Friends, not foes: Cape, Jackson mayors try to help each other

With their proximity and efforts to continue growing their cities, it would be easy for Cape Girardeau and Jackson to be pitted against each other as rivals.

Rather than compete with each other, the mayors of the two towns are making efforts to work as a team.

Jackson Mayor Dwain Hahs said the work began soon after he was elected mayor in April, when he met for lunch with Cape Girardeau mayor Harry Rediger.

"For me, even when I was running for mayor, one of my main platforms that I was running on was a better relationship with the area and regional groups," he said. "Building trust and cooperating and working together -- there's a lot we can do as a region."

Since that first lunch, city leadership from both areas have coordinated a number of events. They've taken a bus tour of Cape Girardeau and Jackson to look at some of the empty and available properties that present "economic activity opportunities," said Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger. They also co-hosted an election watch party Aug. 4 at Kimbeland Country Club in Jackson.

Both cities had one issue on the ballot -- a water bond question for Jackson and a transportation tax renewal for Cape Girardeau -- so Rediger suggested co-hosting an event.

"I called Dwain up and said we should do it together," he said.

Another issue that has brought the cities together is the establishment of a new community foundation in the region. Local retired banker Moe Sandfort is leading the effort and has received support from the governments of Cape Girardeau and Jackson, as well as the Cape Girardeau County Commission.

The communities share several interests and issues, Rediger said, which is why they benefit from improved communication. City staff from Cape Girardeau and Jackson, as well as the county commissioners, get together once a month to talk about what's happening in their areas.

"No official agenda, just an opportunity to get together to talk about what's going on in our cities and ask questions," Hahs said. "And it's not only about opportunities we have to develop business ... it's also about how we want to work together within our cities and the bigger picture of what's going on there as well."

The cities once came together to host such meetings several years ago but over time fell out of the practice. But Rediger said he's "encouraged" by the recent efforts and believes it will lead to further opportunities for the cities to work together. For example, the cooperation of the communities ultimately could make the region more attractive to businesses.

"A lot of cases, when industry or retailers come to our area, they may not have a specific area where they want to do it," Hahs said. "It may be Cape, it may be Jackson, or it may be one of the other surrounding cities. But if we're all working together selling our region first, that's something positive."

And the communities can play off each other, Hahs said.

"As we get more business in both cities, it helps our area very much," he said. "We certainly encourage development of housing, and a lot of that housing is dependent on people having jobs in our region, no matter where that is."

Rediger agreed each town's success was in some ways dependent on its neighbor.

"I've always felt that there's strength in numbers, and that we can't survive without each other," he said. "We as Cape Girardeau can't really survive in our health care or retail industries just from the citizens of Cape Girardeau. It takes a region to make that all work as a regional draw."

The mayors admit there is one issue where they stand on very different sides.

"There is a rivalry," Rediger said, "a football rivalry."

The two have discussed setting up a friendly bet when Jackson and Central High School square off during the upcoming football season, though Rediger and Hahs said they still are working out the terms.

srinehart@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

Jackson, Mo.

Cape Girardeau, Mo.