Courthouse opening

It's official. The Rush Hudson Limbaugh U.S. Courthouse in Cape Girardeau is about to be occupied. Moving vans have been ferrying items from the old two-story federal building on Broadway to the new four-story courthouse on Independence. The new building will open for business June 2.

Construction of the new courthouse has taken six years at a cost of more than $64 million. The building's distinctive dome can be see for miles.

The first occupants of the new building will be court officials followed by offices for U.S. Probation, Pretrial Services, federal prosecutor, U.S. Marshals Service and district offices for U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson. If all goes well, the moves should be completed by the end of summer.

With offices moving out of the old federal building, several issues will get closer attention. Some operations, like the Social Security Administration offices, will eventually be moved to another space. And at some point the federal government will have to decide what to do with the old building. Several options have been considered, but no final decision has been made.