Menards full of activities during 9-day grand opening

Cape Girardeau's newest home improvement retailer Menards is in the midst of a nine-day grand opening. Festivities include celebrity appearances by Missouri athletes, a chain saw-carver, product demonstrations and prize giveaways.

St. Louis Rams wide receiver Danario Alexander will sign autographs from 6 to 8 p.m. today. Alexander played for the University of Missouri and made his NFL debut in 2010.

Former St. Louis Cardinal outfielder Andy Van Slyke will sign autographs from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Former University of Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, who now plays for the New Orleans Saints, will sign autographs from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday. Chain-saw carving demonstrations will be held from Thursday through Sunday. Paul Menard's #27 race car and Matt Crafton's #88 race truck will be on display from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Menards opened May 15 at 535 Siemers Drive. It is open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.

* Southeast Hospital has earned the 2012 Outstanding Patient Experience Award and the 2012 Patient Safety Excellence Award from HealthGrades. This is the fourth consecutive year that Southeast has earned the Outstanding Patient Experience Award. The hospital has received the Patient Safety Excellence Award three of the last four years. This award ranks Southeast among the best-performing hospitals nationwide, one of 263, in terms of patient safety. Southeast is one of only two hospitals in Missouri to receive both the Patient Safety and the Outstanding Patient Experience awards this year. The Outstanding Patient Experience is based on patient satisfaction data from more than 3,800 hospitals nationwide. HealthGrades provides information to help consumers make informed decisions about physicians and hospitals. Its rankings can be found online at HealthGrades.com.

* Lazy L Safari Park, 2763 County Road 618, Cape Girardeau, is now open daily. The walk-thru zoo will be open daily through Labor Day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the zoo closing at 7 p.m. Visitors can view more than 40 species of exotic animals at Lazy L Safari Park. The facility includes a petting zoo, gift shop, picnic shelter and snack shack. For more information, visit LazyLSafari.com.

* The Missouri Accreditation of Programs for Children and Youth has awarded a certificate of accreditation to NARS Daycare@Work at 2102 William St. in Cape Girardeau. The Daycare@Work program will now be included on the Missouri Accreditation website, which serves as a guide to parents seeking a high quality program for their children. It can be found at www.moaccreditation.org.

* Several local trucking companies were recently recognized as part of the Great West Casualty Co.'s 2011 National Safety Awards. Awards are presented based on year-end preventable accident results and may receive Platinum, Gold, Silver or participatory awards. Jerry Lipps Inc. of Cape Girardeau received a gold award. Genesis Transportation Inc. of Cape Girardeau, received a silver award, Hull Trucking of Old Appleton, received a platinum award. SEMO Express LLC of Sikeston, Mo., received a silver award. Breeden Transportation Inc. of Sikeston received a platinum award. More than 625 companies across the country participated in the program.

Southeast Missourian business editor Melissa Miller may be contacted at 388-3646 or mmiller@semissourian.com.