Claire McCaskill, the Democratic candidate for state auditor, will be featured speaker Saturday night at the Cape Girardeau County Democratic Central Committee's Fall Festival.

The dinner and auction fund raiser will be held in the Mississippi Room of the Drury Lodge. It will begin with a social hour at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30.

The cost is $15 per person for dinner and the social hour and $10 for those who want to attend only the social hour. Tickets will be available at the door.

More than 200 people are expected.

Persons wanting more information may contact Tom Neumeyer at 335-0449, Chris Edwards at 243-1709 or Nelda Hinton at 243-4314.

McCaskill, who lives in Kansas City, is serving her second term as Jackson County prosecutor.

She began her legal career as an assistant prosecutor in Jackson County. In 1982, she was elected to the Missouri General Assembly. She served three terms in the House.

She chairs the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. She serves as vice president of the National District Attorneys Association and is on the board of the American Prosecutor's Research Institute.

In 1997, she served as president of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

McCaskill has received numerous awards for her legislative work, including the Medal of Honor from the National Foundation for the Improvement of Justice.

In 1994, she was named "Woman of the Year" by the Association of Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City. The Kansas City Bar Association honored her with its Presidential Award in 1995.

She has said that her experience as a prosecutor makes her qualified to run the state auditor's office. She has said she currently manages a prosecutor's office that has a budget that is more than twice the size of the state auditor's.