With spring right around the corner, we can start thinking of warmer activities and planning for outdoor adventures. National Nutrition Month, recognized in March, is a great time to learn about making healthier food choices, developing better habits and teaching kids about making good choices at the table or store. more

The Southern Ozarks Community Orchestra will be in concert at 7 p.m. Saturday at the historic Star Theatre in downtown Willow Springs. The program to be presented, “A Musical Buffet,” will feature a “smorgasbord of musical delights,” said officials with the Willow Springs Arts Council, which is sponsoring the performance. more

West Plains R-7 School District officials extend their congratulations to high school sophomore Emily Ritter for her acceptance into the Missouri Fine Arts Academy at Missouri State University in Springfield. In honor of Ritter’s “exceptional talent and unwavering dedication,” district officials shared one of Ritter’s captivating colored pencil drawings, a honey dipper dripping with honey. more

Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston has received a resignation letter from Dr. Jessica King, family medicine physician. King, an employee of TCMH since 2020, said she is leaving TCMH for personal reasons, officials report. She will work at TCMH until April 23.  more

In honor of Autism Awareness Month in April, the TJ Swift House A.S.C.E.N.D. Program at Missouri State University-West Plains and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks will present an exclusive showing of the award-winning documentary “In a Different Key’ at 7 p.m. April 11 in the West Plains Civic Center theater, 110 St. Louis St. more

The Compassus hospice program serving south-central Missouri was recently recognized as one of the organization’s top three programs in the country during the company’s Excellence Awards ceremony in Phoenix, Ariz., officials announced. more

“2023 was a great year for the Ozarks Small Business Incubator — our team spent nearly 600 hours working one-on-one with 143 unique business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs,” OzSBI officials announced. “We helped start 15 new businesses in our service area ranging from consulting to coffee shops to dog boarding.” more

This Thursday is our Annual Meeting for the “Go Farm” Farmers Market and Ozark Farmers Agricultural Cooperative at 6 p.m. at the Missouri Department of Conservation - Ozark Regional Office, 551 Joe Jones Boulevard. New market vendors are always welcome! Please call 417-293-0590 if you would like more information. more

Hello fellow food lovers, and welcome back to my kitchen. Today we’ll be taking on the creation of an extraordinary dish that combines the comforting layers of traditional lasagna with a vibrant twist of red bell peppers and a trio of exquisite cheeses. Get ready for the ultimate 3-Cheese Lasagna with Red Bell Peppers! more

In case you didn't know, because I didn't until recently, Easter is in March this year, the 31st to be exact.  Is anyone else feeling like everything this year is coming at us early? Let's get a jump start on the Easter menu and all the lovely dishes we plan to prepare, with a dessert first.  We don't have any local little kids, but the adults still appreciate a homemade treat and Easter is a fun time to make rice crispy treats, spring style. These key lime-enhanced treats scream spring and are perfect for Easter baskets or the table. These are a tasty upgrade from the originals. White chocolate adds to the richness of this old favorite. I love it when something good gets even better and these are just that. Make a batch, share a batch is my motto.  It's spring peeps, enjoy!  more

This spring, the Midwest is set to witness an entomological phenomenon of almost mythic proportions. Billions of cicadas, specifically from Broods XIII and XIX, will emerge simultaneously from their subterranean slumber for the first time since 1803. This rare dual emergence, a marvel of the natural world, presents an opportunity to observe a unique biological event that will not recur for another 221 years. According to University of Missouri Extension specialist and entomologist Tamra Reall, also affectionately known as "Dr. Bug," this spectacle promises to transform the landscape into a buzzing epicenter of cicada activity. more

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Spring is the time when many gardeners are digging in the dirt to prepare their landscapes for the coming growing season. Whether you have a big yard or just a bit of a porch or patio, you can attract butterflies and other good bugs along with birds through naturescaping with native blooms. Planting native plants can help the garden grow by attracting native bees, birds, and butterflies as pollinators. And many fruit and vegetable plants produce better from pollination by some of Missouri’s hundreds of species of native bees and butterflies. more

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the National Deer Association (NDA) invite landowners and others interested in managing deer on their properties to join their free 2024 Missouri Deer Management Webinar Series via Zoom. more

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Spring has sprung, and many Missouri plants and trees have already begun to bloom. Unfortunately, one invasive tree will be prominent along roadways and other open areas: the Callery pear tree. In an effort to eradicate these invasive, nonnative trees from the landscape, the Missouri Department of Conservation is partnering with the Missouri Invasive Plant Council, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, and Forrest Keeling Nursery to host a Callery pear “buyback” program April 23. more

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) thank the thousands of Missouri deer hunters who donated 247,575 pounds of venison to the state’s Share the Harvest program this past deer season, including 5,394 whole deer. more

Free program will discuss techniques for cleaning these popular sportfish. more