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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Noranda, an aluminum smelter based in New Madrid, is the largest employer in Southeast Missouri with over 888 employees. Located in the St. Jude Industrial Park, the plant covers over 3000 acres with more than 40 acres under roof. Electricity is one-third of all operational expenses for Noranda; last year they paid Ameren $160,000,000 for electricity. Ameren’s rate to Noranda has increased by 40% since 2007, and more than $44M since 2009. Noranda requested the Public Service Commission to reduce their electric rate from Ameren stating that without a reduction it would be difficult for them to keep the factory open. There’s been an epidemic of aluminum smelter shutdowns over the recent years as 32 smelters

Captain David Sutton released a press release at 17:23 today: On 08-11-14 at around 1545 hrs Officers with the Poplar Bluff Police Department responded to the 1300 block of West Maud st, in reference to a report that a body was found in a wooded area. The body was in an advanced stage of decomposition; and no cause of death was immediately apparent. Investigators with the Poplar Bluff Police Department, Butler County Coroner's Office, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol Division of Drug and Crime Control responded to process the scene.

Many family members, friends, and admirers were saddened Sunday to learn of the passing of Brenda Fox, 62, a woman who has been the Butler County Collector since 1999. Marion Tibbs, Butler County Assessor, noted that he would be missing Fox not only professionally, but also personally. “She was just a great person. One of the most dependable people I've ever known,” commented Tibbs. Though she won her office back in 1998 as a Republican, she was always known as a team player and a problem-solver. “It's not uncommon for County Assessors and County Collectors to sometimes butt heads,” explained Tibbs. “But she was not like that. She always worked to solve a problem. Fox was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

Photo: Property 1 sold for $828,000; property 2 sold for $789,000; property 3 sold for $1,000,000; property 4 purchase price has not been released   A tentative agreement has finally been reached between the City of Poplar Bluff, and Robert and Robin Whelan of Whelan Wealth Management, 2895 N. Westwood Blvd. “We have finally come to a tentative verbal agreement,” said Whelan. Though he did not want to comment on the exact figure agreed upon, he noted he was pleased, and particularly pleased with the speed in which the new Poplar Bluff City Council and city staff ironed out the agreement. “This had been going on for two years,” said Whelan. “There was never any reason for it to have gone on

Photo: MINIs parked while their owners refuel on Hayden’s Pink Lemonade and BBQ Sandwiches Poplar Bluff, Mo. - The MINI TAKES THE STATES tour for Mini Cooper owners passed through Poplar Bluff on a last-minute detour between Memphis and St. Louis on Monday, August 4. When the Mini Coopers pulled out of Memphis earlier that day, over 450 vehicles were on the tour which began in San Francisco on July 26 and makes a jagged-route across the states to Boston by August 9. John Clark, owner of Hayden's BBQ on Maud Street, got word late last week that Hayden's ranking on TripAdvisor.com caused the tour to select Hayden's for their lunchtime stop. The local favorite rolled out the pink carpet