Stories from Friday, May 6, 2022

Need a pan to bake a cake for your mom’s birthday? How about a telescope to view the next lunar eclipse? Or maybe you need to get your passport renewed so you can fly to Paris where you want to play a ukulele while proposing to your girlfriend? Believe it or not, you can get all these things — yes, even the ukulele — at the library...

A Cape Girardeau man has been indicted in federal court for an alleged firearm violation. Mark Abbott of Cape Girardeau, formerly of Scott City, is facing a felon in possession of a firearm charge in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri...

Restoration Community Church in Scott City, 405 E. Main St., will be hosting its first foster care info-seminar from noon to 1:30 p.m Saturday. In a video posted to his Facebook account, senior pastor Bob Lenz has welcomed guests to attend, whether they are planning to become a foster parent or just curious to learn more, promising "light refreshments" and "special guest speakers."...

The man accused of setting fire to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cape Girardeau last year has been charged with a federal hate crime. According to a release from the Justice Department, authorities have charged Scott Pritchard, 46, with intentionally obstructing parishioners of the church in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs and using fire to commit a federal felony. ...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- It took two trips over state lines, navigating icy roads and a patchwork of state laws, for a 32-year-old South Dakota woman to get abortion pills last year. For abortion-seekers like her, such journeys, along with pills sent through the mail, will grow in importance if the Supreme Court follows through with its leaked draft opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. ...

Keith Holloway is one of the newest members to the University of Missouri Board of Curators. The founder and owner of regional pallet brokerage Professional Packaging Inc., which he established in 1992, was appointed by Gov. Mike Parson to serve on the board as the representative from the Eighth District. His nomination was confirmed by the state Senate earlier this year...

Vocalist Jackson Siples from Lighthouse Ministries performs worship music with the Lynwood Praise Band at Thursday night's National Day of Prayer event at Lynwood Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau. Four area pastors -- Mark Anderson of Lynwood Baptist Church, Gary Brothers of Cape First Church, Brett Cheek of LaCroix Church and Adrian Taylor of Lighthouse Ministries -- led the community in prayer. The gathering concluded two days of activities in Cape Girardeau.

Josh Lukefahr wants something done about the outdoor basketball courts at City Park in Jackson and he's launched an online GoFundMe fundraising page to raise money in hopes of restoring them. Lukefahr, a 1997 Jackson High School graduate and two-year letterman as an Indians point guard, played on the lighted courts along West Park Street near the National Guard Armory as a boy...

Hannah Bradham, middle, received her certificate of high school equivalence from Cape Girardeau School District superintendent Neil Glass, left, and Missouri Department of Revenue director Wayne Wallingford on Thursday at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center. Approximately 330 students received their certificates from the Adult Education and Literacy program, which serves eight counties in Missouri. More photos of the event may be seen in a gallery at semissourian.com

Lord God, as your children, may we clothe ourselves with compassion and kindness. Amen.

That black and white picture of the beautiful dogwoods and azaleas in Charleston does justice to neither. With SCOTUS on the verge of blocking Roe v. Wade my concern is what's next? Is same-sex marriage or LGBTQ rights or interracial marriage going to be banned? Will schools be forced to teach only the history of white people? Will Republicans be able to gerrymander all districts at will? How soon before America becomes an ultra-right police state??!...

Editor's note: The following is our annual Mother's Day editorial. Each of us owe a debt of gratitude to our mothers, if for no other reason the gift of life itself. On Sunday, we'll celebrate Mother's Day and all the moms who selflessly give of themselves for their families...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Police Department responded to the following calls. Arrest does not imply guilt. Arrests n A warrant arrest was reported on William Street. n A warrant arrest was reported on South Benton Street. Miscellaneous n Resisting/interfering with arrest for a felony was reported on Good Hope Street...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. May 4 n Medical assists were made at 1:46 p.m. on Whitener Street; 5:19 p.m. on Albert Street; 11:42 p.m. on Beavercreek Drive. n At 2:56 a.m., lift assist on Steven Drive...

Debra Lou "Deb" Clingingsmith Scholl, 58, of Jackson, was peacefully called by her Lord and Savior, Wednesday, May 4, 2022. The third of three children, Deb was born Nov. 3, 1963, in Cape Girardeau, to Alvin "Jake" and Alma Clara Hanselmann Clingingsmith. Her siblings are Robert and Connie...

Evelyn R. Blocker, 88, of Cape Girardeau passed away Wednesday, May 4, 2022, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Jan. 6, 1934, to Martin and Edith Smith Fornkohl in Egypt Mills. Evelyn married Tilmon Blocker on March 18, 1961, and he preceded her in death Jan. 29, 2008...

GRAND TOWER, Ill. -- Colleen Jane Baltzell, 82, passed away Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. Colleen was born Nov. 22, 1939, in Wolf Lake, Illinois, to Frank and Lee Etta Wright Cripps. Colleen married William S. "Fred" Baltzell on March 1, 1957, and he preceded her in death May 15, 1987...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man suspected of leading police on a chase in two states has been fatally shot by officers, police said. Mekiah Harris, 26, of Kansas City, Kansas, was killed in the shooting Tuesday night near Platte City, Missouri, police said...

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden on Thursday named Karine Jean-Pierre to be the next White House press secretary, the first Black woman and openly LGBTQ person to serve in the role. Incumbent Jen Psaki is set to leave the post next week. Jean-Pierre takes on the role as the White House faces an uphill battle to help Democrats hold onto the House and Senate in this fall's midterm elections, and as the administration struggles to address Americans' concerns about soaring inflation and the state of the economy. ...

Eminem, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Duran Duran and Pat Benatar have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a list that also includes Dolly Parton, who initially resisted the honor. The honorees -- voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals -- "each had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock 'n' roll," said John Sykes, the chairman of the Rock Hall, in a statement Wednesday...

MINSK, Belarus -- Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko defended Russia's invasion of Ukraine in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, but he said he didn't expect the 10-week-old conflict to "drag on this way." He also spoke out against the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine but wouldn't say if Russian President Vladimir Putin had plans to launch such a strike...

Researchers trying to learn what killed the first person to receive a heart transplant from a pig have discovered the organ harbored an animal virus but cannot yet say if it played any role in the man's death. A Maryland man, 57-year-old David Bennett Sr., died in March, two months after the groundbreaking experimental transplant. ...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. regulators on Thursday strictly limited who can receive Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine because of the ongoing risk of rare but serious blood clots. The Food and Drug Administration said the shot should only be given to adults who cannot receive a different vaccine or specifically request J&J's vaccine. U.S. authorities for months have recommended Americans get Pfizer or Moderna shots instead of J&J's vaccine...

LAS VEGAS, N.M. -- Firefighters in New Mexico took advantage of diminished winds Thursday to build more fire lines and clear combustible brush near homes close to the fringes of the largest wildfire burning in the U.S. They did so ahead of what is expected to be several consecutive days of intense hot, dry and extremely windy weather that could fan the blaze...

LONDON -- The World Health Organization estimates nearly 15 million people were killed either by coronavirus or by its impact on overwhelmed health systems during the first two years of the pandemic, more than double the current official death toll of over 6 million...

LVIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian fighters in the tunnels underneath Mariupol's pulverized steel plant held out against Russian troops Thursday in an increasingly desperate and perhaps doomed effort to deny Moscow what would be its biggest success of the war yet: the complete capture of the strategic port city...

ST. LOUIS -- Members of a grand jury that indicted an investigator in the criminal case against former Gov. Eric Greitens urged a state disciplinary board to take stronger action against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, calling her conduct "reprehensible."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Many Missouri taxpayers could get a one-time refund of up to $500 per individual under a plan endorsed by state senators as a way to help offset inflation while whittling down a state surplus. The Senate proposal is similar to one passed previously by the House but would apply to fewer people at a lower cost to the state. The plan still needs a final Senate vote to go to the House and then on to Gov. Mike Parson...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The University of Missouri has proposed disciplinary sanctions against 13 students as part of its investigation into an October fraternity pledge party that left a student from Minnesota with brain injuries. Federal student privacy law keeps the school from naming the students or providing details about the disciplinary decisions, but the sanctions could include suspension or expulsion, the university said in a statement Thursday...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Voters will get to decide later this year whether to elevate the status of the Missouri National Guard by making it a stand-alone department of state government. The National Guard currently is a division of the Missouri Department of Public Safety, which also includes a variety of other agencies...

The City of Jackson is on its way to improving sanitary and sewer conditions if voters approve a $10.54 million bond issue in August; the Jackson Board of Aldermen yesterday passed an ordinance calling for a city election for the purpose of improving the combined water works and sewerage system; the bonds would be retired within 35 years from the date of authorization; a special bond election is set for Tuesday, Aug. 5...

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Paul Joseph Keller, 69, of Chaffee died Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born in Chaffee April 16, 1953, he was the son of Joseph Franklin Keller and Lena Loretta Nanney Keller Harris. On Oct. 12, 1974, he and Diane Marie Jansen were married at St. John Catholic Church in Leopold, Missouri. She survives...

Prom Season is finishing up and the local chapter of Becca’s Closet (Semo Prom Mothers of Cape Presbyterian Churches) is closing shop for the summer. Attached is a list of how far the girls traveled this year for a free semi-formal or formal dress for their special school sponsored event...