This afternoon on seMissourian.com

Roads in town are good, out of town, not so much

Some freezing rain fell on the area last night starting around 9 p.m. (if you're a night owl like me, you probably saw it). What that freezing rain became was a very slick sheet of ice on just about every surface, particularly roads.

But by a little after 9 a.m. today, the Cape Girardeau Public Works Department was reporting an all-clear on city streets. That's not the case on county roads in our area, where crews are still struggling to get the sheet of ice off and make the roads safer for motorists.

Meanwhile the National Weather Service says there's still a slight chance of snow this afternoon — 30 percent — and freezing rain tonight — 20 percent. And tomorrow, rain is very, very likely.

What was the deal in uptown Jackson this morning?

Some of you may have been stuck in traffic along Hope Street in Jackson this morning between around 11 and noon. That's not normal, is it?

No. In fact, a logging truck lost its trailer, causing a traffic backup that required police assistance while a wrecker was called to get the trailer off the road. By around noon the scene was clear. No one was hurt.

New Madrid County man goes to prison

A New Madrid County man was sentenced to federal prison yesterday in a case of revenge crime.

He'd pleaded guilty in October to burning the Rowe Furniture plant in Morehouse, Mo., after he lost his job there.

Click here for more on the story from the Standard Democrat newspaper. And check back later for more crime stories from our sister papers.

Thursday on seMissourian.com

Check back Thursday for an update on the weather situation, a look at Cape Girardeau's "treasure roadshow" and a story about a rather interesting way to smuggle contraband into jail.