Editorials

It sure is nice to have local football teams playing games after Thanksgiving. That was the case last weekend as both Cape Central High School and Southeast Missouri State University played postseason games on the same day. SEMO finished its regular season as the Ohio Valley Conference Champions and earned a spot in the FCS playoffs. Their opponent: University of Montana...

Christmas is so much more than presents under a tree. But there's something special about seeing the smile on someone's face when they open gifts on Christmas morning. That's especially true for children. Yet for many children, gifts at Christmastime are not a foregone conclusion. Many families are operating paycheck to paycheck, just barely making ends meet...

Several students from Chaffee and Oak Ridge high schools recently took home top honors in the Missouri Department of Transportation's bridge-building competition. Students from 25 high schools across Missouri participated in the 19th annual event, which handed out awards based on aesthetic design, strength of build compared to weight of the bridge, and school with best overall performance. ...

The Christmas season has begun, and there are several festive events on the calendar worth your consideration. The 30th annual Parade of Lights will be held Sunday, Nov. 27, in downtown Cape Girardeau. This year's theme is "A Very Merry Grinchmas." The parade starts at dusk and will kick off at the intersection of Broadway and West End Boulevard in Capaha Park before making its way down Broadway and ends at the parking lot beside Hutson's Big Sandy Furniture on Main Street...

Numerous reasons to be grateful this Thanksgiving On Thursday, many will gather with family and friends to break bread and give thanks to Almighty God for the many blessings in our lives. Even in times of challenge, we all have much for which to be grateful...

The Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau recently announced it would not host its annual Thanksgiving Day lunch this year. Lt. Lily Reiner said the event was canceled because of health reasons. The lieutenant told the Southeast Missourian she was recently in the hospital and won't be physically able to lead the effort...

The 2022 elections have come and gone. With the exception of a few congressional races -- and that's an editorial on its own -- the votes have been counted. Despite predictions of a national red wave, actual gains were much more modest for the GOP. At the time of this editorial, Republicans have secured 218 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives -- the exact number needed to take control of the lower chamber of Congress. Six House seats remain undecided...

Each year, the ladies of Zonta host an inspiring luncheon honoring some of the most influential women in our community for their work in business, education and the community. The event also serves as an opportunity to showcase the good work Zonta does locally and around the world...

There's an event coming up this week aimed at increasing homeownership in Cape Girardeau's south side. The PORCH Initiative will host a resource fair from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, at Shawnee Park Center. According to the organization's website, attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions to representatives of financial institutions, real estate and insurance agencies, contractors and community not-for-profits. A meal will also be provided...

Students, faculty and community members had a unique experience last month as the state's Eastern District Court of Appeals was in session at Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau. Michael Gardner, chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District and a Notre Dame alum, said judges on the Court of Appeals have the opportunity to travel to high schools periodically and hold court. He said it's a wonderful learning experience...

Each year on Nov. 11, we celebrate Veterans Day, honoring the men and women who served and are serving in our nation's armed forces. From the greenest E-nothing private to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, each veteran stepped forward, swore an oath to defend the nation against enemies foreign and domestic and agreed to go where Uncle Sam pointed...

The final numbers are in for Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center's most recent fiscal year, and the totals paint a nice picture of the city facility. The report, which includes visits from July, August and September 2021 and May and June 2022, showed nearly 59,000 people came through the gates. That total doesn't include after-hours parties, which can be booked four days a week during the pool season. The report notes the facility took in $752,201.13 in revenue...

Just in case you needed a reminder: Tuesday is Election Day. The midterms promise to be interesting as the balance of power in Congress is up for grabs. Most analysts predict Republicans will gain control of the House of Representatives, while Senate predictions are a bit more uncertain...

There are several amendments on the November ballot. While some have been given significant attention, others have likely flown below the radar for most voters. Today, we summarize the issues and offer our position. n Amendment 1: This would give the state greater flexibility when making investments, namely allowing "state investments in municipal securities possessing one of the top five highest long term ratings or the highest short term rating."...

For 77 years Dr. Dan Cotner was a fixture in the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band. "Cape Girardeau's own River City Music Man" could be seen each year providing the soundtrack to summer with his fellow bandmates in Capaha Park. Cotner and his trombone just felt right. ...

Cape Girardeau will be buzzing with Southeast Missouri State University students, faculty and alumni clad in red and black over the coming days for Homecoming weekend. The schedule contains several events, ranging from The Copper Dome Society and Alumni Awards Dinner on Friday night to the parade on Saturday morning and, of course, the football game -- with the No. 15-ranked Redhawks who are 6-1 this season -- on Saturday afternoon at Houck Stadium...

Some of them run into burning buildings. Others do their life-saving work in the "golden hour". Still others take on the extra training to learn about helping others in swift water or in an elevator shaft or in a grain bin. Just in case. They are firefighters, medical technicians and paramedics, law enforcement -- sometimes even civilians. They all, though, are first responders, answering someone's call for help in perhaps their most desperate moments...

If you've never been to Cape River Heritage Museum, there's another reason to add it to your list of places to visit. The newly named Haertling Room, named for Larry Haertling, includes a 1914 Model T Runabout, which is on loan from Bob Neff, and a 1928 Model A Roadster on loan from Haertling. The Southeast Missourian's Danny Walter recently reported the room in the museum also includes several other exhibits that were in the museum's storage...

Tuesday started a new era of air travel in Southeast Missouri. The first Contour Airlines flight from Cape Girardeau to Nashville International Airport took place, and a group of airport board members, area leaders and local media, including a Southeast Missourian reporter, were among the first to participate in the inaugural 34-minute flight...

Each spring, we shake off winter and look forward to sunny, warm weekends when festivals and events reinvigorate us. In reverse, a bustling window in the fall also features festive events, offering an opportunity to gather together for fun, food and fellowship before Thanksgiving and Christmas dominate everyone's schedule...

Cape Girardeau's recent water situation reminded of a line from a TV show character: "The most costly disruptions always happen when something we take completely for granted stops working for a minute." How true! Safe, abundant tap water is something we take for granted, as we do light coming on when we flip a switch or the engine purring to life when we turn the key or press a button...

The annual VintageNOW fashion show returns this weekend to the Show Me Center, combining a good cause with a first-class experience in one of the area's premier events. The show, started 13 years ago, will feature 60 models who will wear two outfits each over the course of the evening. ...

The month of October is championed by many as a time to raise awareness for breast cancer, an awful disease that impacts many women -- and even some men. You'll see pink flags this month, and marketing campaigns used to raise funds for mammograms and awareness. Early detection is key with this disease, and modern medicine has done much over the years to increase survival rates...

Today's youth have so many issues to deal with in their day-to-day lives. From longstanding challenges of peer pressure, to the potentially deadly consequences of alcohol and drug abuse with fentanyl-laced opioids being one of the day's biggest dangers, to the toxicity of technology and the myriad problems brought on by social media -- there's no shortage of issues thrown at young people...

Legalization of recreational marijuana will be on the November ballot in Missouri. Amendment 3, which garnered enough signatures to be placed on the ballot, would legalize “purchasing, possessing, consuming, using, delivering, manufacturing, and selling marijuana for personal use” for those older than age 21, according to the official ballot language. Additionally, it would allow certain marijuana-related non-violent offenses to be expunged...

Earlier this year, Southeast Missouri State University announced it would demolish a historic house it owns which had fallen into disrepair. Known as the Himmelberger House, located on North Henderson Avenue, the facility has most recently been used as the Jane Stephens Honors building...