The yellow school buses lined up outside the Meyer Wellness Center Dec. 18, their doors swinging open as wave after wave of excited students from Bolivar schools poured out. It was Kids Day at the SBU Bearcats women’s basketball game, and more than 700 kids filled the stands with laughter and boundless energy. more

This past week, two Bearcat football members were named to the Don Hansen NCAA DII All-American team. Senior wide receiver Kamau Ransom and sophomore defensive lineman Caleb Saner both earned Honorable Mention Awards. more

The Space Taters, a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team based in Bolivar and part of Reboot Robotics, recently wrapped up their rookie season, marking an exciting milestone for the homeschooled students involved. more

Entries will be two-person teams, (youth hunters are encouraged to participate). $30 per team due by midnight Feb. 6. Individuals may hunt, but must pay the entire entry fee. more

New members of the Polk County University of Missouri Extension Council will be elected from Jan. 12 to Jan. 16 from candidates nominated by county citizens. more

Wednesday, Jan. 7 — Spaghetti WG noodles and meatballs, green beans, breadsticks, banana split dessert. more

Sammy Burks more

Phyliss Garrison was the winner of the gift card to Brenda’s Cafe after winning the November I-Spy game, correctly guessing Pizza Hut as the location. Phyliss is proof that reading the paper doesn’t just provide you with news and entertainment, it can pay off as well. more

University of Saint Mary Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Michelle Metzinger has announced the Fall 2025 Dean's List. The following USM student from Bolivar ended the semester with a 3.5 GPA or better. more

Upcoming events at Bolivar Elks Lodge more

A columnist gets to know her competition more

Hi, I'm Cordelia! I'm a senior lady who has sadly had to come back to the shelter in hopes of finding my last forever home. I was adopted a few years ago and loved dearly but sadly my owner had to go to a nursing home and so I'm back here. I'm a sweet girl but I do have diabetes and a hard time seeing/hearing. Can you give a loving senior girl like me my last home? more

HI LOW CONDITIONS more

A crowd filled the Springfield-Branson National Airport the morning of Dec 22, 2025 as retired Army Sergeant First Class James “Dan” Bunch finished a journey that began more than half a century ago in Vietnam. On a different kind of mission than his first in 1968, Bunch returned to Vietnam last month as one of seven honored veterans among a select team of 20 College of the Ozarks students and 10 sponsors with the C of O Patriotic Education Program. While angry mobs and protests awaited returning soldiers in the late 1960s, more than 100 friends, family, supporters and strangers stood cheering with American flags and signs welcoming Bunch, along with retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 Gregory McManus and College of the Ozarks President Brad Johnson back to US soil just days ago. more

Citizens Memorial Hospital welcomed its first baby of the new year with the birth of a baby boy, Benjamin Mitchell Denney. more

On Dec. 13, 2025, the Polk County Sheriff’s office responded to a report of suspicious activity in the 4100 block of South 77th Road in Bolivar. The caller reported a deceased male lying in the roadway. Deputies arrived on the scene and confirmed the individual was deceased. more

How well do you know Polk County? more

Francis Clifton Hutto more

Elvin Eugene “Gene” Meese more

Paul Wain Jones more

Susan Lorraine Esser more

INSIDE TODAY’S ISSUE more

Susan L. Esser more

The Bolivar Liberators, after an amazing run last year in the Blue and Gold Basketball Tournament in Springfield, returned Friday, Dec. 26. more

Back in 2019, brothers Benny and Josh Safdie delivered one of the best films of the year, and possibly the decade, with “Uncut Gems.” The film was, as I wrote in a review earlier this year, “a 135-minute anxiety attack.” And I mean that in the best possible way – I have enormous amounts of respect for movies and filmmakers that know just how to push my buttons. Now in 2025, the Safdie brothers have graduated to solo projects. Benny didn’t fare too well with “The Smashing Machine” (whose review I quoted earlier), though Dwayne Johnson did earn a surprise Golden Globe nomination for playing MMA fighter Mark Kerr, so maybe there’s some life in that film after all. But Josh has found both commercial and critical success with his new film “Marty Supreme,” and he did it by sticking with what works. more