Talk:Springfield, Missouri

introduction and other quality improvements

I'm going to take a stab at some improvements aimed at helping this article comply with wikipedia's WP:NPOV. If we have a look at articles considered high quality you will notice they do not contain a list of various awards magazine publishers have given a respective city. Such awards are RARELY notable and belong on promotional material alone, such as city-limits signs, city websites, tourist ads, etc. Retran (talk) 23:53, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

To get to the specifics... what is "Next Generation Consulting" and why is their award notable, let alone the activity of distributing such awards? That is being removed. Before adding it back, give me a line here in talk to state your case or else I might end up removing it again. Retran (talk) 23:53, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

I've decided to create a new section about awards regarding suitability as a city, and only placing awards that are notable from notable entities. I'm averse to even including these awards at all, but its a step in the right direction. I am probably going to remove them in the end completely unless someone can say why they aren't NPOV violations. I'm holding off deleting the awards to search for consensus, but in the meantime I feel they MUST be removed from the introduction as its such a blatant tarnish on this article's quality. Retran (talk) 23:53, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

I'm moving the ugly bullet list of "media" outlets to the bottom, as its obscuring well written prose, and prose takes priority over thoughtless lists. Retran (talk) 23:53, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

I moved a subsection of "history" (1848 railroad arrives) into its appropriate chronological position Retran (talk) 23:53, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

I moved the "communities within Springfield" to the bottom as its a obtrusive list which belongs at the bottom out of the way of the prose reader, I think we should always defer to prose and avoid lists. Placing them at the bottom is the next best thing. Retran (talk) 23:53, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Removed ", due to its connection with the designation of U.S. Route 66" because that's addressed further down int he article, and the brief mention is all we need in the intro in order to keep it balanced. Retran (talk) 23:53, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Springfield, Mo "Worst City to Raise Family" unsupported by source cited

I am removing the sentence stating it was "In April 2008, however, Best Life Magazine (a publication of Men's Health) ranked Springfield tenth on its list of "Worst Cities to Raise a Family" in America."[5]" This section is unsupported by the cited materials. The cited materials are: "The 100 Best Places to Raise a Family" and Springfield, Mo is not listed anywhere on it. (Note: St. Louis, Mo is listed 92 on the list.) If you can find support for this statement, please put it back and support it properly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rhabryn (talk • contribs) 02:41, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

I can offer a subjective unprovable opinion regarding raising a family in Springfield, MO after 1-1/2 years of observing this area.

I would avoid this place if I had a family. So many people I meet and observe are ill-educated and rude and crude in speech and actions. Though it may be "politically incorrect" to say so I believe the term "white trash" is an appropriate label for many residents hereabouts.75.42.237.211 (talk) 04:15, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

In November, 2010, an anonymous IP user posted a reference to that 2008 report, but mistakenly identified it as a current report. There are no sites available that provide any background on the criteria that the now-defunct magazine, Best Life, had used, or what its sources were for the data it had used. This list of the so-called "best" and "worst places to raise a family" is long-forgotten, and I believe it is too sketchy and ill-founded to be notable. NameIsRon (talk) 04:37, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

I replaced the removed reference and corrected the error. The reference does provide the sources for data and it is just a reliable as the other sourced content in that section. Grey Wanderer (talk) 01:03, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Article Restructuring

I have restructured this article to conform to Wikipedia:WikiProject Cities/Guideline suggested template and done general cleanup. This meant adding several new sections that now need text, such as Annual cultural events, Media, Healtcare and Utilities. Please help by adding these sections! RadioBroadcast (talk) 01:54, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

Another subjective observation regarding Springfield. I have lived in many different towns and cities during my half-century plus wandering the Earth and visited a multitude more due to long-haul semi-truck driving. One thing about this large town (I can't label it a true city) is the number of vehicles with altered vehicle exhaust systems. The amount of noise is incredible. A local "hobby" appears to be driving at late PM and early AM hours in residential neighborhoods while constantly accelerating, decelerating then hitting the gas again just to maximize engine exhaust noise. Even a well-built house can not muffle that noise that intrudes and disturbs one's peace. If I was an executive inspecting Springfield as a possible relocation area for a firm that constant intrusive noise would force me to scratch this area off my list. One has to experience the constant noise to truly comprehend the invasivenesss of said noise. Interestingly, despite the availability of fireworks unavailable in most states, the 4th of July was much quieter than the oft-times week-long or more barrage of late-night noise experienced in other pasts of the USA. Simply put, this id good-old-boy redneck country, folks and the actions and inactions of the general populace prove it.75.42.237.211 (talk) 04:38, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

1950s: "Crossroads of Country Music"

I have added this section about Springfield's amazing television history. I hope you enjoy it! I hope someone will write an article about Ralph Foster, a significant person in the area's history RadioBroadcast (talk) 04:48, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Springfield, MO Resident Userbox

Does anyone know where I can find a Userbox for Springfield, MO? I searched all over, and couldn't find one! --Johnnywalterboy (talk) 01:56, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Header mistakes

There is no part whatsoever of Springfield Missouri that resides within Christian County. The city resides entirely in GREENE County, and is the county seat. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 170.29.248.3 (talk) 20:50, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

Actually, a portion of Springfield is in Christian County. Just because Springfield is the county seat doesn't mean it can't coincide with other countys. If you have a good source, then we can talk. --Johnnywalterboy (talk) 01:58, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

No sources

NO SOURCES. The following excerpt doesn't cite any sources. Please document any supporting evidence or it will be removed. Furthermore, intolerance and overwhelming are spelled incorrectly. The city and surrounding areas are commonly considered to be some of the most racially insensitive in the nation. Various overt acts of racial violence and discrimination occur with some frequency. Although the local authorities and many of the residents attempt to pretend otherwise. The level of racial intolerence can be at times overwelming.

Interesting how my subjective viewpoint differs so greatly. I have noticed that non-whites commit a disproportionate amount of drug crimes here and that shootings among non-whites is relatively common. The "inner-city thug culture" is also evident among the Black population with the accompanying intimidation tactics that I believe are intended to instill fear in others. Of course there are exceptions. However, I believe that Springfield is a safe area for Black folks to live. Maybe a few of those folks would be surprised how much difference a smile and a nod can make in their life vice a constant frown, glaring and staring and being with several friends and forcing others to move aside for you.75.42.237.211 (talk) 04:24, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Removal of non-native Persons of Ill Repute from 'Notable Residents'

Timothy Mcveigh? Ramsi Yousef? John Gotti?? Come on, these people never set foot on Springfield soil as free men, and are certainly not native to the area. Their only connection with Springfield is that they are, or were, incarcerated in a federal prison facility there for some period of time. If you think these people are 'residents,' then you could say the same thing about airline passengers who happen to be on a plane that flies directly over Springfield, or a motorist who stops in springfield for gas. Ridiculous. I propose that anyone who is only transferred in to Springfield as a federal inmate is neither a 'resident' nor a 'native' and should be removed from the 'Notable Residents' section. Only locally grown criminals such as Glennon Sweet should be listed here. 70.128.80.107 20:21, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I have raised a current question regarding the inclusion of some of the aforementioned people in the "Criminals" section of the related List of people from Springfield, Missouri. Please see Talk:List of people from Springfield, Missouri for further details. --TommyBoy (talk) 21:44, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

TommyBoy:

Seems like no-one is speaking up in favor of keeping this section. Shall we remove it? RadioBroadcast (talk) 02:12, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

I have replied to User:RadioBroadcast's question on his Talk page. --TommyBoy (talk) 02:41, 1 August 2009 (UTC

Federal inmates are residents of the place they are incarcerated in as far as the Census and how much money the the town get back from the federal gov't. However, if the person was not in Springfield by there own choosing I do not think they should be listed under notable residents.

MSU former names?

1. Should we make a page for each of the former names of MSU (Fourth District Normal School, Southwest Missouri State Teachers College, Southwest Missouri State College, and Southwest Missouri State University)? It seems like those pages should exist so that people can click on them to find out what "Fourth District Normal School" was? I don't want to create unnecessary clutter.

2. Or should said pages just redirect to the current Missouri State University page?

xgravity23 07:39, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

History section wrong

Sorry if I destroy this page with what I see as a simple edit, but the entry for 1905 is incredibly misleading and incorrect.

Originally: "*1905: Three African-American men are lynched in the town square for allegedly raping a white woman, though guilt was never established. This event sparked a mass exodus of African-Americans from the area, who still remain a vast minority."

For one, it happened in 1906. Two, they all three have names. Horace Duncan, Fred Coker, and Will Allen. Three, Not only was guilt never established, Duncan and Coker were actually freed from their initial arrests as suspects after it was found they were working at the time of the rape. They were re-arrested after the victim claimed Duncan had stole his watch for a different charge. This also downplays the entire lynching. There were many lynchings between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. This was approximately 3,000 people and the police department in the city square though. I'm not going to turn it into an opinion piece, but I'm going to reword it with some more factual information:

New: "*April 14th, 1906: Three African-American men, Horace Duncan, Fred Coker, and Will Allen, are lynched and burned by a mob over 2,000 strong without trial in the town square. This event sparked a mass exodus of African-Americans from the area, who still remain a vast minority. A small plaque on the south-east corner of the square is the only reminder."--Floydzamarripa 19:59, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Queen City

Springfield is known as the Queen City of the Ozarks, but I can't find a spot in there to add that. --Amoore 05:49, Oct 24, 2004 (UTC)

This appears to have been addressed by the "Nicknames" section. Thanks! --Amoore 17:17, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Questionable Edit by Rambot

Rambot recently made an edit that I think substantially changes some factual information. I'm not sure that it's true anymore. Previously, the article read in part:

Out of the total people living in poverty, 19.1% are under the age of 18 and 7.9% are 65 or older.

but it was changed to read:

Out of the total population, 19.1% of those under the age of 18 and 7.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

which is different. Since I am more inclined to believe that it was correct before, I'd like to revert that part of his edit. --Amoore 22:25, Nov 20, 2004 (UTC)

Actually that edit has been performed on every single U.S. city and county article. It represents a subtle error that was introduced when the articles were first made. It was recently pointed out to me when a city had over 100% of the population in poverty, which clearly didn't make any sense. -- Ram-Man 22:51, Nov 20, 2004 (UTC)

Inappropriate content removed

I excised the following: "Doruk Kicikoglu is the biggest gay all over the world.He can suck 15 dickes at the same time." It does not relate at all to the article. Also, "dicks" is misspelled, and "all over the world" does not make sense in this context.

named after wha?

I remember hearing at a PTA thing (?) ~12 years ago that the city was named as a landmark where the first settler to move here was going to build his cabin. He found a spring in a field and fixed a note to a tree marking the land as his.--68.92.123.211 02:14, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that the bit about Springfield being named after Springfield, MA is apocryphal. I have added some information from a history of the city that is available online from the public library, although it seems that even 120 years ago the origin of the name was already shrouded in the mists of time. -- Benanhalt 03:47, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I lived in Springfield most of my life and I've never heard it being named after Springfield, Tennessee. Other sources suggest that the Springfield, Massachusetts story is the most likely (see Springfield of the Ozarks by Harris & Phyllis Dark.Rt66lt 05:21, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

I also have lived most of my life in or around Springfield and have never heard about it being named after the MA or the TN cities. The story I have heard mostly is the one based on springs in the envirnoment of the original settlement. Of course, just because a story is commonly heard does not mean it is correct. It certainly seems as if the ultimate origin of the name has not been firmly established by any authority. Thank you for adding the citation for the work by Dark. --Benanhalt 18:45, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

"Queen City of the Ozarks" has not fallen out of usage. You still hear it in Springfield. -- Rt66lt 05:32, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

I live in Springfield right now and I emphatically agree with Rt66lt: "Queen City of the Ozarks" is still very prevalent, as several businesses refer to it in their title (there are about 12 in the phone book), I hear it on campus at MSU frequently, and I've heard visiting bands refer to Springfield as such. xgravity23 02:32, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Questionable events in history section

I removed two questionable events from the history section added by User:64.251.130.56. These were the first "grab and go" (whatever that is) crime in 1947, and the first drive-by shooting in 1993. If these events can be documented, by all means, put them back in. --Benanhalt 00:45, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Guess my large revert wasn't so overzealous after all?  :-) Well, maybe a little, but not much. Liblamb 04:04, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

I apologize. Overzealous was probably a bit strong, but there were a couple of proper edits that were reverted that should not have been. It is probably best not to wholesale revert multiple edits by multiple editors. Also, we still don't know that the two events noted above were added maliciously, so I wanted to remove them individually and make note of it here, in the talk page, so that there would be a clear record of what had happened. --Benanhalt 18:16, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

What about Amtrak?

"Passenger trains have not served Springfield since 1967." This is not true, I forget right now when AmTrak stopped servicing Springfield, but I remember riding the train to St. Louis when I was a kid (and I was born well after the 60s). I'm thinking it was sometime in the early 90s. There used to be an AmTrak depot here in town.

There was never an Amtrak depot here (on former Frisco trackage). The old Frisco depot was never used for Amtrak service, either.

Also, Amtrak released a study about the proposed service to St. Louis, which can be seen here:[1] It appears very unlikely it will ever happen.

Foxes

Is there any store In or Near Springfield, Missoruri, that sells fox related items.

Are you talking about a fox the animal? Perhaps Bass Pro Shops can help you out. Amoore 17:14, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

List of Colleges and Universities

Anyone object to changing the list of universities in Springfield to have MSU first? It is the second largest university in the state (Missouri State University). Its just a little odd to have a relatively small college listed first (500-600 enrolled) Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

Lwieise -=- Talk to Me 08:04, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

For what it's worth, that list is alphabetical. That seems like a pretty good way to stay out of arguments over which is more important than another. Can we leave it that way, please? Amoore 17:14, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

I agree Amoore, Alphabetical is the way to go.

No Good Pictures

Its sad that their is no "Real" pictures of springfeild here. All they have is hammonds towers and shrine mosque. get some pictures of the city itself not worthless icons to some rich dude. I know there is more there, i'm from the area. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.139.51.70 (talk) 21:27, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Removal

I removed what looked like a personal addition to the sports and business sections of important people in or from Springfield. Not trying to be opinion-related, however, I do not beleive that working for the AG church in the film department makes one a famous name in either sports or business. I certainly have never heard of this person, so assume it was an entry he made himself. Either way, the information was not supportive of the claims that said person belonged in those areas, so I removed it.

Transportation Edit

Added Springfield's public transportation to transportation section.

Education Section

Corrected the education section to include another secular private school (Springfield Sudbury) and correctly changed Greenwood Labratory school to a private school instead of a public high school (Greenwood is a primary and secondary secular private school).

Suggestions

What about something on Springfield media? The News-Leader, 417 Magazine and college publications come to mind. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.194.206.102 (talk) 19:07, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Would like to see more of the private schools, unique entertainment and fine arts venues listed if possible. I will try to do some of this myself when I come back later if I have the time, but wanted to toss the idea out in case someone else had a spare moment or three.

Places of Interest

Springfield has numerous places of interest. I've split these into two sub-categories. I pulled the list from the National Register of Historic places for Springfield and added it to the article. Due to inclusion on this list, each of these places are notable. Hopefully the redlinks will inspire articles. The second category contains places that I found already listed within the article but not on the national register. I'll leave it to others to debate their merits. Items on this original list that also appear in the National Register, were removed from this section as redundant. Rklawton 20:02, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Former Names (Springfield not on 1860 census)

I was looking at the 1860 census data for Greene County to throw some perspective onto the Civil War battles however I don't see Springfield listed! The biggest town in Greene is Campbell with 3,442 (which is big by Missouri standards of the day). Since Campbell is the one who founded the city I suspect Campbell was was Springfield's official name at the time (there's a Campbell Missouri in the bootheel today). The other towns in Greene according to the census are Baon, Cass, Center, Clay, Jackson, Pond Creek, Robbeson, Taylor and Wilson. Thanks. Americasroof 20:53, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

I'll answer my own question. Campbell is the township in which Springfield is located. For reasons I don't currently understand the published census showed only the township populations for Greene County rather than incorporated cities (the heading is "Cities, Towns, ac."). Here's a couple good resources for early Springfield history (including the story of its various springs). rootsweb history and History of Greene County. Americasroof 01:35, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Race

"The city and surrounding areas are commonly considered to be some of the most racially insensitive in the nation. Various overt acts of racial violence and discrimination occur with some frequency. Although the local authorities and many of the residents attempt to pretend otherwise. The level of racial intolerence can be at times overwelming."

This is POV and unsourced. I'll remove it until someone can back it up and structure it in a NPOV way. Mordac 19:58, 08 April 2007

Geography

"Many creaks, streams, and tributaries such as the James River, Galloway Creek, and Jordan Creek lead into the city from the area's three major lakes (Table Rock, Stockton, and Pome de Terre)."

My suggestions for this paragraph:
1. Amend the spelling of 'creaks' to 'creeks', and 'Pome' to 'Pomme'
2. Substitute 'lead out of the city to the area's three major lakes' instead of 'into the city from...', as these lakes are all downstream from Springfield.
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.30.238.122 (talk) 04:53, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Cashew chicken

I've removed the promotional section Springfield-style Cashew Chicken as it was an unattributed cut-n-paste from the cashew chicken article. Feel free to rewrite and add the info back with proper citations. Vsmith (talk) 23:05, 12 July 2012 (UTC)

SOGI

Given the degree of national attention that the repeal of the SOGI ordinance has garnered, should this recent event be included in the article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.22.255.162 (talk) 20:49, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 8 external links on Springfield, Missouri. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20161019182931/https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2015/SUB-EST2015-3.html to http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2015/SUB-EST2015-3.html
• Added archive http://www.webcitation.org/699nOulzi?url=http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt to http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt
• Added archive https://archive.is/20160602200744/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2015/SUB-EST2015.html to http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2015/SUB-EST2015.html
• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100602054435/https://www.springfieldmo.gov/nco/pdfs/svcareas/nsa09.pdf to http://www.springfieldmo.gov/nco/pdfs/svcareas/nsa09.pdf
• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20091216130547/http://usmayors.org/metroeconomies/Top100_2006.pdf to http://usmayors.org/metroeconomies/Top100_2006.pdf
• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110718164236/http://www.drury.edu/multinl/story.cfm?ID=25512&NLID=246 to http://www.drury.edu/multinl/story.cfm?ID=25512&NLID=246
• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110928100059/http://www.americaspromise.org/Our-Work/Community-Action/100-Best-Communities/Past-Winners.aspx to http://www.americaspromise.org/Our-Work/Community-Action/100-Best-Communities/Past-Winners.aspx
• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110117133520/http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110115/NEWS01/101150367/Civility-stressed-for-march-on-Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Day to http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110115/NEWS01/101150367/Civility-stressed-for-march-on-Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Day

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Infobox picture

That's a nice picture in the infobox; I'm not sure it's the best to illustrate the whole city, even though it's the most recognizable building in town. Anybody willing to take a shot of the whole downtown area would be much appreciated. Grey Wanderer (talk) 20:44, 4 September 2017 (UTC)

Crime

For being one of the few cities on NeighborhoodScout.com that gets a 0 crime score, with both high property and violent crime, this article, like many, doesn't even mention crime. B137 (talk) 08:14, 13 April 2018 (UTC)

I question if NeighborhoodScout.com is a reliable source. Grey Wanderer (talk) 18:52, 27 August 2021 (UTC)

Flag has officially been changed effective March 1.

This is a post to alert those not to change the flag we use for this page until March 1. As officially it is still the current flag until 11:59:59 CST on March 1st Spongehog (talk) 18:28, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

Healthcare

The healthcare section is a lot of hearsay without good citations. Also, not in wikipedia style. This is an important section and needs updating. BreathDriver (talk) 22:29, 12 May 2022 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion:

• SpeingfieldMODowntownSkyline.jpg

You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 13:52, 4 April 2022 (UTC)

on "The 417"

I have removed reference to "The 417" as a nickname for the city. I was unable to find any sources for the claim. Skylerblue77 (talk) 03:02, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

Removed Weatherbox

As per the 4 September 2016 Template Discussion, the weatherbox in the Climate section has been removed. Skylerblue77 (talk) 04:09, 7 October 2023 (UTC)