Stories from Thursday, July 1, 2021

CIRCLE CITY, Mo. — A Sikeston, Missouri, man was killed and a Bloomfield, Missouri, woman injured in a two-vehicle crash early Thursday in Stoddard County. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol, the crash occurred at 9:20 a.m., one mile south of Circle City, as the motorcycle operated by Jerrod T. ...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Eleven-year-old Matthew Renaud gets up early most Wednesdays in the summer to help his grandfather sell produce at the Charleston Farmers’ Market at A.D. Simpson Park. A retired farmer, David Renaud said selling the produce at the farmers’ market is good for his mind and good for his grandson...

SIKESTON — Robert Earl Corbin, 76, died July 1, 2021, at his home in Sikeston. Arrangements are incomplete at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel in Sikeston.

WILSON CITY, Mo. — James L. Baker, 88, of Wilson City passed away June 27, 2021. He was born Jan. 25, 1933, to Clay and Lucy Baker, in Wilson City. James served in the U.S. Army and retired from Sullair LLC after more than 30 years after which he returned to his childhood home—Wilson City. ...

CHARLESTON, Mo. —An East Prairie man facing felony domestic, drug and weapons charges waived his formal arraignment and entered a not-guilty plea Wednesday during an appearance before Judge S. Rob Barker in Mississippi County Court in Charleston. Van Owens, 52, of East Prairie was booked into the Mississippi County Detention Center on the following charges and bonds of domestic assault, second degree, $750,000 cash only; kidnapping/facilitating a felony; armed criminal action; unlawful use of a weapon; possession of a controlled substance, $5,000 concurrent with cash-only bond, according to Mississippi County Sheriff Britton Ferrell. ...

Concerns continue to be raised about a new variant of COVID-19 as the state’s vaccination rate continues to lag. On Wednesday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 854 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, one of the largest one-day totals since February. The increase is driven by an increase in cases in southwestern and northern Missouri, areas seeing the delta variant of COVID-19...

SIKESTON — Fireworks will once again light up the night sky in Sikeston on the Fourth of July to commemorate Independence Day. The show will begin at dusk or when it gets dark in the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo Grounds on Sunday...

If I had a dollar for every time a farmer told me they were fixing their equipment I would be rich. The fact is, farmers work hard to get everything ready to farm. I remember the hours my grandpa spent greasing the equipment, mowing pastures, fixing fences, doing the paper work and so many other tasks. I can’t say that my Papa honestly enjoyed the jobs, but he faithfully did them...