Month: March 2022

A firefighter from the Ebenezer Fire Protection District who died in the line of duty on March 18th will be laid to rest Friday.

A procession route for Firefighter Dustin Brandhorst’s funeral is approximately nine miles long.

There will be road closures along the route from approximately 12 p.m. until 2 p.m.

However, you can expect major impacts to the Glenstone/Valley Water Mill intersection through 4 p.m.

There will be lane closures and detours, and the fire protection district suggests all traffic not attending services avoid the area if at all possible.

The parade route takes the following path:

—Leave Praise Assembly and head north on Glenstone/State Highway H to Farm Road 80

—Turn left (west) on Farm Road 80 to Farm Road 159

—Turn left (south) on Farm Road 159 to Farm Road 96

—Turn right (west) on Farm Road 96 to Farm Road 151 (Grant Street)

—Turn left (south) on Farm Road 151 (Grant Street) to Norton Road

—Turn left (east) on Norton Road to National Avenue

—Turn left (north) on National Avenue to Greenlawn North Cemetery

Member of the public who are not attending the procession are asked to participate in a public display of appreciation along the rout, where it is safe to do so.

Farm Road 151/Grant Avenue and Norton Road will be the two best places to do this because there are sidewalks along the roadway.

The fire protection district says feel free to bring flags, signs or simply be present to show your respect and thanks for Firefighter Brandhorst’s sacrifice.

Brandhorst died while responding to a structure fire in Fair Grove.

The truck he was driving ran off Highway A and flipped.

Brandhorst, who was 35, had served as a volunteer firefighter with Ebenezer for three years.

Governor Parson has ordered all U.S. and Missouri flags to be lowered to half-staff at all government buildings in Greene County and firehouses statewide Friday from sunrise to sunset.

Severe weather season is here, and the KWTO News Team will keep you up to date on the latest watches and warnings when bad weather approaches the Ozarks.

We invite you to join News Director Don Louzader, Producer Cass Bowen, Reporter/Producer Logan Weber and Mike Roberts from 101-3 Real Country at the annual Severe Weather Expo at the Battlefield Mall in Springfield.

The free event runs from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday in the J-C Penney East Court at the front entrance to the mall.

We’ll be joined by the National Weather Service, Springfield-Greene County Emergency Management and other organizations who work directly with communicating and responding to severe weather.

Meteorologists from KOLR-10 and Ozarks Fox will also be on hand to talk with you about severe weather.

Stop by the KWTO booth, register to win Missouri State Baseball tickets and say hi to us!

A Springfield man now faces multiple charges of child pornography after walking into a government building.

39-year-old Shaun Walker has been charged with one count of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child porn after he walked into a restricted section of a government building in Kansas City.

Building policy doesn’t allow phones into the area Walker was in for over 15 minutes. Walker gave his phone to the necessary party voluntarily and agreed to a search of the device.

Authorities found dozens of photos and videos of underage girls that were “explicit” in nature. They also uncovered hundreds of messages through “WhatsApp”, a messaging platform Walker used to get explicit images from the young girls.

He is being held in jail on federal charges. His detention was held on Thursday.

Missouri’s Senior U.S. Senator is praising former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who has died from cancer at the age of 84.

Roy Blunt says Albright broke barriers and made a difference.

After serving as Secretary of State, Blunt says Albright continued to be an important voice in our foreign policy discussions.

Albright has ties to Missouri.

She worked at the Rolla Daily News back in 1959 while her husband was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood.

Here’s the full statement from Senator Blunt:

“Secretary Albright broke barriers and made a difference. After serving as Secretary of State, she continued to be an important voice in our foreign policy discussions. Only a couple of years ago, I was able to see how much she was respected by her former foreign minister colleagues when I spoke to them at a meeting they had at the Truman Library in Kansas City. She was incredibly involved in the Truman Scholarship Program and that sometimes led to a discussion of her working at the Rolla Daily News when her husband was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to hear her insight and perspective over the years.”

This is true, I worked at the Rolla Daily News in 1959. I wrote articles for the society page, interviewed folks who had spotted UFOs, and sold classified ads. My favorite read, “Cemetery plot: owner must move; will sell at sacrifice.” https://t.co/BwKGA1Ocyg

— Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) September 24, 2018

Governor Mike Parson has ordered U.S. and Missouri flags to be lowered to half-staff at all government buildings in Greene County and firehouses statewide on Friday from sunrise to sunset in honor of Ebenezer Fire Protection District Firefighter Dustin Brandhorst.

Brandhorst died in the line of duty March 18th when he was responding to a structure fire in Fair Grove.

The fire truck Brandhorst was driving ran off Highway A near Fair Grove and flipped.

Brandhorst, who was 35, had served as a volunteer firefighter with Ebenezer for three years.

In 2019, he was honored for having served the most volunteer hours in the district.

Governor Parson says Brandhorst was a Missourian “who exemplified one of our finest traditions–neighbor helping neighbor. In his three years as a volunteer firefighter with the Ebenzer Fire Protection District, Firefighter Brandhorst had accumulated over 2,000 hours of volunteer service and almost 800 hours of training, all so that he could help make his community safer. We will always remember his tremendous dedication to serving others.”

The flags will be held at half-staff on the day Brandhorst is laid to rest.

A woman is dead after a crash early Wednesday morning on U-S 65 north of Springfield.

The Highway Patrol says a truck pulled into the path of a car driven by 65 year old Gloria Grimsley of Springfield.

Grimsley was taken to a Springfield hospital where she died from her injuries.

A man who went missing from an assisted living center was struck and killed by a train.

Lebanon Police say 49 year old Mark Spence left Lebanon Health Care North on March 17^th.

On Wednesday, Pulaski County deputies responded to a train-pedestrian crash. The victim was identified as Spence.

He was likely trying to go visit family in the eastern part of Missouri.

Spence suffered from brain trauma and had diminished mental capabilities.

Authorities have identified two students they believe are connected to the vandalism that occurred at Kickapoo High School.

School officials revealed an incident of vandalism containing racist hate speech and symbols.

Police conducted an investigation, and used video camera footage of the school to aid in finding those involved. They also interviewed students regarding the situation.

Principal Bill Powers issued a statement on Tuesday. The students were identified Wednesday.

Stephen Hall, the Chief Information Officer at SPS, says both students were white and are enrolled at Kickapoo.

The vandalism contained anti-black and anti-Jewish hate speech.