Springfield (Missouri)

Marijuana: Springfield Politicians Again Reject Pot Reform Law, Activists Consider Lawsuit

Springfield City Councilman Doug Burlison believes that marijuana can be a helpful medicine and that it's time to stop treating it like such a harmful, dangerous drug. Compared to other local elected officials, however, he is very much in the minority -- so much so that his colleagues continue to re ... More >>

Michelle Obama: First Lady Headed to Springfield Walmart For Anti-Obesity Campaign

First Lady Michelle Obama has chosen a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri to promote her "Let's Move" anti-obesity campaign. To what do we owe this honor? It may not hurt that Missouri is on track to have incredibly high rates of obesity in the coming years, at least according to some studies. And ... More >>

Meth Lab Hotel? Extended Stay In Springfield, Missouri Site of Two Busts in Two Weeks

As we reported last week, Missouri once again had the most meth lab busts of any state in the country last year -- and folks in Springfield are apparently working to make sure the state is a winner in 2013, too. We've got the details on not one, but two, reportedly unrelated meth busts in the same ... More >>

Missouri Chocolate Makers Patric and Askinosie Clean Up at Good Food Awards

The Good Food Awards celebrate food that's good in all senses of the word: tasty and ethical and responsible. That is to say, food that's all natural, made by actual people who respect animals and the environment and the seasons and the culture of the people who produce it. It's food that costs a li ... More >>

Askinosie Chocolate Expands Lunch Program

No, not to you. The award-winning Springfield, Missouri-based chocolate company will be using proceeds from two of its products to fund school lunch programs in villages in Tanzania and the Philippines. The PTA's at Mwaya Secondary School in the Kyela region of Tanzania and Malagos Elementary Scho ... More >>

Pitchfork Writes Lazy, Cynical, Dickish Thing: Surprise!

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin is playing the Old New Rock Festival in Ekaterinburg, Russia next month. The Springfield band will also -- at the request of the festival's organizers -- visit a school as part of an ambassador program. So that's a thing that is fairly cool. Not the most notewor ... More >>

Missouri and Illinois Athletes in the London Olympics

Tomorrow's the day, friends, when we begin the quadrennial sixteen days of sitting on our asses in front of the TV glory, the only time we ever get to see the likes of Greco-Roman wrestling or skeet shooting or synchronized swimming. (Who cares that synchronized swimming is a dumb excuse for a "spor ... More >>

Show-Me Cannabis Seeks Marijuana Decriminalization Law in Springfield

Show-Me Cannabis's ambitious goal of getting a statewide marijuana-legalization and regulation bill on the November ballot foundered last month when it was revealed the campaign is short by about 144,000 signatures. Instead, the group has down-shifted and announced a new petition to pass a decrimin ... More >>

Jack Van Matre, Former Cop, Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Charges

Jack B. Van Matre, 55, retired from the Springfield (Missouri) Police Department in 2006 to begin his second career as a photographer. He opened Behind the Red Door, a boudoir photography studio, in downtown Springfield and did a little wedding photography on the side. In October of 2011 he himself ... More >>

Say, Where's the Cards' World Series Trophy These Days?

The World Series Trophy traditionally goes on tour after the winning team spends some time hoisting it overhead, visiting locations across the country and spreading good will towards the game. It's currently touring the Cards' minor league affiliates. The trophy spent this past weekend with the Spri ... More >>

Springfield Women Accused of Shoplifting Left Kids in Car

Two unidentified Springfield, Missouri, women, ages 19 and 24, were accused of shoplifting by Walgreens staff, and the police were duly summoned. The young ladies expressed some concern to the police that there were kids waiting for them in their car. It was after midnight, after all -- you can't be ... More >>

Springfield Asks Feds to Shut Down Larry Rice's Day Shelter

​Claiming to be fed up with handling complaints leveled at Larry Rice's Veteran's Coming Home Center, Springfield City Manager Greg Burris has formally requested on behalf of Springfield civic leaders that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rescind the deed to the center.The move wou ... More >>

USPS Begins Budget Cuts in Springfield and Cape Girardeau

​The Springfield and Cape Girardeau mail processing centers will be consolidated this year by the United States Postal Service, at a cost of 136 positions combined. Some of those jobs may be transferred to the Kansas City and Downtown St. Louis Sorting and Processing Facilities, which are assuming ... More >>

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin Plays "Yellow Missing Signs" on Art Hill: Video

Last month, RFT Music and Tangent Mind went with Springfield band Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin to Art Hill to record some video. Earlier, we showed you some of our conversation and a performance of "Yr Broom." SSLYBY's Philip Dickey and Will Knauer also played "Yellow Missing Signs," a song ... More >>

Could Missouri's Repealed "Facebook Law" Have Prevented a Teacher's "Nasty" Texts?

Image viaNasty textin' is not very teacherly. ​Folks who had supported Missouri's "Facebook Law," (which, before its repeal in October, had banned Facebook friendships between teachers and students) are not going to like this little tale out of Springfield. A 13-year-old boy testified last week in ... More >>

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and Elsinore At The Firebird, 11/4/11: Review And Setlist

Roy KastenSTL still loves you SSLYBY​ Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin | Elsinore The Firebird November 4, 2011 The perfect pop song is out there, forever out there, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin may never find it, but on some nights getting to share in the search is more tha ... More >>

Battle Crispy (Springfield-Style) Cashew Chicken: Bobo Noodle House vs. Quik Wok

​For a kid in rural central Missouri, Chinese food means one thing: cashew chicken. And not a plate of stir-fried chicken chunks with celery, carrots and cashews. No, it had to be Springfield-style cashew chicken. As in Springfield, Missouri. Of course this isn't Chinese food. It's Chinese-A ... More >>

JeffCo Po-Po Transforms Police Cruisers into Stock Cars; Shake and Bake!

Shake and Bake is a popular method for cooking drugs in Missouri's Meth Capital of Jefferson County. Shake and Bake is also the greatest stock-car race strategy ever invented.​The press release below might raise eyebrow if it were coming out of the Ladue or Frontenac police departments. But the Je ... More >>

Contest Will Name St. Louis' "Ugliest House"

This Missouri home won a similar contest in Springfield.​HomeVestors, the company that advertises as "We Buy Ugly Houses" is in search of the ugliest house in St. Louis. The winner will receive $450 in gift certificates to Home Depot and Carpet For Less to fix up their eyesore. But, hey, shouldn't ... More >>

Missouri Legislators Deploy "Rosa Parks Highway" Tactic Against Neo-Nazis

biography.comThe unveiling of the Rosa Parks Highway.​A couple of state reps from Springfield are trying to rename a stretch of highway in their district after a Jewish rabbi now that the roadway has been adopted by the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Movement.As the Springfield News-Leader repo ... More >>

Mayo Spill Slicks Interstate 44 in Springfield

​Saturday night a tractor-trailer hit a pylon on Interstate 44 in Springfield, dumping 40,000 pounds of mayonnaise onto the road. Eastbound lanes were closed for several hours to clean up the mess. Lt. Scott Leven of the Springfield Police Department compared walking on the spilled mayo to wal ... More >>

St. Louis Native Seeks to Sack the Competition at National Best Bagger Championship

  This ain't your typical sack race. Today, February 14, St. Louis native Scott Hall will represent Missouri at the 2011 National Grocers Association Best Bagger Championship. Having out-bagged all comers at the state level, Hall is set to compete against professional grocery baggers from 21 st ... More >>

Askinosie Chocolate Goes to Tanzania, Gets Noticed by Oprah

Askinosie ChocolateShawn Askinosie (left) teaches a Tanzanian farmer how to roast cocoa beans.​When Riverfront Times visited the Askinosie Chocolate factory in Springfield last winter, founder and proprietor Shawn Askinosie promised he would take members of the Cocoa Honors program at the fact ... More >>

The HillBenders

8 p.m. Thursday, December 16. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

Driving Tip: Don't Swerve to Avoid Deer, Go Right at 'Em

​A Missouri man is dead after a collision early this morning with a deer near Springfield. According to reports, Mark Pross, 58, of Pacific, was driving along Interstate 44 in southwestern Missouri when his car veered off the road and overturned following a collision with a deer around 2:25 a.m. I ... More >>

Urban Hunters Kill 45 Deer in St. Louis County; 91 in St. Charles

Image ViaDeer hunting in the St. Louis 'burbs isn't confined to Big Buck Hunter.​Missouri's four-day urban deer hunt ended Monday with more than 587 deer harvested in the metro areas of St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia-Jefferson City. Boone County (home to Columbia) led the countie ... More >>

Lost Old Lady from Branson Survives Two Nights in the Woods

flickr.com/photos/elsieWait...where the hell am I?​This is how sturdy Missourians are: Louise Edna Parker, 87, of Branson, went missing Monday but turned up Wednesday after 48 hours of wandering around lost in a forest. Writes the News-Leader of Springfield:she had gone hunting for flowers in the ... More >>

Racquet with Racket

Keep St. Louis Free Scores Victory ... in Springfield

​Speaking of smoking bans, I got an email from our old friend Bill Hannegan at Keep St. Louis Free yesterday. As you'll recall, Hannegan and his group fought a diligent battle last year to stop smoking-ban legislation in St. Louis County and city.And while Keep St. Louis Free came up short on thos ... More >>

Dead Chinchillas Found in Fridge During Raid of Serial Animal Hoarder's House

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielderrick/ / CC BY 2.0 Sorry, couldn't find a picture of a dead one in a refridgerator. ​By all accounts, Virginia Gambriel is way into animals - even dead ones. St. Louis' Humane Society got deluged this week with several dozen new patients after authoriti ... More >>

Bean-to-bar manufacturers Patric and Askinosie are putting Missouri on the chocolate map

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

9 p.m. Wednesday, January 27. The Billiken Club, in the Busch Student Center on the campus of Saint Louis University, 20 North Grand Boulevard.

Woman Can't Suppress Basic Instinct, Stabs Man with Ice Pick in Fight Over Parking Spot

Something tells us the suspect doesn't look anything like Sharon Stone, but we're pretty sure she's a big fan of the actress's movies.​Police in Springfield, Missouri, arrested a woman yesterday following an altercation in a Chili's parking lot. (The name of the restaurant is especially pertinent ... More >>

Somewhere Out There: Exene Cervenka's new solo record, Somewhere Gone, has strong roots in Missouri

Saving the World, One Bikini Car Wash at a Time

bustedcoverage.comIs this the answer to all the world's ills? I don't know, but I'm willing to give it a try. There are days when it seems the world around us is going to hell in a hand basket, my friends. Days when you look outside and see the environment slowly dying off, the economy collapsi ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Wednesday, 3.11

Cashew chicken, the native dish of Springfield, Missouri, gets the New York Times treatment.Kellogg's decision to dump Olympic hero Michael Phelps gives an unexpected boost to a San Francisco food bank. (USA Today)A review of NBC's Chopping Block, a new cooking reality show featuring famed British c ... More >>

Ozark Serenade: RFT readers share memories of the once wild punk-rock scene in Springfield and Joplin

Anarchy in the Ozarks: Who'd have guessed there used to be a hardcore punk scene in the backwaters of Missouri?

Athletic Supporters

Feel the camaraderie

Show Review: Twangfest, at Off Broadway, Saturday, June 7, with Waco Brothers, Ha Ha Tonka, the Everybodyfields, Caleb Travers

Wake Up!

Yawn is anything but boring

Twangfest: Ha Ha Tonka

Opening for Waco Brothers. 9 p.m. Saturday, June 7. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

The Original Hooters Wing Breading; The Original Hooters Wing Sauce (Hot); Schnucks Natural Chicken Wings; Crisco All Natural Pure Vegetable Oil

$2.73; $5.23; $5.60: $3.88
Schnucks
3430 S. Grand Boulevard

The Rugs / Wormwood Scrubs / Finn's Motel

9 p.m. Thursday, December 21. Off Broadway (3509 Lemp Avenue)

Big Noise from Springfield

Friday, September 23; Blueberry Hill's Duck Room (6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City)

Big Smith

Friday, January 9; Mississippi Nights

Honky Tonk Chateau

Friday, August 29; Frederick's Music Lounge

Boogie Nights

Bring in da funk, bring in da bucks: backstage with Dr. Zhivegas, St. Louis' most popular -- and derided -- cover band

Domino Kings

Saturday, Nov. 25; Venice Cafe

The Morells

Saturday, Sept. 2; Duck Room