Business Briefs

Search process for next Cape chamber leader in late stages

On March 1, the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors is expected to select a successor to John Mehner, who retired last year after 28 years as chamber president and CEO.

The chamber used the executive search firm Waverly Partners to deliver the names of a half-dozen candidates — who all were interviewed via Zoom over the Christmas holidays. The local seven-person search committee narrowed the six to a smaller set of finalists who visited Cape Girardeau this month for in-person interviews and “meet-and-greet” sessions with the chamber board, chamber staff and community leaders, according to search team chairman Aaron Panton of The Bank of Missouri.

Other search team members, in addition to Panton, are Carlos Vargas, president of Southeast Missouri State University; Angie Umfleet, CEO of Arnold Insurance; Maria Sudak, vice president and COO of SoutheastHEALTH; Jeff Maurer, president and CEO of Mayson Capital Partners; Jeff Glenn, CEO of GlennView Strategies; and Cliff Brooks, CFO of Schaefer’s Electrical Enclosures.

Jackson chamber recognizes community leaders at annual banquet

The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce recognized several community leaders during the organization’s annual banquet Jan. 14 at the Jackson Civic Center.

Receiving the lifetime achievement award, otherwise known as the R.A. Fulenwider Award, was John N. Thompson of First Midwest Bank. Other winners:

FOX23’s April Creech won the Sam Roethemeyer Ambassador of the Year Award.

Marybeth Williams Educator of the Year Award went to Kyle Mabuce of the Jackson School District.

Alliance Bank’s Shelly Wessell Kaiser took home the Women’s Impact Network (WIN) Woman of the Year Award.

Midwest Sterilization received Business of the Year honors.

Small Business of the Year was Seabaugh Appraisal and Consulting.

New Cape VA clinic to open

Cape Girardeau’s new 45,000-square-foot Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, 711 S. Mount Auburn Road, is expecting to see its first patients Feb. 28.

The current community-based outpatient clinic at 3051 William St. will close Feb. 24-25 in anticipation of the move.

The 30 current employees of the Cape Girardeau clinic will move to the new center and an estimated 100 additional employees are expected to be added.

Cape County farm to receive federal grant

Bangert Family Farmstead, 448 County Road 638 in Cape Girardeau County, has been notified it will receive a $36,000 Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program.

The USDA, in a Feb. 2 announcement, said the money will be used to “evaluate the feasibility of processing and marketing packaged poultry derived from [Bangert’s] diversified family farm in Cape Girardeau.”

The grant to Bangert is part of a more than $34 million package distributed among 25 projects in the Show Me State.

Esports gaming center coming to Cape Girardeau

The group Relentless Contenders announced plans to open a 2,500- to 3,000-square-foot gaming center in Cape Girardeau by July to capture the increased popularity of electronic sports (esports) among younger people. Company principals include Jim Riley of Red Letter Communications; Michael Williams of Sixty West; James Stapleton and Chris Carnell of Codefi; Glenn Campbell, co-founder of Hat World-Lids; and John Truitt, who is Relentless Contenders’ CEO. No specific site has been identified by presstime for the center.

Missouri considered a top-10 state for high-dollar IT jobs

Missouri ranks sixth in the nation when it comes to highest paid information technology (IT) positions, according to stacker.com.

The Show Me State’s average annual salary for IT is $57,265, while the average hourly wage comes in at $27.53.

“Experts in cloud computing and data management are in particularly high demand in Missouri,” according to the Stacker report, released in February. “Many of the states with the highest-paid IT specialists are those with lower costs of living.”

Data compiled from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics were used in the rankings.

Nationally, BLS said there are nearly 826,000 people employed in the IT-specific workforce.

The highest paid IT workers, BLS data reveal, live in Ohio.

OSHA withdraws

vaccination rule

Following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced Jan. 26 it had withdrawn its vaccination and testing emergency mandate originally issued Nov. 5.

The now-withdrawn requirement applied to American employers with 100 or more employees as a protection from workplace exposure to COVID-19.

OSHA said while it is pulling the enforceable rule, it will continue to encourage U.S. workers to receive inoculations against the coronavirus.

Old Town Cape to hold annual dinner

Old Town Cape, the downtown Cape Girardeau revitalization organization, will hold its annual dinner March 3 at the Century Casino Cape Girardeau Event Center.

Eleven award winners will be recognized in seven award categories: the Charles L. Hutson Visionary Award, the Old Town Cape Preservation of Heritage Award, the John Boardman Excellence in Historic Preservation Award, the Business Excellence Award, the Resiliency Award, the Excellence in Preservation Award and Old Town Cape’s Volunteer of the Year.

Food Bank expands to Cape Girardeau County

Southeast Missouri Food Bank has purchased a building in Jackson and will expand its operations to Cape Girardeau County by mid-summer. The not-for-profit’s 72,000-square-foot headquarters and warehouse will remain in Scott County.

SEMO Food Bank, which has a service area of 16 counties, has acquired the 18,500-square-foot building at 4536 E. Jackson Blvd., formerly occupied by Sappington Pro Outdoor.

Cape Girardeau County tax revenue off to a strong 2022 start

General sales tax receipts were the strongest in January in five years with $682,787.17 raised, according to figures released by the office of Cape Girardeau County Treasurer Roger Hudson.

The revenue was 11.4% higher than the same month one year ago and constituted the highest amount received in January since the $691,765.74 raised in 2017.

Social Security COLA increase takes effect

The 2022 cost of living (COLA) increase for Social Security, 5.9%, became effective Jan. 12 as new benefit checks arrived for millions of recipients.

Checks will be an estimated $92 higher with the average payment rising from $1,565 to $1,657 per month.

Married couples collecting benefits will see an average monthly increase of $154, with disabled beneficiaries expected to see their checks rise from $1,252 to $1,358.

Nurses, truck drivers

needed most in Missouri

Missouri Economic Research and Information Center is reporting data showing registered nurses and tractor-trailer truck drivers were the occupations with the most new job openings in the Show Me State in December.

Additionally, the Missouri Hospital Association has announced a tool at missourihealthcareers.com to help potential job seekers interested in working in patient care or in administration.

Farm supply store to open during first quarter in Cape

Rural King remains on track for its planned grand opening March 26 in Cape Girardeau.

Mattoon, Illinois-based Rural King, founded in 1960, has 125 locations in 13 states and will boast four outlets in Missouri after the Cape Girardeau opening.

The store will feature livestock supplies, clothing, hardware and compact tractors from 19 to 55 horsepower at select locations.

Local company and Wreaths Across America

Buchheit Logistics, in conjunction with Buchheit Family Foundation, announced it donated the transportation of two truckloads of wreaths for December’s Wreaths Across America commemoration. It is the seventh consecutive year for Buchheit’s participation.

Wreaths Across America, a not-for-profit organization, was founded in 2007 and honors the memories of deceased veterans using wreaths placed on cemetery headstones. Wreath laying ceremonies are held at cemeteries across the U.S., including Arlington National Cemetery, on Dec. 18 each year.

Buchheit Retail operates eight stores, including outlets in Jackson and Perryville.

Ag specialty firm moving north to Cape Girardeau County

AgXplore, a plant nutrition company, plans to move its headquarters to Jackson by the end of February.

The company has been based in Parma, Missouri, in New Madrid County, since its founding in 1999.

The firm is currently remodeling the former KCOE-ISOM offices at 2842 Sappington Drive to house initially eight to 10 employees.

Beloved antique mall closes

St. Mary Antique Mall in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, a longtime regional destination for antique shoppers and dealers in the Mississippi River hamlet of 400 people, has permanently closed, according to the mall’s Dec. 27 Facebook post.

The mall, located at 777 7th St. — along the Great River Road — was heavily damaged by an Oct. 24 tornado that ripped off the building’s roof, scattering debris for a wide area.

Show Me State is 29th most charitable in the U.S.

Missouri is the 29th most charitable state overall in the U.S., ranking 20th in terms of financial giving and 32nd in terms of volunteering and service, according to WalletHub.

America’s most philanthropic state, according to 19 key indicators of charitable behavior, is Utah, with New Mexico ranking last at 50th.

The data is from 2020, the most recent year available.

The latest World Giving Index shows the United States has dropped to 19th place among the most generous countries after years at the top of the list.

U.S. donors still gave more than $471 billion to charity in 2020, with 69% of the funds coming directly from individuals, according to the National Philanthropic Trust.

Southeast Missourian’s Lucas Presson elected to MPA Board of Directors

Southeast Missourian assistant publisher Lucas Presson has been elected to the Missouri Press Association (MPA) Board of Directors. His election to a one-year term took place during the 155th annual MPA Convention on Sept. 24 in Excelsior Springs, Missouri.

Presson, who also serves as publisher of B Magazine, has been with Rust Communications since 2010. He holds an undergraduate degree in communications studies and a graduate degree in business administration (MBA) from Southeast Missouri State University. His term on the board began Jan. 1.

Ameren’s electric, gas rates to rise

The Missouri Public Service Commission gave the green light Dec. 20 to allow Ameren Missouri to increase annual electric revenue by approximately $220 million effective for service rendered on and after Feb. 28. The utility regulatory body cut Ameren’s request from $299 million. It is the first general electric rate hike for the utility since March 2017.

The state PSC also gave its permission for annual natural gas revenue to increase approximately $5 million, also on Feb. 28. Ameren Missouri sought a $9.4 million increase. The last natural gas rate hike was in January 2011.

Ameren Missouri serves 1.28 million electric customers and approximately 132,350 natural gas customers in the state.

Ribbon-cutting held for new pet shelter in Cape Girardeau

Southeast Missouri Pets, formerly known as the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri, held a ribbon-cutting Jan. 13 for its new $3.7 million, 12,000-square-foot adoption and humane education center.

The shelter, nearly five times the size of its former shelter, which will continue to be used as an intake center for new animals, is located at 180 Weston St., with Penzel Construction of Jackson as general contractor.

A consortium of five local banks, led by First Missouri State Bank, provided the financing.

Cape’s KGKS undergoes format change

KGKS-FM 93.9 “The River,” a classic hits radio station, got a new identity Dec. 26.

The station, part of the River Radio chain in Cape Girardeau, kept its call letters and its frequency but is now known as “Mike FM.”

Retail development built on Cape Girardeau’s Mount Auburn Road

Cape West Square, a planned retail center constructed at 440 S. Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau, has an anticipated completion date in March, according to Mayson Capital Partners.

Mayson seeks a maximum of eight tenants but the number of lessees will depend on how much space a tenant needs.

Overall, Cape West Square will have more than 10,000-square-feet of retail space.

RV store to open by summer in northern Scott County

Camping World announced Dec. 9 it will build a 33,000-square-foot SuperCenter in Scott County off Nash Road near the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, with an expected opening in the summer.

Camping World Holdings, headquartered in the northern Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire, Illinois, said it is the nation’s largest retailer of recreational vehicles.

The company, which already has four facilities in Missouri — Columbia, Kansas City, Springfield and St. Louis — did not state in its official news release how many people will be employed at its new location.