Stories from Friday, December 30, 2022

BENTON, Mo. — A hearing to decide whether the Scott County Sheriff's Office will move its location to the Scott County jail was canceled Wednesday, Dec. 28, following the sheriff's request for a new judge. According to online court records, attorney Daniel Thomas Moore, who was acting on behalf of Scott County Sheriff Wes Drury, filed on Tuesday, Dec. 27, a motion for a change of judge in the civil case between the Scott County Commission and the Scott County sheriff...

DALLAS — Southwest Airlines said it expects to return to normal operations Friday, Dec. 30, after more than a week of widespread flight cancellations that started with a winter storm and spiraled out of control because of a breakdown with staffing technology...

For those wanting to make some New Year's resolutions but worry they may not stick with them, perhaps they just need a helping hand. Cape Girardeau Public Library is providing some self-care journal kits. Kayla Thompson, adult services coordinator at the library, said the journals are a craft project the library has done for the last three years. ...

Bradley and Leslie Phillips — along with their two kids — were planning on a simple flight home from their Christmas vacation in California to see relatives. They ended up spending thousands on additional travel expenses to make it home three days later than they originally planned...

Please don’t call Shad Burner Santa Claus. The Bernie, Missouri, native, director of Federal Initiatives for the state’s Department of Economic Development (DED), has no sack of toys on his back this holiday season, but he is helping lead a process that is potentially lifechanging for Missourians.

The number of college aged young people in Cape Girardeau increased by 714, between the years 2014 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Launching a new business venture is a dream for many, but the path to success is rarely clear, simple or easy. Whether it is a one-person show or a small empire, there are many possible mistakes one can make in the early stages of a business. One of the biggest mistakes on the startup journey is the faulty belief that there is only “one biggest mistake” to clear the hurdle of...

Voters elected new leaders. Aging infrastructure collided with Mother Nature. Some partners parted ways, while others reached out. Those were just some of the local news stories tracked in a busy 2022. Among them ... Cape Girardeau Regional Airport got several boosts during the year...

Today is Friday, Dec. 30, the 364th day of 2022. There is one day left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 30, 1903, about 600 people died when fire broke out at the recently opened Iroquois Theater in Chicago. On this date: In 1813, British troops burned Buffalo, New York, during the War of 1812...

ACME CONTRACTORS OPENS CAPE OFFICE St. Louis-based Acme Contractors is now leasing a 6,376-square-foot building at 2380 E. Outer Road across from Cape Girardeau Regional Airport in northern Scott County. A spokesperson for Acme, a 100% employee-owned and managed specialty construction company founded in 1947, said the company “delivers highly complex projects for manufacturing, food and beverage, airports, automotive, bulk handling systems, power, industrial, chemical, precast and steel erection, clean room and pharmaceutical industries. ...

O Lord Jesus, may we place our hope in you, our precious Savior. Amen.

Schools in the Rochester school district in Michigan include in their curriculum a course called "History of Ethnic and Gender Studies." If my child were attending school there, I would wonder why this is in the curriculum as part of K-12 education and what is taught...

Few of us may actually know the meaning of the words that are often the first notes heard by many at the stroke of midnight, whether in Times Square in New York or in your own New Year's celebration. According to scotland.org, here is how the first verse and chorus translate into modern English:...

Rose Mary Bohnert Ruesler, 87, of Jackson passed away Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, at Friendship Village in St. Louis. She was born April 6, 1935, in Perry County, Missouri, to Sylvester A. and Albertine T. Wibbenmeyer Bohnert. Rose Mary was baptized and confirmed at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Apple Creek, Missouri. She was a graduate of Perryville (Missouri) High School...

Kinsey Ross, 60, of Cape Girardeau died Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, at his home. Arrangements are pending at this time. Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Bessie Jane Grojean, 79, of Cape Girardeau died Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, at Southeast Hospital. She was born June 29, 1943, in Allenville to Elbert Howard and Florence "Flossie" Cramer Vance. She and Glen Joseph Grojean were married July 20, 1963, at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Chaffee, Missouri...

Amy S. Gibbs, 42, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Dec. 26, 2022. She began her career in nursing as a licensed practical nurse in 2003, became a registered nurse in 2007, and then earned her bachelor's degree in nursing from Southeast Missouri State University in 2017. She was lead charge nurse for Saint Francis Medical Center Emergency Department, where she worked since 2010...

Terry Dobbs, 65, of Cape Girardeau died Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, at his home. A memorial service will be conducted at a later date. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel is assisting with arrangements.

Beverly Dee Dougan Clark, 73, of Cape Girardeau finished her earthly race and went to her heavenly home at 7:03 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, at her home. She was born Nov. 18, 1949, to Forest and Lorraine Willis Dougan in St. Louis. She married Dennis "Dink" Clark on June 14, 1988. He preceded her in death...

ST. LOUIS — Kristy Leann Budt, 51, of St. Louis passed away Monday, Dec. 26, 2022, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She was born May 23, 1971, in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. She married Kevin S. Budt of St. Louis on April 8, 1995. Kristy was a State of Missouri licensed professional counselor since 2008, and an active member of Crestwood Elks Lodge No. 2503...

ADVANCE, Mo. — Betty Black, 83, died Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, at Aspire Nursing Home in Advance. Graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3, at New Morley Cemetery in Morley, Missouri. Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel is assisting with arrangements...

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is lucid, alert and stable but his condition remains serious, the Vatican said Thursday, a day after it revealed that the 95-year-old's health had deteriorated recently. A statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Pope Francis asked for continued prayers "to accompany him in these difficult hours."...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Major aid agencies on Thursday warned that Afghans will die because of the Taliban order banning women from working at nongovernmental groups, and stressed that female staff are crucial for the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance across war-battered Afghanistan...

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Jerry Lamb could not maneuver his wheelchair into the rows of pews at his church. It wouldn't fit. Nor could he sit in the aisles without awkwardly blocking the way. So he adapted. It's a regular part of his new life with limited mobility that requires near-constant calculations of how to navigate a world no longer set up for him. That included his longtime church in Camden, Tennessee - one of the many U.S. houses of worship with accessibility limitations...

TAPACHULA, Mexico -- When migrants arrive to the main crossing point into southern Mexico -- a steamy city with no job opportunities, a place packed with foreigners eager to keep moving north -- they soon learn the only way to cut through the red tape and expedite what can be a monthslong process is to pay someone...

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Vildana Mutevelic huddled in her apartment with her two young children and elderly cousins. They had no heat, electricity or running water as artillery shells tore the roof off their building and almost took their lives...

WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration's contentious approval of a questionable Alzheimer's drug took another hit Thursday as congressional investigators called the process "rife with irregularities." The 18-month investigation by two House committees detailed "atypical collaboration" between FDA regulators and a company it's supposed to oversee -- Aduhelm manufacturer Biogen. ...

WASHINGTON -- It should be a time of triumph for Republicans ready to take back control of the House in the new Congress next week, but their leaders are struggling with an embarrassing distraction about one of their own: What to do about George Santos?...

WASHINGTON -- The House Jan. 6 committee has dropped its subpoena against former President Donald Trump as it wraps up work and prepares to dissolve next week. Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the committee's Democratic chairman, wrote in a letter to Trump lawyer David Warrington on Wednesday that he is formally withdrawing the subpoena...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- When multiple pharmaceutical companies objected to Tennessee using their drugs to kill death row inmates several years back, the scramble to find lethal injection chemicals needed to carry out state-sanctioned executions grew frantic...

WASHINGTON -- For the Biden White House, a quartet of four female judges in Colorado encapsulates its mission when it comes to the federal judiciary. Charlotte Sweeney is the first openly LGBT woman to serve on the federal bench west of the Mississippi River and has a background in workers' rights. Nina Wang, an immigrant from Taiwan, is the first magistrate judge in the state to be elevated to a federal district seat...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Roads reopened Thursday in storm-besieged Buffalo as authorities continued searching for people who may have died or are stuck and suffering after last week's blizzard. The driving ban in New York's second-most-populous city was lifted just after midnight Thursday, Mayor Byron Brown announced...

PHOENIX -- A recount of votes has confirmed Democrat Kris Mayes narrowly defeated Republican Abraham Hamadeh in the Arizona attorney general's race, one of the closest elections in state history. The highly anticipated results announced Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court are among the last in the country to come out of November's election and solidified another victory for Democrats who shunned election fraud conspiracies in what used to be a solidly Republican state...

More than 1,100 cities, towns and villages in the U.S. lost their status as urban areas on Thursday as the U.S. Census Bureau released a new list of places considered urban based on revised criteria. Around 4.2 million residents living in 1,140 small cities, hamlets, towns and villages that lost their urban designation were bumped into the rural category. The new criteria raised the population threshold from 2,500 to 5,000 people and housing units were added to the definition...

BEIJING -- Moves by several countries to mandate COVID-19 tests for passengers arriving from China reflect global concern that new variants could emerge in its ongoing explosive outbreak -- and that the government may not inform the rest of the world quickly enough...

JERUSALEM -- Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday returned to power for an unprecedented sixth term as Israel's prime minister, taking the helm of the most right-wing and religiously conservative government in the country's 74-year history. The swearing-in ceremony capped a remarkable comeback for Netanyahu, who was ousted last year after 12 consecutive years in power. ...

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil~s President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced Thursday that Amazon activist Marina Silva will be the country~s next minister of environment. The announcement indicates the new administration will prioritize cracking down on illegal deforestation in the forest even if it means running afoul of powerful agribusiness interests...

KYIV, Ukraine -- Russian missiles hit Ukraine Thursday in the biggest wave of strikes in weeks, damaging power stations and other critical infrastructure during freezing winter weather. Russia fired 69 missiles at energy facilities and Ukrainian forces shot down 54, Ukrainian military chief Gen. ...

KINGSHILL, U.S. Virgin Islands -- President Joe Biden on Thursday signed a $1.7 trillion spending bill that will keep the federal government operating through the end of the federal budget year in September 2023, and provide tens of billions of dollars in new aid to Ukraine for its fight against the Russian military...

The Area Wide United Way went over the top, surpassing the 1997 campaign goal of $550,000; and contributions are still arriving; the exact amount raised will be announced at a victory party planned for Jan. 8 at the Dempster Hall Commons Area at Southeast Missouri State University...

ST. LOUIS — A judge has rejected Missouri lawmakers' effort to stop Planned Parenthood from receiving any public funding. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Cole County Judge Jon Beetem ruled Wednesday that the funding restrictions were unconstitutional...

As you plan for today and tomorrow, careful consideration of your financial and estate plan is important to ensure you have enough to provide for you and your family’s wellbeing. It is also likely that, throughout your life, you have come to care deeply for the good work of certain charitable organizations, such as a church or an agency specializing in education, culture, health care or social service.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (December 29, 2022) --- Elite Travel, Inc. travel advisor, Jamie Shultz, had the honor of being aboard Lindblad Expedition’s newest ship, National Geographic Resolution, for a 10-day cruise to Antarctica. From Ushuaia, Argentina, Shultz sailed through the rough waters of the Drake Passage...

Editor's note: The following is our traditional New Year's Eve editorial. Few of us may actually know the meaning of the words that are often the first notes heard by many at the stroke of midnight, whether in Times Square in New York or in your own New Year's celebration. According to www.scotland.org, here is how the first verse and chorus translate into modern English:...

Schools in the Rochester school district in Michigan include in their curriculum a course called "History of Ethnic and Gender Studies." If my child were attending school there, I would wonder why this is in the curriculum as part of K-12 education and what is taught...