Stories of the year: Business moves that made headlines in 2014

Pepsi MidAmerica to bring more than 70 jobs to area

Pepsi MidAmerica will be the first tenant at Greater Cape Girardeau Business Park, a move that's expected to bring about 74 jobs to the region.

Construction of the $3.1 million customer service center is set to begin in the coming weeks, says Molly Hood, assistant city manager and director of development services. The 18-acre site is within the park at Interstate 55 and LaSalle Avenue, land purchased in 2012 by the city from Southeast Missouri State University.

Plans were announced in April, and the intent is to open the center by midsummer 2015.

The three-structure facility will distribute items from the company's snack division, including Pepsi beverages, Starbucks coffee, Gatorade and Frito Lay products.

The location of the park, a good potential workforce and collaborative community leaders are what led Pepsi MidAmerica's ownership group, the Crisp family, to choose the site, Larry Chambers, director of facilities for Pepsi MidAmerica, said in a news release.

Pepsi MidAmerica was offered a three-part economic incentive package if it meets job creation and investment criteria.

Since the development is within the Cape Girardeau County Enhanced Enterprise Zone, Pepsi MidAmerica will receive a 50 percent tax abatement on real property for the next 10 years, Hood says.

Second, the city obtained a Community Development Block Grant for economic development and job creation, "to the tune of about $700,000" to be put toward infrastructure development and street, sewer and water projects -- "all the things that we needed to get Pepsi to their property, so that was huge," Hood says.

Pepsi MidAmerica also qualifies for the Missouri Works Program, a performance-based program that facilitates job creation, she says.

Choices for food shopping expand by two

The new Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, which is planning a grand opening for early 2015, is accepting employment applications. The market, a scaled-down version of a full-sized Wal-Mart, has been under construction since June at 2021 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau.

Anne Hatfield, director of communications for Wal-Mart, said in an October email to the Southeast Missourian the new store would employ up to 95 people. The majority of new hires were expected to begin work in December to help prepare the store for its opening, according to news release from Wal-Mart.

The Neighborhood Market will be 41,000 square feet and offer fresh produce and groceries, a pharmacy, health and beauty items, baby and pet supplies and select household merchandise, Hatfield said.

In September, just a few blocks away, Ruler Foods opened at 2103 William St. A subsidiary of Kroger, Ruler Foods moved into the old Dushell's Furniture building after extensive renovation. The building has about 20,500 square feet, with an additional 9,500 square feet available for a future retail store.

Status of Cape Girardeau Postal Service facility in flux

Earlier this month, both Missouri senators -- Roy Blunt, a Republican, and Claire McCaskill, a Democrat -- were among 28 senators who joined in sending a letter to the postmaster general, alleging the United States Postal Service is not following its own guidelines for evaluating service standards and considering issues for local customers in its plan to close and consolidate postal facilities.

The argument is based on a report issued by the office of the USPS inspector general, which found the postal service did not complete service standard impact evaluations and worksheets as part of area mail processing feasibility studies.

Employees of the Richard G. Wilson Processing and Distribution Facility in Cape Girardeau have expressed concerns that mail service could suffer a slowdown once the St. Louis facility absorbs the remainder of the processing responsibilities.

Cape Girardeau's dissemination of mail, which is part of the processing service, is set to end in April with the second phase of consolidation. The facility, at 475 Kell Farm Drive, would serve only as a distribution hub. Employees of the facility demonstrated in November to show opposition to the consolidation, as part of a national day of action for postal worker unions. Employees said they were concerned about the potential for mail service to slow even more than it has since half of processing operations were moved to St. Louis and how that would detrimentally affect postal service customers.

A spokesperson for the postal service said there are no delays in mail coming through the Cape Girardeau facility.

The service's planned consolidations of up to 82 mail processing centers across the country would affect two Missouri facilities, including one in Cape Girardeau.

The $7 million windfall that was 'Gone Girl'

Ticket holders arrive to Cape West 14 Cine in Cape Girardeau for the premier of "Gone Girl" on Thursday, Oct. 2. (Southeast Missourian file photo)

Cape Girardeau in 2013 buzzed with the filming of "Gone Girl," and, in 2014, went Hollywood gaga with the film's premiere.

Coinciding with its October opening were details outlining the film's economic impact on the area.

Production of the 20th Century Fox film in Cape Girardeau lasted about two months and generated more than $7 million, according to data released by the studio in October.

The production hired 116 Missourians, including more than 30 off-duty law enforcement officials, and used about 1,400 extras.

The cast and crew also amassed more than 7,000 hotel room nights.

Numbers provided by the Missouri Department of Economic Development shed more light on the film's local expenditures. About $600,000 was spent on lodging and office space. Transportation and fuel costs were more than $250,000, and more than $180,000 was spent on security.

Nearly $150,000 was spent on catering. More than $160,000 was spent on building supplies, and about $170,000 was spent on furniture and props from local businesses, including downtown antique shops.

20th Century Fox spent more than $7.8 million in audited expenditures while filming in Cape Girardeau and is eligible to receive up to $2.36 million through the state's film tax-credit program, according to the state's economic development department.

SoutheastHEALTH moves forward with efficiency plans

SoutheastHEALTH's executives say "financial improvement" and "operational refinement" are the goals of an initiative that recently produced changes in leadership and will identify efficiencies needed to help face a challenging time.

If Southeast can make changes in the six key areas of the initiative, including clinical documentation improvement, human resources, labor, nonlabor, physician solutions and revenue cycle, a potential for $32 million in annual savings may come its way, says John Skeans, interim CEO.

Skeans was hired as chief financial officer in August, a few weeks before Southeast began the initiative with the help of a consulting group. Another $9.5 million could be paid to Southeast through backlogged billing.

The need for change at SoutheastHEALTH is being triggered by financial decline; the system this year received a downgrade in its bond rating. The agency that made the downgrade said it "reflects significant and unexpected operating losses in 2013, which resulted primarily from billing and revenue cycle issues."

The 12-month initiative has employee "work teams" examining all aspects of the organization, from costs of vendors to labor to billing inefficiencies, Skeans says.

This year, five members of Southeast's senior management have left, including Wayne Smith, CEO, who announced in August his intention to retire by the end of 2014, but instead left in October for health reasons; CFO Hugh King and Dr. Dennis Means, vice president and chief medical officer, who simultaneously announced plans to leave in April; chief operating officer Sly Moore, who recently announced her retirement; and Jim Limbaugh, executive vice president of planning and business development, who left SoutheastHEALTH under circumstances that remain undisclosed because of the organization's privacy rules.

SoutheastHEALTH is seeking a new CEO and has narrowed the field to three candidates.

Data breaches cause problems for businesses; consumers

The Cape Girardeau Jimmy John's store was among 216 locations affected by a data breach between June 16 and Sept. 5.

Jimmy John's officials discovered a security breach July 30 and hired third-party investigators to look into it. An intruder stole login credentials from the point-of-sale vendor and used them to access payment-card systems at the stores, according to a news release posted on the company's website.

During the summer, hackers stole personal information from 76 million JPMorgan Chase customers in one of the biggest breaches of a financial company. The bank says only nonfinancial data were taken -- names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses.

In September, Home Depot advised that malicious software lurking in its checkout terminals between April and September affected 56 million debit and credit cards that customers swiped at its stores, making it the second-largest breach for a retailer on record.

The disclosure puts the data breach behind TJX Co.'s theft of 90 million records, disclosed in 2007 and before Target's pre-Christmas 2013 breach that compromised 40 million credit and debit cards.

Hackers have also attacked Schnucks Markets, SuperValu, Michaels, United Parcel Service and Neiman Marcus in the past year.

The Department of Homeland Security warned recently that more than 1,000 retailers could have malware in their cash-register computers, the Associated Press reported.

Noranda begins layoffs with power rate in question

Noranda Aluminum in New Madrid, Missouri (Southeast Missourian file photo)

Noranda Aluminum's attempts to lower its Ameren Missouri electric rate have thus far been unsuccessful.

After state regulators denied its initial request, Noranda announced in early fall that it would lay off 125 to 200 people at its New Madrid, Missouri, smelter during the next six months. As of the beginning of the 2014, it employed about 900 people; 23 employees were laid off in September, and the company offered retirement packages to another 27 workers.

The smelter has been pushing for a lower electric rate from St. Louis-based Ameren Missouri since February.

After a requested rate cut was rejected by regulators, the state Office of Public Counsel filed a new compromise proposal with the Missouri Public Service Commission, seeking a reduced rate for the plant.

The proposal originally was submitted in August but was not considered by the commission, which had recently rejected Noranda's request for lower rates. On Oct. 1, the commission determined Noranda's petition should be denied, saying the company had failed to meet the burden of proving its rates are not just and reasonable.

In addition to the layoffs, Noranda officials announced in September that without lower rates they would be forced to scale back infrastructure investments, including a $30 million plant expansion. Officials also said they were considering moving the construction of a new, $45 million rod mill from New Madrid to another state.

Mild temps, ample rain lead to bumper crops

Nathaniel Choate of First Missouri Terminals Inc. and port manager at Midwest Grain and Barge Co. probes a truckload of corn from Marble Hill, Missouri, for a correct sample from the load at Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority. (Southeast Missourian file photo)

A cool, mild summer with ample rainfall were responsible for record-setting yields of corn and soybeans in 2014, which meant more grain going to market and lower returns in the short run. Grain storage grew in importance as some farmers held back at least some of their harvest with the hopes of winter bringing back higher prices.

"Coming into the harvest, there were higher speculated yields, combined with yields that were confirmed to be high," Anthony Ohmes, an agronomy specialist at the University of Missouri Extension, said in October.

The per-bushel corn price had fallen by more than half between October 2014 and October 2013, when demand was higher because of a slower drydown period for plants that meant less availability. It dropped from about $8 to about $4.

In 2014, many farmers had to pay less to maintain crops. The Associated Press reported in the fall that the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted the state's corn crop may reach 599 million bushels, while soybeans may reach 258 million bushels. Both would be all-time highs.

Downtown CID: 'Yes' to sales tax, 'no' to property tax

The sales-tax issue considered by Cape Girardeau voters in September passed successfully by voters living in the downtown community improvement district, but a property-tax issue failed.

The Cape Girardeau County Clerk's office reported 51 votes were received for Proposition 1, the measure creating a half-cent sales tax to be levied within the district's boundaries. Of that number, 31 were in favor and 20 were against.

Proposition 2, which would have created a property tax of $0.6709 per $100 assessed valuation within the district, was defeated. The certified results showed 54 mail-in ballots were submitted, with 26 voting in favor of Proposition 2 and 28 voting against.

Proponents of the community improvement district said funds from the taxes would be applied to improving safety and cleanliness downtown

A property tax imposed within the special business district in the riverfront area of Spanish, Main and Water streets already existed but would have dissolved once the CID property tax took effect. The taxes were equal in value, meaning property owners in that area would notice no difference. But those along Broadway who fell within the CID's boundaries would have paid the tax for the first time in 2015.

That business district property tax generates about $20,000 annually and has paid for improvement projects such as streetlights, the clock at the intersection of Themis and Main streets and some parking areas.

The CID sales tax, which will go into effect sometime in 2015, is estimated to bring in about $200,000 a year.

Federal building attracts tenants after sale in May

Cape Girardeau City Councilman Joseph Uzoaru holds the key to the holding cell inside the former federal building at 339 Broadway. Uzoaru, who purchased he building, plans on using the 46,000-square-foot building as multitenant office space. (Southeast Missourian file photo)

Cape Girardeau City Councilman Joseph Uzoaru in May took possession of the former federal building at 339 Broadway with plans to use the space as a multi-tenant office building.

In June, entrepreneurs Chris Foeste and Dr. James Stapleton announced their intention to locate their newest venture, Codefi, in the building. A month later, Lorenz & Lorenz LLC Attorneys at Law announced its office would move from to the building. Julie Wolpers, a web developer, consultant and trainer also opened an office in the building for Webcurrent Communications.

The building, more than 40 years old, has about 46,000 square feet of space and houses a large courtroom and a holding area for prisoners. The building was listed at $1 million; its purchase price wasn't disclosed.

The building was previously owned by Majid Hemmasi of RDRH Holdings Inc. of Austin, Texas, who purchased it for $325,015 in the General Services Administration's second auction of the building in 2012. The GSA oversees the sale of all federally owned property, and rejected bids as high as $650,000 before improvements, selling it to Hemmasi in excess of the county's $300,000 bid. The county was given a chance to purchase it at retail, but passed on the $525,000 asking price, citing needed and costly improvements.