Business Briefs

TRUCKERS LOSE THEIR RIDES DUE TO CANNIBIS

Marijuana violations, according to stacker.com, have taken more than 10,000 truckers off the road thus far in 2022.

A total of 10,276 commercial vehicle drivers have tested positive for marijuana use, an increase of nearly one-third year-to-year from 2021.

Late last year, American Trucking Associations reported the driver shortage has reached 80,000, an all-time high.

A total of 19 U.S. states have legalized recreational cannabis.

Thirty-seven, including Missouri, permit marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Federal law, however, includes a zero-tolerance perspective on marijuana use by truckers, which has added to the numbers of truckers taken off the road. Even if truckers “use” marijuana in a legal local context, they are at risk of losing their trucking privileges.

NEXT BOOST IN STATE GAS TAX COMING THIS FALL

Missouri Department of Revenue will begin to collect an additional 2.5 cents a gallon in the state motor fuels tax effective Oct. 1. The gas tax is currently 19.5 cents per gallon and will continue to rise by 2.5 cents annually until topping out at 29.5 cents in 2025. The multi-year increases come as the result of legislative passage of Senate Bill 262 in 2021.

SENDAFRIEND TO OPEN NEW LOCATION

The online care package for-profit business known as SendAFriend will relocate this summer from Jackson to Fruitland.

Company CEO Tyler Macke said the innovative startup will move from current offices at 2370 N. High in Jackson to 21826 Highway 177 in Fruitland.

MISSOURI ROADS HAVE VERY LITTLE EV PRESENCE CURRENTLY

According to car buying app CoPilot, only 0.12% of all registered vehicles in Missouri are electric with 6,740 reported.

Missouri has 1,053 charging stations, good for no. 14 among the 50 states.

California boasts the highest percentage (1.43%) of EVs in the U.S.

An estimated 16 million electric vehicles are estimated on U.S. roads today.

General Motors has said it intends to produce exclusively electric-powered vehicles by 2035 while Ford has promised a $30 billion investment in electric vehicle development. Cape Girardeau-based Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization (SEMPO) is planning to release an EV readiness plan in September.

MISSOURI MOST AFFORDABLE FOR MILLENNIALS

WalletHub, the personal finance website, has released its evaluation of best and worst states for millennials in 2022 and the Show Me State is at the very top.

Missouri was rated America’s most affordable state for millennials, just ahead of Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. The top four least affordable states are Hawaii, Alaska, Colorado and Vermont. Missouri ranked No. 2, just behind Iowa, in terms of lowest housing cost. WalletHub’s Adam McCann said millennials are currently the largest generation, having overtaken baby boomers in 2019.

AREA MCDONALDS

RESTAURANTS SOLD

Family-owned Arch Nemesis LLC sold all 18 of its McDonald’s restaurant locations in Southeast Missouri in May. Arch Nemesis, owned by Shannon Davis, launched its first restaurant in 1968 at 1925 Broadway in Cape Girardeau. Other McDonalds eateries were added over the intervening decades: two more in Cape Girardeau, three in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and one each in Jackson, Marble Hill, Miner, Advance, Benton, Charleston, Piedmont, Doniphan, Van Buren, Malden, Dexter and Sikeston, Missouri. The new owners are Andi Hilburn-Vaini of West Plains, Missouri, and Brad Short of Anna, Illinois.

NEW COFFEE SHOP IN CAPE GIRARDEAU DEBUTS IN SUMMER

Colorado-based Ziggi’s Coffee, a drive-through establishment, plans to open a local venue July 12 at 1432 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Ken Murphy, who previously logged 13 years as store manager of Starbucks Coffee in Cape Girardeau, will serve as Ziggi’s local general manager. Ziggi’s will be a seven-day-a-week operation. “We’ll be open from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday,” Murphy said. A full look at Ziggi’s offerings can be accessed at ziggiscoffee.com/menu.

SOYBEAN PROCESSING PLANT COMING TO BOOTHEEL

Cargill has announced plans to build what company officials are calling a “first of its kind” soybean processing plant in Pemiscot County. Groundbreaking for the future facility, with a projected production capacity of 62 million bushels of soybeans and with an estimated full-time workforce of 45, will be held in early 2023. Completion of the plant — to be located along the Mississippi River near Hayti and Caruthersville, Missouri, is anticipated in 2026. Cargill’s Tim Coppage said in a news release the facility will operate year-round.

RAMSAY’S RUN DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCED

Cape Retirement Community Inc., operators of Chateau Girardeau, a continuing care retirement community at 3120 Independence St., announced last week Phase I of construction of new homes at Ramsay’s Run, located on Bloomfield Road in Cape Girardeau. Phase I floor plans feature residences ranging in size from 1,700-to-2,000-square-feet. Officials promise access to shared amenities such as dining and fitness activities. Maintenance-free services are also provided, including lawn care and landscaping, snow removal and housekeeping.

CAPE MAGNET LEADER RETIRES

John M. Thompson retired as interim executive director of Cape Girardeau Area Magnet, effective March 31. Thompson, who had retired previously as president of The Bank of Missouri, stepped into a caretaker role with Magnet following the departure last year of Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO John Mehner, who had also been leading Magnet. Mehner is now assistant vice president for the office of Economic and Workforce Development at Southeast Missouri State University. At B Magazine press time, Magnet — established in 1992 — is not conducting an active search for Thompson’s replacement to lead the not-for-profit economic development agency.

SCHNUCKS SALUTED BY WSJ

Family-owned Schnuck Markets of St. Louis is among 51 companies — and one of three in Missouri — to be named a 2022 U.S. “best managed company.” Applicants for the award are evaluated in four areas: strategy, execution, corporate culture and governance/financial performance. Schnucks was founded in 1939 and has 112 stores in four states, including 19 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau.

CAPE’S BUCKLE STORE MOVING

Buckle, a store styling itself as a “denim destination” for “style-conscious young men and women,” will be moving this summer in Cape Girardeau from West Park Mall to Siemers Drive near Target. The relocation was confirmed by local store personnel, who said Buckle will be in its new venue by July at the latest. Buckle, founded in Kearney, Nebraska, in 1948, has 442 stores in 42 states.

NEW CAPE COUNTY GROCERY STORE OPENS

Market at the Pines, 2146 County Road 330 in Jackson, a specialty grocery store, has opened. The store, located at the Meier farm, is open Tuesdays through Saturdays and features bulk foods packaged in family-friendly quantities, with an assortment of jams, jellies, baking mixes, crackers and a variety of pickled products, including asparagus, garlic and mushrooms. Cappuccinos, chai teas, hot chocolates and coffee are also featured. The new establishment is on the property of Horseshoe Pines Christmas Tree Farm.

NEW COFFEE SHOP OPENS

IN DOWNTOWN CAPE

Speakeasy Coffee Company, 811 Broadway, former home of Pitter’s Lounge, has opened.

A series of events pushed back Speakeasy’s debut, most notably the March 31, 2021, fire at the former Broadway Theatre next door, which caused roof leaks, water and smoke damage and drywall damage to Speakeasy’s space — significantly delaying the opening. Owner Suzanne Hightower said her shop is open seven days a week, offering several coffee options, molasses and kringle drop cookies made on-site, plus four signature food choices: lobster roll, chicken club, turkey croissant and a hummus tofu wrap. Speakeasy Coffee will be open seven days a week.

Baristas will wear period clothing dating to the 1920s, in keeping with the style during the Prohibition era.