Springfield Daily Citizen

We have many holiday traditions across the Ozarks, but one thing we may be lacking is festive poetry. Thankfully, Juliana Goodwin has us covered with an Ozarkian spin on Clement Clarke Moore’s poem “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” featuring a cashew chicken-loving Saint Nick and other Springfield icons. READ IT: https://lnkd.in/g-RFnWw6

Sherri Daniels and Ronnie Morris are in love. They've been together for 15 years and would like to get married. They're also deaf and have been homeless since 2019. They spent time with our Jackie Rehwald and photojournalist Jym Wilson, and shared their struggles and their hope for the future. Read it: https://lnkd.in/gnWyXC69

Once perfect strangers, Gary Calley and Charles Cooksey have become like family in Springfield's only Medical Foster Home for military veterans. Frank and Joyce Keim have opened their home to 11 men through the Veterans Administration’s program. Read it: https://lnkd.in/gWS3QmxN

Mark Bilyeu and Cindy Woolf, collectively known as The Creek Rocks, are the first recipients of a fellowship from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. They're reviving music recorded in the Ozarks nearly 90 years ago. You can hear one of them in this story from Mike O'Brien. Read it: https://lnkd.in/dtgD2Ecn

The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame named a new leader and handed out some of the money it owes to charities that benefit from the Price Cutter Charity Championship on Tuesday. Rob Marsh's job will include getting the Hall of Fame back on solid financial ground and getting the rest of the funds to those charities. Read it: https://lnkd.in/gtCaQDpv

Alma Fulbright Lohmeyer was a pioneer for women in business and leadership, owning and operating a Springfield funeral home in the early 1900s. Learn more about this trailblazer in the latest installment of "Ozarks Echoes" from Kaitlyn McConnell. Read it: https://lnkd.in/eh5ezvjm

Winter is a busy season for owls, as they find mates, establish nests and parent their babies. That makes this the perfect time of year to see the magnificent birds. Susan Atteberry Smith has tips for calling and spotting owls. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g2NGbWuu

A jury ruled a Taney County judge violated the rights of kid magicians Kadan and Brooklyn Rockett when he had them put in holding cells when they refused to go with their mother during a custody battle. Jackie Rehwald reports the Rocketts were awarded $5,000 each in damages, though the jury sided with the judge on two other claims. Read it: https://lnkd.in/eBRPYWSG

The City of Springfield is in the initial stages of hiring a new city manager, while voters will elect a new mayor in Aprio. Will that mayor get a say in selecting that city manager? Jack McGee reports at least one candidate says they should. Read it: https://lnkd.in/eFq-Du6f

For about 40 years, Marie Day has welcomed Chadwick kindergarten students onto her farm to explore nature and cut down their own kid-sized Christmas trees. Kaitlyn McConnell tagged along on this year's adventure, which one student called "the best day ever in my life." Read it: https://lnkd.in/grTxQTD2