In a time of pandemic, as grocery stories try to keep up, the Southeast Missouri Food Bank is also working to help with the demand, especially as it applies to those in need. “SEMO Food Bank has seen a dramatic increase already for demand for food assistance due to COVID-19 economic impacts,” says Joey Keys, the organization’s President and CEO. The Food Bank has 140 agencies throughout their network in the service area. He says in this time of need, other organizations are looking to work

Old Town Cape is staying connected with Cape Girardeau's Downtown Businesses and finding creative ways to keep the community engaged including participating in the "Great American Takeout" and hosting a Virtual Bingo. Tunes at Twilight and the Cape Riverfront Market have both been postponed, according to Haynes. She told us that they have set up a resource on their website for those who would like to connect with their favorite local vendor if they would like to purchase food. We spoke with Liz

To prepare for the financial effects of the Coronavirus, United Way of Southeast Missouri has a established a COVID-19 fund to help those whose incomes will be impacted. Dan Woods spoke with Executive Director Elizabeth Shelton. More Information : www.unitedwayofsemo.org COVID-19 Resources

Governor Mike Parson signed an executive order on Wednesday postponing municipal elections originally on April 7 across the state to June 2 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This comes after Parson declared a state of emergency in Missouri on Friday. Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers says election officials have been in conversation with the Secretary of State and Governor’s Office. “We don’t want to put the [polling locations and election judges] in harm’s way,” Summers says. She

The registration deadline and the absentee ballot mail date have both passed, but for those who are ready for the election, it’s coming up next week. If you missed the deadline for the presidential preference primary, there’s a separate deadline for the general election in November-- which will be October 7th. Statewide office primaries will be coming up in August. With the upcoming April election, Summers says voters should get informed ahead of time. “There are some contested school board

It's time to be counted. Beginning around March 12, residents will receive information about how they can complete the 2020 US Census. The census provides an official count of the United States' population and information about important demographic changes over a decade. Melissa Stickel is the Executive Director of Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri and is also the Chairperson of the Mayor's Complete Count Committee for Cape Girardeau County. She told us that the census is important

Dr. Jennifer Bengtson, Associate Professor in the Department of History and Anthropology at Southeast and her students are working to help solve a mystery. She joined me in the studio, along with Southeast seniors Sarah Portell and Emily Reese to discuss their work. They are working to help identify human remains that were recovered in Charleston, Missouri, in 1979. Bengtson says this case drew her attention because it was different from other archeological cases she had been working on.

Over a month ago, the city of Cape Girardeau suffered a cyberattack. The city was forced to bring in experts to tackle the aftermath of the attack and get their systems up and running again, says City Manager Scott Meyer. Since then, city administrators have taken steps to now secure their servers. At the first March council meeting, the city council will talk about what comes next. “We first had to get everything put back together,” Meyer says. “And looking at the next step would be an action

"Women and the Eisenhower Administration: Changing the Face of Politics" is the title of a new book being written by Dr. Pam Parry, chair of Southeast's Department of Mass Media. She told us that, according to her research, President Eisenhower appointed more women to government than any president before him. In addition, he was supportive of women becoming a permanent part of the military. During WWII, women became part of the WAC (Women's Auxiliary Corp) to serve. When the war was over, the

In June of 2019, the Cornerstone Wesleyan Church burnt to the ground after being hit by lightning. Today, a new church is being planned to replace it, and, according to the new pastor Bob Lenz, improve upon it. His goal is to give the church a broader appeal to a younger generation and to meet the needs of Scott City. "The philosophy when I came here was: Let’s just not build a building. Let’s design the building around the needs of the community,” he said. He says to help that happen, the