Latest news with #KenMcClure
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
McClure's ton leads Bexley to victory over St Lawrence
Ken McClure scored his first Kent League Premier Division century to help Bexley beat St Lawrence and Highland Court at home. Having won the toss, the visitors may have had the weather in mind when they asked Bexley to bat first. Although the hosts were missing a potential three of their first four in the batting order, they made light of the absentees. Ellis Daly went early but overseas professional McClure joined Calum Basey and they took the score on to 71 before Basey fell four short of his half century in the seventeenth over. Accurate bowling by former Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens, Thomas Copestake and John Grewar then strangled Bexley's middle order and at 124 for 4 from from 37 overs, they had work to do. However, McClure was still there and was joined by George Haley and they scored 74 from the next ten overs before the latter fell for 35 from 32 balls. McClure went on to complete his hundred before falling for 101 in the penultimate over. Twelve runs off the final over took the Bexley score to 236 for 7. Grewar ended with figures of 3 for 26 and Siddarthsinh Parmar 2 for 59. It was then the turn of Harry Dowling and Fraser McWhinnie to put pressure on the St Lawrence top order. The former bowled a superb tight spell forcing the openers to take risks against the latter and the club's leading wicket taker this season claimed the scalps of Dan Stickels, Shineyu Anand and Will Hilton. After Syan Bulathinsatha had struggled initially, he started to look dangerous only to be run out by a Matt Stiddard direct hit for 29. Stevens was stumped brilliantly down the leg-side by Ben Aldred off the bowling of Oliver Smith before Ellis Daly wrapped up the lower order, leaving Grewar stranded on 25 not out. McWhinnie ended with 3 for 27 and Daly 3 for 23. Although Dowling finished wicket-less, his seven overs only yielded nine runs as the visitors were bowled out for 123, 113 runs shy of their target. Victory took Bexley up to third place in the early season table, one point behind Tunbridge Wells, and twelve behind Hayes, the only team to have won all three of their league matches so far.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Sac County sheriff retiring after 37 years in law enforcement
SAC CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — One northwest Iowa county sheriff will be hanging up his badge in less than two months. Sac County Sheriff Ken McClure said in a Facebook post that he's retiring on June 26. He spent 37 years in law enforcement. Hundreds take part at 31st annual Whitey Thompson Hike-Bike-a-thon in Ida Grove McClure said he's committed to a smooth and seamless transition and will work closely with the incoming leadership to make sure the service and integrity will continue uninterrupted. McClure said in part, 'Though I will no longer be wearing the badge, I remain committed to the future of this community and will continue to support the work of the sheriff's office in any way I can.' McClure added the county needs to have their nearly 90-year-old jail facility replaced. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SGF Mayor reflects on time in office, highs and lows, and city's future
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Springfield Mayor Ken McClure isn't sure if emotions will get the best of him when his final days as mayor are over. One thing he's sure of is that he's ready to focus on his next chapter. 'I'm ready to be done. I'm grateful for the opportunity, the honor of a lifetime, but it takes a toll on you physically and mentally,' McClure said. 'I've been in office eight years as mayor, it's time.' Elected in 2017, McClure says their focus was on tax issues to improve various departments in the Queen City. 'The purpose of that was to deal with some very real public safety problems we had made for two new fire stations. We were not able to fund those. We went to the voters and said, we need your approval, we can do this, and that was the real key,' McClure said. 'We were able to add to that with renewals again for our quarter rates for capital approval, tax, transportation and taxes. We were able to extend those which had been three and four years at a time to 20 years to allow us to go out and do longer term projects without having to splice them up in the various segments.' Then, 2020 happened. 'That was something that certainly no one anticipated, but no one anticipated the depth of the impact that it was going to have. We declared a state of civil emergency. I read the city code, and once that happens, that responsibility falls on the mayor and the things that I had to do, I never dreamed would be something with which I would be faced,' McClure said. 'I'm so proud of the way the city stepped up those who were wanting to protect, those who were wanting to express their views, those who were wanting to protect them, and everyone did their job. That was a tough time. 2021, we were the hotspot in the nation for the Delta Variant. People were calling us all the time on national media. I went on Face The Nation on one Sunday morning to talk about where we are, and my advice was, 'be prepared for this because it's coming, make sure that you get your vaccination plans out.' In 2023, McClure was on the Council for one of the largest purchases in city history: Hammons Field. 'We were faced with a very real possibility that the Springfield Cardinals were going to leave. We had to do something with Hammons. I like to say that I was tied up with the Hammons' bankruptcy, and I tell people I learned more about bankruptcy law than I ever cared to know.' McClure said. 'We finally got where we needed to be signed, a long term lease with the Cardinals, and we were able to purchase Hammonds Field, and I think that's going very well, both for the city and for the team. We're grateful for that. McClure says they were able to get more done in his last years in office. 'We got a comprehensive plan done, got our housing study done, where we're looking at how best to deal with housing needs,' McClure said. 'Those are areas that we had some highlights and the new capital last November with the voter approval on the three quarters and sales tax. No tax increase, but it recognized the obligation that we have for police, fire, pension fund, but also the fact that we've got several opportunities to implement our comprehensive plan, and the voters, 63% of them said, yes, we want to do that.' The mayor says there's been a fair share of stress in the volunteer role. 'It was a stressful time, but the stress came up until you weighed what you have to do. Once I made the decision, I was fine with that. The stress came in weighing all the pros and cons, but I want to say this. We have a united Council, nine members counting myself, and we're on the same page. I want to give credit to all of my colleagues on there; One for being supportive. Secondly, voicing their support, and then third, standing behind their decision, and that really made it easier for me,' McClure said. 'I remember telling some folks in 2020, I will do what I need to do, but there's no way I could win another term as mayor. I was willing to do that. You do what you have to do for the community and well, if I did end up costing me an election in 2021, so be it, but the stress came in weighing all the consequences and the pros and the cons. Typically, once I make a decision, I'm at peace.' McClure, like many, agrees that hindsight is 20/20 and Ozarks First asked him if there was anything he would have changed over his last eight years. 'I would only take one vote back. Of all the votes I can, and that was when we had the request in front of city council to take the property to the extreme southern end of a national and sunshine. There was a request from a couple to turn that into a grandpa's house, simliar like a Ronald McDonald house, for people who had patients at Mercy and the neighborhood was very, very opposed to that. We ended up as a council voted 9-0 and killed it. I was one of the nine. I think had we approved that, much of the controversy you see now would not be there,' McClure said. McClure says zoning and disputes between neighborhoods and developers may never go away, but there needs to be a solution. 'They are contentious and both sides need to be heard and be listened to. You need to try to meet their objectives. I believe sometimes it's easier done than others. Most of our rezoning cases for approved by unanimous vote in council and planning and zoning. So you talking about really, the ones that are the most controversial ones but I look at these issues as really growing pains that the city has. We're at 170,000 plus, the third largest city in the state. We're going to continue to grow. Our metropolitan statistical area is the fastest growing one in the city,' McClure said 'These are growing pains and I still feel that in spite of a lot of positive input for growth and high growth element in this community, and some people do not want to grow, I think we have to grow. We do not grow, we're going to go into a death spiral. As you look forward to that in the next few months and years, I think the community is going to have to wrestle with that if we want to grow or do we want to say, no, we're satisfied with where we are.' The two running for McClure's seat, Jeff Schrag and Mary Collette have both said to an extent, they're encouraged by development on a local level. 'I know both of the candidates well and that makes me feel good that we'll be headed in the right direction. I think the job for the successful candidate is going to be to manage all of that debate, all of that discussion that goes on, and you have to be you have to be willing to listen to folks and hear what their concerns are,' McClure said. 'Sometimes you can address them, sometimes you can handle problems. Many times you can't address them in the way that they would like, but managing all of that is key. It's a challenge.' One issue McClure won't have to deal with is any potential impacts from newly imposed tariffs from President Donald Trump, but he's hopeful there's no negative impact at all. 'That will be a challenge that I've had not had to face. I'm trying to follow news reports like everyone else on the tariffs and the impact that they have. We saw what happened with the stock market Thursday, Friday of last week. I think somebody said $4 trillion of wealth was lost and conveyed how the tariffs will impact us,' McClure said. 'We are on the cusp of a lot of good things happening with manufacturing coming in, business is coming in, and we're looking at how best to implement a comprehensive plan. I do worry about that and that's a challenge. I am very optimistic about the future of Springfield. My advice right now is to keep your powder dry. Wait to see how it all plays out and make sure that when you act, that you act accordingly.' OzarksFirst asked McClure if he had any advice for whoever wins Tuesday's election. 'If I can be of help to my successor, I'm more than willing to do that, but they need the time to get themselves acclimated and have a new direction, and I intend to give them my full support and be of help which I can. My best advice to them and learn the lay of the land and just see how things are structured. You have to get to work. You have to work with the council and the mayor is just one of nine members,' McClure said. 'We've got a great city staff, we've got a great set of resources in our community, We've got a great field of collaborators within our community. We've got to be able to capitalize on that, and so the next mayor will have a lot of resources.' McClure says it's been a fulfilling eight years. 'I've been honored to serve the city. A lot of people say it's bittersweet and I know there's no bitter about it. It's sweet for me to be able to do this,' McClure said. 'I would do it all again. But I'm glad I don't have to do it again. The still-current Mayor says he has no plans, except what he keeps telling his grandson. On April 22, he'll have a good breakfast, maybe make some coffee, and if the weather's nice, maybe sit outside for a bit. 'I feel good about my time, and I feel proud of that. I'm grateful for the support,' McClure said. 'I'm just grateful for the community giving me the opportunity. It's something I never would have dreamed that they wanted me [to do].' Springfield's next mayor will be sworn in on April 21. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Springfield unites to beautify historic district with Clean Green
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The City of Springfield is kicking off the 5th year of the Clean Green Springfield Initiative with the annual C-Street Mulch Madness. Commercial Street residents are teaming up with the City and public works to spread mulch in the landscaping along the historic street. Commercial street business owners and residents came out this morning from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. to help spread mulch in the landscaping up in the historic neighborhood. Springfield Mayor Ken McClure said in his remarks this morning that Clean Green Springfield fits right in with his challenge for Springfield citizens to be focused on a cleaner Springfield throughout 2025. 'Even after this initiative is over,' said Kristen Milam communications coordinator with the City of Springfield. 'We want people to stay engaged and kind of pay attention so we can really just continue this effort throughout the year.' One Commercial Street resident says she takes pride in being a part of the commercial street community. 'This is my neighborhood. So it's important to me that things work well, that people work well together,' said Christine Schilling who lives on Commercial Street. 'So when something like this happens and there's a community event, especially one that's supported by the city, I'm going to be right in there pitching in, pitching in literally with my pitchfork.' There are multiple opportunities to take part in Clean Green Springfield and the Mayor's Challenge including roadway and stream clean-ups, the Point of Pride Kansas Expressway Cleanup Event, the Neat Neighbors competition, and more. You can find more information by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Springfield City Council could vote to allow towing cars with expired tags
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — At its meeting tonight, Springfield City Council could vote on a bill that would allow the city to tow and impound vehicles with missing, invalid or expired temp tags. Council Bill 2025-035, sponsored by Mayor Ken McClure and Councilman Craig Hosmer and introduced at the council's Feb. 10 meeting, adds language that gives the City of Springfield the authority to impound vehicles 'whenever a vehicle cannot be legally operated on the roadway due to missing, invalid, or expired license plates or registration tabs as required by the laws of this state.' The current code allows the police department to remove a vehicle from the street or public places for a few reasons, including: If the vehicle is left on a bridge, viaduct, causeway or in a tunnel where it blocks traffic If a vehicle is disabled, can't be moved and is obstructing traffic, and the driver is injured and unable to remove it If a vehicle is left unattended, is parked illegally and constitutes a traffic hazard or obstruction for more than 48 consecutive hours If a driver is arrested or detained by law enforcement and the arrest would leave the vehicle behind If a vehicle is parked on city-owned property for longer than lawfully permitted If a vehicle is found unattended on city property not designated for parking To register a vehicle or update your tags, you must present a receipt showing your property taxes are paid. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Proposed ordinance would let Springfield Police Department tow cars with expired tags According to Hosmer, nearly 9,000 personal property accounts haven't been paid for more than two years, which accounts for over $3 million in tax revenue. He also said 47% of vehicles in Greene County are improperly registered, and McClure said that adds up to a lot of tax revenue that community colleges, road funds and the Springfield-Greene County Library District are missing out on. The Springfield Police Department (SPD) has said it will have an educational period to help spread the word to drivers and give them an opportunity to get in compliance before officers start enforcement. Critics of the bill say those with financial hardships could face even more setbacks if required to pay towing and impound fees on top of insurance, property taxes and tags. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
