Popular Stories

Van Buren police officers evacuated about 16 occupied rooms at The Landing shortly before 1 a.m., when a fire at the Carter County hotel and restaurant was called in. Personnel from the Carter County Sheriff’s Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol helped check the building while Van Buren Volunteer Fire Department responded with crews and trucks, said Curt Majors, fire chief...

A Carter County man currently serving time in prison on other charges has been charged with the 1987 murder of Thomas Ray Rowland. Uel Joe Freeman, 60, is charged with first-degree murder in the May 1987 shooting death of Rowland after newly-obtained evidence made the arrest possible. Authorities on Wednesday were not ready to say what the infortmaion was, but reference was made to new technology making it possible to charge Freeman with the crime...

VAN BUREN — Smoke still rose above the Current River on the west side of Van Buren Wednesday morning, hours after a fire destroyed The Landing, an icon in the community for decades. “We’re heartbroken, obviously, but we care as much for the community and how it impacts them. I’m at a loss for words,” said Matt Bedell, son of owners Tom and Della Bedell...

Addison Kirkman (second from right) is the 2021 Poplar Bluff High School Homecoming Queen. She is pictured with (from left) Erick Kirkman (father), Olivia Kirkman (sister) and Martha Kirkman (mother).

CNN reporters returned to Van Buren last month to follow up with Carter County almost a year after publishing an article about the area’s high COVID-19 infection rates. The second article, published Sept. 9, indicates the debate has shifted and some are choosing to vaccinate, but the county still struggles...

CARTER COUNTY — A rural Ellsinore man is wanted on several drug charges and charges of stealing after a search of his residence last month reportedly turned up several stolen off-road vehicles, firearms, methamphetamine and marijuana. David Emery of rural Ellsinore is charged with the Class C felony of manufacturing a controlled substance, two Class D felonies of possession of a controlled substance, four Class D felonies of stealing a firearm, explosive weapon or ammonium nitrate and five Class D felonies of stealing a motor vehicle, aircraft or watercraft.. ...

Crews from at least three counties responded to an overnight fire that burned a popular Carter County business. The fire at The Landing in Van Buren was called in around 12:41 a.m., according to the Carter County Sheriff’s Department. The state fire marshal’s office has been called in, but it is believed the fire started in a kitchen area, according to sheriff’s department reports...

Big River Communications has broken ground on its new fiber optic network to provide high-speed internet service in Poplar Bluff, company President Kevin Cantwell said Tuesday while describing the faster connection as “the future for all of us to be successful.”...

Members of the Twin Rivers School Board expressed concern Tuesday parents and the public understand policies regarding COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and quarantine are consistent across the district. The district is going to continue to provide information to help with that, according to district officials, who acknowledged their response to COVID-19 is also evolving and changing as the situation changes. The information was shared during the board’s monthly meeting...