Subscriber exclusive — Business Notebook: Franciscan sister leaves hospital after 40 years; casino may change hands

Plans are underway for a new development on the west side of Cape Girardeau near the intersection of Siemers Drive and Highway 74.

Cape Girardeau real estate developer Mike Peters told me last week work could start "as early as March" on City Place Centre which he describes as a 60-acre "mixed use residential and commercial development."

More information is available by contacting Peters at (573) 204-1000 or emailing capewestdevelopment@gmail.com.

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The St. Louis Business Journal published a list last week of the largest colleges and universities in Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois, ranked according to fall enrollment for the 2019-2020 academic year.

According to information supplied by each institution, and not counting online students, the University of Missouri at Columbia has the region's largest enrollment with 26,627 undergraduate and graduate students.

Southeast Missouri State University ranked eighth with a reported enrollment of 10,637, again, not counting online students.

Institutions ranked No. 2 through No. 7 are:

2. St. Louis Community College -- 17,294

3. University of Missouri-St. Louis -- 16,007

4. Washington University in St. Louis -- 15,735

5. Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville -- 13,061

6. Saint Louis University -- 12,546

7. Southern Illinois University-Carbondale -- 11,695

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The Missouri Gaming Commission will consider the "change of control" of Isle Casino Cape Girardeau when it meets this week in Jefferson City.

As I reported in June, Century Casinos of Colorado Springs, Colorado, has an agreement to purchase the operations of Isle Casino in Cape -- as well as the casino operations at Lady Luck Casino in Caruthersville, Missouri, and Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in New Cumberland, West Virginia -- from Eldorado Resorts Inc. of Reno, Nevada. Meanwhile, VICI Properties Inc., a real estate investment firm in New York, has agreed to acquire the real estate holdings of all three properties and lease them back to Century Casinos. The gaming commission will also consider VICI's property purchase proposal Wednesday.

Sources at the Cape Girardeau casino told me recently they don't anticipate any complications with the transactions and said the ownership changes won't result in any immediate operational changes at the Cape Girardeau facility.

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Sister Jane Kiefer

I received word last week Sister Jane Kiefer has left Saint Francis Healthcare System after 40 years with Saint Francis in Cape Girardeau and more than 70 years as a Franciscan sister. She now resides at the Franciscan sisters' motherhouse in Wheaton, Illinois.

Sister Jane KieferSubmitted

I knew her as Sister Jane when I worked in the marketing department at Saint Francis from 1986 through 1997. She implemented the social work program at Saint Francis Medical Center in 1976, coinciding with the hospital's move from Good Hope Street to its current location on the city's west side.

In 1985, she transferred to the medical center's pastoral care department and served as a chaplain for 13 years. When she retired in 1998, she was the last remaining religious sister at Saint Francis Medical Center.

After her retirement, Sister Jane continued serving the medical center's patients and their families as a volunteer, rarely missing a day.

"For more than four decades, Sister Jane ministered to the patients, colleagues and families of our health care system," said Saint Francis president and chief executive officer Maryann Reese in a statement about Sister Jane's departure. "We thank her for her love, dedicated service and example she has set for all of us to follow."

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In last week's Business Notebook, I mistakenly referred to Earl Norman as the chairman and chief executive officer of "Beacon" Hill Investments. That should have said "Benton" Hill Investments.

I also used an incorrect spelling of Jeannie Johnson," who has been promoted to a loan officer position at First State Bank & Trust Co. at the bank's Caruthersville, Missouri, location. However, I used the spelling the bank provided to me ("Jeanie") in the bank's original news release about her promotion.

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Now, on to the rest of this week's Business Notebook ...

AG offers Cyber Monday safety tips

Now that Black Friday and Small Business Saturday are behind us, the Missouri Attorney General's Office has some tips for Missourians on how to avoid being scammed today, Cyber Monday.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt says the frequency of online scams increases during the holiday season, including Cyber Monday, when online shoppers hunt for good deals from web-based retailers.

In a news release last week, Schmitt offered the following Cyber Monday safety tips:

• Avoid websites with odd or incorrect spelling of legitimate companies. Domain names including hyphens are often red flags.
• Beware of bogus websites promising unbelievable deals. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Be wary of "delivery failure" or "order confirmation" emails for items you did not order. These may be used to gain a consumer's personal information.
• Use a credit card, and not a debit card, for online orders. It is easier to dispute and mediate fraudulent charges with a credit card instead of a debit card.
• Use strong passwords for credit cards and bank accounts.

If you believe you've been scammed, contact the Missouri Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline, (800) 392-8222, or file a complaint online at ago.mo.gov.

Firm shares building with Midwest Strategies

SEMO CPA Company moved last week from Themis Street in downtown Cape Girardeau to 715 N. Clark Ave. where it is sharing office space with Midwest Strategies, formerly known as Hendrickson Business Advisors.

The two-level building on North Clark, next door to the Cape Girardeau Public Library, is the former home of the Cook, Barkett, Ponder & Wolz law firm, which relocated a few years ago to the Regent's Parc office building on North Kingshighway.

The accounting firm, owned by Carly Bowles and Gina Donze, occupied the main level of the North Clark building as well as a portion of the building's lower level. It was formerly located at 112 Themis St.

"We have truly enjoyed being downtown and we will continue to support all of the exciting developments there. We've simply outgrown the building. Our new location will provide our team and clients with better access and parking," Donze said.

The Themis Street building is owned by Tom Higgins, who sold TRH Accounting to SEMO CPA in January 2018, and is available for immediate lease.

Midwest Strategies, which had previously occupied the entire North Clark Avenue building, has moved into the building's lower level where owner Jennifer S. Smith (formerly Jennifer Hendrickson) said it will continue to focus on business consulting, coaching and customized training.

Smith said there will also be an increased focus on her other business, Murphy Business Sales. "Most people find buying or selling a business to be overwhelming and stressful," Smith said. "At Murphy Business, we're business brokers who guide our clients through this process so that when they're at the closing table, they're confident the deal sets them up for future success. We've gained so much traction nationally that we will be scaling back our other offerings to focus more on business brokerage."

Smith also noted with an increased focus on Murphy Business Sales, ownership of her company's Faith Perception division has been transferred to former employee Cody Green and Logan Green, his business partner.

SEMO CPA Company and Midwest Strategies will host an open house in the near future.

KFVS12 sponsoring one-day food drive

The largest single-day food drive in the region is planned for Thursday throughout Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky.

Sponsored by KFVS12, the Heartland Holiday Food Drive encourages residents in the station's viewing area to donate nonperishable food items -- such as canned vegetables, meats, fruits and soups, peanut butter, rice, pasta, fruit juices in plastic bottles and cereals -- at their local Walmart.

Food donated in Southeast Missouri will go to the Southeast Missouri Food Bank in Sikeston, Missouri, which provides food to 140 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters in 16 Southeast Missouri counties. Food collected in Southern Illinois will go to the Salvation Army of Southern Illinois, while donations in Western Kentucky will go to the United Way of Western Kentucky.

"Our goal in hosting this food drive is to give back to the communities we serve," KFVS12 general manager Chris Conroy said. "We've seen firsthand the poverty and the needs in Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky. We also know the generosity of people in this area. We hope to collect thousands of pounds of food that will be distributed to the people who need it most."

In addition to Walmart, other partners in the food drive include Greenway Equipment and Saint Francis Medical Center.

"One in six people in Southeast Missouri lives in a home where they may not know where their next meal will come from," Southeast Missouri Food Bank chief executive officer Joey Keys said. "Efforts like these are especially important as we head into the holidays when the need is even greater."

Chamber notes ...

The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting for Fresh Baked Websites at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Jackson Civic Center, 381 E. Deerwood Drive in Jackson.

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The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Laurel Adkisson Insurance Agency, 760 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in observance of the agency's 20th anniversary. The ribbon cutting will take place during an open house at the agency from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. that day.

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Cape Girardeau chamber members and guests are invited to the chamber's next First Friday Coffee at the Isle Casino Cape Girardeau Event Center. Doors open at 7 a.m. Friday with a program featuring a not-for-profit impact panel starting at 7:40 a.m. The free event includes a continental breakfast.

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The Jackson chamber will host a ribbon cutting to mark the opening of Connection Point Church, 358 E. Deerwood Drive in Jackson, at 11 a.m. Friday.

Business license applications

Jeff and Terri Robinson of Jackson have submitted a business license application to operate Rockin R Entertainment at 21 S. Plaza Way in Cape Girardeau. According to the application, the business will consist of a party-bus rental service and a "rage room." An opening date for the business has not been announced.

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Jessica Swan of Jackson has submitted a business license application to operate a Shelter Insurance agency at 465 S. Mount Auburn Road, Suite 102, in Cape Girardeau. The agency offers auto, home, life and business insurance and opened earlier this year.

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