Business

A Dexter business has been awarded a contract to help secure the southern border of the United States. Randy Kinder Excavating was awarded a contract with a total value, including options, worth $175,577,000. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in partnership with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers...

Harps Food Stores of Springdale, Arkansas, has begun its ownership takeover of several former Country Mart outlets in Southeast Missouri. Country Mart, 309 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson, was converted to a Harps on Wednesday with stores in Marble Hill and Fredericktown slated for the changeover today and Friday, respectively...

A Jackson family is bringing a bit of Cajun culture to Southeast Missouri through SEMO Crawfish Co. Boilhouse & Market, set to open later this month. For more than 20 years, AmyJo and Ben Hunter have farmed and sold crawfish from their Sikeston, Missouri, farm, producing some 10,000 pounds each year. They own a 180-acre farm, 10 acres of which are used for crawfish...

SIKESTON — As many local residents look for ways to stay at home as much as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new local Sikeston business has the answer. OrangeCrate opened in Sikeston about a month ago and is a delivery service that connects restaurants that want to have their food delivered with independent contractors willing to deliver it...

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. – First State Bank & Trust Co., Inc. now offers on-the-spot debit card issuance to new and existing FSBT customers. Whether you’re a new customer opening an account or a current customer who’s debit card has been misplaced or stolen, the instant issue service provides immediate access to your funds...

ST. LOUIS — Bunge Limited announced Tuesday in a news release that it has agreed to sell 35 U.S. interior elevators to Zen-Noah Grain Corporation. It was unknown at press time if Bunge Grain in Portageville or Caruthersville were among the 35 elevators that will be sold as requests for information from Bunge were not immediately returned...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Nearly 34,100 small businesses in Missouri are receiving more than $6.4 billion to help support their employees and business operations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds were made available to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, a $349 billion relief measure included in the CARES Act passed by Congress on March 27. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Saint Francis Healthcare System has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Hospital and Home Care Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a healthcare organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care...

SIKESTON – Walmart and Sam’s Clubs nationwide kicked off the seventh annual “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” Campaign on April 13 to raise awareness and funds for Feeding America and its nationwide network of food banks, including Southeast Missouri Food Bank...

SIKESTON — McMikle Funeral Home is now open in Sikeston. On Feb. 6, McMikle Funeral Home, owned by Bill and Mary Katherine (McMikle) Branum, completed the purchase of the former Blanchard Funeral Chapel, located at 403 N. Kingshighway. The building was then renovated and completed on March 22, opening for services...

SIKESTON – Deke Lape, an employee benefits consultant with Mitchell Insurance of Sikeston has been selected for the third-straight year to address the 17th Annual World Health Care Congress (WHCC) in Washington, D.C. “Deke Lape is widely recognized as a national leader in innovative NextGen Benefits strategies that are revolutionizing employee benefits,” said Nelson Griswold, chairman of the WHCC Benefits Adviser Leadership Track. ...

By SARAH SKIDMORE SELL and MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Business Writers The Trump administration has announced that most individuals and businesses will be allowed to delay paying their federal tax bills for 90 days as part of an emergency relief plan amid the coronavirus pandemic...

Armstrong Outdoors celebrated their Grand Opening at the Sikeston Outlet Stores with a ribbon cutting on March 7. The store is now open in the corner next to Carter’s at the outlet mall and offers everything from mens, ladies and youth camo to all-inclusive hunting and fishing guided trips. The store hours are Mon-Sat 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday noon-6 p.m...

Two Sikeston office supply stores recently merged. Effective March 1, Mid-South Office Supply and Heartland Office Supply merged. Mid-South Office Supply, located at 924 S. Kingshighway in Sikeston, opened in 1983 and is locally owned and operated. ...

Waller joins First Midwest Bank as vice president, lending officer SIKESTON, Mo. – Gordon Waller has joined First Midwest Bank in Sikeston as a vice president and lending officer. With over 45 years of experience in community bank management, commercial lending and agricultural lending, Waller brings extensive knowledge to the bank group...

SIKESTON — One of the largest community banks in Missouri, First State Community Bank has been part of the Sikeston community since 2005. First State Community Bank was founded in 1954 and opened a trailer in Sikeston in 2005, moving into their current location at 201 N. Main in 2006...

The Sikeston Regional Chamber held a ribbon cutting on Feb. 20 to celebrate the new location of GoSEMO Fiber. GoSEMO plans to be fully operational and open to the public in the new location, 778 N. Main St., on April 6. The location will be home to all subscriber care, sign-ups for service, call center, construction operations, and technical support. GoSEMO plans to offer full fiber services in the BMU served territory in the coming year as construction completes...

SIKESTON — Chad Crow has been promoted to executive vice president/chief business officer of Farm Credit in Sikeston. Crow began his Farm Credit career in 2003 as a loan officer at the Sikeston branch. Over his 17 year tenure, Crow has continued to grow and develop into a leadership role having held various other positions within the organization including vice president/branch manager, senior vice president / chief operating officer, and in 2017 accepted his most recent position of senior vice president / senior relationship officer.. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Saint Francis Medical Center’s Emergency and Trauma Center has been recertified as the only state-designated Level III Trauma Center in southeast Missouri. “This designation as a Level III Trauma Center demonstrates our continued commitment to provide the highest quality care when our patients need it most,” said Dr. ...

SIKESTON — Sikeston will have a new food option beginning Monday. At 10 a.m. Monday, Rally’s will open at 533 N. Main, next to Rhodes. “The Sikeston community has been a staple community in Southeast Missouri for many years,” said Brent Anderson, vice president of operations at PAJCO Inc. “The continued growth and development of the market and community made it an easy decision to open this exciting new brand in a town known for it’s hospitality.”...

SIKESTON — Subway on East Malone in Sikeston has a new look. Located at 1203 E. Malone in the old McDonald’s building, the newly renovated Subway opened Feb. 8. “We bought the building in June and Blake Hickman Construction pretty much gutted the building,” said Kathy Agin, who owns the business along with her husband Trent Agin. “It’s been a long process but he did an excellent job.”...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Corn farmers, industry representatives, and guests from across the state gathered in Jefferson City, Mo., Wednesday for the Missouri Corn Growers Association (MCGA) Annual Meeting and Legislative Day.  The morning kicked off at the Capitol Plaza Hotel with MCGA’s annual meeting. ...

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. – Bruce Lawrence has been appointed to the First State Bank and Trust Co., Inc. Board of Directors. Lawrence joins the bank’s Board of Directors with over 35 years of experience in financial institution representation. “We are pleased to welcome Bruce to our Board of Directors at First State Bank & Trust,” said Matthew Drake, Chariman and CEO. “His background in banking law and regulation bring diversity and perspective.”...

SIKESTON —Morgan Krokstrom has been hired as the newest financial adviser for Raymond James Financial Services. Krokstrom graduated from Arkansas State University in December of 2018 with a degree in Business Administration. “We are delighted to have Morgan join our Raymond James team,” Dean Wooden said. ...

In a statement released Monday evening, UnitedHealthcare said its negotiations with Saint Francis Healthcare System are efforts to reduce the cost of health care for Southeast Missouri residents. “The cost of care at Saint Francis Medical Center is nearly two and a half times more expensive than the average cost of the hospitals in our network in the St. Louis metropolitan area, where more competition among hospitals has driven costs down,” the statement said...

Officials with Saint Francis Healthcare System announced Monday morning UnitedHealthcare has terminated its contract with the entity as the two negotiate rates for services provided at Saint Francis’ facilities. The situation would put Saint Francis facilities “out of network” for United customers, meaning customers would pay higher rates for services such as cancer treatment, surgery and laboratory testing provided at Saint Francis...

Title Jason Aldean, Greenway Team Up to Fight Child Hunger Greenway Equipment and country music star Jason Aldean have teamed up again to support weekend backpack programs in schools in Missouri and Arkansas. Greenway Equipment has donated the John Deere Cab XUV835M utility vehicle Aldean uses on his property near Nashville. The UTV features a dashboard plaque with his autograph...

SIKESTON — Tiara Ross, Human Resources Business Partner II at SoutheastHEALTH, has been named to the board of directors of Southeast Missouri Food Bank. “We are very fortunate to have Tiara join our board of directors as we continue to raise funds and develop programs to feed our hungry neighbors in southeast Missouri,” said food bank Chief Executive Officer Joey Keys. “Tiara embodies the spirit of our mission, and her talents and expertise will fit perfectly with our current board.”...

SIKESTON — A third generation, family owned company, Executive Systems Inc. (ESI) has been serving the Sikeston community for over 60 years. ESI began in 1954 as Chambers Electric and evolved into ESI as the technology and demand for low voltage communications and security systems increased in the mid 1980s...

SIKESTON – Missouri Delta Home Health recently received top-tier rankings from two national third-party evaluators of home health agency quality, patient satisfaction, and overall performance – the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Five-Star Quality Rating System and the 2019 HomeCare Elite...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, has announced that Lieutenant Jason N. Crites, Troop F, of Jefferson City is being promoted to captain and will transfer to the Research & Development Division, General Headquarters, where he will serve as director of the division. The promotion takes effect Jan. 1, 2020...

Taylor is honored at Hunter Acres Caring Center SIKESTON — Terry Taylor is the Employee of the Month for November at Hunter Acres Caring Center. Taylor has been working at Hunter Acres Caring Center since June 19, 1995, as the head cook. She has four beautiful daughters, 11 grandkids, and four great-grandkids. She loves her family and her residents and would like to thank everyone for this award...

SIKESTON — In 1948 a small group of businessmen thought the area was in need of a hospital and in December of that year Missouri Delta Medical Center opened its doors. Now, 71 years later, MDMC has a main hospital along with 24 primary care and specialty clinics throughout Southeast Missouri, including Portageville, New Madrid, Charleston, Dexter, Benton and Chaffee. MDMC currently has a workforce of over 730 full-time employees and a payroll exceeding $55 million...