Month: July 2023

Courtesy of Tony Nguyen of OzarksFirst.com-

The US-65 ramp to James River Freeway is temporarily closed due to a vehicle crash.

According to MoDOT’s Facebook page, Northbound U.S. Route 65 to Westbound U.S. Route 60 (James River Freeway) Ramp is closed from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for recovery efforts following a vehicle crash.

No injuries have been reported.

A teenager from Nixa has been seriously injured in a golf cart crash.

The 16 year old girl was riding in a golf cart that crashed into a parked car on Fairview Drive South of Ozark.

The 15 year old driver of the golf cart was not injured, and their names have not been released.

Springfield Police say the number of shots fired calls has been going up since March.

There were nine shots fired calls in February, and 32 reported in June. Police say most of those calls were coming from Northwest Springfield.

Chief Paul Williams says officers are also seeing more incidents of people using firearms to solve disagreements, but overall, there have been fewer shootings so far this year than at this time last year.

How to get the homeless out of makeshift camps and into places that can help them become productive members of society is one of the main topics covered during Wednesday night’s Town Hall panel discussion at our KWTO studios in Springfield.

“The Vicious Cycle of Homelessness in Springfield and Greene County” featured experts who assist or interact with the homeless in our community on a daily basis, including Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott, Springfield Victory Mission Executive Director Jason Hynson, Salvation Army Director of Social Services Chris Brumett, and Freeway Ministries Director of Men’s Discipleship Casey Merrick.

Each organization represented at the event talked about the services they provide to people who are having a tough time getting back on their feet, and the difficulties in getting many members of the homeless community to accept the help they’re offering.

You can listen to the Town Hall panel discussion below.

The Highway Patrol are investigating an incident on James River Freeway early Wednesday morning.

A child’s scooter was thrown from the Scenic Avenue overpass through the windshield of a box truck traveling on James River Freeway around 5:30 AM Wednesday morning.

The driver was not injured but shaken up.

Sgt. Mike McClure of the Highway Patrol says he believes this was intentional, but they do not have a suspect at this time.

Governor Mike Parson will be in Springfield Thursday.

He will speak at the annual Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce State of the State Address at 11:30 AM at the Great Southern Arena.

He will speak on Missouri’s economic achievements and give his vision for the future of the state.

The governor will then go to Springfield Fire Station 13 and have a ceremonial bill signing for Missouri Senate Bill 24 at 1:30 PM.

Advocates for gender-affirming care and transgender youth are trying to fight back against the state’s new law banning medication and surgery.

SB 49 was signed into law by Governor Mike Parson on June 7, which bans transition surgery or gender-affirming medication for people under 18, and also removes transgender medical care from the purview of Medicare and Medicaid.

The lawsuit was filed by three Missouri families, numerous medical providers, and several LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, which alleges that the law strips away the power of parents to make medical decisions for there own children.

State Senator Mike Moon, who represents Ash Grove and portions of Christian, McDonald, Barry and Lawrence County, sponsored the bill.

Moon says there has been no evidence to prove that the surgeries performed and medications provided are safe for children.

One of the primary purposes of the lawsuit is to put medical decisions back in the hands of children and their parents.