Stories from Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Cape Girardeau School District teachers watch as Cape Girardeau Central High School science teacher Micah Janzow, right, lands a pingpong ball in the $100 prize slot while playing a game show hosted by district superintendent Neil Glass, left, on Tuesday at Richard D. Kinder Performance Hall in Cape Girardeau during a kickoff event to welcome back staff.

An online food delivery service called Waitr will launch next week in Cape Girardeau. Founded in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 2015, Waitr is an on-demand restaurant platform designed to connect restaurants to customers. It will be available online, and also will be compatible with iPhones and Android devices...

My time in Belarus was full of great adventures with family, and I could write with love about its people, who are beautiful, and its history, which is fascinating, and its food, which is delicious. But today, in this world where trade negotiations affect us all, I thought to provide a different angle, a business angle, that underlines the boldness of China. ...

Passersby may notice the fragrance of barbecue Friday and Saturday wafting from Arena Park in Cape Girardeau — and it’s all for a good cause. The 27th annual Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest will highlight the char-grilled loyalty of nearly 45 local and traveling teams of pit masters...

Mark Gibbs has spent more than 26 years behind bars for killing his parents in their Southern Illinois home in 1992. He was sentenced to life in prison. But at age 44, Gibbs could end up with a lesser sentence because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life sentences for juveniles without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional...

Kathy Bertrand, community president of First Midwest Bank in Cape Girardeau, will retire at the end of this week, marking the end of a 35-year banking career at several local financial institutions. Replacing Bertrand as the Cape Girardeau bank president will be Kevin Greaser who has served as community president of Alliance Bank in Cape Girardeau the past 11 years. He began his transition to First Midwest Bank earlier this week...

Each year, the Cape Chamber releases an annual report. This document serves as a great reminder of why the Cape Chamber exists and outlines exactly what we’re up to.

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 14, the 226th day of 2019. There are 139 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On August 14, 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced that Imperial Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II. On this date:...

Georgia B. Diamond Wren, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. She was born Jan. 31, 1926, in Cape Girardeau to Robert and Maude Beckett Diamond. She and Ralph A. "Sonny" Wren were married in Cape Girardeau...

Donald F. Kirn, 82, a long-time resident of Cape Girardeau and Perryville, Missouri, passed away early Sunday morning, Aug. 11, 2019, in the comfort of his home, surrounded by his family. He was born April 11, 1937, in Perryville to George and Frieda Gegg Kirn. He was a brother to Gerald Kirn, Harold (Judy) Kirn, Wayne (Dianna) Kirn, Terry (Mary) Kirn, Kathleen (Rut) Paulus, Carol (Victor) Klaus and Jeanette Hoch, all of Perryville...

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Caroline S. Stout Dakin, 78, of Mounds passed away at 7:10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau, surrounded by her family. Caroline, a Christian, was born Dec. 14, 1940, in Mound City, Illinois, daughter of the late James Paul and Winnifred L. Connell Stout. On April 8, 1982, in Mounds, Caroline married Roy Edward Dakin, who survives...

Glyen Ignatius Brown III, 53, of Cape Girardeau passed away Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, at Southeast Hospital. He was born Aug. 26, 1965, in Sacramento, California, son of Glyen I. Jr. and Rachel A. Rodway Brown. He married Dawn Michell Griggs on Aug. 4, 2004; she survives...

Kelly L. Blackman, 92, of Jackson passed away Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 5, 1926, in Millersville to Hugh and Lucille Stearns Blackman. He and Dorothy Watkins were married Jan. 6, 1948, in Jackson. They had been married 68 years when Dorothy passed away Nov. 30, 2015...

ST. LOUIS -- Gertrude G. Luzynski Bell passed away Saturday, July 27, 2019. She was the beloved wife of the late Floyd B. Bell. Survivors include her children, Floyd (Kathleen) Bell Jr. of St. Peters, Missouri, Mary Ann (Tony) Cutelli of Manchester, Missouri, Stephen (Terri) Bell of Washington, Missouri, and Joan (Delbert) Walter of Cape Girardeau; grandchildren, Merredith (Kurt) Walton, Floyd (Jennifer) Bell III, Kelly (Shane) Simms, Gertrude (Jean-Paul) Gusewelle, Christine (Tom) Hampe, Sarah Cutelli, Julie Cutelli, Charles (Leslie) Cutelli, Mackenzie Bell, Sean (Christine) Bell, Scott Bell, Mark Walter, Rita (Stephen) LeBlanc and Eric Walter; 15 great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews; and many friends.. ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A driver stopped by police pulled out a rifle and opened fire, killing a California Highway Patrol officer and wounding two others during a shootout on a freeway overpass that left the gunman dead and sent terrified motorists running for cover...

NEW YORK -- The warden at the federal jail where Jeffrey Epstein took his own life over the weekend was removed Tuesday and two guards who were supposed to be watching the financier were placed on leave while federal authorities investigate the death...

GREENBELT, Md. -- Hand-raising monarch butterflies in the midst of a global extinction crisis, Laura Moore and her neighbors gather round in her suburban Maryland yard to launch a butterfly newly emerged from its chrysalis. Eager to play his part, 3-year-old Thomas Powell flaps his arms and exclaims, "I'm flying! I'm flying!"...

KINSHASA, Congo — Two Ebola patients who were treated with new drugs in the City of Goma in eastern Congo have been declared “cured” and returned to their home. Top doctors fighting Ebola quickly used the case Tuesday to press the message people can recover from the potentially deadly disease if they seek proper care. Ebola is dangerous but it is also curable with correct treatment, said Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research. ...

GREELEY, Colo. -- A drone soared over a blazing hot cornfield in northeastern Colorado on a recent morning, snapping images with an infrared camera to help researchers decide how much water they would give the crops the next day. After a brief, snaking flight above the field, the drone landed and the researchers removed a handful of memory cards. Back at their computers, they analyzed the images for signs the corn was stressed from a lack of water...

And back up goes the stock market. Investors flipped back into buying mode Tuesday after the U.S. said it would hold off on tariffs of Chinese imports of mobile phones, toys and several other items typically on holiday shopping lists. China also said the two sides held discussions on trade overnight and would talk again in the next two weeks...

Daughter to Scot and Bethany Kluesner of New Hamburg, Missouri, Southeast Hospital, 8:24 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019. Name, Emory Sue Ann. Weight, 7 pounds, 15 ounces. Third daughter. Mrs. Kluesner is the daughter of Harlan Smothers and Doris Smothers of Gordonville. She works for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. Kluesner is the son of Pete Kluesner and Kim Kluesner of New Hamburg. He is employed by Kluesner Electric...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday disciplined two former St. Louis assistant prosecutors for their role in the cover-up of a police officer's assault of a handcuffed man. Judges unanimously agreed to block former assistant circuit attorneys Ambry Schuessler and Katherine Dierdorf from working as lawyers indefinitely. The court found they violated attorney ethics by keeping quiet after finding out about the assault in 2014...

Kansas City, Kansas, police shot and killed a man Tuesday who told a hotel manager he had killed his wife and was heading to a popular shopping and restaurant area. The "very angry and distraught" man entered the Country Inn & Suites near the Legends Outlet shopping area and said he had killed his wife, said Jacob Honeycutt, general manager of the business...

HONG KONG -- Frenzied mob violence Tuesday against two men protesters suspected of being spies from mainland China marked the second day of pro-democracy demonstrations that have caused mass cancellations and disruptions in Hong Kong's busy airport...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Local officials are helping Kansas and Missouri preserve a truce in an economic "border war" that had seen the states use incentives to lure jobs across their border in the Kansas City area. The cooperation came ahead of a summit Tuesday in Kansas City, Kansas, between Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson...

As part of the U.S. 61 overlay project through the City of Jackson, Missouri Department of Transportation contractor crews will close the southbound lane only of U.S. 61, from Route D/Independence Street to Madison Street. ...

Thank you, O God, for being our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Amen.

Ricky Lee Haupt, 66, of Jackson died Tuesday Aug. 13, 2019, at his home. Arrangements are incomplete at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.

Bishop John J. Leibrecht of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese recently announced new pastoral assignments for priests serving parishes in Southeast Missouri; in Cape Girardeau, the Rev. Jay Gibson, newly ordained, is the new associate pastor at St. Vincent's Catholic Church...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Summons n Christopher C. Hendrix, 49, of Cape Girardeau was issued a summons for possession of drug paraphernalia. Assault n Assault was reported in the 900 block of William Street...