BusinessDecember 30, 2022
Community leaders discuss quality of life and talent retention in Cape Girardeau
The number of college aged young people in Cape Girardeau increased by 714, between the years 2014 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The number of college aged young people in Cape Girardeau increased by 714,
between the years 2014 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
However, during those same years, the number of 25-34 year olds decreased by 500.
Rob Gilligan, president and chief executive officer of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, said losing that post college age bracket has impacts on the whole Cape Girardeau community.
“We depend on our young people to make new families to fill the school system and for the long-term growth of the community,” Gilligan said. “That’s a key demographic that we want to be able to attract and retain in the region.”
Dan Presson, director of Career Services at Southeast Missouri State University and a member of the Cape Girardeau City Council, said the community, the Chamber of Commerce and organizations like Old Town Cape and SE MO REDI, formerly known as MAGNET, have made concerted efforts toward making sure students realize they can have a future in Cape Girardeau.
Old Town Cape is a community driven, nonprofit organization that works to preserve and revitalize the historic, cultural and economic landscapes of downtown Cape. On their website they report that in 2021, 24 new businesses opened generating 112 new jobs, and there was over $18 million in public and private investment in downtown Cape Girardeau.
Some of those businesses sprang up this year with the completion of Scout Hall on Broadway, where three new restaurants, Speck Pizza, Kenny’s Flippin’ Burgers and Omakase, and clothing store Brickwood Boutique are located.
SE MO REDI stands for Southeast Missouri Regional Economic Development Inc. On their website, SE MO REDI states its goals are to expand Cape Girardeau’s skilled workforce by closing gaps in affordable and accessible trades, digital and professional technical training, and attracting and retaining students and workers needed to grow the local economy.
Presson, however, stressed the goal is not just about retaining recent college graduates, but about retaining all individuals within that age bracket.
“This is every kid that comes of age in Southeast Missouri,” Presson said. “We want them to stay here and realize what kind of incredible employment opportunities we have for them. There’s a lot of really great options in their own backyard.”
Another program located in downtown Cape Girardeau is Codefi, which helps educate and find funding for young entrepreneurs to create their innovative tech startups where they live, rather than relocating to a larger city. Codefi also sponsors a competition called 1ST50K where applicants present their startup proposals and those selected receive grants of $50,000.
Michael Seaman, CEO of Swipesum, a credit card processing company, works out of Codefi and is himself an early recipient of a 1ST50K grant. He said some younger people in the area, at the top of the employment pool in software engineering, sales, marketing and design have left to work for companies outside of Cape Girardeau because they are able to pay a higher wage.
“Opportunities in Cape need to catch up a little bit,” Seaman said. “Codefi brings in a lot of young talent, but there needs to be a group effort to work with new companies to keep them in the area.”
Also, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, the cost of living is lower in St. Louis than it is in Cape Girardeau. Although housing costs in Cape are 18.4% lower than the national average, St. Louis housing costs are 25% lower. While groceries in St. Louis are 1% lower from the national average, Cape’s grocery costs are 4% higher.
Presson said he hears this viewpoint from SEMO students, but argues that in a city like Cape Girardeau, everything is within arm’s reach, and it allows for more time with family and friends, more time doing the things they want to do.
“It’s those little things that add up. You get to spend an extra two hours with your family because you don’t have a major commute,” Presson said.
Gilligan said he understands that “grass is greener” perspective, and it is the responsibility of the community to create a place that is attractive to that audience and give them an opportunity to feel connected and included.
“I think efforts like Shipyard Music Festival or the Riverfront Fall Festival, while certainly underway, are just starting,” Gilligan said. “As a community, we’re going to have to continue to focus and build more.”
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Seaman said he has found people in Cape Girardeau extremely welcoming, but there is a short window to impress and retain talent. He said community events like Shipyard are great examples of what can help keep people in the area, but sometimes not everyone hears about them.
Jeff Rawson is creative director at marketing agency, rustmedia, and founder of The Scout, a daily email newsletter. According The Scout website, the brand “brings home the good news you care about: food, music, events, people.”
“The whole idea behind The Scout is to create opportunities for people to learn about their community around them,” Rawson said. “Then build opportunities for people to engage in that community whether it’s a food truck event or the Shipyard.”
Rawson also said any area that wants to grow and continue to grow must not only attract talent, but retain its homegrown talent.
Rawson highlighted two programs: Next Project and Here. literary magazine. The Next Project spotlights youth between the ages of 7 and 18 who are making a difference in the classroom and community. Those selected are partnered with a local leader to act as mentor and help foster their growing interests.
In the same way, Here. literary magazine publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and artwork created by students in grades 9-12 who attend school in Southeast Missouri. Students also take part in the editing process and are advised by a team of professional writers and artists who are committed to the creative development of each student.
Whittney Twomey is head of recruitment at SHO.ai, a platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help businesses create branding for their company. She said one drawback of Cape Girardeau being a college town is so many young people get their degrees and then look to move to a bigger city with more job opportunities.
“I can understand that mindset to a point,” Twomey said. “I’m from Dexter, so for me, Cape already feels like it has a lot more opportunity than Dexter did, or even Sikeston.”
Twomey said she recently had two young employees move to larger cities, but their reasoning was more complicated than just higher wages.
“One decided to move due to a personal relationship, but they said they enjoyed Cape to the fullest, going out on weekends and they had a ton of friends here that they see as frequently as possible,” Twomey said.
Twomey also voiced a desire to support a young person’s dream to get out and explore the world. She said that experience is also valuable, but Cape should work to draw people back once they’ve gone out and seen some of the world.
Twomey said that’s what happened for her. After school she moved to Los Angeles, and it was wonderful, but what drew her back to Missouri were the core values she identified with.
“Home had all of the benefits on top of those values,” Twomey said. “So, family is really big for us. A lot of our family lives around here. Community is really important.”
Presson also said Generation Z, the future workforce, has rising numbers of women, minorities and those that identify with the LGBTQ+ community.
“So, you have this whole new generation that is expecting something different out of their towns and that is something that we’re working toward,” Presson said. “Making sure that this generation feels comfortable and supported here.”
Seaman said it’s important for the Cape community to reach out, try to meet its young people and show that Cape Girardeau can feel like home as opposed to a temporary destination.
“There have been efforts made in terms of telling people that they are wanted here, that they’re seen here,” Rawson said. “To me, it kind of comes down to community and creating opportunities for folks to get together.”
Gilligan presented at First Friday on Dec. 2 to outline the Chamber’s strategic plan for the next three years. “Quality of Life” was one of the main four pillars they identified to focus on, and Gilligan called it “the foundation” of finding success in all other areas of their plan.
“I think, it’s probably not unique to our region,” Gilligan said to B Mag on Dec 2. “Everybody’s having this conversation. Now, more so than ever, people are choosing where they want to live based on the lifestyle that they want, and then finding the job or career opportunity afterward.”
He suggested it is more than just young people thinking along these lines.
“You got families making those decisions, who want to raise a family in a community with good schools, good parks, good things,” Gilligan said.
Through adding high-tech jobs and a renewal of downtown Cape, local business and city leaders are working to add more of those “good things” and reverse the trend of young people leaving the Southeast Missouri area.
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