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Storm Shelters save lives, but many people don't have them because they are simply too expensive. After witnessing the damage from the Joplin tornado, Russel Gehrke made it his mission to provide storm shelters to Joplin tornado survivors that can't afford one on their own. Gehrke said, “I noticed the playground at burger king was still standing and that was kind of like…huh.   And then I noticed another playground standing at the Catholic church. It got me thinking that the plastic used in the playgrounds that withstood the tornado, we could make a concrete form out of recycled plastics and build storm shelters that are more cost effective.” Testing storm shelters in an expensive endeavor.  The typical test costs about $3,500.  So, in order to cut down on those costs to test his new materials, Russel invented "The Shredder".  "The Shredder" is a glorified pitching machine that is powered by a motorcycle and can throw pipes and 2x4s at about 200 ft/sec.

   Car crashes kill more people between the ages of 15 and 24 than anything else.  Reducing that grim statistic is a primary aim of the Safety Council of the Ozarks.     The organization works toward that by teaching young drivers good driving habits and this Sunday you can help that mission by just a few clicks of a computer mouse.    The Safety Council of the Ozarks is one of 500 finalists competing for 100 cars being donated by Toyota.   In order to get a vehicle they need your votes on Toyota's facebook page.  Just go to www.facebook.com/toyota and vote for the Safety Council of the Ozarks.  It’s one of five groups being featured this Sunday and if the organization gets more votes than it's four other competitors it wins a vehicle to be used in it's drivers eduction program.

CLAYTON, Mo. -- Clayton High school students say they thought a Facebook page for a teenager named Suzi Harriston wasn't real.  Hundreds of kids "friended" her before word got around it might be a ruse.  Shortly after the page was taken down, the principal, Louise Losos, stepped down as well. Parents call the allegations troubling.  The school district issued a statement saying the district and Losos had a fundamental dispute concerning the appropriate use of social media.  A new principal has been appointed.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and their children spent the holidays in Springfield visiting Pitt's family. People magazine reports the couple joined Pitt's parents in touring the Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center on the St. John's campus. The Pitt family donated $1 million for the facility which is named for Pitt's mom. We received at least two reports (and there were more on Facebook ) that Pitt took the kids shopping at the Kmart on South Campbell.

 For the third year, the highly-successful Professional Bullriders circuit is coming to Springfield's JQH Arena Friday-Sunday with 40 of the top bullriders in the world competing.  But if you're looking for a local rooting interest, you might want to look to a competitor who's not human.  His name is "Boot Daddy".  One of the biggest, baddest bulls on the PBR circuit with only 5 of 13 riders able to stay on him for the full 8-seconds.  And he's...

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The reigning World Series ChampionSt. Louis Cardinalslike to keep it light on road trips. They proved it again in San Francisco Thursday night.  Led by World Series Most Valuable Player David Freese, the Redbirds dressed up in goofy tuxedos and suits before entering AT&T Park.  The Cardinals have entertained themselves in the past with dressed-up road trips.  Cardinals fans will have to do a process of elimination to...

Acacia Spa in Springfield is hosting its "New Year, New You" event Thursday from noon to 6 p.m. The spa, at 1536 E. Primrose St., will be offering skin analysis, skincare consultation, a question and answer session, gifts with purchases, and several discounts and prizes. Acacia Spa can be reached by phone (417) 823-8318. More information is available on their Facebook page .    

SPRINGFIELD -- Republican strategist Karl Rove has apologized to Congressman Todd Akin after joking about the Missouri Senate candidate being murdered.      A campaign adviser for Akin says the congressman accepted Rove's apology during a phone call.      This, after Akin got back on the campaign trail this week.   According to his Facebook page, he made stops in Savannah and Plattsburg, Missouri, on Friday afternoon.

Whitney Brown of Bella Baby, a baby boutique in Springfield, joined us on KY3 Ozarks Today to talk about some holiday gift ideas and festive decorations for those expecting a baby around the holidays. Bella Baby is located at 900 E. Battlefield Rd. You can visit their Facebook page here , and visit their website here as well.

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. - Fire fighters in Osage Beach on Saturday have been battling a fire at a condominium complex. A witness tells Ky3 News seven Lakewood Condo units burned. According to the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection's Facebook page, it's a 2-alarm fire. No word on whether anyone was injured. Osage Beach authorities have not commented on the incident.

BRANSON, Mo. - A well-known talk show host will make his way to Branson for two separate three-day stretches in May and June. Jerry Springer will The Welk Resort Branson's "The Price is Right, Live!" show from May 24-26 and June 6-8, the resort said on the Facebook page for "The Price is Right, Live!" The show is a live stage version of the television game show. Contestants are chosen from the audience to participate and win a variety of prizes. Springer is perhaps best-known for hosting the talk show "The Jerry Springer Show" that covers a variety of topics.

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. - Fire fighters in Osage Beach on Saturday have been battling a fire at a condominium complex. A witness tells Ky3 News seven Lakewood Condo units burned. According to the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection's Facebook page, it's a 2-alarm fire. No word on whether anyone was injured. Osage Beach authorities have not commented on the incident.

LEBANON, Mo. - Friends and family of a Lebanon girl who lost her fight with brain cancer will celebrate her life this afternoon. A funeral service is scheduled for Heaven Stockdale, who had been battling a brain tumor since she was just eight months old. Stockdale turned one on Feb. 28. Her grandmother had set up a Facebook page that got hits and messages of support from around the world. The service for Heaven Stockdale starts at 2 p.m. at Holman-Howe Funeral Home in Lebanon.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- Designer Jeremy Rabe shows us how to make a centerpiece that will go perfectly with your Academy Awards party.  It can also be easily transformed to fit every holiday of the year! Watch the above videos to see how he puts it all together. If you want to enter to win the centerpiece, go the the KY3 House Helpers facebook page and "share" or "like" the photo!  

CAPE FAIR, Mo. - Firefighters from several agencies responded to a fire that burned two mobile homes Sunday afternoon. According to the Southern Stone County Fire Protection District's Facebook page, one home was fully involved and another caught fire at the Sunny Lane Mobile Home Park in the Cape Fair area. Firefighters from Northern Stone County, Jenkins and Central Crossing worked alongside Southern Stone County fire crews to contain the blaze, which reached a second alarm. Southern Stone County firefighters said Monday morning no one was injured in the blaze.

SPRINGFIELD -- To cap off Random Acts of Kindness Week, the craft store Michaels surprised customers in Springfield on Sunday with a store gift card.      The company nationwide gave away $100,000 in gift cards throughout the day in the hopes of inspiring their customers to "Craft it Forward. " "It's going great today. We actually had one customer who almost broke down and cried because she was hurting for money and she needed to make some purchases and it just made her day," said store manager Eric Leuty.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - A Joplin School District employee accused of sending pornographic images to a southeast Kansas girl has been arrested on a federal warrant.   The Joplin Globe reports that the network administrator fled in his vehicle before he was arrested Friday after attempting to meet the 14-year-old girl for sex at a Joplin shopping mall. Police say the man is scheduled to be taken Tuesday before a federal judge in Springfield.   The criminal affidavit said the man had forced his ex-girlfriend's daughter to perform various sexual acts when she was between the ages of 8 and 12. When he reportedly tried to reconnect with her through social media, the girl sought help.

STRAFFORD, Mo. --  For parents with a sick child, the stress of getting to those important doctor visits can be more than some can bare. That's when Children's Miracle Network Hospitals steps in and helps with things like travel expenses. Chef Nicole Young is hosting an event called the "Evening of Miracles" on Saturday night at the Darr Agriculture center on South Kansas Expressway (at Broadmoor Street) in Springfield, with all of the proceeds going to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- When thieves started targeting a neighborhood, the neighborhood decided to fight back. Like any community in Springfield, the Phelps Grove area is not immune to crime. "The locks held, but they kicked the whole door in," said Ron Moskalski.  "What really burnt my butt was when they took my son's money he's been saving for nine years. " Thieves broke into the home of Moskalski and his wife, Suzanne, but they weren't the only targets. "The neighborhood had been picked as an easy target," said Spike Anderson.  "There were one, two, three within a week.

Welcome to Brewer's Bike Blog, an idea that came about this year to help out with our KY3 Fitness page. I'm a web editor here, so I'm mostly behind the scenes, but I'd like to use this space to detail how I'm keeping fit through cycling in and around Springfield. (Find out more about me here.) Bicycle fever hit me last year when I decided to buy a two-wheeled contraption of my own. I settled on a Giant Escape II -- a glorified commuter bike -- in February 2012 and thought it would be nice to commute to work every once in awhile, go riding around the neighborhood and explore the streets of Springfield in a new way. I just didn't know how much I would enjoy it. Friends told me of safe places to ride in and around Springfield, and within two months I had branched out from staying exclusively on the Greenway trails to riding up and down city streets, knowing how to command the lane at a stop and much more.