At least some area students will breathe a little easier thanks to a grant received by the Ozarks Clean Air Alliance.

The grant, in the amount of $130,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency, is earmarked to retrofit 89 local school buses with catalysts and filters to cut down on pollutants. The EPA has voiced concern that repeated exposure to diesel fumes could lead to respiratory problems like asthma…[more]

Once they had been vibrant places to do business, shop, eat and socialize. Today, many downtowns in Missouri are almost forgotten. Economic development plans to revitalize downtowns are often too expensive for communities already strapped for resources, but several Missouri towns are getting outside help to develop a blueprint of what their downtown could look like over the next 25 years.

University of Missouri Extension specialists and 10…[more]

Horses injured in Jefferson County, Missouri may have been attacked by a cougar.

Investigators at the Missouri Department of Conservation are examining bite wounds on horses at Rockin’ J Stables to see if they could have been made by a cougar. Those officials say that a cougar’s bite marks are distinctive and are larger than those made by a dog or other animals.

The Department said…[more]

A new law goes into effect today banning trucks registered for a gross weight of 48,000 pounds or more from using the far left-hand lane when traveling on interstate highways, freeways or expressways in urban areas that have three or more lanes traveling in the same direction.

So far, this restriction only applies to certain roadways in the St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas.

This…[more]

Commuter parking lots are more popular than ever along Missouri highways, according to the latest figures from the Missouri Department of Transportation.  Nearly 3,000 vehicles used a state-maintained commuter lot on a typical workday this May—up 21 percent from February.

“We’ve seen dramatic growth in commuter lot use this year,” said MoDOT Maintenance Liaison Engineer Tim Chojnacki.  There’s no doubt that high gas prices are encouraging more and…[more]

Heartland News in Cape Girardeau is reporting that nine year old Dillon Landewee discovered what appears to be mastodon bones. Dillon came across the unusual find while fishing along an eroded stream bank in Cape County.

The giant bones Dillon discovered are partially fossilized and look like lower…[more]

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation came out with their annual list of the worst American cities for allergy sufferers. One Ozarks city was in the top ten as was another city that lies near our region.

Little Rock came in at #3 on the list, moving up several notches from its ranking of 14th last year. Oklahoma City improved their position by dropping to the number 9 slot…[more]

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield announces their 2nd Annual Photo Exhibit with the theme “When the Smoke Cleared”.  Entries were submitted between August 15 and August 27.  The entries will be on exhibit, at the battlefield, in the multipurpose room, from August 30 through September 19, 2008.  The visitor’s center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., seven days a week.

In partnership with the Southwest Missouri Camera…[more]

ST. LOUIS - Gov. Matt Blunt today visited the St. Louis Rec. Center, a potential shelter for Hurricane Gustav evacuees and announced he is mobilizing an additional 120 Missouri National Guard Citizen-Soldiers to support Hurricane Gustav recovery efforts in Louisiana, bringing the total number of mobilized Missouri Guard members to more than 600. Hurricane Gustav is predicted to make landfall near New Orleans tomorrow as a Category 4.
…[more]

Tire companies, big box stores, and the government are putting the brakes on the use of lead wheel weights. Through EPA’s National Lead-Free Wheel Weight Initiative, partners have agreed to phase-in the use of lead-free alternative wheel weights and reduce the amount of lead released into the environment by 2011.

“Our partners have pledged to reduce or eliminate their use of lead wheel weights,” said Susan Parker Bodine,…[more]