One car accident on Route H more

Hey, kids! Do you have a message or a wish list you would like to send to Santa? Write him a letter! more

At the Dec. 2 Board of Aldermen meeting, most of the discussion centered around budget planning, even if it didn’t fall directly into that agenda item. more

Get your donations in by the end of the day this Friday! more

Community Christmas, the new iteration of Share Your Christmas, will take place on December 11 -13, to provide low-income families in Polk County an opportunity to get affordable Christmas gifts for their children. This year’s event will be set up as a Christmas market, which will allow parents to come inside and shop for their own kids gifts rather than having strangers pick out gifts for their kids. Gifts will be marked down to 90% off retail prices, with stocking stuffer items being free. Registered families will also receive a Christmas dinner basket. more

Saturday, Dec. 6, the annual Bolivar Area Chamber of Commerce Christmas parade brought a huge crowd to the streets of Bolivar. Making their way from the SBU campus through the square were beautiful floats, bands, vehicles of all sizes and horses, and of course, Santa Claus! more

Light the Park is in full glow at Dunnegan Memorial Park, open nightly through December 30 from 6–8 p.m. Visitors can drive through and enjoy twinkling lights, festive displays, and the joy of giving back. more

Saturday, Dec. 13 more

From its ridiculous opening scene, there is little denying that “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is one of the stupidest movies of 2025. Its only real competition comes from Disney’s live-action “Snow White” remake thinking that its Dwarfs were fit for human eyesight. And it’s not even the fun kind of stupid horror movie. It was never really on the table for this to be a “good” horror movie like “Sinners,” but it could have at least been an interesting flavor of stupid. The potential for such flavor is at least present in the opening scene, but the movie squanders even that prospect fairly quickly. more

The holiday season is often touted as the most wonderful time of year, but it also presents an increased risk of home fires. According to the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®), December is a leading month for U.S. home fires, with Christmas Day and Christmas Eve representing the second- and third-leading days of the year for home cooking fires, respectively, in 2024. more

December 9, 2025 more

A multi-year behavioral health initiative funded by the Missouri Foundation for Health is reshaping how Polk County responds to residents experiencing a behavioral health crises. What began as a two-year project has now grown into a broader, community-wide effort—one that local leaders hope will reduce stigma, improve access to services, and prevent people from entering crisis in the first place. more

INSIDE TODAY’S ISSUE more

Jeffrey A. Madren more

Citizens Memorial Hospital welcomes Mirza Mahmood, M.D., to the medical staff as a hospitalist. He began seeing patients on Dec. 1. more

The Missouri Department of Transportation invites Missouri students in grades K-12 to help fight litter in Missouri—and to have creative and educational fun—by participating in the 2026 “Yes You CAN Make Missouri Litter-Free” trash-can-decorating contest. The contest is part of MoDOT’s annual “No MOre Trash!” statewide litter campaign, which is held in April. more

The Bolivar Herald-Free Press invites residents to send their engagement, wedding, baby, and other milestone announcements. more

With snow flurries already appearing and freezing temperatures settling into southwestern Missouri, dairy producers need to prepare their herds for winter. To help farmers stay ahead of the cold, University of Missouri Extension will host a free webinar on winter dairy cattle management strategies 10-11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10, via Zoom. more

The Citizens Memorial Hospital Auxiliary will host a Shoe Roads shoe sale from noon to 5 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 11, and 8 a.m.to 2 p.m., Friday, Dec. 12, on the second floor of the Kerry and Synda Douglas Medical Center, 1155 W. Parkview St. in Bolivar. more

“The Wonder of Christmas” more

“A full house saw a strong Show Me Select™ (SMS) Replacement Heifer Program Sale on Nov. 21 at Joplin Regional Stockyards,” says Patrick Davis MU Extension Livestock Field Specialist. 246 heifers sold from 13 consigners for an average price of $4,177 per heifer. This average was higher than the record average for this sale location in the spring 2025 sale when 124 heifers sold for an average price of $4,010 per heifer. This sale totaled over a million dollars in sales which is the highest total sales for an SMS sale at Joplin Regional Stockyards since the fall of 2014 when 521 heifers sold for an average price of $2,888 per heifer which is 1.5 million dollars in sales. more

Monday, Dec. 8 — Celebration Day. Spaghetti WG noodles, salad, garlic bread, banana cake. more

We need your recipes! more

Christmas is a time for giving, and with the holiday season coupons us, organizations are seeing gift donations. This year, the community can donate stocking stuffers to the youth in foster care at Good Samaritan Boys Ranch. more

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