September 11th, 2026 Local News
Iron Co., Mo. (KFMO) - Iron County officials say the road system in the western part of the county continues to face significant damage following the historic flooding in July.
Iron County Associate Commissioner for the Western District Joshua Campbell says residents in the Bixby, Goodland and Goodwater areas, as well as southern portions of the county, are seeing the effects of the flooding on local roads.
Campbell says the county's road crews are typically divided evenly between the southern and western portions of Iron County as they work to address the damage.
One of the challenges facing the county is a shortage of experienced Road Department employees. According to Campbell, four employees have retired during the past couple of years. Two of those employees had more than 35 years of service, while the other two had more than 15 years.
Campbell says the county had been operating four employees short until recently. Two new employees were hired two weeks ago, with another hired last week. The new workers are currently being trained and are expected to begin working independently soon.
Campbell acknowledges that some other roads and rights-of-way have not received as much attention as residents may expect. However, he says the immediate priority is placing road base on more than 24 miles of severely damaged roadways before winter brings additional freezing and thawing.
The county is also limited by the number of CDL truck drivers and trucks available to haul rock to damaged roads.
Campbell says the situation will continue until President Donald Trump signs the federal disaster declaration requested by Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe for southeast Missouri. Campbell is asking residents to contact Missouri's federal representatives and urge them to support the disaster declaration. Those representatives include Congressman Jason Smith, Senator Josh Hawley and Senator Eric Schmitt.
Meanwhile, Campbell says work is slowly beginning on rights-of-way throughout the county.
He said he recently used his own tractor and mower to mow streets in Belleview, along Banner Road to Highway 21 and approximately one mile outside Belleview on Banner Road. Campbell said he plans to continue mowing additional areas as time allows.
Campbell also thanked residents in western Iron County for their patience as crews continue dealing with the damage caused by what he described as a severe, "1,000-year flood."
"This will be a long rebuild process," Campbell said, while thanking residents for their understanding.