Month: May 2023

Two people from southwest Missouri are celebrating after winning millions of dollars on lottery tickets purchased recently.

Lottery officials say the first ticket was a $1 million winner that was purchased at the Walmart on Highway 60 East in Republic.

That prize was claimed by a woman on May 22.

The second ticket was purchased at Eastgate Express on Professional Lane in Lebanon. That ticket paid out $3 million.

The names of the winners were not released in order to protect their identities, which is lottery policy.

The Harrison Arkansas Planning Commission has voted to let the City Council decide whether a crypto currency mine will be built in the city.

The mine is actually a building that will be full of computer servers that operate around the clock to generate digital currencies.

Residents around the proposed mine say it will create noise and safety problems.

The City Council is expected to vote on the issue Thursday.

A judge has ruled against a motion for a mistrial in a murder case.

Tuesday was Day 2 of the trial for Edward Gutting.

Attorney Joe Passaniese asked for a mistrial arguing that he received word of late evidence.

The judge denied that motion.

Prosecutors accuse Gutting of stabbing retired MSU professor Marc Cooper to death in his home and attacking Cooper’s wife.

Crews in Springfield are investigating the cause of a fire that damaged an apartment building.

Officials say the fire started at around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday morning at the complex on North Jefferson near Cox North Hospital.

The Springfield Fire Department says there were ten people inside the building that escaped the flames.

The fire damaged the attic and second floor of the complex. There was also water damage and smoke damage throughout the building.

There are no injuries being reported at this time.

Voters in Springfield will have the opportunity later this summer to vote on an additional sales tax for marijuana in the city.

During a meeting on Monday, the Springfield City Council voted unanimously for a special election on August 8 to implement a possible 3% sales tax on top of the already existing sales tax.

City officials say the money raised from the additional tax would be used to fund public safety, mental health, housing and substance abuse programs in the area.

The 3% sales tax would encompass all retail sales of both recreational and medical marijuana.

Ford Motor Company is reversing a decision to scrap AM radio stations from its new line of 2024 vehicles.

The Associated Press reports CEO Jim Farley, who posted the decision on social media Tuesday, says the company has decided to include AM radio on all 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

Farley also promised to offer a software update for owners of Ford’s EV’s without AM broadcast capability.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers last week introduced a bill in Congress, the
“AM for Every Vehicle Act,” calling on the National Transportation Safety Board to require AM in new vehicles, with no additional cost to the consumer.

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward Markey, who was a sponsor of the legislation, says eight of 20 major automobile makers, including Ford, Tesla, and BMW had pulled AM radio from new vehicles.

Western Missouri Republican Congressman Mark Alford spoke about the importance of AM radio stations and their role in informing the public during emergencies, especially in rural areas, on the floor of the U.S. House last week.

Alford named KWTO as an example in his speech.

The first-degree murder trial of a man accused of killing a retired Missouri State University professor.

Edward Gutting is accused of stabbing Marc Cooper and attacking his wife in their Springfield home in 2016.

On Monday, the judge heard opening statements in the case.

Also taking the stand was Cooper’s wife, Nancy, and the Springfield Police officers who arrived first at the Cooper home.