Stories from Saturday, March 11, 2023

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Former Missouri Rep. Mark Richardson of Poplar Bluff says he was humbled and honored to be the recipient of the inaugural Taste of The South award. Richardson was surprised recently at an event hosted by state Sen. Jason Bean (R-MO) in Jefferson City. Taste of the South is the beginning of a tradition of showcasing the food and people of the state's 25th senatorial district, according to Bean...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The announcement of the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo's musical entertainment lineup is traditionally an exciting time of year, and this year promises to be just as unique and exciting. Set for 6 p.m. Friday, March 24 in the Sponsor Barn at the Art Saunders Arena on the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo grounds, the annual rodeo lineup announcement event is open for the first time to members of the general public who've purchased tickets in advance...

Missouri Department of Transportation officials say it will take somewhat longer than anticipated to start the planned $2 million new roundabout project at the intersection of Route K and Highway 25 in Gordonville. Earlier this month, Chris Crocker, MoDOT area engineer, told the technical planning Committee of Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization (SEMPO) contract letting will be delayed from May until October...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department -- and other local law enforcement agencies -- will once again be able to work with their federal partners on firearm crimes without fear of punishment. Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Brian Wilmes ruled unconstitutional Missouri's Second Amendment Preservation Act. The statute prohibited state and local law enforcement from enforcing federal gun laws...

Terry Baker is the association executive for Southeast Missouri Realtors, the trade association representing 397 Realtors in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry and parts of Scott Counties with an additional 112 non-Realtor members who work in ancillary businesses...

There are five candidates competing for three seats on the Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education in the Tuesday, April 4, municipal election. Candidates Kim Swartz and Roy Diamond will be challenging sitting board members Missy Phegley, Jared Ritter and Casey Cook, who are seeking reelection...

Today is Saturday, March 11, the 70th day of 2023. There are 295 days left in the year. Today's highlight in history: On March 11, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Bill, providing war supplies to countries fighting the Axis...

Temperatures aren't expected to climb out of the 30s as the region remains in the grip of a cold front that passed through with a vengeance Monday; the return of winter weather followed an extended period of spring-like temperatures through much of February and early March, making this latest blast of arctic air difficult for most to deal with...

A Parkinson's support group will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 13 at the Cape Girardeau Public Library. This is a free support group for persons with Parkinson's Disease, caregivers and family members and friends. For more information, call (573) 579-2468 or email dreno@semo.edu...

PHILADELPHIA -- Upon entering the Philadelphia Flower Show space at the Pennsylvania Convention Center last week, I was entranced by a forest of stunning orchids suspended from the ceiling above the color-changing entrance garden. The display, titled "FLORASTRUCK," greeted visitors back indoors after two pandemic years at the city's FDR Park...

Monday: Chicken and rice casserole or beef patty melt, vegetable blend, buttered corn, whole-grain bread slice and autumn dessert or fresh-baked cookies. Tuesday: Chili with beef and beans and half sandwich or roasted chicken thighs with veggies, baked potato, whole-grain crackers and chilled tropical fruit or lemon cake...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. March 9 n Medical assists were made at 11:35 a.m. on South Mount Auburn Road; 12;21 p.m. on Clark Avenue; 12:53 p.m. on Boxwood Drive; 12:59 p.m. on South Kingshighway; 2:59 p.m. on Price Drive; 3;08 p.m. on William Street; and 7:41 p.m. on Bloomfield Street...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Police Department responded to the following calls. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n A misdemeanor warrant arrest was reported on William Street. n A misdemeanor warrant arrest was reported on Independence Street. Thefts...

Thomas James Welch, 80, of Cape Girardeau passed away Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was born Dec. 5, 1942, in Earlington, Kentucky, to Thomas and Ida Welch. Tom worked for many years as director of radiology at Southeast Hospital and served as a contractor and developer of residential homes and neighborhoods in Cape Girardeau. He also served on the Planning and Zoning Commission of Cape Girardeau...

KELSO, Mo. -- Shirley Ledure, daughter of the late Theon and Elfrieda Hess Blattel, was born Aug. 8, 1931, in Ancell and departed her life Thursday, March 9, 2023, at Fountainbleau Lodge in Cape Girardeau at the age of 91 years. She was a member of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Kelso, Ladies Sodality and Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary. She was a resident of Kelso...

SEDGEWICKVILLE, Mo. -- Tracy Lee Lambert, 65, of Sedgewickville died Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Ford and Young Funeral Home in Perryville, Missouri, is in charge of arrangements.

THE VILLAGES, Fla. -- Kenneth Lloyd Calvert, 78, of The Villages and formerly of Thebes, Illinois, passed away Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, at his home. He was born Oct. 17, 1944, to Kenneth D. and Mary Frances Clutts Calvert in Cairo, Illinois. Kenny served in the U.S. ...

Robert "Scott" Browning, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, March 5, 2023, at Southeast Hospital. He was born at Southeast Hospital on March 14, 1941, to Robert Ozro "Buss" and Ruth Anna Vandivort Browning. Scott and Margaret Mary Uhl were married Aug. 2, 1969, at St. Mary's Cathedral...

WASHINGTON -- The House voted unanimously Friday to declassify U.S. intelligence information about the origins of COVID-19, a sweeping show of bipartisan support near the third anniversary of the start of the deadly pandemic. The 419-0 vote was the final congressional approval of the bill, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk. It's unclear whether the president will sign the measure into law, and the White House said the matter was under review...

BEIJING -- Chinese leader Xi Jinping was awarded a third five-year term as the nation's president Friday, putting him on track to stay in power for life at a time of severe economic challenges and rising tensions with the U.S. and others. The endorsement of Xi's appointment by the ceremonial National People's Congress was a foregone conclusion for a leader who has sidelined potential rivals and filled the top ranks of the ruling Communist Party with his supporters since taking power in 2012...

WASHINGTON -- If you get health care coverage through Medicaid, you might be at risk of losing coverage over the next year. Roughly 84 million people are covered by the government-sponsored program, which has grown by 20 million people since January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit...

WASHINGTON -- America's employers added a substantial 311,000 jobs in February, fewer than January's huge gain but enough to keep pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively to fight inflation. The unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, from a 53-year low of 3.4%, as more Americans began searching for work but not all of them found jobs...

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- More than 9,000 California residents were under evacuation orders Friday as a new atmospheric river brought heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds, swelling rivers and creeks and flooding several major highways during the morning commute...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed Friday to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions. The major diplomatic breakthrough negotiated with China lowers the chance of armed conflict between the Mideast rivals -- both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region...

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico -- The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men, people wearing blindfolds and plenty of activity around a ranch. Authorities headed for the rural area east of Matamoros on Tuesday morning, leaving the highway and driving remote dirt roads looking for the described location, according to Mexican investigative documents viewed Friday by The Associated Press...

NEW YORK -- U.S. regulators rushed to seize the assets of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday after a run on the bank, marking the largest failure of a financial institution since Washington Mutual collapsed at the height of the financial crisis more than a decade ago...

WASHINGTON -- Reported sexual assaults at U.S. military academies shot up during the 2021-22 school year, and one in five female students told an anonymous survey that they had experienced unwanted sexual contact, the Pentagon said Friday. The survey results were the highest since the Defense Department began collecting that data...

WASHINGTON -- The Republican chairman of a special House committee targeting China called Beijing's government "bloodthirsty" and "power hungry" on Friday at a rally outside the Chinese embassy in Washington. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis. attended a rally to commemorate the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against China's rule. The gathering took place on what is known as Tibetan National Uprising Day and comes as tensions between the U.S. and China continue to escalate...

TOPEKA, Kan. -- U.S. government regulators have stopped allowing a large part of the Keystone oil pipeline to operate at higher-than-normal pressures following a massive oil spill in northeastern Kansas in December. The order this week from the U.S. ...

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Ahead of a widely expected presidential campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis introduced himself to an eager audience of Iowa Republicans on Friday with a message that leaned into the antagonism toward the left that has made him a popular figure among conservatives...

KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's capital had most of its power supply restored Friday, officials said, as the country again responded swiftly and defiantly to the latest Russian missile and drone barrage targeting critical infrastructure. In what has become a familiar Russian tactic since early October, the Kremlin's forces struck Ukraine from afar Thursday while the ground battles in the country's east largely remained mired in a grinding stalemate...

Been a really busy last couple weeks. Several weeks ago I started some tomato seeds in my little work room. I start them 20 to 30 seeds per container and then transplant the individual plants into 3-inch-by-3-inch pots. Takes a bit of time, but it works. ...

A honeybee collects pollen from a pink flower the morning of Sunday, March 5. When springtime temperatures continue to reach 55 to 60 degrees (and above) for several days in a row, it triggers spring flowers to bloom. It was a chilly morning and the flowers on this Japanese quince bush were not blooming two days previous. I did not see but a few honeybees on this morning. But as you can see, this honeybee was collecting a lot of pollen...

Perryville, Mo. -- The Perry County Historical Society will welcome William Eddleman at its regular bimonthly meeting Monday, March 20. Eddleman will be presenting on the history of Tower Rock, the landmark stone that rises from the Mississippi River adjacent to eastern Perry County. A former university professor and president of the Cape Girardeau County Genealogical Society, Eddleman is coordinator of the State Historical Society of Missouri's Cape Girardeau Research Center...

The U.S. attorney's office is investigating a link between criminal elements in Mexico and methamphetamine trafficking in Southeast Missouri; U.S. Attorney Larry Ferrell yesterday told students and faculty at Southeast Missouri State University's Criminal Justice Day that the government is trying to destroy drug trafficking operations in the region; the criminal organizations involved are thought to be dominated by Mexicans who have recently moved into meth distribution and are using transportation and distribution routes established for cocaine and marijuana.. ...

Presumably, Donald Trump will never produce the dark secrets promised about Ron DeSantis' past. But his team thinks it already has one -- the Florida governor once was a Reagan Republican. "There's a pre-Trump Ron and there's a post-Trump Ron," someone in the Trump camp told Axios. "He used to be a Reagan Republican. That's where he comes from. He's now awkwardly trying to square his views up with the populist nationalist feeling of that party."...

I have been the officiating pastor for 12 funerals in the past three months. Nearly one a week. From the young life cut short by an overdose to the older woman who radiated joy, all have shared a common theme. Life, whether nine minutes or 99 years, is too short. I pen these words with a dual purpose. First, to purge my thoughts and to appeal you to take the brevity of your life seriously...

One of my primary goals is to advocate for Missouri families, as I believe future generations should be able to have the opportunity to grow up happy and healthy with the same opportunities that you and I have been able to take advantage of. With the price of everything from eggs to automobiles going through the roof, I know that more and more hard-working families across this state are being asked to make some tough choices about what their budgets can accommodate. ...

When an acquaintance of mine told me that a headstone in Memorial Park Cemetery in Cape Girardeau County bore a carrot cake recipe, I was both delighted and curious -- was this an "over my dead body" situation, or a "share it with the world"? Cemeteries are a favorite of mine, as they're peaceful places to memorialize and put monuments to those who have gone before us. ...