JEAN CARNAHAN PLANS TO HAVE CAPE OFFICE

Missourians are moving past the oddity of November's U.S. Senate race in which the late Gov. Mel Carnahan beat out incumbent Sen. John Ashcroft. Then Jean Carnahan, the governor's widow, was tapped to fill the seat.

But there's one more wrinkle. Ashcroft shared offices in six Missouri cities, including Cape Girardeau, with fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond. It allowed them to have more offices across the state at less cost, because they shared their allotments for state offices.

When asked if Jean Carnahan might be interested in sharing office space with Bond, Roy Temple, her chief of staff, didn't dismiss the possibility.

But realistically, such an arrangement would be challenging. Some staff members who currently work in those shared offices say having Carnahan's staff alongside Bond's staff would be unworkable.

While the offices are used for constituent services most of the time, they become politically charged around elections.

Said one Bond-Ashcroft staffer: "It just isn't going to happen." But, the staffer said, Carnahan has indicated she will have a Cape Girardeau office. That should be taken as good news for Southeast Missouri.