Cape County to get major technology upgrades

Cape Girardeau County's mainframe computer and many of the cables used to connect it to workers are 20 years old, ancient by most technology standards.

Eric McGowen, the county's information technology director, is in the process of getting proposals to replace the old computer equipment.

"We have completely outgrown our existing cabling structure," he wrote in an e-mail.

Though the equipment is functional, it can't easily handle modern-day demands, such as bulky geographic information systems (GIS) map files. It can't handle online payments — which software recently purchased by the county will.

McGowen estimated the cost of the improvement at $70,000, but said responses for the county's request for proposal will be more specific. The work should take about three months, he said.

For more on this story, check back at semissourian.com or read Tuesday's paper.