Stories from Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Southbound Interstate 55 on- and off-ramps at Exit 93 in Cape Girardeau County will be closed as contractor crews repair the pavement, according to a Missouri Department of Transportation news release. The work will take place daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, through Thursday, Oct. 4...

An ATV crash near Patton, Missouri, seriously injured a 13-year-old Patton resident. A state Highway Patrol report stated the juvenile was riding a 2014 Can-Am ATV on County Road 376 about a mile south of Patton when the vehicle crashed. The youth was taken to a St. Louis hospital...

A judge has set a $500,000 cash-only bond for a Cape Girardeau nursing assistant accused of sexual assault during his job in the St. Louis area, while police say the man is being investigated for more potential cases with similar circumstances. Felix Mumba, 38, of Cape Girardeau was charged with four Class D felony counts, including three charges of second-degree sodomy and one count of second-degree rape...

Cape Girardeau's annual downtown Christmas Parade of Lights will be hosted by Old Town Cape on Sunday, Nov. 26. The theme this year will be "Gnome Place Like Home" chosen by Parade of Lights chairs Kent and Vicki Zickfield. The parade will start at 5 p.m., beginning at the intersection of Broadway and North West End Boulevard and will continue east on Broadway, turning south onto Main Street and ending at the parking lot across from Hutson's Big Sandy Superstore...

At 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, the 117th rivalry contest between Cape Girardeau Central and Jackson varsity football teams will be played at "The Pit" at 315 S. Missouri St. in Jackson. Cape Girardeau Mayor Stacy Kinder and Jackson Mayor Dwain Hahs have made "a friendly wager" for this year's annual tilt, with the winning mayor pledging to host the other for a service project...

An unusual police chase occurred Sunday, Sept. 17, when a Cape Girardeau Police Department officer apprehended a theft suspect in a heated bicycle pursuit. According to authorities, officers were dispatched to Target, 202 Siemers Drive, in response to a theft. They received detailed descriptions of the suspects, who reportedly had stolen more than $1,000 worth of goods over multiple occasions...

Twin sisters and 2023 graduates of Cape Girardeau Central High School were recently named as recipients of the rootEd Undergraduate Scholarship through rootEd Alliance. Liliana Correa Salinas and Lupita Correa Salinas will each receive up to $60,000 to pursue their undergraduate degrees at the University of Missouri...

The National Merit Scholarship Corp. recently announced the semifinalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program — four of them from Southeast Missouri high schools. Luke Richey, from Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau, Anna Ahrens from Jackson High School, and Andrew Wilde and Yan "Jackie" Zhang from Cape Central High School all have the opportunity to continue in the competition for more than 7,000 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered in the spring.. ...

State Rep. John Voss, in his freshman year as District 147 House member serving Cape Girardeau, said Monday, Sept. 18, he is abundantly aware of county officials' concerns about senior property tax relief passed overwhelmingly by Missouri's General Assembly this spring and signed into law July 6 by Gov. Mike Parson...

Cape Girardeau municipal officials took steps at their meeting Monday, Sept. 18, to approve large portions of a West Park Mall redevelopment plan. City Council members approved a tax increment financing incentive for most of the 65-acre site and took the first step toward identifying the site as a Community Improvement District...

Grace Keen had spent years working in boutiques. Around 2019, she decided she wanted a change of pace. "I loved the atmosphere, I loved what I was doing, but I didn't want to follow anyone else's rules," she said. "I wanted to make the rules." She started an online store called Peachy Keen Boutique on Oct. 1, 2019. Three years later, she opened her first storefront in Dexter, Missouri...

How can donors support the charities they care about? No doubt, the most common answer is by contributing cash, writing a check or making a credit card gift online. Those are the easiest ways to make a difference, and all charitable organizations rely heavily on these gifts. But what about ways to make an even bigger impact?...

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 19, the 262nd day of 2023. There are 103 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Sept. 19, 1995, The New York Times and The Washington Post published the manifesto of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski (kah-ZIHN'-skee), which proved instrumental in identifying and capturing him...

Calling Lindenwood a SEMO football "rival" is a sad propaganda attempt by people trying to create a tornado from passing gas. The squirrels eating the lines at Jackson Schools is oddly familiar. The pesky critters routinely ate our DSL lines and the AT&T repairman would never believe me when I would ask them to please check for squirrel damage. New company and buried lines took care of that problem...

Lord Jesus, may those who mourn feel your presence and peace. Amen.

As I sit here writing this letter to the editor of the Southeast Missourian newspaper, I'm deeply troubled by the fact that gun violence continues to happen in the community of Cape Girardeau. As a survivor of domestic and firearms violence, I am disheartened with this occurrence. This continues to tear apart families friends and communities in which we live in. We must do our part to ensure that we end this pandemic of senseless gun violence...

When the progressive woke revolution took over traditional America, matters soon reached the level of the ridiculous. Take the following examples of woke craziness and hypocrisy, perhaps last best witnessed during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution. The Biden administration from its outset wished to neuter immigration law. It sought to alter radically the demography of the U.S. by stopping the border wall and allowing into the United States anyone who could walk across the southern border...

Thank God for Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana. I wish every major television and radio network in the country had covered what the smart and colorful Republican did in the Senate this week. As part of a hearing looking into the alleged threat to freedom posed by parents who want to have sexually explicit gay and trans books removed from their school libraries, Kennedy bravely quoted some choice excerpts from two of the books...

MORGANTOWN, Pa. -- Nine teenagers who escaped from a detention center in Pennsylvania after overpowering staff and crawling under a fence were captured less than 12 hours later, state police said Monday. "It probably was planned, but poorly planned," said Pennsylvania State Police Trooper David Beohm...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- It wasn't an escapee from the Country Bear Jamboree attraction, but a wild black bear managed to be the star of its own show Monday at Walt Disney World. The presence of the black bear in a tree in the Magic Kingdom delayed the opening of three lands Monday morning -- Frontierland, Liberty Square and Adventureland...

TORONTO -- Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that India's government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist. Trudeau said in Parliament that Canadian intelligence agencies have been looking into the allegations after Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a strong supporter of an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, was gunned down on June 18 outside a Sikh cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia.. ...

DOHA, Qatar -- Five Americans detained for years in Iran walked off a plane and into freedom Monday, most arm-in-arm, as part of a politically risky deal that saw President Joe Biden agree to the release of nearly $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets owed by a third country, South Korea...

CHICAGO -- Ovidio Guzmán L--pez, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, pleaded not guilty in Chicago on Monday to U.S. drug trafficking, money laundering and other charges during his first court appearance since being extradited to the U.S. from Mexico...

PALMDALE, Calif. -- A 29-year-old man was arrested early Monday, 36 hours after the ambush killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who was shot as he sat in a patrol car, authorities said. The suspect barricaded himself inside a home in the city of Palmdale for several hours, but later surrendered and weapons were recovered, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told a news conference. Sheriff's officials identified the arrested suspect as Kevin Cataneo Salazar of Palmdale...

ATLANTA -- Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark was acting within the scope of his official duties when he wrote a letter expressing concern about alleged problems with the 2020 election in Georgia, his lawyer said Monday as he sought to move charges against Clark to federal court...

WASHINGTON -- Hunter Biden sued the Internal Revenue Service on Monday, claiming that two agents publicly alleging tax-probe interference wrongly shared his personal information, a case that comes amid escalating legal and political struggles as the 2024 election looms...

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The crash site for a stealth fighter jet that went missing during the weekend after its pilot ejected was located Monday in rural South Carolina after the military asked the public for help finding an aircraft built to elude detection...

Former President Donald Trump will travel to the battleground state of Michigan next week to meet with striking autoworkers instead of participating in the second Republican presidential debate, a person familiar with his plans said Monday. Trump, who also skipped the first debate last month, has signaled that he is already focused on the 2024 election against President Joe Biden as he maintains a wide lead against his GOP rivals in primary polls. ...

The United Auto Workers and Detroit's Big Three carmakers resumed talks aimed at ending a strike now in its fourth day, and under the threat that the walkout could soon spread. Stellantis said it resumed negotiations with the union Monday and described the talks as "constructive." A spokesman for General Motors said representatives of the company and the United Auto Workers also were continuing to negotiate...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. Sept. 17 n Medical assists were made at 2:30 p.m. on North Kingshighway and 4:07 p.m. on Good Hope Street. n Hazardous condition calls was made at 10:10 a.m. on Lynwood Hills Drive...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Police Department responded to the following calls. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n A warrant arrest was reported. n A warrant arrest was reported on Kiwanis Drive. n A warrant arrest was reported. n A warrant arrest was reported...

James K. "Jim" Rhodes, 85, of Jackson passed away Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, at Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 29, 1937, in St. Louis to James B. and Verna V. Hines Rhodes. He and Ruth M. Linhorst were married Aug. 19, 1961, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Imperial, Missouri. The Rhodes family later moved to Jackson...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. — Ethel Lou Myers, 89, of Marble Hill died Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at Aspire nursing facility in Advance, Missouri. Visitation was held Monday, Sept. 18, at Hutchings-Pendergrass Funeral Chapel in Marble Hill. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, at the funeral home, with her grandson, Jason Myers, officiating. Burial will follow at Baker Cemetery...

Jonathan Hart Johnson, M.D., 66, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri died Friday, September 15, 2023, at his home. He was born February 16, 1957, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri to Gerald H. Johnson and Joyce Ann Aldridge Johnson. Jonathan was educated in the Cape Girardeau Public Schools where he participated in all sports, graduating from Central High School in 1975 as the salutatorian. ...

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. — Frederick "Fred" L. Higdon, 70, of New Hamburg passed away Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, at Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. He was born Sept. 10, 1953, in Lilbourn, Missouri, to the late Horace and Daisy Hickman Higdon. He and his best friend, Tina Heisserer, were married March 4, 1998, in Benton, Missouri...

Jackie Franklin Coomer, son of Albert "Pooch" and Laura Williams Coomer, was born July 11, 1944, in Oran, Missouri. Sadly, he passed away Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at the age of 79, doing what he loved to do -- coon hunting. Jackie was a proud member of the Baptist faith and a retired U.S. ...

Evelyn Maria Braun, daughter of the late Lawrence and Amelia Etter Mirgaux, was born Jan. 16, 1926, in Illmo and departed her life Sunday, Sept. 17, 1923, at her daughter's home in Scott City at the age of 97 years. On Feb. 9, 1946, she married Louis Braun at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Scott City. He preceded her in death May 9, 2022...

Paul David Blattner, 76, of Jackson passed into the loving arms of his heavenly Father on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, at his home, surrounded by loving family. David was born Feb. 26, 1947, in Cape Girardeau to Paul Edward and Marion Emile Hager Blattner. ...

Daughter to Antanyon Jasmond and Mandy Marie Wilkerson of Jackson, Saint Francis Medical Center, 7:43 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. Name, Amariah Marie. Weight, 6 pounds, 2.7 ounces. Fourth child, first daughter. Mrs. Wilkerson is the former Mandy Hanebrink, daughter of Donald Hanebrink of Cape Girardeau and Tina Hanebrink. She is employed Rhodes 101. Wilkerson is the son of Sheila Pollard and Alvis Pollard of Cape Girardeau. He works at McDonald's...

The American Queen riverboat docks at Cape Girardeau in the afternoon; making its only visit here this season, the paddle wheeler is the largest vessel of the Delta Queen Steamboat Co.; earlier in the day, the Mississippi Queen docked here. The 143rd SEMO District Fair ends in the evening with performances by Lone Star and Brad Hawkins at the grandstand; earlier in the day, spectators gathered for an antique tractor pull, the parade of champions and the ever-popular poultry/rabbit dress-up...

WASHINGTON -- Speaker Kevin McCarthy was running out of options Monday as he pushed ahead with a plan to keep the federal government from shutting down, but even including hardline border security provisions wasn't enough to appease the far-right flank in his Republican House majority...