Category: General

First Responders thanked for service in Sheldon

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SHELDON, Mo. — Area first responders are being thanked for their service.

The 5th Annual Appreciation Event for first responders returned to the Lodge of Hope in Sheldon this afternoon.

Throughout the day Peterson’s Outdoor Ministries and 360 Auto Service treated first responders and their families to food, music and activities.

Some tried their hands at archery and axe throwing while others made some new friends at the petting zoo.

“This event is so important to us because our first responders all across the United States, a lot of them don’t get the recognition they deserve and so here at Lodge of Hope and in Southwest Missouri we believe our first responders are important, what they do for us and our community is so important, so this day is for them and their families to come out, enjoy themselves as free of charge,” said Tron Peterson, Peterson Outdoor Ministries Director.

Special honors were given to fallen Joplin Police Officers Corporal Benjamin Cooper and Officer Jake Reed who passed away in March.

Officer Rick Hirshey also served as the guest speaker of the event.

Women's boutique for good finds home in Pittsburg

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PITTSBURG, Ks. — A passion project for change has finally found a home in Pittsburg.

Three Degrees Limited celebrated its soft opening at 810 North Broadway Saturday.

Owner Sandra Schroeder created the women’s boutique last year while working as a school psychologist at Pitt State.

Schroeder says she wanted to help those she saw facing poverty and mental health difficulties.

She launched the boutique online last August, donating part of its profits to students and the community.

After seeing success, Schroeder is now hoping to do the same at the Broadway location.

“We partner with a lot of local charities, one that is very close our hearts is Fostering Connections, we are actually featuring them today, so part of our profits will be going back to Fostering Connections, and they help students and their families who are going through the foster system and then they provide housing, clothing, donations, anything of that sort,” said Sandra Schroeder, 3 Degrees Limited Owner.

Schroeder plans to hold a grand opening on September 17th.

To stay up to date with Three Degrees Limited you can follow them on their website or Facebook.

Hundreds of incoming students make PSU home

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PITTSBURG, Ks. — Hundreds of students are taking the first steps on their newest adventure.

Students are filling the halls at Pittsburg State University.

Some have been slowly moving in since August 5th, but an estimated 600 students moved-in today, making up the roughly 1,000 expected to live on campus for the coming year.

While families were busy moving in they were assisted by members of the Pitt State faculty, students, athletic teams and the ROTC.

“It signifies the kick-off of the academic year, this is where students tend to separate from their parents, most of them for the first time and so we really want to make it an inviting environment and give them an oppurtunity to kind of say their good-byes but then also learn how to live on their own,” said Jason Kegler, PSU Assoc. VP For Student Life.

“It’ll probably hit after they leave and it will kind of just be that moment of, oh what now? // I got track workouts that are going to start next week and I’m excited for classes, I’m going to be majoring in nursing so I’m excited,” said Ben Pritchett, Incoming Freshman.

The move-in process was a much more familiar process to those helping this year, with no COVID-19 testing procedures or significant restrictions.

Preserving local African American heritage

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DIAMOND, Mo. — African American heritage is being preserved all across the Ozark region.

That’s thanks to “The State Historical Society of Missouri” and the grant program, “Missouri Humanities.”

They have been collecting documents, photos and stories from families and individuals with roots in the Ozarks.

The SHSMO then takes the photos and documents and scans them to create digital copies.

The group also sits down with the individual to document their own stories.

They offered this service today at the George Washington Carver National Monument, this way, all their family’s information can be forever preserved for generations to come.

SHSMO Executive Director, Gary Kremer, says this project helps to identify resource materials for people researching the history of the Missouri Ozarks.

“It’s a topic that is very much under-researched and there isn’t much out there and we’re trying to create a vehicle for people to explore the topic more. And we’re trying to talk to a number of people who live in the Joplin, Carthage, um, Neosho area,” said Gary Kremer, Executive Director of SHSMO.

If you have any knowledge on African American history in the Ozarks, Kremer recommends reaching out to the SHSMO at (573) 882-7083.

Missouri Southern Lions are ready for classes

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JOPLIN, Mo. — Missouri Southern’s freshman made their choice official this afternoon.

MSSU held its Annual Freshman Convocation at the Leggett and Platt Athletic Center for the class of 2027.

With around 600 new lions joining the pride, these freshman are learning everything they need to know before class starts on Monday.

The tradition helps students and their families adjust, get to know faculty and learn all the resources they will need during the next academic chapter of their lives.

“We mean it when we say that we’re here for them and that we truly do want to see them succeed. So, we hope that we got the message across throughout the whole weekend that we want them to feel welcome here, that this is their new, uh, substitute family for the next four years as they finish their degree here and we want to see them walk across that stage when they’re ready,” said Julie Wengert, The Associate Vice President of Student Success.

The convocation finished with everyone singing the University’s Alma Mater and of course, the medallion ceremony where students will exchange green medallions for gold ones at commencement.

Joplin students with full backpacks

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JOPLIN, Mo. — Joplin students and families are spending their last summer weekend preparing for the classroom.

Dozens of students and their families made their final school supply stop at “The Calvary Chapel of Joplin” this afternoon.

Today was the church’s 17th Annual Family Day and Free Back-to-School Giveaway.

The church partnered with “The Salvation Army of Jasper and Newton County” and “Bright Futures Joplin,” to ensure every student is starting the school year off with a full, brand-new backpack.

“You can see the happy – the faces of the kids, that excitement of getting new supplies and stuff. I remember being a young kid, how fun and exciting that was to go get a new backpack,” said Lt. Marty Norris of The Jasper & Newton County Salvation Army.

“You know, there’s something great about picking out your own supplies, and so, we let them shop and they can pick out the colors of the notebooks and the, you know, the backpacks, you know, and just give them the best start that they can have,” said Russ Hibbard, Assistant Pastor of The Calvary Chapel of Joplin

All Joplin students will be making their way back to the classroom on Monday morning.

Free Food Friday Salute to First Responders

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BARTON COUNTY, Mo. — It’s a free food Friday for some first responders in the Lamar area.

Law enforcement officers, paramedics, and other emergency responders are getting their meals delivered courtesy of Cox Health Barton County. It’s the sixth year for their “Salute to First Responders” project, providing meals across southwest Missouri.

Alan Butler with Cox Health points out it’s just one small way to say thank you.

“They’re in our emergency departments, whether it’s emergency responders, EMS people or it’s law enforcement. But we interact with them routinely. This was our way of, a small way, to give back to the community and to them in particular,” said Butler.

Cox Health kicked off the project last week at the Monett hospital. They’ll also be stopping in Springfield and Branson in the coming weeks.

Storms Possible this Weekend, Mainly in the Afternoon

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Heat and humidity makes a return Saturday but we should be slightly cooler Sunday. We will see even more widely scattered showers and storms starting tomorrow afternoon. It will be cooler Sunday though. Then we warm up again for late next week.

A front is making its way into Northern Kansas already producing scattered showers and storms for Northern Kansas. A lot of this is driven by daytime heating. The better chances for any storms for us will be in Saturday afternoon. These will become a little bit more widespread as we get closer to evening but then Begin to Fall apart. This will be due to the loss of daytime heating.

Look for a high of 90 Saturday with a south wind turning around to the west in the afternoon. High temperatures could be a little warmer in parts of southeast kansas. Headed into Sunday we begin to see a few scattered storms developing on the backside of this boundary which will be just to the south of us. Again daytime heating will play a role. The storm coverage probably won’t be as good as tomorrow though. Look for high temperatures next week to once again get back to around 90 with lowest primarily in the 60s.

McDonald Co. New Curriculum Director

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ANDERSON, Mo. — An area school district is taking steps to prepare its students for success in the classroom, and beyond. The McDonald County School district hired Ladonna McClain as its curriculum director. She’s been busy meeting with teachers to make sure their teaching materials are up-to-date. Her position had been vacant since before the start of COVID, so she’s making up for lost time with district educators.

“Our curriculum is on our McDonald County web page and so we wanted to make sure that we were shoring that up and making sure that the links that we had pre-Covid were still there, that we had all of our pacing guides and our units of instruction and all of those things updated,” said LaDonna McClain, McDonald County Schools Curriculum Director.

If McClain looks familiar to some in the district it’s because she’s a McDonald County High graduate and has worked as a teacher, administrator, and former basketball coach.