Month: August 2025

Families are invited to a city-wide block party tonight to meet those who keep them safe every day.

National Night Out, an annual nation-wide event, gives communities the opportunity to connect with firefighters, police officers, and other public servants outside of emergency situations and department buildings.

Public service officials across Springfield enjoy the event, saying that it’s a great chance to “build those bridges” with their community and get to personally know those they serve.

There will be free snacks, vendor, games, and even goodies like a limited edition K9 plush handed out to the first 500 people by the Springfield Police Department.

There will also be a head-to-head softball game between the PD and the Springfield Fire Department from 7-8 p.m.

On top of that, both the FD and PD will be showcasing their department vehicles, inviting anyone who wants to learn how they work to do so.

National Night Out isn’t just happening in Springfield either, as Bolivar, Battlefield, West Plains, and Nixa are hosting their own events tonight as well.

Springfield’s event will be held at Meador Park from 5 until 8 p.m. More information about the event can be found at the Springfield’s National Night Out 2025 Facebook event page.

Photo courtesy of the Springfield Police Department.

There is only one issue on the ballot for Greene County voters on Tuesday, August 5.

The question involves raising the tax levy to retain faculty and staff for the Pleasant Hope R-6 School District.

Polk County voters will also vote on the same proposal.

(Photo courtesy of Pulaski County Jail)

Pulaski County Deputies have arrested a violent sex-offender in Waynesville after a weekend manhunt.

The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department says 48-year-old David Holmes was arrested Sunday evening for first-degree child molestation and failing to register as a sexual offender.

He was accused last Thursday in a domestic assault of a woman in Pulaski County.

The Missouri State Fire Marshal is investigating a fire that destroyed a dock at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Lake Ozarks Fire Protection District responded to the fire at Wheel House Court around 1:30 AM and found the dock engulfed in flames.

There is an estimated $800-thousand dollars damage and many of the boats sank.

After two years of waiting, the Sunshine Street Bridge replacement project finally began early this morning.

The four-month project on the bridge was supposed to begin in 2023.

Closure for construction stretches from Scenic Avenue to Kansas Express way, cutting off one of the most common routes from Republic to Springfield.

MoDOT officials encourage drivers to find detours via larger roads around the city, like West Bypass, James River Freeway, and Chestnut Expressway.

While the closure is down part of Kansas, some of the road will remain open to allow access to businesses along the road.

The city has also put a hard deadline of 120 days on the bridge project, so don’t expect any extended street closure past the set deadline.

The bridge will not be dismantled until the third week of August, and MoDOT warns that they will have to shut off some power overnight during the dismantling process.

Photo courtesy of MoDOT.

When:

Thursday, September 18th 4pm-7pm

Where:

I Pour Life House (1006 north Cedarbrook Avenue) in Springfield

Description:

I Pour Life is on a mission to help at-risk or foster care youth in our community through programs that help kids identify and apply their unique strengths to experience a successful transition into adulthood, and it’s celebrating its 15th birthday with bar-b-que and family-friendly fun.

Learn more about the great work I Pour Life is doing in our community and the Backyard Birthday Bash here.

A man from Springfield who killed his wife of 37 years just to “shut her up” has been sentenced to life in prison.

Lilburn Motley was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty in May to first-degree murder after the death of Lavonna Haddock back in 2021.

In December of 2021, officers arrived on the scene and found Haddock with a gunshot wound.

Motley initially told them that he had been cleaning his gun, reassembled and loaded it, and began to put it under his pillow before accidentally pulling the trigger and shooting Haddock.

However, investigators told him that they found no evidence of the gun being cleaned recently, and also mentioned that the bullet’s trajectory didn’t match the position that Motley said the gun was in.

According to the probable cause statement, Motley then told investigators that “I just shot her to shut her up, then.”

Motley’s lawyers requested a mental evaluation in early 2022, and he was deemed competent to stand trial.

Photo courtesy of Greene County Jail.