Cindy Robbins, assistant city administrator for the city of Nixa, has been selected as the 2025 Richard R. Noll Outstanding Assistant Award recipient by the Missouri City/County Management Association (MCMA). The award is given to individuals who hold an administrative position responsible for assisting the chief administrative officer with various administrative duties and responsibilities. more

Bobby Joe “Pops” Baldridge, age 79, of Ozark, Mo, went home to be with our Lord Friday, May 2, 2025, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born June 21, 1945, in Pharoah, Okla., to Wilburn and Leora Baldridge. Bob married his high school sweetheart, Juanita (Morgan) on April 9, 1965. Together, they raised three amazing sons, Paul, Steven, and Shawn Baldridge. more

Jean Edley more

On Friday, May 9, Clever High School  hosted its annual Decision Day, an event for the Class of 2025 to announce their post-graduation plans – which range from college, trade school, the military, or entering the workforce – as they set out on their paths to career success. more

Three area school districts were awarded grants from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO) recently. According to a press release from the CFO dated Tuesday, May 6, Billings R-IV, Nixa R-II, and Ozark R-VI each received a $5,000 grant from the organization. more

John Deere broke ground on an expansion of their Reman Core Center facility in Strafford on Monday, May 5. The project is expected to expand the current Core Center facility by 120,000 square feet and represents an investment of $13.5 million in the area, according to information provided by Dan Bernick, Public Relations manager for John Deere. more

A Highlandville woman was killed on Thursday, May 8, in a collision involving six vehicles, according to a traffic crash report filed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. According to the report, the crash occurred shortly before 9 p.m., when a 2015 Harley-Davidson Road Glide motorcycle being ridden northward by a 49-year-old man from Strafford on US 160 crossed the centerline of the highway and struck the 2000 Pontiac Firebird the woman was driving southward, causing the Firebird to skid across the highway and strike a northbound 2019 GMC Sierra head on. more

A Nixa man was convicted in a 2019 murder case on Wednesday, May 7, by a jury in Platte County. The jury found Todd Blankenship, 52, guilty of First-Degree murder in the death of his wife, Stacie Whiteley. Blankenship was also found guilty of armed criminal action, Third-Degree domestic assault, and Fourth-Degree domestic assault. more

Charges were dropped on Friday, May 2, against Louis Krenn, a medical doctor who was accused of sexually abusing a foreign exchange student living in his home last year. more

The Nixa Parks and Recreation Department hosted their Health and Wellness Expo at the X Center on Saturday, May 3. Attendees at the event got a chance to experience massage therapy, learn about judo classes, try out exercise demons, and experience Yoga in the Park. They also had the opportunity to sign up to win prizes. more

When Bella Hill was six, she knew that she wanted to go to college, even though she wasn’t sure what that meant at the time. more

As student loan payments and debt collection return, Better Business Bureau® (BBB®) warns borrowers to be on the lookout for loan forgiveness and debt collection scams. more