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Cape Catfish hire new manager for 2024 season (3/18/24)The college baseball season is in full swing. Big League ballplayers are gearing up for the 2024 season in Florida and Arizona spring training camps. For fans of America’s pastime, it’s a glorious time of year. The smell of fresh cut grass. The sounds of wood (or aluminum) bats hitting baseballs. This time of year, every team has a chance of winning. Spring brings with it a renewed hope in dugouts and fields from high school teams to college programs to the pros. ...
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Congratulations to Delta girls on great season (3/15/24)Anyone who follows high school girls basketball in this part of Missouri knows Delta has one of the premier programs around. The high-scoring Bobcats put up a lot of points and racked up lots of wins.
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Suspects' sloppiness, good work help solve crimes (3/13/24)In the fantasy world of television, movies and streaming programs, law enforcement officers and prosecutors wrap a tidy bow on whatever crime has occurred within the confines of the allotted time. In the real world, that’s not always the case. There usually isn’t a bartender who saw the victim and perpetrator arguing moments before the killing or an insurance policy that points a flashing sign at whomever benefited from a person’s death. But in Cape Girardeau of late, police appear to have been helped in three recent cases by alleged suspects who made their jobs a bit easier. On Feb. 25, police found a man, Casimiro Hernandez-Ruiz, dead from stab wounds in the 1200 block of North Water Street. Hours later, police apprehended two men — Ariel Escobar-Soler and Marcos Lopez — at a residence on North Middle Street. According to police, in their possession were the alleged murder weapon and a bloody jacket. A Feb. 27 shooting left KeMari Childress dead and another person wounded near a CVS pharmacy on William Street. Authorities charged Tre’marion Jones with the shooting and Yaunique Cain with tampering with physical evidence. Cain’s alleged crime? Allegedly returning to the scene to retrieve Jones’ cell phone dropped there. Zhamious Smith also faces a charge of hindering apprehension and resisting a lawful stop in the case. Just this week, Jaleel Henry has been charged in connection with a shooting incident from earlier this month in which a bullet entered a man’s vehicle and eventually struck him in the back. How did they track down a suspect in this seemingly random shooting? Police say they found a jacket and shell casings at the scene. In the jacket, the suspect’s ID. Law enforcement folks have a full toolbox when it comes to investigating crimes and piecing together what happened. They are really good at what they do. No doubt, though, alleged suspects who leave their ID and/or other traceable objects at the scenes and who fail to dispose of alleged murder weapons and DNA-soaked clothing items make their work a little bit easier. They say things happen in threes. We’ve had three violent incidents of late. So, maybe we’ll have a quiet period for a while. If not, we hope those who commit crimes in the area are sloppy in their attention to detail and help law enforcement folks track them down in a timely manner.
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SEMO campaign reaches milestone with private support (3/11/24)Southeast Missouri State University has reached a milestone in its Transforming Lives capital campaign. The university has raised 70% of its $60 million goal, which only includes funds from individuals and businesses. The Southeast Missourian recently reported that the current funding total is made up of 7,864 individuals and corporations who are supporting the effort. The total does not include dollars pledged from the City of Cape Girardeau, state of Missouri or federal government...
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Now is the time to address youth suicide (3/8/24)One each week. One crisis per week involving a student in Cape Girardeau public and private schools that led to an official Community Counseling Center assessment from July to January. These aren't situations in which someone didn't get the right invite to prom or that teacher is unfair or somebody said something about somebody else...
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Editorial: Redhawks softball team set to open OVC play with home series (3/6/24)The Southeast Missouri State University Redhawks softball team will begin defense of its Ohio Valley Conference crown this weekend. Led by 10th-year head coach Mark Redburn, the Redhawks have been consistent winners in recent years, stacking up at least 30 wins in each of the past four seasons, with memorable wins against some of the nation's best programs. Since 2019, they have won three OVC regular season titles and one OVC tournament title, which earned them a trip to the NCAA Tournament...
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Cedric The Entertainer show to benefit SEMO student scholarships (3/4/24)Southeast Missouri State University has spent the last year celebrating its sesquicentennial anniversary in a variety of ways. The university still has a couple more big events left this spring as part of its 150th year celebration. ...
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Presidential nominee voting cranking up in Missouri (3/1/24)Missouri voters will get a chance to help nominate Democratic and Republican presidential candidates this month. Those wishing to caucus with Republicans will gather Saturday, March 2, while Democrats will hold a primary Saturday, March 23. The Republican caucuses are not new to the state. Including this year, Republicans have voted for presidential nominees in half of the last eight cycles by caucus...
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Southeast Missouri gearing up for April 8 eclipse (2/28/24)Celestial oddities seem magical, capturing attention like nothing else. The upcoming April 8 solar eclipse is no exception, especially since portions of Southeast Missouri fall in the “totality” zone, meaning directly under the aligned moon and sun.
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‘Alice in Wonderland’ to bring acrobatics, theatre to River Campus (2/26/24)Next month there will be a special musical adaptation of the Disney classic “Alice in Wonderland” at the River Campus’ Bedell Performance Hall. Cape Specialty Entertainment Group will produce what’s expected to be a top-notch show featuring Alice, the Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts and other favorites. The show combines aerial acrobatics, circus performances and musical theater, all based on the original 1951 film.
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Redhawks baseball promises exciting season (2/23/24)Though the weather may change in five minutes, we have been having springlike temperatures lately, and that means one thing — baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals and their professional counterparts are preparing for Opening Day. Cape’s Catfish and Capahas will also be on the field soon, but the collegiate season has already begun.
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Bollinger County entrepreneurial center has great potential (2/21/24)The COVID-19 pandemic changed various aspects of our way of life, including how, where and with whom we work. We're past the pandemic now, but we are still using those lessons learned to improve and enhance work environments. A group of Bollinger County citizens is taking a bold step in that direction...
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Chiefs win another Super Bowl, look to make history (2/19/24)Much like the Cowboys in the early '90s or the incredible Patriots teams led by Tom Brady, what we're witnessing now in Kansas City is quite impressive. It is the making of a football dynasty. Super Bowl 58 was one for the books. Each team made numerous mistakes. The 49ers missed an extra point and botched a kick return. Meanwhile, Chiefs star running back Isiah Pacheco had the football stripped in the red zone at a key moment in the game. The list goes on...
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Measure cleans up omission from school misconduct reporting law (2/16/24)Legislative language is at once precisely constraining and imperfectly open for interpretation. That can be by design, as drafters address a specific issue, or accidental, as a potential outcome eluded imagination. And so once a measure becomes law, it might still be a work in progress. Lawmakers may fine-tune legislation over time as the need arises...
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Join us as we celebrate National FFA Week (2/15/24)Arguably, no state better represents agriculture in the United States than Missouri. From its southern row crop farms to its dairy and cattle operations to specialty production such as aquaculture and poultry, Missouri is home to a robust and varied farming community...
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Growth is on Saxony Lutheran's agenda (2/14/24)January 2024 was a good month for the Saxony Lutheran High School community, as principal Mark Ruark held two news conferences announcing significant projects -- one academic and one athletic. School officials are moving forward with a multipurpose facility that will serve as an agriculture science facility most of the time, and an emergency storm shelter when necessary. ...
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Remembering the story behind Valentine's Day (2/12/24)If you haven't checked the calendar in a bit, it's worth noting: Wednesday is Valentine's Day. Many will mark the day dedicated to the celebration of love and marriage with the giving of cards, flowers and other gifts. Some will plan nice dinners at restaurants. These are all nice ways to celebrate. But the history behind the holiday and its namesake is worth retelling as we do in this space each year...
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Catholic Schools Week is weeklong celebration of faith, education (2/9/24)Among the many blessings of living in Southeast Missouri is the choice parents have to send their children to parochial schools. Prevalent among them are the area's many fine Catholic-based schools. Educational environments cocooned in faith provide opportunities for young people to develop academically and spiritually in close-knit communities. These educational programs focus heavily on family as well, with parents and grandparents playing important roles in the young people's growth...
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Fentanyl is growing problem in region (2/7/24)We sometimes like to think the rural nature of Southeast Missouri insulates us from so-called “big-city” problems. Sometimes, we’re correct. Not always. Fentanyl is one of those problems that is invading our region. A synthetic opioid exponentially more potent than morphine, fentanyl, usually illicitly sold in pill form, presents a unique danger, because on the street, drug dealers imprecisely mix it with cutting agents. It doesn’t take much fentanyl, which has a heroin-like effect, to kill a person, and lower doses in some pills and higher doses in others is leading to tens of thousands of overdoses each year. How many? According to the DEA, fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of death for 18- to 45-year-olds in the U.S. Mexican cartels and Chinese chemical companies are churning out fentanyl in huge quantities, and much of it is finding its way to the United States. How much? According to Southeast Missourian reporting, the St. Louis district of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized enough fentanyl last year to kill 24 million people. One year. A few recent examples from area law enforcement agencies show the growing prevalence of fentanyl in the region: q Jackson authorities arrested two men for fentanyl trafficking after they were allegedly found with 39 fentanyl-laced pills. q Police arrested a Scott City couple who allegedly had 274 prescription fentanyl pills at their home. q Last year, a nurse at a local hospital pleaded guilty to taking left-over fentanyl from her workplace. q And in July, federal authorities arrested 19 members of an alleged Charleston drug ring characterized as the “main supplier of methamphetamine and fentanyl” in Southeast Missouri. Detective Austin Reed of the Jackson Police Department, a former DEA agent, noted the increasing presence of the drug. “Fentanyl is becoming a pretty common thing around the Cape Girardeau County area,” he said. “We’re seeing quite a bit of it, especially since 2020. It’s increasing every year. Fentanyl is becoming much easier to obtain, and that’s why we’re seeing more of it.” There are no easy answers to eradicating illegal drug use. If there were, we would have won our “war on drugs” long ago. But there are things we can do. One, anyone at risk of using such drugs should be aware of the danger fentanyl poses. One pill may be a person’s last. No “high” is worth someone’s life. Parents, talk with your children. Make sure they understand that fentanyl can and does kill. Two, we encourage more investment in programs aimed at lowering drug overdoses and other “deaths of despair”. These deaths don’t only kill those on the low end of the socioeconomic scale. Actor Angus Cloud and singer/musicians Tom Petty and Prince, among others, died in part because of fentanyl use. Three, our federal law enforcement authorities must do more to prevent the raw materials for these drugs and the finished products from coming into our country, and we should put more pressure on the governments of Mexico and China to help us in the fight. Fentanyl is a real and growing threat here and elsewhere. Wishing it away won’t help. Resolved action will.
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Super Bowl rematch this weekend between Chiefs and 49ers (2/5/24)If you're a Kansas City Chiefs fan, the last few years have been pretty special. Four Super Bowl appearances in the last five years, and during this stretch they've finished — at least so far — with two Lombardi trophies. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is quickly putting himself in the conversation of being one of the greats all time at his position. Add in favorite receiver Travis Kelce and head coach Andy Reid and it's simply a magical combination of skill, athleticism and play calling...
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Polar Plunge, 5K race to benefit Special Olympics athletes (2/1/24)We appreciate all those who drop some cash into a donation bin or click a button on a website to support a charitable cause. There are plenty of good ones out there. For those who want to put a bit more action into their giving, the annual Polar Plunge that benefits Special Olympics Missouri offers a unique opportunity. ...
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Children's Arts Festival set to kick off Friday (1/31/24)Think of it like a sectional tournament -- for artists. Beginning at Arts Council of Southeast Missouri's First Friday Art Walk, from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, the organization is set to unveil its 24th annual Children's Arts Festival...
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Blood donations save lives and the Red Cross needs your help (1/29/24)Statistics from the American Red Cross say that every two seconds, someone in this country needs blood. There's a finite supply. You can't make it. And people need it for a variety of reasons: surgery, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses and other traumatic injuries. Blood and platelet donations make a big difference...
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Editorial: Bipartisan tax measure is leadership in action (1/26/24)Effective leaders get things done, and Southeast Missouri's Jason Smith is getting things done as chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. Smith, who has represented the region in Congress for more than a decade, wields the gavel for the tax-writing committee, and he, along with his Democratic counterpart in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, hammered out a bipartisan tax measure that will help businesses and families without adding to the federal deficit...
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Prayer 1-25-24 (1/25/24)Lord Jesus, may we daily seek to help and encourage others. Amen.
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Jackson public school district maintaining educational focus (1/24/24)Jackson folks take more than a little pride in their community. From their business community to the city's parks, Jacksonians wear their city's successes on their sleeve, with good reason. Add the most recent comprehensive public schools assessment from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as another reason to be proud...
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Jackson Chamber honors business, civic leaders at annual banquet (1/22/24)Jackson is a wonderful community. In some ways, we know this quite well. We see the community support at Friday night football games. There's regularly new home construction. The most recent census reflects the growth taking place. There's certainly no shortage of community pride...