Thanks for the many improvements to Cape Girardeau

Plywood over the windows of the Bob Evans restaurant here in Cape Girardeau and the recent closing of Ryan's next door have been pointed reminders that our community is constantly changing.

Question is: Is it changing for good? For bad? Maintaining a lethargic status quo?

At least two or three times a week my wife and I explore Cape Girardeau's neighborhoods or mosey along county roads throughout Cape and Scott counties. We always find something interesting. In particular, we marvel at how much our city and its environs have changed over our 22 years as residents.

Our heartfelt report: Cape Girardeau is not just thriving, it is a model for other cities our size.

In recent years (at our age, anything within the past five years is recent) we have been to Hannibal, Missouri, and Burlington, Iowa. We got the inside poop on Burlington from my cousin, who recently retired after a long tenure as that city's parks and recreation director.

Both Burlington and Hannibal have much to be proud of. They are both river towns like Cape Girardeau. They both abound in history. They, like Cape, look for ways to maximize aging downtowns.

Our heartfelt report: There's a lot to like in Hannibal and Burlington, but they can't hold a candle to the initiatives that have upgraded our community in the last 20 years.

Let me start with a special mention of everything going on in downtown Cape Girardeau. Thanks to the efforts of various groups and individuals -- Old Town Cape, in particular, under the executive directorship of Marla Mills -- Cape Girardeau's downtown is an amazing venue that caters to young and old.

I haven't always had kind things to say about downtown Cape, but I knew the dedication of the area's leadership could be poked a bit with positive results. And those results have been way, way above my expectations -- and, I dare say, the expectations of many Cape Girardeans.

More than once I have commented to my wife, and to friends who know more about the inner workings of the city than I do, that we have had the benefit of living in Cape Girardeau during 20 years of amazing progress. This is progress that came at considerable cost. I don't have an exact figure, but it's billions -- that's with a B -- of dollars. Nearly all of this spending was heartily supported by voting taxpayers who saw the benefits that would come our way.

Start with the Transportation Trust Fund. That fund is made possible by a special sales tax that must be approved every five years. Each time it comes up, it gets a thumbs up from voters.

And look at all the new infrastructure in our school district, the university, both hospitals, Cape's business districts (roughly divided into downtown, Kingshighway and Interstate 55), city projects (including a water park and big-time improvements to parks in general). Then there's the casino project and the new Mississippi River bridge, both of which pumped millions of dollars into the local economy.

And let's not overlook the private development and all the new churches that have had a major effect on our city. Business development and growth in Cape Girardeau have been exciting to watch.

Taking a risk is tough. I grew up on a farm, and I knew from a young age I didn't want to be a farmer. That wasn't because I disliked farming. I wouldn't trade up childhood on a farm for anything. But I quickly discovered the risks of farming.

The year before I went to college, I was told the 20 hogs being corn fed in a pen next to the barn were my college fund. I would be responsible for the care and feeding of those hogs, and if they reached the ideal weight at just the right time when hog prices were up instead of down, I might be able to buy some new clothes to take to college with me. If the hog market collapsed, I could circulate my resume to the many sawmills in the area or help my uncle bale hay all over two valleys.

I can't image the risk-level toll it takes to make commitments involving millions of dollars. Thank goodness there are businesswomen and men who, based on careful planning and so many other factors, are willing to take the plunge to make my community better.

I thank them. My wife thanks them. And I hope you will take any opportunity you have to tell the folks who look for ways to make Cape Girardeau better -- and better, and better, and better -- how much you appreciate their efforts.

Thank you all.

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.