Emergency Planning Partners Elect Rutledge Fire Chief as Chairman By Echo Menges RUTLEDGE, Mo. — An emergency planning effort serving Knox and Scotland counties has been reestablished, with local officials, first responders and community representatives gathering March 24 to formally relaunch the Northeast Local Emergency Planning District (LEPD). The group met at the Rutledge Community Center to approve membership, elect officers and begin rebuilding a coordinated approach to emergency preparedness and hazardous materials planning across the two counties. Local Emergency Planning Districts, often referred to as LEPDs or LEPCs, are federally mandated through the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to- Know…

SCOTLAND COUNTY — Scotland County voters rejected the countywide Homestead Property Tax Credit question in Tuesday’s General Municipal Election, while approving the Consolidated Public Water Supply District No. 1 bond question and electing candidates in races in Memphis and several smaller communities. The ballot also included races for Memphis city offices, Gorin aldermen and village trustee positions in Arbela, Granger and Rutledge. In the countywide question, voters were asked whether Scotland County should exempt eligible taxpayers from certain tax increases on their primary residences above the liability incurred during the initial credit year. The measure failed, with 283 voting no…

SCOTLAND COUNTY — Voters across Scotland County will head to the polls Tuesday, April 7, for the General Municipal Election, with a mix of contested races, funding questions and several positions that could be decided by write-in votes. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Boyer Event Center in Memphis, which will serve as the countywide polling location for all precincts. At the county level, voters will consider a proposed property tax relief measure asking whether to exempt eligible taxpayers from certain increases on their primary residence above the amount paid in the initial credit…

Memphis, MO — In a significant step toward improving public safety, Dr. Shane Wilson and Memphis Community Health Center, Internal Medicine clinic, have donated two automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to key locations in the city. One of the AED units has been installed at Memphis City Hall, while the second has been placed at the athletic complexes within the Scotland County R-1 School District. The donation aims to ensure that lifesaving equipment is readily available in areas where large groups of people frequently gather. AEDs are portable medical devices designed to treat sudden cardiac arrest by delivering an electric shock…

Friday, March 27 marks 23 years since Sue and I took the leap and purchased The Media, The Edina Sentinel, and the LaBelle Star. Which begs the question: how exactly did we get here… and why didn’t anyone stop us? My newspaper career started back in 1986 with the Omaha World-Herald, where I managed newspaper carriers across northeast Nebraska. Back then, carriers were “little merchants.” Customers paid the carrier, the carrier paid the paper, and I made sure nobody disappeared with the money. It was part accounting, part babysitting, and part detective work. If a carrier quit, we audited their…

By Emily Bontrager For centuries, April Fools’ Day has been celebrated across different cultures. Each year on April 1, people play pranks and practical jokes on one another, often revealing the trick with a cheerful, “April Fools!” The exact origins of the holiday remain unclear. According to the Library of Congress, one theory traces the tradition back to ancient Rome and a festival called Hilaria, celebrated around March 25. “In Roman terms, March 25 was called ‘the eighth of the Calends of April,’ which associates the festival strongly with April 1,” the Library notes, though it adds there is no…

By Echo Menges GORIN, Mo. — The Gorin Volunteer Fire Department officially placed eight new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) units into service Tuesday night, March 10, 2026, during the department’s regular member meeting. The department serves the Gorin area in southeastern Scotland County and regularly assists neighboring departments through mutual aid responses. Firefighters spent the evening at the Gorin firehouse fitting the equipment, learning its operation and training with the new gear before it officially went into service. Fire Chief Kenneth Hoover said the department was able to purchase the equipment through a $75,600 Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the…