Stories from Monday, April 25, 2022

A few recognitions and upcoming events on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University recently in the news grabbed our attention and are worth celebrating. The university student newspaper and website, The Arrow, took home 23 awards across 16 categories at the Missouri College Media Association Conference held in St. Joseph, Missouri...

Jackson's TJ's Burgers, Wings and Pizza is purchasing Bayou Bar & Grill, 6611 County Road 532 in Pocahontas — TJ's announced last week on its Facebook page. Bayou said it will close 4 p.m. Saturday. "While we will be doing some updating and remodeling, the whole business model itself will remain the same," TJ's said on social media...

Steve Watkins, a 1986 graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School, opened Ironman Forge in March 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. Last month, Old Town Cape gave the entrepreneur OTC's John Boardman Excellence in Historic Preservation Award for his renovation of 509 Morgan Oak St...

Jim Dufek will leave behind a notable legacy when he retires from Southeast Missouri State University later this year. Dufek — TV/film professor, production coordinator, Rose Theatre facilities coordinator and ESPN+ operations manager in SEMO's Mass Media Department — is retiring in August after spending 39 years with the university...

Cape Girardeau Central High School held its annual celebration of Senior Decision Day on Friday, treating seniors to a raffle with prizes, pizza and a generally festive atmosphere complete with glow sticks and music. ...

Billionaire Elon Musk has reached an agreement to acquire Twitter for approximately $44 billion, the company said. The outspoken Tesla CEO, the world's wealthiest person, has said he wants to buy Twitter because he thinks it's not living up to its potential as a platform for "free speech." He says it needs to be transformed as a private company in order to build trust with users and do better at serving what he calls the "societal imperative" of free speech.

O Lord Jesus, we praise you, for by your stripes we are healed. Amen.

A friend of mine from back east once told me what he said was wrong with the country. "Readers are leaders," he said. "Unfortunately, our leaders don't read." I was reminded of that sharp-eyed observation last week after a federal judge in Florida struck down the CDC's widely hated mask mandate for travelers...

Two business licenses have been issued by the City of Cape Girardeau's Community Development Department. n Charles Ray Hampton of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, for BCAW Enterprises, doing business as Baskin-Robbins, 1704 Broadway, Suite 106. BCAW operates BR stores in Des Peres, O'Fallon and Florissant, Missouri. Baskin-Robbins returns to the Cape Girardeau market for the first time since 2002...

Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's Chamber 101 will be at 1:30 p.m. today at Regional Development Center, 220 N. Fountain St. n Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce's 30th annual Golf Classic will begin at 11 a.m. (lunch), with tee off at noon Friday at Kimbeland Country Club, 2175 E. Jackson Blvd. At presstime, the four-person scramble was nearly sold out...

n Gershman Mortgage, at 11 a.m. Thursday, 1733 N. Kingshighway. n Legends Cape Girardeau/Domus Student Living, relaunch at 3 p.m. May 2, 2070 N. Sprigg St.

Gary Dillard has joined Marion, Illinois-based Banterra Bank as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Banterra has branches in Cape Girardeau and in East Prairie, Missouri.

Bryan Payne has joined the Cape Girardeau office of Spencer Fane law firm at 1650 N. Kingshighway, Suite 204. Payne will serve as a litigator.

Southeast Healthpoint Rehabilitation is marking the 20th year of Jackson HP Rehab, 410 W. Main St. The clinic, which launched in January 2002, occupies more than 3,500-square-feet with a staff of nine -- offering physical therapy services only...

This week's Old Town Cape Downtown Commercial Property Open House will feature a dozen vacant locations in Cape Girardeau. The properties will be available to view from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday. The free event is open to the public with no registration required...

Fannie Mae, formally known as government-sponsored Federal National Mortgage Association, has dramatically downgraded home sales forecasts for the next two years. Officials say they expect a modest recession in the second half of 2023 because of Fed tightening and the war in Ukraine...

Senior Citizens League said last week that Social Security recipients could see the biggest cost-of-living raise in more than 40 years in 2023, thanks to inflation. SCL is estimating next year's cost of living adjustment (COLA) could be as high as 8.9%...

Krispy Kreme, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based doughnut and coffeehouse company with 1,400 locations — including a drive-through-only outlet at 2122 William St. in Cape Girardeau — is tying the cost of a dozen glazed doughnuts to the average national price of a gallon of unleaded gas on Wednesdays through May 4...

NEW YORK -- On an unusually crowded weekend at movie theaters that featured a pricey Viking epic and Nicolas Cage playing himself, DreamWorks Animation's "The Bad Guys" bested the field, signaling a continued resurgence for family moviegoing after a downturn during the pandemic...

NEW YORK -- The Edsel. Quibi. New Coke. The Segway. DeLorean sports cars. The pantheon of colossal business failures has a new member in the CNN+ streaming service. The news network's subscription offering hadn't even been operating for a month before Warner Bros. Discovery announced last week it would be shutting down April 30...

WASHINGTON -- Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren is slamming Rep. Kevin McCarthy as a "liar and a traitor" over recordings that show the House Republican leader -- despite his denials -- placing responsibility on then-President Donald Trump for the Capitol riot and suggesting Trump should resign...

BERLIN -- The World Health Organization says at least one death has been reported in connection with a mysterious liver disease outbreak affecting children in Europe and the United States. The U.N. health agency said late Saturday it has so far received reports of at least 169 cases of "acute hepatitis of unknown origin" from a dozen countries...

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Volunteers and government workers in Shanghai erected metal barriers in multiple districts to block off small streets and entrances to apartment complexes, as China hardens its strict "zero-COVID" approach in its largest city despite growing complaints from residents...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's deepening feud with Walt Disney World is testing the limits of his combative leadership style while sending an unmistakable message to his rivals that virtually nothing is off limits as he plots his political future...

KYIV, Ukraine -- The sun came out as Ukrainians marked Orthodox Easter in the capital, Kyiv, on Sunday with prayers for those fighting on the front lines and others trapped beyond them in places like Mariupol. Saint Volodymyr's Cathedral in Kyiv was ringed by hundreds of worshippers with baskets to be blessed. ...

PARIS -- French President Emmanuel Macron comfortably won a second term Sunday, triggering relief among allies that the nuclear-armed power won't abruptly shift course in the midst of the war in Ukraine from European Union and NATO efforts to punish and contain Russia's military expansionism...

COVID-19 vaccinations are at a critical juncture as companies test whether new approaches like combination shots or nasal drops can keep up with a mutating coronavirus -- even though it's not clear if changes are needed. Already there's public confusion about who should get a second booster now and who can wait. There's also debate about whether pretty much everyone might need an extra dose in the fall...

SALT LAKE CITY -- Orrin G. Hatch, the longest-serving Republican senator in history and a fixture in Utah politics for more than four decades, has died at age 88. The retired senator's death Saturday was announced in a statement from his foundation, which did not specify a cause...

KYIV, Ukraine -- The U.S. secretaries of state and defense met Sunday night with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the highest-level visit to the country's capital by an American delegation since the start of Russia's invasion. The meeting with U.S. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Three of the 23 defendants in a lawsuit filed after a University of Missouri fraternity party left a student with serious brain injuries have reached a settlement. The attorney for the family of Daniel Santulli of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, filed a motion Wednesday to approve settlements with Collin Clark, Chris Palermo and Jeffrey Wagoner, the Columbia Missourian reported...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Jefferson City has agreed to reinstall two paving stones that contained a reference to a Confederate general to settle a lawsuit filed after the stones were removed, according to attorneys in the case. Edith Vogel, a former City Council member, sued the city and Mayor Carrie Tergin in March after the pavers were removed. Vogel paid for the stones to be installed at a park on a city greenway known as Adrian's Island as part of a fundraising campaign...

Gary Wayne Brandes, 78, of Jackson died Saturday, April 23, 2022, at his home. A memorial visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. until time of service Saturday at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Roger Abernathy officiating, followed by full military honors. Private inurnment will be held at a later date at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield...

Kevin J. Amschler, 54, of Old Appleton died Friday, April 22, 2022, at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 today and from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Ford and Young Funeral Home in Perryville, Missouri. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Apple Creek, Missouri, with the Rev. John Schneider officiating. Burial will be at St. Michael Cemetery in Apple Creek...

By mid-morning Thursday, 11 houses purchased by the city as part of the flood-buyout program were no more; since Wednesday, three track homes owned by Nip Kelley Equipment Co. knocked down the 11 houses that sat in South Cape Girardeau; another 21 houses that encompass the first phase of demolition are also slated to be destroyed in the next 45 days; the entire program involves demolition of 63 structures purchased by the city in flood-prone areas along the Mississippi River...

Blackbird Monogram and Gift, a store at 1812 Carondalet Drive, Suite 104, in Cape Girardeau has come under new ownership. Amber Prasanphanich and Jennifer Icaza-Gast purchased the 3-year-old store from Cole and Nikki Burton on April 3, who are relocating to Spokane, Washington...

EBO MD has purchased a 2,256-square-foot brick professional office building at 1334 Indian Parkway to house its Jackson clinic, which has a July 1 target date for services to move to the new location, according to EBO's Tony Thompson. The building used to house the offices of now-retired Jackson city attorney Tom Ludwig...

A celebration of springtime fun will be held Saturday, April 30th, 11:30am to 2pm. Anyone is welcome to attend this FREE block party event! Giant inflatables, food, music entertainment and give-a-way prizes are all included free for those who chose to attend this family friendly fest!...