City of Bolivar Emergency Management Director Brent Watkins repeats a simple motto every day — “Plan today to prepare for tomorrow.” more

The Bolivar Rotary Club held a meeting on Wednesday, February 22 at Citizens Memorial Hospital in the Community Room to celebrate the club’s 85th anniversary. more

Beloved by the people of Bolivar, the Dunnegan Memorial Park has been a staple in the community for the past 100 years. more

The Bank of Missouri (TBOM) has promoted Polk County native Bryan Allison to the position of Bolivar Community Bank President. Allison’s track record as a mature and experienced leader over his many years as a commercial lender in the Bolivar market contributed to this promotion. With 15 years of bank management experience and more than 25 years of experience in lending (Commercial, Mortgage and Consumer), he has a wealth of knowledge to draw upon in his new position. more

Southwest Baptist University theatre students were honored at the 55th annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, which celebrates work by colleges and universities in the eight-state region during 2022, on Jan. 22-27, 2023, in Des Moines, IA. more

Pvt. Spencer Chance, son of Jesse and Melanie Chance of Fair Play, graduated from AIT in Fort Leonard Wood on February 24 with honors. Chance was the only male in his class to qualify for the prestigious award known as the Iron Soldier Award. more

The Southwest Missouri Council of Governments will be hosting a public meeting on Thursday, March 2, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., located at the Bolivar City Hall, 345 S Main Ave, Bolivar, MO 65613. This meeting is to gather public input on the transportation needs of seniors and individuals who have disabilities or who are impoverished. more

Jerald Andrews, the President Emeritus of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, has been appointed to the State Fair Commission by Gov. Mike Parson. more

Southwest Baptist University announced the launch of its fully accredited online campus, SBU Worldwide, beginning with the Fall 2023 semester. SBU Worldwide will offer 100% online degree and certificate programs to students around the globe. more

Baseball is catching on in the community, as Bolivar resident Joe Arnold makes it his mission to play a game of catch with someone new every day for an entire year. more

Liberator Wrestlers competed in the Class 3 MSHSAA Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena February 24-25, 2023. The team placed 8 out of 47 and four wrestlers brought home hardware: Cooper Moore, Blake Goodman, Riley Beckman and Trey Brewer. more

The organization formerly known as Polk County House of Hope will now be called Hope’s Safe Haven, a transition that provides a more encompassing and accurate depiction of the organization’s influence in the local community and beyond. more

The Boys Liberator Wrestling team competed in the Class 3 District 3 tournament February 17-18, finishing behind Carl Junction for 2nd Place. Bolivar filled all more

Thursday, Feb. 16, students and members of the school board, along with Bolivar school faculty, joined Dr. Asbill in the official groundbreaking for the new FEMA building to be located at Bolivar Middle School. An earlier article stated that the building was scheduled to be completed in October 2023. more

The Bolivar Police Department was recently made aware of a phone scam targeting local residents. more

Restore 12:12 Ministries, a faith-based organization devoted to supporting young adults in Polk County, held a ribbon cutting event on Friday, Feb. 10 to celebrate the opening of the ministry’s R&R House, a temporary home for people ages 18-25 who are in need of a stable, affordable living arrangement as they overcome challenges in their lives. more

Recognizing an urgent need for growing our local healthcare workforce, Erin Mock, Director of Nursing Education at Bolivar Technical College and Charlotte Gray, President at Bolivar Technical College, spearheaded a grant proposal to the Missouri State Board of Nursing (MSBN) in the fall of 2022. more

Rachel Urrutia, a former Bolivar native, recently joined the book publishing team at Abound Publishing, based in Alma, Arkansas where she currently lives. more

Friday, Feb. 10, 100 volunteers had the honor of welcoming 124 guests to Night to Shine 2023, the first in-person event since the beginning of COVID. more

At just 23 years of age, Bolivar resident Dustin Coffin is on his way to running his own restaurant, having already mastered the successful food truck business Dusty Bob’s. more

Bolivar Intermediate School was covered with pretty girls, proud dads, flowers, ice cream and lots of smiles and laughter. The Valentine’s Daughter Dance, Thursday, Feb. 9, was a first time for third graders and a final time for fifth graders, to enjoy a fun evening of socializing and getting their dancing shoes busy. more

On February 2, 2023, a Polk County jury found defendant Raymond L. Hilliard guilty of one count of driving while intoxicated (DWI). Evidence was accepted by the Court to prove that Mr. Hilliard was a persistent DWI offender due to having two prior DWI convictions, from years 2000 and 2018. Due to the persistent offender status, this charge is a class E felony, and carries a range of up to four years in prison. Sentencing is set for April 3, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. more

Polk County Sheriff’s Office recently conducted a murder-suicide investigation at a Bolivar residence on Friday, Feb. 3. more

Community Outreach Ministries recently made their 2022 Annual Report available to the public, highlighting some of their work and accomplishments from the past year. more

Local elections in Polk County are set for Tuesday, April 4. Several boards and other races will be on the ballot. more