Riverboat to dock in Cape Girardeau Sunday

VisitCape has announced American Countess, with 174 visitors aboard, will dock at the Cape Girardeau riverfront from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18.

VisitCape office administrator Josh Thompson said Countess' passengers will participate in a "hop-on, hop-off tour" of downtown during its daytime residence.

The boat, originally called Kanesville Queen when constructed for Harrah's Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa, was opened to the public on New Year's Day 1996.

Eventually replaced by a new, land-based casino boat, Kanesville Queen was sold as scrap to Newt Marine of Dubuque, Iowa, and the vessel ended up in a shipyard in Houma, Louisiana.

While in Houma, the retired boat was cut in half and extended with a new 60-foot midsection in order to increase passenger capacity.

Purchased by American Queen Steamboat Co., now American Queen Voyages, in 2016, the ship was renamed American Countess.

The newly christened 361-foot, four-deck paddlewheeler was launched March 21, 2021, in New Orleans.

American Countess will visit Cape once more this year -- from noon to 5 p.m. on Oct. 21.