Stories from Wednesday, September 8, 2021

There is no dissension among area legislators when it comes to tougher restrictions on abortion in Missouri. All look forward to what may be a pivotal court date in late September, which may forbid abortions after the eighth week of pregnancy. The Missouri General Assembly passed House Bill 126, the "Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act" by 108-46 vote May 24, 2019. ...

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is opening the Ozarks Early Childhood Support Grant Program to reduce barriers for quality child care. Those eligible must be in the 58-county service region outside of the Springfield Public Schools boundary, which includes Perry, Cape Girardeau and Scott counties, and others in the Southeast Missouri region...

A man is in custody following a Labor Day shooting in Cape Girardeau. According to Sgt. Joey Hann of Cape Girardeau Police Department, authorities took into custody a suspect who allegedly shot a man near the intersection of North Park Avenue and Themis Street at about 3 p.m. Monday, outside his home...

On Friday, the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri will open its Collab Lab, a sensory-inclusive classroom fitted for art learning. Arts council director Kelly Downes said she sought to create a space where people with disabilities could feel comfortable with being creative...

Cape Girardeau City Council gave unanimous first reading approval Tuesday to spending $9,600 from American Rescue Plan (ARP) money for professional counseling from the Responder Health Program for the city's public safety services. "As much as what police officers and firemen have to endure on a normal basis, then throw in what they've had to handle over the last 18 months, that's a huge impact on their mental health," said Fourth Ward councilman Robbie Guard, who is also mayor pro tempore...

Whitney Quick, regional director at Better Business Bureau Cape Girardeau, is using her love of bird watching to bring people together to be “at one with nature.” Quick recently started a Facebook group for bird enthusiasts, Murder on the Mississippi, which she said is open for anyone to join, even if they have never been bird watching before...

Success stories and photos of babies treated over the years are sent to Saint Francis Medical Center regularly, though many of their earlier patients don't look much like babies anymore. Graduation photos and life updates are becoming more common. It is one of many examples of how the Medical Center's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) makes lifelong connections with its patients and their families...

Eighty-two votes. That was the difference two years ago when less than 12% of the registered voters in Jackson said no to a use-tax measure that would have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for the city annually. It was the third time since 2014 Jackson voters had defeated the use-tax proposal, which would have added a sales tax to online purchases equal to the Jackson's existing sales tax rate of 2.5%...

A registered nurse in a hospital emergency department is about as close to the front line of a pandemic as a person can get.

Providing a storybook moment — especially for those who need it most — is the mission of Storybook Entertainment and Tamara Holt-Roth. Holt-Roth, who co-owns the business, said her West Coast background helped her develop empathy for the less fortunate...

The building formerly housing the Broadway Theatre in downtown Cape Girardeau has been officially donated to a not-for-profit aiming to restore it. Suzanne Hightower said paperwork was finalized Sept. 1. Hightower heads Cape Broadway Theatre, a not-for-profit with a mission to renovate the Broadway Theatre...

In some ways, this past summer has felt like my last real one. It’s been my last summer to officially be a kid, to be eligible for library summer reading programs and to end with me waking up at 6:30 in the morning on some mid-August day with an excitement to go to school that I know won’t last the entire school year. ...

I got back to the U.S. from my honeymoon on Sept. 10, 2001. My wife went straight home to Washington, D.C, to start her new job at the Justice Department. I went to Washington state, where we'd gotten married, to retrieve our dog Cosmo, whom we'd left with family. I was in a hotel room in Pendleton, Oregon, when I saw the first reports of a plane hitting the World Trade Center. I used something called AOL Instant Messenger to tell my co-workers to turn on the TV...

We've used this space on more than one occasion to advocate for COVID-19 vaccinations. It's the best way to move beyond the pandemic. But for those already infected, there is a treatment available that can help keep the most vulnerable out of the hospital and avoid serious complications. It's called a monoclonal antibodies (MAB) infusion...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. Sept. 6 n Medical assists were made at 10:51 a.m. on Scivally Drive; 11:22 a.m. on Pioneer Drive; 1:38 p.m. on William Street; 4:59 p.m. on Cape LaCroix Road; 5:22 p.m. on Brenda Kay Court...

JACKSON The Jackson Police Department released the following item. Arrest does not imply guilt. Arrests n Brook Leverich, 32, of Jackson was arrested on a Cape Girardeau County warrant. n Kyle Colyott, 25, of Jackson was arrested on a Cape Girardeau County warrant...

On Sept. 3, 2021, Wesley James Steffen accomplished his lifelong desire to see Jesus. He was born May 6, 1937, in Granville, Iowa, to Clarence and Meta Steffen who were present in heaven to greet him along with his wife, Nelda; brothers ,Don, Delton, Gerald, Ronnie; and granddaughter, Catherine...

Margaret Lou Sandage Jauch slipped peacefully from this life on Monday, Sept. 6, 2021, at the age of 90 years and 9 days. She was born on Aug. 28, 1931 in Steele, Missouri, the daughter of Ervin William and Myrtle Ann Gower Sandage, both of whom preceded her in death...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Elizabeth Macon Cates entered eternal rest Monday Aug. 30, 2021, at the age of 61. She was the beloved daughter of Kirk and B.J.; loving wife of the late Daniel J. Cates, who she spent 25 years of love and friendship beside; cherished sister of Katherine (Mark) Haynes, Kirk (Sandy) Bowman, Julie (Bob) Leonard, Becky (Stephen) East and Jennifer (Mark) Westrich; dear aunt of 12 nieces and nephews; dearest aunt of 14 great-nieces and -nephews; loving fur mom to C.J. ...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Marvin Burton, 50, died Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from noon until 2 p.m. Thursday at the Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee. Funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Union Park Cemetery in Chaffee...

LONDON — Kermit the Frog. Miss Piggy. Animal. Statler and Waldorf. The Swedish Chef. The list goes on and on. Everyone has their favorite Muppet. And everyone owes a debt of gratitude to one man for bringing them to life: Jim Henson. The American creator of The Muppets was honored Tuesday in Britain with a blue plaque at his former home in north London, which he bought after "The Muppet Show" was commissioned for British television -- 50 Downshire Hill in Hampstead...

RICHMOND, Va. -- A towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond is expected to be taken down today as a symbol of racial injustice, more than 130 years after it was erected in tribute to the South's Civil War leader. While many other Confederate symbols across the South have been removed without public announcements beforehand to avoid unruly crowds, Gov. Ralph Northam's office is expecting a multitude and plans to livestream the event on social media...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. -- The huge wildfire near the Lake Tahoe resort region was about half contained Tuesday, with the head of California's firefighting agency saying crews largely have been able to keep flames away from populated areas. "We've been able to herd these fires around and outside of the main community corridors," California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Chief Thom Porter said...

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador -- El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender Tuesday, but the rollout stumbled in its first hours and President Nayib Bukele said the digital wallet used for transactions was not functioning. For part of the morning, El Salvador's president became tech support for a nation stepping into the world of cryptocurrency. Bukele marshaled his Twitter account -- with more than 2.8 million followers -- to walk users through what was happening...

WASHINGTON -- As the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks approaches, Americans increasingly balk at intrusive government surveillance in the name of national security, and only about a third believe the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were worth fighting, according to a new poll...

WASHINGTON -- Veterans' groups, Democrat lawmakers and Afghans called Tuesday for urgent Biden administration action on a weeklong standoff that has left hundreds of would-be evacuees from Afghanistan desperate to board waiting charter flights out of the Taliban-ruled country...

LaPLACE, La. -- Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Louisiana, most of them outside New Orleans, still didn't have power Tuesday and more than half the gas stations in two major cities were without fuel nine days after Hurricane Ida slammed into the state, splintering homes and toppling electric lines...

WASHINGTON -- Health experts and medical groups are pushing to stamp out the growing use of a decades-old parasite drug to treat COVID-19, warning it can cause harmful side effects and there's little evidence it helps. With a fourth wave of infections, more Americans are turning to ivermectin, a cheap drug used to kill worms and other parasites in humans and animals...

COVID-19 booster shots may be coming for at least some Americans but already the Biden administration is being forced to scale back expectations -- illustrating just how much important science still has to be worked out. The initial plan was to offer Pfizer or Moderna boosters starting Sept. ...

ST. LOUIS — Several people have been treated in Missouri emergency rooms after taking the parasite drug ivermectin, even as experts warn of dangerous side effects and a lack of proof it helps treat COVID-19. Dr. Steven Brown told KMOV-TV cases of ivermectin toxicity have occurred at Mercy hospitals across the state. Brown is a virtual care physician for Mercy...

Carl Banks, a blues, roots and folk rock musician from New York City, performs during last Friday's Tunes at Twilight at River Campus Park, located at the intersection of South Spanish and Morgan Oak streets in Cape Girardeau. Old Town Cape Inc. concludes its fall concert series with a performance by Lojo Russo at 6:30 p.m. this Friday. More photos of Banks' performance can be found in a gallery at semissiourian.com.

Father God, may we be bold in proclaiming your Word and saving grace to others. Amen.

The Rev. Bradford M. Robinson was installed last night as pastor of First Pentecostal Church in Cape Girardeau; speaker at the special service was the Rev. W.C. Parkey, pastor of Cornerstone Tabernacle in Poplar Bluff, Missouri; also in attendance was the Rev. Doyle Randol, presbyter of Missouri District United Pentecostal Church; the Rev. Gourley, retiring pastor, has been named pastor emeritus...