Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

ARMED STANDOFF ENDS PEACEFULLY AT NORTHEAST ARKANSAS GAS STATION

A confrontation with an armed man ended peacefully Monday at a Northeast Arkansas business.

According to Randolph County Sheriff Kevin Bell, the incident began at around 1:30 am Monday morning. Deputies were called to assist Pocahontas Police with an armed suspect who had allegedly fired one round at a gas station in Pocahontas.

A standoff ensued and officers were eventually able to talk the suspect into surrendering.

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

AT LEAST 24 MORE SCHOOLS IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI TO BEGIN SCHOOL YEAR TODAY

School opening week in Southeast Missouri continues today with at least 24 more schools welcoming back students.

The school year will begin today for kids in the Twin Rivers, Neelyville, Malden, Sikeston, Holcomb, East Carter, and Clearwater school districts, among others.

At least 11 more schools will start on Wednesday, including Doniphan, Dexter, Advance, and Bloomfield.

Monday August 19, 2024

Monday August 19, 2024

DONIPHAN MAN KILLED IN SINGLE VEHICLE CRASH 

A Doniphan man has died following a single vehicle crash Saturday afternoon in Ripley County. 

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 35 year old Joseph St. Cin was driving on Route U, south of Doniphan, when his vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway and overturned. 

St. Cin, who was reportedly not wearing a safety device, was ejected during the wreck. He was transported to a Poplar Bluff hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Friday August 16, 2024

Friday August 16, 2024

POPLAR BLUFF MULES FOOTBALL SCRIMMAGE SET FOR THIS WEEKEND 

The Poplar Bluff Mules football team will be kicking off the fall season this week. 

The Maroon vs White Gatorade game will be held Saturday at 7 pm at Poplar Bluff High School. Poplar Bluff Athletics Director Kent Keith tells KWOC News that admission is one bottle of Gatorade or other sports drink. 

Today’s Talk KWOC will be covering the scrimmage live Saturday beginning at 6:45 pm on the KWOC Facebook page and the River Radio YouTube channel.

Thursday August 15, 2024

Thursday August 15, 2024

STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE THIS EVENING OVER SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 

Strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible this evening in Southeast Missouri. 

According to a Hazardous Weather Outlook issued by the National Weather Service, a good chance of thunderstorms is forecast for southeast Missouri this evening and overnight. 

A few strong to severe storms with mainly a damaging wind threat will be possible, with locally heavy rainfall and lightning also being primary concerns. 

In addition to possible severe weather, high temperatures are forecast to reach the mid 90’s and will combine with high humidity to yield peak heat index values from 105 to 110 across a large portion of the region this afternoon. 

Remember to take frequent breaks in the shade or air conditioning and drink plenty of water to replenish lost fluids. Also remember to never leave a child or a pet in a hot vehicle, even for a short period of time.

Wednesday August 14, 2024

Wednesday August 14, 2024

HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE TODAY IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 

We could see some heavy rain today in Southeast Missouri. 

According to a Hazardous Weather Outlook from the National Weather Service, locally moderate to heavy rainfall is expected today, which may lead to isolated flooding of poor drainage and flood-prone areas. 

Most of Southeast Missouri is expected to receive one half of an inch to two inches of rainfall. Most of Butler, Carter, Ripley, and Wayne Counties could see up to three inches of rain. 

Weather officials say that any thunderstorms that develop today are expected to remain below severe limits.

Tuesday August 13, 2024

Tuesday August 13, 2024

TWO SACRED HEART TEACHERS AWARDED AS NATIONAL EDUCATORS OF EXCELLENCE 

Two educators at a Poplar Bluff school are being recognized as National Educators of Excellence. 

KWOC News spoke with Subrina Berger from Sacred Heart School about the award. 

Subrina Berger: 

“Miss Casey and I are co-sponsors for the Sacred Heart Catholic School beta team. We have had our beta team active now for 3 years.  Miss Casey actually brought it to us, her children are involved in the beta team at their school at St Teresa's in Glennonville and their sponsor Miss Gwen has been a keystone in helping us build up our club and meet the standards that we both have, which are very high.”

“We want to do everything and we want to win as much as we can, but we want the kids to do the work and take us there. In Beta there are four pillars and they are leadership, service, academics, and achievement, and those four pillars are the the reasons that we give so much authority to the children, to the students.” 

“We received an email from National Beta and it said congratulations you have achieved excellence as an educator in the state of Missouri and then it wasn't just for the state of Missouri but it was for the entire country and so each state that has a club is eligible and so each Club is eligible through meeting four different requirements.”

“You just sort of go through the year trying to get through it, you know, doing what you need to do to compete at State and then take your winners from state to national competition and then we have leadership summits for our office holders, our president and vice president for the club, and these are all the students doing all of this. When you achieve the four requirements which are earning School of Distinction.” 

“The second is becoming a school of Merit and then having some of our students attend the State Convention, the Leadership Summit, or the National Convention, and then our club must provide 50 hours per Club member as a minimum and if you do all of those things you achieve an educator in excellence award and surprisingly we were the only two that did it in the state of Missouri.” 

According to a press release, only 121 of over 20,000 sponsors received the honor this year nationwide.

Monday, August 12, 2024

Monday, August 12, 2024

FOUR ELECTED TO OZARK BORDER BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Ozark Border Electric Cooperative held its annual meeting on Friday.

Voting was conducted all throughout the week leading up to the meeting to decide who would take the seats on the Ozark Border Board of Directors.

Dennis “Boots” Legrand won the election for District 2, carrying 1,446 votes of the 2,461 votes cast.

Friday, August 9, 2024

Friday, August 9, 2024

FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO STRUCTURE FIRE IN POPLAR BLUFF

Fire crews in Poplar Bluff responded to a structure fire Wednesday night.

According to officials, a Poplar Bluff police officer noticed the fire on Franklin Street and informed dispatch shortly after 10 pm.

Fire crews quickly responded to the location and found a vacant structure fully involved. Crews were on scene for over three hours before the fire was extinguished. The home is being considered a total loss.

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Thursday, August 8, 2024

ONE DEAD FOLLOWING SINGLE VEHICLE CRASH IN CLAY COUNTY

A Corning man has died following a single vehicle crash in Northeast Arkansas.

According to the Arkansas State Police, 49 year old Shane Potter was driving on Highway 135, in rural Clay County, when his vehicle ran off the roadway and struck a tree.

The crash occurred shortly after 8 pm Tuesday night.

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

POPLAR BLUFF CITY MANAGER RESIGNS

Poplar Bluff City Manager Matt Winters has turned in his resignation.

The Poplar Bluff City Council accepted the resignation during a city council meeting on Monday, August 5th.

Winters has taken the position of City Administrator for the City of Jackson and will stay on as Poplar Bluff City Manager through September 20.

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

VOTING UNDERWAY IN MISSOURI’S PRIMARY ELECTION

Polls have opened for the Missouri Primary Election.

Voters will be deciding on nominations and propositions on both the state and local level today.

You can find your voting location online at sos.mo.gov/elections. Polls will close at 7 pm, and anyone in line to vote at that time will still get to cast a ballot.

Monday, August 3, 2024

Monday, August 3, 2024

COMPETITIVE LOCAL RACES IN CARTER COUNTY

Wrapping up our series on competitive local races that will be decided Tuesday during the Missouri Primary, we now turn to Carter County.

There are two races for the Carter County Commission. For the Eastern District Republican nomination, Tom Wilder will take on Paul Dunnegan and Joe Crites. In the Western District, Erik McSpadden will challenge Mike Hoerner for the Republican Nomination.

The race for the county Assessor nomination is between Gary Rector and Dustin Bryant.

Friday, August 2, 2024

Friday, August 2, 2024

POPLAR BLUFF ALUMNUS KAMERON MISNER CALLED UP TO TAMPA BAY RAYS

A Poplar Bluff native has made it to the Major Leagues.

Kameron Misner is being called up to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Misner graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 2016, and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals, but decided to attend the University of Missouri.

Thursday, August 1, 2024

Thursday, August 1, 2024

MISSOURI GOVERNOR SIGNS CEREMONIAL BUDGET BILL IN POPLAR BLUFF

Missouri Governor Mike Parson was in Poplar Bluff Wednesday for a ceremonial signing of House Bill 4.

Parson signed the bill at Haff Whiskey Saloon in downtown Poplar Bluff, surrounded by state and local leaders, including Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe, Missouri State Senators Jason Bean and Lincoln Hough, Former State Senator Doug Libla, Arkansas State Senator Blake Johnson, Missouri State Representative Hardy Billington, Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce President Steve Halter, Bill Robertson, and others.

House Bill 4 provides for $150 million in the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget to go to improvements to U.S. Highway 67 in Butler County.

Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Wednesday, July 31, 2024

MISSOURI GOVERNOR TO BE IN POPLAR BLUFF TODAY FOR CEREMONIAL SIGNING OF BUDGET BILL

Missouri Governor Mike Parson will be in Poplar Bluff today.

Parson will be appearing this afternoon at Haff Whiskey Saloon in downtown Poplar Bluff for a ceremonial signing of House Bill 4, which provided for $150 million in the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget for improvements to U.S. Highway 67 in Butler County.

The ceremonial signing is scheduled to begin at 4 pm.

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

COMPETITIVE LOCAL RACES IN BUTLER COUNTY

Continuing our series on competitive local races that will be decided during the primary election next week, we now turn to Butler County.

There are only two competitive local races to be decided by Republican voters in Butler County, that being the battles for the Eastern and Western District County Commissioner nominations.

The Eastern District race will see Dan St. Lawrence, Wes Gilmore, Ralph Stucker, Rowdy Boyer, and Andy Clark all face off.

Monday, July 29, 2024

Monday, July 29, 2024

POPLAR BLUFF PARKS AND RECREATION TO HOST BACK TO SCHOOL BASH THIS WEEKEND

The Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation Department has started preparations for the end of summer event.

The Free Back to School Bash has been scheduled for 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday at Whiteley Park in Poplar Bluff.

There will be music, yard games, food trucks, and fun for the entire family. Registration is open for food trucks as well as for local organizations who want to give away school supplies at the event.

Friday, July 26, 2024

Friday, July 26, 2024

POPLAR BLUFF MAN TAKEN INTO CUSTODY ON MULTIPLE CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

A Poplar Bluff man was taken into custody early Thursday morning on multiple child pornography related charges.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 45 year old Michael McDaniel was arrested shortly after midnight on three felony counts of possession of child pornography and one felony count of promoting child pornography.

Following the arrest, McDaniel was held at the Butler County Justice Center.

Thursday, July 25, 2024

Thursday, July 25, 2024

DATE SET FOR DUCK BLIND DRAWING AT WAPPAPELLO LAKE

A date has been announced for the annual duck blind drawing at Wappapello Lake.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the drawing and registration will be held at 9:00 a.m. on August 17th, at the Bill Emerson Memorial Visitors Center.

The registration fee is $15 and applicants are asked to use a credit or debit card.