Stories from Thursday, January 28, 2021

Sikeston residents saw the first snowfall of 2021 on Wednesday morning. The snow began around 10 a.m. and lasted for a few hours, dropping around an inch on the community. Most of the snow melted by late afternoon, leaving very little impact to travel...

Only about 5.3% of Missouri’s population have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and while Scott County is above the state average, the rest of the area is lagging. According to numbers released by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, statewide there were 423,839 doses of the vaccine administered, with 326,272 Missourians receiving the first dose, making up 5.3% of the population. Meanwhile, 97,567 Missourians have received both doses...

SIKESTON — The Southeast Missouri Food Bank distributed a record 16.35 million pounds of food – or 13.6 million meals – during 2020, an increase of more than 3 million pounds over the 12.9 million pounds distributed in 2019. “If anyone had told us at the start of 2020 that we were going to distribute more than 16 million pounds of food and hold nearly double the number of mobile food distributions, we probably would have said, ‘No way. ...

Seven alleged members of the Gangster Disciples gang, including four from Southeast Missouri, were indicted Monday on federal racketeering charges. The alleged members of the gang, which includes top national and state leaders, have been charged in a federal indictment accusing them of a yearslong interstate RICO conspiracy that involved multiple murders and drug trafficking, among other crimes...

SIKESTON — Those owing fines at the Sikeston Public Library could get a fresh start. “Most of us are more than happy to put 2020 behind us, and we at the library are no different,” said Ron Eifert, director of the Sikeston Public Library in a news relelease. “As we start a new year, the Sikeston Public Library would like to help our patrons get a fresh start with the library.”...

BENTON, Mo. — Rayola Marie Groves, age 83, of Benton, passed away on Jan. 24, 2021, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 5, 1937 in Mississippi County, Missouri, daughter of J. C. McClain and Earline (Delk) McClain. She was united in marriage to John Lee Groves Sr on Feb. 6, 1954 who preceded her in death...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson in his State of the State speech Wednesday touted his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, even as an outbreak among lawmakers forced him to break tradition and switch the venue for his address. “Time and time again, our administration has addressed the challenges of our communities and our state head on rather than leaving them for another day, another administration, or another generation,” Parson said...

One area most of us have struggled with is worry and fear. I recently came across a study referenced in the Huffington Post. The point was that the majority of our worries and fears do not come to pass, but we continue to be overwhelmed. “In this study, subjects were asked to write down their worries over an extended period of time and then identify which of their imagined misfortunes did not actually happen. ...