News

Ben Godwin, Director of the Stoddard County Health Center, has confirmed four new cases of COVID-19 and one recovery. Two of the new cases were confirmed over the weekend and the other two on Monday. The county now stands at 142 confirmed cases with 17 active, 116 recovered and nine deaths...

The Butler County Health Department announced the county’s 100th confirmed case of COVID-19 Monday morning. Of those cases, 68 are classified as recovered, 30 as self isolating and one is hospitalized. There is one confirmed death. The county saw four new cases Friday and one Sunday as well...

Republic Services recently completed the construction of a project intended to permanently close and encapsulate a portion of its landfill in Stoddard County in early June. The Stoddard County facility opened in 1994 as the first landfill constructed in Missouri with a modern composite liner system...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center and the City of Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department are notifying the public of potential community exposure from a COVID-19 positive case. “While performing contact tracing on a positive case reported to the Girardeau County Public Health Center, we have determined that individuals that attended activities at the Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center in Cape Girardeau on the following dates at the specified times may have been exposed,” said Jane Wernsman, director of the Cape County Public Health Center in Cape Girardeau.. ...

Ben Godwin, Director of the Stoddard County Health Center, confirmed a new case of COVID-19 in Stoddard County on Friday. The new patient is a 76 year old male who is believed to have acquired the virus from his family. He and all he has been in contact with have been quarantined...

CAPE GIRARDEAU — A Butler County man faces a mandatory minimum 10 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug- and weapons-related crimes. Jestin L. Smith, 34, pleaded guilty to the felonies of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of 50 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Sorrell...

Ben Godwin, Director of the Stoddard County Health Center, confirmed a new case of COVID-19 in Stoddard County on Thursday as well as one recovery. Neither is related to the nursing home outbreak. “We know this weekend is a holiday weekend and we know there will be lots of events going on with family and friends,” said Godwin in a news release. ...

An apparent domestic dispute early Tuesday morning between a Fisk couple left one with multiple stabs wounds and his girlfriend in jail. Butler County deputies were called to a home in the 500 block of Fourth Street at about 2:45 a.m. regarding a report of a man “being covered in blood, acting erratic and screaming” for an ambulance to be called, Deputy Austin Dunlap wrote in his report...

Mass testing for COVID-19 will be available in Poplar Bluff from July 7-9. The free, drive-through tests will be performed at the Libla Family Sports Complex and are open to all Missouri residents. People do not need to be showing symptoms to be eligible, and there is no need to present insurance information or have a doctor's order...

Ben Godwin, Director of the Stoddard County Health Center, has confirmed a new case of COVID-19 along with one recovery Wednesday afternoon. Godwin said in a Facebook release the new patient is returning home from out of state and has had zero contacts outside of the home. The patient and all family members in the home who have been in contact with the patient have been quarantined. The recovery is not related to the nursing home outbreak...

The Wappapello Lake Area Association will sponsor the annual fireworks show on July 3 at the Redman Creek Recreational Area. Visitors are encouraged to make it a picnic in the park and bring their own snacks, etc. No concessions will be available during the fireworks show. Social distancing is encouraged during the event. The show will start at dusk...

Ben Godwin, Director of the Stoddard County Health Center, has confirmed the one new case of COVID-19 today. The new case is a female in her 70s and not related to the nursing home outbreak. The patient was already in quarantined in her home prior to diagnosis...

Dexter, MO — This Independence Day, Dexter Police and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration want to remind drivers that Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving. Unfortunately, the summertime merrymaking can create dangerous road conditions, as some drivers hit the streets after drinking alcoholic beverages. ...

A 19-year-old Bernie man was injured in a one-vehicle crash at 9:49 p.m. Monday, June 29, on County Road 675 at County Road 670, two miles north of Powe. According to the report, Hunter L. Slavings was operating a 2016 Ford Fiesta eastbound when it ran off the road and struck a ditch...

Stoddard County Warranty Deeds County Recorder Kay Asbell June 15-19, 2020 • Judy A. Smith to Charles Jeffrey Smith, Jarrod Wayne Smith, Jacqueline J. Mayberry and Jodi Rae Smith. Section 18 Township 23 Range 9. • Cam Plus Inc. to Joyce Marie McCarthy and Michael Steven Stravino. Bent Creek Estates Subdivision Dexter Lot 11...

The Puxico Board of Aldermen reorganized after approving the municipal election results at its June meeting. City clerk Alice Patrick presented the board with the results of the election that had been certified by county clerk Cecil Weeks. The results for the two wards on the ballot were Puxico Alderman, Ward 1: GS Kilbreth 36 votes and Lorie Davies 16 votes. For Puxico Alderman, Ward 2, Peter Coutavas received 51 votes and there were two write-in votes...

When Virginia Goff Hopkins graduated from Bell City High School in 1951, she wasn’t yet 17-years-of-age. “My first year out of school I babysat for a teacher because I was too young to get a job,” recounts Hopkins of Bloomfield. “After that, I moved to Cape and worked a few odd jobs. I moved back to Bloomfield in 1955 and went to work at Elder’s factory.”...

The Dexter School Board approved the student handbooks for all schools and selected SoutheastHEALTH as the district’s new athletic training partner. The student handbooks will remain largely the same with the exception of the new lunch prices and the names of the new staff. ...

Ben Godwin, Director of the Stoddard County Health Center, has confirmed the 9th COVID related death in Stoddard County. The death was not related to the nursing home outbreak. Godwin also confirmed four new cases of COVID-19 and three recoveries. The new cases and recoveries also were not related to the nursing home outbreak...

ESSEX, Mo. — A Richland teacher has been recognized as one of the top history teachers in the nation. Rebecca Arnold, a sixth grade teacher at Richland Elementary, was recently awarded the 2020 National History Day Teacher of the Year in Missouri and was a finalist in the national contest, finishing in the top five...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center and the City of Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department are notifying the public of potential community exposure from a COVID-19 positive case. “While performing contact tracing on a positive case reported to the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, we have determined that individuals that attended activities at the Cape Girardeau Sportsplex on the following dates at the specified times may have been exposed,” said Maria Davis, health educator for the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center in a news release issued late Saturday.. ...

Black Lives Matter held a peaceful march down Stoddard Street in Downtown Dexter Sunday evening. The group, carrying signs, marched from the former Harps building to the post office with an escort from the Dexter Police Department.

Ben Godwin, Director of the Stoodard County Health Center, has confirmed two new cases of COVID-19 and 16 recoveries. The new cases are not related to the nursing home outbreak. “We are finding a lot of our cases are a direct result of residents attending social functions where social distancing has not been practiced, both in and out of the county,” said Godwin. ...

Stoddard County officials revised its order Monday in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The joint order from the county commissioners, the director of the Public Health Center and the Health Officer asks county residents to practice social distancing and comply with all guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to help slow the spread of the virus...

Butler, Ripley, Dunklin and Wayne counties are among 10 counties in the state of Missouri with the highest rates of hunger among residents, according to a recently released study. The recently released Map the Meal Gap, an annual study on the prevalence of hunger, showed Southeast Missouri has some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the state. The effect of these high rates of hunger was only made worse by the coronavirus pandemic and resulting joblessness...