Corps to rebuild Birds Point levee

The Army Corps of Engineers is going to rebuild the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway levee.

In a written statement, Governor Jay Nixon said that he had spoken to Major General Michael Walsh about the decision to rebuild the three breach points in the levee.

The decision allows a certain level of protection for farmers who have already begun to work the fields in the floodway.

And the Corps may have some extra money to work with. Representative Jo Ann Emerson said that one billion dollars in funding has been added to the House Energy and Water Appropriations Act, including nearly 560 million dollars for the lower Mississippi River and tributaries, which includes Birds Point. The bill could be voted on within a month. If passed, the funds would be available on October 1.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Capaha Pool demolition begins

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Crews began to demolish Capaha Pool in Cape Girardeau on Thursday. 

The swimming pool became obsolete after the construction of the Cape Splash water park last year.

Capaha Pool was built in 1957. Structural issues made the pool infeasible to repair.

For time being, the pool will be replaced by green space, according to Cape Girardeau Housing Assistance Coordinator Steve Williams

“Right now the Park Board does not have any particular thing to go in there. What he is going to do, once we haul off all the material, he’s going to bring in fill and put it to grade. Then when will seed and straw it,” Williams said.

The $73 thousand project must be completed within 45 days. Williams expects the demolition to be finished much sooner than that.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Rain complicates planting season

BENTON, MO (KRCU) - Torrential rain and flooding have complicated what should have been a good year for Southeast Missouri farmers.

Commodity prices for corn, wheat, and soy beans remain high. But most farmers have been forced to plant later than normal. Some Bootheel farmers lost entire wheat crops due to water standing on their fields.

David Reinbott is an agriculture business specialist at the University of Missouri Extension in Benton. He says that it’s been a difficult year, but it is still too early to call it a loss.

"Corn has just been delayed. Corn that should have been planted in the end of March or April is now getting planted in mid-May," Reinbott said. "Soy beans that should have been planted two or three weeks ago have not even been put in the ground. So we’ve got everything getting delayed and the profit potential that we’re looking at is starting to fizzle a bit. The potential is still there, but not quite as good as maybe it was a month ago or two."

Reinbott says that it all hinges on the weather and water. If we get a couple of weeks of sun, crops should do well. The picture would be complicated if more rain falls on Southeast Missouri.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Cairo remains under mandatory evacuation

CAIRO, IL (KRCU) - Cairo, Illinois is still under a mandatory evacuation. 

Ohio and Mississippi River levels are falling outside of Cairo’s flood walls. But sand boils continue to plague the community’s streets.

Residents can return to Cairo to check homes and property between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., but they cannot stay overnight.

Lifelong resident Kenny Simelton left Cairo two weeks ago. Looking over a series of sinkholes, he wonders if the city’s foundation is structurally sound.

“Is the city safe at all? I mean, you know, if they fix this hole, will it collapse again? Will there be an area that collapses? Who knows? I dunno,” Simelton asks.

Cairo has been under a mandatory evacuation since May 1 due to massive flooding on the Ohio and Mississippi.

In a written statement, Cairo mayor Tyrone Coleman urged residents to respect the evacuation order … saying that the city of Cairo is still unsafe.

Despite this, there are some signs of life returning to normal.

Pharmacist Fran Sherrill packed everything from her shop into a moving truck before the evacuation on May 1st. Now she and her employees are cleaning the windows and restocking her shelves as residents trickle back into town.

“Well obviously we’re a pharmacy and a medical necessity. We’re not a luxury for these people. We’re an absolute necessity for their lives and their livelihood. We thought that we needed to get back as soon as they let us back in here,” Sherrill said.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Judge Limbaugh rules in favor of Army Corps of Engineers

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - A federal judge gave the Army Corps of Engineers the go ahead to destroy a levee in rural Missouri. The man-made breach would ease flooding on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers

Judge Steven Limbaugh ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers has legal authority to breach the Birds Point levee, just south of the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a temporary restraining order against the Corps this week to block the detonation. Koster said in a press release that he would like to see the Eighth District Court review the decision.

Corps spokesman Jim Pogue says there is still no decision on whether or not to go ahead with the plan.

"If the leadership decides that we need to move forward, then that decision would be made at that time," Pogue said.

The levee was designed as an "emergency button" that can be used in times of extremely high river levels. The breach will flood 130,000 acres of farmland.An estimated 200 people live in the affected area.

Flood levels are reaching 60 feet at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers at Cairo, Illinois where some of the most severe flooding is taking place.

Judson Childs is Cairo’s mayor.

“There have been lives at stake, and I can say I think the citizens of Cairo will be very proud that he made that decision. It was just the right thing to do,” Childs said.

Childs has twice issued voluntary evacuations this week.

The Missouri Attorney General’s office has hinted that it may seek an appeal.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Levee ruptures in Butler County

POPLAR BLUFF, MO (KRCU) - Residents of rural Butler County, Missouri are fleeing to higher ground after a rupture on the Black River levee. The breakage occurred just south of the community of Poplar Bluff.

The levee failure is spilling floodwater across agricultural lands and farm houses in this rural southern Missouri County. Missouri National Guard troops and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department are evacuating all residents in the floodwater’s path.

Poplar Bluff deputy police chief Jeff Rolland says that rupture is easing tension on the fragile Black River levee that threatens the community. But he cautions that the town could still be in danger.

"That levee is so saturated with water that it is still very unstable. Any more torrential downpours could cause it issues also," Rolland said.

Residents in low-laying neighborhoods were evacuated yesterday. More severe thunderstorms are in the forecast.

The Missouri National Guard and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department have rescued 25 people in this rural agricultural area about 150 miles southwest of St. Louis.

At least 300 people are using a Red Cross shelter following a mandatory evacuation of Poplar Bluff’s low-lying neighborhoods.

Detective Scottie Phelps says the breach has temporarily improved conditions in the community.

"Here in town it’s not too bad," Phelps said. "There’s still some standing water but it’s not too bad. You can pretty much get around town. And like I said, that goes back to the levee break. Whenever that broke, it relieved a lot of the water here in town."

The National Weather Service is forecasting more rain for southern Missouri this evening, which would add additional pressure to the already fragile levee protecting Poplar Bluff from the river.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Work officially begins on Cape Girardeau casino

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Cape Girardeau has waited for 20 years for a casino … and the city is now one step closer to bringing a gaming establishment to its riverfront. 

Cape Girardeau city leaders and Isle of Capri Casino executives broke ground Thursday on the $125 million project on the city’s riverfront district.

Officials say that the new casino will generate 450 new jobs.

Isle of Capri’s president and CEO Virginia McDowell says that the casino will attract visitors from a six state region.

“This was probably the best and last underserved market in Missouri. So to us it became very obvious that this was the place to be,” McDowell said.

Cape Girardeau Area MAGNET director Mitch Robinson was clearly elated about the casino. He says that it’s one of the largest economic developments that the city has seen in generations.

“We’ve looked. It’s been well over 40 years since we’ve had anything of this size. $125 million project, 450 jobs. That’s pretty rare in today’s economic climate,” Robinson said.

The next step in the project is to relocate Main Street. The casino is scheduled to open in 2012.

The city’s voters approved a ballot initiative that allowed gaming last November. The community will vote next Tuesday on an initiative that would ban smoking in all indoor workplaces, including casinos.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Cape Girardeau opens new community center

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Cape Girardeau’s newest recreation facility officially opened its doors on Monday. 

The Shawnee Park Center will be the new focal point of the Cape Girardeau Shawnee Sports Complex on the south end of the city.

Officials such as Mayor Harry Rediger and retiring Parks and Recreation Director Dan Muser officially cut the ribbon for the new facility.

The Shawnee Park Center features a high school regulation size basketball court, two regulation volleyball courts, a weight room, a full size kitchen, and a meeting room.

New manager Heather Davis says that the facility’s services are already in demand.

“We have a wedding reception scheduled. We’ve had some church groups inquire about pricing as well. There are some community groups that have been getting together in other places. They are looking for a new place to meet,” Davis said.

The $2 million dollar facility will provide a larger variety of sports at the Shawnee Sports Complex, according to City Councilman John Voss.

“Our theme so far has really been outdoor activities here at the Shawnee Sports Complex. And now we have another venue to provide some indoor activities to make this place used year-round,” Voss said.

Davis says that some after-school programs will be developed for the Shawnee Park Center in the fall that will incorporate student tutoring and physical activities.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Marble Hill to buy out six flood-prone properties

MARBLE HILL, MO (KRCU) - The Missouri Department of Economic Development announced five million dollars in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for communities that were affected by floods in 2008.

The city of Marble Hill received over seventy-thousand dollars that will be used to match funds from FEMA to acquire six homes in the Crooked Creek floodplain in the middle of Marble Hill.

Marble Hill’s administrative assistant Gary Shrum says that the properties have repeatedly flooded over the years.

"Once these properties are purchased, they will be turned into park areas or park spaces where they can be utilized for recreation," Shrum said.

Shrum says that this is not the city’s first attempt at buying the properties.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Plane that landed at SIU farm was bound for Poplar Bluff

The pilot of the airplane that made an emergency landing just outside of Carbondale, Illinois on Friday was on his way home to Poplar Bluff.

Matt Hillis, who has had his pilot license for two years, was flying his Columbia 400 four-seater back from an Indianapolis Pacers game. He was at 10,000 feet and about 25 miles southwest of Carbondale when he starting losing power to his engine.

Hillis says he turned around to land at Carbondale’s airport when he completely lost power.

“I mean at that point, the only thing you can do is try to make it to the airport. And if you can’t, find the safest place to put it down as possible,” Hillis said.

Unable to find a road without any cars, Hillis had to touch down in the Southern Illinois University farm.

“The way that it was, the lay of the land was real hilly so I kind of bounced off a couple of hills before I came skidding to a stop,” the pilot said.

Hillis was uninjured in the landing, but his airplane is totaled. The Federal Aviation Administration is still conducting an investigation into the incident.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Cape Girardeau real estate market shows improvements

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The first two months of 2011 showed improvement for Cape Girardeua’s real estate market as compared to the same time frame in 2010.

Tom Meyer of Exit Reality says that property is selling for about 90 percent of its listed price. Over the past year, this ratio has stood between 80 and 85 percent. This could either be the result of sellers confronting reality and setting lower listing prices … or that buyers are approaching buyers’ demand.

Meyer says that media reports have overexaggerated the role of foreclosures. Or at least that’s the case for Southeast Missouri.

“We do have foreclosures. That came about because of some lending practices. That’s true. But it’s not overwhelming us. We are a very diverse, conservative community,” Meyer says.

Meyer says that properties listed under 75 thousand dollars are very active. First-time home buyers are keeping the 80 to 130 thousand dollar market strong. However, Meyer calls homes listed between 125 and 225 thousand dollars a ‘dead price range.’ Houses listed above 225 thousand dollars continue to be strong.

The average price for houses sold thus far in 2011 is about 140 thousand dollars. The average price of houses on the Cape Girardeau market is 175 thousand dollars.

These figures represent Cape Girardeau County, as well as northern Scott, southern Perry, and Bollinger Counties.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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TTF will fund Broadway renovations

Cape Girardeau City Manager Scott Meyer says that the City Council’s decision to take nearly two million dollars to pay off the airport bond is akin to a household using a tax refund to pay off the credit cards - yet still making a new purchase in the long run.

On Tuesday, the City Council decided use the upfront money from Isle of Capri Casino to make a final payment on its adjacent airport facility construction loan in order to save money on interest.

The city originally planned to use the money for Broadway Street renovation and beautification. Meyer says that the city has every intention to move forward with the Broadway plan by tapping in to Transportation Trust Fund dollars as originally laid out in TTF4.

"With TTF we’ll pay for Broadway. There’s not money there for amenities, but we also might also apply for a grant for those amenities as well. So we’re looking for every possible dollar we can," Meyer said.

The bond is question was used to construct the airport facility now housing Commander Premier, who owes the city one-point-two-million in unpaid rent. The city has already told the aircraft manufacturer that it will be evicted if it does not pay off its back rent.

By paying off the bond, the city can lease the facility to a business other than an aircraft manufacturer.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Mississippi River crests, Ohio River rises

Due to heavy rainfall and high river levels, both pumping stations in Cape Girardeau are in operation. Based on the current forecast it is possible stations may be closed on Saturday.

Currently, the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau is at 34 feet and falling.

While the Mississippi River has crested at Cape Girardeau, communities south of the confluence with the Ohio River can expect to see a rising river that will surpass flood stages.

New Madrid has already surpassed its flood stage of 34 feet, and is expected to crest at 38 feet on Wednesday afternoon.

The Ohio River is still rising, and nearly the entire area between Evansville, Indiana and Cairo, Illinois is above flood stage.

Cairo is expected to crest today at 49.8 feet, which is almost ten feet above flood stage, according to Dave Purdy with the National Weather Service.

“At Cairo it’s not really too unusual. It can be serious if some of the agricultural areas are affected. There are a lot of them around there that get flooded out this time of year. It usually comes a little later than this, though,” Purdy said.

Purdy says that we can expect to see some degree of flooding over the next month or so, depending on the level of rainfall.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Mo. Senate bill would shut down habilitation centers

DEXTER, MO (KRCU) - Families who have loved ones in Missouri’s Habitation Centers are organizing a town hall meeting tonight in Dexter to discuss a State Senate bill that would close the centers by 2018.

The bill, introduced by Senator Scott Rupp (R-St. Charles), would end new enrollment at Hab Centers by August of this year.

Hab Centers house residents with severe mental retardation or other conditions which require constant care that cannot be provided at home. There are six hab centers in Missouri, including in Sikeston and Poplar Bluff.

The Senate bill calls for residents to be transferred to privately-owned care communities.

But that doesn’t sit well with Joyce Dixon, whose son resides at the Poplar Bluff center. Like many other parents, she had tried privately-owned care communities in the past, and she was not impressed.

"There was not that consistency, that continuity of care. There was not that follow-up to make sure that these people were meeting the safety guidelines, that this safety net was there for them," Dixon said.

650 individuals are housed in Missouri Habilitation Centers.

Senate Leader Rob Mayer (R-Dexter) will attend today'’s town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Dexter Inn.

KRCU, Jacob McCleland

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Missouri public sector employees are under-compensated, study says

A new report by the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute finds that Missouri’s public sector employees are less well compensated than their private sector counterparts.

Rutgers University’s Jeffrey Keefe authored the study. He found that Missouri public sector employees are more highly educated and receive more generous benefits, but their salaries are lower.

In all, public employees earn about 16% less than similarly educated private sector employees with comparable jobs.

“That number is larger for state employees than it is for local government employees. State employees earn 23.9% less, whereas local government employees earn 10.2% less than comparable private sector employees,” Keefe says.

Keefe attributed the high education level of Missouri public employees to the large number of teachers who are required to hold a college degree. He also believes that many low to mid skill public sector jobs have been privatized out of government.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Census: Missouri's Hispanic population grew by 79%

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - New U.S. Census numbers indicate that Hispanics continue to be a rapidly growing segment of the population throughout Missouri.

While the overall rate of population change in Missouri was 4.8 percent, Hispanics increased at a rate of 79% since 2000.

Missouri’s population grew by about 390,000 since 2000. Of those new Missourians, nearly 94 thousand – or 25% - are Hispanics.

Madison County saw the greatest Hispanic rate of increase in Missouri, thought the sample size was small.

Cape Girardeau County’s Hispanic population grew by 136 percent. To put it in another context, Cape County added another 7000 people since 2000 … and 850 of them were Hispanic.

Roughly 3.5% percent of Missouri’s population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, up from 2% in 2000.

In Southeast Missouri, only Dunklin County has a higher percentage of Hispanics than the state average.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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McCaskill optimistic about compromise with the House

Despite a difference in priorities, Senator Claire McCaskill remains optimistic that the House and the Senate can reach an agreement on a budget.

The Democratic Senator from Missouri says that she wants to look beyond discretionary spending and tackle the entire budget.

"Cuts are important but I think it is, frankly, doesn’t make much sense to have all of the cuts come out of 12 or 15 percent of the budget. And that’s the part of the budget that educates our kids, builds our highways, and provides important assistance to state and local governments," McCaskill said.

McCaskill highlighted wasteful government spending. One egregious example is an agency that contracted a pricey public relations firm, even though the agency had its own federal PR staff on the government payroll.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Chamber of Commerce opposes smoking initiative, supports waste water plant

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce board of directors weighed in on some key local ballot issues on Tuesday.

The Chamber chose to oppose the smoking ban initiative, saying that it was too restrictive. In a press release, board members concluded that the smoking initiative was a matter of individual rights.

The board members further believe that the initiative simply addresses the symptoms of the smoking problem instead of addressing the root problem. The Chamber suggests increasing the number of smoking cessation programs for employees.

Current legislation in Jefferson City would add the effects of second hand smoke as compensable under the Missouri Worker’s Compensation laws. Chamber president John Mehner urges businesses to consider this when making decisions about smoking in their establishments.

"I think that signals a changing environment in the acceptance, or lack of acceptance I should say, of smoking. Which is understandable," Mehner said. "Simply what the board is saying is that Chamber business members need to be aware of what those circumstances are and as they lay out their business plans for the future they to take those things into consideration."

The Chamber board supports both ballot issues related to Cape Girardeau'’s new water treatment plant. One ballot measure extends the quarter-cent sewer sales tax, while the other authorizes bonds for funding the plant. The board reasons that construction would continue regardless of the voting outcome, but passage of both issues would be less costly than voting them down.

The issues will appear on the April 5th ballot.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Democrats "just aren't trying" on budget, Blunt says

Republican Senator Roy Blunt said on Tuesday that he doesn’t see a whole lot of room for compromise with Democrats on the federal budget.

Missouri’s junior Senator said that if Democrats cannot accept the House’s sixty billion dollar budget reduction, then they quote, “just aren’t trying.”

Blunt then backtracked a bit, laying out fertile ground where both parties have expressed a desire to cut spending: government agency redundancy.

A new Government Accountability Office report, released yesterday, highlights areas where multiple government agencies are essentially doing the same thing.

“The 80 different programs for economic development, the 20 different programs for homelessness, the 15 different programs for food safety. If you just combine the duplicative agencies into one purpose, you would save $100 to $200 billion,” Blunt said.

In other news, Blunt denied having any insider knowledge into Peter Kinder’s potential run for the governorship, but he expressed his confidence in the Lieutenant Governor’s experience.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Cape Girardeau to redraw ward boundaries

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The City of Cape Girardeau is going to look closely at its ward boundaries after receiving the latest information from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Cape Girardeau has six wards, and each ward should have about 6,300 residents.

The city’s population grew from 35,349 to 37,941.

Assistant City Manager Ken Eftink says that areas west of town exhibited the fastest growth.

"That’s where most of the new construction has taken place. In our case, to the northwest we had the Whispering Oak area coming in to the city limits. To the southwest, we had the Dalhousie area coming in to the city limits," Eftink said.

The City Manager’s office redraws the ward boundaries, which are then approved by City Council.

In addition to ensuring an equitable distribution of population amongst the wards, Eftink says that they must take into consideration where council members live.

Eftink says that he is interested in seeing the 2010 census data for the downtown region to see if efforts to encourage residence in the historic district are bearing fruit.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

Image courtesy of the City of Cape Girardeau

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