Stories from Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau County will be reduced to one lane with a 14-foot width restriction as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform bridge inspections. According to a MoDOT news release, the inspections will take place Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the following locations: From 8 to 9 a.m. on southbound I-55 from mile marker 94 to 93.6 and from 9 to 10 a.m. on northbound I-55 from mile marker 93.6 to 94...

Cave Vineyard & Distillery in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, is hosting Romance the Grapes on Saturday, Feb. 11 — just before Valentine's Day. Guests will be able to learn about Missouri grapes and winemaking, and will get to taste wine. This will include sampling cheeses and chocolate to see how to pair food that compliments wine...

The northbound lane in the 100 block of North Main Street in Cape Girardeau will be closed starting Thursday, Feb. 9, for street patching as a result of a municipal water project. Nicolette Brennan, city public information officer, said in a release Monday, Feb. 6, that the goal is to complete the work ahead of Valentine's Day...

A Cape Girardeau man has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for sex crimes involving two children. According to a release from Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Welker, Timothy Meding, 56, was convicted of first-degree statutory rape and four counts of first-degree statutory sodomy...

ST. LOUIS — Gov. Mike Parson said Monday he will not grant clemency and halt the execution of Raheem Taylor, who faces lethal injection for the deaths his girlfriend and her three children. Taylor, 58, is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday evening at the state prison in Bonne Terre...

"Fix Your BS (Belief Systems)", local author Dr. Greg Pursley's latest book, was released Jan 15. It has been nine years since Pursley debuted his first book, "A New Kind of Normal", which told the story of his son being born with dwarfism and how it changed his family forever...

Cape Girardeau City Councils members voted unanimously to formally approve the operations agreement for Jefferson Pool with the Cape Girardeau School District, as part of the consent agenda at their meeting Monday, Feb. 6. The Board of Education also voted unanimously to approve the agreement at their Jan. 23 meeting...

Southeast Missourian GOP congressman Jason Smith, new chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has a four-word message on the current debt ceiling crisis for President Joe Biden, as the latter is set to deliver his State of the Union speech Tuesday, Feb. 7...

The City of Jackson, which saw completion of Hubble Ford Bridge in July and expects its West Mary Street Bridge and Sidewalks initiative to be finished next month, is about to embark on its third bridge project in the just a year. Jackson's Board of Aldermen on Monday, Feb. 6, approved an expenditure of $34,800 to Cape Girardeau's Koehler Engineering & Land Surveying for engineering design phase services for Sunset Bridge Replacement Project...

Cape Girardeau City Council members voted unanimously to approve the first reading of a design-build agreement for the new terminal construction project at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, at their meeting Monday, Feb. 6. The 69-page contract is expected to be formally approved at the next council meeting in February as part of that meeting's consent agenda...

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that our home is a place of comfort and safety. A place where families gather, bond and develop memories. Despite the recent rising costs of materials, families nationwide have heavily invested in the improvement of their living spaces: The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University reported a 27% increase in home improvement spending from 2019 to 2022, resulting in a $90 billion increase. ...

Throughout the past semester of school, I’ve gathered that senior year is more. There is more excitement, more pressure and more moments to make count. There is an overall need to stay present and focused, because soon, the high school experience will be nothing but a memory...

Situated along the Mississippi River, river transportation is vital to the economy in Southeast Missouri. The SEMO Port provides 2,925 jobs, $174.5 million in labor income, and $20.9 million in state and local tax revenue, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation’s 2018 Economic Impact for Public Ports study. In 2016, public ports in Missouri moved 4 million tons of freight, equivalent to the freight that could be moved by nearly 100,000 trucks...

We long for the before and after, clinging to the past, impatient for the future. But we live in the in-between, always having to let go and move on. Don't miss the beauty of each present moment. Make of it a perfect marriage of memory and desire. Robert Hamblin is emeritus professor of English at Southeast Missouri State University, where he taught for 50 years and served as the founding director of the school's Center for Faulkner Studies. ...

Recipes tell the stories of communities and the people who shape them. Each recipe is more than a list of ingredients and steps; it is a written legacy of the individual who created the dish, their family and history. This monthly series highlights one of these legacies and gives readers the chance to create the recipe themselves...

Last year, I attended a quilt show. As I wandered from one beautiful quilt to another, I was amazed at the skill and creativity each contained. It made me appreciate the dedication, care and love that had been poured into each stitch. The flood of color and pattern overwhelmed me with awe. Each displayed a true artist who took what we think of as an ordinary, everyday object and made it cherished and special...

A knight, a horse with three crowns and the “King of Suede” walk into a bar. No, it’s not a bad joke — it’s nostalgia! 1973 50 Years Ago On Feb. 26, 1973, a horse, once known as Big Red, sold for $6.08 million. A bright-red chestnut stallion with three white socks and a star with a narrow stripe on his forehead, he won the Triple Crown at three years old, and the world learned the name “Secretariat.” The first to win the Triple Crown since 1948, he is regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. ...

O Lord Jesus, may we honor you and speak encouraging words to one another. Amen.

Since Grover Cleveland was president, no one has accused the average politician of being principled or even consistent. Year after year, Republicans claim to care about fiscal prudence but, when in power, spend like Democrats. In their turn, Democrats insist that they want to engineer a transition to a green-energy economy, but their actions contradict this goal...

Recently an unarmed 29-year-old African American, Tyre Nichols, was brutally beaten to death by five Black Memphis police officers. They were charged with murder. All belonged to a special crime unit known as the Scorpions. Both the victimizers and victim were Black. The Memphis police chief is Black. The assistant police chief is Black...

Son to Karson and Alisha Morrill of Sturdivant, Missouri, Southeast Hospital, 5:21 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2023. Name, Knox Norman. Weight, 4 pounds, 4 ounces. Second son. Mrs. Morrill is the daughter of Scotty and Melinda Hendrix of Sturdivant and Michelle Steimle of Swinton, Missouri. She works for United HealthCare. Morrill is the son of Keith and Helen Morrill of Cape Girardeau. He works for ASA Asphalt...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls. Feb. 5 n Medical assists were made at 11:25 a.m. on South West End Boulevard; 1:52 p.m. on Independence Street; 2:39 p.m. on Delwin Street; 4:04 p.m. on South Ellis Street; 7:17 p.m. on Whitener Street; and 8:47 p.m. on North Fountain Street...

CAPE GIRARDEAU Cape Girardeau Police Department responded to the following calls. Arrests do not imply guilt. Arrests n A warrant arrest was reported on North Water Street. n A warrant arrest was reported on Bloomfield Road. n A warrant arrest was reported on William Street...

John David Vogel, 71, of Oxnard, California, died Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Oxnard. He was born May 29, 1951, in Cape Girardeau to Clarence and Myrtle Butterfield Vogel. After the death of his first wife, he and Brenda Bugo were married Jan. 26, 2022, in Ventura, California...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — Erma Vianna Straw, 104, of Perryville died Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Graveside service will be at noon Friday, Feb. 10, at Rock Hill Cemetery in Puxico, Missouri, with Pastor Ben Chapman officiating...

FARMINGTON, Mo. — Margaret Ann Snider of Farmington entered into eternal rest Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, at her home, surrounded by her loved ones, at the age of 80. She was born at home in Benton, Missouri, July 14, 1942, to the late Nicholas and Mary Schaefer Essner...

Delores Ann Owen, 91, of Cape Girardeau went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023, at Chateau Girardeau Health Center. She was born Sept. 1, 1931, in Indianapolis to Morris and Ruth Marshall Ellis. She and Donovan Everett Owen were married April 4, 1950, in Plainfield, Indiana...

MORLEY, Mo. — Florence Elizabeth Morris, 83, of Morley died Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, at Chaffee Nursing Center in Chaffee, Missouri. She was born May 5, 1939, in Iuka, Illinois, to Everett and Lenore Wooly Bumgarner. She and Robert Ray Morris were married May 10, 1970...

Delwain Meyr, 57, of Friedheim passed away Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born Dec. 4, 1965, in St. Louis, son of Dean and Delores Detjen Meyr. Delwain was a 1985 graduate of Oak Ridge High School. He enjoyed farming from the time he was a child. ...

In loving memory of a wonderful woman, Debbie Kempf Bruce. Debbie was born Sept. 28, 1954, and passed away Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend. A memorial service honoring her life will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at St. Mary of the Annunciation Cathedral, 615 William St. in Cape Girardeau...

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio -- Crews released toxic chemicals into the air from five derailed tanker cars that were in danger of exploding Monday and began burning it after warning residents near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line to leave immediately or face the possibility of death...

BELGRADE, Serbia -- At a central square in Serbia's capital of Belgrade, dozens of Russians gathered recently to denounce President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, holding up photos of political prisoners from their homeland. Across the plaza, a billboard touts the Russian propaganda outlet RT, which has launched an online news portal in the country but is banned elsewhere in Europe. Heroic portraits of a bare-chested Putin adorn souvenir T-shirts and coffee mugs, or are painted on city walls...

The National Enquirer, the scandal-plagued tabloid that engaged in "catch-and-kill" practices to bury stories about Donald Trump during his presidential campaign, has been sold. VVIP is buying the National Examiner and another tabloid, the Globe, from magazine publisher a360 Media in an all-cash deal, though exact financial terms were not disclosed...

WASHINGTON -- Monday was supposed to be a day of modest hope in the U.S.-China relationship. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was going to be in Beijing, meeting with President Xi Jinping in a high-stakes bid to ease ever-rising tensions between the world's two largest economies...

KYIV, Ukraine -- Russian forces are keeping Ukrainian troops tied down with attacks in the eastern Donbas region as Moscow assembles additional combat power there for an expected offensive in the coming weeks, Ukrainian officials said Monday. Intense fighting that has been raging for weeks continued around the city of Bakhmut and the nearby towns of Soledar and Vuhledar, Ukraine's presidential office said...

BEIJING -- China on Monday accused the United States of indiscriminate use of force in shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, saying it "seriously impacted and damaged both sides' efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations." The U.S. shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft...

WASHINGTON -- A majority of Democrats now think one term is plenty for President Joe Biden, despite his insistence that he plans to seek reelection in 2024. That's according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that shows just 37% of Democrats say they want him to seek a second term, down from 52% in the weeks before last year's midterm elections...

ADANA, Turkey -- Rescuers in Turkey and war-ravaged Syria searched through the frigid night into Tuesday, hoping to pull more survivors from the rubble after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 4,000 people and toppled thousands of buildings across a wide region...

Representatives of Missouri's Department of Transportation and the company that designed the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge met with local government officials here yesterday to quell rumors about the bridge's design and safety; they'll answer the public's questions Monday at an open house meeting at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce office; rumors about the status of the bridge have been flying since the construction contract with Flatiron Structures Co., LLC., was dissolved in December after Flatiron dug a hole to begin construction of Pier 3 in the middle of the river and discovered fissures in the rock filled with mud and clay.. ...