Month: June 2022

The City of Branson voted to sell the property at 300 S. 6th street to a contractor who intends to build multi-family housing.

The property is known as the old high school property and the city is selling the 2.56 acres to Lifestyle Contractors, LLC for $50,000.

The contractor intends to use the property to build, maintain, and operate the 65-unit housing project.

An arrest has been made in a cold case from 2007 in Texas County.

Barton County deputies arrested 63 year-old Tommy Whetzell of Liberal in connection with the death of Ricky Luebbert.

The case was reopened in January after it was featured on the TV show “Cold Justice.”

Christian County State Representative Tricia Derges could keep her seat even after a conviction on federal fraud charges.

Missouri statute says a public official sentenced for a crime must leave office.

They must either resign or be removed by a vote of the general assembly.

Derges has not yet resigned and the general assembly is not in session to vote on her status.

It is possible she could remain in her seat until her term is up in January.

Wednesday was day three of the first degree murder trial of Rebecca Ruud accused of killing her 16 year-old daughter Savannah Leckie and burning her body.

The prosecution called three inmates, who had served time with Ruud, to the stand.

They said that Ruud had told them she gave Leckie a lethal dose of crushed up pills in Kool-Aid.

Rebecca Ruud decided not to take the stand Wednesday.

After strong support from Republicans in the Missouri Congress, a bill requiring photo ID has officially been signed into law.

On Wednesday, Governor Mike Parson signed into law a long-awaited bill that will require all eligible voters to produce photo identification in order to receive their ballot.

The bill drew wide support from Republicans and conservatives stemming from the accusations of election fraud during the 2020 presidential race.

Included in the bill is a provision that creates a two-week window for voters to cast an absentee ballot prior to an election without having to give a reason for not voting on Election Day.

The law will not take effect until after the primary election on August 2nd. Officials say the law is scheduled to take effect on August 28, requiring voters to produce photo ID for the upcoming November election cycle.

In a statement from SGCH Wednesday, they say that the emerging Monkeypox virus does not pose a serious threat to people in the Ozarks.

The health department’s release comes after the Center for Disease Control released statistics and information on Monkeypox. According to the CDC, Monkeypox is not easily transmitted, and will only result in mild symptoms in most cases.

As of June 28, only 4,700 cases of the virus have been confirmed worldwide, with only 305 cases in the U.S. The CDC reports none of the 305 confirmed cases have resulted in a death.

Symptoms of the Monkeypox include:

• Blistering rash
• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Chills
• Exhaustion

The CDC says that Monkeypox is most often transmitted by close contact, specifically skin-to-skin interaction.

A man is dead after being hit by a train in Noel.

Sergeant Travis Sheppard with the Noel Marshal’s office says the man was struck in a residential neighborhood near the intersection of Johnson Drive and South Kings Highway.

The victim has not been identified, but is believed to be in his 20’s. No foul play is suspected, and the Noel Marshal’s office is investigating the incident.