Business Notebook: Downtown Commercial Open House is June 26

Editor's Note: An address was corrected in the information about the Commercial Open House.

Eight commercial properties for lease or purchase in Cape Girardeau's downtown will be highlighted by Old Town Cape during its annual downtown Commercial Open House from 4 to 7 p.m. June 26.

Each property will be open for tours, and participants may begin at any of the properties. A representative will be at each property to answer questions and provide more information.

The properties to be featured are at 725 Broadway; 609 Broadway; 339 Broadway; 26 N. Spanish St.; 36 N. Main St.; 20 N. Main St.; 19 N. Main St.; and 221 N. Fountain St., which also will serve as the reception area where Old Town Cape, city and chamber representatives will be present for more information and questions.

The event is sponsored by Realty Executives and US Bank.

For more information, visit oldtowncape.org/events or call 334-8085.

Leadership Summit to visit Cape in August

The two-day Global Leadership Summit again will be hosted by La Croix Church in Cape Girardeau in August.

The leadership event, sponsored by the Willow Creek Association, is designed to inspire leaders through Christ-centered principles and practices, according to a news release. The summit takes place in more than 300 cities and about 92 countries.

The event will be Aug. 14 and 15, and will feature speakers such as actors, authors, philanthropists, pastors and CEOs, including actor Tyler Perry and the president and CEO of General Electric, Jeffrey Immelt.

To register, visit LaCroixChurch.org or call 339-0302. To receive a discounted rate for early registrations through June 24, call Dana Hukel at 986-8749.

Business roundup

* Alliance Bank, 1100 Route W in Oran, Missouri, celebrated the groundbreaking of its new location at West Street and Route W on Thursday. The bank's new site is forecast to be completed in December.

* Ophelia, a women's clothing and gift boutique at 125 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau, opened Wednesday. The store has another location in Farmington, Missouri.

* The Community Counseling Center, Southeast Regional Mental Health Services, recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. The center at 402 S. Silver Springs Road in Cape Girardeau is a not-for-profit behavioral health organization.

* Kenco Enterprises, a family-owned and -operated provider of landscape and masonry products at 2525 Highway 177 in Cape Girardeau, recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

* Saint Francis Medical Center was awarded the Keep Cape Beautiful Beautification Committee's beautification award for May, and Capaha Bank, 380 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, was recognized by the Keep Cape Beautiful Beautification Committee as the Beautiful Property of the Month for June. The Keep Cape Beautiful Beautification Committee is a volunteer board led by the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department. Its goal is to enhance the physical attractiveness of Cape Girardeau.

Entrepreneurship center offers program on credit scores

Galen Gondolfi, senior loan counselor/chief communications officer with Justine Petersen in St. Louis, will present a program about the importance of credit scores in accessing capital for small businesses at the Douglas C. Greene Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The program will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. June 26 at the center, 920 Broadway, room 112. It is free to the public. For more information, call Glenna Ervin at 651-2929 or email gervin@semo.edu.

MoDOT announces transportation project comment period

The Missouri Department of Transportation announced the public comment period for a list of regional and community transportation projects accompanying a transportation measure will begin at noon Friday and close at 5 p.m. June 20.

Missouri voters in August will be asked to vote on a ballot measure to temporarily raise the sales tax, with all proceeds going toward statewide transportation improvements.

The public can share comments and concerns about their regional and community project lists through a series of forums this month. A schedule of open house meetings and a project website where feedback may be provided will be announced.

News from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

* Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced farmers, ranchers and landowners protecting and conserving environmentally sensitive land may sign up for the Conservation Reserve Program, according to a news release from the USDA. Retiring farmers enrolled in the program could receive incentives to transfer a part of their land to beginning, disadvantaged or veteran farmers through the Transition Incentives Program, Vilsack announced.

"The average age of farmers and ranchers in the United States is 58 years, and twice as many are 65 or older, compared to those 45 or younger," Vilsack said in the release. "The cost of buying land is one of the biggest barriers to many interested in getting started in agriculture."

The Conservation Reserve Program provides incentives to producers who use conservation methods on environmentally sensitive lands -- for example, farmers who establish long-term vegetative species, such as grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat.

* The USDA announced $26.2 million in funding to combat porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and porcine deltacoronavirus in response to their ongoing effect on U.S. pork producers, according to a news release from the department.

The USDA also issued a federal order requiring new detections of the viruses be reported to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services or state animal health officials.

The viruses do not pose risk to human health or food safety, the release stated, but in the last year, PEDv has killed about 7 million piglets. The number of market-ready hogs this summer could fall by more than 10 percent compared to 2013 because of the virus, according to the release.

The $26.2 million will be used for activities to support producers and combat the diseases, including the development of vaccines, for producers of infected herds to support biosecurity practices and diagnostic testing.

ashedd@semissourian.com

388-3632