Programming note

It appears Route 66 News was down for more than an hour on Thursday night. The hosting service, WordPress.com, suffered a systemwide outage, taking 10 million sites -- including this one -- with it. However, it appears the problem has been fixed, and no data has been lost.

Fire kills man in former Route 66 motel

A man died in a fire Wednesday at a former motel along the Kearney Street alignment of Route 66 in Springfield, Mo., according to news reports. James Martin Steffens, 51, died as a result of smoke inhalation. According to the Springfield News-Leader, the fire was caused by careless smoking in his room at the Rancho … Continue reading Fire kills man in former Route 66 motel

Webb City works on visitors center

Here's the work being done on the interior of the future Route 66 Visitors Center in downtown Webb City, Mo., that's going in an old gas station on Route 66. The building is on Main and Broadway. The old gas station also will be home to the city's chamber of commerce. (Photos courtesy of Ron … Continue reading Webb City works on visitors center