Newsmakers 2017

At only 25 years of age, Jared Ritter, who is a broker, realtor and landlord at Ritter Real Estate and Ritter Rental Property LLC, is already an avid community volunteer. Ritter volunteers between 15 and 20 hours a week at La Croix United Methodist Church...

When Brent Mullin, a Field Training Officer with the Sikeston Police Department, saw something online about a school district that had a place that allowed students and families in need access to food, clothing, school supplies and hygiene items at no cost to them, a light bulb went on in his head...

The adult services program at the Cape Girardeau Public Library has some new and different offerings these days, thanks largely to the efforts of Whitney Vandeven, adult services director. "I've just been doing my best to look at the community and their needs and wants," Vandeven says, "and try to bring free or at least affordable options that give people the opportunity to learn and develop new skills."...

Dr. Alan Barnette is trying to eliminate infant death due to unsafe sleep conditions, through a project called Bootheel Babies and Families. Barnette, a neonatologist in Saint Francis Medical Center's Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU, says the project aims to educate parents in the Missouri Bootheel's six counties on how to safely co-sleep with their children, and provides a "boxinette," a box designed to aid safe co-sleeping...

Chiropractic physician Dr. Seth Hudson has a long list of organizations he's involved with: the American Red Cross board of directors, the SoutheastHEALTH foundation board, the City of Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department's golf course advisory board, Lions Club, Knights of Columbus, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce and chiropractic associations, in addition to his work at Hudson Chiropractic at The Pillar Chiropractic Physicians Centre in Cape Girardeau...

Viney Mosley is testament to the ability to channel heartache. Not one to wallow, she determinedly mines with a bubbly demeanor, sifting for positives and silver linings that might evoke change or lift spirits. Through personality, friendships, connections and persistence, she's adept at raising funds, health awareness to prevent disease and hope for cures...

It's not uncommon to find Jeff Rawson with his hands full, whether it be ink, paper, laptop or coffee. Sometimes it's with awards, which has been the case the last two years, when the creative director and manager for rustmedia walked away from the American Advertising Awards, which recognizes the region's best in advertising...

Kevin Greaser is a busy man. As community bank president of Alliance Bank in Cape Girardeau, Greaser works with people throughout the area to improve the lives of others and make the community a better place. "Part of our job with being an executive in a bank is to be very engaged in the community, so a great many of the activities that I'm involved in are probably primarily because of my association with the bank," he says...

If living 500 or 1,000 years from now, Sven Svenson might be helping colonize another planet. In that situation, the Southeast Missouri State University horticulture professor says he would be probing for answers to the question, "How do we bring life to this rock?"...

Paul and Dawn Caruso are doctors. He's the medical director of SoutheastHEALTH's neonatal intensive care unit. She's a psychiatrist. Their shared vocations -- helping and healing -- are also what spurred them to revitalize foster care in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding counties...

The real-estate business is practically in Brandy Balsman's blood. Her mother, Denise Ulrich, is a realtor who has worked in the industry all her life, and eventually came to co-own ReMax Realty Experts. Balsman started in the office in 2002. Since then, she has learned the business inside and out, and became an owner in 2006. Balsman has been local director on the board of directors for the Southeast Missouri Realtors for the past three years...

Brad Arnold thinks big, and he does it with the people of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, in mind. Arnold is executive director of the Ste. Genevieve Community Center, where he has worked since he graduated from college. In fact, completing a 12-week internship at the center was the final component of his college degree. Afterward, he worked for a year as the facilities specialist, when the executive director's position became available. It was an opportunity he couldn't pass up...

Whether they are aware of it or not, many people in the Cape Girardeau area know Sara Nenninger, at least online. She manages social media for the Cape Girardeau Police Department (CGPD) and makes all the posts on the department's Facebook page, as well as on Twitter and Instagram...

About a week before Burrito-Ville's 17th anniversary, the restaurant's founder Justin Denton called his success "somewhat surreal." "It has become more than I could have ever imagined when I originally opened on Broadway just down the street," he says...

The silence was too much for Felice Roberson. Her son, Quinton David Combs, was killed in 2015 and she couldn't understand why nobody was talking. "I believe the silence was the betrayal. ... There were 60 people there that night," she says, describing the party where her son was shot...