KRCU's Going Public

On this episode of Going Public, we spoke with Athletic Director Brady Brady about SEMO Athletics winning its first-ever OVC Commissioner's Cup. He also discusses future plans for the Redhawks and how the university's student-athletes have been doing in the classroom. Woods : You're here to make some big announcement, there's been some really happy stuff happening down at your area. So tell us about it. Barke : Yeah, there have been it's, you know, it's been a long year. You know, coming through the COVID pandemic and out on hopefully, what is the other side of it. But, you know, we had an opportunity for almost all of our sports to be able to compete a full season this year. And at the end, when all the dust settled, we are being crowned the Ohio Valley Conference,Commissioner's Cup champions for the first time in school history, which is a huge accomplishment, a huge milestone for us. Woods : So when I asked before we taped -- this is not just, I thought was this academics and

Woods : This is Going Public . I'm Dan woods. We're talking today with Suzanne Hightower. She's president of the Cape Broadway Theatre. It's a nonprofit, here in Cape Girardeau. Suzanne, welcome to the program. Hightower : Thank you. I'm glad to be here. Woods : So we wanted to talk with you about your efforts and your nonprofit's efforts to restore the Broadway Theatre here in Cape Girardeau. Before we do that, though, tell us a little bit about yourself. Hightower : Um, well, I am the president of the nonprofit Cape Broadway Theatre. I also just started a company called Speakeasy Coffee Company that is going to be opened here in the next month or two. And I am a pharmacist by trade, which I work to pay for the other projects that I have that are kind of my passion projects. And I am a single mother of with four kids. Woods : Wow. So you're busy. Hightower : I am very busy. Woods : And so your interest in bringing back the Broadway Theater. Speakeasy Coffee is going to be I guess,

Woods : We're talking today with Robbie Pratte. He is Director of Museum Operations at the Center for French Colonial Life in Ste. Genevieve. He's here to tell us about their new exhibit titled "Saving St. Louis: The Ste. Genevieve Militia and the Battle of Fort San Carlos." Robbie, welcome to the program. Pratte : Well thanks for having me, Dan. I appreciate it. Woods : Good to have you here. Before we talk about the specific exhibit, tell us about the French Center there, the FCA and about your campus. Pratte : Well, the sort of grander name we have for our campus is very imaginative, it's the Center for French Colonial Life Museum Campus . FCA stands for French Colonial America. That is the group that owns and operates the campuses now. Originally this campus started out as The Bolduc House Museum. A lot of people know our site as that name. And originally it was just the one building that you could tour and it was originally founded by the National Society of the Colonial Themes of

SoutheastHEALTH recently announced plans for a major expansion at its west campus located on South Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau. Dan Woods spoke with SoutheastHEALTH CEO Ken Bateman to learn more about the expansion. Woods : Tell us about the expansion and why you're doing it now. Bateman : Well, the expansion is a three-phase expansion. We actually started design of this expansion back in the early part of 2019, with COVID it got pushed back a little bit but it's a three-phase expansion. The first phase of the project, which was the $30 million dollar behavioral health hospital that we recently opened in the latter part of March [2021], that facility is now open and we're opening that in sections - in various units. The first unit that opened in the tail-end of March is already running consistently full, so probably sometime this summer we'll go to the second unit of that. So phase one was the behavioral health hospital; phase two includes about at $75 million dollar investment

Southeast Missouri State University’s hospitality management program has produced a new green Hawk Sauce that is now available. It’s a follow-up to their red Hawk Sauce that was created in the Spring 2019 semester. I spoke with Dr. Quantella Noto from Southeast’s Department of Hospitality Management to find out about the new sauce. She began our interview by taking us back to the beginning of the project.

From construction, events and new business openings, there is a lot going on in Downtown Cape Girardeau. We spoke with Old Town Cape Executive Director Liz Haynes for an update. Some highlights include: - The outdoor concert series "Tunes at Twilight" kicked off on May 14. - The Cape Riverfront Market opened on May 1 and continues through the fall. - The riverboats have returned to downtown. - 21 new businesses open in 2020. - The Broadway project (between Middle and Fountain Street on the North side of the street) is projected to be completed by year end. That will be home to four retail tenants on the first floor. Those include: Speck Pizza and Street Food, Brickwood Boutique, Kenny's Flippin Burgers and Sushi by Angel). - Speakeasy Coffee will be opening in the former Pitter's Lounge building on Broadway in the next few months.

If you’ve ever been doing research and needed to find some old documents (old tax records or school records, for example), chances are you make a visit to the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center in Jackson. The center houses documents from every county office and according to their website, they have some of the oldest records in the State of Missouri, dating back to the late 1790s. Dan Woods spoke with Archive Center Director Marybeth Niederkorn and Assistant Lyle Johnston to learn more about the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center .

Southeast Missouri State University was recently awarded as a 2021-2022 Military Friendly Top 10 School and received a gold designation. It recognizes the university’s commitment to increase and improve policies and procedures that benefit veterans and students. Amanda Woods is the Military and Veterans Service Officer at Southeast and Dan Woods spoke with her on the television program, SE Connect to learn more.

Alyssa Phares, with Visit Cape , spoke with KRCU Public Radio about two events which will be held in Downtown Cape , on Sat. May 1st. The first, and inaugural event is the Muddy River Marathon, which begins with the first group of runners at 7 a.m. on Mainstreet and runs throughout the city. The second, and ongoing annual event-- now for over 10 years, is the Cape Riverfront Market . It offers fresh produce, locally raised meats, assorted baked goods, artisan crafts, and options for breakfast and lunch, and is open from 8 a.m. to Noon, every Saturday throughout the spring and summer in the parking lot at 35 South Spanish Street. The demonstration will feature a presentation by the Historic Preservation Commission and Old Town Cape . Music will be provided by Ivas John .

This week on Going Public , we spoke with Brandon Hahs, who is the co-director of the Muddy River Marathon , along with Bryan Kelpe. 2021 is the inaugural year for the Muddy River Marathon , which will take place Sat. May 1. At the time of the interview, over 700 individuals from over 15 states had registered for the event. It is a USATF-certified 26.2 mile course and also a Boston Marathon qualifier race.

This past weekend on Going Public, we spoke with Dr. Melissa Stickel, Executive Director of the Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri. Among many topics, we discussed the projects in the works at the organization, including the renovation of their new location at 40 South Sprigg Street , the ongoing "Hope Village" tiny home project, the Hopebuilders volunteer network, the upcoming volunteer opportunities at the Muddy River Marathon , and another upcoming event, Dancing with Show Me Stars .

Just after noon on Thurs. Apr. 22, in the City Council Chambers, the City of Cape Girardeau officially announced the new incoming Cape Girardeau city manager, after a nationwide search. Cape Girardeau's mayor, Bob Fox, introduced Dr. Kenneth Haskin , or Kenny Haskin, as he prefers to be called casually, for the first time, with city council members behind him, and several community leaders present.

And now an update on a story we brought to you late last year. Dr. Jen Bengtson joined us to give us details on a cold case that she and her students in the Department of History and Anthropology at Southeast Missouri State University were working on at the time. We asked her back for an update on that case and what else they were working on. She spoke with Dan Woods on the television program, SE Connect.

Southeast’s Jeanine Larson Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance was recently the site for the world premiere of “Unlimited: The Music and Lyrics of Stephen Schwartz.” To learn more, we spoke with Kitt Lavoie, assistant professor of theatre and dance and director of Southeast’s production of “Unlimited” and with Mary McGough about the production and the opportunity it presented to Southeast’s conservatory students. They appeared on the television program, "SE Connect."

Can stock market data be considered music? Investors, stockbrokers and others in the financial industry might think so. Most others would probably say no. Landon Schnurbusch, a senior planning to graduate in May 2021 from Southeast Missouri State University and double major in musical composition and mathematics actuarial science, used a Disklavier piano to compose and program music for his final composition recital using Dow Jones stock market data. Dan Woods spoke with him on the television program, "SE Connect."

Southeast Missouri State University's Small Business Development Center develops and implements programs to support entrepreneurs and small businesses in the Southeast Missouri region. To learn more about the center and their services we spoke with Jakob Pallesen – he is the director of the SBDC. The interview was recorded on the television program, "SE Connect".

The FastTrack Workforce Incentive Grant is designed for adults who are entering college for the first time or who have some college credit. There are requirements to to receive the grant. It can be used to pursue a certificate, degree, or industry-recognized credential in an area designated as high need for the state of Missouri. Brooke Lockhart from Southeast’s Office of Admissions stopped by to tell us all about it.

Southeast Missouri State University will once again hold it’s Power of Women event – but this year it will be a digital submit because of the pandemic. The half-day professional development and networking conference will be held on Wednesday, April 28 . The purpose of the event is to raise money for scholarships for students. We spoke with Amanda Lincoln, Director of Development with the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation and Ciara Southard, a Southeast student who is a one of this year's scholarship recipients. Details are at www.semo.edu/powerofwomen

Southeast Missouri State University's Center for Speech and Hearing provides comprehensive diagnostic and intervention services for communication disorders for all ages and their services are available to general public. To learn more about the center and about Virtual Cognitive Stimuation Therapy we spoke with Amy Herren, Clinic Coordinator at the Center and Karen Breeding. She is an instructorin Communication Disorders. We spoke on the television program "SE Connect."

We spoke with Dr. Kate Stepaniuc, Assistant Professor of Mass Media at Southeast Missouri State University. She stopped by to tell us about her book "English with Val and Kate" and how it is helping people learn English as a second language. Learn more on Facebook .

On Thursday, March 11, 2021, we sat down with Southeast Provost Mike Godard. Dr. Godard updated us on happenings in Academic Affairs -- including the new Professional Pilot program, recent cyber defense success, the plan for pre-pandemic guidelines for classes in the fall semester and more. Our interview was recorded on the television program "Focus on Southeast."

We recently spoke with Darren Burgfeld. He is “Chief Human” with Humans of Cape . The project shares first-person stories along with photography showcasing people throughout the Cape Girardeau area and in Southeast Missouri. Darren tells us how the project got started, some of the more memorable stories he's been able to share so far and what the future of the project looks like after the pandemic has slowed down story collection.

The Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization (SEMPO) has released the 2021 – 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) for public comment. The MTP is a long-range multimodal transportation plan which will serve to guide regional investments in transportation over the next 20 years for transportation projects in SEMPO’s planning area. The plan is updated every five years. The 2021 – 2045 MTP is available for public viewing on the SEMPO website at . SEMPO's service area. View here . Printed copies are available upon request at Cape Girardeau City Hall, 401 Independence Street, Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Jackson City Hall, 101 Court Street, Jackson, Missouri; and Cape Girardeau County Administrative Office, 1 Barton Square, Jackson, Missouri. The public comment period closes on March 16, 2021. To learn more about it, Dan Woods spoke with Alex McElroy. He’s Executive Director of the Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Last year has been described as a time of racial reckoning for police departments across the country and the communities they serve. KRCU’s Clayton Hester spoke to Sgt. Joey Hann of the Cape Girardeau police department about the relationship between the city and its law enforcement.

The Southeast Missouri Food Bank served thousands of people – many new to their services during the pandemic. We reached out to the Food Bank on Friday, February 12 to get an update on how things are going as the pandemic continues. We spoke with President and CEO Joey Keys.

There has been a lot of talk in recent weeks about the filibuster in the United States Senate. Republicans want to keep it and most Democrats want to do away with it. A filibuster is used to prevent a measure from being brought to a vote. To break a filibuster, it takes 60 votes which is tough in a 50/50 Senate. If the filibuster remains in place (which looks likely at least for now) will legislation just sit in the Senate in the near-term or will it foster more compromise? Dan Woods spoke with Jason Sides, Associate Professor of Political Science at Southeast Missouri State University.

Southeast Missouri State University's Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 260 is supporting area elementary schools during the pandemic with a service project called "Redhawk Readers." The service group includes faculty, staff and students at Southeast Missouri State -- along with community members. The members create video recordings reading a favorite children's book. I spoke with Barbara Glackin, Dean of Kent Library at Southeast about the program on the television program “SE Connect.”

Vaccinations for COVID-19 are underway in Southeast Missouri. According to the COVID-19 dashboard released by the state of Missouri this week, over 10% of Cape County residents have received the first dose of the vaccine. That compares to 4.7% statewide. To learn more about how vaccine distribution is going in the area, Dan Woods spoke with Maria Sudak Thursday morning, January 28, 2021. Sudak is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at SoutheastHEALTH. Resources : www.MOStopsCOVID.com SoutheastHEALTH COVID-19 Information Page Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 Information Page

We recently spoke with the authors of the new book "Seth: The Life and Journey of General Seth Jefferson McKee." McKee grew up in Southeast Missouri and rose from a rural farm boy to become one of America's most highly decorated members of the United States Air Force. The authors are Jerry Ford -- educator, legislator, businessman and musician. He has authored articles on regional history including two books. And Dr. Frank Nickell, Associate Professor Emeritus of History at Southeast Missouri State University. He directed the Center of Regionally History at the university through which he edited and published approximately 25 books about the region; conducted many oral interviews and produced a series of historical podcasts on KRCU Public Radio titled "Almost Yesterday." The book is now available for purchase and proceeds from sales of the book will be designated for a scholarship to support students attending Southeast Missouri State University who have served or are currently serving

Alex Trebek, the host of the popular quiz show Jeopardy, passed away on November 8th after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. After 36 years of hosting, Trebek’s last episodes aired Friday, January 8th. Londyn Lorenz, a Perryville native now attending the University of Mississippi, competed in the 2020 Jeopardy College Championship, which recorded in February and aired in April. She joined KRCU’s Clayton Hester to talk about the legacy of Alex Trebek, as well as her own history as a Jeopardy fan and contestant.

On this week's episode, KRCU's Clayton Hester speaks to Southeast Missouri State University professor Jason Sides about the runoff elections in Georgia and their implications, as well as a look at political circumstances around the nation after the violence at the U.S. Capitol.

KRCU's Clayton Hester takes you on the Christmas Country Church Tour - a holiday tradition that’s in its 16th year and managed to keep its annual visits happening despite the pandemic.

With the damage done to the economy, small businesses face their own unique pressure, given the concern for safety and in-person shopping. KRCU’s Clayton Hester spoke to Elizabeth Haynes, Executive Director of Old Town Cape, about what the community is seeing and how her organization is assisting.

Southeast Missouri State University recently announced a partnership with US Aviation Group and the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport to offer a Professional Pilot Program. Beginning in Fall 2021, students at the university will be able to earn a Bachelor of Science in Professional Pilot. KRCU's Dan Woods spoke with Brad Deken, Chair of the Department of Engineering and Technology at Southeast and Ken Jackson, State Supervisor of Instruction with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on the television program "SE Connect" to learn more.

It's time to travel back to the 1920s and learn what life was life in the Ozarks of Missouri. The Center for Regional History and University Press at Southeast Missouri State University collaborated to produce "Twelve Corners - The Refuge of My Youth." The book of short stories was written by Ruby Allee Wright and gives the reader a glimpse of what life was like in Brumley, Missouri, in the Ozarks in the 1920s. Dan Woods spoke with Dr. Adam Criblez, Director of the Center for Regional History. He said fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder will likely enjoy the book. Criblez said it is available on Amazon by searching "Twelve Corners" and can also be purchased at the Center on the Southeast campus. More information is available at (573) 651-2555.

There is no doubt that 2020 has been challenging for everyone. We wanted to find out more about how the business community has been doing here in southeast Missouri. To do that, we spoke with John Mehner, he’s president and CEO of the Cape Chamber and host of “Let’s Talk Business” heard Mondays during Morning Edition on KRCU.

The president is ill. What is his or her condition? When can we expect an update on their health? Are they still performing their duties as president? These are just some of the questions that are asked when the president is dealing with a health crisis. How does the White House decide what information to release and what to keep quiet? Dr. Pam Parry is a professor in the Department of Mass Media at Southeast and she spoke with KRCU about that and more.

Missouri will celebrate its bicentennial in 2021. We spoke with Bill Eddleman, the Associate Director of the Cape Girardeau Research Center with The State Historical Society of Missouri. Eddleman is an eighth-generation Missourian and was a professor of biology at Southeast Missouri State University for 22 years and also served as provost before his retirement in 2016. He told us about some the activities planned in celebration of the event. Eddleman is also the host of Missouri Bicentennial Minutes which can be heard the Fourth Friday of each month in 2020 on KRCU. In 2021, the show will be broadcast weekly.

Communities have faced economic hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic, as have different service organizations and food pantries. A local food pantry faces similar challenges. KRCU's Clayton Hester speaks to Amber Kuehn of FISH Volunteers Of Cape Girardeau.

KRCU's Clayton Hester speaks with the director of the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, Tracy Poston. She speaks about where the organization is in its efforts to fund the new location, and the history behind the project. Later on in the interview, they discuss pet adoption during the holiday season.

The Cape Girardeau Public Library recently added a remote locker system allowing residents of South Cape to access library materials without traveling to the library building. The system was made possible by a CARES Act grant that is administered by the State Library of Missouri. Cape Library Director Katie Hill says the system is called LitLocker and has been installed at the Shawnee Park Center in Cape Girardeau. "A LitLocker, the name comes from literature locker, LitLocker, and it's a remote locker system. It's a vending machine, basically, it's kinda like a Redbox but for library materials," Hill said. She said patrons can place holds on items and pick them at the drive-thru like they do now or they can choose to pick them up at the LitLocker. The Litlocker is installed and became operational on Wednesday, November 18. It is located in the lobby of the Shawnee Park Center in Cape Girardeau. To learn more about the Cape Public Library, visit capelibrary.org .

Imagine taking a piano master class and your teacher isn't in the same room -- or even the same state. That is exactly what happened at Southeast Missouri State University earlier this year thanks to some amazing technology in the disklavier piano. To learn more, we spoke with Dr. Kevin Hampton, Chair of the Department of Music at Southeast Missouri State University.

Dr. John Link, superintendent of the Jackson R-2 Public Schools, has had over thirty years in education and now is going into retirement. Speaking with KRCU’s Clayton Hester, Link discusses the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic when it comes to holding classes. He also reflects on his career and other challenges he’s faced in the past. Link has resigned to retire on July 1, 2021.

The Jeanine Larson Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance at Southeast hasn't slowed down during the pandemic. They are still performing, although to smaller crowds to follow CDC guidelines, and are planning for the Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival next summer. In addition, they have launched a fundraising intiative called "Keeping Live Theatre Alive" which features videos of some of the biggest stars of stage and screen performing a piece that they wrote. Dan Woods spoke with Dr. Kenn Stilson, chair of the Conservatory and Kitt Lavoie, Assistant Professor of Theatre - Acting and Directing.

It’s our post-election show with Dr. Jason Sides, Associate Professor of Political Science at Southeast Missouri State University. We talk with Jason about some of the voting trends from the 2020 election and about what happened to the polls. Votes were still being counted as of our taping but we asked Sides if a President Biden could work with Senate Leader Mitch McConnell if Republicans hold the Senate. We recorded our conversation on Friday afternoon, November 6, 2020.

Millions of Americans have already voted and many more will be heading to the polls on Tuesday, November 3. With just days before the election, we spoke with Dr. Jason Sides, Associate Professor of Political Science at Southeast Missouri State University about the race for the White House, the battle for the U.S. Senate, Amendment 3 and more. We recorded our conversation on Thursday afternoon, October 29, 2020.

We all know that the pandemic has changed many facets of daily life. It has also impacted the job market and highlights the importance of a job candidate's online presence. And have you ever heard of "digital dead weight"? Dan Presson is Director of Career Services at Southeast Missouri State University. He spoke with KRCU's Dan Woods about those issues and more on the television program "SE Connect."

Dan Woods spoke with Nathan Bullock. He is the Dean of Extended Learning at Southeast Missouri State University. He shared some of the latest happenings at the university's regional campuses, about a new Learning Management System and more.

The quality of air in the home is critical for all of us but more so for those suffering with asthma. Dr. John Kraemer is the Director of the Institute for Environmental Health Assessment & Patient Centered Outcomes. Kraemer is a professor of biology and environmental science and director of the University’s Center for Environmental Analysis. He has completed research and training related to the identification and management of environmental triggers. He spoke with KRCU's Dan Woods about the work he and his colleagues are doing to help people breathe easier. John Kraemer, Ph. D. Professor/Director of Environmental Science; CEO, Institute for Environmental Health Assessment & Patient Centered Outcomes jkraemer@semo.edu (573) 651-2355

It is Election season and this one has been as unpredictable as any in recent memory with the nomination of a Supreme Court justice before the election and the impact of the pandemic on campaigning and on the debates. It proves to stay unpredictable and to talk about what may be in store -- and specifically the battle for the U.S. Senate, Dan Woods spoke with Dr. Jason Sides, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Southeast Missouri State University.

If you are interested in cold cases and enjoy watching "Unsolved Mysterties" this interview may be just for you. Dr. Jennifer Bengtson is an Associate Professor in the Department of History & Anthropology at Southeast Missouri State University. She and some of her students are once again working on solving a cold case by identifying a set of human remains recovered in Cape Girardeau County in 1980. This comes on the heels of a successful case they recently solved thanks to some cutting edge methods. Bengtson spoke on the television program "SE Connect."