Nine business stories that made headlines in 2013

Changes at Cape Girardeau Postal Service facility

The planned closure of the U.S. Postal Service's Richard G. Wilson Processing and Distribution Facility made this list in 2012; at the time, employees at the Cape Girardeau facility thought their jobs were secure until 2014.

In March, however, they were informed the process of moving some operations to St. Louis would begin by summer's end. At the time, Postal Service regional spokesman Richard Watkins said the Cape Girardeau facility was one of about 55 sites moved from the 2014 closure list to a group slated to close in 2013.

The change didn't only affect employees at the distribution center; as part of the plan to move operations to St. Louis, the Postal Service changed first-class mail pickup times to 1:30 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. On July 27, the collection time of first-class mail placed in blue mailboxes around Cape Girardeau officially was changed to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday, with the latest regional collection time for stamped letters and large envelopes at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at processing and distribution facility. Though the Postal Service touted the change as "smooth," residents and businesses didn't necessarily agree.

Sandy Boston, senior vice president of operations at First Missouri State Bank, said the change was inconvenient for the bank because its business does not stop at 4 p.m., the latest time first-class mail may be dropped off at the processing plant. Earlier pickup times affect when customers receive statements from the bank, when they used to receive them the day after they were mailed, she said. Customers now have to wait at least an extra day for the mail to travel to and from St. Louis, she said.

More than a month after the change in pickup times, residents and postal employees reported problems -- late bill fines, utilities being turned off -- resulting from late mail deliveries. The Postal Service refuted those assertions, but acknowledged there were some kinks in the transition that would take some fixing.

As the year ended, more employees were concerned about keeping their jobs. By early 2014, mail destined for Southeast Missouri will be sorted at the St. Louis mail-processing facility along with originating mail, or mail collected in Southeast Missouri, as part of the Postal Service cost-reduction plan. The Cape Girardeau processing center will remain open, but employees no longer will sort mail and instead will conduct other operations, according to Watkins.

Sabreliner workforce issues

In March, word came that Sabreliner Corp. would lay off at least 50 employees from its Perryville, Mo., facility. The layoffs were the result of a "perfect storm": the federal sequester and the reduction of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, an official at the aircraft manufacturing and repair company said at the time.

Sabreliner's flagship facility is based at the Perryville Municipal Airport. The complex is more than 200,000 square feet and is the company's largest and most comprehensive maintenance and repair facility for Sabreliner business jets and government aircraft, including U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters, U.S. Air Force C-21 Learjets and U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Marine propeller-driven T-34 and T-44 pilot trainers.

Unfortunately, the March layoffs were just the first time the company made headlines in 2013.

The sequester was to blame again in June, when the aircraft manufacturing and repair company laid off 54 employees at four company facilities in Perryville, Ste. Genevieve, Mo., St. Mary, Mo., and Clayton, Mo. Twenty-nine of those were in Perryville.

In August, a possible strike was averted when a contract between Sabreliner Corp. and Teamsters Local Union No. 600 was ratified after more than a month of negotiation. Union members voted 78 yes and 11 no, according to The Perry County Republic-Monitor newspaper. James N. Foster, the company's attorney, said the layoffs loomed large over the negotiations.

Hospital news

> Work continued this year on Saint Francis Medical Center's $127 million "Building on Excellence" project. The project, which has a target completion date of June 2016, calls for a new, updated main entrance, five-story patient tower, a Women and Children's Pavilion and an Orthopedic and Neurosciences Center. It will add more than 217,000 square feet to the medical center, bringing it to 1.6 million square feet. In March, the Cape Girardeau County Commission passed a resolution that will allow tax-exempt development bonds to be issued to Saint Francis. The bonds, from the Industrial Development Authority, will help the hospital refinance debt and help it fund a $127 million expansion and renovation project. There is no financial obligation for citizens, according to John Layton, attorney for the IDA, who presented the resolution to the commission. The IDA had previously voted to approve issuance of the fixed-rate bonds, which can be up to the amount of $125 million.

> In September, the commission passed a resolution that will take SoutheastHEALTH a step closer to using bonds for expansion and remodeling projects at its Cape Girardeau hospital campus. The hospital is working with the Industrial Development Authority of Cape Girardeau County to secure $40 million in bonds that will pay for the addition of a 26-bed outpatient observation unit and an inpatient pediatric emergency room and observation unit. A remodel of the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit and ambulatory surgery area also are planned, along with refinancing of bonds issued to the hospital in 2002 for other construction. The projects are expected to be completed in the fall of 2014.

> Also in September, SoutheastHEALTH Center of Stoddard County announced plans to expand its Dexter location. The Dexter board of aldermen and the Stoddard County Commission announced the hospital plans to sell $20 million in bonds for the expansion. "We're planning to borrow $20 million through the Stoddard County Industrial Development Authority, backed by a revenue pledge through SoutheastHEALTH," chief financial officer and hospital vice president Hugh King said. "The bonds will not create a general obligation for taxpayers." Adam Bracks, CEO of the facility, detailed the plan for the funds, all of which will be borrowed from Regions Bank. The first $10 million will be used to acquire the long-term lease of the hospital and grounds from Sunlink Health Systems.

> In August it was announced that Health Management Associates Inc. of Naples, Fla., which owns Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, is being bought by Community Health Systems Inc. of Franklin, Tenn. The purchase will not be final until it is approved by 70 percent of CHS' shareholders, which is expected to happen about March.

Affordable Care Act launches, government shuts down

Years of talk, planning and speculation finally culminated on Tuesday, Oct. 1, when federally mandated health insurance exchanges -- one of the primary, and most controversial, components of the Affordable Care Act (aka "Obamacare") -- went live. The sweeping healthcare law was set to fundamentally change the health care system in the U.S. A primary component of the legislation is the individual mandate, meaning every person will now be required to obtain health insurance or face financial penalties.

Online insurance exchange sites, set up in each state, would allow uninsured Americans to choose their health insurance plan. Insurance companies -- which can no longer turn away people for pre-existing conditions -- that want to compete for new and previously uninsured customers put forth their plans on these exchanges. The online insurance exchange in Missouri was being operated by the federal government after state lawmakers and then voters rejected a state-run system.

But the launch of the exchange, like the law itself, didn't happen smoothly.

Missourians were greeted with lengthy delays on Oct. 1 as consumers nationwide flocked to the online health insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov. Those seeking information from the government-backed insurance exchange were advised to "please wait" for several minutes while the website handled heavy traffic and thanked visitors for their patience. After successfully entering the site by creating a username and password, an Associated Press reporter encountered further waits when prompted to respond to security questions required before plan information could be accessed. Hours later, the wait persisted. The delay made for some frantic preparations by the certified application counselors hired by the government to help consumers through the process, as well as the government-approved "navigators" who guide applicants through their choices from among private insurers.

The ACA was also at the center of the shutdown of the federal government that coincided with the rollout of the exchange.

A stopgap funding measure was required to keep the government fully running after the Oct. 1 start of the new budget year. Typically, such measures advance with sweeping bipartisan support, but Tea Party activists forced GOP leaders to add a provision to cripple the ACA. After days of tense negotiations, neither the Republican-controlled House nor Democrat-controlled Senate blinked, resulting in a partial shutdown of the federal government. While many federal offices and services were halted, HealthCare.gov went live, glitches and all. The government shutdown had no effect on users trying to sign up for Obamacare because money designated for the launch was approved in a previous session of Congress and didn't have to be approved again.

Yet it was partly because of the Affordable Care Act that the shutdown continued so long.

Republicans attacked the law on several fronts, demanding first that the government defund Obamacare, and then that it be delayed for a year. But when the government reopened, the GOP came away with just a small concession related to Obamacare: two additional reports from the Department of Health and Human Services. Republicans had wanted tighter income verification procedures for health insurance applicants. What they'll get is a report detailing the income checks the insurance exchanges will use, and a second report that reviews how effective the verification procedures are. The Republican party is still calling for an investigation into HealthCare.gov website's problems.

Additional information from CNN.com.

Summer events boost local economy

June shaped up to be a profitable month for Cape Girardeau, with three events bringing visitors to town -- visitors who spent money on hotel rooms, food, gasoline and other sundry items.

American Junior Golf Association's Rolex Girls Junior Championship, a four-day event held in June at Dalhousie Golf Club, brought more than 70 participating golfers and their families, coaches, officials and association representatives to Cape Girardeau. The Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau projected an average daily expenditure of $150 per person, with $45 going toward lodging, $35 for food, $20 on gasoline and $50 worth of miscellaneous spending. Total overnight guests for the event were projected at 700, which means the direct economic effect should be around $105,000, according to the bureau.

On the heels of the golf tournament, The Great Race roared into town. Cape Girardeau was an overnight stop, a precision driving race for vintage automobiles that covered a 2,100-mile route from St. Paul, Minn., to Mobile, Ala. Drivers and navigators of more than 90 cars stayed the night in Cape Girardeau, along with family and friends who were supporting them.

According to race organizers, more than 5,000 spectators turned out for Cape Girardeau's portion of the race, one of the factors that led to the city receiving the Best Overnight Stop City Award. Many of those specters made their way down Broadway to Main Street, where businesses hosted Pit-Stop Parties and Welcoming Parties.

The same week as the Great Race, the Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival returned after a two-year absence. A turnout of 8,000 to 10,000 people was expected.

"All of these different things certainly bring economic impact to the community," said Chuck Martin, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, who coordinates scheduling and promotion of the events with hosts, participants, hotels and other affected businesses.

Casino, Broadway improvements a year later

Isle Casino Cape Girardeau celebrated its anniversary on Oct. 30. And a year after it opened and a $4.7 million improvement project completed to the Broadway corridor, changes could be seen:

> Traffic counts indicate that more cars go down an improved Broadway. Many turn and travel up North Main Street under new lighting, installed with some of the casino's millions in revenue to the city.

> The 1 million visitors, as promised by casino executives and elected officials during their pitch to have a casino brought to the community in 2010, have indeed come to town, as evidenced by a check of casino admissions.

> The casino has added jobs to the area, with about 425 employees doing everything from leading games on the floor, making drinks behind the bar, counting money or keeping watch on the 137,000-square-foot building.

> Sales-tax receipts for the city, which indicate more business, also are rising, including the receipts from meals at restaurants and overnight stays at hotels or motels.

> Downtown Cape Girardeau has perhaps been the casino's biggest beneficiary, at least at the local level. More businesses operate downtown than in years past. The corridor project's completion also has resulted in stepped-up efforts to market available downtown space, improving the downtown parking situation and creating new permit programs to encourage development of businesses along the corridor.

Town Plaza CID extended

An ordinance to extend the boundaries of the Town Plaza CID received unanimous support from the Cape Girardeau City Council in November. The Town Plaza Community Improvement District was established in 2007 and includes 16 acres of property consisting of the Town Plaza shopping center. THE CID finances public improvements within its boundaries and is paid for by revenue generated from taxes imposed within the boundaries. Merchants in the district are required to charge an additional 1-cent sales tax to fund improvements.

The ordinance extends to the CID's boundaries to include property at 2103 William St., the former DuShell's Furniture building. Clila LP, which owns the property, says the building's "blighted" status -- determined by the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission -- can allow the use of funds generated by the CID sales tax to be used for improvements. Plans for the property involve stripping the building down to its shell and building it back up. Scott Blank, who spoke on behalf of the Clila LP in front of the city council, said the estimated costs of services and improvements is about $1.3 million, which will cover 20,000 square feet of the building. The other 10,000 square feet will be paid for by additional funding and will be built to suit two tenants that will be able to occupy the building. He said Clila LP has had about eight discussions with serious prospects about purchasing or leasing the property, and all fell through or backed out because of cost. Without additional funding, Clila LP would not be able to secure a tenant because of the cost of the project, he said.

The ordinance also extends the duration of the CID from 2029 to 2033.

Local layoffs

Sabreliner wasn't the only company to feel the effect of large-scale layoffs in 2013.

In July, about 400 full-time employees at Integrity Solution Services' local office learned they faced unemployment after Charter Communications decided to end its business relationship with Integrity. Stacy Spradling, vice president of human resources for Integrity Solution Services, formerly known as National Asset Recovery Services, said the company decided to close its office in Cape Girardeau after losing a major client: Charter Communications. The company decided to consolidate its customer service and call center operations, moving them in-house. A Charter spokeswoman said the company had "no problem at all" with Integrity; "it was just a simple business decision," she said.

Earlier that month, news came that the PolyOne plant, formerly known as Spartech, would close the doors on its Cape Girardeau facility in 2014, leaving 90 employees without jobs. According to a news release distributed by PolyOne, five other manufacturing plants are scheduled to close by the end of 2014. This action is part of the company's efforts to "realign its North American manufacturing assets to better serve customers (and) improve efficiency," according to the news release. The move will eliminate redundancy, the release said. Spokesman Kyle Rose said after PolyOne acquired Spartech, which makes plastics and resin, in March, the company began to evaluate its facilities.

A second facility opened on Spartech Drive near Arena Park that manufactures plastic sheets; it was not included in the list of closing facilities. An anonymous employee said many people have worked at the Nash Road facility since the 1970s and '80s; now they have only one year left. "They said it would be July of next year before it closes," he said. "But I expect about 30 percent of the people will quit before then, which would speed up that time."

In August, the Havco facility in Scott City laid off 30 full-time employees and eliminated some temporary positions. Havco manufactures hardwood flooring for trailers, truck bodies and containers, including intermodal domestic containers. The overseas demand for the flooring Havco provides for intermodal domestic containers weakened, causing the layoffs.

Cape Girardeau: 'Gone' Hollywood

It started as whispers and rumors and eventually became official: Hollywood was coming to Cape Girardeau.

In early July, a location scout for 20th Century Fox was in Cape Girardeau, contacting building owners. The Southeast Missourian obtained the business card from a homeowner in the 200 block of Good Hope Street with the name of a "location manager" and the movie title, "Gone Girl." Excitement grew as it was announced that David Fincher would direct the film, with Ben Affleck starring.

Celebrities aside, the potential of a major Hollywood movie being filmed in Cape Girardeau had business owners and city leaders hopeful about an economic boost. When "Killshot" was filmed in Cape Girardeau in 2006, it brought in about $750,000 to the local economy. "A lot of restaurants benefited from the experience, and local hotels housed most of the film crew. It was trickle-down economics in its purest form," said Jay Knudtson, who was mayor of Cape Girardeau when "Killshot" was filmed. "('Gone Girl') stands a chance to ... even bring tourists to town after filming, assuming it's a successful film."

Though it is too early to access the full economic effect filming had on Cape Girardeau, there are some indicators. Hundreds of local extras were paid for the hours they worked, meaning more money to be spent at local businesses. The production also employed locals to help with catering, hair and makeup, and other behind-the-scenes jobs. In addition, the cast and crew spent time eating and shopping locally. In an interview with the Southeast Missourian, Kim Dickens (who plays Detective Rhonda Boney in the film) listed Celebrations, Andy's Custard and antique stores as some of her favorite stops in Cape Girardeau. The cast and crew was also lodged at a local hotel.

An added boost: Filmmakers extended the duration of their shoot in Cape Girardeau, and more time spent in town equals more money spent in town.

"Gone Girl" is expected in theaters in 2014.