Trump rally to impact parking; police advise patience

Editor's note: While accurate when it was reported Friday, the information about parking in the following story is outdated and no longer accurate. Plans were updated Saturday with new logistics for the presidential visit. To find out the details about the new parking and shuttle arrangements, go here.

Those attending President Donald Trump�s rally Monday night will not be able to park in the Show Me Center lot or adjacent lots around the facility, an official with Southeast Missouri State University said Friday.

The Secret Service has imposed the parking restrictions, university spokeswoman Ann Hayes said Friday.

According to the Secret Service, parking instructions will be provided to those who register online for rally tickets, Hayes said.

Plans are being made to shuttle people to the Show Me Center, she said.

People will be able to park elsewhere on campus if they can find parking spaces, she said.

Thunderstorms are forecast for Cape Girardeau on Monday. But Hayes said the Secret Service will not allow people to bring umbrellas into the Show Me Center.

The university will cancel Monday afternoon classes because of �security and logistical needs� associated with the rally, school officials said.

Classes beginning at noon or later Monday will not be held, Hayes said.

She said one reason for the cancellations is the heavy traffic expected from people traveling to Cape Girardeau for the rally.

Cape Girardeau police said various streets will be closed to traffic only while Trump�s motorcade travels from the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport to the Show Me Center, but otherwise will remain open.

Sgt. Rick Schmidt, Cape Girardeau police public information officer, said security for the presidential visit will involve more than the Secret Service.

Area police and sheriff�s departments and the Missouri State Highway Patrol will provide much of the security, he said.

The Cape Girardeau Police Department isn�t large enough to handle all the security needed for Trump�s visit, Schmidt said. �We just don�t have enough people.�

Those coming to Cape Girardeau to attend the rally are expected to crowd city streets, making travel more difficult, he said.

�The key word for Monday is patience,� he said. People will need to be patient while driving on city streets and standing in line, waiting to enter the Show Me Center, he said.

All those entering the Show Me Center will have to go through metal detectors, Schmidt said.

Adding to the challenge, far more people are expected to obtain tickets to the rally than the Show Me Center can handle. The center can hold some 7,000 people, university officials said.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, a Salem, Missouri, Republican, said more than 40,000 tickets were distributed for a scheduled Trump rally at the Show Me Center in September. The White House canceled that rally to deal with federal emergency preparations as Hurricane Florence threatened the East Coast.

Smith said Friday those who have tickets for Monday�s rally should arrive early if they want to get a seat in the Show Me Center. Doors will open at 6 p.m., three hours before the scheduled start of the rally, according to the Trump campaign.

Conservative political commentator Sean Hannity is scheduled to do his radio show from Cape Girardeau on Monday in advance of Trump�s visit.

The Cape Girardeau visit will mark Trump�s last rally in advance of Tuesday�s midterm election. Trump has been holding a series of rallies in an effort to elect and re-elect Republicans to Congress.

Trump is coming to Missouri to campaign for Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, who is seeking to take the seat currently held by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.

As for canceling classes, the university said that schedule also will apply to classes at the River Campus and regional campuses.

The cancellation does not affect classes at the Cape College Center adjacent to the Cape Girardeau Career and & Technology Center because the center follows the Cape Girardeau School District schedule, according to a university email sent Thursday to faculty, staff and students.

Students who park their vehicles near the student recreation center, located adjacent to the Show Me Center, are encouraged to relocate their vehicles to alternate parking by noon Monday, officials said in the email.

Students with Greek Village parking permits and students who have vehicles parked on the Show Me Center parking lot have been asked to relocate their vehicles to the parking lot at the intramural fields in advance of the rally.

University offices will remain open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, school officials said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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