Stories from Monday, September 20, 2021

After more than 35 years at its current location, the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce is packing this week and preparing to move to a new, larger headquarters by the end of the month. The chamber finalized its purchase Thursday of the former First Missouri State Bank branch at 1846 E. ...

Retired The Bank of Missouri president John M. Thompson says he's been asked to pinch-hit on behalf of Cape Girardeau Area Magnet, but he downplays his chances of driving in many runs. Thompson was unanimously chosen earlier this month to serve as Magnet's interim director in anticipation of John Mehner's upcoming departure from the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. Thompson's appointment as interim director became effective Sept. 3...

Southeast Missouri State University students will see an increase in their bank accounts Wednesday, as the university begins distributing $10.4 million in coronavirus relief funds. Southeast received the money in Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEERF) III funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to distribute directly to students, according to a university news release...

ST. LOUIS — Nursing homes in Missouri with the vast majority of staff vaccinated tend to have strikingly lower rates of COVID-19 cases among residents, according to federal records, a trend that may offer broader lessons about the virus and how it can be slowed...

Oktoberfest is returning this year to Jackson, bringing a biergarten, German-style food, local vendors and live music back to High Street this Oct. 1 and 2 after taking a hiatus last year because of the pandemic. Funded and operated by the Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization, the first night of festivities will run from 6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 1, and then 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Oct. 2. Each day is free to attend...

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport in northern Scott County continues its rebound in passenger traffic from the depths of the COVID pandemic in 2020, according to the latest usage report issued by the office of airport manager Katrina Amos. Enplanements, the industry term to designate passenger boardings, stands at 5,121 year-to-date for the first eight months of 2021, with 806 boardings recorded last month...

O Lord Jesus, may we be still and know that you are God. Amen.

The best indication that Larry Elder was going down hard in the California recall wasn’t the polling, although that all swung the wrong way in the final weeks, but his suggestion late in the campaign Democrats were going to steal the election. Preemptive excuse-making isn’t a sign of great confidence — the winning side never complains of cheating...

A Cape Girardeau fiddler and manager of local brewpub recently took home awards from the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. Steve Schaffner received the Otto F. Dingeldein Award. Schaffner is the director of the Southeast Music Academy but is probably more known for his musical stylings on the fiddle and as a former faculty member at Cape Girardeau Central High School, where he led the orchestra. ...

UNITED NATIONS -- Last year, no leaders came at all. This year will be quite different -- sort of. With the coronavirus pandemic still raging in many parts of the world, leaders from more than 100 nations are heading to New York this week for the United Nations' annual high-level gathering -- a COVID-inflected, semi-locked down affair taking place in one of the pandemic's hardest-hit cities of all. ...

DEL RIO, Texas -- The U.S. flew Haitians camped in a Texas border town back to their homeland Sunday and tried blocking others from crossing the border from Mexico in a massive show of force signaling the beginning of what could be one of America's swiftest, large-scale expulsions of migrants or refugees in decades...

In 2017, Courtney Lynn Ottrix started blogging about things to do in Cleveland. She'd done some freelancing in the past, and the blog offered occasional opportunities for income. But two years later, when her full-time position was eliminated, Ottrix suddenly found herself self-employed...

Bernard J. Halter, 93, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, at Southeast Hospital. He was born Aug. 7, 1928, to Benjamin Halter and Clara Meyer Halter. He and Lillian Nanna were married June 1, 1963, in Cape Girardeau. She preceded him in death Jan. 17, 1999...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — Shirley A. Esselman, 82, of Perryville died Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday and 8 to 9:15 a.m. Friday at Ford and Young Funeral Home in Perryville. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Sereno, Missouri, with the Rev. Joe Geders, C.M., and Deacon Jim Carter co-officiating. Burial will be at Mount Hope Cemetery in Perryville...

WASHINGTON — A Missouri man who posted on Snapchat and Facebook that he was inside the U.S. Capitol during the deadly riot Jan 6 has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Twenty-nine-year-old Nicholas Reimler of Valley Park in St. Louis County admitted Friday to one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. As part of the plea agreement, two other misdemeanor charges were dropped...

ST. LOUIS — Thousands took part in a procession for a Marine from Missouri who was among 13 service members killed in the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan. The Missouri State Highway Patrol closed down some interstates Thursday as a Humvee military hearse carried the casket of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery for a private burial...

ST. LOUIS — The knock on the door Kristen Bigogno has long dreaded finally arrived Friday — two St. Louis deputies came to evict her, joined by a couple of other men there to change the locks on the apartment. The eviction was months in the making, yet it felt sudden to Bigogno. The judgment against her was last winter, but thanks to a national moratorium, she got a reprieve that ended with a Supreme Court ruling last month...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri's decision to allow open containers of alcohol in vehicles forces the state to divert millions of federal dollars intended for road construction to safety programs, according to a public radio report. The state's policy of letting passengers drink in moving vehicles violates federal safety laws. Because of the violation, Missouri has moved about $370 million in highway construction funds to safety programs since 2001, KCUR-FM reported...

Audio from an inquest into the shooting death of Derontae Martin offers widely conflicting accounts of how the young Black man died inside a rural Missouri home during a party in April. One witness said someone confessed to killing Martin; another said he saw Martin shoot himself...

The City of Cape Girardeau's community development office received business license applications last week from: n Corrie Gatlin of Webb City, Missouri, to operate Homestead Steaks LLC at West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau. The business, which sells prepackaged frozen steaks, chicken, seafood and pork, opened Friday...

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's quarterly "speed networking" session is set for 3:30 until 5 p.m. Tuesday at VFW Post 3838, 1049 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. The free event is intended to help participants network with others in a fun, fast-paced environment...

Dr. Daniel Griffin and dietitian Ann Menz have accepted new roles with Saint Francis Medical Center. Griffin has accepted a position as an intensivist (a physician who specializes in the care of critically ill patients) at the hospital, while Menz has been named manager of clinical nutrition services there...

For the third consecutive year and seventh time overall, Site Selection Magazine has designated Ameren Corporation as a "top utility in economic development." The recognition, announced last week, takes into account Ameren's economic development work in Missouri and Illinois and was based on several criteria, including business programs and incentives as well as job-creating infrastructure...

Representatives from Shawnee Community College in Ullin, Illinois, and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale signed an agreement Friday the schools say will provide a more seamless entry for Shawnee students into several SIU online programs...

Saint Francis Healthcare System has initiated an online community health needs assessment to gather insights from area residents about the area's health care needs. SoutheastHEALTH, which is on a different reporting schedule, will conduct a similar survey beginning in a few months...

More than $6.8 million in fees and taxes generated by Missouri's medical marijuana program was transferred last week from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to the Missouri Veterans Commission. Under the terms of a constitutional amendment approved by Missouri voters in November 2018, fees and taxes generated by the state's medical marijuana program, less operational expenses, are to be periodically transferred to the veterans commission for health and care services provided to the state's military veterans.. ...

A pair of businesses that have been sharing space in the Marquette Tower in downtown Cape Girardeau — OnBoard and Media Leaf — are relocating their operations to a larger space at 879 N. Kingshighway in a building formerly occupied by Ochs Rent A Car...

After operating an online outlet for several years, Trai Blissett recently opened Positive Soles at 521 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, specializing in sneakers and street wear. "It has been a dream to open my own sneaker store since I started my own online platform my senior year of high school," Blissett said. "That's when I started pushing Positive Soles seriously."...

Carvana, which touts itself as the company that introduced the "car vending machine," is coming to Jackson. The pre-owned e-commerce car dealership, based in Tempe, Arizona, plans to occupy the former Brennecke Chevrolet building at 700 E. Jackson Blvd., which is still owned by the Brennecke family...

Jay Knudtson, chairman of the Cape Girardeau Park Board, and Dan Muser, parks and recreation director, like to talk about the newest Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation facilities to be available next year; the Osage Park Community Center, a 33,728-square-foot building, is expected to be ready by the first of the year, and the new Shawnee Park Softball Complex and Concession Building will be ready for the 1997 spring season; the combined projects cost $5.3 million...

LOS ANGELES — Netflix’s “The Crown” and “The Queen’s Gambit” combined with Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” to sweep top series honors at the Sunday’s Emmy Awards, a first for streaming services that cemented their rise to prominence in the television industry. “I’m at a loss for words,” said Peter Morgan, the creator and writer of the British royal saga “The Crown,” which collected acting, writing and directing awards in addition to four acting honors...

Cooper Callis, former Jackson HS product, sets records in college contest.... https://www.sbubearcats.com/news/2021/9/18/football-callis-throws-for-record-performance-against-findlay.aspx

Guardian Angel Jr. Beta Club conducted their first meeting of the school year on Friday, September 17, 2021 at Guardian Angel School. The officers for the 2021-22 year were elected at the meeting. The newly elected officers were: President, Reid Hobbs; Vice-President, Porter Gadberry; Treasurer, Ava Forehand; Secretary, Cora Woods; Chaplain, Cooper Bryant; and Peacekeeper, Weston Woods. ...