News briefs from around the region

OZARKS REGIONAL YMCA BEGINS NATIONAL SEARCH FOR CEO (SUBMITTED) – Ozarks Regional YMCA is searching for a new CEO as current CEO Patricia Meinhold prepares to retire. The organization has a 138-year history, nearly 20,000 members and multiple branches, and the next CEO will be able to build on that foundation. The CEO search is being conducted in partnership with YMCA of the USA and is expected to take three to four months.

MODOT PROVIDES UPDATES ON HIGHWAY SPEEDS (SUBMITTED) – With the new law permitting the increase of rural highway speed limits to 75 mph approaches, the Missouri Department of Transportation is evaluating eligible roadways for safety. MoDOT considers traffic volumes, truck volumes, crash history, terrain, road design, existing speed limits of border states in eligible areas near the state line, and active construction zones.

MODOT roundabout project takes top honors in regional contest (submitted) – The Missouri Department of Transportation’s roundabout project at Missouri 13/U.S. Route 160/Missouri 248 in Stone County received a first-place finish in the 2026 America’s Transportation Awards. The project was awarded in the “safety” category for small projects. Faced with nearly double the traffic volume as it had when originally built, the Missouri Route 13/U.S. Route 160/Missouri Route 248 intersection was experiencing an unusually high rate of severe crashes. The project – completed in 2025 – replaced the intersection with a roundabout to improve safety and traffic flow for the roughly 12,000 daily users. This project will now vie for two national honors in the awards program. Winners will be revealed in November 2026.