Local News

The Cape Girardeau School District released a preliminary plan for fall classes, set to begin face to face Aug. 24, as of Thursday morning. Superintendent Neil Glass said Thursday the process to arrive at this plan was “pretty thorough. We relied heavily on the survey we put out, thinking families would appreciate having some input on what the plan looked like.”...

Nearly two years after taking gunfire during a harrowing Poplar Bluff, Missouri, warrant arrest in 2018, the seven officers who endured the encounter were recognized Thursday outside of the Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. Federal Courthouse in Cape Girardeau. ...

An Perry County emergency room physician has tested positive for COVID-19 An asymptomatic Perry County Memorial Hospital ER doctor tested positive while on duty, president Patrick Carron said in a news release Thursday. The physician was then placed in full protective equipment and continued to work, according to the news release, as the ER would have been understaffed and in “crisis mode.” A staffing company was contacted to replace the COVID-19-positive physician and the physician was relieved of their duties as soon as possible, the release stated. ...

Navy veteran, businessman and community volunteer David Cantrell will be recognized with the Southeast Missourian’s Spirit of America Award at 8 a.m. today as part of Faune Riggin’s morning radio show. The original presentation was to be at the City of Cape Girardeau’s Great American Fourth of July prior to fireworks, but the event was postponed due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19...

Regional business publication B Magazine is accepting nominations of individuals who are making a difference in 2020. Do you know someone who should be recognized for going above and beyond in his or her community, industry or profession? If so, nominate that person to be one of B Magazine’s Newsmakers: The Difference Makers of 2020...

The namesake for the Mac’s Mission shelter, a 9-year-old pit bull, is still alive despite the odds. “(Mac) is a cancer survivor and has had five leg surgeries,” said Mac’s Mission co-founder Rochelle Steffen, whose organization dealing with small animals with special needs became a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit in late 2015 and is now housed on 3 acres at 325 County Road 436, 2 miles north of Jackson...

Oak Ridge schools are taking advantage of a Missouri State Board of Education (MSBE) exemption and will open the 362-student K-12 district Aug. 12, nearly two weeks earlier than state law normally permits. In a letter to district families and available on the school’s Facebook page, superintendent Adrian Eftink cited “lost face-to-face time with teachers” related to COVID-19 as one rationale for the early start for the school in northwestern Cape Girardeau County...

SIKESTON, Mo. — For the second time in a month, the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo Board of Directors announced a change in this year’s entertainment lineup for the Sikeston Rodeo. According to a release from the Jaycees, Chris Lane will not be appearing as the headliner the night of Aug. 5. Tickets already purchased for the event are still valid for the Rodeo contest, and a new musical act will be announced soon, the release stated...

Temperatures reaching 90 degrees and more across Missouri this month have caused the state’s Department of Transportation to warn of what it terms “pavement blow-ups.” Potholes and high heat can weaken pavement, creating bumpy road surfaces, MoDOT in a release Thursday...

The City of Cape Girardeau announced in a news release Thursday that masks will be required in all city facilities starting today. Visitors to places such as Parks and Recreation buildings, City Hall and the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport will be required to wear a mask. Those visiting outdoor areas or actively engaged in recreation activities will not be required to wear a mask, the release states, but they should be worn whenever possible...

Opening ceremonies for the Jackson Police Department’s new headquarters next week will not include building tours, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a ribbon-cutting and remarks by various officials will still take place as scheduled at 10 a.m. July 17 outside the new police facility, 202 W. Jackson Blvd...

The Downtown Tailgate Flea Market, originally scheduled for Oct. 4 in downtown Cape Girardeau, has been canceled, and the Downtown Merchants Group is going online-only until 2021, said DMG president Derick Charles of SEMO Media. “It was a very difficult decision to make but the safety of the public comes first,” Charles wrote in a message Thursday. ...

A group of about 30 demonstrators protest the conviction of Willekis Dorsey outside of the Scott County Court House on Thursday in Benton, Missouri. ...

Former Scott County corrections officer Sandra Kay Allen is suing Scott County and Sheriff Wes Drury alleging violation of Missouri’s Human Rights Act for what she says is gender/sex discrimination, retaliation, hostile work environment and sexual harassment...

Northbound Interstate 55 in Scott and Cape Girardeau counties -- from mile marker 80 near Benton, Missouri, to mile marker 95 in Cape Girardeau -- will be reduced with a 10-foot width restriction as contractor crews perform pavement improvements. A Missouri Department of Transportation Department news release stated the work will take place from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily from July 22 through Oct. 1...

Renowned blues guitarist Mike Zito brings his Social Distancing Tour 2020 to Rude Dog Pub, 123 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau, at 9 p.m. Friday. Tickets: $10. Info: (573) 335-4447 or visit Facebook @happyslapowitz. This 13-city tour includes stops in Kansas City, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; St. Louis; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Sarasota and Boca Raton, Florida. Zito's new album, "Quarantine Blues," recently hit music stands...

Plans are fluid, but officials with the Cape Girardeau and Jackson school districts indicated the intent to have in-person, face-to-face instruction at school starting Aug. 24. Jackson superintendent John Link and district communications director Merideth Pobst posted a Facebook Live video on the district’s page @jacksonr2schooldistrict Wednesday morning, and emphasized plans could change as information on COVID-19 changes...

Cedric Charles Moore Jr., 27, of Cape Girardeau surrendered himself into police custody Wednesday afternoon at the Scott County Sheriff’s Office in Benton, Missouri, according to Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Joey Hann. Moore faces felony charges of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree assault...

A bride’s wedding dress is worn once and often never again. For many women who walk down the aisle, such a garment is single-use and disappears into a closet. Erin Poindexter of Cape Girardeau found a novel way to use the dress from her 2014 nuptials to help grieving parents...

A group of property owners along North Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau want to make it easier for people to access their businesses and hope to form a transportation development district, or TDD, to do so. A petition to create the North Kingshighway Transportation Development District has been submitted to Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court. ...

Cape Girardeau’s “Vision 2040” planning document took another step toward adoption Wednesday night when the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously to accept the 160-page report and forward it to the City Council for further consideration...

Old Town Cape announced Wednesday that free outdoor concert series Tunes at Twilight’s fall series is canceled. The organization had already canceled the spring series, previously held on the Common Pleas Courthouse lawn and gazebo in Cape Girardeau...

This week's topper comes to you courtesy of rustmedia's James Baughn, whose blog, Pavement Ends (semissourian.com/blogs/pavementends), has a long and rich archive that I personally have lost hours to, looking up points of interest and James' observations. I highly recommend it...

Cape Girardeau County reported 20 new cases Wednesday, for a total of 336, with 160 recoveries and three deaths. Thirteen of those cases are from the City of Cape Girardeau, three are from Jackson and five are from elsewhere in the county. There are currently three Cape Girardeau County residents hospitalized; there are 12 Saint Francis hospitalizations and seven at Southeast Hospital...

Jon K. Rust, left, publisher of the Southeast Missourian and co-president of Rust Communications, speaks to a group of protesters Wednesday outside of the Southeast Missourian offices in downtown Cape Girardeau. ...

It's a line Caroline Harding-Ritter, a resident of Cape Girardeau, wrote in her journal during her five-day stay at the Behavioral Health Unit at Southeast Health Center of Stoddard County in Dexter, Missouri, a stay brought on by her months-long struggle with severe postpartum depression and anxiety that began the day her daughter was born in October 2019. ...

Less than 24 hours after a vote authorizing its removal, the Confederate monument in Ivers Square in downtown Cape Girardeau was boxed up Tuesday afternoon and made ready for an undetermined new venue. Scott Meyer, city manager, said “people walking by won’t have to see the (marker) anymore.”...

The COVID-19 pandemic has apparently not deterred people from spending money in Cape Girardeau County, according to the county’s latest sales tax receipts, which are running slightly ahead of last year’s pace. Meanwhile, the county’s use-tax revenue, generated by online and out-of-state taxable purchases, has increased substantially for the third straight month...

When it comes to controlling the spread of COVID-19, the answer may be in a better-informed public through business contact tracing. On Monday, the Cape Girardeau Public Health Center released on social media a list of local businesses where COVID-19 exposure occurred. Included on the list are times and dates of exposure at places such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Rally’s Drive In and Target...

Anna Kangas is on the lookout for photos of the Cape Girardeau Common Pleas Courthouse through the years, and she’s requesting the public’s help. Kangas, who works for the city’s development services department and is the City Hall project manager, said the process to transform the Common Pleas Courthouse into Cape Girardeau’s new city hall is underway...

A free class offered online next week by the Alzheimer’s Association will give valuable insight, advice and resources for caregivers of those living with dementia, said Jeremy Koerber, education program director for the greater Missouri chapter. Koerber said dementia doesn’t directly increase risk for COVID-19, but it might affect a person’s memory of whether they’ve recently washed their hands, for example...

A sea change appears to be happening in university education and the tide is accelerating due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing (Fair Test), more than half of all four-year colleges and universities in the United States no longer require applicants to submit ACT or SAT standardized testing scores for admission in the Fall 2021 semester...

The Cape Girardeau City Council voted Monday to accept most but not all of the June 23 recommendation from the city’s Historical Preservation Commission (HPC) regarding the fate of the Confederate States of America (C.S.A.) monument in Ivers Square...

Felony charges have been filed against 27-year-old Cedric Charles Moore Jr. of Cape Girardeau for allegedly punching a 12-year-old dancer in the head Friday night, according to information released Monday by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. The alleged assailant now faces one Class B felony count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and one class D felony count of second-degree assault, according to an arrest warrant. ...

It wasn’t long after a 5-year-old girl nearly drowned in mid-May when she was sucked under a low-water bridge over Hubble Creek in Jackson’s City Park before the city’s administrative staff began looking for ways to keep the same thing from ever happening again...

The Cape Girardeau County Commission approved reimbursement payments Monday to several county school systems and the Riverside Regional Library for expenses they’ve incurred as of the end of June related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reimbursements are the first of what the commissioners believe will be many similar payments in the coming months due to coronavirus-related expenses...

Most counties in the region reported new COVID-19 cases Monday, with Cape Girardeau’s case count jumping by 40. Officials with Cape Girardeau Public Health Center reported 40 new cases, with 24 of those coming in the City of Cape Girardeau, seven in Jackson and nine elsewhere in the county. Close contact with an infected person was responsible for 39 of the new cases. The county now has 295 cases. ...

As area residents cleaned up the detritus of Fourth of July fireworks from their lawns and driveways this weekend, one unintended consequence of Independence weekend neighborhood celebrations isn’t so easy to resolve. Small animals can become spooked from decibel-straining cherry bombs and some run away from their owners...

Route AA in Cape Girardeau County, between County Road 475 and County Road 477, will be closed as contractor crews replace the Caney Fork bridge near Daisy. A Missouri Department of Transportation news release indicates the work will begin July 20, with completion anticipated Oct. 8...

St. Louis; Poplar Bluff, Missouri; and Marion, Illinois. By and large, those have been the primary options for military veterans in this region in need of anything beyond basic health care services through the Department of Veterans Affairs. That will change late next year with the opening of the VA's Cape Girardeau Health Care Center...

Clint Lacy, of Marble Hill, said the group had been protesting daily since Friday and that the most present at any one time was five people. Two prominent local historic preservation groups, the city's Historic Preservation Commission and the Kellerman Foundation, have recommended the monument be moved.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Bob Fox now is in favor of moving the controversial Confederate States of America (C.S.A.) statue to Old Lorimier Cemetery, where the remains of an estimated 1,200 Civil War-era soldiers are interred, both Union and Confederate...

Alton Bray, who graduated from Southeast Missouri State Teachers College almost 80 years ago and went on to serve several decades as the school's registrar, died Friday at The Chateau Girardeau. He was 100 years old. Bray's relationship with the college, now known as Southeast Missouri State University, began in 1937 when he began his freshman year. He majored in physics and mathematics, graduating in 1941...

Police are investigating an attack on a 12-year-old male Friday night in downtown Cape Girardeau. Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Joey Hann said at approximately 11:40 p.m., the juvenile was dancing on Main Street near Independence Street when a dark vehicle stopped in the westbound lane of Independence Street. An adult male passenger exited the vehicle and hit the juvenile in the head from behind. The suspect returned to the vehicle and quickly drove away...

Twenty-three flags were placed in Cape County Park on Saturday morning to memorialize veterans who served in foreign wars. Organized by retired Navy Capt. David Cantrell and hosted since 1987 by the VFW Post 3838, the 8 a.m. ceremony included opening remarks, flag dedication by loved ones and a closing benediction...

Images from Saturday morning's event at Cape County Park North.

Chris Krewson, Jackson High School Chris Krewson of Jackson High School spent his four years participating in Spanish Club, Cool Kids Against Bullying and Science National Honor Society. He was the Scholar Bowl team captain, which scored all-district last year. In Science National Honor Society, Krewson participated in a science symposium and had been planning to compete statewide prior to the COVID-19 pandemic...

Perry County, Missouri, health officials reported Friday the death of a young adult due to COVID-19, the first death in the county attributed to the disease caused by coronavirus. Six new virus cases were also reported in the county Friday, for a total of 158, with 82 recoveries...

Kristen and Billy Lewis of Jackson know firsthand that opportunities occasionally present themselves even in a time of crisis. The married couple has been operating a small mobile coffee trailer, Molon Latte, during the current pandemic and said business is good...

Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center announced Friday afternoon coronavirus exposures may have occurred at Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center. A release stated county health officials tracing contacts of a positive virus case determined exposure to the virus may have occurred during a range of days and times: 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. June 25 and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 26 through Thursday...