Missouri State University will introduce their new athletic director in a press conference Friday.
The university has selected Patrick Ransdell to be M-S-U’s 11th athletic director.
Ransdell was previously the served as deputy athletics director for external relations at Appalachian State University.
He replaces Kyle Moats who is leaving at the end of the month.
The press conference will be Friday at 10 AM at Plaster Student Union Theater on the Missouri State campus.
A man from West Plains is now being charged with multiple counts of stalking and harassment against a teenage girl.
Investigators say 39-year-old Sheldon Wilkening was originally charged with second-degree harassment in 2023, in which he pleaded guilty.
Now, he is charged with three counts of first-degree stalking and one count of second-degree harassment against the same female victim, a 17-year-old girl.
According to authorities, Wilkening was ordered to have no contact with the victim, but has been liking all of her social media posts, waving at her, and allegedly taking photos and videos of her.
The victim’s mother also reported that he had seen her walking around town on multiple occasions while in his vehicle, and had deliberately driven by her several times and waved.
When West Plains Police spoke to the victim, she became visibly upset and told officers she was afraid to leave her own home for fear of what Wilkening might try to do.
Wilkening was arrested and charged, but is now out on bond.
Part of Chestnut Expressway in Springfield will be closed Thursday as railroad crossing work begins this week.
MoDOT officials say the construction will begin Thursday, August 29 beginning at 8:30am, which will cause the westbound part of the road to be closed between Grant and Nettleton.
Drivers are being asked to find alternate routes in the city while the project is being conducted. Detour include Glenstone, Kearney, and Kansas Expressway.
The schedule for the project shows an expectation that the work will conclude by 3:00pm on Thursday.
Ozark Police are investigating a fatal crash that closed Highway 14 Tuesday afternoon.
Officers say an R-V rear-ended a semi-truck that was stopped in traffic.
A passenger in the R-V, 83-year-old Vada Martin of Strafford, died at the scene.
The driver of the R-V was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A man from Fulton is in custody following a car chase and crash with authorities in Springfield.
Investigators say 31-year-old Jesse Snider was driving a Cadillac CTS that had been reported stolen when authorities attempted at traffic stop Sunday night near the intersection of Kearney and National.
Snider fled the scene in the vehicle, leading Greene County Sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase that reached speeds of up to 100 miles-per-hour.
Authorities say he drove through multiple red lights and stop signs during the pursuit before crashing into a deputies’ patrol car at the intersection of West Avenue and Mount Vernon Street.
Deputies were able to get Snider into custody before he was transferred to Mercy Hospital in Springfield for evaluation following the crash.
He is now being held in the Greene County Jail on charges of first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and resisting arrest by fleeing.
The former mayor and city alderman for Willard, Corey Hendrickson, will now spend several years in prison for allegedly stealing over a quarter-million dollars from his former employer.
Investigators say Hendrickson, who was the mayor of Willard from 2015 to 2021, stole close to $300,000 from Prime Inc., a Springfield-based trucking company that he worked for from 2016 to 2021 while he was mayor.
Court documents indicate he accessed the fuel expense accounts of drivers for the company and funneled that money out of their accounts and into his own. The number of people affected is in upwards of 500.
Hendrickson pleaded guilty to identity theft and wire fraud conspiracy in 2023, and was sentenced earlier this week to three years in prison. He’s also ordered to pay back over $298,000 in restitution.
The city of Springfield has set a goal of zero traffic deaths by the year 2040. City Council approved a new program called “Safe Streets SGF” at its August 19th meeting.
City Officials say the program is based on a national program called “vision zero” which began in Europe several decades ago.
Mandy Buettgen-Quinn says Springfield is one of the top 15 worst cities in traffic deaths per-capita.
Eastbound lanes of I-44 shut down Sunday morning due to a hole in a bridge at mile marker 143 near Stoutland.
Traffic was diverted at exit 140 because of the hole, which was about 4 1/2′ by 2′ in size. Crews were able to get the left lane back open by Sunday afternoon.
One woman is dead following a fatal car crash in Jasper County.
Highway Patrol troopers say 22-year-old Destiny Jennings was driving an SUV along County Road 80 near Avilla Friday morning when she pulled out in front of an oncoming Toyota Sienna.
Jennings was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, while a male passenger inside the vehicle was hospitalized with serious injuries.
There were also two children inside the vehicle, but neither was seriously injured.
Investigators say there were four people inside the other vehicle involved in the crash, and each of them were hospitalized with a variety of injuries, including some severe.
MSHP Troop D has reported Jennings’ death as the 68th fatality for their area in 2024.
An Endangered Silver Advisory is now cancelled after a missing woman from Springfield was found safe.
Authorities say 69-year-old Barbara Rogers disappeared from the Quail Ridge Townhomes on Ingram Mill Road Saturday night.
The alert was put out of her disappearance due to a previous diagnosis of dementia. Those close to Rogers say she has memory deficits, including forgetting her name.
Police in Springfield did not say where or when she was found, just that she was safe and returned to her home.