Month: January 2025

Snow and ice-covered secondary roads in the Ozarks have forced a number of schools to call off classes on Tuesday.

Here’s the list of southwest Missouri public schools and colleges not in session Tuesday:

Ava

Camdenton

Climax Springs (AMI Day #1)

Cole Camp

Crocker

Dallas County R-1 (AMI Day #1)

Dent-Phelps

Dixon

El Dorado Springs

Eminence (AMI Day #2)

Fair Grove (AMI Day #1)

Fordland

Gasconade C-4 (AMI Day #1)

Halfway

Hermitage

Hickory County R-1 (Skyline)

Houston

Humansville (AMI Day #1)

Iberia

Laclede County (Joel E. Barber) (This day will be made up January 17)

Licking

Logan-Rogersville (AMI Day #2)

Macks Creek

Manes (AMI Day #1)

Mansfield

Marshfield

Newburg

Niangua

North Wood R-4

Northeast Vernon County

Norwood

Oak Hill R-1

Osceola

Phelps County R-3

Plainview

Plato (Daycare closed)

Pleasant Hope

Raymondville R-7

Richland (AMI Day #2)

Rolla

Roscoe

Salem, MO

School of the Osage (Virtual Learning Day)

Seymour

Southwest Baptist University-Salem

Sparta

Stoutland

Strafford (AMI Day #1)

Success

Swedeborg

Texas County Technical College (Delayed Tuesday 1 Hour–9am start)

Warsaw (AMI Day #1)

Waynesville (Virtual Learning Tuesday)

Weableau (AMI Day #1)

Wheatland

 

A scary situation played out Sunday evening at the Aurora Police and Fire facility when a man entered the lobby armed with a gun.

Authorities say the man, who’s from Aurora, placed the gun to his head and then pointed it at Aurora-Marionville police officers numerous times. The man repeatedly asked officers to shoot him.

When officers had the opportunity to make a move, they successfully deployed a Taser on the man, and after a brief struggle, he was taken into custody. The man was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries and faces numerous felony charges.

Beginning tomorrow, KWTO’s morning show, Wake-Up Springfield, becomes Wake Up Missouri.

Don Louzader will continue to have the local news, sports, and traffic reports you’ve come to expect, and Randy Tobler and Stephanie Bell will keep you up to date with the latest news, analysis, and opinion throughout the show.

Wake-Up Missouri runs from 6am-9am on 93.3FM and AM560 KWTO.

The winter storm that blanketed the Ozarks and much of Missouri over the weekend is gone, but our coldest weather of the season remains in place for a couple of more days.

Wind chill readings as low as 5 to 10 degrees below zero prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Cold Weather Advisory for Springfield and areas west of Highway 65 through 10am Monday.

Springfield officially received 1.2 inches of snow, while Kansas City had 11.6 inches on the ground, and the Columbia area got 5 inches of snow, but a slot more sleet.

Parts of northern Missouri, including Cameron and Saint Joseph, picked up 13 inches of snow.

Some areas north and east of Springfield had more than a half inch of ice, downing trees.

A number of power outages remain across the state. Get information on power outages in the Ozarks and statewide here.

Road conditions are improving in the Springfield area and points south, but many roads in the central and northern parts of Missouri are still snow and ice covered. Get statewide road conditions here with the MoDOT Traveler Information Map.

The cold temps will remain with us through midweek as we don’t warm above freezing until Thursday.

Rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow and even thunder, lightning and hail are accompanying our first winter storm of the season.

Roads north of Springfield have been icy all day Sunday, but with temps dropping below freezing and snow falling, roads in the Springfield area are becoming slick.

Here are the latest road conditions statewide with the MoDOT Traveler Information Map.

Also, we’re getting reports of power outages, especially to the north and east of Springfield.

Get information on power outages in the Ozarks and across Missouri here.

We’ve also had reports of pea to dime size hail with thunderstorms containing thunder and lightning in the city of Nixa, between Springfield and Rogersville along Highway 14, and in Niangua.

Snow will be the main winter threat the rest of the evening in the Springfield area. We’ve had reports of a mix of sleet and snow near Highway 65 and Sunshine just before 4:00 PM Sunday, and most of the Springfield area is seeing snow as of 4:30PM. Flash freezing of roads along the I-44 corridor between Joplin and Springfield will take place, with winds up to 25 miles per hour.

A Cold Weather Advisory is in effect from midnight Sunday night to 10 AM Monday morning for counties along and west of Highway 65, including the city of Springfield.

Remaining ice accumulations will mainly be a glaze from freezing drizzle. Otherwise, drizzle, snow, and sleet will be the dominant precipitation types through tonight. Increased winds could still create impacts for ice covered trees and powerlines.

Snow and sleet amounts ranging from 2-5″ along the Highway 54 corridor to around 1-2″ along the Highway 60 corridor. Far southern Missouri will only see a dusting to half an inch. Blowing snow may reduce visibilities below a mile for brief periods.

High confidence in an anomalously cold arctic airmass settling in next week. Temperatures 15-25 degrees below normal with subzero wind chills Sunday night through Wednesday night.

(Photo of ice on trees in Dallas County courtesy of April Garrett, Dallas County Emergency Management). 

 

The combination of freezing rain, sleet and snow has led to many slick roads in the Ozarks, and a number of schools are having their first snow day of the school year on Monday.

Here’s the list of Southwest Missouri public schools closed on Monday, January 6th:

Camdenton

Ed Dorado Springs

Eminence (AMI Day #1)

Gasconade C-4

Laclede County R-1 (Conway)

Lebanon (AMI Day #1)

Mountain View-Birch Tree Liberty (Snow Day)

Richland (AMI Day #1)

School of the Osage

Stoutland

Success

Summersville

Swedeborg

Winona

Grab all the people you know that love trivia, and join us for brain-busting Trivia Night for The Honor Flight of The Ozarks on Friday, February 7th!

Each team of 8 is $200 and doors open up at the Oasis Hotel & Conv. Center in Springfield (2546 N Glenstone Ave, Springfield, MO 65803), at 5:30pm, and trivia starts at 6pm.

We’ll also have free appetizers and a cash bar provided by the Oasis Hotel & Conv. Center.

All of the proceeds from Trivia Night will stay local and go to support The Honor Flight of The Ozarks.

Each team of 8 is $200 and doors open up at the Oasis Hotel & Conv. Center in Springfield (2546 N Glenstone Ave, Springfield, MO 65803), at 5:30pm, and trivia starts at 6pm.

Get Your Table Here

We’ll also have free appetizers and a cash bar provided by the Oasis Hotel & Conv. Center.

All of the proceeds from Trivia Night will stay local and go to support The Honor Flight of The Ozarks.

Get Your Table Here

Missouri Congressman Mark Alford says he is happy with the reelection of Mike Johnson to the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives.  Here is Congressman Alford’s statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Mark Alford (MO-04) issued the following statement congratulating Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-04) on his re-election as the 56th Speaker of the House of Representatives:

“Congratulations to Speaker Mike Johnson on his reelection as the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives! This is a pivotal moment for our country: we have secured Republican control of the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives—a trifecta. Speaker Johnson’s unwavering faith, commitment to conservative values, and dedication to the American people make him the right leader for this critical time.

The American people delivered a clear mandate in November: advance President Trump’s bold agenda to restore economic strength, secure our borders, and promote peace through strength on the world stage. Speaker Johnson is aligned with President Trump’s vision and has the resolve to unite our conference and guide the House toward achieving these goals.

Now is the time to come together and get to work for the American people. We’re confident that this Congress, led by House Republicans, will rise to the challenge—putting America first, bringing hope to all, and delivering real results that strengthen our nation.”