Stories from Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Cape Girardeau Central High student Trevor Kneezle placed third nationally in Fall Fortnite, bringing home the first ever Esports trophy to CHS. According to a news release from the Cape Girardeau School District, Kneezle entered the season with more than 300 players from across the country. Only the top 75 gamers were invited to participate in the playoffs...

The Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed the Scott County Circuit Court's judgment in a wrongful death suit Tuesday. John Henry Rhoden and Dorothy Jean Winfield were awarded $869,780.80 in damages Nov. 5, 2018, to be paid by Missouri Delta Medical Center for the wrongful death of their father, Roosevelt Rhoden. MDMC attempted to appeal the judgment, however the Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's decision...

Scott Blank has a vivid childhood memory of the former St. Vincent’s College and Seminary property, now the home of Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus. “I’d take a glove and play catch all by myself by bouncing a tennis ball off the old handball court,” Blank said...

For the past seven years, Mike Kahle has been working on a project to take to the skies. Today, the Kitfox airplane Kahle has been constructing for nearly a decade will be hangared at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport where it will undergo 40 hours of test flights to ensure flight safety...

COVID-19 vaccine doses continue to flow into Southeast Missouri. Gov. Mike Parson announced Tuesday how the state will distribute the latest doses available. SoutheastHEALTH and Saint Francis Healthcare System will each receive 2,000 doses in the first two weeks of March, according to the governor. The hospitals are the only "high throughput health centers" in the region to receive vaccine doses from the state...

This is the eighth in a series of articles with Kellerman Foundation for Historic Preservation board chairman Frank Nickell, an emeritus faculty member of Southeast Missouri State University, commenting on Show Me State history on the 200th anniversary of Missouri being received as America's 24th state in 1821...

Today is Wednesday, March 3, the 62nd day of 2021. There are 303 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On March 3, 1931, "The Star-Spangled Banner" became the national anthem of the United States as President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional resolution...

There are a hundred things I could tell you about my late mother that are more important than the disease that caught her in its grip the last few years of her life. I could tell you about her relationship with my older brother, who has autism, and her deep, lifelong friendship with him...

Greater Orlando, Florida, hosts several of the most visited theme parks in the world. At the Magic Kingdom you can dress up like a princess, pretend you're a pirate or just act like you're a kid again. Universal's Islands of Adventure lets die-hard Harry Potter fans pretend they're students at Hogwarts. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Carl A. Schemel, 66, of Perryville passed away on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at Southeast Hospital. He was born July 18, 1954, in Perryville to John Sylvester and Lutrudis Caroline Wibbenmeyer Schemel. He and Janet Lint Schemel were married on Dec. 27, 1980. She survives in Perryville...

Kelly Runnels, 60, of Jackson passed away Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, at his brother's residence in Jackson. He was born Jan. 21, 1961, in Cape Girardeau, son of Frederick and Mildred Brown Runnels. Kelly worked in the shipping department at Mondi and was of the Baptist faith...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Martha Ann Farmer Keener, 92, of Charleston died Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at United Methodist Church in Charleston. A memorial service will immediately follow at 11 a.m. at the church. The Rev. ...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Stephen D. Foster, age 77, of Perryville died Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, at his home. Graveside service will be at 1:30 p.m. March 12 at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cemetery in Belgique, Missouri, with Deacon Direk Hunt officiating...

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Jimmie Edmondson, son of the late Jimmy and Mamie Edmondson, was born Nov. 5, 1926, in Sikeston and departed this life Monday, March 1, 2021, in Sikeston at the age of 94 years. Jimmie was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving in World War II. He was a self-employed farmer and a member of the Sikeston First Baptist Church...

HOLTVILLE, Calif. -- Thirteen people were killed Tuesday when an SUV carrying 25 people and a big rig collided on a Southern California highway near the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said. Twelve people were found dead when first-responders reached the highway, which winds through fields in the agricultural southeastern corner of California. Another person died at a hospital, California Highway Patrol Chief Omar Watson said...

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden urged Senate Democrats on Tuesday to rally behind a $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill and stood by his proposed $1,400 payments to individuals, even as some party moderates sought to dial back parts of the package. "He said we need to pass this bill and pass it soon. ...

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Biden administration's plan to funnel more coronavirus aid into states with greater unemployment has irked governors with lower jobless rates, even though many have economies that weren't hit as hard by the pandemic. The $1.9 trillion relief bill working its way through Congress allocates extra money to larger, mostly Democratic-run states with higher unemployment rates, while rural Midwestern and Southern states that tend to have Republican governors and better jobless numbers would benefit less.. ...

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden said Tuesday the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccine for all adults by the end of May -- two months earlier than anticipated -- and he pushed states to get at least one shot into the arms of teachers by the end of May to hasten school reopenings...

Texas on Tuesday became the biggest state to lift its mask rule, joining a rapidly growing movement by governors and other leaders across the U.S. to loosen COVID-19 restrictions despite pleas from health officials not to let their guard down. The Lone Star State will also do away with limits on the number of diners who may be served indoors, said Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who made the announcement at a restaurant in Lubbock...

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The plane laden with vaccine doses had just rolled to a stop at Santiago's airport in late January, and Chile's president, Sebastian Pinera, was beaming. "Today," he said, "is a day of joy, emotion and hope." The source of that hope: China -- a country Chile and dozens of other nations are depending on to help rescue them from the COVID-19 pandemic...

WASHINGTON -- FBI director Chris Wray bluntly labeled the January riot at the U.S. Capitol as "domestic terrorism" Tuesday and warned of a rapidly growing threat of homegrown violent extremism law enforcement is scrambling to confront through thousands of investigations...

BOSTON -- Six Dr. Seuss books -- including "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" and "If I Ran the Zoo" -- will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author's legacy said Tuesday...

WARSAW, Mo. -- The bodies of a man and his two young sons who were reported missing last week have been found in rural west-central Missouri. The bodies of Darrel Peak, 40, and his sons, 4-year-old Kaiden and 3-year-old Mayson, were found Monday in rural Benton County inside a structure not far from where they were seen along a road Thursday evening, the Greene County Sheriff's Office said in a news release...

LEBANON, Mo. -- The family of a Lebanon police officer who died of COVID-19 has been denied workers' compensation, city officials said. Officer Kendle Blackburn died Dec. 28 after a long battle with the virus. A release from Gov. Mike Parson's office at the time said Blackburn contracted the virus while on duty in November...

O Father God, we give you all glory and praise forevermore. Amen.

To the casual observer, old Saint Francis Hospital is an aging, dilapidated building that serves as just another canvas for graffiti and vandalism; but State Rep. Mary Kasten paints a much brighter picture; she and a local committee of social service representatives and interested citizens want to renovate the 83-year-old brick building for use as a family resource center; it would house various social service agencies under one roof, making it more efficient and convenient for those who need government assistance.. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Thefts n Theft was reported in the 700 block of North Sprigg Street. n Theft was reported in the 900 block of Locinvar Lane. n Larceny was reported. Miscellaneous n Property damage was reported in the 300 block of Siemers Drive...

Daughter to Jody and Abby Underwood of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Hospital, 10:03 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. Name, Prosey Reeves. Weight, 7 pounds, 13 ounces. Fourth child, third daughter. Mrs. Underwood is the daughter of Connie Bradshaw of Cape Girardeau. She is a teacher aide with Cape Girardeau School District. Underwood is the son of Dennis and Donna Underwood of Cape Girardeau. He is general manager at KMC Construction...

I’m so tired of wearing a mask and staying away from people who do not live in my household. Virtual meetings are great, but I miss seeing work partners and going out to eat at a restaurant. I miss my life before COVID-19. I’m sure I am not the only one. However, there is a light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel; there are now several vaccines available...

Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri is raising money to develop a residential transitional housing facility in downtown Cape Girardeau for homeless pregnant women. Referred to as LifeHouse-Cape Girardeau, the project is based on a similar $4 million facility in Springfield, Missouri. ...