News | West Plains Daily Quill

Margaret Keister, West Plains, former manager of Brill Title Company, right, received an honorary Associate of Arts in General Studies degree Saturday from Missouri State University-West Plains during commencement ceremonies. MSU-WP Chancellor Dennis Lancaster presented the degree.

Margaret Keister receives honorary degree at MSU-WP commencement

Margaret Keister, former manager of Brill Title Company in West Plains, received an honorary Associate of Arts in General Studies degree from Missouri State University-West Plains. more

5/13/24

Marissa Ayers, right, a senior at Couch High School, was one of 30 students selected to receive a $1,000 scholarship as part of the Missouri STEM Signing Day. She will be attending Missouri State University-West Plains this fall. With her at the event is MSU-WP Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Dr. Michael Orf.

MSU-WP student receives scholarship during Missouri STEM Signing Day

Marissa Ayers, a senior at Couch High School in Myrtle who will be attending Missouri State University-West Plains this fall, was one of 30 students selected to receive a $1,000 scholarship as part of the Missouri STEM Signing Day. more

5/13/24

2 killed in single-engine plane crash in eastern Arkansas

Arkansas State Police say two people were killed when the single-engine plane they were flying in crashed in an Arkansas field on Sunday night. The agency says the privately owned plane that had … more

5/13/24

Today in History: May 22, Lyndon B. Johnson outlines 'Great Society'

Today in History Today is Wednesday, May 22, the 143rd day of 2024. There are 223 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 22, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson, … more

By The Associated Press | 5/13/24

Extra trash pickup offered next week in Mtn. View

Mtn. View will have extra trash pickup Monday through Friday and brush pickup June 24 through 28, city officials announce. more

5/11/24

Missouri Legislature faces 6 p.m. deadline to pass multibillion-dollar budget

Missouri lawmakers are set to pass a roughly $51 billion budget. The GOP-led Legislature faces a 6 p.m. Friday deadline to pass a state spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Senators passed … more

By DAVID A. LIEB and SUMMER BALLENTINE | 5/10/24

The Willow Springs High School graduating Class of 2024

Willow Springs High School Class of 2024 graduates

Willow Springs High School’s Class of 2024 celebrated graduation exercises Saturday. more

5/9/24

Felony charges filed against man accused of assaulting children with belt

A Willow Springs man has been charged with eight felony counts after allegedly using a belt to assault two of his children. more

BY KIMBERLY LANGSTON, KIMBERLYL@WPDAILYQUILL.NET | 5/9/24

West Plains R-7 welcomes new band director

The Zizzer Pride Band has a new leader. more

5/9/24

From left: Community Foundation of the Ozarks CEO Winter Kinne, Glenwood School representatives Stephanie Johnson and Tiffany Jens, and Jill Reynolds, chair of the Coover Foundation grant selection committee.

Glenwood, United Way awarded $34K in grants from CFO

Glenwood School and the Heart of the Ozarks United Way received more than $34,000 in funding from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, in partnership with the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation and Commerce Trust, on April 30, announce officials with the CFO. more

5/9/24

Massey sentenced to serve 2.5 years for MTNF tree theft

Justin L. Massey, 40, West Plains, was sentenced April 23 to two years and six months in federal prison, without parole, for illegally harvesting and stealing trees from Mark Twain National Forest, according to Western District of Missouri U.S. Attorney's Office Public Affairs Officer Don Ledford. more

BY KIMBERLY LANGSTON, KIMBERLYL@WPDAILYQUILL.NET | 5/9/24

Missouri's GOP Gov. Parson signs bill to kick Planned Parenthood off Medicaid

Missouri’s Republican Gov. Mike Parson has signed a bill to once again try to kick Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Medicaid program. Parson signed the legislation Thursday in his Jefferson … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 5/9/24

250 students to receive degrees, certificates at MSU-WP Commencement on Saturday

A total of 250 students will be candidates for graduation from Missouri State University-West Plains during the 2024 commencement ceremony Saturday at the West Plains Civic Center. more

5/8/24

Levi Rand acquitted of sex crime charges

The Quill has been informed by the defense attorney representing a West Plains teen that he has been acquitted of rape and sodomy after a 12-person jury found him not guilty. The trial of Levi Rand, 18, was held April 29 in Howell County, according to court documents. more

BY KIMBERLY LANGSTON, KIMBERLYL@WPDAILYQUILL.NET | 5/8/24

FILE - Missouri Gov. Mike Parson delivers the State of the State address on Jan. 18, 2023, in Jefferson K-12 students from low-income families across Missouri soon will have access to private school scholarships under legislation signed Tuesday, May 7, 2024, by Parson. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

Missouri's GOP Gov. Mike Parson signs law expanding voucher-like K-12 scholarships

K-12 students from low-income families across Missouri soon will have access to private school scholarships. Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday signed a bill expanding the voucher-like program … more

By SUMMER BALLENTINE | 5/8/24

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 1957, file photo, seven of nine black students walk onto the campus of Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., with a National Guard officer as an escort as other troops watch. A federal judge ruled, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, that Arkansas cannot prevent two high school teachers from discussing critical race theory in the classroom, but stopped short of more broadly blocking the state from enforcing its ban on “indoctrination” in public schools. The prohibition is being challenged by two teachers and two students at Little Rock Central High School, site of the 1957 desegregation crisis. (AP Photo/File)

Arkansas cannot prevent 2 teachers from discussing critical race theory in classroom, judge rules

A federal judge has ruled Arkansas cannot prevent two high school teachers from discussing critical race theory in the classroom but is stopping short of a broader prohibition against the state's ban … more

By ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/8/24

Homeland Cemetery announces cleanup, meeting dates

The Homeland Cemetery Association will have a work day at 9 a.m. May 18. more

5/8/24

OZH BHC’ s Spring Fling Carnival celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month

Ozarks Healthcare Behavioral Health Center's Patient Experience Team announces its upcoming Spring Fling Carnival, a celebration in honor of May being Mental Health Awareness Month. more

5/8/24

Celebrating Women’s Health Week

We celebrate National Women’s Health Week from May 12 through 18. more

By Debbie Anderson, LPN, Howell County Health Department | 5/8/24

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump reacts at a campaign rally in Freeland, Mich., May 1, 2024. Trump remains stuck in the courtroom listening to salacious details of an affair he denies. But another spectacle is playing out as his vice presidential tryouts get underway. The dynamic was on full display over the weekend at a fundraiser at his Mar—a-Lago club that doubled as a VP audition. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Trump in no hurry as he leans into the pageantry of vice presidential tryouts

Former President Donald Trump remains stuck in the courtroom listening to salacious details of an affair he denies. But another spectacle is playing out as his vice presidential tryouts get underway. … more

By JILL COLVIN, LISA MASCARO and ANDREW DeMILLO | 5/8/24