The greater Cape Girardeau area "came close" to meeting the U.S. Census Bureau's criteria for designation as a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in 1990.

But too many things were in the way.

-- A county park.

-- A cemetery.

-- An industrial park.

The Census Bureau has some complicated rules concerning MSA designations, which give communities some advantages and which came into being for the 1950 census. A MSA includes one or more cities and the adjacent surrounding territory, which together have at least 50,000 people.

The area can include two counties that have a combined population of at least 100,000. The nucleus cities in the area, which in this case are Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City, must have contiguous boundaries.

The population of the nucleus must be at least 50,000.

There's more.

The outlying, "or, urban fringe" area generally consists of contiguous territory with a population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile.

That's the big hitch for the Cape Girardeau region.

There were 101,009 people in Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties, according to the 1990 census figures. Within the three cities were about 48,000, but within the immediate nucleus were probably enough people to reach the 50,000 mark.

Those figures have increased since then, according to a recent population estimates report. The U.S. Census Bureau placed the combined population of the three cities at more than 50,000, and the two counties at 106,322.

But two county parks, the cemetery, and the interstate separate Cape Girardeau and Jackson, and Nash Road Industrial Park lies between Cape Girardeau and Scott City.

"People don't live in these areas," said John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce. "That's where we get nailed... on the 1,000 people per square mile requirement."

The Census Bureau is aware of the problem, said Mehner.

"We have appealed to the bureau," he said. "But, the bureau won't look at the situation until the next census, unless we pay for a review." And the bottom line is that unless they change something, we don't qualify. said Mehner. "So, basically, we'd be paying out a lot of money for them to tell us something we already know."

The area appears to be too big to be rural, and too small to be metropolitan, said Mehner.

The next census will be during the year 2000.

Meanwhile, the Census Bureau is being reminded of the Cape Girardeau problem.

A MSA designation offers some advantages to an area. The area could qualify for a number of federal block grants and economic development programs available only MSAs, said Mehner.

And the area could receive more looks from businesses and industries seeking locations. Many companies, including industry, chain retailers and restaurants look at MSA listings when deciding where to locate.

There are six MSAs in Missouri -- Columbia, Joplin, Kansas City, St. Joseph, St. Louis, and Springfield.