Missouri

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch for much of southwest and central Missouri through Monday morning. The counties in Missouri include, Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Camden, Carroll, Cedar, Dade, Dallas, Greene, Henry, Hickory, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, Maries, McDonald, Miller, Morgan, Newton, Polk, Pulaski, St. Clair, Stone, Vernon, Webster, and Wright.  It is set to expire at 1:00 a.m. Monday....

WASHINGTON-- The U.S. Department of Agriculture is announcing a recall of about 15,000 pounds of frozen, fully cooked country fried steak products sold at grocery stores in Missouri and Arkansas because they may contain foreign materials-pieces of plastic. The products subject to recall include: 22.75-oz. pouches of "Fast Classics Country Fried Steaks" and 8.5-lb. cases, each containing six pouches of "Fast Classics Country Fried Steaks. " All products were produced on Dec. 21, 2012.

Jay is a native of Missouri and is enjoying his life back in the Midwest! From an early age, he was drawn to journalism in every form.  Announcing football games, writing for the school newspaper, and editing the high school year book, Jay knew he had found his passion.  It wasn't until he became a DJ for a radio station in Bowling Green, Mo., that he knew broadcasting was the path he needed to follow. Jay went to the University of Missouri and graduated in 2007.   He was active in the Alpha Gamma Sigma fraternity and was a part of the 2006 Homecoming Steering Committee.  While in the broadcast program, Jay worked at KOMU-TV, learning the ropes.

HALFWAY, Mo., -- The Plunkett family from Halfway, Missouri, has been selected to play their song, "Dreams You Give," in space. After a nationwide vote, their song has been chosen to wake up the crew on the space shuttle Endeavour on May 30th. The family's youtube video is a tribute to the NASA astronauts and the shuttle program.

MISSOURI -- The numbers are in, and Missouri's unemployment rate is down by a tenth of a percent. Missouri is at 8.8 percent unemployed. It's the lowest unemployment has been since March of 2009, and for the past few years Missouri has been lower than the national average for unemployment. The spokesman for the Department of Economic Development Spokesman said between natural disasters, college graduates and high schoolers entering the workforce looking for summer and fulltime employment, it's impressive that Missouri hasn't seen a rise in unemployment.

KANSAS CITY -- A Kansas City bridge was reduced to a pile of rubble this weekend. The George Brett Bridge, which ran near Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums, was blown to bits Friday night. MoDot officials said the worn-out structure will be replaced with a new bridge that will be able to withstand the heavy flow of traffic in the area.

If you're heading out after this broadcast, think about this. Could you pass the driver's test if you had to take it tomorrow. A new study by G-M-A-C Insurance finds one out of five motorists would fail the written part.                                                        The company’s national drivers teste showed Missouri driver's are among the smartest in the U-S, with an average score...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- If you're a minimum wage worker in Missouri, you'll get a raise in the new year.  The rate is going up a dime to $7.35 an hour. At Heritage Cafeteria, management says only a few entry level workers actually make minimum wage, while everyone else earns more.   Still, they're prepared for an increase in the payroll.  Established in 1960, Heritage Cafeteria has been around for a few increases in minimum wage.  "When I first started, it was $1.40 an hour.  Yeah, it's a little bit different," said manager Don Evans.

   JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A month packed with tornadoes and flooding has caused billions of dollars of damage in Missouri, and the economic effects may be felt for years.     Experts say insurance premiums are likely to increase for home and vehicle owners in Missouri.    Restaurants and retail shops in flooded areas are likely to see lower sales. Utility rates are likely to rise following a deadly tornado in Joplin. And Missouri's budget now is tens of millions of dollars deeper in the hole, which could force cuts to government services and schools.

COLUMBIA, Mo. - New Missouri Head Coach Frank Haith's top recruiting target has committed elsewhere. Scout.com is reporting Scott County Central combo-forward Otto Porter has given a verbal commitment to attend Georgetown University.  His decision follows a visit to the school.  Porter can officially sign his letter-of-intent beginning Thursday. The 6'9" high school star led the Braves to a Missouri state championship, defeating Dadeville 69-54.  Porter averaged nearly 30 points on the season.  He's ranked a four-star forward by Scout, Rivals and ESPN.

LOCKWOOD, Mo. -- The National Weather Service confirms a tornado struck the city of Lockwood, Missouri early Monday morning. The EF-0 twister damaged a few businesses and homes in the Dade County community, including the Muncy's Grocery Store.  The tornado also uprooted several trees. The storm cut a path of nearly 100 yards and a mile long.  Wind speeds reached up to 80 mile-per-hour.  The tornado touched down shortly after midnight.  

TODAY 70s/80s Variable clouds; scattered storms developing, some severe. TONIGHT 60s Storms likely.  Severe weather is likely along with very heavy rain. TUESDAY 70s Storms ending west-to-east. 12-hour forecast 24-hour forecast 7-Day Forecast Pollen Count Satellite & Radar Almanac Good afternoon!

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch for much of southwest and central Missouri through Monday morning. The counties in Missouri include, Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Camden, Carroll, Cedar, Dade, Dallas, Greene, Henry, Hickory, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, Maries, McDonald, Miller, Morgan, Newton, Polk, Pulaski, St. Clair, Stone, Vernon, Webster, and Wright.  It is set to expire at 1:00 a.m. Monday....

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A ticket bought in Florida matches the numbers in the largest Powerball drawing in the game's history. The winning numbers for Saturday's $600 million drawing: 10, 13, 14, 22, 52 and the Powerball is 11.  A player in Missouri matched the first five numbers, but failed to match the Powerball number.  That is a $1 million prize. The $600 million jackpot surpassed last November's jackpot of $588 million split by players in Missouri and Arizona.  Powerball had hinted if there was no Saturday night winner, the jackpot would have surpassed a $1 billion.

A proposed one-cent sales tax for transportation projects died in the Missouri Senate on Friday. If approved this issue would have gone to voters. Voters would have decided on a sales tax to fund $8 billion dollars in transportation projects. "Denying the people a right to vote is not the way to go," said Joe Carmichael. Carmichael is the Chairman of the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission. He says the bill had plenty of support, but a filibuster from a few is to blame.

NEAR GAINESVILLE, Mo. -- Firefighters battled a fire at a plastics plant near Gainesville Friday morning. The Bryant Plastics Plant caught fire around 4:30 a.m.  The fire started in a silo.  Several fire departments responded.  Nobody was hurt. Firefighters took extra precautions because of the materials inside the plant. The plant is located about five miles north of Gainesville on Highway 5.    

SALEM, Mo. -- A dog at the center of outrage on social media in the Ozarks has a date in court. A judge has scheduled a May 23 court date to hear the case of a dog named Phineas.  The dog has been in city custody for nearly a year after authorities say it bit a girl in June last year.  Salem Mayor Gary Brown says that was the second time that child had been bitten.  Her younger sister had been bitten once, according to the police report Brown...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri state officials on Wednesday will honor the memory of peace officers across the state who have died in the line of duty. U.S. and Missouri flags at all government buildings statewide will be flown at half-mast from sunrise to sunset Wednesday in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day. The day pays tribute to peace officers at all levels who have died or become disabled in the line of duty. Peace Officers Memorial Day became an official state observance in 1996, when it was signed into state law.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A man from Springfield and his Rotary Club are in the running for a $10,000 prize to aid an effort to keep youngsters from getting hooked on methamphetamine. The money would come from the Safeco Insurance Community Hero contest. John Horton, a past president of Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast, is one of 16 Community Hero Award winners selected nationwide by Safeco Insurance to be in the contest.  Members of the public can vote online , with the winners' charities getting either $10,000 or $5,000.

NEAR JOPLIN, Mo. - A Neosho man died in a crash three miles north of Joplin on Thursday. State troopers say Gary D. Maddox, 69, was killed when his 1997 Toyota Camry crossed the center line while traveling east on Missouri Route 96 and struck an oncoming tractor-trailer. Maddox was pronounced dead at the scene by the Jasper County Coroner. Troopers say Maddox was not wearing a seatbelt. The driver of the tractor-trailer suffered minor injuries.