Panama Canal expansion could impact Missouri ports

MODOT officials say the widened canal will open more freight shipment opportunities to Missouri.

Franklin School construction proceeds as planned

The $10 million project is being constructed next to the old school. It will open for the 2012 school year.

Dino's Pizza damaged by fire

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department estimates $250,000 in damages, but the building is not a total loss.

Mississippi River Basin nitrate pollution remains high

Nitrates flowing from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico contribute to the formation of areas known as dead zones.

Showing posts with label Isle of Capri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isle of Capri. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Isle of Capri pours casino basin

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The Isle of Capri casino construction took a big step forward Tuesday night.

Construction crews poured a 41 thousand square foot concrete slab for over 12 hours. The slab will serve as the basin where the casino floor will float.

Missouri law requires that casinos are built within 1000 feet of a river and the gaming floor must float.

Isle of Capri’s Vice President of Design and Construction Dick Meister explained the casino's requirements according to Missouri law.

"In Missouri we can build a basin of 41,000 square feet and then put a barge of about 41,000 square feet and let it float. As long as there is two feet of water under the barge and a couple of feet on either side to swim around. However, when you walk into the barge, at end of the day, inside the building, you will not know that you have gone from the building to barge and back and forth. It’s a very seamless transition the way these are built now,” Meister said.

The concrete was poured overnight so that concrete trucks would not interfere with traffic.

Approximately 40 concrete trucks per hour arrived at the construction zone, hauling concrete from three Delta plants in Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

Meister says the basin must be completely flat. It cannot be off by more that one-eighth of an inch throughout it’s forty-one thousand square feet.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

Friday, April 1, 2011

Work officially begins on Cape Girardeau casino



CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Cape Girardeau has waited for 20 years for a casino … and the city is now one step closer to bringing a gaming establishment to its riverfront. 

Cape Girardeau city leaders and Isle of Capri Casino executives broke ground Thursday on the $125 million project on the city’s riverfront district.

Officials say that the new casino will generate 450 new jobs.

Isle of Capri’s president and CEO Virginia McDowell says that the casino will attract visitors from a six state region.

“This was probably the best and last underserved market in Missouri. So to us it became very obvious that this was the place to be,” McDowell said.

Cape Girardeau Area MAGNET director Mitch Robinson was clearly elated about the casino. He says that it’s one of the largest economic developments that the city has seen in generations.

“We’ve looked. It’s been well over 40 years since we’ve had anything of this size. $125 million project, 450 jobs. That’s pretty rare in today’s economic climate,” Robinson said.

The next step in the project is to relocate Main Street. The casino is scheduled to open in 2012.

The city’s voters approved a ballot initiative that allowed gaming last November. The community will vote next Tuesday on an initiative that would ban smoking in all indoor workplaces, including casinos.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

TTF will fund Broadway renovations

Cape Girardeau City Manager Scott Meyer says that the City Council’s decision to take nearly two million dollars to pay off the airport bond is akin to a household using a tax refund to pay off the credit cards - yet still making a new purchase in the long run.

On Tuesday, the City Council decided use the upfront money from Isle of Capri Casino to make a final payment on its adjacent airport facility construction loan in order to save money on interest.
The city originally planned to use the money for Broadway Street renovation and beautification. Meyer says that the city has every intention to move forward with the Broadway plan by tapping in to Transportation Trust Fund dollars as originally laid out in TTF4.

"With TTF we’ll pay for Broadway. There’s not money there for amenities, but we also might also apply for a grant for those amenities as well. So we’re looking for every possible dollar we can," Meyer said.

The bond is question was used to construct the airport facility now housing Commander Premier, who owes the city one-point-two-million in unpaid rent. The city has already told the aircraft manufacturer that it will be evicted if it does not pay off its back rent.

By paying off the bond, the city can lease the facility to a business other than an aircraft manufacturer.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Council: $2 mil will go to pay airport bonds

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - In the first round of voting last night, the Cape Girardeau City Council unanimously approved a measure that will use $2 million of casino money to repay local airport bonds as well as replenishing the city’s emergency reserve fund, which had been depleted during the last ice storm.

The casino money had been set aside for improvements to Broadway and ten other civic projects as designated in the development plan with the casino.

Mayor Harry Rediger assured that these city improvements will be completed in the near future.

"We have committed to the Isle of Capri that the enhancements that were on the development agreement for the Broadway project will be done by fall of next year, prior to the opening of the gaming operation in December of 2012," Rediger said.

Using the casino funds to immediately repay the bonds will eliminate $260,000 from the city’s budget.

In other business, the council approved zoning changes to the Central Business District with the creation of a Downtown Commercial Corridor that creates residential space in the rear of the first floor of buildings, something the current zoning laws allow only with a special use permit.

Over the next few months the council will decide the specifics on how to spend a $250,000 grant from the Missouri Foundation of Health. The grant will fund nearly 40 miles of new bicycle lanes, the installation of bike racks, and bicycle education.

Matt Caldwell, KRCU

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Historic Preservation students disassemble casino zone homes for class project

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Southeast Historic Preservation students got a rare treat yesterday when they were given the opportunity by Isle of Capri to remove parts of the buildings that are slated for demolition.

Dave Hearns, teacher's assistant for the class, stated the primary focus of this project is to remove windows and sashes for students to take part in a window workshop later on in the semester. Students learned how to properly remove windows and will then be able to work with these windows during the workshop.

"We were able to take the frames we have now and clean the frames and remove the old glazing and points, repoint and reglaze the windows and basically teach them how to work with wooden frame windows," Hearns said.

Hearns and fellow students were allowed to remove not only windows, but flooring, trim, and door frames before the house was to be torn down.

The casino purchased 63 properties in downtown Cape Girardeau that will be torn down this month. The casino has allowed for the buildings to be used in a learning capacity for University students, as well as the local police and fire departments.


Matthew Caldwell, KRCU

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Southeast students engaged in fate of Reynolds House

Southeast Missouri State University Historic Preservation students are helping decide the fate of the Reynolds House at 623 N. Main Street in Cape Girardeau, which was built in 1857. 

The future of the house, owned by Earl Norman, is currently undecided and students are developing a strategic plan, a historic structure report, and a furnishing plan that may guide the future of the house.

Dr. Joel Rhodes is leading the class, which he believes will strengthen their skills and potentially help not only the students, but Cape Girardeau as well.

"It’s critical to get our students out there and get their hands dirty. It not only puts more tools in their tool box for their future careers, but there are a lot of projects in Cape Girardeau that could really, really use their expertise and the Reynolds House is a perfect storm of circumstances," Rhodes said.

The Isle of Capri casino is set to begin construction across the street from the Reynolds House and have already agreed to help protect the house from demolition.

Dr. Rhodes and fellow faculty member Dr. Steven Hoffman will meet with the design team from the casino on Friday to discuss the future of the historic structure.

The casino is scheduled to open on January 1, 2012.

Matthew Caldwell, KRCU