15 seasons as head coach at Drury University where the Panthers were nationally-ranked 14 consecutive seasons under Steck with back-to-back NAIA national titles in 1981 and 1982. He was named NAIA National Coach of the Year in 1975 and 1982.
He had dual meet records of 252-89-1 with the MSU men, 100-80 for the MSU women, and 134-50 at Drury for a final career mark of 486-219-1 (.689).
A native of South Bend, Ind., and a 1964 graduate of Indiana State University, Steck received the 1981 ISU Distinguished Alumni Athletic Award and earned the designation Master Coach from the Swimming Coaches Association of America.
In 1993, Steck became the seventh coach inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame for swimming and diving. He was also inducted into the Drury Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997, the Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
He is survived by his wife Sandi and their sons, Scott and Brad, and their families. Details on services for Coach Steck are expected to be finalized in the coming days.
Remembering Coach Jack Steck
Missouri State Director of Athletics, Kyle Moats
“It saddens me to learn of the passing of Coach Steck. He was a very successful coach both at Drury and Missouri State. He also was long-time baseball umpire in the Springfield community. He was always upbeat and supportive, not just about swimming issues, but for the university as a whole. He loved being a coach and interacting with young people. He was very proud of his student-athletes and always very supportive of their endeavors. His teams were very disciplined in and out of the pool. He had a very welcoming personality that made you feel accepted and needed. He was proud to be a Bear, and our athletics department is better because of him. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sandi and his family.”
Missouri State Swimming & Diving Head Coach, Dave Collins
“It’s amazing when you think about the impact Coach Steck has had on thousands of people.
As a coach, he believed in people often times before they believed in themselves. He established confidence in you whether you were ready for it or not. He was a wonderful leader, mentor and friend that cared deeply for those that were fortunate to have him in their lives.
I will forever be grateful for the many lessons I have learned from him and will cherish our relationship deeply.”
Former MSU Director of Athletics, Bill Rowe
“When we brought Jack here from Drury, he was a great hire. He demanded a lot from his swimmers, but he got great results. He was very well regarded by his student-athletes and always stayed in touch with them, even after they graduated and moved on. I can’t say enough about what he meant to Missouri State University and the swimming programs. Today is a sad day, but we’re all grateful for the life of Jack Steck.”
With the Omicron COVID-19 variant causing record breaking cases in the Springfield-Greene County area, teachers and administrators of Springfield Public Schools asked for a temporary reinstatement of mask mandates for students, but a majority vote by the school board has shut that idea down.
In a 4-3 vote by the board, a rare instance, the mask mandate was struck down, but the choice to wear masks at the school remains, as does the mask mandate for faculty and visitors at all SPS facilities.
SPS returned to classes on January 25 virtually and will resume in-person teaching beginning Monday, January 31.
Three people are dead in what police are calling a double murder-suicide in Houston, Missouri.
Authorities believe Gregory Pardun shot and killed Deborah German and a 16-year-old boy, then killed himself.
Police do not believe the community is in any danger from anyone else being involved.
The crime is still under investigation.
Authorities say nobody is hurt after a driver hit a police car during a chase in Springfield early Friday morning.
It started shortly after midnight near Chestnut Expressway and National when officers saw a stolen pickup.
The driver headed west on Chestnut, then drove onto I-44 before coming back to Springfield, where the chase went on several streets.
Spikes strips damaged the tires before the driver crashed into a patrol car blocking traffic at Kansas and Division.
The chase ended at Kansas and Nichols.
Both the driver and passenger are in custody, and there are no reports of any injuries.