From left, Springfield businessmen and two of the Care to Learn Fund founders Jim D. Morris and Doug Pitt hold a $50,000 check – a donation from Wal-Mart, represented by Springfield Market Manager Skip Tinney.

Wal-Mart donates to Care to Learn Fund
Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club this morning donated $50,000 to the Care to Learn Fund, created about two months ago to support the basic needs of Springfield Public Schools students.

Habitat, Drury to celebrate sustainable housing project
An open house is scheduled for Friday afternoon in front of the recently completed sustainable home in Habitat for Humanity of Springfield’s Legacy Trails subdivision.

Downtown Heer’s Car Park opens today
For downtown Springfield drivers looking for parking spots out of the rain, the Heer’s Car Park officially opened today.

MoDOT adds new local projects to five-year plan
Three southwest Missouri jobs are among a batch of new transportation projects that have been added to the Missouri Department of Transportation’s proposed 2009–2013 program.

Paul Mueller declares quarterly dividend
Paul Mueller Co. on May 5 declared a second-quarter dividend of 60 cents per share.

Convoy of Hope aids victims of local tornadoes, Myanmar cyclone
Convoy of Hope has positioned personnel and supplies to areas devastated by tornadoes last weekend and in Bangkok, Thailand, where it can distribute aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar.

Sunnyland Tours acquires travel agency
Springfield escorted-tour company Sunnyland Tours Inc. has acquired Exec-U-Travel, a locally owned travel agency.

Great Southern writes off $35M ANB Financial loss
The recent failure of ANB Financial has forced Great Southern Bancorp to write off $35 million it loaned to the northwest Arkansas bank – a loss that is sure to be on shareholders’ minds at Great Southern’s annual meeting today in Springfield.

New site offers online trading for biodiesel, green products
BidForGreen, an arm of Crane-based renewable energy firm American Green Holdings Inc., has launched a Web site to connect buyers and sellers of alternative fuels and related products.

2007 Most Influential Women Honoree: Stephanie Ireland
Stephanie D. Ireland’s architecture skills go beyond designing brick-and-mortar structures. Ireland was a 2007 Most Influential Women honoree announced by SBJ last September. A new class of honorees will be announced Sept. 26.