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Community Connections Polk County Announces Grant Recipients, Awarding $20,000 to Local Nonprofits and Schools
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Cherokee on the Museum Grounds!
Nashville recording artists Karli & James will share their distinct blend of pure country music and indie rock at the Bolivar Rotary Club’s 46th annual Celebration of Freedom on Saturday, July 4, on the Southwest Baptist University campus in Bolivar.
Karli & James headlining Bolivar’s Celebration of Freedom July 4
Ethan Bailey reaches low for the shot in his win against Lebanon.

Liberator Tennis Racks Up Wins

The 2025 boys tennis season closed last spring with the Liberators earning a third place rank in their fifth consecutive State Final Four tournament and finishing with a 24-1 season record, falling only to the returning champions from Clayton in the state semifinal round. Graduating half of the 2025 state team, including individual state medalists Cy Douglas, Brody Campbell and Brody Ingold, the Liberators drew from a deep roster and reloaded for another run this spring. Looking to continue the program’s success, the 2026 squad is quickly tallying wins with a 5-0 start in team play and medal winning finishes in their first two early season doubles tournaments.
First place winner, Polk County Health Center. STAFF PHOTOS/LINDA SIMMONS

Santa’s Soundtrack - brings holiday cheer to town

Saturday, Dec. 6, the annual Bolivar Area Chamber of Commerce Christmas parade brought a huge crowd to the streets of Bolivar. Making their way from the SBU campus through the square were beautiful floats, bands, vehicles of all sizes and horses, and of course, Santa Claus!
The streets of Bolivar come alive each year as community members and visitors gather to watch the annual nighttime parade and check out local shops and restaurants.

Kicking off the holiday season

Registration open for Bolivar’s “Santa’s Soundtrack” Christmas Parade
STAFF PHOTOS/LINDA SIMMONS

Kicking off the holiday season

Friday, Nov. 7, the Downtown Business Association hosted their annual Christmas tree lighting on the Bolivar square. Even though the temperatures were not what one would expect at Christmas, the square was filled with the joy and excitement of the season. Santa was available for the kids to visit with, the Polk County Christian School bell ringers performed, Bolivar’s jazz band performed and JROTC presented the colors. Everyone (that was up for it), had the opportunity to do a little ice skating, as well as enjoy some S’more’s at the fire pit managed by members of the Bolivar Fire Department. All in all it was the perfect way to kick off the holiday season.
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Wednesday, June 10, 2026

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Election

Petition Signing - Dec. 2

The Polk County Democrats are hosting a petition signing event on Tuesday December 2, at the Polk County Library, 1690 W Broadway, Bolivar, Missouri. It will be located in the McDaniel room. There will be representatives from Polk, Dade, Cedar and Hickory counties to help you with the process.

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News

City of Bolivar to celebrate 250th anniversary of United States' independence with time capsule, lecture series

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In honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this Fourth of July, the City of Bolivar is partnering with Butler Funeral Home to place a monument and time …
Sarah Johnson proudly cuts the ribbon at the event, Tuesday, May 26.

Celebrating Polk County Central Dispatch

Tuesday, May 26, the Polk County Central Dispatch facility celebrated the grand opening of the new state-of-the-art facility that has been years in the making. “This moment represents far more …
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OakStar Bank celebrates new Bolivar location

The Bolivar Area Chamber of Commerce, along with community members, celebrated OakStar Bank’s grand opening and ribbon cutting on Thursday, May 21, at its new location at 2000 S. Springfield …
Front row left to right: John Benge, Jacob Coker, Landon Mumm, Damien Latimer, Gabriel Smith, Ellie Macken, Elizabeth Coker. Back row left to right: Noah Sayler, Ryan Myers, Tyler Myers, Josh Macken, Shaun Coker, Kristen Macken, Nathan Sayler, Aubrey Macken, Hattie Wilson.

Honor and respect

Members of the local Boy Scouts recently spent time honoring American’s fallen heroes by placing flags at area cemeteries ahead of Memorial Day. The Scouts carefully lined gravesites with American …
Colton Ingold gets to the corner for the shot against Clayton.

Six Straight for Liberator Tennis

For the sixth straight year, the Liberators played tennis on the final day of the MSHSAA Class 1 boys spring season, capping off a postseason packed with wins. In a second consecutive season, the …
The Lady Liberators are all smiles as they celebrate senior night together in the rain before a cold and wet contest with Logan Rogersville.

Staying Tough Together

The 2026 soccer season closed last week for the Lady Liberators in Class 3 District 5 semifinals. A season marked with consistent challenges, Bolivar fought for the success they found this spring and …

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Sports

Ransom, Saner Earn All-American Honors

 CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
This past week, two Bearcat football members were named to the Don Hansen NCAA DII All-American team. Senior wide receiver Kamau Ransom and sophomore defensive lineman Caleb Saner both earned Honorable Mention Awards.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

More Than a Game: SBU Creates Lasting Memories for Bolivar Schools

The yellow school buses lined up outside the Meyer Wellness Center Dec. 18, their doors swinging open as wave after wave of excited students from Bolivar schools poured out. It was Kids Day at the SBU Bearcats women’s basketball game, and more than 700 kids filled the stands with laughter and boundless energy.
Wyatt Bliss contributes points to the Liberator's torrid attack. STAFF PHOTOS/BOB CAMPBELL

Liberators attack the Blue and Gold

The Bolivar Liberators, after an amazing run last year in the Blue and Gold Basketball Tournament in Springfield, returned Friday, Dec. 26.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MDC announces regulation changes for spring turkey hunting

Nonresident hunters will only be allowed one bird, nonresident landowners will still have a harvest limit of two bearded birds, and youth hunters can harvest a second bird earlier.
Colton Ingold forces the Jaguar defense to collapse. STAFF PHOTOS/BOB CAMPBELL

Jaguars claw the Liberators late 52-50

Blue West rode across the state line for a Friday-Saturday pair of matchups in Missouri. They beat a solid matchup in Republic on Friday and rolled into Bolivar for an afternoon game.
Susana Crispin Bradshaw races a 50 free in Webb City. STAFF PHOTOS/LINDA SIMMONS

Experience Powers Progress for Liberator Swim

The swimming Liberators are diving into a new season and making quick progress in the pool. With early season state consideration times in two relay events and multiple top three finishes in individual events at each meet, Head Coach Kyle Smith’s swimmers are pacing for more program success this season. Smith recognizes the leadership from a strong core of experienced seniors and upperclassmen as a driving force behind early season success.
Kami Bryan scores down low. STAFF PHOTOS/BOB CAMPBELL

Broncos broken by Lady Liberators 71-32

The 6A Lee Summit North Lady Broncos galloped to Bolivar to take on the 4A Lady Liberators Tuesday Dec. 16 in basketball action.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Women's Soccer Coaching Hire

SBU Director of Athletics, Clark Sheehy, is excited to announce Debbie Pekel as the next head women’s soccer coach.

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Basketball
Coach Robby Hoegh directed his Liberators to his 300th win. Son of a Hall of Fame Iowa high school coach, he is carrying on the tradition very well. STAFF PHOTOS/BOB CAMPBELL

Tigers fall 80-44, give coach Robby Hoegh 300th win ​

The Versailles Tigers moved last season to strengthen their basketball season by scheduling the Liberators. The previous two seasons, they have gotten what they wanted. A tough loss at home last season, and this season was no different.

Stop dragging your past into your present’ What is gone is gone. No regret can rewrite it.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Over 50 years and 100 games later, the epic Hwy 13 rivalry continues. The Drury men’s and women’s basketball team travels 27 miles up Hwy 13 for a battle on the hardwood in the Meyer Sports Center. With games starting at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1, Drury and SBU basketball programs are looking to give the Bearcats and Panthers faithful another entertaining edition of this rivalry.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The SBU men’s basketball team ended their opening weekend of play with a win over Ohio Dominican University. Holding the lead for the majority of the second half, they finished with a narrow 56-54 win moving to 1-1 on the season.
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SBU Basketball is excited to host their annual meet the players night on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. This event is for all to come meet the 2025-26 men’s and women’s basketball teams, and will take place in the IM gym at the SBU Meyer Wellness Center.

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Opinion
A columnist gets to know her competition
Angela Jo Hamilton (1971-1991) with “Blue” in 1976.
Today, Dec. 31, is the last day of 2025, a fitting time to remember loved ones we have lost. Likewise, tomorrow is a time for starting anew while honoring, rather than dismissing, the loves of our past.
The finder of missing things
Poster Credit IMDB.
Back in 2019, brothers Benny and Josh Safdie delivered one of the best films of the year, and possibly the decade, with “Uncut Gems.” The film was, as I wrote in a review earlier this year, “a 135-minute anxiety attack.” And I mean that in the best possible way – I have enormous amounts of respect for movies and filmmakers that know just how to push my buttons. Now in 2025, the Safdie brothers have graduated to solo projects. Benny didn’t fare too well with “The Smashing Machine” (whose review I quoted earlier), though Dwayne Johnson did earn a surprise Golden Globe nomination for playing MMA fighter Mark Kerr, so maybe there’s some life in that film after all. But Josh has found both commercial and critical success with his new film “Marty Supreme,” and he did it by sticking with what works.
I sat in on a Sunday evening service a few weeks back in which the preacher offered suggestions on how to better read the Bible.

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School

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Business
Carol Poindexter and Tim Scott.
For 30 years Lady Justice’s sword has been leaning in a corner in the storage room in the Polk County courthouse. It is believed that the sword fell from atop the courthouse in the early 1990s. …
Susan L. Esser
INSIDE TODAY’S ISSUE
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Susan Lorraine Esser
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Paul Wain Jones

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