NEWS LEADER CLIPS
'Enough is enough': Springfield faith leaders gather to push for gun reform
Roughly 40 people gathered Tuesday afternoon in the basement of the building that houses Brentwood Christian Church and Trinity Presbyterian Church to participate in the "Enough is Enough: Faithful Steps to End Gun Violence Now" event calling for the end of gun violence in America in the wake of the mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas.
Daughter of Willard women killed in crash says more should be done about drunk driving
Losing a parent is never easy. But Ariana Smith, 19, and her two brothers lost two of their parents in one fell swoop, after their moms Ronica Tollison, 37, and Britany Toothman, 34, both of Willard, were killed in a crash over the weekend.
Nationwide, police are solving fewer homicides. How is Springfield bucking the trend?
Yellow police tape.
That’s the image burned in Jessica Tyrrell-Murray's brain when she thinks about arriving at her parents' house on May 1, 2014.
"The quote that sticks out in my mind always is I heard an officer say, 'get the tape and take it from here to here,'" Tyrrell-Murray said. "He pointed out where he wanted to display the crime scene tape. And, having worked in investigations and child protective services, I knew that that was not a good sign.
"I became very scared, very concerned, very worried, just every emotion."
When police finally talked to Tyrrell-Murray, her worst fears were confirmed. Her parents — Gary and Jan Tyrrell — had been murdered in their home on Greenbrier Avenue in Springfield.
Pitts Chapel congregation in Springfield speaks out after swastika painted on building
Dozens of people gathered at Pitts Chapel United Methodist Church in the 600 block of North Benton Avenue on Friday morning to stand in solidarity after a swastika was spray-painted on the oldest historically Black church in Springfield.
"I want to be clear this is not simply tagging, this is not graffiti, this is not vandalism, this was a hate crime and it is unacceptable," said Rev. Tracey Wolff, the pastor at Pitts Chapel.
After 5 years, the new Greene County Jail is (almost) ready to open
The Greene County Sheriff's Office brought out all the bells and whistles Friday morning to dedicate the opening of the new Greene County Jail located off Division Street near the Springfield-Branson National Airport, which is expected to be fully functional and housing inmates within the month.
More than a hundred people from all over Greene County gathered in the sally port, or intake area, of the new jail as members of the Greene County Sheriff's Office and the Greene County Commission accompanied by members of local Masonic Lodge, the Sons of the American Revolution and members of the choir at Willard High School dedicated a cornerstone and officially showed the new jail to the public.
Catalytic converter thefts skyrocketed in 2021, and Springfieldians are paying the price
While the world has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been something else plaguing the automotive industry and car owners everywhere: catalytic converter thefts.
In the last year alone, Springfield police have had more than 1,100 reports of stolen catalytic converters. That's up from 408 in 2020. And 95 in the previous four years combined.