Springfield City Council members voted Monday to approve the city’s new flag design.
The vote came after a long discussion from council members and comment from at least a dozen residents.
Council members said they think the new flag symbolizes progress, change and a chance to move forward.
The new flag will be adopted on March 1st.
Mayor Ken McClure said the March 1st date will give Springfield time to honor the original flag.
The City of Springfield has hired a new planning and development director.
City manager Jason Gage Named Susan Istenes as the City of Springfield’s Planning and Development Director, effective February 15.
Since 2010, Istenes has been the director of Planning and Development for the City of Clayton, Missouri..
Studetns and staff at Springfield’s Kickapoo High School briefly evacuated the building in the 3700 block of south Jefferson Monday morning after smoke poured from an elevator pump.
Springfield Public Schools Spokesman Stephen Hall tells KOLR after an inspection, it was determined there was no fire.
Crews are now repairing that pump.
No one was hurt, and faculty, staff and students returned to the building by mid morning.
As we enter 2022, it’s never been a more critical time for CEO’s of businesses in the Springfield area.
Will our state, local and national economy improve, stay the same, or decline and why?
Do you expect organizational costs for your business to increase or stay the same in ’22?
Will your revenues grow or be flat?
How well are local leaders helping grow our economy?
How can we rebuild Springfield’s workforce?
If you’re a CEO of a business based in the Springfield area, or in charge of managing a local business, KWTO would like your feedback about the local economy.
Your responses are anonymous, and will not be linked back to you.
Your responses to the CEO Sentiment Survey are vital to KWTO as we plan our next CEO Roundtable and produce news and talk programs around the most important topics to business owners and managers.
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department is encouraging folks who have not received a COVID-19 booster shot to do so as soon as possible.
That’s following a month of increasing cases and hospitalizations.
Health leaders say of all the positive cases reported to the department in December, 78% were unvaccinated, 20% were fully vaccinated and just 2% were fully vaccinated and boosted.
The department, in a news release, also says a recent look at CoxHealth data shows getting a booster can help keep people out of the hospital with severe illness.
On January 3rd, of those admitted with COVID-19, only 5% were vaccinated and 0% were fully vaccinated and boosted. Additionally, no one who was fully vaccinated was in critical care.
Other numbers released by the health department show as of December 31st, the seven day rolling average of COVID-19 cases more than doubled, reaching 174 per day, compared to 75 on December 1st.
There were 400 people in the county ages 23-40 during the second half of December through January 2nd who tested positive for COVID-19.
The seven day rolling average of COVID-19 cases is 250.6 as of January 6th.
Kids ages 5-17 exceeded 400 COVID-19 cases this month for the first time since July, 2021.
Ten people in Greene County died from COVID-19 complications in the month of December.
The Northern Iowa Panthers win a thriller of the Missouri State Bears 85-84 Saturday at JQH Arena.
UNI’s A.J. Green hit three free throws with 52 seconds left in regulation to break a 76-76 tie, then hit four more free throws in the final minute to finish with 33 points.
Missouri State’s Isiaih Mosley finished with a career high 43 points in a losing effort for the Bears.
It’s the third most points ever scored in a game by the Bears, and the most since Jimmie Dull scored 53 in a game against Kentucky Wesleyan on February 7th, 1977.
The Bears fall to 11-6 overall, 2-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Northern Iowa goes to 7-7 overall, 3-1 in the Valley.
The National Weather Service in Springfield has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for portions of southern Missouri from 4 Am to noon Saturday.
A glaze of freezing drizzle accumulation is expected, especially along Highway 60 between Rogersville and Willow Springs.
Temperatures will be warming through the morning.
Two people are dead after a house fire near Weaubleau.
Central Hickory Fire Rescue arrived on the scene to a house fully engulfed in flames.
A garbage truck driver noticed smoke coming from the house and called 9-1-1.
The cause of the fire was ruled indeterminable, because of the extensive fire damage to the house.
Two people were found in the garage.
Their names and exact location of the house has not been released.
The incident is being investigated by the State Fire Marshall Office.
There’s been another water main break in downtown Springfield, the second this week.
The break happened around 1:30 Friday morning near Walnut and Grant.
Part of Walnut Street was closed for a short time as a result of the break.
Springfield City Utilities fixed the break, which impacted about 30 customers.
Another water main broke at Pershing and Patton early Wednesday morning.
The water made its way over to Campbell and Pershing.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has appeared before our nation’s high court Friday to argue against the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for health care workers.
The mandate requires employees at facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid be vaccinated against COVID-19, but the mandate was put on hold by federal courts in Missouri and Louisiana.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar has written the mandate is necessary to prevent deaths and serious illnesses from COVID-19.
The case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court is “Missouri vs. Biden.”
Schmitt describes it as one of the most important cases in Supreme Court history.