The City of Cape Girardeau is seeking applicants for its Citizen Academy, a program offered twice a year that guides participants through various aspects of city government and its services.

The program goes six to eight weeks with each weekly session lasting two hours. Participants tour city facilities and meet some of the key individuals in city government.

"It's good to know how the city operates, because so much of what matters to people at that neighborhood level has to do with trash pickup, spring cleanups, safety and all the things that we go over when we meet with each of our departments," public information manager Nicolette Brennan said. "We hope to be both a recruitment and an inspiration tool to get people involved."

The program typically hosts about 20 participants, and the spring session is currently booked. The city is now recruiting applicants for its fall program, which will begin in September. Those interested can apply on the city's website, cityofcapegirardeau.org.

While this is a leadership program and the city does look at this as an opportunity to recruit individuals who may consider serving at some level, it's not exclusively about finding the next city council or advisory board member. Becoming more informed is much of the value. And having a more informed citizenry can pay dividends for our community.

This is one of the good things the City of Cape Girardeau does, and we encourage interested individuals to apply for the fall session.