Stories from Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Van Buren police officers evacuated about 16 occupied rooms at The Landing shortly before 1 a.m., when a fire at the Carter County hotel and restaurant was called in. Personnel from the Carter County Sheriff’s Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol helped check the building while Van Buren Volunteer Fire Department responded with crews and trucks, said Curt Majors, fire chief...

A Carter County man currently serving time in prison on other charges has been charged with the 1987 murder of Thomas Ray Rowland. Uel Joe Freeman, 60, is charged with first-degree murder in the May 1987 shooting death of Rowland after newly-obtained evidence made the arrest possible. Authorities on Wednesday were not ready to say what the infortmaion was, but reference was made to new technology making it possible to charge Freeman with the crime...