Business

The federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) will reopen this week, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced Friday. This new round of PPP loans is intended for new and certain existing PPP borrowers. Initially, only community financial institutions will be available to make "first draw" PPP loans beginning Monday, followed by "second draw" loans starting Wednesday. The program will be open to all participating lenders shortly after that, according to the SBA...

At first glance, you wouldn't think a cake and pastry shop could coexist with a business specializing in potted plants. But when you factor in the personalities of the business proprietors, Casey Rehkop and Stacey Roth, it's easy to see why they share retail space in Jackson...

One of the few silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic has been very affordable prices at the pump. With millions of Americans sheltering at home to one degree or another, a large segment of the workforce (including me) occupying home offices, and schools shifting to online instruction, there was a significant drop in demand for refined fuels in 2020...

Southeast Missouri has quickly made an impact on entrepreneurs at four startups who won Codefi’s 1st50K competition, and it goes deeper than the region being a nice and affordable place to live. The 1ST50K competition awards $50,000 equity-free to innovative startups. In August, Codefi’s sixth annual competition brought four new technology companies to town...

Practicing lawyer Adam Gohn discusses some of the major changes he’s seen in the field during his time as a lawyer, and how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted the profession.

The latest county-by-county unemployment numbers from the Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations shows Cape County's jobless rate held steady in November. However, in most other Southeast Missouri counties, the percentage of jobless workers began inching up from their October levels. Only in St. Francois County did the unemployment rate drop slightly in November...

Since March, many businesses have shut down temporarily or permanently as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A study done by business-review website Yelp found roughly 160,000 businesses, large and small, closed between April and September. The impact felt on communities is substantial. ...

As a rule, I try not to include "check passing" photos on the Business pages. But rules, they say, are made to be broken, especially when the photos are of $100,000 worth of corporate donations in response to the region's coronavirus needs. Buzzi Unicem, which operates the quarry and cement production facility on South Sprigg Street, made large, and much needed, contributions to the Southeast Missouri Food Bank, the United Way of Southeast Missouri and the SoutheastHEALTH Foundation as part of the Italian corporation's worldwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic.. ...

It’s an email, and it’s so much more. Think of it as a community of people working to build our region, seeking out good news, supporting their neighbors in the pursuit of living happily and fully. It’s a community that talks the talk through sharing uplifting stories and walks the walk through putting on and showing up for stellar events. It’s a community with the voice of The Scout at its helm, pointing people to the positive — and the newest restaurant. That’s what The Scout is.

In the media business, moving to larger markets every few years is oftentimes a measure of success. In Cape Girardeau, several of the local “media stars” have established roots, reducing the high turnover the industry typically sees. B Magazine spoke with four local media members who have chosen to stick around the area and now call it home, each with no plans to leave any time soon.

The following remarks were given by Old Town Cape board president Danny Essner at the flood wall murals “flip the switch“ event Oct. 15.

What are you reading? Mia: “Iliad” by Homer Jeff: “The Devil Colony” by James Rollins Faune: “Civil War Commando” by Jerome Preisler Steve: Industry magazines Do you have a favorite podcast? Mia: The Scout Podcast Jeff: Literally! With Rob Lowe Faune: I don’t listen to podcasts...

The story of Ste. Genevieve is an important part of who we are as a nation. Established in the 1700s by French settlers in search of new opportunities and fertile soil, Ste. Genevieve tells the story of our nation’s westward expansion and settlement of the frontier. Some of the unique homes and structures they built still stand, thanks to the generations of local residents who worked to preserve and share this important part of our state’s and our nation’s history...

B Magazine account manager Nate Gautier recently spoke with seven small business leaders in Southeast Missouri. Here is the Q/A.

You’ve probably seen the sign, “Remember all the local small businesses that you’ve asked for years and years to donate and sponsor your sports clubs, school events, organizations, etc.” They’re calling in a favor. Answer the call.” A survey from Tech.co found that 80% of small business owners say COVID-19 has hurt their business.

The Cape Girardeau area has one of the healthiest housing markets in the nation, according to a report released this month by Nationwide Mutual Insurance. The report, which examined stability of the U.S. housing industry, said the Cape Girardeau metropolitan statistical area (MSA) was ranked as the eighth most attractive housing market among 400 MSAs in the United States during the fourth quarter of 2020...

Saving money for the future is atop many New Year's resolution lists, even above going to the gym, losing weight and getting healthier. A survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Affirm, found more than half of respondents are planning to budget better in 2021 and another 49% are hoping to pay down debt...

How will you spend New Year's Eve? A new survey released a few days ago has revealed more people than usual plan to stay home Thursday night and ring in the new year by watching television coverage of the ball drop in New York's Times Square. That's not surprising, as coronavirus continues to surge and as health and government officials urge people to stay home and avoid large social gatherings...

If you have not read books by Patrick Lencioni, do yourself a favor and go purchase a few today. Patrick Lencioni has written many books about team leadership, team development. He is arguable one of the foremost thinkers in the realm of maximizing the potential within people you lead. But if you read his materials through an introspective lens, you’ll learn how the greatest threat or ally to leadership is yourself.

A report issued last week shows that through October, more than a half-million Missourians, or nearly 10% of the state's population, received close to $3.8 billion in unemployment benefits administered through the Missouri Department of Labor and provided by the federal government as part of its COVID-19 economic stimulus efforts...

Because of the coronavirus, the U.S. workplace has been undergoing the largest-scale remote work experiment in history, with nearly 5 in 10 workers doing their job from home. Untethered from living near their jobs, many of these workers, especially those living in urban areas, are moving. Among their top objectives: less expensive housing, lower population density and safe environments...

To Cape Girardeau County auditor Pete Frazier, some of the greatest rewards a hunter can receive aren’t found in a field or tree, but in fellow hunters — sharing in their stories, experiences and memories.

Many people feel small and believe their individual actions won’t make a difference in the collective outcome. But when it comes to being a consumer, each decision does make a difference and there is a responsibility that comes with it. According to the 2010 census, there are nearly 79,000 people living in Cape Girardeau County – and there’s likely many more today. ...

Roads and bridges. Streets and sidewalks. Roundabouts and crosswalks. Most of us use them every day, and almost all of us take them for granted, rarely giving them a second thought except when an occasional pothole needs filling or when roadwork requires an inconvenient detour...

It’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Jared Ritter is updating the white board in his downtown Cape Girardeau office with the company’s latest sales numbers. Business is booming for this six-year-old company.

Missouri had the nation's fifth best employment recovery in November, according to a report released Friday. The personal financial website WalletHub compared Missouri data to the other 49 states and the District of Columbia based on four key metrics...

Many small businesses have taken a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, but one that has found tremendous success is selling Christmas trees, both real and artificial. Not traveling for the holidays this year has kept many families at home, triggering some to get holiday decorations out and Christmas trees up earlier than ever before...

There's an old saying that claims you are what you eat. Now there's apparently research saying you are what you drive, as well. According to a recent study by Strategic Vision, a research firm in San Diego that helps companies understand human behavior and consumer decisions, the type of vehicle you drive is often an indicator of your political leanings...

In 2017, Barry Evans had a car wreck, breaking his femur in two places. During recovery, Evans spent time in the gym trying to regain strength when a friend recognized his lack of dedication and motivation, and encouraged him to get his testosterone levels checked at the Paducah Optimize U clinic...

In two weeks we'll kiss 2020 farewell. Like many of you, I prefer not to kiss it, but rather to kick it to the curb. (Have you seen this year's commemorative Christmas ornament of a burning trash dumpster labeled 2020? I want one.) To say this year has been challenging would be a gross understatement. ...

Citing the potential of more business recruitment, retention and expansion, the Cape Girardeau Area Magnet announced plans last week to expand its leadership and boost its budget. Magnet board president Charlie Herbst said a larger budget, made possible by anticipated private partnerships, will allow for additional investments in marketing and technology...

Despite the nationwide economic turmoil brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers spent more than $1.5 billion on taxable goods in Cape Girardeau County over the most recent 12-month period, based on the county's sales-tax receipts. The county received its 12th and final monthly 2020 sales-tax payment from the Missouri Department of Revenue last week, adding to a record-setting total for the year...

The practice of herbal medicine dates back thousands of years. In fact, researchers have found tooth scrapings from tens of thousands of years ago suggesting Neanderthals chewed on medicinal plants to soothe their ailments. According to the World Health Organization, 75% of the world's population uses herbs for basic health care needs...

It's estimated approximately 194 million Americans shopped during the recent Thanksgiving holiday weekend that included Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Early indications on the national level are the number of Black Friday shoppers declined significantly, in large part because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact many retailers have extended their Black Friday deals over several days or even weeks...

Nonresidential construction spending in the U.S. was virtually unchanged in October compared to September, according to a report released last week by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). However, in the report, ABC also said the construction industry in Missouri had one of the nation's lowest unemployment rates in September, the most recent month for which construction jobless data is available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics...

Six months after recording an unemployment rate of nearly 10%, Cape Girardeau County's latest jobless percentage is almost as low as it was before the COVID-19 pandemic began. The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations provided the Southeast Missourian with county-by-county unemployment rates last week, which showed Cape County's rate dropped to 3.3% in October, down two-tenths of a percentage point from September's 3.5% rate...

Using a credit card to make a purchase can be a big convenience for a customer, but it can also be a big hassle for the business. But one of this year's 1ST50K winners has a plan to help. When a company takes credit card payments, a percentage of that payment goes back to the credit card merchant -- the percentage could be as much as 8% of each transaction. Swipesum negotiates rates with a variety of credit card processors, and at no cost to the business...

Remember the scene in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" in which Lucy determines Charlie has pantophobia, the fear of everything? Technically, pantophobia is "a condition of vague, nonspecific anxiety" or "a generalized dread." Although pantophobia is relatively rare, there are several other phobias associated with the holiday season that affect more people than you might think...

SportsTrace co-founder Max Montrey first heard of Cape Girardeau while researching where to relocate the business out of Seattle. Montrey and co-founder Alex Gardner were brainstorming, "How can we get a presence closer to the center of the U.S. where our customers are, where we can drive to places and talk to people." It was almost in concert with that session when they came upon the 1ST50K competition, and applied...

Be Chosen Academy, a new athletic training business and fitness facility, opened last week in Cape Girardeau and promises to be "more than just a gym," according to its founder and operator, Kweku Arkorful. Arkorful, familiar to many in the Cape Girardeau area as a youth mentor and co-founder of the Honorable Young Men Club, has combined forces with certified personal trainer Jae Newson to develop what they describe as a "dynamic new boxing program that will empower anyone to achieve their fitness goals.". ...

Will you be shopping on Black Friday? If so, you're not alone. Major retailers from coast to coast — including many stores in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and the surrounding region — are anticipating big Black Friday turnouts despite recommendations from health authorities and government officials to avoid large gatherings because of the COVID-19 pandemic...

Venku, an Airbnb-type service for people looking for outdoor experiences, was recently awarded $50,000 from Codefi's 1ST50K. In contrast to the other three winners of this year's competition, Murielle Gaither, founder and chief executive officer, is from Cape Girardeau. Her father, John Wyman, is her business partner and chief operations officer...

The single most important rule of journalism is to ensure the truth and accuracy of the facts. One of the first things I learned in News Writing 101 at Southeast Missouri State nearly 50 years ago was that a factual error in an assigned story -- even a misspelled name -- meant an automatic failing grade. (The second thing I learned was to keep a dictionary handy; thank goodness somebody invented spellcheck.)...

A rise in COVID-19 cases in Cape Girardeau County has had an affect on office hours and activities at the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. On Wednesday, the Cape Girardeau chamber issued an email stating it — along with the Visit Cape and Cape Girardeau Area Magnet offices — would close for the rest of the week "due to growing concerns regarding COVID-19."...

Thanks to the pandemic, this year has brought a new kind of competition that is more social-distancing-friendly. In the "48 Hour Lecture Project", teams of aspiring educators are each given a random subject and have two days to research and produce a one-hour lecture on the topic. The end product is delivered by live video conference to an audience of jaded students...

Many more video calls (Zoom, Microso Teams, Google Hangout) are in your future – for work, friends and family. Whether it is a Monday morning staff meetup or a happy hour get-together with friends, here are some do's and don’ts for conferencing virtually...

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and major highway construction on the east side of town, the business climate in Jackson has been thriving in 2020, according to a report presented last week to the Jackson Board of Aldermen. Jen Berti, vice president of the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, updated the board on the status of more than a dozen businesses that have either established or expanded in Jackson so far this year...

Joyce Kuntze thought she would spend her career as a teacher, but life had other plans for her. Next month, she plans to retire after spending most of her life in the floral industry, including almost 41 years as owner of Arrangements by Joyce. No doubt she has long forgotten how many anniversary and birthday arrangements she's prepared over the years, not to mention bridal bouquets, prom corsages and boutonnières, floral centerpieces, funeral sprays, alter arrangements and all sorts of other floral designs for every occasion.. ...

After a journey that began in Eastern Europe, stopped in San Francisco and set up shop in North Carolina, Upswot has settled down in Cape Girardeau. Upswot, named after the acronym "SWOT" — a methodology that analyzes a company's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats — has been in business 22 months as a financial technology startup that provides a platform to help banks and other financial institutions increase sales and marketing insights for business banking customers through data collection. ...

Ask my students and my colleagues, and they will agree: I love anything to do with leadership. Teaching it, talking and reading about it, experiencing it, and most of all, participating in people's leadership journeys in a variety of ways. As such, several years ago, I was asked to teach the capstone leadership course (BA664 Leadership in Management) for the Master of Science in Management degree in the Harrison College of Business and Computing at Southeast Missouri State University. ...