Live + Work in Downtown Cape: Lindsey Radcliffe

On the sidewalks of downtown Cape, Lindsey Radcliffe, CEO of Morning Star Behavioral Associates, can be seen strolling with her kids and their bow-tie-wearing wiener dog, Owen. Radcliffe enjoys bringing Owen by each store to say hi to the owners and community, as she says, “Everybody tries to make him fat with treats.” Not only does Radcliffe walk her dog downtown, she also lives, works and owns property in downtown Cape.

Radcliffe’s company, Morning Star Behavioral Associates, specializes in applied behavior analysis services for individuals with autism or intellectual disabilities. Her clinic and corporate offices are currently located in Marquette Tower, but Radcliffe bought 1 Main St. further downtown to expand her clinic from 4,500 square feet to 7,000 square feet. With moving, Radcliffe’s goal is to further service the community.

“We believe in order to do good, quality services, we have to intersect both our clients and the community,” Radcliffe says. “[We hope moving helps] folks see that downtown is not just a nighttime thing, but a daytime thing, as well.”

One of Radcliffe’s jobs as CEO is to recruit people from all over the world to move to Cape Girardeau and work at her company. Radcliffe flies candidates in to see Cape Girardeau and show them what a typical weekend looks like — from walking beside the muddy Mississippi to enjoying a drink at Top of the Marq.

“People see and fall in love with Cape very quickly. It’s the best of both worlds,” Radcliffe says. “You have that urban and cultural environment downtown with a little bit of Asheville and a little bit of Nashville mixed up with the Southeast Missouri flavor.”

Morning Star Behavioral Associates has offices in Cape Girardeau and Kirkwood, Mo., with plans to expand throughout the Midwest, but Radcliffe is proud to keep their flagship office in downtown Cape.

On the weekends, Radcliffe enjoys waking up in the mornings to grab groceries at the farmers market with her kids or walking beside the river with melting ice cream cones in hand. She loves the family-friendly atmosphere and holiday festivities such as the Christmas lights display or downtown’s Trunk-or-Treat event.

On the rare occasion Radcliffe is “kid-less,” her favorite activity is kicking back at Ebb & Flow Fermentations with one of their cold ciders. She also enjoys trying brunch at the local downtown restaurants such as Minglewood and mary jane bourbon + smokehouse.

“You know you’ve reached the moment of being part of your community when you walk into Mary Jane’s for brunch, and they hand you two cups of coffee,” Radcliffe says.

For Radcliffe, downtown Cape is great not just because of the activities, shopping and food, but because of the people who call it home. She says she could say something great about every single person she knows downtown.

“There’s such a diversity of individuals that live downtown,” Radcliffe says. “It’s so much fun to get to know them and their culture and heritage. It makes my life better to know people who are different from me.”

Radcliffe may have grown up in Anna, Ill., and spent her early adult years in Nashville, Tenn., but she says Cape Girardeau has her heart. The downtown Cape spirit is infused into Radcliffe’s everyday life — from living a walk away from the river to working in Marquette Tower and enjoying mary jane bourbon + smokehouse brunch. Radcliffe says others should consider living and working in downtown Cape “‘cause it’s what the cool kids do.”