Archive for 2025

Major Adam Carnal, Media Contact with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, has provided an update concerning the investigation of the Sunday afternoon shooting. The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate the shooting incident that occurred on Highway WW. Major Canal confirmed that one individual is deceased, and another person is in custody in connection with this incident. The scene remains secure, and there is no ongoing threat to the public. Canal said he understands the community’s concern and are committed to providing accurate and timely updates. Further information will be released from their office today as the investigation continues and more details become available. He asks for the public’s patience and cooperation during this time.

The Dent County Commission met Monday morning at the courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Keith Green said crews would be out repairing Dent County Roads 5130, 5150, 5170, 5610, 5615, and 5630 by adding materials and doing spot grading. These repairs are meant to get the roads passable, and any further repairs will be made once the bad roads have been addressed. District 2 Commissioner Jimmy Williams said his crew would be out repairing holes on county roads 3210, 3260 and 3370. He said crews would be out checking other roads and repairing those that were damaged the most by the rain. Williams said many of these repairs may be temporary to get the roads passable. Both commissioners asked the public to be patient, but the work crews will get to all the roads, but they will address the roads with the most damage first. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said he will personally repair the torn carpet on the back steps to the courthouse. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said the polls will be open today from 6:00 this morning until 7:00 tonight and bring your ID when you go to vote. If you have questions, call her office at 573-729-4144. Curley said nine people voted absentee on Saturday in her office. Dent County Collector Shannon VanKirk gave the turnover report for the month of March to the commissioners which said her office collected $175,131.64. Those funds have been distributed to the proper tax entities. At the last meeting, City of Salem Building Code Officer Jarrod Brown checked the courthouse staircase and will review the codes for the addition of a chairlift to the staircase to go to the second floor. Also, Dent County Coroner Ben Pursifull came in to talk with the commissioners about his autopsy budget and the cost of autopsies. Normally he has about 10 to 12 autopsies a year and he already has had four. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Dent County Chapter of “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” will be holding their next meeting this evening from 5:30 to 6:30 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory’s Rotary Room. All volunteers are welcome and there are many ways to get involved. If you are not familiar with what they do, they are an international non-profit 501(C)(3) organization that builds, assembles and delivers new beds to children in need who do not have a bed. Anyone can apply for a child on the SHPbeds.org website. TO help, monetary donations can be made to “Sleep in Heavenly Peace – MISSOURI-DENT Co.” Donations of bedding and tools are also accepted. All donations are tax deductible. For more information about “Sleep in Heavenly Peace,” contact Patti at 703-964-6495. You can also e-mail Patti at patti.mckeown@shpbeds.org.

A new study found Missouri is the No. 11 cheapest state to start a business, an important revelation for small business owners deciding where to set up shop amid growing economic uncertainty. The 10 cheapest states are in the West or Midwest as many levy no corporate taxes and have fewer regulations. The two most expensive states are California and New York due to higher taxes, wages, rents and regulations. Simplify LLC released a study on the Most and Least Expensive States to Start a Business in 2025 using the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve of St. Louis, Tax Foundation, and the Energy Information Administration. The rankings were determined by analyzing nine key factors in all 50 states and D.C. including taxes, labor costs, commercial rent and utilities, regulations, lending, and more. Key Findings making Missouri the No. 11 Cheapest State. Missouri offers a 4% corporate tax (#10 tied) and keeps commercial rent at $15.25 per square foot (#14), all the while navigating 94,260 regulations (#16). Electricity costs average $617.71 (#19), wages average $61,708 (#20) and labor force participation is 63.9% (#22). The state’s score is brought down slightly by more expensive LLC filing fees ($105, #29) and a lower SBA loan total of $7.98 million per 100,000 (#30). The study found that the 10 Cheapest States were Utah, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nebraska, Kansas, Nevada, and North Dakota.

The Dent County Commission met Thursday morning at the courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Keith Green said crews would be out checking roads for washouts and other damages and do patching where needed in anticipation of more heavy rain Friday and Saturday. District 2 Commissioner Jimmy Williams said his crew would be out checking roads and repairing those that were damaged the most and putting orange cones out on roads that have some damage that are still passable that crews can’t get to knowing that more heavy rain is anticipated that could do further damage to those roads. He also said a crew had to remove a downed tree. Commissioner Gary Larson said he did not have to attend the Solid Waste Advisory Board meeting Wednesday in Jefferson City. He had nothing else to report. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said the unexcused and excused absentee voting for the Municipal Election continues at the courthouse. Her office will be open this Saturday morning from 8:00 until 12:00 noon to vote absentee or update your voter registration, and the last day to vote absentee will be Monday, April 7th from 8:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon. She also said the polling locations at Green Forest R-2 and Dent-Phelps R-3 will not be open due to no elections for those school boards or issues. The polls will be open Tuesday, April 8th from 6:00 in the morning until 7:00 that evening, and bring your ID when go to vote. Curley said her office balanced with the treasurer on all accounts for the month of March, and her office also balanced with the assessor and collector on all collections, abatements and add-ons for March. Dent County Collector Shannon VanKirk said she has passed out 47 applications for the “Senior Real Estate Property Tax Relief Program” so far with no online applications, and 11 of those applications have been returned and submitted for approval. Applications are available at her office along with a “Frequently Asked Question” sheet. She said people who want to apply will need to have an ID which could be a driver’s license, your voter registration or passport; a copy of your deed from the recorder’s office of which there is no charge if needed for this application, or you can have the recorder list the book and page number your deed is recorded in on the application; and you will need a copy of your paid tax receipt which the collector can also provide. All applications will NOT have to be signed by a notary, but they will need to be signed in front of and witnessed by a county official.  These applications will need to be submitted by June 30th to qualify for the property tax relief this year. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Monday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse, the meeting is open to the public.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is now accepting entries for its annual photo contest. Winning entries will be featured on the department’s website and social media platforms. The deadline to submit photos is September 1st. Entries can include images from anywhere in Missouri, featuring beautiful natural resources, unique state parks and historic sites, outdoor recreation, weather, wildlife and people enjoying the outdoors. Contestants can submit entries in the following categories: Natural Resources: Photographs of Missouri’s air, landscapes and waterways. Unique Places: Photographs taken within one of Missouri’s state parks and historic sites. People Enjoying Missouri’s Outdoors: Photographs of people enjoying and exploring Missouri’s great outdoors. Judges will choose first, second, third and honorable mention winners for each category. For more information or to submit photos, visit dnr.mo.gov/photo-contest. Please send questions about the photo contest to socialmedia@dnr.mo.gov.