The latest local news, weather and high school sports in and around Columbia and Jefferson City

Officials from three Joplin tourism-related organizations came to the Capital City Thursday to convince local groups to visit the city.

They didn't come to ask for more help for the tornado-ravaged community, but to highlight the town's convention and meeting facilities, most of which were not impacted by the May 22nd tornado.

They say Joplin is still a prime location for conventions and large events.

The city has nearly 2,000 hotel rooms and over 80,000 square feet of meeting space...

The group pointed out that bringing a convention there would spur retail sales, generate jobs, and increase sales tax revenues for the city.

"One of the biggest parts of recovery is to get back to some sort of normalcy," said Patrick Tuttle, the director of the Joplin Convention and Visitor Bureau. "And opening up all of our conventions to all of our state associations and getting them to come to town is our main objective."

Later in the evening the group answered questions about how people can continue to help the city recover.