Good morning, Cape Girardeau.

Eighty-nine local veterans arrived safely in Washington D.C. today on Mission 14 of the Veterans Honor Flight—They will visit the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial before returning home tonight for a welcome home ceremony.

Crews responded to a motorcycle and SUV crash on South Kingshighway near Napa Auto Parts on May 6 at about 4:28 p.m.—one person was injured.

Six airlines are competing for the Essential Air Service contract at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport as the FAA requires a review of proposals—carriers include American Airlines, SkyWest, Air Wisconsin, Denver Air Connection, Contour Airlines, and Southern Airways Express.

They plan routes that cover markets such as Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O’Hare, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, and St. Louis.

The Jackson R-2 School District announced that Superintendent Scott Smith will retire effective June 30 and that Assistant Superintendent Keenan Kinder will serve as interim superintendent for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year—Kinder, a 1993 Jackson High School graduate, has worked for the district for six years in safety and operations. The board and Smith agreed their goals are no longer mutually aligned.

Dr. Keenan Kinder was named interim superintendent by Jackson R2 School District for the remainder of the 2024 to 2025 school year following a special executive session — he is a Jackson High School graduate who served six years as assistant superintendent and seven years as superintendent at Leopold.

The City of Jackson’s Recycling Center will be closed on May 14 for a new horizontal baler installation and will reopen on May 15 at 8 a.m. A grant from the Southeast Missouri Solid Waste Management District helped fund part—$47,837.95—of the $104,796 project cost to replace a 17-year-old baler.

Mercy hospitals across the Midwest have launched the Beginnings and Blessings program — new mothers can donate their placentas for research to help treat wounds, burns and other conditions at no cost to them.

The program began in Missouri and will expand to hospitals in Arkansas and Oklahoma later this summer.