Skip to Content

Lake of the Ozarks sees ‘busiest Labor Day weekend in 20 years’

Lake of the Ozarks
View of Lake of the Ozarks from Shady Gators

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (KMIZ)

Businesses near the Lake of the Ozarks saw record high crowds this Labor Day weekend compared to the last two decades.

"It's definitely one of the busiest weekends I have ever seen personally, Drew Krey, a bartender at Shady Gators said.

Even with COVID-19, customers were flocking in, causing the local economy to boom for one of the first times since the pandemic started.

"We had to go to carry-out only and that really hurt us, but now business has never been better," Krey said. "It hit us like a train but we were prepared for it."

Jeremy Gorham, the owner of Shady Gators, said this is the busiest Labor Day weekend he has seen in 20 years.

Mike Fink's Marina Boat & Wave Runner Rentals said they have been booked 6 weeks in advance for this weekend.

"We had people get very, very upset with us because of them not getting a boat in time," an employee said.

The business plan to double its fleet for next Labor Day because of the high volume of requests.

The Lake of the Ozarks sits in four different counties throughout Missouri including Camden, Miller, Morgan and Benton counties.

Currently, Camden county has 596 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 9 deaths, Miller County confirmed 295 cases and 1 death, Morgan County confirmed 152 cases and 1 death, and Benton County has confirmed 162 cases and 1 death.

Overall, Missouri has 94,340 confirmed cases of and 1,659 deaths, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Article Topic Follows: Coronavirus

Jump to comments ↓

Author Profile Photo

Zola Crowder

Zola Crowder joined the ABC 17 News team as a multimedia journalist in June 2020 after graduating from the University of Missouri with a broadcast journalism degree. Before reporting at ABC 17, Zola was a reporter at KOMU where she learned to cover politics, crime, education, economics and more.

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

ABC 17 News is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content