Month: December 2024

The ever-popular western store brand Boot Barn will soon have a Springfield-based location.

One of the largest western apparel stores in the world announced earlier this week that they will be opening up a location in the Queen City at the Glenstone Marketplace at the former Lucky’s Market storefront.

The new Springfield space will join the Boot Barn on the Branson Landing as the only location’s in the Ozarks.

A grand opening and start date for construction have not been released, and may still be under considetation.

Springfield Police are investigating a fatal industrial accident.

Police say a man was killed at Doing Steel on North Golden Thursday afternoon.

Emergency crews attempted life saving at the scene.

Investigators have not released the cause of the accident or the name of the victim.

Doing Steel is a steel fabricator facility and specializes in commercial construction projects.

Two people are dead after separate fatal crashes.

The Highway Patrol says a 57-year-old man from Buffalo is dead after his car ran off of Highway “F” in Dallas County and struck a tree late Christmas night.

The Patrol says a 52-year-old Mount Vernon woman died in a similar crash in Lawrence County when she ran off the left side of a farm road near Hoberg and struck a tree.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.    

Springfield Police are investigating a homicide in North Springfield.

Police were called to a home in the 23-hundred block of North Park Avenue and found 77-year-old Lois Jones dead.

Police say Jones had visible injuries from an assault.

Police arrested 63-year-old Robert Collins.

He is charged with first-degree murder and second-degree attempted arson.

He is in the Greene County Jail without bond.  

Governor-elect Mike Kehoe has nominated Major Michael Turner to be the superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Turner will replace the retiring Colonel Eric Olson.

Turner will take over February 1st and await confirmation by the Missouri Senate. 

Turner is currently the commander of the field operations bureau and has oversight of all 9 troops in the Highway Patrol.

The City of Billings will now require the services of a new leader, after newly elected
Mayor Melissa Venable resigned.

Officials say Venable was under fire for controversy surrounding her residency within the city after it was discovered she lived in Marionville and had a Lawrence County address.

In a statement earlier this week, she said she chose to resign in order to protect the safety of herself and her
family, which she had been in fear of.

A woman from Greene County is now awaiting sentencing after entering an Alford Plea for her role in a case surrounding a young child being zip-tied to a porch swing.

Investigators say Rebekah Herndon admitted that the child, which was in her care, had been zip-tied to a porch swing at a home back in 2020.

The young boy had reportedly told police about numerous abuse incidents, but evidence of the zip-ties were found on the floor of the porch when investigated.

She was initially charged with six separate crimes, but in entering the Alford Plea, five were dropped. She pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child.

An Alford Plea is not an admission of guilt, but rather an acknowledgement that the evidence in the case would likely lead to a conviction.

Herndon will be sentenced on March 6, 2025.

A man from Hickory County is recovering from injuries he suffered after falling into a well and being recovered by rescue crews.

Officials with Central Hickory Fire say the crew was called to the Galmey, near Wheatland, Tuesday evening for a man who had reportedly fell into a deep well.

When crews arrived, they found a man roughly 30-40 feet deep inside the well. The circumstances behind how he ended up inside the well have not been announced.

It took crews just over half-an-hour to rescue the man before he was swiftly transported to nearby Citizens Memorial Hospital by ambulance.

A helicopter crashed at the downtown airport Saturday afternoon.

Springfield Police say they were notified of the crash around 3:30 p.m.

The pilot suffered minor injuries.

The Federal Aviation Administration will be taking over the investigation.

The principal of the Fair Grove Elementary School has died.

The Fair Grove School District announced Friday night that Dr. Charity Hollan passed away after a battle with cancer.

Fair Grove Superintendent Mike Bell said in a statement that Dr. Hollan “was an incredible leader who devoted her life to the success and well-being of our students, staff, and community.”

The school district will be announcing a time for a memorial service.

(Photo Courtesy of the Fair Grove School District)