Stories from Thursday, February 28, 2019

Avid bicyclist and associate professor of photography at Southeast Missouri State University Bradley Phillips will explain how he sees riding bikes as "the solution to most problems" March 7 at Catapult Creative House in Cape Girardeau. Phillips -- also multimedia coordinator at Southeast's Catapult Creative House -- will lead the discussion "Pedal Damn It!" as part of this month's After Hours: Conversations on Art and Culture. His focus will be on sustaining artistic momentum during adversity...

Opened in 1996, Bistro Saffron in Cape Girardeau is a well-established name in date-night restaurants. While I tend to go in for lunch, the atmosphere and sophisticated decor lend themselves well to a romantic night out. But romance is not why I go to Saffron. I go to Saffron for the pad thai...

People thought Cape Girardeau's downtown was dying 20 years ago. "Generally speaking, most people thought it was a lost cause," recalled Southeast Missouri State University history professor Steven Hoffman. But times have changed. Business and civic leaders have embraced historic preservation. New businesses have opened, and the downtown area has seen a major revival...

Since 1945, Howard's has supplied athletic goods to Cape Girardeau and beyond, from a storefront on Broadway. Come this summer, though, the doors will close. It's time, said owner Terry Slattery. Slattery has worked at Howard's since 1974, and purchased the company in 2013...

SoutheastHEALTH and Universal Health Services are entering into a partnership to build a behavioral health hospital in Cape Girardeau, officials announced Thursday. "With the limited access to behavioral health providers in Southeast's service area, patients in crisis commonly come to the emergency departments of acute-care hospitals, which challenges the care team's ability to provide appropriate treatment and stabilization, post-discharge placement, and patient transportation," said SoutheastHEALTH President and CEO Ken Bateman in a news conference Thursday. ...

Vital to the culture of a community are its not-for-profits and charities. These organizations help lift up the needy, provide support to the afflicted, commemorate the past, elevate well-being, brighten the mundane, open new possibilities and entertain. Much of their work relies on volunteers and outside financial help. And businesses, through providing volunteers, donations, sponsorships, strategic assistance and more, help these organizations and the communities they serve, thrive...

Today is Thursday, Feb. 28, the 59th day of 2019. There are 306 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 28, 1942, the heavy cruiser USS Houston and the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth were attacked by Japanese forces during the World War II Battle of Sunda Strait; both were sunk shortly after midnight on March 1 with a total loss of more than 1,000 men...

The City of Cape Girardeau is doing something right in terms of making memories. Case in point is the father-daughter dance Feb. 16 at the Osage Centre. If you haven't yet, please go look at the photo gallery at www.semissourian.com. The images dads doting on their daughters is priceless. ...

The operator of a video-sharing app popular with teenagers agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle federal allegations it illegally collected personal information from children. The Federal Trade Commission said the Wednesday penalty against lip-syncing app Musical.ly, now known as TikTok, is the largest ever obtained in a children's privacy case...

PASADENA, Calif. -- If there is a high point to Netflix's status as the "cool kids" taking over television, it may be remembered as an emotional Chuck Lorre accepting a best comedy Golden Globe last month for "The Kominsky Method," his show on the streaming service...

HANOI, Vietnam -- U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un projected optimism Wednesday as they opened high-stakes talks about curbing Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear weapons, a problem that has bedeviled generations of leaders...

GUERNEVILLE, Calif. -- Two communities in Northern California's wine country were accessible only by boat Wednesday after a rain-swollen river overflowed its banks following a relentless downpour across an already waterlogged region. The small city of Guerneville north of San Francisco "is officially an island," with the overflowing Russian River forecast to hit its highest level in about 25 years, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said in a statement...

As Walmart moves to phase out its familiar blue-vested "greeters" at some 1,000 stores nationwide, disabled workers who fill many of those jobs say they're being ill-treated by a chain that styles itself as community-minded and inclusive. Walmart told greeters around the country last week their positions would be eliminated on April 26 in favor of an expanded, more physically demanding "customer host" role. ...

WASHINGTON -- In a damning depiction of Donald Trump, the president's former lawyer on Wednesday cast him as a racist and a con man who used his inner circle to cover up politically damaging allegations about sex, and lied throughout the 2016 election campaign about his business interests in Russia...

WASHINGTON -- The Democratic-controlled House on Wednesday approved a measure requiring federal background checks for all firearms sales and transfers, the first major gun-control legislation considered by Congress in nearly 25 years. Democrats called the 240-190 vote a major step to end the gun lobby's grip on Washington and begin to address an epidemic of gun violence, including 17 people who were killed at a Florida high school last year...

SAN DIEGO -- The government is demolishing eight prototypes of Donald Trump's prized border wall that instantly became powerful symbols of his presidency when they were built nine months after he took office. The Trump administration says elements of the prototypes have been melded into current border fence designs and they have served their purpose...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The political operative at the center of an election fraud scandal that has engulfed a North Carolina congressional race was arrested Wednesday on charges of illegal ballot handling and conspiracy. Four people working for him were also charged...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The University of Missouri system is suing a pharmacy professor at its Kansas City campus over allegations he stole and sold a student's research, claiming the school is the rightful owner of the work it believes could be used to make a billion-dollar drug...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's Republican-led House on Wednesday took steps to try to ensure most abortions would be outlawed in the state should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. Legislation the House approved 117-30 would greatly restrict the procedure even if the Supreme Court doesn't undo its 1973 ruling establishing the nationwide right to abortion. ...

Cape Girardeau County Commission 1 Barton Square, Jackson 9 a.m. today Approval of minutes n Minutes for the Feb. 25 meeting Communications/reports -- other elected officials n None at this time Public comments n Items listed on the agenda Routine business...

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. and City Engineer J. Kensey Russell are preparing a preliminary study on the impact riverboat gambling will have on the city's traffic. Five Cape Girardeau area men are among the members of the Missouri Highway Patrol's 66th recruit graduating class; the newly-commissioned troopers from this area are David B. Haggett and Philip E. Gregory, both of Cape Girardeau, Mark A. Winder of Jackson, Lee Gerler of Gordonville and Henry W. Moore of Sikeston...

Paul Ronald "Ronnie" Walker, 75, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, at Southeast Hospital. Born April 17, 1943, in Medford, Oregon, to Paul Edward and Mary Margaret Morton Walker, Paul was a graduate of College High and attended Southeast Missouri State University...

Jack Martin Piepenbrok, 76, of Jackson died Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, at his home. Visitation will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson. Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial, with military honors, will be at 1 p.m. at Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield...

ORAN, Mo. -- Robert Andrew Moore, 77, of Oran passed away Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, at his home. He was born May 3, 1941, in Randles, Missouri, to the late Arthur Andrew and Dorothy Ellen Hitt Moore. He married Agnes Ann Spooler on June 30, 1962, and she survives of the home...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Richard O'Neil Kirkpatrick, 87, of Charleston passed away peacefully Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. He was born Dec. 7, 1931, in Diehlstadt, Missouri, to Otto Francis and Marjorie Kathryn Suter Kirkpatrick. He married Claudia "Faye" Bryant on July 25, 1952, in Sikeston, Missouri. She preceded him death Jan. 24, 2017...

Alice Jean Johnson, 64, of Scott City died Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, at her home. A memorial service will be at 5 p.m. March 8 at Father's Arms Fellowship Church in Scott City. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements...

Cape Noon Optimist Club members David Willis, right, and Kent Zickfield serve attendees Wednesday at the Cape Noon Optimist Club's annual Chili Day at A.C. Brase Arena in Cape Girardeau. Cape Girardeau mayor and club member Bob Fox estimated the event, which got its start in 1984, will raise $20,000 to $25,000 to go toward youth activities...

Father God, may we seek unity with one another through you our Savior. Amen.

WASHINGTON -- A 40-foot-tall, concrete cross on public land in a Maryland suburb of Washington is at the center of a case before the Supreme Court. But similar monuments elsewhere in the country could be affected by the high court ruling, states have told the justices...

Route W in Scott County will be closed as contractor crews replace a bridge between county roads 421 and 277, west of Oran, Missouri. A Missouri Department of Transportation news release says the work will begin March 11 and should be completed by May 30. A signed detour will use Route P to Highway All work is weather permitting...

REEDS SPRINGS, Mo. -- For the second time in two years, a Missouri school district has settled a lawsuit filed by a former principal. Jodi Heckler alleged she was a target of retaliation after she reported sexual harassment by a longtime superintendent in the Reeds Springs district. ...

Today we are looking at older recipes for cuisine that helped make American foods great. These recipes and prepared dishes were exchanged at potlucks and were the ones that disappeared at family reunions. These recipes are ones that stood for good eating, had unusual or different ingredients and often fun titles...

Rickey Menz, 50, of Scott City died Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, at his home. A memorial service will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Father's Arms Fellowship Church in Scott City.

Lisa Lange, 51, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, at Saint Frances Medical Center. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Enderle, 96, of Kelso, Missouri, died Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, at St. Joseph Hospital in St. Charles, Missouri. She was born Aug. 4, 1922, in Chaffee, Missouri, to Sereno William and Catherine Magdaline Halter Miller. She married Harry Albin Enderle on Oct. 3, 1946, in Chaffee. He preceded her in death Jan. 29, 1979...

If you have higher income, the law requires an upward adjustment to your monthly Medicare Part B (medical insurance) and Medicare prescription drug coverage premiums. But, if your income has gone down, you may use form SSA-44 to request a reduction in your Medicare income-related monthly adjustment amount...

“Can you imagine not knowing what a present is?” asked Dr. Linda Morgan, Lower Midwest Regional Manager at Samaritan's Purse - Operation Christmas Child and the opening speaker for the 2019 Southeast 4-H Regional Energizer held at Advance Elementary School in Advance, Missouri on Saturday, February 9. ...