A stronger economy

Two reports last week came as good news for Missouri's economic-development efforts.

The first was the announcement of a reorganization at the Missouri Department of Economic Development aimed at providing more hands-on assistance to businesses throughout the state and a significant move to get employees out of Jefferson City and into communities where they are needed.

These changes, department director Greg Steinhoff said, are expected to triple the field staff.

Competitive costs

The next report was based on a survey showing Missouri's cost of doing business to be among the lowest in the nation, an important factor for prospective businesses looking at new locations or expansion.

The costs of wages, electricity and office rent were among the factors surveyed.

In addition, Missouri also has improved its business climate by passing tort reform and long-overdue changes in the state's worker's compensation program, as pointed out by John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce.

It was only a few weeks ago that the U.S. Small Business Administration announced it was expanding its operations to Cape Girardeau by locating a business-development specialist here.

The governor's theme

All of these efforts mirror Gov. Matt Blunt's theme of making Missouri a highly desirable place to do business and to expand existing operations. His campaign for governor relied heavily on his ideas for economic development in the state, which at the time was still struggling to recover from the recession of a few years ago.

Since becoming governor, Blunt has stuck to his plan, pushing for pro-business legislation and working to maintain and enhance Missouri's pro-business climate.

The impact of a strong state economy influences every corner of the state and ultimately has a bearing on everything from school funding to better highways.