Out of the past: April 1

1996

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- Metropolis has hit the jackpot; after three years as host city to Merv Griffin's Players Riverboat Casino, this small Southern Illinois city of 7,500 residents has taken $15,598,123 to the bank; there is no sign the bank will close any time soon.

No one speaks in opposition to a proposed juvenile detention center in Scott City, but they do have a few questions for the Missouri Division of Youth Services; representatives from the youth services division meet with the Scott City Council and about six residents during a public hearing in the council chambers; Scott City is one of about 15 cities that have applied for the site.

1971

Belt-tightening is the theme on the State College campus following a request of the president, Dr. Mark F. Scully, to curtail spending in an effort to live with a fund cut; all Missouri state agencies were told yesterday of a 15% cut in their funds for April, May and June because of a drop in revenue; Scully says the action will mean a loss of $200,000 from the $1,354,000 appropriation to the college for the quarter.

Construction of Interstate 55 through Cape Girardeau and Perry counties picked up considerably at the onset of warmer weather this week; all of I-55 from St. Louis to south of Hayti, Missouri, should be open to traffic about this time next year, predicts Gary Chullino, District 10 construction engineer at Sikeston, Missouri.

1946

The Cape Girardeau County Court directs Prosecuting Attorney R.M. Buerkle to institute injunction proceedings in Circuit Court to prevent purchase of the Cape Girardeau traffic bridge by Alexander County, Illinois; action by the County Court follows a similar move by the Cape Girardeau City Council last Thursday, when it directed the filing of an injunction suit in behalf of the city to halt purchase of the span.

Production begins by the Littleton Shoe Co. in its plant on the second floor of the building at 725 Broadway; organized by 10 local men, the factory is devoted exclusively to the manufacture of women's shoes, made of leather, cloth and plastic.

1921

At a meeting of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce last night, members passed resolutions endorsing President W.S. Dearmont and urging that he be retained as the head of the Southeast Missouri State Teachers College here; the resolution was presented by M.E. Leming, who said he had learned there will be an effort to persuade the Board of Regents to make a change in the presidency.

Philip Feinberg, formerly a merchant of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, has leased the building formerly occupied by the Vandivort Dry Goods Store and will open a ready-to-wear clothing store there; Feinberg is the brother of Max Feinberg, who was one of the proprietors of the Feinberg and Minnen chain of stores in Southeast Missouri until recently.

-- Sharon K. Sanders