West Plains city election results were accepted and council members were named to boards at a brief special meeting held Monday evening. The session included the swearing-in of new councilman Greg Collins and returning Mayor Mike Topliff, both elected April 4. more

It was a quiet municipal election day in Ozark County on Tuesday, with the only issues put to voters being a school board election in Lutie and unchallenged city council races in Gainesville. more

Results are in for Tuesday's election in Howell County, with turnout throughout the county at 8.05%, meaning 1,731 out of 21,154 registered voters went to the polls to make their choices for city council and school board members, as well as a ballot initiative in West Plains allowing the collection of a city tax on adult use marijuana. more

Two rural West Plains schools, Glenwood and Howell Valley, are seeing contested races to their school boards in today’s election. more

Ahead of Tuesday’s election, the Quill reached out to five candidates vying for three seats on the West Plains R-7 School Board: current officeholders Lee Freeman, Reid Grigsby and Christena Silvey Coleman, and challengers Jodi Purgason and Scott Tuma. more

Donnie Ray McClellan, 67, is running for West Plains mayor against incumbent Mike Topliff. more

On Monday, Missouri 8th District U.S. Rep. Jason Smith was tapped to serve as chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, a position that, if confirmed by the House Republican Conference, will leverage him into a powerful leadership role with regard to taxes, Social Security, federal benefits such as unemployment and Medicare, child support laws, and foster and adoption programs. more

A suspect who, in late December, reportedly shot at a law enforcement officer with Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop G was found dead Dec. 30 at a Florida casino, ending a multistate manhunt, reported the patrol. more

Unofficial election results released by Douglas County Clerk Karry Davis indicate that 52.3% of the registered voters in Douglas County cast their ballot in the election, with 9,757 registered voters and 5,104 ballots cast. more

Texas and Oregon county’s midterm elections saw roughly half of registered voters turn to choose candidates for local and statewide offices and cast ballots on whether to approve several constitutional amendments. more

Nearly half the voters in Howell County turned out to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s midterm general election to decide on pivotal races for county collector and circuit clerk as well as other local and statewide offices. more

Election judges in Howell County said voter turnout for the 2022 general election was far more than they anticipated. more

On Tuesday morning, West Plains Elementary first graders took a walking tour of downtown West Plains, which included a stop at the West Plains Daily Quill. As they walked, the children compared the buildings of today with images in their booklets, “West Plains Long Ago." The first group, above, was led by teachers Sarah Cobb and Abbey Bonham, while another group, below, was treated to the history of downtown with City of West Plains Public Relations Coordinator Cody Sanders as their guide. A former Quill staffer, Sanders pointed out the historical significance of the Quill’s window display, which shows large-scale replicas of front pages from several newspapers and journals published in West Plains over the 184 years since the West Plains community was first settled by Josiah Howell. The Daily Quill has been in publication for 119 years, having started out as the West Plains Weekly Quill 18 years prior. The entire first grade at West Plains Elementary participated in the tour. In addition to Cobb and Bonham, teachers include Ashlea Adams, Kimberly Davis, Sadie Roberts, Amber Russell, Jennifer Scharnhorst and Jennifer Skeeters. more

“My policy is the policy of what the majority of the residents in the 8th Congressional District believe, and that is we need to use all forms of energy to drive down the energy crisis that you see right now,” Missouri 8th District House Rep. Jason Smith told the Quill. more

Residents will vote Tuesday on whether to hold a state constitutional convention. more

Among the four constitutional amendments facing voters in the Nov. 8 general election is Missouri Constitutional Amendment 5, a relatively short ballot measure that would modify the state Constitution to create the Missouri Department of the National Guard.  more

How long have you been a part of the Howell County community? To what extent have you been a part of local government in Howell County?           I am a third-generation Howell County farmer and still reside on the farm I was raised on in the Howell Valley community.  more

How long have you been a part of the Howell County community? To what extent have you been a part of local government in Howell County?           I was born and raised in Licking, Texas County, to Wes and Patsy Kissiar. My parents owned and operated Kissiar Equipment Co., the local John Deere store. It was there that I learned work ethic and pride in what you do. I married West Plains native Blake Crow in 1984. We have two sons, Dakota and wife Annah, and Dillon and wife Clair, and three grandchildren. more

“‘No chance’ is if I didn’t run for Congress,” Randi McCallian said. more

How long have you been a part of the Howell County community? To what extent have you been a part of local government in Howell County? I have been a lifelong Howell County resident and have worked for the circuit clerk’s office for the last 19 years. I worked in virtually every clerk position, including probate, protection orders, juvenile, family court, civil court, criminal court and jury duty. Currently, I serve as a supervisor in the clerk’s office and volunteer as a member for the Missouri Professional Association of Court Clerks, recently nominated as Regional Officer. more