Business Notebook: Another area casino? A passing. And a longtime Cape business moving

As the Southeast Missourian's business editor, one of the things I routinely do is scan other newspapers in the region for information about what's happening on the business horizon. One day last week, I noticed a front-page headline in The Courier out of Marion, Illinois, about a new $175 million resort and casino proposed for rural Williamson County.

According to published reports, the project has the support of the Illinois General Assembly and now needs a gaming license to move forward.

Tentatively dubbed The Resort at Walker's Bluff, the casino developers say it would fill an underserved market in the region. However, sources at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau say the region's casino market may already be saturated. In addition to Isle Casino, there are casinos in Metropolis, Illinois; Caruthersville, Missouri; Evansville, Indiana; and multiple casino operators in the St. Louis area.

Time will tell.

We also learned last week of the passing of former Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce director Kenneth "Ken" Parrett who had been living in Jefferson City, Missouri, before his death June 3. Parrett, 61, served as director of the Jackson chamber from 1998 until 2004 when he left to become director of the Poplar Bluff (Missouri) Chamber of Commerce, serving there until 2007.

Services for Parrett were held Friday in Steeleville, Missouri, with burial and full military honors at the Fort Leonard Wood State Veterans Cemetery.

Our condolences to the Parrett family.

Now on to the rest of this week's Business Notebook ...

Ken's Cleaners to move

Site preparation is underway at the southwest corner of West Drive and Independence Street in Cape Girardeau that will become the new location for Ken's Cleaners.

According to Southeast Missourian records, the business dates to 1949 and was originally known as Cape Drive-In Cleaners. Ken Keller purchased the business in 1973, which is where the name "Ken's Cleaners" originated.

Today, the business is owned by Keller's grandson Lance Keller who noted his children represent the fourth generation of the Keller family to be involved in the business.

Keller said he expects Ken's Cleaners to be in its new 6,000-square-foot location by early September, depending on weather and other factors.

County to participate in sales-tax holiday

The Cape Girardeau County Commission unanimously agreed at its June 3 meeting to participate in the annual Missouri Sales Tax Holiday from Aug. 2 to 4.

Missouri law establishes a sales tax holiday during a three-day period beginning at 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August and ending at midnight on the Sunday following. Certain "back-to-school" items, such as clothing, school supplies, computers and other items as defined by statute, will be exempt from sales tax during this period.

People on the Move

Jen Berti

Jen Berti has been named vice president of the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce. Berti, who has been with the Jackson chamber since January 2017, will take on expanded responsibilities with the organization while continuing to recruit members to the chamber and businesses to Jackson as retail director for the City of Jackson, according to a release.

Since joining the chamber staff, Berti has recruited and retained members, planned and executed various chamber events, assisted in the creation and success of the chamber's Business Leadership Series, coordinated the Jackson Leadership & Development program and started the Women's Impact Network, which is the fastest-growing program of the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, the release stated.

A trio of board certified nurse practitioners, Bobbi J. Palmer, Heather N. Schenimann and Shannon D. Toole, have joined medical practices owned by Saint Francis Healthcare System, according to a news release.

Bobbie Palmer

Palmer has become affiliated with Cape Primary Care while Schenimann has joined Immediate Convenient Care. Both practices are at 1702 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Toole has joined Farmington Physician Associates in Farmington, Missouri. All three practices are affiliated with Saint Francis, the release stated.

Palmer earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing at Southeast Missouri State University in 1987 and received a Master of Science in nursing from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 1990, according to a news release. She then went on to earn a Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1997.

Before joining Saint Francis Healthcare System, Palmer was a family nurse practitioner at LaCroix Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was also a faculty member at Southeast Missouri State University and Southeast Hospital's College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the release stated. In addition, she worked as a staff/charge nurse at Southeast Hospital and Marion Memorial Hospital in Marion, Illinois.

She holds certifications and licenses from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the Missouri State Board of Nursing, according to a news release.

Heather Schenimann

Schenimann earned her certified nursing assistant certification from the Cape Career and Technology Center in 2005 and an associate of nursing degree from Southeast Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences in 2007, the release stated. In 2014, she earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Cox College in Springfield, Missouri, followed by a Master of Science in family practice nursing in 2016, also from Cox College. She is board certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).

Before joining Saint Francis, Schenimann was an advanced registered nurse practitioner and staff/charge registered nurse in the SoutheastHEALTH Emergency Department, according to a news release.

Shannon Toole

Toole earned her associate degree in nursing from Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Missouri, in 2009 and received a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Southeast Missouri State University in 2013, the release stated. She completed a Master of Science in nursing from Chamberlain College of Nursing in Downers Grove, Illinois, in 2018. She is board certified by the American College of Nurse Practitioners.

Toole has professional and student experience at the Potosi Correctional Center, Gentiva Home Health, St. Luke's Hospital in St. Louis, Mineral Area Regional Medical Center in Farmington and Saint Francis Medical Center, according to a news release.

Debbie Phillips

Debbie Phillips, who joined Saint Francis Healthcare System in 1985 as a member of the Saint Francis human resources team, has been promoted to serve as the organization's purchasing manager, according to news release.

Following her tenure in the human resources office, Phillips transferred to the Saint Francis purchasing and receiving department where she was an inventory buyer where she was catheterization laboratory buyer for four years and later senior buyer before being named purchasing manager, the release stated.

In her new role, she is in charge of managing the purchasing staff, overseeing daily departmental activities, managing tasks for programs and projects relating to the department and supervising inventory, purchasing practices, policies and processes, according to the release.

"Debbie's years of service, leadership, talent, professionalism and skill set make her the ideal purchasing manager," Jean-Paul "JP" Peltier, director of supply chain at Saint Francis, said in the release.

Building permits

According to information provided by the City of Jackson, the city issued 68 building permits in May with a total valuation of $14,262,184. Two of the permits accounted for more than $12.5 million worth of construction. Those were a $6.5 million permit in connection with the new Jackson Police Department building foundation at 202 W. Jackson Blvd. and a building permit for the new Best Western Plus hotel and parking lot under construction at 3003 S. Old Orchard Road valued at $6,076,434.

Business license applications

A business license application has been filed on behalf of ecoATM LLC of San Diego to install an automated kiosk at the Walmart Neighborhood Market, 2021 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau. According to the application, the kiosk will purchase used and/or broken electronic devices such as cellphones, MP3 players and tablets in exchange for cash. The kiosk is expected to be in operation by around July 1.

Gilbert Moyers of Marble Hill, Missouri, has filed a business license application to open TDM Services LLC, doing business as Hose Mate at 1204 Meadowbrook Drive, Unit 1, in Cape Girardeau. According to the application, the business offers mobile hydraulic hose sales and service and has been in operation since May 1.

Footnote ...

At its annual shareholders meeting last week, Walmart made several announcements it says will benefit its customers, its employees and the communities in which the company operates.

Walmart currently offers a grocery pickup service through which customers can pre-order groceries and have them delivered to their vehicles in a special pickup area. Customers will soon have the option of having groceries delivered to their homes by Walmart associates who will use "smart entry technology" and a proprietary, wearable camera to access customers homes. The camera will allow customers to control access into their homes and give them the ability to watch the delivery remotely.

Walmart also announced at its shareholders meeting it has begun adding electric vehicle charging stations at its stores, making it one of the largest retail hosts of electric vehicle charging stations across the United States.

In addition, Walmart announced it is allocating an additional $5,000 to every Walmart store and distribution center in the nation, amounting to more than $24 million nationwide and about $700,000 in Missouri, for the purpose of community support. The company also announced it is expanding its "Live Better U" employee education benefit to include 14 additional technology degrees and certificates such as cybersecurity, computer science, computing technology and computer network security.

Got a Person on the Move at your business? Submit online at www.semissourian.com/forms/peopleonthemove.

<i.Do you crave business news? Check out B Magazine, and the B Magazine email newsletter. Check it out at www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.