This afternoon on seMissourian.com

Weekend storms lead to river's rapid rise

The storms that hit Cape Girardeau and other parts of Southeast Missouri on Saturday primarily brought strong winds with them, and some rain. But to the north, those storms were even stronger, causing flash flooding problems and pumping the Mississippi River full of floodwater.

With that surge of water the river at Cape Girardeau is expected to jump to near flood stage this week, an oddity for late December and early January, when the river level is typically very low.

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The good news is that our weather should be quite nice through this week, with plenty of sun and highs in the high 30s, 40s and 50s expected.

Police looking for armed robbery suspects

There's been another armed robbery in the area, this time in another small town. Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department said that a convenience store in Old Appleton was robbed Sunday afternoon.

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The news of the Old Appleton robbery comes on the heels of an armed robbery last week in Benton and the death of a robbery victim in Sikeston, turning that event into a homicide.

Teen driver assault after accident

Strange news out of Caruthersville: a 19-year-old woman was assaulted after she apparently hit a child accidentally with her car when the child bolted out in front of her on a bicycle.

Police say Chelsie Mott was assaulted by the child's mother after the accident. The child received only minor injuries in the accident.

Click here to read more on this story from the Standard Democrat newspaper.

Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament action

Get the latest information on the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament action, including live blogging and constant scoreboard updates, at our sister website, Semoball.com.

You can also have game scores sent straight to your cell phone by signing up for our text alerts service.

Tuesday on seMissourian.com

Check back Tuesday for a story that examines the local residential construction industry and the big hit that industry has taken in the 2008 credit crunch, Larry Bock's last day on the Cape Girardeau County Commission and an examination of recent robberies in the area.