McCaskill and Senator Amy Klobuchar (Minn.)—both former prosecutors—this week introduced legislation to require the Department of Defense to review the personnel and training for those who serve in sexual assault prevention positions throughout the U.S. Armed Forces, and establish strict new criteria if necessary.

23-year-old Xavier Dee Canada, and 27-year-old Steven R. Johnson, both of Cape Girardeau, were arrested after a joint investigation by the Cape Girardeau Police Department and the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department.  Canada was charged with burglary, stealing and stealing a firearm, and Johnson was charged with burglary, stealing and receiving stolen property.  The men were arrested after a search at a residence on the west side of Cape Girardeau on Thursday night. One other home and multiple vehicles were also searched. Electronics, jewelry and firearms were among the recovered stolen items.  Bond for both men was set at $25,000 cash or surety, along with conditions that they cannot possess a firearm or leave the state. They are in custody at the Cape Girardeau County Jail.  According to the sheriff’s department, additional charges and arrests are anticipated in connection to the burglaries.

The President of Communication Across Boarders Dr. Donna Beegle spoke during the United Way of Southeast Missouri “Prosperity Summit” this Thursday. Beegle tells KZIM KSIM people often think the poor should be able to improve their situations through hard work, but most poor people are working more than one full-time job and lack the skills and the hope get out of poverty. The "Prosperity Summit" at Drury Lodge was the first step of an initiative that aims to involve members of the community as "navigators" -- volunteers who can serve as guides, mentors and role models -- to their neighbors caught in poverty. Beggel says that Communication Across Boarders is looking for specialty navigators who would be contacts within organizations as well. The United Way invites citizens to sign up to be navigators and participate in an Opportunity Conference set for October.  For information on the Opportunity Conference or becoming a navigator, call 573-334-9634.

A Fruitland quarry that sits next to a private high school was given back its mining permit by a three-judge panel in the Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals in St. Louis on Tuesday. Strack Excavating LLC and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Land Reclamation Commission appealed a September decision by Judge William Syler in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court that said the Land Reclamation Commission acted outside its authority in granting a permit to the quarrying operation a year before, in September 2011. Owner J.W. Strack tells KZIM KSIM. The Court concluded that because the Commission has the power to 'examine and pass on' permit applications, it is inferred that the Commission has the power to impose conditions in a mining permit. The LRC is scheduled to meet again the 23rd, but the issue was not listed as part of its agenda. It has not been decided if Saxony Lutheran High School will continue to pursue the case to stop mining operations.

18 small communities in Cape Girardeau County will be more protected against severe weather in the form of warning sirens. The towns and villages of Delta, Burfordville, Gordonville, and Shawneetown, among others, will receive warning sirens during the next 18 months, as long as county commissioners can find a way to provide a 25 percent match to a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant. Cape Girardeau County District 1 Commissioner Paul Koeper (KEP-ER) tells KZIM/KSIM a variety of sources are being explored for the matching funds. Sirens are activated by the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Department based on National Weather Service and other emergency declarations. These added sirens would bring the count total to 36.Cape Girardeau has four sirens and six more will be added with revenues from Isle Capri operations. 

More than two thousand ARMY National Guard and Reservists and other military, active or retired, live in SE Missouri. Many are just back from serving overseas and are in need of employment. Area Chair for Employee Support with the Guard and Reserve, Matt Jenkins says the 2013 Hiring Our Heroes Veteran’s Event usually functions in large cities but has now been brought to Cape Girardeau. Sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation this job fair brings potential employers and employees together while also teaching skills on resume writing and interviewing. Jenkins tells KZIM KSIM the number of our military out of work is not pretty…The vet unemployment rate is well above the national average. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans' numbers are unusually high. We're trying to get them and their many skills back into the civilian workforce. The event is Wednesday the 29^th from 10am to 1pm, at the Osage Center in Cape. Pre-register at H-O-H-dot-great-job-dot-net. Walk ins are also welcome. Jenkins says they had over twenty employers signed up to participate as of last week. Bring verification of veteran status and a form of ID. Spouses are also welcome. The employment workshop will begin at 9am. 

A Wednesday night vehicle accident led to the arrest of a Campbell man. 41-year-old Bryan Williams was arrested following a single vehicle accident west of Malden, when he ran off the left side of the road, struck a ditch, and overturned. Williams was arrested on the charges of driving while intoxicated as a result of drug use. Williams, who was not wearing his seatbelt, was flown to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau where he was treated for serious injuries.

The Cape Girardeau Police Department is investigating a brawl that occurred early Friday morning at the Boardman Pavilion at the intersection of Independence and South Main streets. The fighting started at the pavilion at about 1:30 a.m. after the bars closed downtown. There were anywhere from 30 to 40 people at the scene, and the people believed responsible for starting the fighting fled when officers arrived. Three victims of the brawl came forward to police, including a man who apparently tried to stop the fighting and was punched and beaten with a bat. No arrests have been made at this time. Those with information are asked to contact the police department at 335-6621 or the crime stoppers hotline at 339-6312.

A Malden woman was arrested on a felony charge  Thursday stemming from an April incident. 48-year-old Carolyn Benford was arrested by Malden Police Department on a Dunklin County Warrant for Felony Stealing stemming from an incident in which she visited a man’s home April 29^th and took $1700 from his wallet when he was not around. The man then contacted police and reported the theft. Benford is currently being held in Dunklin County Jail on $20,000 bond.  A motion made today/Friday for bond reduction was denied. Benford will be back in court before Judge John Spielman May 31^st for a preliminary hearing. 

A Cardwell woman is dead after a wreck at the corner of US 412 and South Anthony. Missouri State Highway Patrol reports indicate that around 2:30 pm Thursday 48-year old Katherine Sessums was eastbound on US 412 when she apparently crossed the center line and hit a Tractor driven by 49-year old Steven Copeland of Poplar Bluff. her truck overturned and Sessums was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 25^th is a day to mark on your calendar if you are ready to head out to the woods and hunt!  Missouri’s gray and fox squirrels, also known as bushytails and bronzebacks,opens next Saturday and runs through Feb. 15, 2014. Legal methods include rifles, shotguns, or archery equipment.  Department of Conservation spokesperson Jim Low says there are some specialty method hunters out there.  Low says the aggregate bag limit is 10 squirrels and the possession limit is 20.  If you bag a daily limit two days in a row, you will have a possession limit of 20 squirrels. After that, you must eat or give away some squirrels before going hunting again in order to stay within the possession limit.  Guidelines can be found at mdc.mo.gov.

23-year-old Melvin Harris of Sikeston waived formal arraignment in the New Madrid County Court on Monday for charges of assault and armed criminal action and pled not guilty. He was arrested in January for assault in the second degree and armed criminal action while out on bond from the earlier charge of 1^st-degree murder in the stabbing death of his girlfriend. Sikeston DPS located 28-year-old Danielle Keown in the basement of a house at 8-67 Stanford in September.  Investigators believe Harris stabbed Keown after a domestic dispute and left her body in the basement for police to find.  He will remain in jail without bond until his next court date on December 12^th before Judge Joshua Underwood who will oversee both the murder case and the separate assault case.  

A Cape Girardeau man charged with two counts of first-degree murder will be back in court this June. 22-year-old Kenneth Dewayne Bell Jr. faces two counts of first-degree murder and a charge of armed criminal action in connection with the February shooting deaths of 43-year-old Shannon James and 39-year-old Misty Cole in an apartment on South Pacific in Cape. Bell pled not guilty to the charges in March, and is set to appear before Lewis again on June 10^th.

National Boating Safety Week is the 18^th through the 24^th of this month. With warmer weather comes the excitement to enjoy the outdoors and spend time on the water, whether it be boating, fishing, or sailing. While enjoying these recreational water activities it is important to remember proper safety precautions.  Before hitting the water, make sure you are aware of Missouri’s boating laws. Also have your boat inspected, and check the weather for changing conditions regularly. If you need assistance or observe another boater operating a vessel in an unsafe manner, contact the Missouri State Highway Patrol using *55. 

A Cape Girardeau student will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washing D.C. Trinity Lutheran Seventh Grader Jade Ray Samanta won the Southeast Missouri Regional Spelling Bee at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff in March. Trinity Principal Diane Maurer tells KZIM KSIM in the two years Samanta has attended the school, he has shown a lot of commitment to competitive spelling. Samanta began competing in spelling bees in third grade and has earned more than 15 medals from area spelling competitions. The Scripps National Spelling Bee will take place from the 26^th to the 31^st and will be televised on ESPN.

Two sheriff's offices in western Kentucky will be auctioning off seized property this Saturday. The McCracken and Graves County Sheriff's Offices will be having a first ever joint Sheriff's auction. Property being sold consists of cars, pickups, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, scooters and a couple of collector-type vehicles. In addition to vehicles, there will be jewelry, rare coins, collectable type baseball cards, and a variety of other items. A complete list of items can be found on each department’s facebook page. The property being sold Saturday consists of things seized during drug, theft, and other criminal investigations. In addition, there will be some items and vehicles sold that are county surplus property.  The auction begins at 10:00a.m. at the McCracken County Sheriff's Department's Public Safety Building located at 6^th and Adams Street. Items will be available for inspection beginning the morning of the sale at 8:30.

NINE DAYS LEFT! The umbrellas are popping open at Cape Splash Water Park! This countdown to summer is anticipated by kids and adults all across the region. Facility manager Amy Roth tells KZIM KSIM they are doing a big PUSH for season passes this year… you get special benefits when you get a personal or family pass… You will in at 10-45am to get dibs on chairs and lockers. You can even get on your sunscreen and be the first ones in the pool! Daily hours are 11am to 7pm. Passes are sold at the Osage Center. Cape Splash opens on Saturday the 25^th! Roth says they do have plans on the table for an expansion but nothing has been approved as of yet. 

 You may get lucky this weekend, 4-hundred 75 million lucky.  No tickets matched all six numbers to win the $360 million Powerball jackpot Wednesday, so the jackpot will roll to $475 million – the second largest ever – for Saturday night’s drawing. One player in Missouri matched all five white-ball numbers Wednesday drawing to win a $1 million prize.  That ticket was sold in St. Louis.  Executive director of the Missouri Lottery May Scheve Reardon says that you should check your tickets closely, as you may have matched for one of the eight other prizes.”  Players have until 8:59 p.m. Saturday to purchase Powerball tickets in Missouri.  The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday night’s/tonight’s drawing is also high – an estimated $190 million.  For more information, go to MOLottery.com.