The Polk CO Retired School Personnel unit attended the Region 6 Annual Meeting Thursday, April 17, in Vista. Several groups were recognized for 2024 units of excellence. Committee reports were given on the senate and house bills that negatively affect public education, the teacher and school personnel retirement funds. MO Retired Teachers Association is the watchdog group who routinely communicate with the lawmakers in Jefferson City to ensure our voices are heard. As of June, 2024, approximately 110,000 individuals received benefits from PSRS/PEERS, the public school pension system in MO. Total benefits paid was over $3.8 billion, positively impacting the state's economy. Anyone who is receiving this benefit and not yet a member of the MRTA group is welcome to sign up at any time by calling 573-634-4300 or go to www.mrta.org. more

Baseball fans who step up to the plate to help local patients by giving blood in May or June will score Springfield Cardinals game tickets. The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, the sole supplier of blood, platelets, and plasma to patients at 45 area healthcare facilities, is asking everyone to team up to help support blood needs in their community by donating during the Bleed Red promotion at the upcoming blood drive in Bolivar on Thursday, May 1. more

Mohamed Bade Ali, a 19-year-old green card holder from Sudan, has been charged with kidnapping and two counts of sodomy for incidents that took place in a Bolivar residential facility. more

Trader in child porn was a registered sex offender when crime occurred more

He states it will secure Missouri’s energy future and economic growth more

City says students are safe more

Sheriff’s Office arrest man suspected of multiple wire thefts more

On March 27, Curtis Benenhaley was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his October conviction of sex charges. more

Robert Calloway faces six counts including arson more

A Bolivar man is accused of sexually assaulting a coworker at a Republic warehouse. Devon Reaws, 34, is charged with second-degree rape and second-degree sodomy. He was booked into the Greene County Jail on Tuesday, March 11. more

The proponents say their piece more

On March 6, law enforcement officers, various animal rescue representatives, and prosecuting attorneys attended a lunch and learn lecture at Curly Q BBQ in Bolivar. The presenters were two investigators with the Animal Cruelty Task Force (ACTF). more

On March 8, police were called to a Bolivar gas station when a woman ran in asking for help. The woman, hereafter referred to as Victim, showed signs of injuries all over her body and claimed they were caused by Joshua Stander, who was pumping gas when she fled from his vehicle and ran into the business. more

Sunday accident claims life of Flemington man more

Employee arrested for alleged terrorist threat more

On Sept 20, 2024, Justin Mangum, 26, of Humansville, was pulled over for various traffic violations. Mangum, a registered sex offender, had a 14-year-old male passenger in the front seat of the vehicle. When asked about the child’s age, Mangum initially stated the boy was 18. Mangum then consented to have his phone searched and police discovered a sexually explicit conversation between the suspect and a 15-year-old boy (Victim A) on Facebook Messenger. Included in the conversation were inappropriate photographs. more

Brandon K. Henson and live-in girlfriend, Hope Francka, were charged with multiple counts of child abuse in 2022 for the mistreatment of Francka’s four-year-old daughter. more

POLICE REPORTS more

Kaleb Tyrel Stamper is mentally incompetent to stand trial at this time, according to Judge Chuck Replogle. more

Lucas Dean Turner, 27, of Elmira, was pulled over for driving erratically earlier this month. He now faces kidnapping and abuse charges for having a minor in the car with him. more

On Friday, Feb. 21, Bolivar Police arrested Joshua Clark on charges that he allegedly attempted to meet a 14-year-old boy for sex. more

Jerry Shane Fellers, owner of Build Tech Structures, Inc., has pled guilty to 15 felony counts of deceptive business practices. more

On 02-12-2025, at approximately 1507 hours, deputies were dispatched to the 1700 block of E. 490th Road, Halfway, Missouri, near the Pomme de Terre River, for a report of a suspicious person. A male subject wearing blue clothing and carrying a backpack had climbed over several fences and crossed multiple property lines. Deputies searched both sides of the river on foot, in patrol vehicles, and with the reporting person's side-by-side. more

Evidence provided by predator-catching group more

Dustin Zook was arrested on Saturday, Feb. 8 for sending multiple text messages about blowing up the propane tanks at a Fast N Friendly gas station. more