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Her name was Ellie. I recently met her in the bathroom at lunch. She was in the stall beside me talking to her mom, who was coaxing her through the potty process. “Mom,” Ellie whisper-yelled as little kids do. “What is that noise?” Her mom tried to wave her off a few times in that…
Read Full Article It’s my first full day with an office at the new Muddy River News Hannibal location. I made coffee, looked around the room and thought, “This is weird. Where is the music?” I’m now wanting to order a Mimi’s Coffehouse soundtrack. I could play my own, but it doesn’t feel right. I thought I locked…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. – Ask just about any employee at the Hannibal Public Library what their favorite time of year is, and without delay, they will tell you it’s summer. “We live for summer around here,” Amber Cooley, a director of the summer reading program, said with a smile. “We get to see the kids who…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Loaves and Fishes, a ministry of Harvest Outreach, hands out about 70 meals from 5-6 p.m. per weeknight. Many people go home on Fridays with a weekend box to make sure they will have food until the doors open again on Monday. The Loaves and Fishes program had a home at Helping…
Read Full Article NEW LONDON, Mo. — You don’t have to live in New London to enjoy the 37th annual New London Park Days this weekend. The festivities start Friday with craft booths and food vendors opening at 11 a.m. and the beer garden opening at noon. The opening ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. on the…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL – As summer days approach, many kids are hopping on their favorite mode of summer transportation. Dr. Susan Meidl, and others at Blessing Health Hannibal, want to make young bike-riders have fun and stay safe. Ride Cool, is an annual event by the nonprofit organization, the Blessing Health Hannibal and the Riedle Foundation to…
Read Full Article JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri legislative session for 2023 ended at 6 p.m. May 12, the day and time as required by law, with a number of bills left unheard. Two senators filibustered to protest bills that were not being passed. Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, read aloud from a biography of Ronald Reagan,…
Read Full Article I often write about marital trials, but I am writing about a marital phenomenon this week. Experienced by many, talked about by few. Between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m., a sleepy fog hangs over the bed. We transform into uninhibited, sometimes violent, often drooling and always snoring people of the night. As the…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Around 125 seniors Hannibal High School spent their last full day of school volunteering around the community at the second annual Day of Caring. One group of students cooked 60 homemade freezer meals for local foster families, funded by the Riedel Foundation. In the kitchen at Immanuel Baptist Church in Hannibal, the…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Jessica Anderson and her son, Kaiden, felt like they were dreaming on Friday, May 12, as they gathered with a group of people who would help them build a house. “I never would have imagined it in my wildest dreams,” Jessica said. “What a blessing.” The morning was a celebration of the…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Two defendants related to Taurean Snoddy’s death were in court on Tuesday morning. Chad Elliot, who is charged with second-degree and first-degree assault, was arraigned in the Marion County Courthouse and pleaded not guilty. Howard Rickey, who faces charges of first-degree assault and resisting arrest for a felony will proceed to an…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Questions about the investigation of the Hannibal city clerk might be answered at the next Hannibal City Council meeting on June 6. At the council meeting Tuesday evening, April Azotea, owner of La Azotea Lounge in Hannibal, asked about the status of the investigation on City Clerk Angel Zerbonia who, according to…
Read Full Article Twenty minutes before closing time, we were down to one waitress (me). A group of 30 adults breezed through the door like nobody’s business. One guy approached me as I shined the counter. “Are you open?” he asked. “For another 20 minutes,” I replied. “Yep, they’re open!” He turned to the group and waved them…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Senior students at Hannibal High School gathered in Patterson Gym and celebrated each other on Decision Day. Each student was met with applause and cheers as they walked to the front of the gym when their name and chosen post-graduation path was announced. A kaleidoscope of bright futures sat in the bleachers.…
Read Full Article Standing behind the cash register, my co-worker looked at me with burning eyes. “Do you really believe there’s a man up in the sky who loves me?” he asked. He was one of my favorites to work with. I was in my early 20s, and he was in one of the groups I usually ran…
Read Full Article RALLS COUNTY, Mo. — Former Ralls County Lt. Gloria Jennings filed a civil lawsuit on May 1 alleging misconduct, sexual harassment and retaliation by Ralls County Sheriff Brad Stinson. Jennings alleges Stinson and other members of Ralls County Sheriff’s Department retaliated against her by moving her office, isolating her from other coworkers and initiating an…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Maria Kuhns, entrepreneurship specialist and SBDC director with the Hannibal Regional Economic Development Council, gave an update on the proposed Hannibal Community Improvement District (CID) at the Hannibal City Council meeting Tuesday. The plan for Hannibal’s CID would include a sales tax levy up to 1%, which will only apply within the…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — David Ruby, a lifelong resident of Hannibal, hopes to bring some of his childhood back to Clemens Field this summer. Ruby went before Hannibal City Council Tuesday evening to ask permission to hold an all-day wrestling and boxing event on the field, proposing it take place sometime in July. Sharing his own…
Read Full Article Google is mad at me. I don’t even know what I did, except that I asked directions to a place less than two blocks away. I was just making sure I had the right street. Instead of a map popping up, Google was short with me. “Turn left on Veterans and right on Hospital Drive.…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Now taking root in the soil at Central Park is a newly planted tree the Hannibal Tree Board planted on Friday afternoon in observance of National Arbor Day. Kristy Trevathan, director of the Hannibal Tree Board, said the tree is an overcup white oak, which is resistant to disease and thrives in…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — The flood walls are now up in downtown Hannibal. The process of putting the five gates up began Wednesday morning and finished before the end of the work day. Hannibal Police Chief Jacob Nacke, who is also the Director of Emergency Management, said the gates went up due to the projected river…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Students and staff at the Hannibal Public School District are mourning the loss of a student who died in a car accident Friday night. Fourteen-year-old Paiton Elliot was a freshman at Hannibal High School. In a statement sent Monday morning, Superintendent of Hannibal Public Schools Susan Johnson said “the staff and school…
Read Full Article I sucked in a breath three years ago and submitted my first ever column to our local newspaper. I was just offered a regular Friday spot, and it was a dream come true. Long before I was married or had kids of my own, I ran across my mom’s books written by Erma Bombeck. Her…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. – The Hannibal Career and Technical Center is preparing to add a new building to the Hannibal campus. Brent Meyer, HCTC Director, explained to Hannibal school board members Wednesday night that funding for the building comes from a $250,000 grant received by the district. The construction of the building will require an additional…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — The greenhouse in front of the Hannibal Middle School is Hannibal High School Senior Caylee Cox’s happy place. She often finds herself in the greenhouse on weekends and evenings, checking on the flowers. Cox is not required to do that for the class, as her teacher often reminds her, but it is…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — After much debate in Hannibal City Council about requiring City Manager Lisa Peck to do a monthly report, a monthly report for March 2023 can be found on the city website. The report is 12 pages and includes a summary report of the month’s activities. It gives more detailed information from each…
Read Full Article CENTER, Mo. — Monica Huff, of New London, Mo., stood tearful in front of a crowd gathered in the Mark Twain High School Cafeteria on Sunday afternoon. She was there, as were the others filling the room, for Dr. Mark Tucker, who retired at the end of last month. Lovingly referred to as “Doc” Tucker…
Read Full Article Cooking around a campfire, listening to music and just being still with the people I love. It was a perfect moment amid an imperfect life. I got up after assembling another shish-kebab and looked around wondering how I ever got things so twisted. My mind has wandered back and forth lately between now and then.…
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