Can I expect to make more than $8/hr as a local driver?

If you're in Festus give Beelman a call. You won't get rich, but if a terminal is close enough they will have year round work. A lot of what they do will be coal from the mines to a power plant and ash on the backhaul. Since they also own the Kienstra cement plants they haul a lot of lime, rock and sand. I'm pretty sure they will hire a new driver.