Stories from Monday, March 25, 2013

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Few signs of spring were being found in parts of the Midwest as a snowstorm tracked eastward mostly along Interstate 70, bringing heavy snow and high winds. Two people killed in weather-related crashes were identified, dozens of Palm Sunday services were canceled throughout Missouri, and about 100 flights were scrapped at Lambert Field in St. Louis. Winter storm warnings and advisories were issued for Sunday and today as far east as Pennsylvania...

ST. LOUIS -- A Missouri statute can't stand in the way of marriage, even if the groom is behind bars, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr. on Thursday ruled unconstitutional a state law requiring both the prospective bride and groom to sign a marriage license in the presence of a county recorder of deeds or a deputy recorder. ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers return to the Capitol today with a to-do list that includes the state budget and various legislative priorities such as addressing taxes, economic incentives and pay requirements for wages on public works construction projects...

Several barges came loose Sunday morning from a towboat carrying 25 barges on the Mississippi River north of Cape Girardeau. Rick Schmidt of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said that soon after the barges came loose, all but five were accounted for. Four of them were found and tied up near Cape Girardeau, and at least one barge, tied up near the Broadway flood gate, completely sank into the river...

Cape Girardeau County general sales tax and Proposition 1 sales tax revenue are up by 4 percent compared to the same period last year. So far in 2013, $1,749,823 in general sales tax has been collected by the county, according to a monthly report circulated by Cape Girardeau County Treasurer Roger Hudson. Broken down by month, $505,810 was reported for January, $548,733 was reported for February and March's total was $695,280...

Georgetown sophomore Otto Porter was named one of four finalists for the 2013 Naismith Men's College Player of the Year on Sunday. Porter, a 2011 graduate of Scott County Central who recently was named Big East Player of the Year, is among a group that includes Michigan sophomore Trey Burke, Creighton junior Doug McDermott and Indiana junior Victor Oladipo...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Given the choice of whether to expand Medicaid under President Barack Obama's health-care law, many Republican governors and lawmakers initially responded with an emphatic "no." Now they are increasingly hedging their objections...

More than 50 residents, postal workers and business owners gathered Sunday afternoon to picket near the Cape Girardeau post office to protest a change from six-day mail delivery to five. The Delivering for America rally, organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers with the support of the Southeast Missouri Central Labor Council, represented a national day of protest, said Thomas Bolen, an advocate for Delivering for America and one of the rally organizers...

The images seen on television were startling. On March 11, three inmates escaped from the Butler County Jail in Poplar Bluff, Mo., by crawling through a space between duct work and the main ceiling of their cell block. Video cameras recorded the trio dropping from the ceiling into the lobby of the jail, and making a dash to freedom out the lobby door...

Assets under management, revenue, and surplus all climb as membership organization continues record-setting growth; Members and employees turn financial success into positive community impact MINNEAPOLIS (February 28, 2013) -- Thrivent Financial for Lutherans today announced its 2012 financial results led to a fourth consecutive year of growth for the not-for-profit membership organization. ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/25/13 Contact: Anne Soots, Chief Executive Officer OR Lori Enyart, Public Relations/Digital Media Manger 877-312-4764 or gscouts@girlscoutsmoheartland.org GIRL SCOUT SERVICE CENTER FOR SALE NEW CAPE LOCATION TO BE DETERMINED...

Her eyes light up at an opportunity to explain her new daily routine. She sits up a little straighter. She leans forward slightly, but she is relaxed. Jo Ann Emerson points out that she is the first female CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, an organization she knew well as a member of Congress but now knows in a different way as she embarks on a new career...

Nov. 23, 1992: Two inmates -- Michael Davis, 21, of Cape Girardeau and Larry Daniels, 28, of New Madrid, Mo. -- escaped the Stoddard County Jail by unscrewing a door handle to an evidence room and sliding a wire through the hole. They used the wire to knock pistols off a table and drag the weapons to them. They threatened a jailer with the pistols and escaped in his truck. They were captured six hours later...

Today is Monday, March 25, the 84th day of 2013. There are 281 days left in the year. The Jewish holiday Passover begins at sunset. Today's Highlight in History: On March 25, 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 marchers to the state capitol in Montgomery, Ala., to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks...

The NCAA basketball tournament is off to another fantastic start, which is getting to be old hat these days. I can't remember the last time the opening week of the tournament wasn't great. You never know which underdog teams are going to shock the world right off the bat, you just know it's going to happen...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State Auditor Tom Schweich released two audits Friday criticizing the Missouri House and Senate for maintaining that their members' personal records aren't subject to open records requests, even as they are seeking to toughen the state's open records law...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The changes are so subtle, most fishermen in Missouri or Kansas don't even notice. There are few pipes dumping pollutants into the water. Few fish kills, where thousands of carcasses bob in the waves and wash up on shores. Few nasty odors that signal something is wrong...

WILDWOOD, Mo. -- Some movies take months to make, even years. Participants in a contest in the St. Louis County town of Wildwood will have 24 hours. It's part of a trend known as "film racing," and according to the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, it's coming to Wildwood this fall...

The Missouri Foundation for Health, a St. Louis-based philanthropic organization, recently announced a $1 million grant to the Southeast Missouri Food Bank. It is a helpful donation. And, just one of several given to food banks across the state. The food bank has been struggling in recent years to keep up with the increased demand for those who have lost jobs. ...

March 20 marked the 10th anniversary of the United States invasion of Iraq. From this perspective in time, it is possible to reach the conclusion that on balance it should not have been fought. In monetary terms the war cost the United States over $800 billion. Our armed forces suffered 4,488 deaths and 32,221 wounded. On the Iraq side, two million people fled the country, another two million were displaced within the country, and at least 100,000 were killed...

I'm writing because I strongly support Senate Bill 207 and I want to thank state Sen. Mike Kehoe for leading the charge on this bill. I think this bill is good for us because it means keeping and adding jobs in our town. Additional jobs mean more people spending money, more taxes for our town, and better city services...

JUPITER, Fla. -- After spending almost five years in the U.S. Navy, simply being on the mound at Roger Dean Stadium was exhilarating for Cardinals pitcher Mitch Harris -- even if the results were disappointing. Harris gave up a pair of two-run homers and took the loss as a New York Mets split squad beat St. Louis 10-7 on Sunday...

Southeast Missouri State track & field teams claimed 11 titles during Saturday's Cougar Classic hosted by SIU Edwardsville. Southeast's men won the tri-meet, which also featured SIUE and Illinois State, with 158 points. Southeast's women placed second with 172 points, just behind SIUE's 175...

1 Barton Square, Jackson 9 a.m. today Routine business Appointments and possible action items...

Running a small business is tough, but Mike Sprouse of River City Coins & Jewelry wouldn't have it any other way

Remodeling of the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse at Jackson is well underway; the public defender has moved into new quarters on the ground floor, and remodeling of space for a branch office for the Missouri attorney general is about a week from completion...

Firefighters responded to the following calls Thursday:...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. DWIS Arrests...

BANGUI, Central African Republic -- Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, seizing the presidential palace and declaring that the desperately poor country has "opened a new page in its history." The country's president fled the capital, while French troops moved to secure the airport, officials said...

BEIRUT -- Syria's opposition plunged into disarray Sunday as its president quit and its military chief refused to recognize the newly elected prime minister of an interim government for rebel-held areas. The moves reflected deep splits in the body the U.S. and its allies hope will emerge as the united face of the opposition and advance the fight to topple President Bashar Assad's regime...

GARFIELD, N.J. -- The neighborhood looks exceedingly normal: single-family homes and apartment buildings packed together, dogs barking from postage-stamp-size lawns, parents hustling down narrow sidewalks to fetch their children from school. But something with very dangerous potential lies below the surface, officials say...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The lawyers who defend the nation's poor in federal courts across the country are grappling with budget cuts they say will decimate their offices, delay criminal cases and jeopardize the fairness of the criminal justice system...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- As airport officials tried to figure out how a 300-pound arrival-departure panel fell off the wall and onto a family, the mother of a boy who was killed by the sign lay in a hospital with her own injuries, still unaware of what happened...

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Big change is coming to the lives of the lesbian couple at the center of the fight for same-sex marriage in California no matter how the Supreme Court decides the case. After 13 years of raising four boys together, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier are about to be empty nesters. Their youngest two children, 18-year-old twins, will graduate from high school in June and head off to college a couple of months later...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — Mabel Ziegert, 87, of Bloomfield, died at 3:10 p.m. Saturday, March 23, 2013, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau.

Nancy J. King, 81, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, March 24, 2013, at Heartland Care and Rehab in Cape Girardeau. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home, 829 N. West End Blvd., Cape Girardeau.

Ken Volkerding of Jackson earned agent of the year honors in the east Missouri region with Modern Woodmen of America. Volkerding is a financial representative and has been with the organization since November 2004. Modern Woodmen provides life insurance and annuity products. For more information, call 651-0030...

Lord Jesus, may we always stand firm on your Holy Word and lead others to you. Amen.

Kudos to Cape's Career and Technology Center and director Rich Payne for being the first school in Missouri to offer select high school seniors early access to its practical nursing program. As we all know, everything that doesn't go right for Mr. Obama is usually former president George Bush's fault. ...

CALGARY, Alberta -- Jarome Iginla scored the winning goal at 12:58 of the third period to lift the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night. Iginla found himself on a partial breakaway thanks to a nice pass from Alex Tanguay. St. Louis defenseman Wade Redden knocked the puck away, but Iginla stayed with the play to score a wrap-around goal...

Enterprise Bank & Trust, the banking subsidiary of Enterprise Financial Services Corp., announced on Tuesday an agreement to acquire certain assets of Gorman & Gorman Home Loans, a division of F&M Bank and Trust Company, subject to regulatory approval. ...

Southeast will hold the first of 15 practices Tuesday

NAME: John Simmons AGE: 59 PLACE OF BIRTH: Cape Girardeau SPOUSE, CHILDREN'S NAMES: Christine, Spouse, Melissa Rose daughter EDUCATION: High school, some college credits OCCUPATION: Electrician and property rental EMPLOYER: Saint Francis Medical Center...

NAME: Michael Wulfers AGE: 60 PLACE OF BIRTH: Cape Girardeau SPOUSE, CHILDREN'S NAMES: Mary Wulfers Matt Wulfers EDUCATION: Notre Dame High School Southeast Missouri State, BS in Chemistry University of Missouri-Columbia, MD Wake Forest University, Residency in Family Medicine...

NAME: Gary Elders AGE: 47 PLACE OF BIRTH: St. Louis, MO SPOUSE, CHILDREN'S NAMES: Tammy, married 25 years Caitlin, Hilary, Jake, Sam and Granddaughter Lily EDUCATION: Scott City High School in 1983 B.S. in Business Administration from SEMO in 1987 OCCUPATION:...

NAME: Randy Morse AGE: 55 PLACE OF BIRTH: Peoria, Illinois SPOUSE, CHILDREN'S NAMES: Brenda Morse Angie Huckstep Nathan Morse EDUCATION: Blackhawk Jr. College, Illinois Bible Institute, Caterpillar Inc. Management Training, Seamen's Church Institute Chaplancy Program...

NAME: Sheila Luttrull AGE: 60 PLACE OF BIRTH: Van Nuys, CA SPOUSE, CHILDREN'S NAMES: Perry R. Luttrull, retired equipment operator Kyle, Richard, Billy, Donald, Vernon, Clayton, Alan, and Noah (deceased). EDUCATION: Southeast Missouri State University-Associate Degree in Nursing, University of Texas-Southwest Medical Center-Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, University of Phoenix-Bachalaureate Degree in Nursing, University of Phoneix-Masters Degree in Nursing Education...

NAME: Gerald Adams AGE: 61 PLACE OF BIRTH: Cape Girardeau SPOUSE, CHILDREN'S NAMES: Spouse - Nancy Children - Nathan, Josh, and Jacob Grandchildren - Madelynn and Olivia EDUCATION: BS in Agriculture at University of Missouri OCCUPATION: Printer EMPLOYER:...

NAME: David E Kennedy AGE: 47 PLACE OF BIRTH: Advance, MO. SPOUSE, CHILDREN'S NAMES: Natalie Kennedy (wife) Madeline Kennedy Abigail Kennedy EDUCATION: High School Graduate Three years US Army OCCUPATION: Vice-President/ General Manager EMPLOYER: Metalweld Inc. 24 years...

NAME: Randy J. Leible, Candidate for Ward II Alderman for City of Perryville AGE: 56 PLACE OF BIRTH: Cape Girardeau, MO SPOUSE, CHILDREN'S NAMES: Married to Teresa Leible 33 yrs. Children: Amber Leible Enderle and Wade Leible EDUCATION: Graduate of Perryville High School...

Alex Heuring, a 6-4 senior center who helped lead the Oran boys basketball team to the Class 2 final four, was honored for his efforts by being named to the 2013 Southeast Missouri All-Region boys squad in Class 2. The teams were selected by a voting panel of area sports writers...

Remodeling of the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse at Jackson is well underway; the public defender has moved into new quarters on the ground floor, and remodeling of space for a branch office for the Missouri attorney general is about a week from completion...