Business briefs

FUNERAL BUSINESS OPENS IN P.B.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Funeral and Cremation Care of Poplar Bluff is now open on Route W, just past McLane Park in Poplar Bluff. Alex and Emily Ruegg own the business. Alex Ruegg, a licensed funeral director and embalmer, also owns and operates Ruegg Funeral Homes Inc. of Wayne County, with locations in Piedmont, Greenville and Williamsville, Mo. The new location offers complete burial, graveside and cremation services, as well as a full-service monument shop.

CAPE SCHOOL DISTRICT GETS NATIONAL RECOGNITION

The Cape Girardeau Public School District received national recognition for a publication and a video. The National School Public Relations Association awarded the district an Award of Merit for its "Celebrating 100 Years" promotional video and an Honorable Mention for its magazine ad "You're on our turf now." The national contest was open to all public and private schools and educational service agencies and businesses. More than 700 entries were received and four Missouri organizations were recognized: Clayton, Maplewood, Rockwood and Cape Girardeau Public School Districts.

ROBINSON BUILDS LEXINGTON DISTILLERY

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Robinson Construction Co. was selected by Alltech Beverage Division LLC to design and build a $9 million distillery next to its existing brewery in Lexington, Ky. This is the first distillery to be built in Lexington in more than 100 years. The distillery houses production for Alltech's Town Branch Bourbon, Pearse Lyons Reserve malt whiskey and bourbon-infused coffee drink, Bluegrass Sundown. The 20,000-square-foot facility features a pre-engineered metal building with architectural sandwich panels and a glass curtain wall area to showcase its two copper stills. Kentucky limestone was used to complement the glass curtain wall and achieve a traditional distillery look and feel. Additionally, a full basement was included below the main distillery area to house the process piping and process tanks. On Aug. 16, the new Town Branch Distillery was accepted as part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The distillery officially opened its doors to the public on Oct. 1.

DEXTER CHAMBER HOLDS RIBBON CUTTINGS

DEXTER, Mo. -- The Dexter Chamber of Commerce held ribbon cuttings recently for three businesses on Arvin Road: Lil Engine Repair, offering small engine repair, high pressure washing and excavating and landscaping services; Mimi's Kiddie Korner, owned by Julie "Mimi" Harris; and No Place Like Home In-Home Services, owned by Julie Harris.

MENARDS CANCELS PLANS FOR FARMINGTON STORE

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- City officials learned in early December that the agreement to bring a Menards home improvement store to Farmington had been canceled, the Park Hills Daily Journal reported. City administrator Greg Beavers said the Wisconsin-based company cited concerns about development of the site and budget for the project. Company contracted engineers had been at the shopping center in recent weeks doing soil testing and working on a plan. Beavers said he was eventually told by a representative of Menards that they intend to continue looking in the immediate area for a suitable location for a new store.

CHEESEMAKERS WIN INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

BLOOMSDALE, Mo. -- Baetje Farms received several awards at the 2012 World Cheese Awards on Nov. 28 in Birmingham, England, the Park Hills Daily Journal reported. There were 2,785 entries this year representing 30 countries. Baetje Farms received four medals for their artisan goats' milk cheeses, including a super gold for "Bloomsdale," a Baetje Farms original recipe inspired by the French Valencay cheese. Cheeses that win gold medals are judged again, and the winners from that elite group are given super gold awards. The Bloomsdale cheese won a super gold at the 2011 awards as well. The Baetjes also received silver medals for two of the Coeur de la Creme cheeses, the garlic-and-chive and the three-pepper blend, and a bronze medal for their marinated feta cheese.

MUFFLER SHOP COMING TO KENNETT

KENNETT, Mo. -- A new muffler shop is under construction on Commerce Drive, just off the south bypass in Kennett, the Daily Dunklin Democrat reported. Construction for the facility began in October, and owner Jody Mitchell plans to open by March 1. Knuckles Brothers from Poplar Bluff, Mo., is in charge of construction. Mitchell says the business will open with three to five employees, with plans to hire more later.

COFFEE GRILL HAS RIBBON CUTTING

LEADINGTON, Mo. -- The Park Hills-Leadington Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for The Coffee Grill, 504 E. Woodlawn in Leadington.

ANTIQUE SHOP OPENS IN FARMINGTON

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The Farmington Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Nov. 28 for The Dusty Corner Antique Shop, 303 N. Jackson St. in downtown Farmington. Patty Thomas owns the new business.

BOGO SANDWICH SHOP OPENS

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The Farmington Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Dec. 11 for BOGO Sandwiches, 12 S. Jackson St. in downtown Farmington. Each time a sandwich is purchased from the shop, BOGO Sandwiches donates one to a St. Francois County organization to help those in need.

PLAY POWER RELOCATES

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- PlayPower LT Farmington Inc., manufacturer of the Little Tikes Commercial and Iron Mountain Forge brands of products, held a ribbon cutting on Dec. 7 to open their new office at 1615 Airpark Drive in Farmington. The new office replaces the former one at 1 Iron Mountain Drive.

MATERNITY BOUTIQUE OPENS IN TOWN PLAZA

Cloud Nine Maternity Boutique is now open in the Town Plaza Shopping Center in Cape Girardeau. Glendon and Erica Stroup opened the retail store, which handles all types of apparel for expecting mothers along with a line of baby furniture, accessories and specialty items. The 2,105-square-foot space is near H&R Block in Suite 196.

ANDREW JACKSON BRIDAL UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

The Andrew Jackson bridal shop in Jackson is now owned by Justin and Athena Albright of Cape Girardeau. The Andrew Jackson, previously owned by Gina Jansen, was founded in the 1970s and had been owned by Jansen since 1992. The business offers wedding gowns, tuxedos, prom/party dresses and more. The transaction was facilitated by Murphy Business of Cape Girardeau, a business brokerage firm serving Southeast Missouri. Athena Albright will run the day-to-day operations of the shop, integrating her wedding planning and event rental services as well. Jansen will remain with the bridal shop over the next few months to ensure a smooth transition.

SOUTHEAST RANKED SAFEST MISSOURI UNIVERSITY

Southeast Missouri State University was named the safest public, four-year university in Missouri for the third consecutive year by StateUniversity.com. The rankings are based on incidents of campus crime as reported by campus safety officials.

BITS N BYTES CUTS RIBBON

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting to celebrate the new location of Bits N Bytes Technologies at 1904 N. Westwood Blvd. Chris Murdock owns the business.

JOHNSON STARTS SPORTS TALK SHOW

The MakinThePlay talk show, hosted by Rob Johnson of Cape Girardeau, airs from 2 to 3 p.m. every Monday through Friday on the Southeast Missouri ESPN Network 1220/1470 AM. The show began Jan. 7. Johnson describes MakinThePlay as a "premier sports and whatever talk show" that brings a new perspective to local and national sports topics including Mizzou, Southeast Missouri State University, NASCAR and pop culture news. The show takes calls and emails from listeners and has an interactive chat board, and streaming audio and video at www.makintheplay.com.