Business

With October just days away, the Cape Girardeau County Treasurer's Office and the chambers of commerce in Cape Girardeau and Jackson are reminding retailers, restaurants and other businesses of the county's new sales tax rate going into effect Thursday...

Rick Needham will tell you without hesitation Patriot Medical Devices, located at 1823 Rust Ave., could have located its mask production in California. Needham and his son, Tyler, who is Patriot's president, originated the company and ultimately chose Cape Girardeau, he said, for three reasons...

I don't think of myself as a coffee connoisseur by any means. For most of my adult life, I just didn't get it. Coffee, to me, was simply a bitter breakfast beverage (try saying that three times real fast) that tasted awful hot and even worse at room temperature...

It's often said when one door closes, another opens. In the case of Ron and Kristi Brzycki, the open door led to Sedona Bistro, their new restaurant in Cape Girardeau. The bistro, at 1812 Carondalet Drive in the former location of Beef 'O' Brady's, offers a lunch and dinner fare of soups, salads and sandwiches. It also features beer and wine service in a casual dining atmosphere, with indoor and outdoor seating...

Southeast Missouri State University has again been recognized among the top 100 "best regional universities in the Midwest," according to the latest rankings by U.S. News & World Report's "Best Colleges" rankings for 2021. Southeast, which was ranked 78th among the Midwest's best regional universities in 2020, improved to No. ...

In what is apparently a budget-cutting move, the Missouri Department of Revenue seems to have stopped sending notices to retailers, restaurants and other businesses to let them know about changes in sales-tax rates. Cape Girardeau County Treasurer Roger Hudson discussed the matter last week during a County Commission meeting...

Books are incredible things, wouldn't you agree? Some have the ability to take us to exciting new worlds full of magic and wonder. Others teach us new ideas, perspectives and skills. Books can compress decades worth of knowledge and experience into a relatively small number of pages...

A nearly forgotten remnant of a bygone era is being reincarnated as a family-friendly entertainment venue a few miles south of Cape Girardeau. A month ago, it was easy to overlook the site once known as Montgomery Drive-In on an overgrown piece of property along Highway 25 between Dutchtown and Chaffee, Missouri. In fact, it took a keen eye to spot the former drive-in's weathered screen, encrusted by vines and obscured by the trees surrounding it...

Friday was supposed to be "presentation day," the day when members of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Cape Class of 2020 presented their ideas for various civic-improvement projects at the chamber's monthly membership breakfast...

Cape Girardeau County's latest sales tax data, released last week by the county treasurer's office, continue to exceed expectations, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a spreadsheet distributed by Cape County Treasurer Roger Hudson at Thursday's County Commission meeting, the county received $807,608 this month, primarily on the basis of retail sales in the county during August. That was 10.12% more than the county received in September 2019...

Most people who know me know I love horses, specifically Belgian draft horses. I grew up raising them on my family's farm in New Hamburg, Missouri. These horses resemble Clydesdales, stand nearly seven feet tall, and weigh 2,000-plus pounds. But they are truly Gentle Giants...

The past six months have been a wild decade. We're living in a maddening timeline where the economy is both bullish (tech companies) and bearish (everything else) at the same time. Despite the massive disruption to small businesses wrought by the pandemic, some entrepreneurs have been able to take advantage of the new reality. Here are some ventures that may or may not be coming to a stock portfolio near you...

Adventuring and creating a place to belong within the unfamiliar. It’s what Kyle McDowell and his team at McDowell South RV are in the business of. “We help create a home for the people who purchase our campers,” McDowell says. “We aren’t just selling them anything; we are providing a place where they can enjoy their own vacation.”...

Imagine this: two groups of three people of differing heights, reaching to pick apples from the same tree. In one group, each person is given a box to stand on that is the same height as they reach to try to pick the apples, causing two people in the group to remain too short to reach the fruit. ...

"God is within her, she will not fail." -- Psalm 46:5 It's the verse that helped Dr. Gretchen Price, DO, develop a comprehensive hospital response to COVID-19. Before the novel coronavirus pandemic even reached the Cape Girardeau community, Price was instrumental in creating a proactive plan for Saint Francis Healthcare to care for patients...

Matt Buchheit says it happens "all the time." His wife, Kate, usually goes with the flow, but admits "it's frustrating." What they're talking about are the hunters who come to the Buchheits' Rut-N-Strut Taxidermy business, trophy in hand, and assume Matt is in charge...

The nation's economic news continued to improve last week as it was reported another 1.4 million Americans rejoined the labor force in August and the U.S. unemployment rate fell below 10% for the first time since March. The August job gains followed the addition of 4.8 million jobs in June and 1.7 million in July...

September has been declared Workforce Development Month by Gov. Mike Parson. In a statement issued last week, Parson said several higher education and job training programs in the state will be promoted during the month. "Missouri is finding ways to expand, modernize, sustain apprenticeships and work-based learning, enhance regional workforce development and ensure we are building the labor force that businesses need to make Missouri the best place to live and work in America," Parson said in a statement issued by the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development.. ...

As the COVID-19 pandemic reached the Cape Girardeau community, the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center responded with education in an organized effort to slow the spread of the virus in the county. Director Jane Wernsman, health educator Maria Davis and public health researcher Autumn Grim, among others, were all vital in the county health department's response and continued management of the COVID-19 virus in Cape Girardeau County...

Anytime you take a journey, especially when you're going someplace you've never been, it's a good idea to take a map. The same holds true when you're looking into the future -- 5, 10, or even 20 years from now -- to prepare for what's ahead. That's the rationale behind Cape Girardeau's Vision 2040 project, a recently completed study that looks at where Cape Girardeau is -- and where it wants to be two decades from now...

"The more problems we have, the more murals we need," says Malcolm McCrae. McCrae is a Cape Girardeau artist on a mission. Through his latest project, Pollination Station, he plans to spread positivity around the world, like bees spread pollen. It's the blueprint of Mother Nature, but also his motto for life: "Create. Share. Grow". And he's using a 40-foot, converted coach bus, to travel across the United States and make it happen...

Shafiq Malik was the first one to arrive at the Islamic Center of Cape Girardeau on April 24 as flames engulfed the building on the first morning of Ramadan. In that horrific moment, the 63-year-old head of the Islamic Center kept himself calm and quickly took action. Malik helped evacuate the Islamic Center's second-floor residents, then gathered the community into an adjacent building and led morning prayer as tears filled his eyes...

When Ted and Debbie Coalter decided to open their own insurance brokerage in 1985, they took a leap of faith into the unknown. Their mission was to always do what’s right, work diligently and create an environment to thrive. That mission worked: Coalter Insurance Group proudly celebrates 35 years of dedicated service to Southeast Missouri in 2020...

"This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples -- when they see the love you have for each other." (John 13:35, MSG translation) 2020 has been called unusual, unprecedented, unpredictable. Between the global pandemic and racial tension spiking throughout the country, many are left wondering and worrying about the future. But for pastors, Kenny King and William Marshall, of Sikeston, they are choosing to carry on, unfazed...

All kids can relate to the feeling of being bored. While some whine and complain about it, Benny Arends of Jackson takes action. At 5 years old, while participating in a fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Hospital, Arends began asking questions. He wanted to know more about the kids who lived there; what they played with, and how they spent their time. ...

When Alan Keenan graduated high school in the mid-1970s, he wasn't sure what his next step in life would be. The road ahead of him was unknown, he said; his father gave him direction to start the family business, Alan Wire, as a family partnership. Their company has grown over the years, starting out of a garage and expanding into a copper wire manufacturing company with two Sikeston locations and many employees that Keenan said he's incredibly proud of...

Miki Gudermuth has devoted her life to creating safer, more accessible spaces for individuals with disabilities. She's the recently retired founder and director of SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence in Cape Girardeau. SADI started at her kitchen table, growing into an office run out of her one-bedroom and funded out of her own pocket, into its first office in 1993 and ultimately the nonprofit that it is today...

Ameren Missouri took a major step toward completion of a $12.5 million "smart grid" upgrade in Cape Girardeau July 23 with the installation of two massive transformers at a new substation in the city's north side. "It's a big deal for Cape Girardeau," said Mayor Bob Fox, as he watched an Ameren crew position one of the twin 45-ton transformers at the new Cape Rock substation at the intersection of Cape Rock Drive and Lexington Avenue...

Cape Girardeau County's unemployment rate continued to improve in July, the most recent month for which data is available. According to a report issued last week by the Missouri Department of Revenue & Labor Relations, Cape County's jobless rate dipped from 6.9% in June to 6.2% in July, 3.3% lower than the county's 9.5% rate in April. That, according to the state labor department, was the highest monthly unemployment rate in Cape County in more than a decade...

When students think of coding, Chris Carnell said he wants them to feel as much a superstar as a star football player walking down the high school hallway. It's the vision he had for the Youth Coding League: a youth-centered tech education program launched by Codefi that's bringing programming training to rural schools. ...

In March, churches in Missouri began to cancel in-person services to abide by Gov. Mike Parson's Stay Home Missouri Order. Almost overnight, the primary vehicle to continue worship services was online streaming. Pastor David Urzi, communications director at Cape First Church, said online church engagement across the country soared early on during the pandemic. ...

Poker players at Century Casino Cape Girardeau are having a hard time these days reading facial expressions of the other players at their tables. That's because face masks are hiding their faces, and while the masks' primary purpose is to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, they also keep players from giving away certain "tells" that might let others know what sort of hands they're holding...

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is touting what it says are several pro-business laws passed by the Missouri Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson. The new laws, which became effective Friday, include: n Legislation calling for a major change to Missouri's legal climate the chamber says will "stop the abuse of Missouri's punitive damage system."...

"I am a champion. I will walk and talk like a champion." "I promise to love myself and others today." These are just some of that many affirmations that Jefferson Elementary School principal Leigh Ragsdale led students in repeating at the start of each school day. ...

Carroll Williams is best known in the community as "Coach Williams." He's spent about 65 years educating students in physical education classes and coaching local sports teams, but it was his work with a local Christian school, in his 80s no less, that earned him Newsmaker distinction...

"If you want to find community, you have to get involved," says Jess King. King, a web strategist at SoutheastHEALTH, may not originate from Southeast Missouri, but over the last 20 years she has poured her energy into Cape Girardeau and made it her home...

Megan Frank studied forensic science at Southeast Missouri State University and graduated 10 years ago with a degree in chemistry, which eventually led her to a career in human resources. Wait. What? "It took a lot of finding out what I liked and what I was good at to get to where I'm at today," said Frank, the chief operations officer at OnBoard, a human-resources consulting firm in Cape Girardeau...

Economists continue to read tea leaves, looking for hints as to where the nation's economy is headed in the weeks, months and even years ahead. Jim Limbaugh at Montgomery Bank periodically shares insights with me from a weekly newsletter he subscribes to. A recent issue of the newsletter expressed both optimism and caution about the nation's economic outlook...

A new equipment rental business has opened in Cape Girardeau. Fabick Rents, a division of Fabick CAT, opened a branch facility earlier this month at 2050 Southern Expressway. Fabick has 36 locations and 1,200 employees in four states. The heavy-equipment dealer has had a new- and used-equipment sales and service location at 2022 Nash Road for several years, which is unaffected by the addition of the rental business...

A downtown bar that was a popular hangout for university students and other "20-somethings" before it closed more than two years ago is poised to open this week with a new name, new owner and a new vibe. During a pandemic. I spent part of Friday afternoon touring Hypnotic, 632 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, and talking with its owner, Sahil Bhardwaj, about the night spot's new look, his plans for ongoing upgrades and the steps he's taking to help keep his patrons safe from COVID-19...

Codefi has announced results of its sixth annual 1ST50K and instead of naming one or two entries as recipients of the annual $50,000 startup stipend, Codefi named four teams to receive the first-prize money. All four teams were invited to Cape Girardeau earlier this month to "pitch" their startups to the 1ST50K competition committee. The winning teams, announced Friday, are:...

The foundations at both SoutheastHEALTH and Saint Francis Healthcare, along with the Saint Francis Auxiliary, have announced scholarships valued at $86,500 have been awarded to 53 area students pursuing careers in health care. The SoutheastHEALTH Foundation has presented scholarships this summer amounting to $42,500 to 31 students attending a variety of colleges, universities and other training programs:...

Hutson's, a landmark in downtown Cape Girardeau for 75 years, has rebranded itself as "Hutson's Big Sandy Superstore," after affiliating itself with the Ohio-based Big Sandy furniture store chain. The affiliation with Big Sandy follows the bankruptcy in March of Art Van Furniture, which had been co-branded with Hutson's since mid-2018...

Looking as if they were seeing old friends for the first time in months -- because they were -- members of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce gathered last week for their first "in-person" First Friday Coffee since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic...

In a quote often attributed to Missourian Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics." Well, there are plenty of statistics flying around these days, many of them having to do with COVID-19, positivity rates, mortality data, infection statistics and so forth...

A pair of entries from Old Town Cape took top honors in their respective categories last week at Missouri Main Street Connection's annual Evening of Excellence awards ceremony. Mary Jane bourbon + smokehouse was recognized in the category of "Best Facade Rehabilitation Under $10,000" and Old Town Cape itself received the "Creative New Event Award, Accredited/Associate Tier" for its Monster Mash Car Bash...

Excelling at work starts with positive relationships with yourself, your faith, coworkers and others in your life, according to the Work Life program at One City in Cape Girardeau. Three women graduated from the career readiness program during a ceremony Thursday...

The U.S. economy has set a record, and not in a good way. It was announced last week the nation's gross domestic product, or GDP, contracted at an annualized rate of 32.9% during the second quarter (April-June) of 2020, when thousands of businesses temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic...

Coming from law enforcement, public safety and military service backgrounds, a career in cannabis seemed unlikely for a pair of Cape Girardeau firefighters. Yet that's where Michael Allen and Andrew Juden find themselves as founders and owners of 5th Meridian Group Inc. The company is one of a handful in Missouri licensed to provide transportation and security services to the state's new medical marijuana industry...

Have you taken a look lately at some of the car dealership lots in Cape Girardeau? If you think you saw fewer vehicles on the lots than normal, you're right. I contacted several local dealerships last week to ask why their vehicle inventories seemed low and learned its partly by design and partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic...