From the desk of Michelle Friedrich
Michelle Friedrich is a reporter for the Daily American Republic.
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Longtime DAR staffer says thank you, and goodbye
Posted Saturday, January 9, 2021, at 12:00 AMIt’s with excitement and a somewhat heavy heart that I write this, my final column for the Daily American Republic. Yep! You read that correctly … my final column. After nearly 27-1/2 years, I am retiring from the DAR and the newspaper industry. My original plan never was to retire at this point in my life; I figured I would be a newspaper writer until the day I signed up for Social Security... -
Hoping for healthy, prosperous, COVID-free New Year
Posted Saturday, December 19, 2020, at 12:00 AMBy MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Staff Writer Since the COVID-19 pandemic began earlier this year, I’ve tried to be so careful and limit my exposure because my respiratory issues put me in the high-risk category. I limited myself to only work and home and followed CDC guidelines diligently. I wore my mask, practiced social distancing and washed my hands/used hand sanitizer religiously... -
Saddened by the loss of a longtime friend
Posted Saturday, November 14, 2020, at 12:00 AM1As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the nation and Missouri this year, I am confident we all have known a friend, family member, acquaintance or colleague who has tested positive. Some, unfortunately, also have lost friends or loved ones to the coronavirus. I had not been one of them until Sunday. It was then I learned of the death of a man from my “home church,” the church where I grew up and where I still attend when visiting my parents... -
Virtual faith efforts cross continents, keep parishioners close
Posted Friday, October 9, 2020, at 1:37 PMThe wife of “Luke Skywalker,” aka Mark Hamill from the Star Wars movies, has been among the hundreds from across the country and around the world to tune into worship services at Fellowship General Baptist Church since the COVID-19 pandemic changed our world in March... -
Getting a jump start on fall
Posted Saturday, September 19, 2020, at 12:00 AMBy MICHELLE FRIEDRICH Staff Writer I can’t say I specifically have a favorite season, but I do try to pay homage to each one with special decor around my house every year. Granted, spring and Easter kind of got short changed this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I hate to admit it, but I didn’t do much better with summer either... -
Sometimes, I get to have a little fun
Posted Saturday, August 1, 2020, at 12:00 AMSometimes, being a journalist, I get to have a little fun while out on an assignment, or at least what I call fun. It doesn’t happen frequently, but I sure do enjoy those days, especially any day I get to spend time on Current River... -
August primary asks us: How much is our safety worth?
Posted Saturday, June 27, 2020, at 12:00 AMI don’t like paying higher taxes anymore than the next guy. That’s probably something we can all agree on, but …. sometimes, we need to face the fact that those extra few pennies could make a big difference in our future, and in this case, the future of law enforcement in Butler County... -
Making the best of a new normal this Memorial Day
Posted Saturday, May 23, 2020, at 12:00 AMNothing in recent months has seemed normal given the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many, I have found myself staying home more than I could have ever imagined. I only have left my house for work each day. There have been no trips to the grocery store or Walmart or dining at my favorite restaurants. It’s been work and home. That’s been it, my entire existence... -
With God’s help, we will get through this
Posted Saturday, April 18, 2020, at 12:00 AMI can’t remember not going to church with my family on Easter, but that is exactly what happened Sunday thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike years’ past, there were no sunrise services, no Easter lilies at the front of the church, nor did I buy a new Easter dress to wear. There was no big family dinner after services... -
PBFD faced with staffing deficiency
Posted Saturday, March 14, 2020, at 12:00 AMThe recent hospitalization of Poplar Bluff Fire Chief Ralph Stucker for complications from his earlier knee surgery has emphasized a deficiency within the department. That deficiency surrounds the fact that the fire department is the only city department without an assistant department head... -
Many hands make light work
Posted Saturday, February 8, 2020, at 12:00 AMIt’s been years since I have written an article about a methamphetamine lab, and decades since I’ve written about what I would consider a full-blown, old-fashioned meth lab. The last ones I reported on were what authorities described as one-pot or shake-and-bake labs... -
However you say it, welcome 2020
Posted Saturday, January 4, 2020, at 12:00 AMGoodbye 2019, hello 2020. It’s a year of new beginnings, but it’s not without a bit of controversy it would seem. First, will it be pronounced 20-20 or two thousand twenty? A family member recently asked my professional opinion about which is correct as she prepared to deliver a speech the following day... -
Let me enjoy Thanksgiving first
Posted Saturday, November 23, 2019, at 12:00 AMSandwiched between Halloween and Christmas is a very special holiday — Thanksgiving. It’s a day set aside to give thanks and count our blessings, but it’s also a day many tend to overlook with Halloween merchandise hitting stores in mid-August... -
Will cuts in future firefighters’ benefits impact Poplar Bluff?
Posted Saturday, October 12, 2019, at 12:00 AM$300 … That could be the approximate weekly take-home pay for any newly hired Poplar Bluff firefighter who chooses to put his wife and/or children on his insurance plan. Until a recent vote by the Poplar Bluff City Council, two-thirds of the employees’ dependent health insurance was covered by the city. That changed Sept. 1, after the council voted to drop its contribution... -
For law enforcement, there is no such thing as a routine call now
Posted Saturday, August 31, 2019, at 12:00 AMFive, that’s the number of line-of-duty deaths I’ve reported on for the Daily American Republic. All five were killed in Southeast Missouri and/or had direct ties to our local area. Although the first one I reported was in 1996, I still can recall many of the details of the traffic crash that took the life of Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Randy Sullivan. He died in a fiery crash while attempting to conduct a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle... -
No two days have been the same in 25 years of reporting
Posted Saturday, July 13, 2019, at 12:00 AMIn August, I will celebrate an anniversary of sorts as I enter my 26th year of reporting the news for the Daily American Republic. Gone is the green, rookie reporter I once was, who entered the newsroom so long ago and was sent to Greenville within my first hour to cover an assignment at the school there... -
When floating or boating, be safe on the water
Posted Friday, May 24, 2019, at 2:44 PMWhere has the year gone? It’s nearly the end of May already, which means Memorial Day is upon us, as is the unofficial start to summer. With the extended holiday weekend, many from across Southeast Missouri and the surrounding areas will join family and friends and head out for some fun in the sun on one of their favorite Missouri waterways... -
Never to be forgotten… Camp Cherokee Ridge
Posted Friday, April 5, 2019, at 12:00 AMSome of my fondest memories growing up were all the activities I participated in as a Girl Scout, including the camping. If my memory serves me correctly, my first over-night camping experience was at Camp Cherokee Ridge in Wayne County back in 1980. I was 9 and a junior Girl Scout at the time...