Some stories absolutely must be shared, and this is one of them. This tale has a happy ending. And you know what? You -- yes, you, kind reader -- could make it even happier. First, the story, which comes by way of the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri here in Cape Girardeau...

As your senator representing you in Jefferson City, lifting the heavy burden of taxation isn't just my priority -- it's my responsibility. I'm proud of the work my colleagues and I continue to achieve in providing much-needed tax relief for all Missourians...

On Thursday, Sept. 7, the Senate passed a bill which contained provisions raising the debt ceiling and providing for $15.25 billion in hurricane relief. The FEMA disaster relief fund gets $7.4 billion and a $450 million grant for the Small Business Administration. The Community Development Block Grant program receives $7.4 billion. The Senate voted for the legislation 80-17...

As a lifelong Missouri resident, I'm sad that our state has gotten a racist reputation. It started about three years ago when white policeman Darren Wilson shot black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, triggering days of rioting and national attention. The riots involved several issues, but to a large extent pitted blacks against whites, especially white policemen. Ferguson, and indeed the St. Louis area, became synonymous with racial unrest...

On Sept. 18, 1947, President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, and in doing so the United States Air Force (USAF) was created as a new separate military branch. Until this action, the USAF was a division of the U.S. Army and had been so since the adoption of aircraft on Aug. 1, 1907. This was only four years after the Wright brothers had made their first flight at Kitty Hawk...

This past weekend was a rivalry weekend of sorts in football, with Southeast facing Southern Illinois, Chaffee and Scott City facing off, and Perryville's two high schools -- St. Vincent and Perryville High School -- pitted against each other. On the baseball front, St. Louis was taking on division rival Chicago Cubs in a pivotal three-game series...

Back in 2013, singer Meghan Trainor released her breakout hit "All About That Bass", which went on to win an Emmy and Billboard award, reached number one on the music charts and launched a viral video among the most watched in Internet history. I was thinking about that snappy tune this weekend as I watched with sadness the events unfold in St. Louis...

The last corndog has been served, and the cows have gone home. The SEMO District Fair which officially opened on a clear Saturday morning, Sept. 9, with its annual parade, came to a close eight days later on a clear night. There were plenty of beautiful days in between amid a variety of activities and entertainment. In fact, weather conditions in which the festivities played out had to be among the best in the 162-year history of the event...

Cape Girardeau is full of history, and if you look around you can find volumes. One convenient, informative place to look is Heritage Hall, which houses the Kellerman Foundation for Historic Preservation. It's there that Dr. Frank Nickell, an area historian and president of the Kellerman Foundation, has been recently mining some informative nuggets of local history, including how former President Ulysses S. ...

When you have spent about two decades following her career, cheering her on in front of a television screen, and admiring the class with which she experiences victory and defeat, the only thing that would be better than seeing Venus Williams live would be meeting her and shaking her hand. ...

Some hard core, ideological conservatives who bet the farm on Donald Trump may be in for a most rude but well deserved awakening. The recently reprinted column from the Wall Street Journal (surprise, surprise) was a gushing, sycophantic paean to taxpayer-funded charter schools. ...

One of the perks of aging is some of the discounts that come with the process. Sometimes the deals are good, sometimes really good. That's the case with The Best Years' second annual Active Living Expo on Wednesday at the Isle Casino in Cape Girardeau. ...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department continues adding innovation to its crime-fighting toolbox. On the heels of hiring a crime data analyst, the department more recently announced it is partnering with businesses and homeowners to create a security camera database...

Kudos to Jo Ann Bock for her excellent column on the library, published in the September issue of The Best Years. The Cape Girardeau Public Library is a community treasure, and any tax dollars spent on it are well worth the investment. The citizens of Cape Girardeau are blessed to have such an outstanding library. Let's keep it that way!...

Could Cape Girardeau possibly be a more bustling place this weekend? First, there's football. Southeast Missouri State University will host its first home football game, against rival Southern Illinois University. Fans are encouraged to wear their black fan gear. There will be lots of tailgating, which means lots of good food and good times. Game starts at 6...

Maybe you're like me. Maybe you also wonder why TV weather reporters feel compelled to tell you that you really must, in order to save your life, obey a mandatory-evacuation order when a huge hurricane is approaching, but do this while standing knee-deep in floodwater with wind gusts over 100 miles per hour and while, obviously, disobeying that all-important mandatory-evacuation order...

Mac, you're one inspiring dog. He won over the heart of Rochelle Steffen, a lot of others at Mac's Mission and people around the country. The animal-rescue organization in Jackson recently was awarded the $30,000 grand prize in the vote-based "Support the Shelters" sweepstakes hosted by the BISSELLL Pet Foundation...

Last week in this column I discussed building tensions over a potential nuclear conflict between North Korea and the U.S. North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, continues his threats of a nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies. Those of us who lived through the confrontations of the Cold War can remember times when incidents made the threat of nuclear war between the U.S. ...

Tragedies always seem to bring out the best and the worst in humanity. The twin hurricanes -- Harvey and Irma -- are just the latest example. The national unity and helping spirit of Americans was in full display first in Texas and then in Florida as Mother Nature delivered a costly blow in terms of damage and loss of life...

Going to college is one thing. Getting a degree is another. Southeast Missouri State University reported numbers last week that support a positive development in its students' pursuit of degrees. While Southeast has experienced a 4.6 percent drop in its overall enrollment from a year ago, it has reported a record retention rate among its student body. According to the early numbers, more than 75 percent of students enrolled last year have returned...

Eric Bolling, the former Fox News host, received the tragic news this weekend that his son, Eric Chase Bolling, 19, was found dead in his bed Friday afternoon. The 19-year-old was a student at the University of Colorado Boulder. The young man's death reportedly came shortly after his father parted ways with Fox News in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations. ...

At 37 years of age, it's not surprising Venus Williams is on the speaking circuit. After all, most professional athletes look for a productive use of their suddenly open schedule when they reach that ripe age, which usually means retirement, especially for tennis players...

It was 16 years ago today when things changed. The events of Sept. 11, 2011 are seared into the memory of many but now studied in U.S. history classes in high school and college. In the days leading up, Missouri, centrally located in the United States, a world superpower, seemed like the most secure place on Earth...

We have a grandchild by marriage that came to the U.S. when he was 3 years old. He has been trying for the last one and a half years to get his citizenship. So far it hasn't been processed. He was told if he paid more money it would be processed more quickly. ...

Sometimes disasters bring out the best in us. We've seen that countless times over the years, whether it be in the aftermath of 9/11, the Joplin, Missouri, tornado, Hurricane Katrina or other such tragic events. And we've seen it again in Houston. Hurricane Harvey brought unprecedented rain to Houston and southern Texas, rainfall amounts never before seen in recorded history of our country. ...

I seldom agree with Mike Jensen, but he is spot on with his assessment of the Chappelle-Nadal incident. It is the double standard, which in my opinion, is why so many people voted for Trump. We are tired of political correctness. And as we all know Mr. Trump is anything but politically correct...

Cape Girardeau's existence and the Mississippi River are inseparable. So much of Cape's history is based on the trade and commerce made possible by the river. Today, Cape is known as much as a regional hub as it is a river town, so for many it can be easy to forget or take the river for granted...

Earlier in my newspaper career -- this would have been the 1960s -- I was assigned to cover flooding in Smithville, Missouri. It was a small town then but now is part of Kansas City's suburbia. Smithville is situated on the Little Platte River. In the 1960s, residents of the town were used to annual wet-weather flooding. Did they move to higher ground? No. Did they put their houses on stilts? No. Did they ask the government for buyouts? No...

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, is continuing to make threats about the use of nuclear warheads on Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) against the U.S. and our allies. These threats have become more strident since North Korea tested a missile it claimed can carry a nuclear warhead to the U.S. It also claims to have tested a hydrogen bomb last week which can be carried on an ICBM...

This morning, a ribbon cutting will be held for the newly constructed Drury Plaza Hotel and Conference Center. The development adds the latest jewel to the area. The Drury organization has made major financial commitments to dramatically enhancing the location, which formerly was the location of the Drury Lodge. ...

In addition to football, there's one surefire way to know fall is in the air in Southeast Missouri -- the arrival of the SEMO District Fair. In fact, it can be argued the fair is an even better indicator since it predates the NFL, and football for that matter. The event spans generations, with this the 162nd year of the fair. It's a long-standing tradition of the region coming together for music, food, camaraderie and friendly competition...

A tragedy has again caused the heart of America to beat with love and compassion. The worst circumstances have stirred the best in people, as we have seen repeatedly. Hurricane Harvey, with all its fury and devastation, has brought countless stories of selflessness and courage...

Some exciting business developments are taking place on the local scene, which are a boost to the economy. AT&T announced last week it is opening a call center in Cape Girardeau that will hire 150 full-time employees; half of the personnel the company plans to hire in Missouri...

Rarely do I agree with anything coming out of California, but lo and behold, California lawmakers are about to do what should be done nationwide. California lawmakers are poised to treat the Antifa thugs as an official street gang. That designation will allow law enforcement to jail these anarchists and hopefully put an end to their nonstop chaos that is threatening the foundation of this country...