Southwest Missouri News

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Branson|ret||ret||tab|

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Skaggs announces new doctors|ret||ret||tab|

Two Springfield physicians have recently relocated their practices to Branson, according to press releases from Skaggs Community Health Center.|ret||ret||tab|

Daniel C. McKinney, MD, opened his Branson practice, Skaggs Pediatric Care in Ste. 312 of the Skaggs Outpatient Center, in June. According to Skaggs, McKinney is the Tri-Lakes area's only children's health care specialist.|ret||ret||tab|

Melvin O. Walker Jr., MD, moved his practice from Springfield Clinic to Skaggs Adult Medicine Associates. Walker is board-certified in internal medicine and holds a medical degree from the University of Iowa at Iowa City.|ret||ret||tab|

Skaggs Adult Medicine Associates is located in Ste. 301 of the Skaggs Outpatient Center. |ret||ret||tab|

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Carthage|ret||ret||tab|

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Leggett & Platt rating reduced|ret||ret||tab|

On July 2, Goldman Sachs cut its rating on Leggett & Platt Inc. to "market perform" from "market outperform," citing the engineering products maker's valuation and stating that its second-half earnings are at risk.|ret||ret||tab|

Analyst Christopher Winham wrote, "Since January, LEG has outperformed by over 20 percent, but we think the difficult external environment will limit near-term outperformance."|ret||ret||tab|

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Joplin|ret||ret||tab|

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Best Buy leases new store|ret||ret||tab|

Best Buy Company Inc., has announced that it has signed a lease on its new store in Joplin. |ret||ret||tab|

Scheduled to open in the fall, the store will be located at 3117 Turkey Creek Blvd. It will be the 11th Best Buy store in Missouri. |ret||ret||tab|

The 30,000 square-foot store will feature a broad selection of name brand products. |ret||ret||tab|

The store will employ approximately 90 to 100 full- and part-time employees in cashier, customer service, noncommissioned sales and management positions.|ret||ret||tab|

Best Buy is the nation's leading specialty retailer of consumer electronics, personal computers, appliances and entertainment software.|ret||ret||tab|

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Tavern sponsors benefit|ret||ret||tab|

The Southside Tavern sponsored a March of Dimes "Bikers for Babies" benefit July 7.|ret||ret||tab|

The tavern donated a portion of its profits for the day to Bikers for Babies. Bikers for Babies raises money to prevent birth defects. |ret||ret||tab|

More than 100 motorcyclists participated in the ride.|ret||ret||tab|

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State Line Power Plant on line|ret||ret||tab|

Joplin-based Empire District Electric Company and Westar Generating Inc., a subsidiary of Western Resources, this week announced that the combined cycle unit at the State Line Power Plant has operated at full capacity and is ready to supply power this summer.|ret||ret||tab|

A news release from EDE said the State Line Power Plant is located on State Line Road between Joplin and Ga-lena, Kan. |ret||ret||tab|

The combined cycle unit was built in partnership with Westar Generating Inc. of Topeka, Kan., with Empire owning a 60 percent share and serving as the operator.|ret||ret||tab|

Construction of the combined cycle unit began in the fall of 1999. The plant uses a 150-megawatt combustion turbine installed in 1997, as well as a new 150-megawatt combustion turbine to provide steam to a 200-megawatt steam turbine, to produce a combined total output of 500 megawatts.|ret||ret||tab|

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Mount Vernon|ret||ret||tab|

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Super 8 receives chain award|ret||ret||tab|

Mount Vernon's Super 8 Motel has been awarded "The Pride of Super 8" status by Super 8 Motels Inc. To qualify, a motel must have achieved a quality assurance score of "excellent" for the quarter.|ret||ret||tab|

The motel chain inspects its franchised properties quarterly for cleanliness, services and quality by examining rooms, guest comment cards, health codes and property appearance.|ret||ret||tab|

Since opening in June 2000, the motel has earned a perfect housekeeping score for three of four quarters.|ret||ret||tab|

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Twin Oaks adds 15 positions|ret||ret||tab|

Fifteen new jobs have been created as the result of the expansion of Twin Oaks Custom Cabinetry Inc.|ret||ret||tab|

The company, which is owned by Tommy and Beverly Lake, recently completed a 45,000 square-foot manufacturing plant along with 6,400 square-feet in showroom and offices.|ret||ret||tab|

The company expects to expand its work force by approximately 15 people, employing between 50 and 55 employees within the next 12 to 15 months.[[In-content Ad]]