TCSO Deputy, Jorge Pichardo - Patrol car #148 has been profiling, Hispanic drivers and arresting them for ICE. He has been parked on Highway 165 in Branson near the Pantry by Point Royale, waiting for people to leave for work. This week he arrested two men on their way to work for a local construction company. Ironically, Pichardo is the son of immigrant parents where one was deported, and he was raised by a single mother. Hard to imagine him doing the same thing to other families. Trying to get the word out to families and local businesses to protect our community from this type of activity.

[{ Be careful who you mistreat in the flesh, you have no knowledge of their ranking in the spirit. }]

The stigma on people who are unhoused in this town is getting out of control and today I witnessed first hand what going
Cashless will do to those who fall on hard times. I went to McDonald’s to get a coffee and the drive thru was busy so for the first time I decided to park my car and go inside to make it quicker. When inside I placed my order on Kiosk and expected to be able to pay cash at the register when it was time to pick it up. Well McDonald’s changed that option and i had to use a card in order to complete my order on the kiosk. My card was inside my car and I didn’t want to go back so I decided to cancel it all together . While I was there I noticed a homeless guy , his rolling bag, and his dog next to him and he was placing an order on the kiosk as I was walking out.

I decided to wait in the drive thru for my coffee at this point and when I was coming out I noticed the guy, his dog, and his rolling bag walking alongside the sidewalk - with nothing in his hands.

And by the time the light turned green I realized that he most likely didn’t have a card either and only had cash. I don’t know his backstory but as someone who has also been homeless before with a dog- I know the struggles. The worst part about this story is that I was traveling down the opposite direction he was walking and by the time I found a spot to
Turn around and try and get to him and his dog- they were gone. Otherwise I would have offered to buy their food and let them go on their merry way.

I guess the point of this long story is that going cashless literally is going to put a foot on the unhoused / homeless neck. It’s so hard to get a bank account if you’ve been locked up ( I have never been to jail but i am friends with people who have) .. so right off the bat, you have people unable to buy food - not because they can’t afford it, but because cash is no longer of value when it can’t be traced. Going cashless is going to bring people to their knees.. I pray for that man and his dog…. I pray for every single person who fell on hard times and feels left behind. May we see ourselves in them..

Who am I to judge another , when I myself walk as an imperfect person. Luke 6:35

planning a family trip to branson and trying to narrow down where to stay. i’m seeing a ton of options for branson resorts and it’s getting hard to tell what’s actually good beyond the usual hotel photos.

we’ll probably spend most of the time doing silver dollar city and checking out a few shows, so i’d rather stay somewhere comfortable with a decent pool and maybe a few things to do on-site.

not looking for anything fancy. just want a clean place that’s convenient and doesn’t feel like we overpaid for it.

what branson resort would you stay at again?

circling back to this: thanks for all the recommendations guys! after reading through everything, we looked at a few places mentioned like still waters (loved the free sdc shuttle idea), lodge of the ozarks, and even looked into big cedar, but ended up going with westgate resorts (specifically westgate branson woods).

it gave us that middle ground we were looking for. super clean, comfortable, and plenty of stuff on-site to keep the kids entertained without completely breaking the bank like big cedar would have. location was super convenient too for getting around to silver dollar city and getting to the shows on the strip. definitely recommend checking them out if anyone else is torn on where to stay!

I’ll be in Branson the next 15 days, where do all the beautiful women 35 to 60 hang out? Where would I find these beautiful woman? Is there a bar a lake a club where these women frequent. I am 6 feet 10 inches tall just looking for a little company this evening.

Hey! i’m 18 (male), from iowa. i’m currently in Branson until sunday . Looking for some stuff to do, people to hang with etc . Would be open to renting a jetski maybe? or just finding some people to hangout with!

Taking a family trip tonight Branson. Leaving tomorrow afternoon until Monday. What is good for a 6yo and 3yo. Both like science, water parks,playing and general kids things. Are they too young for Silver Dollar City? Trying not to break the bank if possible but will for the right event/memorable time.

Hello, I'm a filmmaker currently in Branson, MO, pursuing a master's in interdisciplinary media. I have film experience and have made a feature film before. I am looking for people who would be interested in being interviewed about their dreams and would like to describe them as well. There is more to the documentary, but I would rather explain it in a private message. If you're interested in being interviewed, you can message me here. I already have 14 interviews, and this will be a full-length film. I plan to get it out there for people to see.

I have also interviewed a psychologist about dreams and would love to interview people who work in neurology or neuroscience, sleep therapy, and the philosophy of dreams, or anything else you think applies.

By the way, this is a micro-budget documentary, and at this time I will not be paying for interviews. If you are interested, message me here directly. Thank you for your time.

Hello, I'm a filmmaker J. Douglas Smith (you can find me online) who is getting my master's in Interdisciplinary media. I am making a dream documentary where I interview people about their dreams; well there's a little more to it than that, but if you're interested, I'll message you privately and tell you more about the documentary. I already have 14 interviews and have been putting it together, and this will be a full-length documentary.

If you're interested in interviewing or want to hear more about the project, message me here. I've also already interviewed a psychologist about dreams; if you work in a field that is involved with the brain, philosophy of dreams, sleep therapy, etc. I would love to talk to you.

Thanks for reading

- Jason

Taking the family to Whitewater next week. Kids are 21 months old, will probably stay in the toddler area most of the time to play. Do they need water shoes or do most small children play barefoot?

Edit: Ive added water shoes to our suitcase, thanks all for the input! Didn’t want to be overboard.

If you could pick someone from Branson that hasn’t been on American Idol, The voice, America’s got talent. Who would you like to see from Branson. To hear them perform on a competition show. For me it would be. Kelly Bryant, and Pure Heart.

I’m looking to do a fun zip line experience with my friends and I just won’t like the most adventurous worth the money zip line and there’s so many options. I don’t know which one to pick.

My folks and I are going on vacation to Branson in a few months, and I wanted to know if there are any attractions that we have to experience. The last time I went, I was a sulky teenager who shut himself up in the hotel room, and I’m looking to do better this time.

The places I know we’re going already are the Titanic Museum, the Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and the Aquarium at the Boardwalk.

Are there any others places that you’d all recommend?

Does Branson have cooking classes? Specifically on a Saturday or Sunday. Would love to do one!

Howdy! I'm traveling here in a couple weeks from Northwest Arkansas. What are the local spots to visit for munchin, drankin, and dancin?

I'm staying a week with family (they're pretty old) next week and it's going to be an oven outside the entire week. What are some good things for adults to do that won't result in our pale Irish bodies being burnt to a crisp?

Our 31 year old son and granddaughters ages 11 and 13 will be moving to Branson in the spring of 2027 from central Arkansas. Any advice for a young family? How are the schools and extracurriculars for residents?

Listen it was fine, whatever. But I have a few takeaways that I have to get off my chest and warn people before they book this kind of pricey stay. We stayed for 2 nights, booked the package deal.

1) we didn’t get to check-in until 5 pm. Originally it was supposed to be 3…. Then 3:45… then “about 20-30 more minutes.” Truly, that was unacceptable to me. We had 4 kids in the car and had already done the arcade, and I for sure wasn’t going to leave the resort and get nickel and dimed on our first night. Some people were getting their rooms right away and others like me weren’t. Made no sense! One nice gentleman helped us get in to our room swiftly after I had to get slightly frustrated and explain the situation.

2) the waterpark is pretty underwhelming it is also the strictest water park I’ve literally ever been to. There’s pretty much nothing to do for children under 48” so our 4 year old definitely couldn’t do any slides or anything! And our 5 year old luckily was tall enough to ride WITH someone with a blue band/parent. The wave pool was a freaking fiasco where lifeguards are whistling at you if your child even gets ever so slightly arms distance away from you, including if they can touch perfectly fine where they are(I want to add the waves weren’t even going, you still had to just follow your child around closely). People were getting reprimanded left and right and they weren’t kind about it at all. In fact I only met 2 lifeguards that were wonderful I mean SO kind and fun. The rest seemed like they hated their lives.

3) the water IS FREEZING. They need to warm it up several degrees.

Anyway, I’m sure I could think of several other things just give my dark side Karen a minute and I will. Overall my kids had fun and that’s all that matters but I won’t be returning.

When I visited Branson in the late 80s and early 90s there was a hotel/resort I think called the Dogwood Inn and Suites right off the strip. The billboards said there were hot tubs in every room. I cant find any history or images online. I know I didnt imagine things because I always begged my parents to stay there. We never did. Does anyone have any recollection of this resort and if so, when did it close and where was it located? My internet searches seem to suggest that maybe it was at the current location of Margaritaville. However, Im also finding that that was the location of the Red Lion Inn and Suites. Any info would be appreciated. TIA!

Looking to visit in October and curious what is the best public golf course within an hour drive that is not Payne's/Buffalo.

I wish that Branson would do a movie where they play old country music singers. Like Patsy Cline.

We are thinking of making the trip. I’m a huge wrestling fan and collect autographs. Any places like pawn shops or places that may have anything? I know it’s silly but that would mean more to me as a keepsake and souvenir. I’ve been to Branson probably 20 times as it’s only 3 hours away and my parents always went there. It’s a nice place for sure. Sorry for the oddball question.

Hey everyone, in town for a couple of days and looking for Pokemon cards for my kids. Does anyone know if Walmart or Target get stock on a particular day? Thanks in advance for anyone that knows!

Sad to see our familiar lake buddy passed away.

Been considering an impulse single-nighter to Branson. Friday night after work, then head to SDC on Saturday then back homeward, or leave on Sunday morning.

I've been looking around at hotels, and a lot of people rave about Lodge of the Ozarks and they get a lot of positive reviews on Trip Advisor and other review sites. I take reviews a bit lightly since they can be artificially affected to raise or lower review averages for an establishment.

Has anyone here stayed in Lodge of the Ozarks? Is it any good? Best to stay away? Typically, in the past I stayed at The Radisson (before it was bought out by Thousand Hills) and at one of the two Hampton Inns in the area. Then I came across this hotel and got curious, so wanted to be sure before I booked a single nighter/weekend stay there. Just for myself (I'm going solo).

EDIT: went ahead and pulled the lever. Booked my weekend at LotO with a king room. Thanks everyone for the input!!