Joplin, Missouri
Each June, Joplin hosts the Boomtown Run, a half marathon, 5K, and children's run. The event attracts runners from across the country, and features USTA certified courses which start and end in the historic downtown area. Celebrity runners featured at the prerace banquet have included Bart Yasso, Sarah Reinerston, Suzy Favor-Hamilton, and Jeff Galloway. In 2011, due to the devastating EF5 tornado that struck Joplin on May 22, just three weeks before the run, the event was transformed in the Boomtown Run Day of Service. About 270 individuals registered for the race after the tornado struck, knowing their proceeds would benefit tornado recovery. On June 11, about 270 registered runners and volunteers turned out to help clean debris and sort donations, contributing more than 1,200 hours of service. On August 7, 2012, the Village of Silver Creek and the City of Joplin voted to have Silver Creek annexed into Joplin City limits.
Tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1982
The Tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1982 was a major tornado outbreak that resulted in over sixty tornadoes and 29 fatalities. Three tornadoes were rated F4, and one officially was recorded as an F5 near Broken Bow, Oklahoma, all on April 2nd. The F5 resulted in no fatalities, but an F4 tornado in Paris, Texas resulted in 10 fatalities and 170 injuries.