Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Community Bridge Toll-Free Day: Today, April 30th, 2024 is Community Bridge Toll-Free Day in Lake Ozark.On May 1, 1998, the Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge opened to traffic and began collecting tolls to repay the bridge construction. Today, 26 years later, the final toll was collected to pay off the bridge and it is now free for all traffic.A ceremony commemorating this occasion was held overlooking the bridge today, with a proclamation delivered by Mayor Newberry naming today as Community Bridge Toll-Free Day. Comments were heard from Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe, the Missouri Highway Commission, and representatives from the Community Bridge Board of Directors.The City is thankful for the visionary leadership that conceived of this project decades ago, and is looking forward to a new era of impact this bridge holds as a toll-free facility, soon to be maintained by the State of Missouri. 

TEST TW WEATHER

Christiansen Appointed Chief

In a special session of the Lake Ozark Board of Aldermen held on January 5, 2023, Mr. Jeff Christiansen was
appointed with a unanimous vote to serve as the city’s next Police Chief.

Christiansen comes to the city with over 27 years of professional law enforcement experience, most recently
serving the citizens of Linn Creek, Missouri as their Police Chief. Prior to his work in Linn Creek, Christiansen
spent 26 years at the DuPage County, Illinois Sheriff’s Office, progressing through their patrol and detective
divisions, and eventually serving as a Sergeant within their civil division and accreditation and training
programs. His professional service includes volumes of experience in training and development, grants, patrol
functions, accreditation, and supervision.

He possesses a BA and MS in criminal social justice from Lewis University, and is a 2012 graduate of the
Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command. While working for the DuPage County
Sheriff’s Office, Christiansen also worked as an adjunct instructor at Aurora University for a period of 15 years,
where he was a founding member of their criminal justice advisory board. He has worked at the College of
DuPage as a GED instructor and coordinator as well. He has also has years of experience as an accreditation
manager, trainer, and contractor for a series of coroners’ offices in Illinois.

Outside of his professional experiences, Christiansen is a co-founder of Celebrate Differences, which is a notfor-profit supporting people with disabilities and their families. He has extensive involvement with the special
needs community for the past 18 years, also co-founding the A Pinch of Happiness Spice Shop in Camdenton,
Missouri.

During his appointment, Christiansen stated that he was “looking forward to getting started soon and to
continue the work of making the agency better. I am excited to work with the officers, dispatchers, board and
department heads to make progress, and appreciate the thorough and well-vetted hiring process.”
At the meeting, Mayor Newberry thanked the members of the hiring committee that helped to identify
Christiansen as the next Police Chief. Christiansen will be sworn into the role at the Board of Aldermen
meeting on January 10, 2023 at 6:00 P.M.