This afternoon on seMissourian.com

House fire on Middle Street

A fire struck a Cape Girardeau home early this afternoon, causing extensive damage to the top floor of a 1.5 story house on North Middle Street.

Luckily no one was injured in the fire, though several people were at the home when the blaze broke out.

Click here for more details on this story.

In other fire news, a blaze this weekend severely damaged the Plaza Tire store in Malden, Mo., the Daily Dunklin Democrat newspaper in Kennett reports.

Victims of fatal crash identified; ice causes wrecks

Yesterday we told you about a crash that claimed the lives of three people in Ripley County in the Southeast Missouri Ozarks. Now the victims of that fiery crash have been identified, as authorities continue to try to find out just what caused it.

Click here for more on that story from the Daily American Republic newspaper in Poplar Bluff.

Car crashes were a frequent sight around Southeast Missouri late last night and early this morning, as a thin layer of ice coated roadways around the region.

Monday night the ice caused accidents on the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge and on Highway 25 near Dutchtown, and this morning Cape Girardeau police responded to a dozen of them.

Click here for more details on ice-related wrecks.

Leslie steps down as city manager

Doug Leslie's long tenure with the Cape Girardeau city government — over 19 years in all — will end in March.

The city announced today at a noon news conference that Leslie is stepping down from the post, taking an early retirement, effective March 1. Leslie has been city manager since 2003, and held other posts in the city government, including Public Works Director, long before that.

Click here for more on the story, and look for a more extensive story later on seMissourian.com.

Wednesday on seMissourian.com

Look for more on the Leslie retirement, the house fire and the weather-related accidents as well as stories on the Cape Girardeau County budget, a new police station in Perryville and a local event planned to celebrate the Obama inauguration, Wednesday morning on seMissourian.com.