News | West Plains Daily Quill

FILE - Dr. Elizabeth Brett Daily talks with patient Haley Ruark about the medical abortion process at a Planned Parenthood clinic, Oct. 12, 2022, in Kansas City, Kan. Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains announced Tuesday, May 14, 2024, that Pittsburg, Kansas, will be home to a new facility providing abortion procedures and pills, as well as pregnancy services, contraception and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

New Kansas abortion clinic will open to help meet demand from restrictive neighboring states

A new abortion clinic is going to open in southeast Kansas this fall, bolstering the state’s role as a regional hub for reproductive health services since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to … more

By HANNAH FINGERHUT and GEOFF MULVIHILL | 5/15/24

Deputy Tessa Jens carries a 2-year-old child to safety Friday afternoon as Deputy Jacob Hamby climbs a fence to get out of a field in which he found the toddler, just west of the child’s home. Deputies were called to help look for the child by the toddler’s mother after she and others searched unsuccessfully for 10 minutes.

Deputies return two small children home to safety

Howell County deputies returned two small children safely to their homes on Friday and Saturday afternoons in the areas of Peace Valley and Willow Springs. more

5/15/24

Deep South News Digest, 1pm update

Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up for select Deep South stories. For up-to-the minute information on AP's complete coverage of Deep South and the rest of the world, visit … more

5/15/24

Missouri lawmakers renew crucial $4B Medicaid tax program

Missouri lawmakers have approved a more than $4 billion hospital tax program essential to the state's Medicaid budget. The GOP-led House on Wednesday renewed the program, which for months has been … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 5/15/24

Howell County Commission meets Thursday

Howell County Commissioners will meet at 10 a.m. Thursday for their twice-weekly regular session in the conference room on the second floor of the county office building, 35 Court Square. more

5/15/24

Terry Blair, serving life in prison for killing six women in Kansas City, Missouri, dies

A man convicted of killing six women 20 years ago in Kansas City, Missouri, has died. The Missouri Department of Corrections says 62-year-old Terry Blair died Saturday morning. An autopsy is planned. … more

5/15/24

FILE - Shoppers exit a Walmart store, Feb. 21, 2024, in Englewood, Colo. Walmart on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, announced layoffs affecting several hundred jobs at the retail giant’s campus offices. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Walmart lays off hundreds of employees and requires others to relocate

Walmart on Tuesday announced layoffs affecting several hundred jobs at the retail giant's campus offices and said it will be requiring most remote workers and personnel in its Dallas, Atlanta and … more

5/14/24

Sheriff faces questions from Arkansas lawmakers over Netflix series filmed at county jail

Arkansas lawmakers are questioning a sheriff's decision to allow a Netflix documentary series to be filmed at a county jail. Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins on Tuesday appeared before a … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/14/24

Editorial Roundup: Missouri

Kansas City Star. May 8, 2024. Editorial: Kansas City is not trying to defund its police. The Missouri Supreme Court was right We’ve long held that Kansas Citians and Kansas Citians alone … more

By The Associated Press | 5/14/24

FILE - The Missouri Capitol is seen, April 5, 2024, in Jefferson City. Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday, May 14 passed the 24-hour point in a nonstop, overnight filibuster against a Republican proposal to raise the bar for amending Missouri's constitution. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, file)

Filibuster by Missouri Democrats stretches into a second day. What's the fight about?

Democratic lawmakers are on the second day of a filibuster against a Republican proposal to raise the bar for amending Missouri's constitution. Senate Democrats passed the 24-hour mark Tuesday after … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 5/14/24

Editorial Roundup: Kansas

Kansas City Star. May 8, 2024. Editorial: Kansas City is not trying to defund its police. The Missouri Supreme Court was right We’ve long held that Kansas Citians and Kansas Citians alone … more

By The Associated Press | 5/14/24

Filing in to a standing-room-only crowd at the West Plains Civic Center, 280 Zizzer seniors were awarded diplomas at Friday's commencement ceremony, surround by family, friends and school officials who applauded their achievements and offered their encouragement in the next chapters of their lives.

'Victorious': 280 Zizzers graduate with WPHS Class of '24

High School Principal Ryan Smith began Friday’s West Plains High School commencement ceremony by commenting on the challenges faced by this year's seniors, 280 in all. more

BY KIMBERLY LANGSTON, KIMBERLYL@WPDAILYQUILL.NET | 5/14/24

'Armed and dangerous' suspect wanted in connection with Willow Springs domestic call found dead after standoff with West Plains police

The multiagency search for a man considered armed and dangerous by law enforcement is over after West Plains police followed up on an anonymous tip about the man’s whereabouts Tuesday evening and, after a tense standoff with shots fired at police and two people rescued, officers found the man dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities reported Wednesday morning. more

BY ABBY HESS, ABBYH@WPDAILYQUILL.NET | 5/14/24

Marisshia Sigala secures her son Mateo in his car seat after picking him up after work from the Koala Children's Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Like most other New Mexico families, Sigala and her husband qualify for subsidized child care in New Mexico, providing them more flexibility to see more clients as they build their careers. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

LOCALIZE IT: Child care prices soared in the pandemic and remain high. Some states are taking action

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS: Child care is unaffordable for many, hard to find for those who can pay, and financially precarious for day care operators and their employees. The problem has only … more

By SHARON LURYE | 5/14/24

Full lineup announced for Old-Time Music Festival

Music at the 30th annual Old-Time Music, Ozarks Heritage Festival will begin at noon June 7 and 8, featuring a variety of performers on two stages: the West Plains Civic Center theater stage indoors, and and outdoor stage set up on Court Square. more

5/14/24

Former University of Missouri frat member pleads guilty in hazing that caused brain damage

A former member of a University of Missouri fraternity has pleaded guilty in the hazing of another student that caused blindness and significant brain damage. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that … more

5/14/24

Former Missouri day care operator sentenced to 24 years for infant's death

The former operator of a southwestern Missouri day care has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for the death of an 8-month-old boy who died after being left alone with other small children. Deborah … more

5/14/24

This combination of images from body-camera videos shows police encounters with, top row from left, Jeffrey Melvin in Colorado in 2018, Johnathan Binkley in Tennessee in 2019; bottom row from left, Bradford Macomber in Mississippi in 2016 and Samuel Celestin in Florida in 2019. Police officers in hundreds of deadly encounters across the United States violated well-known law enforcement guidelines that prescribe the safest ways to restrain, subdue and arrest people, an Associated Press investigation has found. (Colorado Springs Police Department, Knox County Sheriff's Office, Gulfport Police Department, Ocoee Police Department via AP)

AP Investigation: In hundreds of deadly police encounters, officers broke multiple safety guidelines

An Associated Press investigation found that police across the U.S. violated well-known guidelines for safely restraining people in hundreds of fatal encounters that didn’t involve a firearm. … more

By JOHN SEEWER, REESE DUNKLIN and TAYLOR STEVENS | 5/14/24

Amanda Householder, center, speaks outside the St. Louis office of Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Monday, May 13, 2024, as David Clohessy, right, listens. They were among a group of people urging Bailey to take action in response to allegations of child abuse at Christian boarding schools in southern Missouri. (AP Photo/Jim Salter)

Abuse victim advocates pushing Missouri AG to investigate Christian boarding schools

Advocates for victims of abuse at Missouri boarding schools are urging the state’s attorney general to launch an investigation, work with local prosecutors and take other steps aimed at stemming … more

By JIM SALTER | 5/13/24

FILE - A U.S. Park Police officer inspects a security barrier for damage in Lafayette Square park near the White House, May 23, 2023, in Washington. A Missouri man pleaded guilty Monday, May 13, 2024, to crashing a rented truck into White House barriers last year. Sai Varshith Kandula drove a large U-Haul truck onto a sidewalk, sending pedestrians running for safety, before ramming it into metal bollard barriers that prevent vehicles from entering Lafayette Square. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Nazi flag-bearing man who crashed a truck into barriers near the White House pleads guilty to felony

A Missouri man who crashed a rental truck into White House barriers and showed a Nazi flag before his arrest last year has pleaded guilty to damaging government property. Court records show that … more

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN | 5/13/24