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River Campus
Houses, gas station demolished near River Campus
(01/26/08)The air was filled with dust Thursday and Friday near the River Campus as old buildings were demolished, possibly to make room for parking. Two houses owned by Apple Creek Investments LLC were torn down near Morgan Oak and South Lorimier streets. A nearby Bi-State Oil Co. gas station, which closed Dec. 31, is also being leveled, according to owner Scott Blank... 
River Campus performance 'very special' for Cape Girardeau native
(11/05/07)When she was a little girl attending St. Mary's School in Cape Girardeau, Liesl Schoenberger and her classmates went to the grounds of Old St. Vincent's Seminary for play days. She remembers touring the seminary as a Girl Scout. On Tuesday, the already accomplished violinist will return to Cape Girardeau and the transformed seminary grounds for a performance with the Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra in Bedell Performance Hall...
Ameren close to settlement over Taum Sauk damage
(10/26/07) ST. LOUIS -- Ameren Corp. is close to reaching a settlement with state officials that would end a civil lawsuit against the utility and repay damages associated with the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse, according to a court filing obtained by The Associated Press... 
A big night for the River Campus
(10/25/07)An hour before opening night for "Big River," the seats in the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall are empty. Downstage right, dressed in their mid-19th-century costumes, Bruce Zimmerman tunes his guitar and Steve Schaffner plays licks from a tune he will perform later on his fiddle. Harmonica player Les Lindy Jr. walks around nervously like a sprinter preparing for the 100-yard dash... 
After nine years and millions of dollars, vision becomes reality
(10/22/07)The Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall has been called the "crown jewel" of the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus. That jewel rests in a platinum setting of an intimate recital hall, flexible theater, dance studio, classrooms and other work and performance spaces, all of which were open to the public Sunday for the formal dedication of the River Campus... 
First big show
(10/01/07)The seats are finally in the Bedell Performance Hall, making what once looked like a giant cave appear much closer to what it really is: the brightest, shiniest gem of the River Campus' modern, pricey performing arts facilities. "It's looking like a real auditorium now," River Campus interim director Dr. Gary Miller said Thursday... 
River Campus beech biggest in state
(08/22/07)The massive American beech tree showcased in the River Campus park casts a long shadow. It is the largest of its species in the state, with a circumference of 16 feet and a height of 100 feet. The American beech was part of a tradition for young men attending St. Vincent's Seminary, which operated between the 1843 and 1910 in Cape Girardeau... 
Curtain rises on River Campus
(08/21/07)The first day of classes at the River Campus had the feel of any other school day -- just in a multimillion-dollar, brand-new performing arts education center. Students were on campus, but there was no crushing tide of collegiates strolling around the campus grounds. The parking lot remained about half-full all day, and students didn't appear to wait long for their scheduled shuttles... 
Packing up: SEMO moving into River Campus
(06/01/07)Amy Roadarmel has packed dishes for weeks. She's still not done. It takes time when you have about 900 "dishes" to pack in boxes. That's particularly the case when you're packing up Mississippian Indian clay pottery dating back some 1,000 years... 
Governor signs loan bill at River Campus
(05/25/07)Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt drew praise and loud applause Thursday during a visit to Southeast Missouri State University's new River Campus, where he signed legislation that provides more than $300 million for the new Cape Girardeau arts school and other college construction projects around the state...
Percussion group far from booked, River Campus official says
(04/12/07) The street-percussion extravaganza "STOMP" may not be part of the 2007-2008 season at the River Campus despite prior reports in the Southeast Missourian indicating that it would be. On March 28 the Southeast Missouri reported "STOMP" would be part of the schedule after a speech to the Tri-State Advertising and Marketing Professionals delivered by Robert Cerchio, assistant director of the Southeast Missouri State University School of Visual and Performing Arts, who books acts for the River Campus.. ...
More shows scheduled for River Campus
(03/28/07) The River Campus next school year will host "STOMP," an eight-member percussion group that creates music from matchboxes, wooden poles, brooms, garbage cans, Zippo lighters and hubcaps. The percussion performance is one of eight musical, dance and theatrical performances scheduled for the inaugural season at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus, said Robert Cerchio, assistant director of the School of Visual and Performing Arts...
Students could pay for River Campus
(03/18/07) Southeast Missouri State University students by fall 2008 could be footing the bill for the school to make payments on River Campus bonds if the state legislature doesn't provide the necessary funding, school officials say. University president Dr. Ken Dobbins says he hopes that doesn't happen... 
Shaolin monks, Russian ballet set for River Campus
(12/02/06)Meet Robert Cerchio, assistant director for Southeast Missouri State University's School of Visual and Performing Arts, the man behind the performances local arts enthusiasts will get a chance to see when the River Campus opens up for the 2007-2008 academic year... 
SEMO's River Campus taking shape
(09/08/06)Tours Thursday evening focused on the inside of Southeast Missouri State University's new River Campus. But beyond the plywood walkways and the concrete dust, invited guests couldn't help but notice the spectacular view of the Mississippi River and the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge... 
River Campus plans altered to include rest rooms
(07/05/06)No rest rooms. That situation faced Southeast Missouri State University officials after plans for a welcome center at the River Campus fell through. Without a welcome center, the university was left without any provision for rest rooms for the performance hall and other theater spaces now under construction...
SEMO to build "convocation center" at River Campus
(06/29/06) Southeast Missouri State University will spend an estimated $1.6 million to build a "convocation center" addition to the River Campus arts school that's under construction. The board of regents approved the expansion at its meeting Wednesday in St. Louis... 
Snapshots of architecture
(06/26/06)From the outside, the brick building still looks ancient. But inside, it's being transformed into a modern campus building as part of Southeast Missouri State University's new River Campus arts school. The interior walls, the massive wood ceilings and floors and the brick chimneys are being covered by new construction...
University's performing arts offer prelude to River Campus move
(06/10/06) By the start of the 2007 academic year, the Southeast Missouri State University departments of music and theater and dance hope to have their new performance spaces on the River Campus ready to go. So for both departments, the 2006-2007 season of concerts and productions will serve as a prelude to what audiences can expect in new facilities...
Chamber not backing CVB relocation to River Campus
(06/07/06) The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce won't recommend the city council relocate the Convention and Visitors Bureau to the River Campus. It is premature to decide on any site, chamber president John Mehner said. The chamber board of directors made its decision Tuesday...
Cape welcome center not in state's plans
(05/24/06) The Missouri Department of Transportation won't spend federal dollars to build a $1 million welcome center on the Southeast Missouri State University campus, local officials and the state's tourism director said Tuesday. That's prompted the university to look at private funding and city and civic leaders to look at other possible sites for a welcome center that would also serve as the headquarters for the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau...
Wiring up the River Campus: New facility will be high-tech
(05/08/06) Good performance halls don't just happen. They require lots of planning, and lots of high-tech equipment is needed for every aspect of the presentation of art, music and theater productions. And Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus will be no exception...
Deadline missed; MOHELA plan fails
(05/06/06) A plan to construct college buildings with the profits of a student loan sell-off failed Friday in the Missouri legislature, but Gov. Matt Blunt plans to push ahead with the plan anyway. Southeast Missouri State University president Dr. Ken Dobbins welcomed the governor's move which could provide funding for campus construction projects including $17.2 million for the River Campus arts school. ...
Senate leader 'flat-out forgot' Southeast in bill
(04/01/06) The chairman of the Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee says he simply forgot to include the River Campus project in a list of college construction projects that he proposed to fund with money from the sale of student loans. "I put the bill together. I screwed up and didn't put it in," said state Sen. Chuck Gross, R-St. Charles. "I just flat-out forgot."...
River Campus: State funding hinges on rest-stop cell call
(03/31/06) The on-again, off-again funding for the River Campus project is back on track after state Sen. Jason Crowell orchestrated an evening conference call from his cell phone while parked at an Interstate 70 rest stop. The latest crisis for the beleaguered project began when Sen. Chuck Gross, R-St. Charles, introduced an appropriations bill Thursday afternoon that called for spending an estimated $448 million from the expected sale of student loans...
Southeast, Jetton settle differences on funding
(02/25/06) Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton and Southeast Missouri State University settled their differences Friday over state funding for the River Campus arts school project. At a news conference at the River Campus construction site in Cape Girardeau, Jetton, R-Marble Hill, Mo., said he would support state funding for the project to help retire bonds that provided the upfront money for the development...
Southeast, Jetton settle differences on funding
(02/25/06) Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton and Southeast Missouri State University settled their differences Friday over state funding for the River Campus arts school project. At a news conference at the River Campus construction site in Cape Girardeau, Jetton, R-Marble Hill, Mo., said he would support state funding for the project to help retire bonds that provided the upfront money for the development...
SEMO, Mizzou projects both relied on bonds
(02/24/06) A high-visibility project at the University of Missouri-Columbia is being financed with bonds dependent on year-to-year appropriations from the Missouri Legislature to pay off those bonds. Officials familiar with state lending operations say the financing plan for the $75 million Mizzou Arena is in many ways similar to the financing plan for Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus for the arts... 
River Campus issue settled
(02/24/06)House Speaker Rod Jetton and Southeast Missouri State University officials have put an end to the funding controversy over the River Campus arts school project. At a news conference Friday at the construction site, Jetton announced he will support state funding to help retire bonds for the River Campus project now that the university has promised it won't finance any future campus project with such a bond scheme...
Student government leaders spend day lobbying for River Campus funding
(02/23/06) A Valentine's Day meeting between House Speaker Rod Jetton and student leaders from Southeast Missouri State University wasn't a love match. It was, according to the students, more like a wrestling match. The students, four current and past officers of the Southeast student government, traveled to Jefferson City to lobby lawmakers -- especially Jetton -- for money to pay for the River Campus project. ...
McCaskill backs River Campus funding, regents
(02/23/06) Southeast Missouri State University regents facing fire from a powerful local lawmaker found an ally Wednesday in State Auditor Claire McCaskill, who supported the River Campus project and challenged Gov. Matt Blunt to fund it. The university bond issue to cover a funding shortfall for the project was a prudent choice, McCaskill said at a news conference in front of the construction site on Good Hope Street...
SEMO: Bonds saved millions of dollars
(02/19/06) Southeast Missouri State University saved millions of dollars in construction costs for the River Campus arts school by issuing bonds that allowed the project to get underway even while state financing remained in limbo, school officials said. Without the bonds -- handled through the Missouri Development Finance Board -- the university would be saddled with a more expensive project because of the rising cost of key building materials such as concrete and steel, school president Dr. ...
The tale of the timeline: Dobbins, Jetton have different views of state support for the $50 million project
(02/15/06) State lawmakers appropriated and reappropriated millions of dollars for Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus arts school over the past seven years, records show. In all, the legislature appropriated and reappropriated state funding for the project seven times, according to legislative, university and Southeast Missourian records...
Southeast, Missouri State have different bond plans
(02/14/06) Two state universities. Two expensive building projects. Two bond issues. The similarities stop there. Southeast Missouri State University wants $17.2 million in state funding to help retire more than $36 million in bonds the school issued in 2003 to finance construction of its River Campus arts school in Cape Girardeau...
Dobbins: Bonds had bipartisan support
(02/12/06) Southeast Missouri State University had the backing of the Democratic governor and the Republican head of the state senate in its decision four years ago to issue bonds to help finance construction of the River Campus arts school, school officials say...
Governor concerned about call for regents to resign
(02/11/06) Gov. Matt Blunt voiced concern Friday over House Speaker Rod Jetton's call for three Southeast Missouri State University regents to resign as a condition to garner legislative support for state funding for the River Campus arts school project. "Such forced resignations could undermine the independence of the board and would set a bad precedent," the governor said in a written statement. "It is my hope that the current board and policy makers in Jefferson City can resolve any differences."...
Politicians point fingers over River Campus issue
(02/10/06) The River Campus project didn't make Gov. Matt Blunt's list of proposed college construction projects because state Sen. Jason Crowell didn't back it, the governor's spokesman said Thursday. At a Jan. 19 meeting in the governor's office at the state capitol, Blunt asked Crowell if the River Campus should be included in a list of projects that would be funded with the sale of Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority student loans, said the governor's spokesman, Spence Jackson...
Jetton wants 3 regents out
(02/09/06) Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton said Wednesday he won't support state funding for the River Campus arts school project unless three Southeast Missouri State University regents resign. Wednesday, House leaders also decided to cut the university out of any capital improvements funding from the proposed sale of loans made through the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, area lawmakers said. ...
Southeast's share
(02/05/06) Gov. Matt Blunt's plan to fund construction projects at Missouri's public colleges provides less money for Southeast Missouri State University than it deserves, local lawmakers say. They want to add $17.2 million for Southeast's River Campus arts school...
Southeast's River Campus project takes shape
(12/24/05) Walls of masonry give shape to the new performance hall being built on the River Campus. It's one of the most visible signs of progress in the continuing construction of Southeast Missouri State University's new visual and performing arts school. University offices were closed Friday for the Christmas holiday. But that didn't stop construction work to develop a modern campus on the grounds of a former Catholic seminary overlooking the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau...
Dobbins: Arts school may not get state funds in '06
(12/02/05) Lawmakers may turn down Southeast Missouri State University's request for $17.2 million in funding to help pay off bonds for the River Campus arts school project next year because of a tight state budget, university president Dr. Ken Dobbins said Thursday...
Crowell critical of SEMO's risky funding
(10/14/05) University president Dr. Ken Dobbins says construction costs would have gone up if the school waited to build. Southeast Missouri State University began building its River Campus arts school without the money to pay for it, state Sen. Jason Crowell said Thursday...
Council tours River Campus construction
(10/08/05) While a welcome center has yet to be funded by the state, that hasn't stopped the rest of the work. Cape Girardeau City Council members eyed the developing River Campus with pride as they toured the construction site Friday. "It is just going to be phenomenal," Mayor Jay Knudtson said as construction workers labored to transform the former Catholic seminary site into Southeast Missouri State University's new visual and fine arts campus...
River Campus changing from the inside out
(08/04/05) Former St. Vincent's Seminary getting concrete reinforcements for earthquake protection. From the outside, the old L-shaped brick seminary building still retains its more-than-century-old look. But inside, it's been gutted and thick concrete walls have been erected to withstand a major earthquake...
River Campus relies on area contractors
(06/18/05) Eleven construction companies are expected to be involved in the performing arts campus project. Southeast Missouri State University's will create an arts school on its River Campus, but the project itself is creating construction jobs for local contractors...
Southeast readies for River Campus construction
(06/01/05) Southeast Missouri State University plans to award 23 different construction contracts to build its River Campus arts school starting this summer. Fourteen of the contracts, with a total cost between $20 million and $21 million, will be awarded within the next few weeks and new construction could begin later this month, project officials said Tuesday...
Committee OKs River Campus funds of nearly $3.26 million
(04/28/05) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The House Budget Committee on Wednesday voted to re-authorize nearly $3.26 million in state funds for the River Campus project. The money is part of a bill authorizing $255 million in expenditures for capital improvements during the 2006 and 2007 fiscal years. ...
SEMO urges local River Campus bids
(01/22/05) River Campus project officials encouraged more than 100 local contractors on Friday to bid on the various construction tasks needed to build Southeast Missouri State University's arts school. "What we are ready to do is get down to work and start building this thing," Dr. Dennis Holt, vice president of administration and enrollment management, told the contractors at a morning meeting in the University Center...
Southeast holding bid meeting for River Campus
(01/20/05) Matt Sanders Southeast Missourian Southeast Missouri State University has set a date to meet with local contractors concerning construction bids for the ...
Southeast wants local bids on arts school project
(12/18/04) Southeast Missouri State University will encourage local contractors to bid for the construction work on the River Campus project, school officials told the River Campus Board of Managers on Friday. BSI, the company managing the construction project for the university, tentatively plans to meet with local contractors on Jan. 7 to inform them about the construction work, school officials said...
Steamboat items build museum's collection
(11/10/04) The new River Campus museum will depict the Southeast Missouri region's "crossroads" of history, including almost 200 items from a defunct steamboat museum in St. Louis. Among the items is the anchor from the Eagle Packet Co.'s third and final steamboat to be named for the city of Cape Girardeau. Two previous steamboats named Cape Girardeau sank, the first in 1910 and the second in 1916...
Arts school set for construction
(11/10/04) In February, Southeast Missouri State University plans to start demolition work at the old St. Vincent's Seminary, clearing the way for construction to begin on its new River Campus arts school seven years after plans to build it were first announced...
River Campus could start on terrace project in fall
(09/25/04) The new River Campus terrace project could begin this fall with construction of an open-roof pavilion and an asphalt walking trail could be in place by next spring on the former grounds of a Catholic seminary, Southeast Missouri State University officials said Friday...
River Campus donor B.W. Harrison dies
(09/14/04) JESSICA EDMOND * photos@semissourian.com Two-year-old Jae Davis of Cape Girardeau waved two American flags as floats in the SEMO District Fair parade passed by Monday evening. By Bob Miller ~ Southeast Missourian B.W. Harrison was a man who embraced the outdoors...
Addition to theater is topic for River Campus
(09/01/04) Don't build it too small. Southeast Missouri State University officials are hearing that message from a St. Louis area concert promoter who says the school needs more than a 950-seat performance hall on its River Campus if it wants to attract top-flight shows at ticket prices the public will pay...
Rolling on the River Campus
(06/09/04) The grounds of the River Campus remain a quiet place today. There's little to announce their impending transformation except for a construction trailer parked in one corner of the property. While construction contracts haven't been awarded, Southeast Missouri State University already has a contract with a construction management firm, BSI Inc. of St. Louis...
Becoming attractions
(03/13/04) It has been six years since Southeast Missouri State University first announced plans for its River Campus, which would include a performing arts center, while about 90 minutes away in Paducah, Ky., 10 years went by before the Luther F. Carson Four Rivers Center finally opened to the public in February...
First construction on River Campus could begin this summer
(02/29/04) The basic design is done. The lawsuits are over. Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus arts school will be under construction in Cape Girardeau later this year or next year at the latest, school officials say. Construction of Terrace Park, an open-roof pavilion and a winding trail through the tree-filled east side of the River Campus overlooking the Mississippi River, could begin this summer, school officials said... 
Cape, Drury settle lawsuits
(12/18/03)An agreement that ends more than five years of lawsuits over the River Campus became a reality Wednesday night. The Cape Girardeau City Council and motel and restaurant owner Jim Drury announced the agreement following a closed-door special meeting at city hall. The pact culminated nearly two years of discussions between Mayor Jay Knudtson and Drury...
Board reviews latest River Campus designs
(10/16/03) Retractable seating, moveable floors and expandable stages -- it's kind of a "Swiss Army knife" approach to theater building, said one of the presenters showcasing the latest designs of Southeast Missouri State University's proposed River Campus...
Judge named for newest River Campus lawsuit
(10/04/03) The Missouri Supreme Court has appointed New Madrid County Circuit Judge Fred Copeland to hear Cape Girardeau businessman Jim Drury's latest lawsuit against the River Campus project. Drury, a motel and restaurant owner, has fought a running legal battle with the city of Cape Girardeau over its involvement with Southeast Missouri State University's development of an arts school on the grounds of a former Catholic seminary overlooking the Mississippi River...
City's role in River Campus challenged
(09/23/03) Mark Bliss Southeast Missourian The River Campus arts school project continues to draw legal fire from Cape Girardeau businessman Jim Drury. Drury's attorney, Walter Drusch, filed another lawsuit against the city on Monday, the fourth legal challenge...
Regents OK River Campus bonds
(09/20/03) Southeast Missourian Southeast Missouri State University moved ahead with bond financing Friday to construct the River Campus School of Visual and Performing Arts. The regents on Friday unanimously approved the issuance of $36.2 million in bonds to...
River campus hearing now set for July 28
(07/01/03) A hearing on Cape Girardeau businessman Jim Drury's third River Campus lawsuit has been delayed until later this month because the plaintiff's attorney, Walter Drusch, recently underwent heart bypass surgery, circuit court officials said. A hearing, which had been scheduled for today, has been pushed back to July 28 at 9 a.m. at the courthouse in Jackson...
State panel OKs bonds for River Campus
(06/18/03) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A state panel on Tuesday authorized the sale of $31.6 million in bonds to finance construction of Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus. The Missouri Development Finance Board, which met in St. Louis, also renewed $1 million in tax credits intended to spur private donations to the university for the project...
Notre Dame students save seminary grotto's stones
(06/17/03) A group of parochial students is saving a local piece of cherished Catholic history in an unorthodox way -- by smashing it into pieces of religious rubble. Armed with sledgehammers, chisels and gallons of elbow grease, dozens of Notre Dame Regional High School seniors are descending upon the southeast corner of the old St. Vincent's Seminary property in Cape Girardeau this week to tear down a grotto that was built nearly 50 years ago...
Officials break ground on River Campus, announce major donation
(05/25/03) Mark Bliss Southeast Missourian Proclaiming it's time to dance, Mayor Jay Knudtson praised a Cape Girardeau city, Southeast Missouri State University and state partnership at a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the River Campus arts school. The...
New judge named in River Campus lawsuit
(05/28/03) The Missouri Supreme Court has appointed a new judge to hear the latest River Campus lawsuit after the previous judge appointed by the court was disqualified by the lawyer for plaintiff Jim Drury. Retired judge Robert Crist of Shelbina, Mo., will take over the case from Circuit Judge William Seay of Dent County...
OK from EPA may delay bridge exit
(05/21/03) Federal environmental regulations could delay until August the start of construction on a Fountain Street extension designed to provide a gateway to Cape Girardeau's downtown and a planned arts school. The regulatory delay in securing federal Environmental Protection Agency and Missouri Department of Natural Resources approval could make it tougher for any contractor to complete work by the scheduled opening of the new Mississippi River bridge in mid-November, Cape Girardeau city officials said Tuesday.. ...
River Campus opponent Jim Drury complains to city
(05/20/03) Cape Girardeau businessman Jim Drury complained to the city council Monday night about the city's involvement in the River Campus arts school project and urged the council to put the tax issue before voters again. But council members said it was too late for that and urged Drury to look for a way that he and the city can move forward together for community betterment...
Regents set to put funding plan in motion for River Campus
(05/16/03) Southeast Missouri State University will be a step closer to securing financing for its River Campus development under a proposal that will be considered by the board of regents today. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom...
Supreme Court assigns judge to River Campus case
(05/13/03) Circuit Judge William Seay of Dent County is scheduled to hold a telephone conference call with lawyers in the River Campus lawsuit case today, one week after he was assigned the case. The conference call will deal with procedural issues, court officials said...
Key date for ceremonial start to River Campus set
(05/02/03) Turning soil on the River Campus grounds means that Southeast Missouri State University and the city of Cape Girardeau aren't turning back on the visual and performing arts center. Though the project has been stalled by lawsuits in the past, the city and university are ready to move ahead. ...
River Campus project to close two Morgan Oak businesses
(04/30/03) Travis Gibson lost his health. Now, he's about to lose his auto repair business on Morgan Oak Street, one of two side-by-side car repair shops that are scheduled to close by June 1 and be razed for parking for the River Campus arts school in Cape...
Bulk of River Campus state funds to expire in June
(03/27/03) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Bob Holden is not asking lawmakers to renew the bulk of the state's financial commitment to the River Campus project. "Quite simply, we don't have the money to afford it," said Linda Luebbering, the state budget director...
River Campus ready to go despite lawsuits
(03/11/03) P In less than five years, the idea for a special arts campus overlooking the Mississippi has gone from dream to ready for preliminary construction. Funding issues remain to be resolved. In some ways, the beginning of the River Campus project in Cape Girardeau seems like such a long time ago. In reality, the idea was born less than five years ago. Since then, a great deal has happened, but construction has yet to start...
Drury files third River Campus suit
(03/05/03) Business owner Jim Drury filed another lawsuit against the River Campus project on Tuesday, prompting frustrated city officials to say they may countersue for damages. The latest suit also threatens funding of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau. City officials, tired of repeated legal battles, reacted bitterly to the Drury suit. Mayor Jay Knudtson called Drury's actions "childish."...
River Campus board OKs plan for Fountain Street
(02/15/03) Plans to construct a new Fountain Street at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus gained approval Friday from the River Campus board of managers, two days after winning the OK from the city's planning and zoning commission. The street would be built on the west side of the grounds of the former St. Vincent's Seminary where the university plans to construct its $36 million visual and performing arts school...
River Campus park project could be done this year
(01/18/03) Southeast Missouri State University's proposed River Campus arts school could be home to hiking and biking trails later this year that would transform the tree-filled grounds of a former Catholic seminary into a park overlooking the Mississippi River...
Street development project taken over by university
(01/10/03) Old Town Cape executive director Catherine Dunlap is disappointed that a street project that she and the rest of the group put so much time and effort into has been taken away. But Dunlap isn't exactly feeling road rage now that Southeast Missouri State is behind the steering wheel of the first phase of the Fountain Street corridor...
New plan for River Campus set to get approval
(12/13/02) Southeast Missouri State University's new River Campus arts school would include a visitors center that would house Cape Girardeau's Convention and Visitors Bureau under a revised conceptual design that focuses on a new downtown street entrance. The plan will be presented to the university's board of regents today...
Revised plans for River Campus presented to board
(11/26/02) Members of the River Campus Board of Managers got their first look at the most recent revisions to the project's conceptual design Monday during a meeting with Jacobs Facilities, the architectural firm hired by Southeast Missouri State University to design the campus...
River Campus is ready to move ahead
(11/26/02) When the Cape Girardeau City Council meets next Monday, it is likely to give final approval to financial arrangement for the city's share of the funding for the River Campus, which within four or five years could be ready for its first students. The River Campus is the informal name given by officials at city hall and at Southeast Missouri State University to a new campus for the university's visual and performing arts programs. ...
Cape City Council OKs moving ahead on River Campus
(11/19/02) One of Cape Girardeau's more controversial issues in the past decade, the River Campus project got the city's endorsement Monday night in an action that will allow Southeast Missouri State University to raise the baton on a $35.6 million performing arts center and regional museum...
Cape council faces decision to move on River Campus
(11/18/02) A decision could be made tonight that would finally get the wheels turning on the proposed River Campus, a project that has been tied up in litigation since April 1999. The Cape Girardeau City Council could pass an ordinance at today's 7 p.m. meeting that would declare that the state and Southeast Missouri State University "have committed funds in an amount sufficient to complete the acquisition, construction, furnishing and equipping of the joint facilities."...
Council holds off on River Campus decision
(10/29/02) The River Campus Board of Managers asked the Cape Girardeau City Council Monday night to consider taking the next step toward making the proposed $35.6 million visual and performing arts facility and museum a reality. That step would be for the council to make a finding that the state and the university have committed enough funds to see the project through to its completion...
River Campus issue should be put to a vote
(10/29/02) To the editor: It looks like we are going to get the River Campus rammed down our throats whether we like it or not. Shouldn't something as big as this be voted on by the townspeople? Or could it be the supporters are afraid of how the vote would turn out? Why couldn't they just restore that beautiful old seminary and use it for their arts? But would that be too simple for their minds to grasp? Once upon a time this was a town with a university in it. ...
Council, River Campus board looking for way to move forward
(10/28/02) Cape Girardeau mayor Jay Knudtson wants a lot more talk and, perhaps, a lot more action. Knudtson has set up a city council study session with the River Campus Board of Managers for 6 p.m. today so the board can bring the new council members up to date on the project and so the two bodies can get to the point where they can move forward...
Council reviews plan of River Campus museum
(10/08/02) Though the location has not been pinned down, the River Campus Board of Managers, with the help of several consultants, has etched out a basic floor plan of a proposed River Campus museum. Dr. Stanley Grand, Southeast Missouri State University's art museum director who is spearheading the planning for the museum, updated the Cape Girardeau City Council Monday night on the project...
The arts are important to the community
(09/10/02) By Marc Strauss I want to take this opportunity as a Cape Girardeau resident to respond to a number of points and issues brought up in Mark Bliss's Sept. 5 article, "Entertaining new revenue," concerning the Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri and River Campus School of the Visual and Performing Arts developments...
Entertaining new revenue
(09/05/02) Southeast Missouri State University officials are touting a new in-house, economic-benefit study in an effort to resell the city of Cape Girardeau and its taxpayers on the merits of the River Campus arts school project -- the subject of two failed lawsuits -- in an effort to get the four-year-old project rolling again...
River Campus report
(09/05/02) Economic Impact of the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus A Report Prepared by Center for Economic & Business Research Donald L. Harrison College of Business Southeast Missouri State University Methodology... 
The making or breaking of the River Campus
(08/24/02)1989 The grounds for St. Vincent's Seminary are put up for sale, 10 years after the school closed its doors. 1995 A civic group called Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation announces plans to buy the seminary property for $700,000 to house a cultural center or museum. The plans fell through the following year due to lack of funding...
River Campus lawsuit gets dismissed by circuit judge
(08/24/02) But any city financial support may bring new legal action By Mark Bliss ~ Southeast Missourian A circuit judge on Friday dismissed Cape Girardeau businessman Jim Drury's second legal challenge to the River Campus arts school project...
Councilwoman says Drury lawsuit influenced vote on CVB
(08/07/02)
Better to wait and see results of Paducah plan
(07/07/02) To the editor: With respect I would like to point out the flaws of Gary Rust's column on the River Campus. Rust talks about the Four Rivers Center for the performing arts in Paducah, Ky. Bill Minix, senior vice president of First Community, said, "If the increase in quality of life helps bring one plant in, it can pay for itself very quickly." Rust must ask if the residents of Southeast Missouri want to take the chance of a big "if." It would be wiser to wait and see how it works in a community of our size, like Paducah.. ...
River Campus - a review of pros, cons
(07/03/02) I've been debating with myself for about three weeks on writing about Southeast Missouri State University's RIVER CAMPUS. Last Saturday I decided not to. But this Sunday while in Paducah, Ky., I picked up Paducah's daily newspaper which featured at the top of the front page their optimistic story on their $34 million Four Rivers Center for the performing arts. A photo showed the steel frame going up on the structure which is 20 percent completed and targeted to open in October 2003...
Art chairman supports plan for museum
(04/28/02) By Ronald V. Clayton This is a response to Mark Bliss's substantial mischaracterization of my position on the plans for the new regional museum to be built as part of the River Campus School of Visual and Performing Arts in his article of April 24, "SEMO museum plan stirs debate on space for fine arts."...
Museum plan seeks to connect with area
(04/24/02) The plans for the new River Campus museum are interesting, even in their preliminary stages. The proposed museum would be a part of Southeast Missouri State University's School of Performing and Visual Arts -- called the River Campus -- to be built on the site of the former St. Vincent's Seminary on property overlooking the Mississippi River...
SEMO museum plan stirs debate on space for fine arts
(04/24/02)
River Campus board backs museum plan
(04/13/02) Southeast Missouri State University's proposed museum could handle seven to eight traveling fine art and other exhibitions a year. More than that would be too costly, museum director Dr. Stanley Grand said Friday. Grand said the university would have to pay fees of $35,000 to $50,000 for a single traveling exhibition. Eight shows a year could cost $300,000 or more...
River Campus offers old-time religion
(02/27/02) By Bill Weber Born in the 1930s Depression era, Keynesian economics espoused a doctrine of government spending of its citizens' money to maintain full employment and promote economic development. While never working very well, Keynes' ideas provided cover for government officials to expand the size of government...
River Campus suit costs Southeast, city $124,000 and counting
(02/20/02) Oral Payne, left, from Kelso, Mo., and Ron Simmons of Cape Girardeau programmed a computer to simulate starting and stopping motors in a plant during a class with program class Feb. 19, 2002. The Lonestar employees have spent their evenings over the last three years learning programming. (Southeast Missourian/Charles DiStefano)
Time has come to move River Campus ahead
(02/17/02) For more than two years, attention has been focused on legal efforts to stop the city's financing plan for its share of Southeast Missouri State University's school for the visual and performing arts. The River Campus is aptly named and located. Thanks to a generous gift a few years ago, the university was able to purchase the former St. Vincent's Seminary property, which has one of the most commanding vistas of the Mississippi River to be found between St. Louis and Memphis...
Cape, SEMO officials ready to move ahead with project
(02/14/02) A Missouri Supreme Court ruling Wednesday on the River Campus project could get the art school project rolling again, say Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri State University officials. While elated, they admit they're not ready to start construction and renovations just yet to turn a former Catholic seminary into a visual and performing arts school...
The selling of a seminary and the making of a school
(02/14/02) 1989 The grounds for St. Vincent's Seminary are put up for sale, 10 years after the school closed its doors. 1995 A civic group called Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation announces plans to buy the seminary property for $700,000 to house a cultural center or museum. The plans fell through the following year due to lack of funding...
City wins in River Campus ruling
(02/13/02) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court sided with the city of Cape Girardeau in a lawsuit filed by Cape Girardeau motel entrepreneur Jim Drury over the Southeast Missouri State University River Campus. The suit questioned the title of the city ordinance to put a River Campus tax issue on the ballot. The project will be funded with a hike and extension in the city's hotel, motel and restaurant tax and with state and private funds...
Second suit on River Campus filed
(01/23/02) Cape Girardeau businessman Jim Drury on Tuesday filed a second lawsuit against the proposed River Campus project even as he waits for a Missouri Supreme Court ruling in his first lawsuit. In his latest filing, Drury contends the Cape Girardeau City Council ignored a Dec. 31, 2001, self-imposed funding deadline and extended an agreement with Southeast Missouri State University on the River Campus arts school project, violating the state's Hancock Amendment...
High court's questions probe River Campus suit
(01/09/02) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Judges launched a heavy barrage of questions at attorneys arguing the River Campus dispute before the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday. The court is being asked to decide the validity of a tax increase approved by Cape Girardeau voters in 1998 to help fund construction of a fine arts center for Southeast Missouri State University. A ruling is expected in March...
River Campus gets $1.75 million
(12/20/01) State and city funding for the River Campus arts school remains in limbo, but that hasn't stopped federal money from flowing to the project. Congress approved $1.75 million in additional funding for Southeast Missouri State University's planned arts campus. The money is expected to be available early next year, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson said Wednesday...
State's budget woes could affect River Campus
(12/11/01) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- While River Campus proponents await the end of the nearly four-year legal battle that has delayed the project, a court victory won't eliminate the final funding obstacle. With the state facing an increasingly bleak financial situation, a large component of the funding package to transform the former St. Vincent's Seminary in Cape Girardeau into a fine arts center for Southeast Missouri State University probably won't be available for some time...
River Campus appeal will be argued Jan. 8
(11/21/01) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In its first case of 2002, the Missouri Supreme Court will hear arguments Jan. 8 in a lawsuit that threatens the fate of Southeast Missouri State University's proposed River Campus in Cape Girardeau. The court agreed in September to take the case but didn't announce a date for arguments until Tuesday...
Council gives SEMO time to raise funds
(11/20/01) The Cape Girardeau City Council has given Southeast Missouri State University a two-year extension to raise its portion of River Campus Project funds after university president Ken Dobbins said the university would have raised its money already if not for a lawsuit that has held things up for two years...
Drury responds to appeal
(11/15/01) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The city of Cape Girardeau and its supporters are arguing on emotion, not evidence, in claiming dire consequences should businessman Jim Drury ultimately prevail in the River Campus lawsuit, Drury's attorney says in legal documents submitted to the Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday...
Businessman's River Campus gift says a lot
(10/29/01) The vaulted ceiling with windows makes for a bright family room in this house at 1659 Lyndhurst in Cape Girardeau.Sikeston businessman Donald C. Bedell's generous donation to Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus project couldn't have come at a better time considering setbacks that have prevented the university from moving ahead as quickly as it would like with the project...
Tax is wrong, not downtown project
(10/28/01) In response to reports to the contrary, neither I nor Midamerica Hotels Corp. has an objection to the seminary project as a Southeast Missouri State University-sponsored program, although I believe any expansion should take place on the existing campus for economics and student convenience. In time, a meaningful project should be developed on the seminary grounds which would vitalize and promote the downtown area...
River Campus is being forced on the taxpayers
(10/28/01) To the editor: I am outraged after reading in the Missourian about the man in Sikeston donating big money to the River Campus project. If he wants to make better use of his money, may I suggest he use it in his own town instead of our town, where the majority of the people don't want the River Campus in the first place...
River Campus project receives $1 million gift
(10/20/01) Sikeston businessman Donald C. Bedell donated over $1 million to Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus arts school project on Friday. Neither school officials nor Bedell would disclose the exact amount. University President Dr. Ken Dobbins said the donation is the largest single cash gift in the 18-year history of the school's fund-raising foundation and the largest ever made for a new facility at the school...
State high court won't get to River Campus case this year
(10/16/01) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court will not hear oral arguments in the River Campus case by the end of the year but is expected to do so in January. The court last month agreed to hear the city of Cape Girardeau's appeal of lower court rulings that invalidated a voter-approved tax intended to help fund construction of Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus...
Voter appreciates Drury's effort against tax plan
(10/10/01) To the editor: Steve Robertson is correct in his conclusion that it is the customer who is paying the increased hotel-motel-restaurant tax, which is being set aside to defray the city's cost for the proposed River Campus. This is the crux of the matter. As one who eats out a lot in this town, it galls me to think that every time I eat a taco or hamburger I am contributing to this economic black hole...
Customers pay hotel-motel tax, not businesses
(10/04/01) To the editor: The story in Saturday's paper regarding the fate of Cape Girardeau's hotel-restaurant tax and the River Campus project helped explain a complicated issue. But the story may have perpetuated a misconception about who actually pays the tax...
Motel owner, city await Missouri Supreme Court hearing on tax
(09/30/01) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Had development of Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus proceeded as planned, the transformation of the old St. Vincent's Seminary into a visual and performing arts center would today be nearing completion. University and Cape Girardeau city officials would be busy preparing to dedicate a new facility touted to become one of the region's crown jewels and help spur economic development in an area of town sorely in need of it...
River Campus issue deserves speedy ruling
(09/27/01) Cape Girardeau's effort to join Southeast Missouri State University in funding its River Campus has attracted the attention of other Missouri cities, not because they favor the city participating in the endeavor, but because they fear the effects an appellate court's ruling against Cape Girardeau might have on them...
Cities, state AG on Cape's side in River Campus suit
(09/19/01) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Many Cape Girardeans may not be too keen on financially supporting stadium projects in St. Louis and Kansas City, but those two cities have stepped up to help Cape Girardeau get its River Campus. The state's two largest cities have filed friend-of-the-court briefs with the Missouri Supreme Court supporting Cape Girardeau in its legal battle with businessman James L. Drury over funding for Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus...
Editorial: Fate of River Campus funding still up in air
(08/21/01) Officials of Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri State University remain optimistic they will prevail in the current legal struggle over the fate of hotel-motel sales-tax revenue being set aside for the university's River Campus, even though judges and ...
Lawsuit endangers SEMO funding plans
(02/17/01)
By Mark Bliss Southeast Missourian In the wake of a Missouri Supreme Court ruling last week, Southeast Missouri State University has revived plans for a state board to issue bonds to help fund a proposed River Campus arts school. The high court ruled last... |