Stories from Monday, June 3, 2024

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce has introduced a Signature Events series that is sure to engage community members. The 2024 Annual Dinner on March 22 helped kick off this series, which promises a year filled with growth, networking and community engagement...

Lance DeMarzo, 25, was found guilty of the class E felony of unlawful use of a weapon in a Cape Girardeau County trial on Thursday, May 30. DeMarzo’s sentencing is scheduled for Monday, July 1, and he is facing up to four years in prison, according to a release from Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. ...

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s House speaker once described “stupid Republican women” as “an invasive species”, according to a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit filed against the powerful lawmaker Friday. House Chief Clerk Dana Miller’s lawsuit alleged GOP House Speaker Dean Plocher and his chief of staff Rod Jetton retaliated against her after she raised concerns about his alleged mistreatment of women and misuse of state funds. ...

Moms Demand Action will host a Wear Orange event to bring residents’ attention to gun violence from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, June 7, at Peace Park in downtown Cape Girardeau. Moms Demand Action’s Leslie Washington said the group’s members want to bring gun-violence awareness by asking the community to wear orange on the Friday, even if they can’t attend the event. ...

Cape Central High School graduate Avery Criblez received a full-tuition Navy ROTC Marine Option Scholarship to attend Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. The scholarship will cover all four years of Criblez’s studies and is worth $180,000. Upon graduation, she will be commissioned as an officer in the Navy or Marine Corps. ...

The Workforce Development Board of Southeast Missouri helps connect both individuals seeking employment and businesses looking to hire them with resources to help fill both needs. ...

A grant for improving the exteriors of downtown Cape Girardeau businesses will be open until the end of July. Five selected winners will receive reimbursements up to $1,500 for the likes of paint, awning or lighting renovations. ...

Mary Sue Anton has lived a long, full life. From the small town of New Madrid to Kansas City and south to Texas, she has seen her fair share of U.S. history. To tell her story and reflect on the historic times and events she lived through, Anton has written her newest book, "Leaving the Homeplace: Tales Beyond the Levee". ...

Today is Monday, June 3, the 155th day of 2024. There are 211 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 3, 2016, heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, whose athletic feats and activism put him among the most revered athletes of all time, died at a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona, at age 74...

O Lord Jesus, our Messiah and Redeemer, blessed be your name. Amen.

Four tornado-producing storms roared through Southeast Missouri on Sunday morning, May 26. The storms damaged homes and businesses, uprooted trees and downed power lines. Luckily, no one in the region lost their life. That was not the case elsewhere, as nearly two dozen people died during a multi-day storm event in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky. ...

Getting married when you're an older adult comes with complications: You and your spouse may have assets from years of working, and you may have children from previous relationships. Tying the knot could affect your Social Security benefits if you're widowed or divorced. You will need to update estate documents and beneficiary designations, and you may even want to consider a prenuptial agreement...

NEW YORK -- As high-stakes elections approach in the U.S. and European Union, publicly available artificial intelligence tools can be easily weaponized to churn out convincing election lies in the voices of leading political figures, a digital civil rights group said Friday...

Lab-grown meat is not available in any U.S. grocery stores or restaurants. If some lawmakers have their way, it never will be. Last month, Florida and Alabama banned the sale of cultivated meat and seafood, which is grown from animal cells. In Iowa, the governor signed a bill prohibiting schools from buying lab-grown meat. Federal lawmakers are also looking to restrict it. ...

WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials warned parents to avoid powdered infant formula sold by a Texas dairy producer, because a dangerous bacteria was found in one of the company's products. The Food and Drug Administration issued the alert Friday on Crecelac Infant Powdered Goat Milk Infant Formula, after a sample collected from a Texas store tested positive for cronobacter, which can cause deadly infections in babies. ...

Boeing officials explained their plan to improve manufacturing quality and safety during a three-hour meeting Thursday with federal officials, who will continue restrictions they placed on the company after one of its jetliners suffered a blowout of a fuselage panel in January. ...

Two businesses are celebrating a grand opening and remodeled offices over the course of the week. ...

Jaden Kight will rejoin the chamber she interned at as she finishes a Master of Business Administration at Southeast Missouri State University. ...

The newest Mercy Primary Care nurse practitioner brings 14 years of experience to the position. ...

Saint Francis Healthcare System has a new vice president of perioperative services. ...

WASHINGTON — A military veteran who was convicted of injuring a police officer’s hand during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison. John George Todd III declined to address the court before U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sentenced him. The judge said Todd, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, hasn’t shown any remorse for his role in damaging the country’s “fragile” democratic institutions. ...

Kenneth Wayne Lentz, 71, of Columbia, formerly of Malden, passed away Wednesday, May 29, 2024, at his home. Ken, son of Kenneth Abram and Betty Ann Russell Lentz, was born Sunday, July 6, 1952, in Cairo, Illinois. He graduated in 1970 from Meridian District 101 in Mounds, Illinois, and attended Southeast Missouri State University. ...

KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine imposed emergency power shutdowns in most of the country on Sunday, a day after Russia unleashed large-scale attacks on energy infrastructure and claimed it made gains in the eastern Donetsk province. The shutdowns were in place in all but three regions of Ukraine following Saturday's drone and missile attack on energy targets that injured at least 19 people...

NEW YORK -- Marchers chanted for the release of hostages in Gaza on Sunday at a New York City parade for Israel that drew thousands of people under heightened security. The parade was held almost eight months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people -- mostly civilians -- and abducted about 250. About 100 hostages remain in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more...

Cape Girardeau’s two Save-A-Lot stores will consolidate into one store in the former Del Farm National Grocery and Schnucks building at South Sprigg and William streets, giving the city’s Midtown its first grocery in almost two years; Heartland Save-A-Lot stores at 19 N. Spanish St. and near Broadway and Kingshighway, both owned by Maevers Food Inc. of Jackson, will close when the new market opens in mid August. ...

Gasoline prices have resumed a downward trend in the Southeast Missouri region as some prices now fall below $3 for the first time in months. ...

The Perryville and Cape Girardeau chambers are both scheduled to hold events to make connections at and eat some food. ...

Arnsberg Cemetery Association Continues Mission to Remember The Arnsberg Cemetery Association held its 25th annual business meeting May 19 on the cemetery grounds. The Association manages fiscal assets, property maintenance, and new burials in the cemetery. Recently, Association members performed special maintenance to protect several of the older tombstones...