The start of April brought with it the opening of the newest hotel property in Cape Girardeau, the Riverview Hotel at the Century Casino. This is just one of several large commercial investments underway in the region that will help improve the overall quality of life and add a nice little boost to business in Southeast Missouri.

It’s finally here! Eclipse day 2024 and with-it thousands of umbraphiles, or eclipse chasers will descend on the Southeast Missouri region. While I am sure some of the locals will be grumbling about traffic and crowded restaurants, the economic benefit to our area businesses and the communities overall will be worth it.

April Fool’s Day is the one day per year that businesses and brands can have a little fun and engage their customers in a fun and joking way.

On March 14, the U.S. census office released updated county population estimates as of July 1, 2023. For Missouri, as well as our region, population estimates were relatively flat for this year.

Spring is officially here and hopefully the spring weather will be pleasant and long lasting this year. The seasonal transition to spring has traditionally implied renewal and refreshment as nature shakes off the dormancy of winter and blossoms anew.

Sunday morning at two am we officially moved to “Daylight Savings” as clocks were moved forward one hour. This annual event that first started in Germany in 1916 and began in the U.S. on March 19, 1918 often leads to groggy mornings, tired employees and according to research done at the University of Colorado – Boulder a six percent increase in fatal car accidents.

Last week, the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) released the January 2024 jobs report for the state and with-it annual revisions to 2023 estimates. There were some positive trends to watch in our region.

While we are still technically four weeks away from the official start of Spring, it’s hard not to notice several new businesses springing up here in Cape Girardeau lately.

According to the Small Business Administration as of 2024, there are approximately 33.2 million business recognized in the United States. Keeping track of that many organizations for statistical and economic purposes can be overly complicated, luckily, we have an organization system called NAICS to help with the process.

Have you ever wondered why some areas seem to be a hotspot for similar businesses? Several restaurants in the same neighborhood, jewelry stores on the same block, or even similar business models opening in the same community. It's not just coincidence – it's called clustering, and it's a game-changer for businesses and communities alike.