Poplar Bluff Street Department crews recently finished an ambitious road repair project near Hillcrest Park, which, Superintendent Jerry Lawson said, could have become a big problem if not taken care of. The work centered around the intersection of Relief and Second streets and an underground tunnel beneath the road there, Lawson said.“There’s a stormwater tunnel that runs underground under the softball field at Hillcrest Park, through the intersection,” Lawson explained...

CAPE GIRARDEAU — A former Poplar Bluff police officer pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday morning to a child pornography charge. Brandon Michael Hopper, 40, pleaded guilty via Zoom to the felony of sexual exploitation of a minor (production of child pornography) before U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr., according to Assistant U.S. Attorney John Koester...

DONIPHAN — The courts in Ripley County will step down to operating phase one Wednesday after a courthouse employee tested positive for COVID-19. Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett signed an order Tuesday notifying the Missouri Supreme Court of the move to a lower operating phase. It applies to both the county courts and the Doniphan Municipal Division...

Poplar Bluff City Council members will seek a real estate broker to sell approximately 30 acres of property on the southwest side of Shelby Road. The property is part of a 58-acre tract purchased for a new police department. A request for proposals will be advertised to find a licensed broker to represent the city in the sale, according to information discussed Monday by the council...

The first of three mass testing events organized by the Butler County Health Department was a success, according to administration.

A special Poplar Bluff City Council meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the city council chambers, 301 S. Fifth St. Items on the agenda include the workshop and vote on three applications for Community Development Block Grants. The grants would provide partial funding for: generator for a new Poplar Bluff Police Department building; Roxie Road bridge replacement; and stormwater improvements...

A Poplar Bluff man charged in connection with a possible weekend carjacking made his first appearance in court Monday. Jeffery M. Moore, 39, of the 2000 block of Sanders Street was to appear before Associate Circuit Judge C. Wade Pierce for arraignment on the Class D felony of first-degree tampering with a motor-vehicle...