The City of Joplin is announcing the hiring of Drew Douglas as its first-ever Director of Communications and Marketing. Douglas will begin his new role with Joplin on April 22. more

The Nixa Fire Protection District held a grand opening hose uncoupling ceremony for its new fire station on Sunday, April 14, 2024. more

Ozark School District welcomed two newly-elected members to the Board of Education following the April 2 election. Newcomers James Griffin and Dustin Kirkman were sworn onto the Board at the April 11 meeting. The Board voted to elect Mark Jenkins to serve as president and Amber Bryant as vice president for the 2024-25 school year. more

First responders descended upon Nixa High School on Monday afternoon to participate in a “Docu-Drama” assembly for all junior year students. The scene was played out by student actors and depicted a car accident and student death, which showcased the consequences of impaired driving. more

Nixa Journalism students recently attended the National High School Journalism Convention April 4-6 in Kansas City. “Wingspan,” the student-produced news magazine, won second place in the convention’s news magazine Best of Show competition. EagleAir ranked 10th place in the Broadcast category. more

It may not be a traditional Olympic event, but when Team Ozark swept the T-Shirt Folding Competition with first, second and third place at the Branson Job Olympics, Ozark students exploded with excitement and cheers. more

The American Pickers are returning to Missouri. They plan to film episodes of The History Channel hit television series throughout our area in June 2024. more

Billings Elementary has announced its quarter 3 honor roll. Congratulations to the following students: more

Nixa Parks and Recreation continues to work to get the pool repaired and ready for the upcoming pool season. Contractors began the onsite work on March 29, and have ordered the necessary materials needed for the project. more

Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland announced the extension of the Girl Scout Cookie season through April 21. Traditionally held from January to March, this extension provides the troops with a valuable opportunity to amplify their earnings and surpass their 2024 cookie sales goals. more

The City of Ozark announced on Monday the hiring of Maria Neider as its new Communications Director and Benjamin Ward as its new Communications Manager. more

The Ozark Chamber of Commerce announces the appointment of Chris Russell as its new President/CEO. With a commitment to community, economic development and supporting local businesses, Russell brings years of experience and a fresh perspective to lead the Ozark Chamber into a future of growth and success. more

Clever Superintendent Dr. Brian Breeden received an Emerging Superintendent award at the Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) conference on Wednesday, March 20. more

Educators devote limitless time, and often their own resources, to helping students pursue their passions. To recognize the contributions of Missouri’s leading agricultural teachers, Nationwide and the Missouri FFA Foundation are honoring exceptional teachers as semi-finalists for the Missouri Golden Owl Award. more

Are you proud to be a Tiger? Whether you graduated from Ozark High School or not, you are currently a part of the Ozark community and Ozark Schools want you to show your Ozark Tiger pride. That is why Ozark School District, in partnership with the Ozark Chamber and City of Ozark, kicked off the Red Friday Ozark campaign Friday, March 22. more

An Evening with Richard Dreyfuss will be held at Nixa’s Aetos Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. more

If your farm has been in your family since Dec. 31, 1924, you can apply to have it recognized as a Missouri Century Farm. more

Children’s Smile Center has hired Sandy Thompson to be Community Relations Director for its nonprofit dental clinics. more

The PBR (Professional Bull Riders) announced the original extreme sport will be returning to Springfield at Great Southern Bank (GSB) Arena during the 2024 Labor Day weekend for PBR Thunder Days, the home-stand of the Bass Pro Shops-owned Missouri Thunder in the PBR Camping World Team Series. more

If “all politics is local,” then April 2 is a big day for voters in Southwest Missouri. The Informed Voter Coalition, a nonpartisan group dedicated to empowering voters and fostering engagement between candidates and citizens, is extending its reach to include Christian County candidates alongside those in the Springfield area for the upcoming elections. more

Ozark Middle School (OMS) was filled with laughter, joy and singing on March 8, 2024, as the Ozark community, state and local representatives, school and District staff and OMS choir students gathered to cut the official ribbon for the OMS storm shelter, classrooms, offices and new entrance. more

Spokane R-VII announced Mr. Glen Johnson as the Spokane Middle School principal and Spokane R-VII Athletic Director for the 2024-2025 school year. Current principal, Dr. Joel Carey, is retiring at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. more

The City of Nixa has launched Nixa 2045, a process for planning the city’s growth for the next 20 years and beyond. The city is gathering public input for this new comprehensive plan process to help develop a plan that guides the decision-making, development and infrastructure projects across the community and serves as a road map to visualize where the community wants to go as a city and the path to reach that destination. The focus of the plan emphasizes land use, transportation, education, parks and trails, development patterns, housing types, infrastructure and economic development. An initial public survey was launched in late 2023 for the community to share their priorities for Nixa’s future. more

Mecole Hardman, Jr., from the Kansas City Chiefs, is set to come to Nixa’s Aetos Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, April 21. In this special evening in the Meridian Title Performance Hall, starting at 7:00 p.m., Hardman will share about his life, challenges and how he found success as a way to inspire others to follow their dreams and the hard work it takes to achieve those. more

The Ozark Board of Education voted to hire Robert Hedgecorth as the Executive Director of Finance & Business Operations at a special meeting March 4. The finance position became available following the hiring of Dr. Lori Wilson as the District’s superintendent in December. Wilson had been serving in dual roles as interim superintendent and chief financial officer. more