Stories from Friday, June 1, 2018

Cape Girardeau will keep its Sears and Kmart stores, according to a Sears Holdings Corp. announcement Thursday. In that announcement, the company stated that 15 Kmart stores and 48 Sears stores will close in early September 2018, with liquidation sales to begin as early as June 14 at those stores...

Access to William Street from the Hobby Lobby parking lot should be underway this summer, said developer Scott Rhodes, and other improvements are under construction now at the "Shoppes at South Kingshighway" development. A plan proposed by Rhodes Development Co. and South K Inc. calls for several improvements to the shopping center, including adding landscaped areas, replacing structures and adding a driveway to William Street...

The Community Caring Council is hosting its annual conference at Dempster Hall on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University at 8:30 a.m. on June 14. The day's agenda will focus primarily on the issue of food insecurity in Southeast Missouri...

Southeast Missouri State University student Rebecca Gangemella's plans for the future changed drastically when she discovered her dreams of becoming a professional dancer would be unexpectedly altered in 2017 following an injury. And that's why you "always gotta have a backup plan," she said, which would eventually lead to her graduating soon as a double major -- dance and journalism...

Today is Friday, June 1, the 152nd day of 2018. There are 213 days left in the year. Today's Highlights in History: On June 1, 1968, the cult British television series "The Prisoner," starring Patrick McGoohan as an ex-secret agent who finds himself trapped in a sinister, Orwellian village, had its American premiere on CBS. Author-lecturer Helen Keller, who earned a college degree despite being blind and deaf almost her entire life, died in Westport, Connecticut, at age 87...

The cat at our house, Missy Kitty, is no ordinary cat. But, then, do you know any cat -- any cat at all -- that is ordinary? Missy Kitty was adopted from Safe Harbor about seven years ago. Folks at Safe Harbor didn't have a lot of information about Missy Kitty's background. ...

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration delivered a gut punch to America's closest allies Thursday, imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum from Europe, Mexico and Canada in a move that drew immediate vows of retaliation. Stock prices slumped amid fears of a trade war, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling nearly 252 points, or 1 percent, to 24,415.84...

NEW YORK -- A top aide to Kim Jong Un will make a rare visit to Washington today to hand a letter from the North Korean leader to President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after reporting "good progress" in talks between the two sides to revive an on-again, off-again nuclear summit...

WASHINGTON -- Every morning, 92-year-old Sidney Kramer wraps a blood pressure cuff around his arm and steps on a scale, and readings of his heart health beam to a team of nurses -- and to his daughter's smartphone -- miles from his Maryland home. Red flags? A nurse immediately calls, a form of telemedicine helping Kramer live independently by keeping his congestive heart failure under tight control...

HANOVER, Md. -- Education Secretary Betsy DeVos bumped fists with first-graders and listened as they shared stories about friendship during a field trip Thursday by a presidential commission seeking ways to stem a steady stream of school violence. DeVos toured Hebron Harman Elementary School in Hanover, Maryland, which specializes in positive behavior reinforcement, an approach focused on mentoring and counseling as opposed to punitive discipline...

NEW YORK -- Samantha Bee is under fire for referring to Ivanka Trump with a vulgar word on her TBS comedy show. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called Bee's language "vile and vicious" and said executives at TBS and corporate parent Time Warner "must demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of this administration will not be condoned."...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said Thursday he's considering commuting the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of corruption, and pardoning lifestyle maven Martha Stewart, who did a stint in federal prison after she was convicted of charges related to a stock sale...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A developmentally disabled Missouri man was forced to fight another man for the "amusement" of people who ran the private care home where he lived and was left to die in a bathtub, his mother has alleged in a lawsuit. Carolyn Summers, the mother of Carl DeBrodie, also alleges in the lawsuit filed Tuesday government agencies responsible for her son didn't provide required care and didn't check on DeBrodie for months. ...

While the Jackson High School girls soccer team was departing for Kansas City to play in their first Class 5 final four, excavation crews were removing the sod from their home field at Jackson Junior High School. The project will install artificial turf fields at the facility...

A proposed east-west highway linking Cape Girardeau to Interstate 57 in Southern Illinois remains in limbo, a local civic leader said Thursday. Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner said the federal government had earmarked money to conduct a study for the proposed Shawnee Parkway route. The federal assistance required the state of Illinois to kick in some funding too, Mehner said...

Missouri state auditor candidate David Wasinger called for greater transparency in state government during a visit Thursday to Cape Girardeau. "My goal is to clean up Jefferson City and restore confidence in state government," the Republican candidate said in a sit-down interview with the Southeast Missourian in advance of a gathering with GOP supporters...

Dora Jean Gerlach, 86, of Jackson passed away Wednesday, May 30, 2018, at Lutheran Home. She was born Aug. 16, 1931, in Jackson to the late Roy and Nell Williams Schreiner. She and Bobby G. Gerlach were married Jan. 27, 1951, at Jackson. He preceded her in death March 22, 2018...

Should 8th District U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson decide to seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, Emerson's chief of staff, Lloyd Smith, said he will seriously consider seeking his boss' House seat; Smith has been on the congressman's staff since March 1981, two months after Emerson took office...

PINAL, Ariz. -- Carol Jean Walker, 79, of Pinal, formerly of Glenallen, Missouri, died Sunday, May 27, 2018. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at at Hutchings Funeral Chapel in Marble Hill, Missouri. Funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, with the Rev. Randy Poole officiating. Burial will follow in the Glenallen Cemetery...

FROHNA, Mo. -- Linda R. Verseman, 69, of Frohna died Wednesday, May 30, 2018, at her home. She was born Sept. 16, 1948, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of Erwin T. and Wilma C. Lohmann Mueller. She and Alan E. Verseman were married June 26, 1971. He survives in Frohna...

Bobby Joe Nation, 59, of Scott City died Tuesday, May 29, 2018, at Saint Vincent Hospital in Evansville, Indiana. He was born Sept. 27, 1958, in Commerce, Missouri, to John and Jane Marie Radica Nation. Bobby was a towboat engineer for Inland Marine Service. He enjoyed fishing and collecting arrowheads...

** Orval Godsey CAIRO, Ill. -- Orval Godsey, 83, of Cairo, formerly of Jonesboro, Illinois, died Wednesday, May 30, 2018, at Aperian Care in Cairo. Arrangements are pending at Crain Funeral Home in Cairo.

Connie Lynn Archuleta, 62, of Vallejo, California, formerly of Chaffee, Missouri, passed away Tuesday, May 1, 2018. She was born Aug. 20, 1955, in Chaffee to the late Margret Jones Kinder. Connie worked for Caminar in Vallejo. She was a drug addiction and a mental health counselor...

I'm so glad that the city of Jackson is building a new $300,000 cinder block bathroom that will be 75 yards from the lower armory bathroom and a 100 yards from the Safety City bathroom. The last thing I come to the park for is exercise, so thank you for giving strategically located restroom options...

Father God, we give thanks to you, for your love endures forever. Amen.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A southwest Missouri woman has been sentenced to more than 21 years in prison without parole for leading a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine. Federal prosecutors say 39-year-old Kenna Harmon was sentenced Tuesday...

Who knew there are local op-purr-tunities this weekend catered to you and your pet? Get outside, bring your pet along, and hang out with other pet lovers and their furry housemates at these two pet-friendly venues: During this month's First Friday with the Arts, you and your domesticated counterparts are invited to a Pets Night Out starting at 5 p.m. taking place at several downtown Cape Girardeau locations...

Once upon a time, summer was the season to catch up on all the great television you missed throughout the year. However, over the past years, with the growth of streaming services and the never-ending flow of new content, that's not so true anymore. Not only are platforms such as Netflix constantly releasing new content, but networks and cable television also have a wave of summer shows to offer their viewers...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Arrests do not imply guilt. Assaults n Assault was reported at 2814 Whitener St. n Assault was reported in the 600 block of Pacific Street. Thefts n Theft was reported at 1946 Longview Drive...

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls: Wednesday n Medical assists were made at 1:09 a.m. on South Spring Street, 3:56 a.m. on Perry Avenue, 5:14 a.m. on North Kingshighway, 7:15 a.m. on Old Hopper Road, 10:13 a.m. on North Kingshighway, 1:25 p.m. on William Street, 4:54 p.m. on Linden Street, 8:40 p.m. on North Kingshighway and 10:22 p.m. on Hackberry Street...

Eric Greitens had a rough start to his governership, and it only got worse. Actually, his troubles began long before he beat Chris Koster for Missouri's top government executive. Greitens began his leadership with a combative and secretive style, feuding publicly with fellow Republicans, even when he had majorities in both parties. Greitens had everything he needed to move forward with a conservative agenda...

It was a usual Thursday night. We had just put our two grandchildren to bed, I was getting ready for work and Mike was looking at game cam pictures when it began to storm. Our Basset Hound, Mandy began panting and pacing the floor which is nothing unusual for her because she's terrified of storms. ...