Crawford
Virtual line starts to form for COVID-19 vaccinations
Some area health agencies are beginning to vaccinate area residents for COVID-19, while local pharmacies have started taking applications from people who would like to get vaccinated.
COVID cases slow in Crawford County
Following several weeks with high counts, including one at the top spot in the state for its infection rate, Crawford County is reporting fewer positive COVID-19 cases and a correlating...
County taxes put on April ballot
Crawford County will ask voters to renew two sales taxes in April. Two half-cent taxes will expire at the end of 2021 unless voters agree to extend them. One funds...
Phelps
TAC/MRPC confirm Highway 63 and 50 as top transportation priorities
The expansion of Highways 63 and 50 to four-lane corridors remain the number one and two regional transportation priorities, respectively, the Meramec Region’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) confirmed at its...
Active COVID-19 cases continue slight decline
The Phelps-Maries County Health Department reported active COVID-19 cases have continued to decline slightly just as Missouri rolls out its COVID-19 vaccination plan. The health department did not report as...
Local agencies prepare for Phase 1B of the statewide vaccination plan
Area health agencies have begun vaccinations of area frontline workers for COVID-19 and additional vaccinations are also soon to begin as the state has announced activation of Phase 1B of...
Bourbon

Handicap access is added to Bourbon Community Center
Installation of the new entrance doors to the Bourbon Community Center is now complete. We appreciate the local community organizations who generously donated to the project, the 30 year old...
Police officers attacked by woman in Bourbon
A woman who allegedly fought with law enforcement in Bourbon was arrested and taken to the Crawford County Jail as a result of the January 5 incident. She now faces...
Snow cancels BHS homecoming
Bourbon High School was scheduled to host Viburnum last Friday for its annual homecoming games and coronation but the event had to be canceled due to winter weather. Homecoming has...
State and Regional
Governor announces mass vaccination, targeted vaccination sites across the state
On Wednesday during a briefing at the State Capitol, Governor Mike Parson announced that the Missouri National Guard will begin assisting the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and...
31 new Troopers graduate from Missouri State Highway Patrol Law Enforcement Academy
Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announces that 31 troopers graduated from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy today, Wednesday, January 20, 2021. The ceremony was...
Missouri State Museum launches Missouri state Capitol virtual tour series
Missouri State Museum recently launched a Missouri state Capitol virtual tour series for educators and the public. The video series is an introduction to the history and artwork of the...
Outdoors
Remembering a chipmunk from long ago
By Larry Dablemont When a twelve-year-old boy becomes a hunter he gets to where he longs to shoot something! When I was 12, I started tying my single-shot16-gauge Iver Johnson...
Excitement builds for outdoor adventure in 2021
By Bill Cooper The greatest excitement about the outdoors in 2020, for me personally, centered around the cancellation of numerous media trips, which I had been scheduled attend. COVID became...
MDC reports final deer harvest for season more than 296,500
Missouri's 2020-2021 deer-hunting season ended Jan. 15 with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reporting a preliminary total deer harvest for the season of 296,516. Of the deer harvested, 140,468...
Entertainment

OAT acquires Pine Street property
Ozark Actor’s Theatre (OAT) has acquired a property located at 612 Pine Street, Rolla, MO through a grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development and a generous gift from...

ECC Theatre to tell tales from the shadows
Join the East Central College Theatre Department on campus for a chilling theatrical experience featuring storytelling and surprises. Tales from the Shadows is a unique outdoor event that includes a...
OAT Radio Show planned for October 29-30, November 6-7
The Cedar Street Players, the Community Theatre branch of Ozark Actors Theatre’s, are pleased to present the OAT Radio Show, October 29, and 30, and November 6 and 7. This...
Letters to the Editor
Fundamental focus
As the Missouri General Assembly’s 2021 legislative session gets underway, Missouri Farm Bureau is focusing on issues that have long been foundational to its members’ core philosophy. After a 2020...
I choose life
The unthinkable has happened. I’m pregnant. What do I do? My plans were to finish college and start my career. But I’m pregnant. How can I finish college? How can...
Reap what you sow
On January 6, a group of American citizens surrounded the U.S. Capitol, broke a few windows and entered. The citizens went to Washington because they questioned the validity of the...
Opinions
Protest is how we talk to ourselves as a nation, but violence isn’t protest
By Gene Policinski Assembling to protest is our right under the First Amendment—it’s how we talk to each other as a nation. Sometimes politely. But often not. Occasionally at the...
Public opinion and costs support putting an end to the death penalty
By David Dozier A study in California revealed that the cost of capital punishment in the state has been over $4 billion since it was reinstated in 1978. Since California...
You can help KC’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum honor its great American legacy
By Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt and U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver II On a mild Chicago afternoon on Oct. 20, 1924, the Kansas City Monarchs baseball team took the field...