Economic conference looks at future of Southeast Missouri

Kennett still struggles with the loss of health care access, as well as 300 jobs, from the closing of the county’s only hospital in 2018.

Poplar Bluff sees a need for both more people in its workforce and developable land for new enterprises.

Affordable childcare impacts Sikeston families.

Access to a skilled talent pool is a focus for Dexter businesses.

These are topics identified by each community as areas needing to be improved for the economic health of their towns, but also impact all of Southeast Missouri.

The Southeast Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Symposium will offer a way to look at the future of Southeast Missouri through its trends, needs and possibilities.

The event will be held Nov. 30 at the Drury Plaza Hotel Conference Center in Cape Girardeau. Local, state and national speakers will provide insight into many issues which are impacting both individual communities and the region.

The first presentation will be a health care update with Saint Francis Healthcare System CEO Justin Davison; SoutheastHEALTH CEO Ken Bateman; Missouri Delta Medical Center President and CEO Jason Schrumpf; and Mercy Hospital Perry administrator Chris Wibbenmeyer.

Health care is a chief economic driver in the region and it was important to feature people involved with it, according to organizers. SEEDS is a collaborative effort between the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce and its regular host, the Harrison College of Business & Computing at Southeast Missouri State University.

There is no question that Dunklin County’s most pressing economic issue is health care, said Dunklin County Economic Development Director Melissa Combs. Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center closed in 2018, costing the county 300 jobs and a $20 million payroll, as well as leaving a lack of emergency care.

“Secondary effects include the loss of educational and training opportunities, and retail sales decline in adjacent industries,” said Combs. “While we do have excellent primary care in our county, the lack of emergency care is putting a severe strain on local EMS and medical transport.”

Doniphan has also been impacted by a hospital closure, while Poplar Bluff, Cape Girardeau and Dexter have seen growth in health care options.

Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center has an annual payroll of $94.6 million, paying more than $13 million a year in property taxes.

It is one of four health care complexes in Butler County, with the others operated by Saint Francis Health Care, SoutheastHEALTH and the Veterans Administration.

SEEDS will also include a regional economic update from associate economist Nathan Jefferson of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Someone from the bank has presented at all previous SEEDS.

“(The Federal Reserve Bank has) skilled economists who have access to some of the best data and they give a lot of insight on one, what is the current state of the economy; and two, what do forecasts look like for the upcoming year,” said David Yaskewich, chairman of the college’s Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance.

Codefi co-founder and CEO James Stapleton and Dan Cobb, vice-chairman of the Missouri Technology Corp., will then hold an entrepreneurship fireside chat.

Yaskewich said it’s important to have speakers who have started and sustained businesses.

A trained workforce is a need identified by businesses in many area communities.

“The key to unlocking sustainable economic growth and prosperity for our region lies in the strategic investment in a skilled and well-trained workforce,” said Dexter Chamber Executive Director and Economic Developer Alisha Trammell.

The Dexter chamber has partnered with Three Rivers College as part of this effort, establishing the Bootheel Technical Training Center at the Dexter campus.

“A skilled workforce is the backbone of economic development, driving innovation, productivity, and competitiveness,” said Trammell. “Companies seeking to establish or expand operations within our region are increasingly placing a premium on access to a skilled talent pool.”

Steve Halter, president of the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce, agrees a trained workforce is a key component.

He is also concerned about a shortage of developable land for prospective businesses due to flood zones and century farms within Butler County.

He additionally sees a need to speed up processes for incentives for companies.

“We can move quickly at a local level and we can get very creative when tailoring incentives to companies,” he said. “We also have a local job center, a Boys & Girls Club, a community college, a technical career center and the Excel Graduation Center, along with the chamber, focused on workforce issues.”

The issues we are facing now are also our future challenges, Halter said.

Andrew Busch, an economic futurist, will serve as the keynote speaker and conclude the round of presentations.

“He is what you’d call an economic futurist,” Rob Gilligan, president and CEO of the Cape Girardeau chamber, said of Busch. “He looks at global-scale activity and then interprets how it’s going to affect economic activity on a national level, an international level, and then how we can tie that back here locally and what those opportunities will be.”

Busch has previously provided market briefings to the White House, U.S. Congress and the Federal Reserve Board.

Sikeston has looked ahead by asking the community to identify the top five economic development issues for the 2023-2025 strategic plan, according to information from Marcie Lawson, president/CEO of the Sikeston Regional Chamber and Area Economic Development Corp.

“These issues are workforce development; marketing and attraction; business retention and expansion; neighborhood development; and small business and entrepreneurial development,” Lawson said. “These broad topics also include different strategic goals and action items that will ultimately grow the population of Sikeston, and the surrounding area, ensuring the economic health of our community.”

Lawson said state funding and policy changes to increase the number of childcare centers would be extremely helpful.

“Lack of affordable childcare directly impacts almost every strategic objective we have in one way or another,” Lawson said. “Additionally, state and federal support to finish the conversion of Highway 60 to Interstate 57 would not only help Sikeston, but every community between here, Poplar Bluff and all the way down to Arkansas attracts industries looking to lower their distribution costs.”

Infrastructure that could change the future of the region is also at play in Poplar Bluff, Dexter, Dunklin County and many other areas.

Poplar Bluff and Dexter are also part of future Interstate 57.

Poplar Bluff residents are helping through a sales tax to fund improvements to Highway 67 south to the Arkansas border. Additional state and federal money is being sought to help with this.

Dunklin County needs to see expansion of Highway 412, said Combs.

“This vital corridor connects Dunklin County to our neighbors in (Tennessee) and (Arkansas) who have already expanded and improved their portions of this highway,” she said. “Our current state of two lanes inhibits industrial recruiting efforts and poses a safety risk to the citizens, students, and agriculture workers who travel this road daily.”

Tickets for SEEDS may be purchased at capechamber.com/seeds. They are $150 per person or $750 for a table of six.

Doors open at 9:30 a.m. and the symposium will last until around 2:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided.

The symposium will take place at Drury Plaza Hotel Cape Girardeau Conference Center, 3351 Percy Drive. This will be the first time it will be hosted off the SEMO campus.

Reporting from staff at the Southeast Missourian, Standard Democrat, Delta Dunklin Democrat and Dexter Statesman contributed to this article.