Maggie Jane’s partners Holly Ansley and Lauren Haase.

Two more boutiques open in time for April 24 Shop Hop downtown

Maggie Jane’s and Otsana are the latest

Two more stores have officially been added to Webb City downtown’s boutique scene.

Ribbon-cuttings by the Webb City Area Chamber of Commerce were held Friday, April 9, at Maggie Jane’s, 8 S. Main St., and Otsana Co., 209 S. Main St.

Holly Ansley and Lauren Haase own Maggie Jane’s, which is named after Holly and Brad Ansley’s daughters, Maggie and Addie Jane.

Holly isn’t new to Webb City’s boutique scene. She also owns Paint Chips & Glitter, at 110 W. Broadway.

Lauren certainly isn’t new to retail. After a 15-year career with Dillard’s, she and her husband, Tyler, just moved back to this area from Little Rock, where she had been Dillard’s director of shop development.

The conversation about Lauren and Holly becoming partners started during a family gathering. Tyler and Holly are cousins.

Meggie Etris explains that the name Otsana, which means she wolf, holds special meaning for her. She owns the Wolfman’s House of Screams, where her dad, Reggie Pippin, was the wolfman before he passed.

Meggie, whose “big girl” job is director of human resources for Eagle Picher, operated her shop out of her house initially and has been selling online for about a year. “This place came open, and I grabbed it.”

She says she and Katey Miller plan to open a larger store in the future, hopefully in Webb City, which has been welcoming. 

The boutiques have unique styles and are not competitive, she says. In fact, it’s common for them to send customers up the street to other stores.

Webb City’s annual Shop Hop, featuring all of the boutiques (close to a dozen now), is set for Saturday, April 24.

Otsana’s Meggie Etris and Katey Miller.

Sidewalk construction to start next week on MacArthur, later at Routes D and O in Alba

The Missouri Department of Transportation alerts motorists on MacArthur Drive that construction work on the paved trail from Frisco Greenway Trail to King Jack Park will begin the week of April 19.

Primarily, the work will involve making the trail conform to Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

Pedestrian signals, crosswalks, ramps and signs will be installed on the trail, which starts on the north side of MacArthur and switches to the south side at Oronogo Street.

After that job is done, the MoDOT crews will go to Alba, where a sidewalk will be reconstructed and stormwater improvements will be made at the main intersection, where the two routes intersect.

APAC Central Inc. is the main contractor on the $813,000 project. 

Completion isn’t expected until Nov. 1.

PURCELL CEMETERY FUNDRAISER

A Spaghetti/Beef Stew Supper to help pay for maintenance of the Purcell Friends Cemetery will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 17, at the Tri-Cities Fire Station.

Delivery to the Tri-Cities area will be available from 2 – 7 p.m. by calling (417) 525-4444.

There will also be a silent auction, crafts, baked goods, cinnamon rolls, blackberry cobblers, auction and tickets for a 50/50 pot and quilt.