Good morning, Cape Girardeau.

Mothers in a local Facebook group are swapping and reselling gently used Halloween costumes to help keep costs low + support affordable fun.

The group has already received over 200 comments as local parents unite to make Halloween accessible for all.

During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Safe House of Southeast Missouri served over 700 survivors last year, a 25% increase that has advocates urging friends to listen and help.

The organization offers a 24-hour hotline and is hosting a late-night thrift shop on Oct. 22 — community support remains vital.

Interstate 57 lanes in Mississippi County reopened after a tractor trailer fire on Thursday morning, according to MoDOT, and drivers are urged to use caution & expect ongoing bridge maintenance in the area.

SEMO graduate student Bhavya Narula and alumnus Jaimin Patel earned second place at the Missouri Pitch Competition on Sept.

18 in Sedalia for their AI voice assistant designed to help hotels handle reservations with improved efficiency — winning up to $35,000 in engineering services from Amazon Web Services.

Cape Girardeau's longtime rock station KCGQ rebranded as 99X on Oct.

2 and now airs a modern rock format that blends classic hits with new bands. Owned by River Radio, the station continues to serve Southeast Missouri listeners.

Downtown Cape Girardeau hosts the Scarecrow Stroll as local businesses display handmade scarecrows as part of the Riverfront Fall Festival; submissions close on Oct.

18 and judging is set for Thursday, Oct. 22.

The Missouri Department of Conservation is researching three bat species by capturing individuals and attaching ID bands — a method to track future encounters — during the fall swarm.

Officials say the data will help protect gray bats, little brown bats, and Indiana bats.

Saint Francis Clinic East Prairie welcomed Kenna J.

Sadler, a licensed master social worker who graduated from the University of Missouri in 2026, to offer counseling, therapy and behavioral health services for patients from southeast Missouri to western Kentucky.