Jackson begins initial DREAM planning

JACKSON, MO (KRCU) - The City of Jackson has decided to move forward with its Uptown improvements by taking advantage of its D.R.E.A.M. status.

Jackson is in the first three stages of its D.R.E.A.M. process, which consists of examining buildings and consumer surveys. The plan will cost between $150 thousand and $180 thousand, with a $36 thousand match. It’s payable over three years.

Mayor Barbara Lohr says that she was surprised and pleased when Jackson was selected as a member of the D.R.E.A.M. team but decided to let the planning be left to the professionals, PGAV, Inc., a planning firm. The Missouri Development Finance Board contracted PGAV in order to provide planning to the D.R.E.A.M. cities.

“They get a nice vision. When I look at visions I see dollar signs. Oh, how much is that going to cost? I will probably do better just to leave my mind wide open to that,” Lohr said.

D.R.E.A.M. stands for the Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistant for Missouri.

The D.R.E.A.M. initiative is available for small and mid-sized Missouri communities to access state programs that revitalize downtown areas and create jobs. It helps communities to renovate the areas and draw new businesses in.​

Rachel Weatherford, 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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Ishee will not return as Redhawks women's basketball coach

John Ishee will not return as the women’s basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State University.

Ishee’s contract will expire April 30 and it will not be renewed after a disappointing 8-21 season.

Ishee coached the Redhawks for five years. He led the team to Ohio Valley Conference Championships in 2006-2007, as well as 2007-2008. His overall record is 77 and 74.

Marcus Payne will fill in as acting head coach while the university conducts a nationwide search.

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State Sen. Lempke still questions red light cameras

ST. LOUIS, MO (ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO) - Republican state Senator Jim Lembke says he's still not satisfied with the legality of red light cameras in Missouri, even after an opinion released last week by attorney general Chris Koster.

Lembke says Koster failed to explain why local municipalities are allowed to issue fines for running a red light, instead of assessing points against a driver's license as required by state law.

The difference, he says, means the cameras don't do anything for safety.

"Dangerous drivers are accumulating one red light camera ticket after another, paying a fine, and not getting points assessed. And the intent of the legislature was that if a dangerous driver got 8 points over an 18-month period, they were in danger of losing their driving privileges," Lembke said.

Supporters of the cameras disagree, saying the number of serious accidents has dropped at intersections where they are installed.

Lembke is currently fighting a ticket issued because a car registered in his name was photographed through a red light in St. Louis city. He says he was not driving the car at the time.

Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio

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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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"Serenade for Strings" to pack Bedell stage

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra will take the stage tonight for a program entitled “Serenade for Strings.”

The orchestra will be joined by three orchestras from Cape Girardeau’s public schools.

The combined orchestras will play string music by Bach, Meyer, and Ralph Vaughn Williams.

Over 163 players will be on stage when all the orchestras unite, according to Sara Edgerton, artistic director of the Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra.

"This will be the first time that we will really be combing in such a complete and wonderful way with all of the players at once. This is kind of unique," Edgerton said.

“A Serenade for Strings” will take place tonight at the Bedell Performance Hall on Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus at 7:30 p.m.

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Cape County eligible for Emergency Food and Shelter funds

The Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) announced that Cape Girardeau County is eligible to receive federal funding in order to provide support to those in need of place to live and food to eat.

Local agencies who meet general requirements for the federal grant, such as practicing accepted accounting principles and demonstrating the ability to deliver food and/or shelter programs, have been encouraged by the EFSP to apply.

Last year Cape Girardeau County received a total of $38,126 to provide support, and is once again eligible to receive money.

The Emergency Food and Shelter Program was created in 1983 by Congress in order to assist those without the means to provide themselves with a place to live and/or food. All Federal Funds appropriated by the organization are used to solve this problem in the U.S.

Daniel Rohr, KRCU

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