Cape and Stoddard counties among state's most charitable

In what some may consider an act of charity, the Internal Revenue Service postponed this year's income tax filing deadline from April 15 until May 17. (Don't look now, but that's next Monday.)

And, speaking of charity, if you're among the many Americans who still haven't filed your tax returns, you may be trying to calculate the charitable contributions you made in 2020, which might be deducted from your 2020 taxable income.

According to a new study of IRS data, residents of two Southeast Missouri counties — Cape Girardeau and Stoddard — are among the most generous in the state when it comes to charitable donations.

The study, compiled by the online financial advising firm SmartAsset, ranked Stoddard County as the fourth most charitable county in Missouri with Cape County ranked sixth out of the state's 114 counties.

In order to determine the state's most charitable counties, SmartAsset looked at two factors — how much money people donated as a percentage of their net income and the proportion of people in each county who made charitable donations in the most recent tax year.

The study found that in Stoddard County, 3.37% of the tax returns itemized charitable contributions amounting to 3.11% of the net income in that county. While that may not sound like much, it was still enough to rank the county in fourth place in the state.

Meanwhile, just over 5.9% of Cape County residents itemized charitable contributions on their returns, which was among the highest participation percentages. However, those contributions were less than 1.9% of the county population's net income.

With a charitable contribution itemization rate of 12.16% and a 2.62% contribution rate, the study cited St. Louis County as Missouri's most charitable county.

Nationally, the study said Benton County, Arkansas, home of Walmart's corporate headquarters in Bentonville, is the most charitable county in the United States. There, just over 9.1% of county residents itemized charitable contributions on their most recent tax returns and gave an average of 11.3% of their income to charity.

New medical complex under consideration on S. Mount Auburn

SoutheastHEALTH is reportedly developing plans for a medical facility along South Mount Auburn Road across the street from the new Veterans Affairs Clinic not far from the Southeast Cancer Center and just west of the new Southeast Behavioral Hospital.

SoutheastHEALTH's chief operating officer Maria Sudak spoke briefly about the project during the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee. However, she said there are still many details to be determined, including the service or services the facility might house.

I hope to learn — and report — more about the project in the next week or so.

Symbol is sign of new Broadway wine bistro

Have you noticed the strange symbol on a window at 529 Broadway in Cape Girardeau?

Unless you're in a fraternity or sorority, you may not recognize the symbol is the Greek letter "Phi."

Cape Girardeau attorney Adam Gohn recently acquired the storefront, next door to Shivelbine Music, relocating his law practice into half the building. He is converting the other half into a wine bistro to be known as Phi.

Adam tells me Phi will tentatively open later this year and will provide a comfortable environment to enjoy fine wines from some of the world's leading vineyards.

I'm sure we'll be hearing more about Phi in the coming months.

Community outreach organization settles into new digs

Congratulations to the leadership, employees and volunteers at Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri.

The organization, which has outgrown its space in the old Medical Arts Building, 937 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, has completed renovations at the former Cape Girardeau Police Department headquarters at 40 S. Sprigg St. and is moving into the building this week.

A public open house — during which you'll be able to enjoy a cup of coffee in one of the building's former jail cells — is slated for 8 a.m. until noon June 4.

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