Stories from Friday, August 17, 2018

The City of Cape Girardeau hopes to have a consultant under contract by late September to help plan for an indoor aquatic center, parks and recreation director Julia Jones said Thursday. Jones said the city is seeking qualifications from interested firms...

A Sikeston, Missouri, murder case that involves once-missing evidence will not go to trial Monday, the Scott County Circuit Clerk's Office said. A new trial date has not been set, the clerk's office said Thursday. The continuance was requested by defense counsel for Antoine Harris-Applewhite of Sikeston. ...

Southeast Missouri State University has recently unveiled a new policy allowing on-campus students to live with their pets in Myers Hall dormitory during a one-year pilot program, beginning fall 2018. Students interested in having their pets as companions on campus must have necessary paperwork completed and be moved in two weeks prior to classes beginning, Myers Hall resident advisor Rachel Rigney confirmed Thursday. She resides in Myers Hall with her 6-month-old, orange Tabby cat, Ollie...

Today is Friday, Aug. 17, the 229th day of 2018. There are 136 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On August 17, 1943, the Allied conquest of Sicily during World War II was completed as U.S. and British forces entered Messina. On this date:...

The next best thing to a time machine is a visit to the old home place after years of absence. That's what I did last Saturday. The lure for my return to my favorite hometown in the Ozarks over yonder was an invitation to help judge the First Annual Tim Savage Memorial Fish Fry Cook-off sponsored by the Piedmont Chamber of Commerce with assistance from the American Legion Auxiliary...

Thousands of young adults will populate our city once again this week as they move into dorms and apartments to attend Southeast Missouri State University. The students bring a lot of energy to our city. We welcome them, as well as their optimism as they continue their educational journey here in Cape Girardeau. They also help our local economy by shopping at our stores, eating at our restaurants and filling up at our gas stations...

I have followed the David Robinson exoneration story closely. One of the many details of the case that has come from David's story, but has gotten little attention, is the fate of my uncle, Russell Montjoy. Russell was a confidential informant for former Det. John Blakely with the Sikeston Department of Public Safety...

Public schools will be back in session soon, but there are still plenty of great opportunities to take in the sights, smells and tastes of summer. Get ready to laugh 'til it hurts today at Port Cape Girardeau in downtown Cape Girardeau with comedians Dan Alten and Amber Klear. ...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. housing starts ticked up just 0.9 percent in July, a sign higher construction costs might be weighing on homebuilders. The Commerce Department said Thursday housing starts last month rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million, not nearly enough to reverse the steep 12.9 percent plunge seen in June as rising lumber, land and labor costs appeared to constrain new construction. ...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The jury in the fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort ended its first day of deliberations with a series of questions to the judge, including a request to "redefine" reasonable doubt. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III read the questions aloud to lawyers for both sides as well as Manafort before he called the jury in to give his answers...

WASHINGTON -- Is the latest pickup in U.S. economic growth destined to slow in the years ahead as most analysts say? Or, as the Trump administration insists, is the economy on the cusp of an explosive boom rewarding Americans and defying those expectations?...

WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. security officials issued scathing rebukes Thursday to President Donald Trump, admonishing him for yanking a top former spy chief's security clearance in what they cast as an act of political vengeance. Trump said he'd had to do "something" about the "rigged" federal probe of Russian election interference...

The Nell Holcomb R-IV School District has a new face in its halls: school resource officer Heather VanGennip now works full-time for the district. Nell Holcomb, located on Highway 177 in Cape Girardeau County, is an outlying school, and superintendent Darryl Pannier said the district worked with county officials to arrive at a solution...

Six days before school begins, new construction at Jackson High School is in full swing. Saws whine through boards, booted feet walk across protective sheets over the flooring, and light streams in through wide windows. The addition, referred to as the freshman center and as the J wing, was built on the site of "Old A," Jackson's old high-school building demolished last year to make way for a larger, more accessible building...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri candidate who recently claimed a surprise victory in the Republican primary for state auditor is now facing questions about if she's lived in the state long enough to be eligible to run. The state Constitution outlines an auditor must have been a Missouri resident for 10 years at the time of election. But Saundra McDowell, an attorney living in Jefferson City, didn't move to Missouri until 2010, the Kansas City Star reported...

Jackie "Jack" Glenn Swift, 78, of Jackson passed away Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, at Monticello House. He was born Jan. 31, 1940, in Sedalia, Missouri, to the late Glenn and Lucille Bennett Swift. Jackie and Phyllis Swift were married May 26, 1978, in Cape Girardeau. She preceded him in death...

Michael William Scott Sr., 68, of Jackson passed away Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau surrounded by his loving family. Mike was born Oct. 6, 1949, in St. Louis, the eldest of seven children born to William H. and Jeannette C. Hertweck Scott...

Surrounded by her family, Linda Camille Rapp, 70, passed away peacefully Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, at her home in Jackson. She was born April 20, 1948, in Bollinger County, Missouri, to Samuel Daniel "Bud" and Dorothy Morris Updegraff. She and James B. "Jim" Rapp were married Dec. 11, 1982, in Jackson...

Rose Ann Prater, 63, of McClure, Illinois, passed away peacefully Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, at her home, with family by her side. She was born July 30, 1955, in Vandalia, Illinois, to Amel Ivan and Margaret Caroline Burgoto Marquis. Rose was a 1974 graduate of Shawnee High School. She worked as a beautician and enjoyed growing flowers, especially her sunflowers...

Dorothy Lou Lowes, 90, of Cape Girardeau, passed away Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018, at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. She was born July 19, 1928, in Egypt Mills to Rudy and Erna Schwettman Brinkman. She and Loel "Cotton" Lowes were married June 1, 1946, at Cape Girardeau. He preceded her in death...

KELSO, Mo. -- Kevin Joseph Essner, 52, of Kelso died Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018, at his home, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born Sept. 15, 1965, in Cape Girardeau to Vincent Stephen and Lorena Mary Diebold Essner. He and Laurie Holshouser were married Sept. 26, 1987, at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Kelso...

If I build a football program "brick by brick", are these bricks wins or losses? The answer lets me know if I'm building a nice ranch-style home or just a dog house. Woof-woof. It's football season. Yay! But, once again, we can't watch the only Missouri team, the Kansas City Chiefs! All of these channels, and no one is showing the game!...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Authorities are investigating after two bodies were found in the woods near a Kansas City area lake. KMBC-TV reported police aren't identifying the people found Wednesday afternoon at Longview Lake or saying how they died. But relatives and friends of 29-year-old Michael Brewer and 25-year-old Keith Wasmer gathered at the lake because they suspect the bodies are those of the missing men...

Lord Jesus, we pray for the strength to run the race you've set before us. Amen.

Scott City native and Nashville recording artist Ryan Corn already has his set list ready for the opening of Shipyard Music Festival on Sept. 22 at Ivers Square Courtyard in Cape Girardeau. "I've got some new songs that I'm really excited to play," Corn said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "I'll play a few that have been released. I'll play some old ones, and I'll play some new ones, too."...