CARNAHAN HOSTS FORUM AT MODOT IN SIKESTON

SIKESTON -- Gov. Mel Carnahan hosted a forum in Sikeston Friday to discuss ways of boosting economic and community development in the Bootheel.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Missouri departments of Economic Development, Agriculture, Elementary and Secondary Education and Transportation gathered for the forum, officially titled the Governor's Roundtable on Economic Development: Building a Prosperous Southeast Missouri, along with state legislatures and area city, county and agency officials.

The forum was held at the Missouri Department of Transportation's Regional Office which was recently completed on Sikeston's north end.

Also in attendance to make suggestions to be included in a report for the national Mississippi Delta Conference 2000 were many area community and business leaders.

Carnahan said he wanted to "make sure Missouri's voice is heard" at the conference scheduled for May 10-11 in Washington, D.C.

The report to be presented there will contain summaries from governors in the Mississippi Delta region and will be used to focus attention and garner support for initiatives addressing economic and social issues in the region.

The governor said he was "in awe of the talent that is gathered in this room," and was seeking "the very best recommendations."

Carnahan listed several state programs which have contributed to the economic growth, noting "many of us are enjoying very prosperous times."

However, in a time of record-setting low unemployment rates, the governor said Southeast Missourians have a higher unemployment rate than anywhere else in the state -- "not where it ought to be."

He called for ideas and suggestions to help "fill in the gaps." "Programs to improve economic development, agriculture, education and transportation are creating better conditions in Southeast Missouri," said Carnahan. "But more can be done, and that is what we are here to talk about today."

He discussed his endorsement of "strong investments" in schools, and of helping students to "think in terms of a lifetime of learning" before opening the floor to those in attendance.

"This is live on the Web," said Joe Driskill, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, as he pointed and clicked his way around his department's "Labor Market Information" Web site.

Those gathered watched on a large projection screen as he demonstrated "technology that is now available as of today." The public is invited to offer additional information or suggestions for economic development of Southeast Missouri by writing the Department of Economic Development, P.O. Box 1157, Jefferson City, Mo. 65102.