News

SIKESTON — A new website has launched to help explain the need and costs of a Sikeston R-6 bond issue that will be on the ballot in April. The site, www.schools4sikeston.com, explains the $21-million bond issue by breaking down what will be done as part of the bond issue and what the costs will be...

SIKESTON — The Southeast Missouri Food Bank has been awarded grant money to help achieve a more accurate count in the 2020 Census. The Food Bank was awarded $15,000 from the Missouri Foundation for Health to implement programs to get a more accurate count in the 2020 Census. The Food Bank’s Count Me In program will provide outreach, education and assistance in Census registration to typically undercounted populations...

BLOOMFIELD — A Poplar Bluff man was ordered Thursday afternoon to stand trial for robbing the Southern Bank branch at Essex. Accompanied by his attorney, Rance Butler with the Public Defender’s Office, Glenn Hamilton appeared before Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield for a preliminary hearing on the Class A felony of first-degree robbery...

SIKESTON — Police are investigating a stolen vehicle report late Wednesday in Sikeston. At 10:16 p.m. Wednesday officers with Sikeston Department of Public Safety responded to the Family Dollar Store, 209 W. Malone Ave., in reference to a dark gray Chevrolet HHR being stolen, according to DPS reports...

SIKESTON — Missouri State Highway Patrol has again joined members of Concerns of Police Survivors in paying tribute to fallen officers and showing support for law enforcement by participating in Project Blue Light. Thirty-one members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol have given their lives in fulfillment of the Patrol’s mission of providing service and protection to Missouri’s citizens, according to Col. Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol...

The Scott City Council has named city clerk Mike Dudek to be the town’s new administrator, succeeding Mark O’Dell who left the position in May. And although Dudek’s title is new, his duties are not because he’s been the “unofficial” city administrator since O’Dell’s departure...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Southeast Missouri State University president Carlos Vargas sent a message to the university community Friday addressing racist flyers found on the school’s main campus and River Campus earlier in the week. The flyers, purportedly from Church of Creativity -- “White Racial Loyalty Without Compromise” -- espoused white supremacist views and claimed the group’s “golden rule” is “What is good for the White Race is the highest virtue; What is bad for the White Race is the ultimate sin.”. ...

SIKESTON — The First Baptist Church in Sikeston has a new pastor. Matthew Vroman, who had been a pastor in Detroit, held his first sermon at First Baptist last week. Vroman is no stranger to Missouri. “I was born in Howard County over in Glasgow (Missouri),” Vroman said. “I went to Mizzou and got saved and was called into ministry. I met my wife there and got married.”...

SIKESTON — The ladies of Christian Women’s Fellowship met Dec. 2. Mandy Newton of the Volunteer Board for Mission Missouri explained the upcoming plans to convert the facility located at 509 Ruth St., Sikeston to a transition center for women returning to the community from rehab or the Department of Corrections...

Three Sikeston representatives are learning about leadership with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s authentic leadership course. Director of Public Works Jay Lancaster; Marcie Lawson, executive director at the Sikeston Regional Chamber and Cynthia Dean, chief executive officer of the Bootheel Regional Consortium are three of the 30 representatives from across the eight-state Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt regions gathering on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., for the course.. ...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. - One act of kindness goes a long way. That is what Emma Fisk has discovered when she decided to help the Portageville Police Department raise money for their “Shop With a Cop” Program. The simple act of kindness has led her to receiving a proclamation from the City of Portageville...

BENTON, Mo. — Organizers are busy setting up in Benton, Missouri, for this weekend’s 20th annual Winter Wonderland of Treasures craft fair. About 50 vendors will be set up in the St. Denis Parish Center on U.S. 61 in Benton, and include several familiar offerings, with some new items...

The Missouri Gaming Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved transfer of Isle Casino Cape Girardeau’s gaming license from Eldorado Resorts of Reno, Nevada, to Century Casinos of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The license transfer clears the way for the casino’s sale, expected by the end of the month...

BLOOMFIELD — A former deputy clerk has settled her wrongful termination lawsuit filed against Stoddard County for nearly $95,000. Ginger McCoy had sued Stoddard County Clerk Cecil Weeks individually and in his official capacity, as well as Stoddard County, after she was fired April 8 for allegedly questioning irregularities in the April 2 municipal election...

SIKESTON — A Sikeston man faces felony charges for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend on Thanksgiving night. Juan Morales, 34, of Sikeston was formally charged Monday through Scott County with first degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon, according to online court records...

BENTON, Mo. — The Scott County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a local man with two active warrants for his arrest. Officers are searching for Christian M. Montgomery, 23, who is known to frequent the Morley, Mo. area. Montgomery is known to be armed and dangerous and the Sheriff’s Office warns not to approach him...

SIKESTON — A ribbon cutting and open house were held Tuesday to celebrate the opening of a health clinic for students and staff at a Sikeston R-6 school. Officials with the Sikeston R-6 School District and SEMO Health Network partnered to open the SEMO Health Network Behavioral Health Center on the campus of the Sikeston Alternative Center...

SIKESTON — Sikeston residents may soon be allowed to use utility vehicles (UTVs) on city streets. At Monday’s Sikeston City Council meeting, council members heard the first reading of a bill that, if passed, would allow UTVs to be operated on city streets with posted speeds of 45 miles per hour or less. ...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. - Lots of lights, holiday music and, of course, Santa will be featured as New Madrid County celebrates Christmas. Portageville kicks the holiday season off with “Christmas in the ‘Ville” on Friday. A Christmas parade is set for 6 p.m. ...

A swift-water rescue team responded to multiple incidents Saturday in Bollinger County, where flash floods swept two different vehicles off of roadways, leading to three deaths. The first incident occurred in the morning, when a vehicle traveling on County Road 356 was swept into Little Whitewater Creek with all four of its occupants entering the water at approximately 9:15 a.m., according to a boat/drowning incident report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol...

As a U.S. Navy veteran, Dustin Johnson knows the struggles service members face on returning stateside. After a failed attempt on his own life earlier this year, Johnson of Benton, Missouri, decided to take positive action and work toward realizing a long-held dream...

Adoption is no longer on the table for Narwhal the Little Magical Furry Unicorn — Narwhal for short. Instead, Mac’s Mission founder Rochelle Steffen will house the beagle-mix puppy herself. “I had no intention initially of keeping him,” Steffen said. “I didn’t want a puppy.” And beagles weren’t at the top of her list, either...