The Southwest Center for Educational Excellence in Webb City will host an awards luncheon to honor area school district candidates for Missouri’s Regional Teacher of the Year. Interviews are scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, June 24, with the awards luncheon commencing at noon, at which point the two regional winners will be announced.
Thirteen District Teacher of the Year nominees opted to apply for the Regional Teacher of the Year competition. A committee, composed of area district educators and community members will complete the rigorous selection process and select the two winners. The two winners will represent the Southwest Missouri region in the statewide competition for Missouri Teacher of the Year.
District Teacher of the Year participants in the regional competition are: Brandi Whitworth, Bronaugh; Morgan Smith, Carl Junction; Maddy Swearingen, Crane; Michael Lee, Golden City; Tarryn Gilbert, Joplin; Kevin Simmons, Marionville; Holly Huber, McDonald County; Amanda Gautney, Monett; Amelia Ballock, Mt. Vernon; Vondra Miller, Neosho; Erin Mareth, Nevada; Tyler Jones, Seneca, and Amber Hunt, Webb City.
The Southwest Center for Educational Excellence, at 528 S. Ellis St., is an educational service agency serving 42 school districts, two universities, and one junior college. The 42 school districts educate over 55,000 students and employ over 7,000 employees. The goal of SWC is to provide high-quality, on-going and relevant professional development.
The Missouri History Museum’s award-winning documentary “Show Me 66: Main Street Through Missouri” is a classic for the Mother Road’s centennial year that you can watch online.
The 90-minute 2016 film (trailer here, full movie here) travels across the landscape and through time via interviews, archival photos, and historical and contemporary film footage, underscored with original music by Missouri performers.
The 16 new 3D Street Paintings continue to draw the interest of residents and travelers alike, two weeks after the 2026 Street Painting Festival ended.
The interactive 3D art is an amazing optical illusion that comes alive when viewed through a cellphone camera.
You can see it at 1717 W. Seventh St.
Last Friday, nearly 3,000 Hot Rods were tracked as having stopped at that location for the Hot Rod Power Tour pit stop. Guests from 24 states and three nations stopped.
This Friday, June 19, the Route 66 Centennial Caravan will stop at 1717 W. Seventh St. Family-friendly events will start at 3:30 p.m. The caravan of 150 vintage cars will arrive and park for the public to view, then the famed Big Texas Restaurant from Amarillowill conduct a steak-eating contest. Performances by Kenny Sweet and Zane Grimes will round out the evening activities from 7 to 9 p.m.
On Father’s Day, the 2026 Great Race will be in downtown Joplin. Participants with entries dating as far back as 1929 and as recent as 1976 will park on Main Street for the public to view. Full details are below.
Here’s the Sunday afternoon schedule for the Great Race activities:
The University of Missouri School of Law Veterans Clinic, through its rural outreach program, Tigers for Troops, will offer free legal consultations to Veterans regarding their Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) disability compensation benefits, military discharge upgrades, and VA healthcare at the MU Extension Office, 18728 Hwy 59, Neosho, MO 64850, on Monday, June 22, 2026.
