Stories from Monday, April 27, 2020

COVID-19 is so new and information is changing so rapidly that it is difficult to separate fact from fiction and truth from partial truth. Like everyone else, I’m just trying to make sense of the evolving information. Many of us have been monitoring the daily reports measuring the number of deaths relative to the number of cases. We’ve been treated to crash courses in lay epidemiology via daily press briefings and voluminous articles...

After an investigation, the Cape Girardeau Police Department determined a report of an active shooter at an apartment complex in the 2700 block of Lynwood Hills Drive to be unfounded. A flurry of local fire and police personnel responded to the scene Sunday afternoon, where some residents were evacuated as tactically-equipped officers investigated the call...

Southeast Missouri State University is planning to extend its Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) program to its regional campuses in Sikeston and Kennett, Missouri, as well as the university’s educational delivery site in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, starting with the fall semester...

Do you think we need another round of COVID-19 stimulus checks? If you do, you’re not alone. According to results of a national survey released last week, 84% of Americans want another wave of government checks similar to those that were part of the $2.2 trillion CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act approved by Congress and signed last month by President Donald Trump...

Fresh Healthy Cafe owners Rick Hetzel and Cheryl Mothes hope to combat food uncertainty in the Cape Girardeau community while also keeping employees on payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. The couple, who also run the Southeast Missouri satellite of Kids Against Hunger, have redirected employees to package 100,000 meals for distribution to local organizations...

Late last week, Southeast Missouri State University’s executive staff identified a $20.8 million potential budget need over the next three fiscal years, related to the economic impact of COVID-19, according to an email sent to faculty and staff by president Carlos Vargas...

Boy Scout Nathan Harris, 13, is bringing comfort to medical professionals through surgical mask ear guards. For about a month, the seventh-grader has been making ear guards for community medical professionals using a 3D printer he received for Christmas...

COVID-19 cases jumped by four in Cape Girardeau County from Saturday to Sunday. According to officials with the county’s Public Health Center, the number of positive cases in the county grew from 43 to 47. Eight patients remain hospitalized with the disease...

O’FALLON, Mo. — Missouri health officials are hoping a new testing strategy will help quickly identify people infected with the coronavirus at meatpacking and food plants throughout the state. Outbreaks of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, have occurred at several U.S. meatpacking plants, where hundreds of people work next to each other on production lines and often share space in locker rooms and cafeterias. Several plants have been forced to temporarily close...

In the time of COVID-19, those fortunate enough to still be working are facing changes in the workplace, and for many, that means their homes have become their offices. Here, six Southeast Missourians share their thoughts on the experience.

Late in the summer before fourth grade, Mrs. Meyer was the last teacher to make get-acquainted visits to our homes, as was the tradition. She was straightforward but had a dry sense of humor, and she knew the subject matter well. She also began treating us just a bit more like older kids...

Today is Monday, April 27, the 118th day of 2020. There are 248 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On April 27, 2011, powerful tornadoes raked the South and Midwest; according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than 120 twisters resulted in 316 deaths...

O Lord Jesus, give us wisdom as we face the issues of the day. Amen.

Forgive Jacksonville, Florida, for it has sinned. The largest city in Florida partly reopened its beaches, and it became something of a national scandal. CNN ran a disapproving segment, and the hashtag #FloridaMorons trended on Twitter. As the CNN report put it: "The scene at Jacksonville Beach wasn't one of caution in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. Crowds cheered and flooded the beach when police took the barriers down. People were seen swimming, biking, surfing, running and fishing."...

Where are the “Me Too” people on the Joe Biden sexual assault accusation? I know, he is one of their own. It is OK for a Democrat. ...

Cape Girardeau School District superintendent Neil Glass was recently recognized with the Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) New Superintendent Award for the Southeast District. The honor is reserved for superintendents in their second or third year. Glass has been in his current position since July 2017 and previously served the district as assistant superintendent for administrative services...

Schafer's Electric Enclosures has produced an intubation shield for hospital workers. The shield is designed to protect health care professionals from possible exposure to the virus from patients. The idea for a medical enclosure came after Cliff Brooks, chief financial officer for the company, read a Facebook post from a friend in health care. "Two hours after seeing the Facebook post," Brooks told the Southeast Missourian, "we had an idea for a prototype."...

Some of today's top action directors were first doubles for Brad Pitt, Neo and Wolverine. Increasingly, filmmakers are coming from the ranks of stuntmen and stunt coordinators, whose years of accomplishing complicated shots, managing the risks of cast and crew and working intimately with stars have given them a foundation for the task of directing -- especially in action movies...

LAS VEGAS -- Slot machines are powered down, casinos boarded up and barricaded. Sidewalks are largely deserted and electronic marquees that once flashed neon calls for nightclubs, magic shows and topless revues instead beam somber messages of safety...

SEOUL, South Korea -- A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been parked at his compound on the country's east coast since last week, satellite imagery showed, amid speculation about his health that has been caused, in part, by a long period out of the public eye...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The U.S. Census Bureau needs more time to wrap up the once-a-decade count because of the coronavirus, opening the possibility of delays in drawing new legislative districts that could help determine what political party is in power, what laws pass or fail and whether communities of color get a voice in their states...

NEW YORK -- Ruth Caballero paused outside an unfamiliar apartment door, preparing to meet her new patient. She covered the knob with a plastic bag. Put on a surgical gown, then a heavy-duty N95 mask, a lighter surgical mask on top. Cap, face shield, shoe covers. Hand sanitizer between each step of the process. Finally, the nurse donned two sets of gloves and knocked on the door with her elbow, ready to care for her first coronavirus patient...

TOKYO -- When the Japanese government declared an emergency to curb the spread of the coronavirus earlier this month and asked people to work from home, crowds rushed to electronics stores. So much for social distancing. Many Japanese lack the basic tools needed to work from home. Contrary to the ultramodern image of Japan Inc. with its robots, design finesse and gadgetry galore, in many respects the country is technologically challenged...

NEW YORK -- The billions of dollars in coronavirus relief targeted at small businesses may not prevent many of them from ending up in bankruptcy court. Business filings under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy law rose sharply in March, and attorneys who work with struggling companies are seeing signs more owners are contemplating the possibility of bankruptcy...

ATLANTA -- As more states push to reopen their economies, many are falling short on one of the federal government's essential criteria for doing so -- having an efficient system to track people who have been physically near a person infected with the coronavius...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Spain let children go outside and play Sunday for the first time in six weeks as European countries methodically worked to ease their lockdowns and reopen their economies, while governors in the United States moved at differing speeds, some more aggressive, others more cautious...

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Dorothy L. Hawkins Smiddy, 98, of Jonesboro passed away Friday, April 24, 2020, at the Sikeston Convalescent Center in Sikeston, Missouri. She was born June 24, 1921, in Reynoldsville, Illinois, the daughter of Amos and Josephine Cavaness Hawkins. She married Charles D. Smiddy on Sept. 15, 1956. He preceded her in death Oct 4, 1998...

Patricia Joan Amrhein, 87, of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Scott City, died Saturday, April 25, 2020, at Saint Francis Medical Center. She was born June 4, 1932, in Cape Girardeau to George and Gertrude Pierce Schwartz. She married Jerome Francis "Jerry" Amrhein on Jan. 19, 1952. He preceded her in death Oct. 8, 2005...

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri State Highway Patrol is reporting a dangerous trend on roads and highways left wide open by the shutdown tied to the coronavirus outbreak: People speeding at extraordinarily fast levels. Patrol officials told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at least once a day during the outbreak, motorists are being caught traveling faster than 100 mph. Troopers are hearing excuses ranging from "There's no traffic" to "I'm not hurting anyone."...

WASHINGTON, Mo. -- Some businesses near St. Louis are reopening with some safety measures in place, after local officials lifted restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The relaxation of the Franklin County order allowed golf courses, movie theaters, concert halls, gyms, fitness studios, tanning salons, bowling alleys and skating rinks to reopen Saturday as long as they adhere to social-distancing guidelines, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported...

A study released at the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents meeting yesterday shows the university pumps more than $53 million directly into the regional economy annually; indirectly, the impact tops $405 million, the study shows. CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- At noon, the City of Caruthersville inaugurates its first official gambling cruise on the Mississippi River; the Missouri Gambling Commission approved Casino Aztar's $500 million floating casino project Wednesday...