Local microbrewery to distribute beer this spring

A new microbrewery, John A. Huber Brewing Co., has opened near Fruitland and will begin distributing its flagship beer, a blonde ale called Hubrew, this spring.

Owner John Huber has tried brewing more than 100 variations since receiving a home brewing kit for Christmas in 2003. In 2009, he founded Homebrew Supply of Southeast Missouri, providing brewing equipment and ingredients. During the past year, Huber, with help from his sons Matt and Chad, has transformed the former SEMO Ag and Dairy Building in Fruitland into a commercial brewery. The company recently received both state and federal licenses. This spring Hubrew will be available for purchase at Bel Air Grill in Cape Girardeau and at several local wineries.

* Element 74, a website and software design firm in Cape Girardeau, recently launched a website for the National Fatherhood Leaders Group, based in Washington, D.C. The website can be found at www.nflgonline.org. The National Fatherhood Leaders Group is a coalition of national and community-based fatherhood organizations. Its mission is to raise awareness of the importance of two involved parents in the lives of children and to strengthen the capacity of the responsible fatherhood field.

* Saint Francis Medical Center's Family Birthplace celebrated its 1,000th delivery of 2011 on Dec. 30, setting a record for the hospital. The 1,000th birth was also the 100th for the month, breaking the previous monthly record of 98 deliveries.

Ashlyn Paige Stovall was the record-breaking baby, born to parents Jennifer and Zack Stovall of Cape Girardeau. Dr. Wendi M. Carns, obstetrician/gynecologist at Cape Care for Women, delivered the 6-pound, 15-ounce baby girl. Since Family Birthplace opening in 2001, after 35 years without obstetric services at Saint Francis, the number of deliveries at the Family Birthplace has grown exponentially. The department's 874 births in 2010 represented a 16 percent increase over the previous record of 752 set in 2009, and an 82 percent increase over the 481 births recorded in 2005.

* Cape Girardeau County Farm Bureau received a Special Project award for its opposition to Proposition B at the annual meeting of the Missouri Farm Bureau at Lake of the Ozarks in December. The local farm bureau also received an Award of Excellence for its work in public policy. Dale Steffens, Cape Girardeau County Farm Bureau president, accepted the awards for the county from Blake Hurst, Missouri Farm Bureau president.

* The Southeast Missouri Solid Waste Management District is accepting grant applications for funding of waste reduction and recycling projects in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Iron, Madison, Perry St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve counties. Counties, cities, businesses and organizations in these areas are eligible for grant funds. Grand projects must be directed toward a goal of achieving a 40 percent reduction, by weight, in the amount of solid waste generated for disposal in Missouri Landfills. Proposed projects must be received by the district by Feb. 3. Application packets are posted online at www.semorpc.org. For more information, people may call David Grimes, deputy Director of the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission, at 573-547-9357.

Southeast Missourian business editor Melissa Miller may be contacted at 388-3646 or mmiller@semissourian.com.