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President’s last minute pre-election trip to southeast Missouri confirmed, local businesses gear up

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President Trump’s campaign has confirmed a last-minute pre-election rally the night before next Tuesday’s general election in southeast Missouri.

The President will appear at the Show Me Center on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau on Monday, November 5 at 9 p.m. Doors will open at 6 p.m., according to the president’s website.

Last month a rally at the same venue was canceled as President Trump dealt with Hurricane Florence.

The Monday trip will be Trump’s second within a week to Missouri.  He’ll also be in mid-Missouri’s Columbia Thursday, November 1. During both visits, the President is expected to campaign for Missouri State Attorney General Josh Hawley, who is trying to unseat incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Bob Fox is excited over the influx of business activity the President’s visit is likely to bring, especially to local restaurants. 

“He’ll draw a lot of people, and I imagine those people will want to have lunch or have dinner, and that’s great for the restaurants and food places around here because it’ll be a big boom for their business,” said Fox. “If I were in the restaurant business, I’d be ready for an onslaught.”

Local restaurateurs, including Stuart Matthews, owner of Minglewood Brewery, are making sure they have personnel in place to handle the rush of diners surrounding the President’s Monday night visit. 

“We’ll staff up obviously. We’ll make sure we have enough staff on hand to take care of a big crowd that may come in,” said Stuart Matthews, owner of Minglewood Brewery.

Matthews also said he hopes Monday’s rally grows business not just for his restaurant but others around town.

Layne Franklin, assistant manager for Bella Italia, is hoping to see patrons who normally wouldn’t know about his restaurant. 

“It’ll definitely be a positive effect on our sales and just really help us get our name out there. So, I think it’ll be great just preparing for all of that,” said Franklin, who isn’t ruling out a visit by the President himself.  “I hope that he comes by and takes a second to dine in our restaurant. I don’t know if he will. But if he does, then we will be prepared to give him excellent service here at Bella Italia.”

Mayor Fox noted the number of President’s to come to Cape Girardeau can be counted on one hand. 

“It’s just an honor I think to have a president visit your city. It’s only the fourth one in history. William Howard Taft was here, Ronald Reagan was here, Bill Clinton was here, and this will be the fourth. So that’s a big deal,” said Fox.

The fact that President Trump is visiting Missouri twice in five days shows how tight and coveted the race for the U.S. Senate seat is.  The outcome, along with several others in which vulnerable Democrats are fighting to hold their seats, could determine which party controls the Senate in 2019.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, almost $66 million in outside money has been spent on the Missouri U.S. Senate race.  Roughly $10 million more has been spent both for and against McCaskill than for and against Hawley.

The largest contributor is the Senate Majority PAC, which is aligned with the chamber’s Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, followed by the Senate Leadership Fund which is a close ally of Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.  The Senate Majority PAC has spent $17.4 million on the race, while the Senate Leadership Fund has chipped in $16.6 million.

(Missourinet media partner KFVS-TV contributed this story with additional reporting from Missourinet’s Jason Taylor)

Sources: President Trump is coming to southeast Missouri before election

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President Donald Trump will be in southeast Missouri before the General Election on Nov. 6. KFVS-TV reports its sources say the President will be in Cape Girardeau next Monday, November 5, the day before the election.

President Donald Trump speaks to steelworkers at U.S. Steel’s Granite City Works on July 26, 2018 (Jill Enders photo)

Details on the time and location of the President’s visit to Cape Girardeau have not been revealed.
Last month a rally in the city had to be canceled as the President dealt with Hurricane Florence. That appearance was scheduled to take place in the Show Me Center on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University, in Cape Girardeau.

Republican Congressman Jason Smith, who represents southeast Missouri said he had been working to bring President Trump to the region since Trump was elected into office in 2016. At the time, Congressman Smith said he would continue to encourage the President to reschedule.

The President’s campaign announced another stop last week in Missouri that takes place this Thursday, November 1st, in mid-Missouri’s Columbia.

During the Columbia and Cape Girardeau visits, Trump is expected to campaign for Missouri State Attorney General Josh Hawley, who is locked in a tight race with incumbent Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill for the seat.

The Missouri U.S. Senate contest is a key battleground in the fight between the parties for control of the chamber.  Republican hold a 51-to-49 edge in the Senate and hope to increase their numbers as numerous vulnerable Democrats are defending their seats in states Trump won, in some cases by wide margins.

(Missourinet media partner KFVS-TV contributed this report)

Missouri medical professional says temperature change not the cause for influenza, notes early outbreak

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You may have heard the common wives’ tale, if you don’t wear your coat outside, you’ll catch a cold. But, Natelie Frazier-Cook, Advanced Nurse Practitioner at St. Francis Medical Center in southeast Missouri’s Cape Girardeau, said that isn’t the reason sickness spikes when the weather changes.

“The change in temperature, I think that there’s more people that stay indoors,” said Frazier-Cook. “And if someone already has a virus and then you’re staying indoors around them, you’re more likely to become sick with a virus as well.”

Fraizer-Cook said it’s not about being outside but inside.

“If you’re around someone that has a virus, two or three days later after you’ve been around them is when you’re going to start developing symptoms. And you are usually contagious for about four days into those symptoms,” said Frazier-Cook.

In Cape Girardeau County, the Health Department said there have been 13 reported cases of the flu since the end of September. In St. Francis County, that number is 19.

“The flu season started a little bit earlier this year,” said Frazier-Cook. “We started seeing some cases positive in September, so it’s definitely here in our area. It’s time to get your flu vaccine.”

According to Frazier-Cook, the main differences between the common cold and flu are body aches and a fever.

“Give it a few days. I think that what we see a lot of times is that people are sick just for a couple of days and they come into be seen. And we normally don’t treat with antibiotics unless a patient has been sick for five to seven days,” said Frazier-Cook.

Nurses recommend visiting a primary care doctor or urgent care if you have common cold or flu symptoms, not the emergency room. Also, make sure to get your flu shot before the end of the month.

If the cooler temperatures are keeping you inside, don’t forget to wash your hands but also disinfect surfaces in the house.

(Missourinet media partner KFVS-TV contributed this story)

 

Absentee voting sees increase in southeast Missouri

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More voters in southeast Missouri are making their voices heard early in this year’s midterm election, according to several counties in the region. Absentee voting numbers are up compared to 2014.

The biggest jump is in Scott County with nearly a 37 percent increase in absentee votes.

Across the region, county election officials said there are more contests on the ballot that interest people this year. In Perry County, the clerk links the high level of voter enthusiasm to the heated U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill and Republican challenger Josh Hawley.

Bollinger, New Madrid, and Cape Girardeau counties have also seen a growth in numbers.  “People are requesting absentee ballots, coming in to vote absentee. It’s been very, very high turnout so far,” said Kara Clark Summers, Cape Girardeau County Clerk.

Summers said if you requested a ballot by mail and haven’t received it yet, contact the County Clerk’s Office near you.

The deadline for absentee voting in person in the office of the election authority is 5:00 p.m. on the day before the November 6th election.

(Missourinet media partner KFVS-TV contributed this report)

Missouri governor signs treatment court bill in two cities

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House Bill 2 was signed in Springfield and in Liberty near Kansas City Wednesday.  Its focus is to get more offenders into treatment courts with the goal of keeping them from repeating their behavior.

At the bill signing, Republican Governor Mike Parson said the specialized courts are crucial for getting lives turned around.

“The main goal would be how do you get these people back into the workforce, how do you give them the skills they need and get them cleaned up to where they are productive citizens,” Parson said.

The bill also expands the state commission that oversees treatment courts and gives offenders the chance to transfer to locations that have these courts, rather than going to jail for repeating offenses.

“Our prison systems are pretty well to the max, and there are no plans to build more prisons. So, we’ve got to figure out alternative sentences, which we should,” said Parson.

The lawmaker who was key in handling the treatment court legislation was Springfield Republican Representative Kevin Austin, which is one reason Parson chose to sign the bill in Springfield. Austin says numbers show treatment courts are successful, noting offenders who go through such programs are 50% less likely to commit felonies, and over 66% less likely to commit misdemeanors.  He says treatment courts benefit everyone.

“Treatment courts are not just for the defendants, it’s making our communities safer,” said Austin. “(It) is returning citizens that were drug abusers, drug users, back into productive members of our society. It also helps us in that it’s going to lower jail population. Anytime we lower recidivism, we lower jail population, and we’re saving taxpayer dollars”.

The first treatment court began in southeast Missouri’s Greene County in 1998, and there are currently about 1,400 participants in various programs due to charges stemming from mental health and substance use.

Governor Parson called a special session of the Legislature this summer, in part to reshape the treatment court legislation he had previously vetoed.  At the time he said the bill appeared to violate the original purpose and single subject requirements of the Missouri Constitution.  He stated that the bill as passed contained at least 13 different subjects, including many that don’t pertain to the final title of “courts”.

(Missourinet media partner KOLR-TV contributed this report)

Joplin Uber driver reports being raped by customer

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The Joplin Police Department is investigating a possible sexual assault of an Uber driver. The 50-year-old woman sought treatment at Freeman Hospital on Sunday, three days after she alleges that she was sexually assaulted near a hotel.

Joplin Uber driver reports being raped by customer

The Uber driver gave two men a ride from a location to a downtown bar, and later in the evening realized that one of the drivers left their wallet in the back seat of her car.

The woman told police that she reached out to the owner of the wallet on social media and was told that he and his friend had relocated to the Old Chicago bar and restaurant. He invited her there to return the wallet.

The men offered to buy her a drink but she needed to return back to work. The woman agreed to return after she was done working for the night.

When the woman returned, the men were in a truck in the parking lot of a nearby hotel. She also told police that as she was talking to one of the men, the other fell asleep. The other man became aggressive, forcibly removing her clothing and sexually assaulting her.

The investigation is ongoing.

By Rob Rauch of Missourinet affiliate KZRG in Joplin

SE Missouri town struggles after murder of 17-year-old

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Three men are in custody following the homicide of a 17-year-old on Sunday in southeast Missouri’s Malden.

The Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged Malcomb McBride-Townsend of Malden, Jordan Paul Morgan of Bernie, Mo. and Jalen Dashawn Miller of Malden with second-degree murder and class A felony of assault in the first degree.  The suspects range in age from 17 to 19.

Sunset in Malden, Missouri (Photo courtesy of the City of Malden)

According to Malden Police Department, police received a call at 3:36 a.m. of an unresponsive man at a residence in Malden.  Officers arrived at the home and found 17-year-old Dante Gibson laying on the front porch. They tried to perform CPR until the Medic One arrived and then transported him to Southeast Hospital in Dexter.  He was pronounced dead at 4:28 a.m.

Tyra Jones, Gibson’s mother says she wants peace in the community and “justice to be served.”

“No parent should ever, ever have to go through this,” Jones said. “They should never have to bury their child.  All these kids grew up together.  For this to happen it’s ridiculous and it shouldn’t have happened, because all of these kids are better than that.”

Jones says Dante played football and soccer, had tons of friends, and a goofy sense of humor.  Then in August this year, her son dropped out at Malden High School and Jones sensed his attitude changing.

“At that point, yes, but recently he had changed again where he was coming back to the Dante I knew. The loveable, goofy, outgoing Dante. He could light up a room,” The mother said.

After what happened this weekend, Jones says some people in the community are going against each other but hopes the event instead brings people closer together.

“We need to come as a community and stick together,” Jones said. “Yes, it was an unfortunate event. I lost a child, but so did other people in the event because they lost their children as the result.”

Above all, Jones wants to know the truth behind what happened and hopes no other child or parent has to go through a similar experience.

“I just hope all these kids take this as a life lesson and try to straighten up your lives. It’s not worth your life or the next person’s life,” she said.

Malden Mayor Denton Kooyman says people who are involved or know someone who is all will have their own personal and special memories to hold onto.

“I have the utmost faith in the Malden Police Department under Chief Bullock and that every necessary step is being taken by them,” Kooyman said. “I am also certain that our community is strong, filled with love, and will watch over the family and friends affected by this tragedy.”

Kenneth Cook, the superintendent of Malden schools, says they have brought in extra counselors to help students who are struggling to cope with the aftermath.

Jones says Dante Gibson’s memorial service is planned for Friday, October 26 at the Bradshaw Funeral Home in Malden.

The ongoing investigation is being investigated by the Malden Police Department, Dunklin County Sheriff’s Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime.

(Missoiurinet media partner KFVS-TV contributed this story)

Missouri farmer goes from a drought to a flood

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A Missouri farmer says this year has been a really bumpy weather ride.

Missouri farmer goes from a drought to a flood

“We have gone from extreme drought conditions in my part of the state to extremely wet conditions right now,” says Ronnie Russell, who farms in northwest Missouri’s Ray County.

He tells Brownfield Ag News that his area got 11 inches of rain last week.

“We lost a lot of our low-lying crops especially the soybeans that were in, really, some of the best soil that we have in the hilly portions of our county,” he says.

He hopes to get back to soybean harvest this week. Russell’s corn harvest was short because of the drought and he chopped most of it for silage.

Roughly 98% of the state has been impacted by drought this year. The hardest hit areas experiencing “exceptional drought” was in northwest Missouri along with Howard County in the central portion of the state. Much of the rest of northern Missouri was in the next highest level, “extreme drought” as were portions of 12 counties in the southwest part of the state.

By Julie Harker of Brownfield Ag News

Famed Branson violin player returns to stage year-and-a-half after fire damaged his venue

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Famed violin player Shoji Tabuchi, who’s become a staple of the Branson performance scene, will start performing for the first time since his theater was shuttered last year due to fire damage.

Shoji Tabuchi (Image courtesy of KOLR-TV)

It’s thought that Tabuchi will reopen his venue, which has been closed since May 2017, in early 2019.  But even sooner, the iconic musician and local favorite is taking the stage at another theater along Branson’s entertainment strip.

Tabuchi is now doing Christmas themed shows through December 21st at the Clay Cooper Theater.

Branson show-goer Jeff Benson had been worried about Tabuchi absence.  “He hasn’t been here a year and a half since the fire at his theater,” Benson said. “We were wondering because it’d been taking quite a while.  It’s been close to a year and a half and we haven’t heard much news.”

Clay Cooper and his wife Tina, who are also performers at the theater they own, are pleased to Tabuchi in their current line-up of entertainers.  “He’s always been the standard to live up to,” Clay Cooper said.  “He’s always been iconic to Branson,” said Tina Cooper.

Tina Cooper noted the damage to Tabuchi’s theater was a setback for the celebrated performer. “It’s a lot more intricate than people realize because there are so many things involved,” Cooper said. “It’s not just things here and there. It’s theatre seats, it’s costumes, it’s lighting. There’s just so many things that come into play when you have to get the restoration done.”

The Coopers say having him gone from the strip for even one more day would’ve been too long. “We definitely want Shoji here in Branson,” Tina Cooper said. “We think he’s great for our town.”

Branson show-goer Benson is equally excited to have Tabuchi back.  “He’s been here a long time,” Benson said. “Kind of an icon. Certainly glad to see he’s coming back.”

(KOLR-TV contributed this report)

Missouri Ag Director meets with Trump and Perdue in D.C.

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Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn has returned from agriculture meetings in Washington, D.C. with President Donald Trump and later with Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue.

Missouri Ag Director meets with Trump and Perdue in D.C.

“That was a great honor to carry the story of agriculture to the Oval Office. We talked about a lot of the challenges that rural America faces. We thanked the president for bringing attention to rural America,” she tells Brownfield Ag News.

Chinn says she also thanked Trump for funding to expand rural broadband internet access, tax cuts that are helping farmers and ranchers, for the expansion of E15 gasoline and the new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.

She says she also had the opportunity to thank Perdue for his help with Missouri’s drought issues.

“He was really quick to identify that we needed the natural disaster declarations so that we could release those federal funds,” she says.

Chinn says she also thanked the Secretary for “the deregulation that’s happening across this administration and the benefit that it’s had for agriculture, especially Missouri farmers and ranchers.”

Chinn says it’s vital to farmers and ranchers that the administration “saw the harm” in the Waters of the U.S. rule (WOTUS), rescinded it and is working on a replacement.

By Julie Harker of Brownfield Ag News