Cape Girardeau County Commission 9 a.m. today 1 Barton Square, Jackson Approval of minute n Minutes from Dec. 3 meetings Communications/reports -- other elected officials n COVID-19 Update: In an effort to keep Cape Girardeau County residents safe and aware regarding the status of the virus, Emergency Management Agency (EMA) director Mark Winkler will be issuing an update at County Commission meetings. ...

Area health officials reported the highest one-day death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic Thursday. Officials attributed 13 deaths to the disease associated with coronavirus. Eight of the deaths were in Cape Girardeau County (78 total). Of the Cape Girardeau County deaths, the ages of the patients were 50 to 59, one; 60 to 69, two; 70 to 79, one; 80 to 89, three; 90 to 99, one. ...

An expected surge of COVID-19 cases has prompted Notre Dame Regional High School officials to suspend regularly scheduled bingo events at Bingo World, 823 Clark Ave. in Cape Girardeau, until Feb. 3. A release from the school stated the suspension will begin Sunday...

Missouri was the second-worst state per capita in the United States with regards to women being murdered by men, according to a report written by the Violence Policy Center. In the report, which uses data from 2018, 73 women were murdered by men in the state. Most of the women killed by men in 2018 were victims of people they knew...

State Sen. Wayne Wallingford of Cape Girardeau said he was "surprised" to discover Gov. Mike Parson had asked the leadership in the General Assembly's upper chamber to remove the COVID-19 liability protection legislation from consideration in the legislature's special session, which ended Wednesday...

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave an optimistic assessment of the prospects for a mid-sized COVID-19 relief bill and a separate $1.4 trillion governmentwide spending bill Friday, teeing up expectations for a successful burst of legislative action to reverse months of frustration on pandemic relief...

LONDON -- U.K. regulators went on the offensive Friday to beat back criticism they rushed their authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine, saying they rigorously analyzed data on safety and effectiveness in the shortest time possible without compromising the thoroughness of their review...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri's health director on Friday said the state should be able to vaccinate all hospital workers, nursing home staff and nursing home residents against COVID-19 by the end of the year. Missouri is expecting to get close to 340,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines this month, which should to cover everyone in the state's top priority groups, health department Director Randall Williams told reporters...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri's health department director Thursday announced the state is expected to get coronavirus vaccine doses for about 170,000 additional people this month. Director Randall Williams said 64,000 Pfizer vaccine doses and an additional 105,000 from Moderna are scheduled to arrive around Dec. 21. The state is expecting an initial 51,000 doses from Pfizer sometime before then...

WASHINGTON -- Optimism about delivering long-sought COVID-19 relief is building on Capitol Hill after additional rank-and-file lawmakers voiced support for a bipartisan, middle-of-the-road plan taking shape in the Senate and as top congressional leaders connected on the topic for the first time in months...

States drafted plans Thursday for who will go to the front of the line when the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine become available later this month, as U.S. deaths from the outbreak eclipsed 3,100 in a single day, obliterating the record set in the spring...

The Oak Ridge School District in northwestern Cape Girardeau County implemented a mask mandate Monday and will continue the policy for students in the second through 12th grade until further notice. The mandate is in effect only during the normal school day...

Eight COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the region Wednesday. Officials with Cape Girardeau County reported about 100 new cases of the disease Wednesday, but attributed no additional deaths to it. The county's testing positivity rate rose to 22.5%...

Don't travel over the upcoming holidays. But if you must, consider getting coronavirus tests before and after, U.S. health officials urged Wednesday. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the best way to stay safe and protect others is to stay home...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Missouri Legislature resumed work Tuesday after a special session had been delayed because several lawmakers tested positive for the coronavirus. Senators were scheduled to begin work mid-November. The Senate leader pushed off the session after he announced several senators and staffers caught the virus causing COVID-19. Lawmakers have declined to say who tested positive...

The Cape Girardeau County Court enacted an administrative order Monday extending its suspension of jury trials through Feb. 26 because of increased COVID-19 activity in the area. The extension leaves the Cape Girardeau County Detention Center over capacity for the time being...

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department has canceled Thursday's planned Community Dance and Social scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. at the Arena Building. "Out of concern for the health of our senior population, we regretfully must cancel (the event). We hope to resume our socials in February," the city's website stated Tuesday...