Archive for 2026

The Primary Election was held Tuesday in Missouri to determine who will run for offices for their respective parties in the November General Election. A total of 3,829 ballots were cast for a voting turnout of 37.41% of a possible 10,234 registered voters within Dent County. Only the contested races are presented in this article. It is important to note results presented are unofficial. Amendment results will be reported at a later time when official. 

*indicates winners 

State Auditor (R)

Scott Fitzpatrick* 2,355 votes

Gerald (Jerry) Wistrand Jr. 369

U.S. Representative District 8 (R)

Jason T. Smith* 2,533 votes

Gordon Heslop 501 votes

State Senator District 16 (R)

Bill Hardwick 1,076 votes

Philip Lohmann 160

Don Mayhew 615

Hannah Kelly* 1,107 

Presiding Commissioner (R)

AJ Seay* 2,221 votes

Denver Ellis 798 votes

Recorder Of Deeds (R)

Jessica Dooley* 1,808 votes

Melissa Piatt 1,058 votes

Gladden Township Committeeman (R)

Ken Nelson 31 votes

Josh Akers* 49 votes

Gladden Township Committeewoman (R)

Cynthia Nelson 32 votes

Alicia Watson* 49 votes

State Auditor (D)

Quentin Wilson* 271 votes

Gregory Upchurch 173 votes

US Representative District 8 (D)

Chris Reichard 58 votes

Frank A. Barnitz* 476 votes

The following are the unofficial results only from Dent County regarding the proposed constitutional amendments. Official results from the statewide vote will be shared at a later time. 

Constitutional Amendment No. 1 

YES 2,545 votes

NO 1,198 votes

Constitutional Amendment No. 2

YES 2,553 votes

NO 1,107 votes

Constitutional Amendment No. 4

YES 970 votes

NO 2,793 votes

Constitutional Amendment No. 5

YES 584 votes

NO 3,190 votes

On Monday, August 3rd, two Salem Police Department patrolmen responded to a business in the 200 block of South Main Street following a report of a vehicle that had crashed into a gas pump. Upon arrival, officers located an unresponsive male driver and immediately rendered medical aid. The driver was subsequently transported for medical evaluation and later cleared by medical personnel. The driver, identified as Nathan Halte, was taken into custody. During the initial investigation, officers located numerous fentanyl capsules and syringes inside the vehicle. The investigation also revealed that Halte has multiple prior felony convictions in several states. Following the investigation, Halte was transported to the Dent County Jail pending the filing of formal charges. A probable cause statement was submitted to the Dent County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Curley reviewed the case and filed a felony complaint in the Circuit Court of Dent County. The Honorable Judge Kelsaw subsequently issued a $50,000 cash/surety bond warrant for the following offense: Trafficking Drugs in the Second Degree. The investigation remains ongoing, and additional driving-related charges are expected to be sought. All persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is inviting the public to join the discussion on high-priority unfunded transportation needs at an upcoming meeting. MoDOT, working with its regional planning partners, has outlined a draft High-Priority Unfunded Needs listing, which identifies $1.3 billion in annual unfunded transportation needs for the system. The list was created to guide the development of needs into funded projects as state and federal transportation funds become available in future years. The public is invited to review the list and provide feedback on the order of priorities and additional needs that could be funded in the future. A meeting to discuss the draft High-Priority Unfunded Needs list in Central Missouri will be held Wednesday, Aug. 19th from 4:00 to 6:00 in the evening at MoDOT’s Central District office, located at 1511 Missouri Boulevard in Jefferson City. The presentation materials and a comment form are also available online, found on the MoDOT website at modot.org and by searching “High Priority Unfunded Needs Public Meeting.”

Salem High School will be hosting an Open House in the afternoon of Aug. 20th from 4:00 to 6:00. Incoming students of the 2026-27 school year will have the opportunity to tour the campus, meet teachers, and ask questions. Available for purchase will be Chromebook insurance, parking passes, and t-shirts. For questions, contact 573-729-6641. To see supply lists for the year, visit salemr80.org/page/supply-lists.

This is a Notice of Public Hearing. The Dent County Fire Protection District Board will be holding a public tax levy hearing at the Dent County Fire Protection District Firehouse located at #2 South Main on Tuesday, Aug. 11th at 6:30 in the evening. The meeting is open to the public.

The Dent County Commission has given notice that its regular meeting scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 6th has been cancelled. The next regularly scheduled meeting for the Dent County Commission will be 9:00 in the morning Monday, Aug. 10th at the courthouse.

An accident occurred early Sunday morning around 3:35 in Pulaski County on Highway O at the intersection of Concord Road. According to the highway patrol report a 2017 GMC Canyon driven by a 45-year-old female from Dixon travelled off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. The driver suffered serious injuries and was transported by Dixon Ambulance District to Phelps Health Rolla. The report states she was not wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The GMC sustained extensive damage and was removed from the scene by TC Towing.

An accident occurred Saturday afternoon around 12:18 in Phelps County at 16226 Highway O. According to the highway patrol report a 2002 Ford Explorer driven by a 34-year-old female from St. James was travelling northbound and traveled off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. The driver suffered moderate injuries and was transported to Phelps Heath by Phelps Health EMS. The report states she was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The Ford sustained extensive damage and was towed by Tunes Towing.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital Board of Directors held its regular meeting on Tuesday evening at 7:00 in the Doctor’s Library.  A presentation was given by the auditing firm Wipfli for the 2025 Fiscal Year audit, led by Paul Traczek and David Goodman. A clean opinion on the financial statements for 2025 was issued. Key highlights included a noted operating margin of 1.4%, net days inpatient accounts receivable at 62 days, an average financial age of 19 years or fixed assets, and a debt service coverage ratio of 4.08. Several internal control issues were flagged in need of improvement, including segregation of duties due to limited staff, and 29 audit adjustments causing a $3 million decrease to the bottom line, credited to late reconciliations from 2024 and the 2024 audit. Despite this decrease, Goodman noted that there was still a positive bottom line with income from operations over $500,000 in comparison to a loss in 2024 of $2.5 million. Traczek wrapped up the presentation by noting that the landscape of rural healthcare is changing rapidly, due to Medicaid and Medicare funding changes, incoming impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), and the Rural Health Transformation fund allocating $50 billion over the next five years, split into two $25 billion tranches. The first $25 billion will be distributed through the states. In Missouri, $216 million has been allocated for the state to disburse, with anticipation of $200 million being allocated to the state annually over the next four years. The next tranche of $25 billion will be distributed directly by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) through competitive applications with a requirement of “innovation” for proposals. All $50 billion must be expended or have a congressionally approved plan by the end of the 5‑year program period. Traczek encouraged board members and staff to stay updated on these upcoming changes and challenges and continue looking for grant opportunities as they come available. The board approved the audit, as presented. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors will be held on Aug. 25th at 6:45 in the Doctor’s Library and is open to the public. At that time, a tax hearing will precede regular business.

The Salem R-80 High School will be holding another walk-in registration day this Thursday, Aug. 6th for anyone needing a device or internet connection to complete their online registration for the upcoming school year. This will be held from 8:00 in the morning to 3:00 in the afternoon.  Please enter through the High School library’s doors. If you have already completed your registration, or plan to register on your own device, you do not need to attend.

A traveling exhibit on loan from the State Historical Society of Missouri Springfield Research Center has landed at the Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center, titled “Broadcasting the Ozarks: A History of RadiOzark Enterprises.” The exhibit showcases the history of Springfield’s RadiOzark Enterprises, the company behind nationally-known syndicated radio programs such as The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, The Red Foley Show, and Shorty Thompson’s Dalle Rockin’ Rhythm. At the exhibit, learn about Springfield’s legacy as the “Crossroads of Country Music” and the RadiOzark Record Collection housed at the State Historical Society of Missouri’s Springfield Research Center.

In the July 30th edition of Your World Today, there was a reported accident that occurred on July 28th involving two juveniles in a 2011 Ford Focus at 13900 Highway E. We need to issue a correction to this story: the 16 year old female juvenile that was driving is from Vienna, Missouri. The 16 year old female juvenile passenger is from Rolla, Missouri. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

An accident occurred around 10:35 in Dent County on Friday evening on Hwy. 32 about 500 feet west of County Road 2405. According to the highway patrol report, a 2004 Ford F150 driven by a 59-year-old male from Salem was travelling westbound and struck a 46-year-old male pedestrian from Cook Station walking in the roadway. The pedestrian suffered serious injuries and was flown by Mercy Life Line to Mercy Hospital in Springfield. The Ford sustained minor damage and was driven from the scene.

An accident occurred Friday evening around 6:30 in Phelps County on Hwy. 68 near County Road 4470. According to the highway patrol report, a 2013 Dodge Dart driven by a 30-year-old female from Salem was travelling southbound and hydroplaned off the right side of the roadway and struck a fence and overturned. The female suffered moderate injuries and was transported to Phelps Health. The report goes on to state she was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The Dodge was totaled and removed from the scene by Whitaker’s Towing.

An accident occurred Saturday afternoon around 12:18 in Phelps County at 16226 Hwy O. According to the highway patrol report, a 2002 Ford Explorer driven by a 34-year-old female from St. James was travelling northbound and traveled off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree. The driver suffered moderate injuries and was transported to Phelps Heath by Phelps Health EMS. The report states she was wearing a safety restraint at the time of the accident. The Ford sustained extensive damage and was towed by Tunes Towing.

According to a post on the City of Salem Facebook page, there have been reports of businesses and entities receiving emails with Secure Documents and a potential title of, “Annual Special Report – City of Salem 2026” allegedly sent on behalf of the mayor. This IS NOT communication from the City of Salem. The city strongly urges residents to not click any links in such an email. This email does not originate from an actual city email address. For more information, you can contact the city administration office at (573) 729-4811.

The Dent County Commission has cancelled its meeting for this morning at the courthouse, as commissioners have been invited to attend Congressman Jason Smith’s annual farm tour. The next County Commission will be 9:00 in the morning Thursday and will be open to the public.

The Missouri’s 2026 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday begins on August 7th at 12:01 in the morning and continues through Sunday, August 9th until midnight. Certain back-to-school purchases, such as clothing, school supplies, computers, and other items as defined by statute, are exempt from all state and local sales or use taxes for this time period only. The sales tax exemption is limited to clothing with any article having a taxable value of $100 or less; school supplies that do not exceed $50 per purchase; computer software with a taxable value of $350 or less; personal computers that do not exceed $1,500; computer peripheral devices that do not to exceed $1,500; and graphing calculators that do not exceed $150. In the “clothing” category, this includes any article of wearing apparel intended to be worn on or about the human body including, but not limited to, disposable diapers for infants or adults and footwear. The term shall include but not be limited to, cloth and other material used to make school uniforms or other school clothing. Items normally sold in pairs shall not be separated to qualify for the exemption. The term shall not include watches, watchbands, jewelry, handbags, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, scarves, ties, headbands, or belt buckles. In the “personal computers” category, this would include laptop, desktop, or tower computer systems which consists of a central processing unit, random access memory, a storage drive, a display monitor, a keyboard, and devices designed for use in conjunction with a personal computer, such as a disk drive, memory module, compact disk drive, daughterboard, digitalizer, microphone, modem, motherboard, mouse, multimedia speaker, printer, scanner, single-user hardware, single-user operating system, soundcard, or video card. In the “school supplies” category, this would include items normally used by students in a standard classroom for educational purposes, including but not limited to, textbooks, notebooks, paper, writing instruments, crayons, art supplies, rulers, book bags, backpacks, handheld calculators, graphing calculators, chalk, maps, and globes. The term shall not include watches, radios, CD players, headphones, sporting equipment, portable or desktop telephones, copiers or other office equipment, furniture, or fixtures. School supplies shall also include graphing calculators valued at $150 or less and computer software having a taxable value of $350 or less.

Healthy Dent County and Titan Paving & Yard Drainage invites the community to an unforgettable evening of music, laughter, and audience participation at its Dueling Pianos Fundraiser this Friday at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. The event will feature The Flying Ivories, an exciting dueling-piano act that combines live music, comedy, sing-alongs, and audience requests. Gather your friends and prepare for a lively evening. Line Dancing and Karaoke will also be part of this fun evening. Doors are to open at 5:30 in the evening and the show will be from 6:30 to 9:30 in the evening. A VIP table for six is $250, and individual tickets are $25. Tickets can be purchased online or in person at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. There will be concessions and a cash bar at the event. For more information about The Flying Ivories, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/flyingivories. For event questions, call 573-729-8163 or email Jackie@SalemCommunityCenter.org.