Stories from Monday, April 6, 2020

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri reported 10 more deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday, even while a national database was reporting a higher number in the state. The state said 34 people have died from the virus, an increase from 24 reported Saturday. A database operated by Johns Hopkins University has recorded 44 COVID-19 deaths in Missouri as of Sunday...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri is asking medical professionals who are not working to join a specialized state team that responds to critical health emergencies. “We are calling on all available medical professionals to support the effort to fight the virus by joining a critical reserve unit now focusing on providing care in high need areas across the state,” Gov. Mike Parson said Saturday. “Their efforts can help save the lives of their fellow Missourians.”...

A new survey from the National Federation of Independent Business has found nearly all small businesses in America are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and half of them say they'll shut down in less than two months unless they receive financial assistance...

Several different 911 callers reported six to eight gunshots fired at 9:23 p.m. Saturday near the area of Good Hope and South Hanover streets in Cape Girardeau, according to Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Joey Hann. Officers responded to the location and found fresh glass scattered in the roadway, according to Hann, but no victims, suspects or shell casings were located. Officers also checked with local hospitals and no victims came in for injuries related to this incident...

Every day since Chan's Restaurant closed last month, Yang Shao and her husband, Bi Xing Liu, spend a few hours cleaning the restaurant so it's ready when customers are able to visit the restaurant once more. On March 20, the couple decided to close Chan's doors to the public temporarily to protect customers from the spread of COVID-19. While it wasn't an easy decision, Shao said it was essential to preserving the health of the community...

No new COVID-19 cases were reported in Cape Girardeau County on Sunday. Total cases involving county residents remained at 16, though health care providers updated testing numbers. Saint Francis Medical Center reported seven positive cases, 201 negative results and 556 total tests administered...

When restaurants were ordered to close their dining areas last month, Tim Stearns at TJ's Burgers, Wings and Pizza in Fruitland had a choice. He could either lay off some of his employees or try to find a way to keep them working as much as he could...

Faith. It’s what prompted respiratory therapist Amber Morgan to board a flight to New York City as a medical volunteer in the COVID-19 pandemic. As New York city reported almost 65,000 cases and close to 2,500 deaths as of Sunday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent hundreds of medical professionals to the city to assist the more than 14,000 hospitalized with COVID-19. Morgan of Jackson was one of those medical professionals...

One Cape Girardeau physician has coined a term to describe the pandemic turning the world upside down. “It’s coronageddon,” said Lori Moyers, D.O., with Riverside Family Medicine. “We normally see 30 patients face-to-face every day,” said Dr. Moyers, whose practice includes three physicians and a nurse practitioner...

Marvin Glueck of Oran, Missouri, fell in love with the dulcimer when he first heard one being played in Branson, Missouri, while on his honeymoon in 1980. It was then that he decided to learn to play. “Being a newlywed, I didn’t have a lot of money, so I thought, ‘I’ll just build one of my own,’” he recalls. ...

Applications for this year's 1ST50K startup competition, conducted by Codefi and the Marquette Tech District in Cape Girardeau, are being accepted now through May 31. This year, the focus is on Southeast Missouri entrepreneurs. The program, which helps turn innovative startup ideas into scalable ventures, has been awarding $50,000 grants to entrepreneurs since the program's first round in 2015. ...

Today is Monday, April 6, the 97th day of 2020. There are 269 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On April 6, 1896, the first modern Olympic games formally opened in Athens, Greece. On this date: In 1862, the Civil War Battle of Shiloh began in Tennessee as Confederate forces launched a surprise attack against Union troops, who beat back the Confederates the next day...

O Lord Jesus, may we love each other as you have loved us. Amen.

When President Donald Trump announced a restriction on travel from Europe in a mid-March Oval Office address, European Union officials erupted in outrage. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, issued a joint statement with the president of the European Council thundering, "The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent, and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action."...

Temporary exemptions for truck drivers have been made by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and Gov. Mike Parson as the nation grapples with the effects to commerce of the coronavirus. MoDOT increased the weight allowance for tractor-trailers of at least 53 feet from 80,000 to 100,000 pounds through April 30. The increase doesn’t apply to all trailers, but according to a story by Jeff Long in the Southeast Missourian it does apply to supplies and equipment related to COVID-19...

DOWAGIAC, Mich. — Cardboard cutout wedding guests will make for a not-so-cookie-cutter wedding as a Michigan couple prepared to tie the knot during the coronavirus pandemic. After Amy Simonson and Dan Stuglik’s wedding plans were disrupted amid the outbreak, a packaging company donated more than 100 cardboard cutouts to pose as stand-ins for the family and friends who couldn’t attend the wedding Saturday because of Michigan’s stay-at-home order. ...

NEW YORK -- A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the new coronavirus, in what is believed to be the first known infection in an animal in the U.S. or a tiger anywhere, federal officials and the zoo said Sunday. The 4-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia -- and six other tigers and lions that have also fallen ill -- are believed to have been infected by a zoo employee who wasn't yet showing symptoms, the zoo said. ...

NEW YORK -- In Montana, a father and son running a small oil business are cutting their salaries in half. In New Mexico, an oil truck driver who supports his family just went a week without pay. And in Alaska, lawmakers have had to dip into the state's savings as oil revenue dries up...

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to a hospital Sunday for tests, his office said, because he is still suffering symptoms, 10 days after he was diagnosed with COVID-19. Johnson's office said the admission to an undisclosed London hospital came on the advice of his doctor and was not an emergency. The prime minister's Downing St. office said it was a "precautionary step" and Johnson remains in charge of the government...

NEW YORK -- In Sandwich, New Hampshire, a town of 1,200 best known as a setting for the movie "On Golden Pond," broadband is scarce. Forget streaming Netflix, much less working or studying from home. Even the police department has trouble uploading its reports...

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Lisa Neuburger was caring for a patient with the coronavirus when the person's ventilator tube became detached. As she worked to help the patient, she knew fluid from the person's lungs could be spraying into the air, possibly exposing her to the virus, despite the protective gear she was wearing...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. surgeon general said Sunday that Americans should brace for levels of tragedy reminiscent of the Sept. 11 attacks and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, while the nation's infectious disease chief warned that the new coronavirus may never be completely eradicated from the globe...

DARDENNE PRAIRIE, Mo. -- Marilyn Wilson Proffer of Dardenne Prairie passed away peacefully April 3, 2020, at Barathaven Alzheimer's Special Care Center. In her final days, she was surrounded by her three loving children, Robert Kirk, James Kent and Marian Louise...

Robert "Bro. Bob" Poe, 76, of Burfordville died Saturday, April 4, 2020, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 5, 1943, in Cape Girardeau to Everett and Eula Scott Poe. He and Aline Newell were married June 28, 1963, in Millersville. During their wonderful 56 years together, they enjoyed spending time with their loving family and friends, and traveling...

Ruth Naomi Magdalene Adams Ladd, 88, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, April 5, 2020, at her home. There will be a private family visitation and graveside service, with a public memorial service at a later date. Burial will be at Lightner Cemetery in Scott City...

The lobby at Southeast Hospital was demolished earlier this week as construction began on a new lobby scheduled to open in August 1996; meanwhile, visitors to the hospital have to enter the building through a temporary main entrance at the canopied hospital dismissal door on Lacy Street...

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks awarded nearly $100,000 to nine regional nonprofit agencies, including $10,000 to Cape Girardeau's Safe House for Women, in the initial grants made from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. The grants from this fund are focused on agencies providing support to vulnerable citizens during this pandemic emergency across the CFO’s 58-county service region of central and southern Missouri. ...

April 6, 2020 St Louis, Missouri $17 Million Dollar Judgment Stands as US Supreme Court Denies Review Despite the postponement of many oral arguments before the High Court, the United States Supreme Court continues to review requests for review of Circuit Court rulings from across the nation. ...