Stories from Wednesday, March 27, 2019

The Cape Girardeau County Republican Women’s Club honored State Rep. Kathy Swan and former State Rep. Donna Lichtenegger during the annual Lincoln Day celebration Saturday at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. Previous recipient Tom Schulte presented the Bill Emerson Public Service Award to Swan. Award nominees are selected and voted on by the Cape Girardeau County Central Committee, Lisa Reitzel, Cape Girardeau County Women’s Club president, said by email Tuesday...

Two Morley, Missouri, aldermen and a challenger support measures to extend a sales tax and include the city in the Scott County Rural Fire Protection District. The candidates are seeking two-year terms, and the two issues are on the April 2 election ballot...

A Democratic candidate for Missouri attorney general wants Missouri lawmakers to ban “dark money” in political campaigns. Elad Gross, a St. Louis lawyer who is running for the statewide office in the 2020 election, drafted the legislation to require any political advocacy group to disclose the names of its donors in campaign finance disclosure reports to the Missouri Ethics Commission...

ALTENBURG, Mo. — An award-winning “world-class” selection of 15 handcrafted quilts of varying dimensions, color schemes and patterns from the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky, is on display at the Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum in Altenburg...

When a person needs help paying a utility bill or other financial assistance, a good resource is First Call for Help, said executive director Denise Wimp. But FCFH is facing some challenges. Right now, Wimp is the only employee at the agency, she said, since grant funding was lost for other positions...

My email inbox has become a destination for arguments against the upcoming school bond issue. Other people buttonhole me around Cape. I'm not a spokesperson for the bond effort, but I am an interested observer: a citizen of Cape Girardeau who wants to see our community thrive. Let me address a few of the concerns shared with me -- and some answers:...

Today is Wednesday, March 27, the 86th day of 2019. There are 279 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On March 27, 1977, in aviation's worst disaster, 583 people were killed when a KLM Boeing 747, attempting to take off in heavy fog, crashed into a Pan Am 747 on an airport runway on the Canary Island of Tenerife...

As a pundit once wisely said, "It's not over till it's over." Or, "It's not over till the fat lady sings." Or as the Democratic Party says, "It's not over till we say it's over." And thus, we conclude the two-year, multi-million dollar investigation into Presidential wrongdoing and launch yet another lengthy probe designed to reap discontent until November 2020...

A Palm Sunday salad luncheon and egg hunt are held at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1820 Perryville Road, following the morning worship service. The Cape Girardeau County Commission has hired a law firm to clarify legal issues regarding Scott City's attempt to annex part of the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority in order to bring in a gambling boat; Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep maintains the entire commission is solidly opposed to the annexation of the port authority by any city.. ...

CHICAGO -- Infuriating Chicago's mayor and police chief, prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against Jussie Smollett on Tuesday after the "Empire" actor accused of faking a racist, anti-gay attack on himself agreed to do volunteer service and to let the city keep his $10,000 in bail...

WASHINGTON -- The White House and business groups are stepping up efforts to win congressional approval for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade accord. But prospects are uncertain given Republicans are at odds with some aspects of the plan and Democrats are in no hurry to secure a political victory for the president...

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration has told a federal appeals court it wants the entire Affordable Care Act, known as "Obamacare," struck down. In a filing Monday with the New Orleans court, the administration said the entire law should be struck as unconstitutional. It's rare for the Justice Department to decline to defend a federal law, but President Donald Trump has long unsuccessfully sought to repeal the 2010 health care statute...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court's conservative majority sounded wary Tuesday of allowing federal judges to determine when electoral maps are too partisan, despite strong evidence the political parties drew districts to guarantee congressional election outcomes...

WASHINGTON -- The Democratic-led House failed Tuesday to override President Donald Trump's first veto, salvaging his effort to steer billions of extra dollars to erecting border barriers and delivering a victory to the White House in a constitutional and political clash that's raged for months...

ST. LOUIS -- More than 1 million private wells supplying drinking water in mostly rural parts of the Midwest could face the risk of contamination from floodwater, posing a health concern that could linger long after the flooding subsides. Major flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and several smaller waterways has inundated states in the middle of America, from the Canadian border south to Kentucky. ...

BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. -- Jack Dalton Tucker passed away peacefully Monday, March 18, 2019, at his home in Blue Springs. He was 89. Jack lived in East Prairie, Missouri, for 47 years before moving to the Kansas City, Missouri, area in 2004. He was born Jan. ...

Nelda Frances Underwood Simpson, 87, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, March 18, 2019, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was the oldest of seven children, born Dec. 28, 1931, in Stoddard County, Missouri, to John Milford and Hallie Frances Gillespie Underwood. She and Thomas Wilbur Simpson were married Aug. 8, 1953, at Bloomfield, Missouri. He preceded her in death March 22, 2018...

David Milton McFarland, 74, of Cape Girardeau passed away Thursday, March 21, 2019. He was born June 3, 1944, in Detroit to Harry Logan and AnnaJane Lesem McFarland. David was an Army veteran. He made his home in Paris and graduated from Paris-Sorbonne University. He worked for Royal Caribbean Lines and also played the piano for 10 years at Hotel de Crillon...

CHESTER, Ill. -- Mary Limbaugh, 96, of Chester passed away Saturday, March 23, 2019, at her home. She was born to the late John Bay and Mary Segius Thomson Heagler on Nov. 5, 1922, in Paragould, Arkansas. Mary married Manley O. Limbaugh on Feb. 26, 1943, in Cape Girardeau, and he preceded her in death Feb. 18, 2018...

Beverly A. Gerecke Ervin, 68, of Cape Girardeau passed away Sunday, March 24, 2019, at Southeast Hospital after a hard-fought battle with cancer. She was born March 8, 1951, in Cape Girardeau to William J. and Elizabeth Louise Metje Gerecke. She and Wilton L. Ervin were united in marriage July 15, 1972, in Cape Girardeau...

O Lord Jesus, thank you that your great love for us endures forever. Amen.

Son to Timothy Kyle Hoffman and Erica Rose Schaefer of Grassy, Missouri, Saint Francis Medical Center, 6:29 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Name, Grayson Dean. Weight, 6 pounds, 4 ounces. Second child, first son. Schaefer is the daughter of Kathy Schaefer of Grassy...

To replay to another comment, the roundabout in Jackson was worth every penny spent. That project greatly improved traffic flow through the area. In addition, the bathroom was a much-needed improvement to the baseball diamonds in the park. Some of us want a nice, well-maintained city to live in. A city use tax is a means to get there. Others want to be greedy and live in a run down city with pothole-filled streets...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The maker of OxyContin and the family that owns the company have reached a $270 million settlement with the State of Oklahoma over the prescription painkiller's role in the nation's deadly opioid crisis, a person familiar with the agreement said Tuesday...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump took a victory lap Tuesday on Capitol Hill, emboldened by the end of the special counsel's Russia probe, even as Democrats demanded the release of Robert Mueller's full report and intensified their focus on health care and other policy disputes...

Students from Saint Ambrose School in Chaffee attended the MoNASP State Archery Tournament in Branson, Missouri on March 22nd & 23rd. Seventeen students from Chaffee shot in bulls-eye and 3D tournaments with kids from all over Missouri. Congratulations on a successful season...

My name is Brese Squires but better known as R&B Singer Breeze.I will be back Home in Cape Girardeau once again to Perform. I'm the Opening Music GuestStar for the 3rd Annual Dreams Dont Have an Expiration Date Spring Fashion Show. @ Rays Banquet Center Saturday March 30 7pm...