Business Notebook: Codefi names 1ST50K winners; electric transmission lines proposed; bridge contracting teams selected

Codefi has announced results of its sixth annual 1ST50K and instead of naming one or two entries as recipients of the annual $50,000 startup stipend, Codefi named four teams to receive the first-prize money.

All four teams were invited to Cape Girardeau earlier this month to "pitch" their startups to the 1ST50K competition committee. The winning teams, announced Friday, are:

• Venku, an Airbnb-type service for the outdoors.
• SportsTrace, which uses mobile phone technology to analyze athletes' bodies.
• Swipesum, designed to help small businesses evaluate payment processing systems.
• Upswot, a system designed for banks and other financial institutions to connect with small business applications

"We typically award one or two teams," said Codefi co-founder Chris Carnell. "This year is unprecedented. We're going to award all four teams $50,000 and they're all going to locate here in Cape Girardeau for the next year. There's going to be millions of dollars invested in our community and high wage jobs created."

The developers of Venku, SportsTrace, Swipesum and Upswot will each receive $50,000, equity-free, for their startups, as well as membership in Codefi, access to venture capital and angel investment networks, business coaching and mentorship, and other support. All four startups will relocate to Cape Girardeau as part of the 1ST50K program.

"Think of technology as the new manufacturing," Carnell said. "We started Codefi as a small coworking space and we've continued to grow and make an impact, not just on Cape Girardeau, but on the region."

Last year's 1ST50K winners were PumpTrakr and Sho.AI.

PumpTrakr spent the past year integrating hardware into its beta platform to create a platform allowing farmers to remotely control their irrigation pumps while managing team communications. The company has more than 600 modules being used by farm operations across Southeast Missouri and Northern Arkansas.

Meanwhile, Sho.AI, a digital brand development company, was the recipient of a $250,000 investment from the Center on Rural Innovation's Opportunity Zone Seed Fund, which enabled the company to establish its headquarters in Cape Girardeau.

The 1ST50K competition has been made possible, in part, through support from the Missouri Technology Corp. Earlier this year, MTC selected Codefi's 1ST50K program as an award recipient in its Missouri Building Entrepreneurial Capacity grant competition. The MTC award is matched dollar for dollar by private local contributions in support of the project and provides a regional focus to the 1ST50K program, as well as support to launch a 1ST5K program in partnership with Southeast Missouri State University.

Electric transmission lines proposed between Cape and Perry counties

Ameren Transmission Co. of Illinois, in collaboration with Ameren Missouri, Citizens Electric Corp. and Wabash Valley Power Alliance, is proposing a new transmission line and new substations it says will improve energy reliability for Southeast Missouri. The 138-kilovolt line will stretch between 12 and 19 miles connecting two new substations in Cape Girardeau and Perry counties.

The upgrades, referred to as the Limestone Ridge Project, are needed to provide additional energy to local manufacturing facilities while improving local energy reliability for homes and businesses and would be completed by December 2023.

Rather than host in-person forums during the COVID-19 pandemic, the companies will host online forums to provide information about the project and collect public comments.

The forums will be held on the Webex meeting platform at noon and 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Ameren anticipates filing a petition in January with the Missouri Public Service Commission seeking approval of the Limestone Ridge Project and a final recommended route for the transmission lines.

For more information about the project, including details about how to register and log on to the online public forums, go to www.limestoneridgeproject.com.

Contracting team, including Penzel group, selected for bridge design-build projects

More than a dozen bridge improvement projects will begin soon in Southeast Missouri as part of a Bootheel Bridge Bundle design-build project.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission last week selected the Robertson Contractors team, headquartered in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to design and construct the $21.3 million project.

The team is comprised of Robertson Contractors, the St. Louis-based engineering firm of Horner & Shifrin and Penzel Construction Co. of Jackson.

"The purpose of the Bootheel Bridge Bundle project is to repair or replace 15 bridges on the Missouri Department of Transportation's asset management plan for (MoDOT's) Southeast District," said Benji Philpot, the project director.

"Due to the innovative nature of design-build projects, we also identified 10 more bridges as potential 'add-ons' to increase the value of the project," he said, noting the proposal from the Robertson contracting team was deemed to have the "best apparent value to taxpayers based on the project goals."

The Robertson Contractors team proposal included improvements at 17 bridge locations, with construction starting as early as this fall. Completion of the project is anticipated by the end of 2023.

Thirteen of the bridges in the Bootheel Bridge Bundle are included in Gov. Mike Parson's $351 million Focus on Bridges program, which is intended to repair or replace 250 bridges throughout the state.

More information about the Bootheel Bridge Bundle program is available online at www.modot.org/bootheel-bridge-bundle.

Dirt Cheap stores participating in regional autism campaign

Easterseals Midwest is partnering with Dirt Cheap stores, as well as On the Run and U-Gas locations throughout the region, in its 12th annual All Stars for Autism campaign. Throughout the rest of August, participating Dirt Cheap and On the Run locations are allowing customers to "round up for autism" at the register or make a cash donation in support of the campaign.

The Dirt Cheap outlet at 420 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau is a participating All Stars for Autism location.

According to Easterseals Midwest, having a child with autism can cost a family $60,000 a year. Proceeds from the All Starts for Autism campaign help provide therapy, education and support services for autistic children.

When the All Stars for Autism campaign began in 2008, an average of one child in 100 was diagnosed with autism. Today, that number has increased to one in every 54 children.

More information is available at www.easterseals.com/midwest.

Awards & Recognitions

Saint Francis Medical Center recently received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Honor Role Elite recognition.

The award recognizes the hospital's commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatments, according to nationally-recognized, research-based guidelines and the latest scientific evidence.

In order to qualify for the recognition, Saint Francis had to meet specific quality measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients with 85% or higher compliance to core standard levels of care as outlined by the heart association for two consecutive years.

This was the first year the Saint Francis Stroke Center was eligible for "gold" recognition, according to information supplied by the hospital.

The Saint Francis Stroke Center is certified as a Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center in collaboration with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, and as a Level II Stroke Center by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and is a leading cause of adult disability. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

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Lisa Bernstein

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Lisa Bernstein, a nurse with the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, was recognized last week with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's mission to recognize extraordinary and compassionate nursing care.

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes of Amarillo, Texas, by members of his family. Barnes died in 1999 at age 33 due to complications from idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a little-known, but not uncommon autoimmune disease (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System).

The care Barnes and his family received from nurses during his illness inspired the creation of the DAISY award.

People on the Move

Sonia Rucker

Sonia Rucker and Trent Ball have been named to new positions at Southeast Missouri State University.

Trent Ball

Rucker, currently the university's assistant to the president for equity and diversity and dean of students, will become vice president for equity, access and behavioral health, effective Sept. 1. She will also continue to serve as Southeast's dean of students.

Ball, who serves as assistant vice president for academic diversity and outreach, has been named associate vice president for equity and access, and will report to Rucker. His appointment also becomes effective Sept. 1.

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Patrick Mendenhall

Patrick Mendenhall joined the Summit Truck Group last week as fleet sales manager for key accounts and prospects in Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee.

Summit has a location in Cape Girardeau at 2350 Independence St., formerly Wiethop Truck Sales.

Mendenhall has been a part of the transportation industry since graduating from Indiana State University in 2010. In 2013, he joined Cumberland International Trucks Inc., where he spent the last seven years codeveloping and branding one of the most fuel-efficient semi tractors on the market today, the C10.

He is a member of the Tennessee Trucking Association (TTA) and is the founder and chairman of its young Professional Council. The TTA awarded Mendenhall its inaugural Young Professional of the Year award in 2019. He has received numerous recognitions from International Trucks and Cummins and has also been recognized by the Scott College of Business at Indiana State University for his accomplishments in transportation.

Chamber Notes

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting at 3 p.m. today to mark the opening of Aurora Medical Spa, 3117 Lexington Ave., Suite 103, in Cape Girardeau.

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The Cape chamber's August Business After Hours gathering will take place "virtually" at 5 p.m. Tuesday via the Zoom online meeting platform. Chamber members should look for a link to the event in their email.

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New members of the Cape chamber are invited to an online "Chamber 101" program for new members from 1:30 until 2:30 p.m. next Monday on the Zoom online meeting platform. Information about how to log onto the event can be found in the calendar section of the chamber's website, www.capechamber.com.

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The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce will host its August Business Breakfast from 7:30 a.m. Friday at the Jackson Civic Center. Attendees will be required to wear masks, and social-distancing guidelines will be followed. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP through the chamber's website, www.jacksonmochamber.org.

Commercial ** building permit

Cape Girardeau's Inspection Services office issued a building permit last week to Dille Traxel Architecture for the remodeling of the first floor of a building at 123 N. Pacific St., future home of Glass Roots LLC, which is currently located at 907 Broadway. The estimated cost of the remodeling project, according to the permit, is $85,000.

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