Stories from Saturday, April 15, 2023

Cape Girardeau County Commission 9 a.m. Monday, April 17 1 Barton Square, Jackson Approval of minutes n Approval of minutes of the Thursday, April 13, meeting Communications/reports — other selected officials/department heads n Updates on new jail and 1908 courthouse project...

City of Jackson mayor and Board of Aldermen Regular meeting 6 p.m. Monday, April 17 Adoption of agenda n Motion adopting the regular meeting agenda. Public hearings n Hearing to consider a text amendment to Chapter 65 (Zoning) regarding the addition of provisions for defining and limiting tiny houses...

Cape Girardeau City Council 5 p.m. Monday, April 17 City Hall Presentations n Arts Council of Southeast Missouri children's artwork presentation n Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center — Jane Wernsman Items for discussion n Appearances by Advisory Board applicants...

Ellie Bridgman spent her Thursday night shift at a local gas station in Union, Missouri, planning for the day she'll lose access to gender-affirming treatments the transgender and nonbinary 23-year-old credits with making "life worth living." A first-of-its-kind emergency rule introduced this week by Missouri's Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey will impose numerous restrictions on both adults and children before they can receive puberty-blocking drugs, hormones or surgeries "for the purpose of transitioning gender.". ...

The net income for Missouri farms is predicted to fall this year, according to a Spring 2023 report by the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center at MU. The year 2022 saw a record high for the state in agriculture, which was attributed to high commodity prices and the top seven crops in Missouri expanding 270,000 acres that year, according to the report...

Highway 25 in Cape Girardeau County, from Jackson Trail to County Road 318 near Jackson, will be reduced to one lane with a 12-foot width restriction as contractor crews install roadside lighting. According to a Missouri Department of Transportation news release, the work will take place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, April 24, through Friday, May 5...

One man was hospitalized Thursday, April 13, in Cape Girardeau with an apparent gunshot wound. Cape Girardeau police officers responded to a report of shots fired around 9:45 p.m. in the 900 block of William Street, according to a news release. On the scene, law enforcement located one man who appeared to be injured by gunfire. He was treated for his injuries and then taken to a local hospital...

A single-vehicle wreck Wednesday, April 12, in Cape Girardeau left one dead and another hospitalized. Amber Brunk, 23, of Benton, Missouri, was killed after the 2010 Pontiac Vibe she was driving southbound in the 900 block of South Kingshighway ran off the right side of the roadway...

Howard Benyon, soon-to-be superintendent of Cape Girardeau Public Schools, introduced himself to the community and spoke of his plans for the district's future during a meet-and-greet event Thursday, April 13, in the auditorium of Terry W. Kitchen Central Junior High in Cape Girardeau...

In a special organizational meeting of the Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education on Thursday, April 13, Casey Cook, Missy Phegley and Jared Ritter were sworn into office by board secretary Beth Poyner for another three-year term. All three were incumbent candidates and emerged as the top vote-getters in the April 4 general municipal election...

"Bridge the Gap" is the theme of this year's Adult and Teen Challenge Mid-America fundraiser. James Bolin has been the executive director of Adult and Teen Challenge Mid-America for 13 years. The local organization is part of the nationwide, faith-based drug rehabilitation program, which has about 100 adult male students participating in the 12-month program...

Gabriel Jenkins was a 22-year-old college athlete preparing to be a teacher. Life was good, until things took a dramatic turn. Jenkins said initially he thought the symptoms resembled the flu. He would take some time off and life would be back to normal. Instead, his doctor said the young man was a year into kidney failure...

A decision will be made about the former Broadway Theatre at the Monday, April 17, Cape Girardeau City Council meeting, but it won't be the last. Council members will be voting on whether to host a public hearing at their Monday, May 1, meeting on a development plan officially submitted to the city by the Broadway Theater Redevelopment Corp. The process is prompted by the Urban Redevelopment portion of the city's code...

This story is updated. Sides Construction of Jackson was selected Thursday, April 13, to be general contractor for Cape Girardeau County's new $4.8 million emergency management operations center (EOC) — a 13,440-square-foot structure to be built by mid-2024 to withstand tornadic-level winds and consolidate all emergency equipment in one location...

Today is Saturday, April 15, the 105th day of 2023. There are 260 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner RMS Titanic foundered in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland more than 2 1/2 hours after hitting an iceberg; 1,514 people died, while less than half as many survived...

Paul and Irma Keller had barely gotten to their basement last night, when a strong gust of wind blew out a window in their Gordonville farm home, sending glass all over the living room and knocking pictures and a clock from the kitchen wall at the opposite end of the house; the storm was part of an evening of inclement weather that pounded Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and western Kentucky; the Kellers' home suffered minimal damage, but most of the roof was ripped off one barn; windows in a repair shop were blown out, the roof was gone, and a large, sliding metal door was pushed in.. ...

As Marge and I've gotten older, we spend more and more time with older and older adults. One of the groups we belong to at church is an old timers group. Really refreshing and enjoyable. However, there are some downers! (I'm joking.) One in the group hobbles around on a bad knee and has a hard time standing for any length of time. ...

We have no need to fear for our life because the promise of Easter lasts forever, long after Good Friday and Easter Sunday are past. That the season of Easter lasts 50 days and that it ends on Pentecost Sunday is the belief of Western Christianity. Some others believe that Easter ends on Easter Sunday. ...

"I will fight for you in Washington." This columnist, while hailing from a religious tradition not especially amenable to gambling, would nonetheless like to take bets on which presidential candidate will first utter this column's introductory aphorism as the latest quest for the White House comes into full flower in a few months...

Monday: Chicken tenders or ham and cheese on croissant, Parmesan green peas, broccoli salad, whole-grain bread and blushing pears or fresh baked cookies. Tuesday: Open-faced roast beef or chicken Alfredo pasta, green beans, fried okra, whole-grain bread and Mandarin oranges or cookies and cream pudding dessert...

At the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center, one of the many collections we keep is tax records -- monstrous books, oversized and heavy, that list personal property or real-estate taxes paid by Cape Girardeau County property owners in a given year, going back to the mid-1800s. Many of the tax books are a post-and-board structure, meaning metal posts bind the pages between two covers, or boards. Creative naming, right?...

The Town and Country FCE club met Thursday, March 16 at the home of Sue Jones for their international dinner on the country of Chile. Members prepared authentic dishes for the meal. Jones prepared a recipe booklet for members to take home. A guest at the dinner was Janet Denman, sister of Linda Thompson...

Trinity Lutheran Church at Egypt Mills will have a chicken and dumpling drive-thru dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 16. The menu includes chicken and dumplings, corn, green beans, slaw, bread and dessert. There will be a country store with items for purchase as you drive through...

Spring brings new life and many things to be happy about. Mother Nature provides many flowers and various kinds of mushrooms. The combinations and possibilities are numerous. I was quite delighted the evening of April 3 when I happened upon this small, yet wonderful scene...

Submitted by Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary Bill is one of our kittens ready for an awesome adventure: a home of his own. Bill is one of three orange males who was raised in foster care. Ted is the friendliest of the litter as he will greet you at his door. ...

Lord Jesus, as you washed your disciples' feet, may we also serve one another in love. Amen.

I have heard some people say that the Federal Reserve has a credibility problem. The agency missed the biggest inflation spike since the 1980s, was slow to start rolling back pandemic policies and failed to spot the risks that some banks, such as Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), were facing. Instead of instilling confidence and stability, the Fed's policy communication has at times been so unclear and confused that it has only served to exacerbate market volatility...

Writers are entitled to their opinions, but they are not entitled to their own set of facts — especially when they are false. In the Saturday/Sunday edition of April 1-2 Southeast Missourian, Bonnie Jean Felkamp's column titled "Are Americans so self-righteous we no longer consider the greater good?" states inaccurate information that must be corrected...

Confronting our Republican legislators about their dismal job performance is a frustrating exercise in futility. They have no shame. Instead, I turn to you: neighbors, friends, coworkers, employers and community leaders. Why do you continue to elect ineffective, cynical and divisive politicians to represent us in the various levels of government?...

MOSCOW -- Russian President Putin on Friday signed a bill allowing authorities to issue electronic notices to draftees and reservists amid the fighting in Ukraine, sparking fears of a new wave of mobilization. Russia's military service rules previously required the in-person delivery of notices to conscripts and reservists who are called up for duty. ...

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's president said Friday he will shut down Notimex, a national news agency that has been locked in a years-long strike against the woman he appointed to run it. Founded in 1968, Notimex was generally a service that mainly sent news reports from Mexico's 32 states, many of which weren't covered much by Mexico's national newspapers, which are almost all based in Mexico City...

PARIS -- France's Constitutional Council on Friday approved an unpopular plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 in a victory for President Emmanuel Macron after months of mass protests that have damaged his leadership. The decision dismayed or enraged critics of the pension plan. ...

KARUIZAWA, Japan -- Russian threats to nuke Ukraine. China's belligerent military moves around rival Taiwan. North Korea's unprecedented run of missile testing. The top diplomats from some of the world's most powerful democracies will have plenty to discuss when they gather in the hot spring resort town of Karuizawa on Sunday for the so-called Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting...

JERUSALEM -- Tova Gutstein was born in Warsaw the year Adolf Hitler took power in Germany. She was 10 years old when the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto launched the first act of collective defiance against the Nazis in Europe. Now 90, she is among the few remaining witnesses of the ghetto uprising -- and a vanishing generation of Holocaust survivors -- as Israel marks the 80th anniversary of a revolt that has shaped its national consciousness...

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A strong earthquake shook parts of Indonesia's main island of Java and tourist island of Bali on Friday, causing panic but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.0 quake was centered 59.8 miles north of Tuban, a coastal city in East Java province, at a depth of 369 miles...

BEIJING -- China won't sell weapons to either side in the war in Ukraine, the country's foreign minister said Friday, responding to Western concerns that Beijing could provide military assistance to Russia. China has maintained that it is neutral in the conflict, while backing Russia politically, rhetorically and economically at a time when Western nations have imposed punishing sanctions and sought to isolate Moscow for its invasion of its neighbor...

SANAA, Yemen -- An exchange of more than 800 prisoners linked to Yemen's long-running war began on Friday, the International Committee for the Red Cross said. The United Nations-brokered deal, in the works for months, comes amid concerted diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict...

NEW YORK -- Former President Donald Trump says he's not making much money from his social media network but estimates it is worth between $5 million and $25 million, according to his personal financial disclosure form filed Friday. He owns about 90% of his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, but said he made less than $201 from it...

BEIJING -- The trip by Brazil's President Luiz InĂ¡cio Lula da Silva to Beijing has made clear he is counting on China to help reinvigorate the South American nation's ailing industrial sector -- particularly by picking up the slack of exiting U.S. companies...

WASHINGTON -- A senior Federal Reserve official said Friday that there has been little progress on inflation for more than a year and that more interest rate hikes are needed to get prices under control. Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed's governing board, did not specify how many more increases he supports, but said that inflation "is still much too high and so my job is not done."...

HELENA, Mont. -- Montana's House gave final passage Friday to a bill banning the social media app TikTok from operating in the state, a move that's bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America many national lawmakers envision due to concerns over potential Chinese spying...

Daughter to Rory and Sarah Kipper of Cape Girardeau, Victor Valley Global Medical Center in Victorville, California, 9:07 p.m. Sunday, April 2, 2023. Name, Marigold Anne Elizabeth. Weight, 6 pounds, 10 ounces. Third child, first daughter. Sarah is the daughter of Darrell Long and Debbie Long of Cape Girardeau. She is a school counselor at St. Paul Lutheran School in Jackson. Rory is the son of Bonnie Kipper of Cape Girardeau and the late Paul Kipper. He is a pilot in the U.S. Navy and Flexjet...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. pril 13 n Medical assists were made at 6:34 a.m. on Linden Street; 7:28 a.m. on South Sprigg Street; 8:46 a.m. on North Kingshighway; 10:07 a.m. on South Silver Springs Road; 12:47 p.m. on Siemers Drive; 12:59 p.m. on Cape LaCroix Road; 1:21 p.m. at Jonson and Roberts streets; 2:22 p.m. on Broadway; 6:46 p.m. on Recardo Drive; 9:03 p.m. on Whitener Street. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Police Department responded to the following calls. Arrest does not imply guilt. Arrest n A warrant arrest was reported. n A warrant arrest was reported on Merriwether Street. n A warrant arrest was reported on South Hanover Street...

MURRAY, Ky. — Robert L. "Bob" Suchman, 86, of Murray died Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, at his home. He was born Aug. 7, 1936, in Bertrand, Missouri, to the late William and Reda Vaughn Suchman. He worked in the industrial HVAC industry, including 25 years with Brauer Supply Co. in St. Louis. He was of a member of Poplar Springs Baptist Church...

Terry Lane Randol passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends Thursday, April 13, 2023, at Southeast Hospital. Terry, a lifelong resident of Cape Girardeau, was born March 23, 1966, and graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High in 1984, where he excelled on the baseball field, at one time holding the single season record for home runs...

Barbara Newcomb Muench, 78, of Cape Girardeau passed away Thursday, March 30, 2023, at Evelyn's House Hospice Facility in Creve Coeur, Missouri. She was born April 27, 1944, in Patterson, New Jersey, to Frederick and Ardis May Epple. She married Barry Newcomb, and they raised four children in Kirkwood, Missouri. ...

Derenda Lee Butler, 78, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, April 10, 2023, at Southeast Hospital. She was born Oct. 20, 1944, in Mobile, Alabama, to Joseph Hurst and Jessie Carter. In her early teens, she moved to Southern California, where she met Donald Gene Butler, affectionately known as "Bud." They married Jan. ...

Before the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in Friday, access to an abortion pill was in line to become more cumbersome in California, New York and some other states that have positioned themselves as safe havens for those seeking to end their pregnancies...

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a bill Friday that could have penalized doctors accused of not providing enough care to infants delivered alive during certain kinds of abortion procedures. In a statement on her website, Kelly, a Democrat, called the legislation "misleading and unnecessary."...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Workers at one of Fort Lauderdale's landmark restaurants spent Friday tearing out carpeting and original hardwood floors, both ruined when 8 inches of water poured inside two days earlier. Old Heidelberg was among numerous businesses and residences affected by historic rainfall in South Florida this week that caused widespread flooding, closing the state's international airport for nearly two days and turning streets into rivers...

DENVER -- A trio of health care bills enshrining access in Colorado to abortion and gender-affirming procedures and medications became law Friday as the Democrat-led state tries to make itself a safe haven for its neighbors, whose Republican leaders are restricting care...

WASHINGTON -- A man who used a stolen riot shield to crush a police officer in a doorframe during the U.S. Capitol insurrection was sentenced on Friday to more than seven years in prison for his role in one of the most violent episodes of the Jan. 6 attack...

A European spacecraft rocketed away Friday on a decadelong quest to explore Jupiter and three of its icy moons that could hold buried oceans. The journey began with a perfect morning liftoff by Europe's Ariane rocket from French Guiana on the coast of South America. But there were some tense minutes later as controllers awaited signals from the spacecraft...

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The 12 U.S. soldiers died in a pine forest in South Carolina in 1780, their bodies hastily buried beneath a thin layer of soil as their comrades fled from the British who appeared ready to put a quick and brutal end to the American Experiment...

BALLINA, Ireland -- Quoting Irish poetry and soaking up the cheers of thousands, President Joe Biden on Friday pronounced Ireland not just part of his family history but part of his soul as he wrapped up a trip that gave him the kind of adoration that eludes him back in the U.S...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Top Republican hopefuls for the 2024 presidential race vowed Friday at the National Rifle Association's annual convention to defend the Second Amendment at all costs, suggesting that new firearms restrictions in the wake of mass shootings around the country would only hurt law-abiding gun owners...

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department on Friday announced charges against more than two dozen members of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa cartel, including sons of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, in a sprawling fentanyl-trafficking investigation...

DIGHTON, Mass. -- The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking highly classified documents had set his sights on joining the military from an early age. But more recently he had expressed disillusionment about having enlisted. Jack Teixeira, 21, was charged Friday in U.S. ...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court said Friday it was temporarily keeping in place federal rules for use of an abortion drug, while it takes time to more fully consider the issues raised in a court challenge. In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito, the court put a five-day pause on the fast-moving case so the justices can decide whether lower court rulings restricting the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the drug, mifepristone, should be allowed to take effect in the short term...

Arriving yesterday at the Cape Girardeau Post Office to mail their federal tax returns, customers were stopped by a handful of anti-tax protesters from the Libertarian, Reform and U.S. Taxpayers parties; the protesters paraded in front of the post office with placards over the lunch hour and again in the evening; Wednesday was the deadline for filing taxes...

It was a whirlwind week in the Missouri Legislature. I presented bills to committees in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and I carried another bill through the perfection process on the Senate floor. All told, eight bills I sponsored saw significant movement this week. ...