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Like clockwork: Daylight Saving Time returns, Spring is on the Horizon, and Thursday Third returns to Joplin

KRPS | By Fred Fletcher-Fierro
Published March 11, 2023 at 4:08 PM CST

Downtown Joplin Alliance launches its 16th season of Third Thursday later this week. The event is also the unofficial kickoff to Joplin's 150th birthday celebration; events are scheduled later this month and will run throughout the summer.

Spring is in the air, and with the clock skipping ahead one hour yesterday, that means more daylight and the return of Third Thursday in downtown Joplin later this week. KRPS's Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

The Downtown Joplin Alliance's monthly hosting of Third Thursday is a sure sign of the changing seasons in southwest Missouri. It's the 16th season of the event, and the theme for this month is Go Green, with a selfie booth and information about recycling dropoff locations in Joplin.

This season's first live musical act is Joplin, MO-based folk singer, multi-instrumentalist, and esoteric groover Vagabond Grove at 5:30. The second act, Thursday night at 7:30, Higher Ed, composed of Missouri Southern faculty playing cover songs and several originals in the rock and blues genre.

Also, this month there will be Hot Air Balloon Demonstrations, the vintage car cruise in the 100 block, and an Artisan Market in the 500 block of Joplin's Main Street.

And if you've been avoiding getting a COVID-19 shot or booster, the Joplin Health Department will be set up inside of City Hall, providing free shots. Third Thursday is held from 5:30 to 8:30 pm March through October. For 89 9 KRPS News, I'm Fred Fletcher-Fierro
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Missouri news JoplinCommunity Event
Fred Fletcher-Fierro
Since 2017 Fred Fletcher-Fierro has driven up Highway 171 through thunderstorms, downpours, snow, and ice storms to host KRPS’s Morning Edition. He’s also a daily reporter for the station, covering city government, elections, public safety, arts, entertainment, culture, sports and more. Fred has also spearheaded and overseen a sea change in programming for KRPS from a legacy classical station to one that airs a balance of classical, news, jazz, and cultural programming that better reflects the diverse audience of the Four States. For over two months in the fall of 2022 he worked remotely with NPR staff to relaunch krps.org to an NPR style news and information website.

In the fall of 2023 Fred was promoted to Interim General Manager and was appointed GM in Feburary of 2024.
See stories by Fred Fletcher-Fierro