Stories from Friday, May 26, 2023

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones on Thursday signed an executive order designed to make transgender people feel more welcome in the city. The order calls for city agencies to pursue policies that will reduce the impact of transgender laws restricting gender-affirming care and sports participation passed earlier this month by Missouri lawmakers...

Southbound Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau County -- from mile marker 100.8 to mile marker 100.6 near Cape Girardeau -- will be reduced to one lane with a 12-foot width restriction as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform shoulder work. A MoDOT news release said the work will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 30...

The Rev. Daniel Belken addresses the Notre Dame Regional High School graduates during graduation Sunday, May 21, at the high school in Cape Girardeau...

Ebb and Flow Fermentations will be holding an all day music event Saturday, June 10. The event, Music for Mac, will be a fundraiser for Mac's Mission, a local animal rescue not-for-profit operation in Jackson, and will take place from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Ebb and Flow Fermentations located at 11 S. Spanish St in Cape Girardeau. It will feature 11 musical acts, with each one starting at the top of the hour...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department has designated two "safe exchange" parking stalls in front of the police department located at 2530 Maria Louise Lane in Cape Girardeau. Per a news release, these "safe exchange" zones are under 24-hour surveillance, and can be used by those who need to make child custody exchanges, or anyone who has sold or purchased an item from a private individual, via online platforms such as eBay or Facebook and need a safe place to make the exchange...

The Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority (CTA) announced plans for new bus stop shelter placements and the purchase of multiple new vehicles Tuesday, May 23, at a free picnic at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau. The announcement came as part of the Transportation Coalition partnership between the CTA and the United Way of Southeast Missouri (UWSEMO)...

In support of Cape Girardeau County's "thin gray line" -- a reference to corrections officers -- the County Commission on May 15 approved $77,971.25 to buy a wristband identification system for inmates at the Jackson lockup. The money will come from the sheriff's office building and maintenance budget...

Fears of a second spike in flu cases in Cape Girardeau County this year have proven to be unfounded as health officials reported just three cases of influenza A in April. "We suspected we might have a year where there was a bimodal distribution, meaning two peaks (of flu) and we didn't see that," said epidemiologist Autumn Grim, who presented April's communicable disease report Tuesday, May 23, to the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center board of trustees...

Montgomery Bank offers CardProtect, a feature that provides real-time alerts, fraud protection and clarity in transactions. With CardProtect, customers can rest assured their Montgomery Bank debit cards are secure. CardProtect not only helps with fraud protection, but it can help parents manage their spending or their child’s spending from that account...

House of Paws Grooming Salon, located at 2031 Cape LaCroix Road, specializes in full-service dog grooming in a fun and loving atmosphere. Whether it’s a simple bath or full groom, we groom your dog to breed standard or your preference. We take care of your furry family members like they’re our own...

A leaky roof is not a problem you want at your commercial or investment property. That’s why you need to hire a roofing company you can trust to do the job right. Riverside Roofing is that experienced company you can trust, as they just completed their 600th commercial roofing project. They are also a Firestone Master Contractor. This designation is given to only 250 roofing contractors in all North America and Latin America...

First State Community Bank is focused on growing lives, not just financial wealth. That’s why over the last 20 years in Cape Girardeau the bank’s priority has been the educational growth of the community’s local students. This year, 2023, will mark First State Community Bank’s 20th Anniversary in the Cape market. ...

Water & William Olive Oil Co. recently opened at 105 William St. in the Rivers & Rails building downtown Cape. Owners Todd and Georgia Lowman, a husband-and-wife team, said tastings are available for all olive oil and balsamic vinegar products. During your visit, this knowledgeable team would be glad to assist with finding the right product for your specific taste and cooking needs!...

Southern Bank understands that communities evolve. That’s why our focus isn’t just on being in the community but being a part of the community. This means understanding the needs of the people and businesses around us and adapting. It means hearing from the people we serve and responding. It means treating them like neighbors, because we are neighbors...

Kasten is a family-owned business focused on improving customers' lives in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. Established in 1895, Kasten provides top-quality brick, stone, pools, hot tubs, hearth, and associated products and services. The company is remodeling the showroom at their Jackson location to display more products they offer while creating an atmosphere where customers can envision the improvements they'd like made inside and outside their homes...

With the recent opening of its new, $25 million Southeast Center for Integrated Health Services, SoutheastHEALTH continues to position itself as a regional hub for healthcare services. The center, along with the nearby Southeast Cancer Center and Southeast Behavioral Hospital, further defines the health system’s West Campus facilities as a patient-centered option for outpatient services. ...

Roy’s Tire and Auto in Jackson has served its clientele for 20 years in their same location. Through the years, their team has stuck to one tenant: “Every car and every customer is important.” They feel this is integral to their success, which is why they treat all customers like family...

Today is Friday, May 26, the 146th day of 2023. There are 219 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 26, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in Moscow. (The U.S. withdrew from the treaty in 2002.)...

Americans will celebrate Memorial Day on Monday. While many consider it the unofficial kickoff to summer, the federal holiday has much more meaning. The day was originally referred to as Decoration Day, a time to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers, wreaths and flags. ...

O God, may you continue to bless us and make your face shine upon us. Amen.

It's official. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is running for president. The first thing you should know is that Scott is one of the nicest guys in Washington. Capitol Hill Republicans and just about anybody who knows him likes him. Sincerely patriotic and devoutly Christian, Scott is most comfortable preaching, but he manages to avoid being preachy...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. May 24 n Medical assists were made at 8:36 a.m. on South Silver Springs Road; 9:33 a.m. on South Mount Auburn Road; 9:40 a.m. on North Main Street; 10:14 a.m. on Sharon Drive; 1:28 p.m. on Rusmar Street; 2:02 p.m. on South West End Boulevard; and 9:06 p.m. on South Broadview Street...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Police Department responded to the following calls. Thefts n Theft from motor vehicle and stealing firearm/explosive weapon were reported on South Hanover Street. n Theft from a building was reported. n Theft was reported on Good Hope Street...

Len J. Joiner, 78, of Jackson died Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at his home. There will be no services. McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson is in charge of arrangements.

SEOUL, South Korea -- The South Korean and U.S. militaries conducted large live-fire drills near the border with North Korea on Thursday, despite the North's warning it won't tolerate what it calls an invasion rehearsal on its doorstep. The drills, the first of five rounds of live-fire exercises through mid-June, mark 70 years since the establishment of the military alliance between Seoul and Washington. ...

LONDON -- A car collided Thursday with the gates of Downing Street in central London, where the British prime minister's home and offices are located, setting off a rapid, intense security response at one of London's most-fortified sites. No one was injured and police said they were not treating the incident as terror-related. Police arrested a man on suspicion of criminal damage and dangerous driving, and local officers, rather than counterterrorism detectives, were handling the investigation...

KYIV, Ukraine -- The head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner claimed Thursday that his forces have started pulling out of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and handing over control to the Russian military, days after he said Wagner troops had captured the ruined city...

TALLINN, Estonia -- Russia and Belarus signed a deal Thursday formalizing the deployment of Moscow's tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally, although control of the weapons remains in the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the deployment of the shorter-range weapons in Belarus earlier this year in a move widely seen as a warning to the West as it stepped up military support for Ukraine...

HAGATNA, Guam -- Chainsaws buzzed Friday as neighbors helped neighbors clear toppled trees and began cleaning the wreckage of Typhoon Mawar, which walloped Guam as the strongest typhoon to hit the island in over two decades, but appeared to have passed without leaving death or massive destruction in its wake...

JACKSON, Miss. -- Three former police officers who were indicted by a Mississippi grand jury joked around about a man who died in their custody, with one of them questioning whether to call an ambulance for the man immediately, body-camera footage shows...

DETROIT -- All of Ford Motor Co.'s current and future electric vehicles will have access to about 12,000 Tesla Supercharger stations in the U.S. and Canada starting next spring. Ford CEO Jim Farley and Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the agreement Thursday during a "Twitter Spaces" audio chat...

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton teetered on the brink of impeachment Thursday after years of scandal, criminal charges and corruption accusations that the state's Republican majority had largely met with silence until now. In an unanimous decision, a Republican-led House investigative committee that spent months quietly looking into Paxton recommended impeaching the state's top lawyer on 20 articles, including bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust. ...

The United States grew older, faster, last decade. The share of residents 65 or older grew by more than a third from 2010 to 2020, and at the fastest rate of any decade in 130 years, while the share of children declined, according to new figures from the most recent census...

WASHINGTON -- Oath Keepers extremist group founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison for orchestrating a weekslong plot that culminated in his followers attacking the U.S. Capitol in a bid to keep President Joe Biden out of the White House after winning the 2020 election...

The Rev. Bill Farmer reached the point where he couldn't stay in the United Methodist Church anymore -- but the congregation he attended was staying. Michael Hahn always wanted to stay in the UMC -- but his congregation was leaving it. Each has found new church homes, and they're not alone...

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans pushed debt ceiling talks to the brink Thursday, displaying risky political bravado in leaving town for the holiday weekend just days before the U.S. could face an unprecedented default hurling the global economy into chaos...

A festival celebrating the French cultural heritage of Southeast Missouri came to a close Monday afternoon on the lawn of the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau amid the sounds of French Cajun music and the sights of local actors portraying early French settlers of the region; the second annual festival, called La Fete Francaise, also included American Dixieland jazz played by Les Flagada Stompers, a seven-man jazz band from Lyon, France, and a performance of "Audubon in Ste. ...