2018 November Issue
SIUE tries new approach to market University Park
By DENNIS GRUBAUGH After years of watching little interest being shown in University Park, SIUE officials are actively moving on a plan to lure new tenants. This summer, University Park signed a contract with Balke Brown Transwestern to market the technology and business park property, Vice Chancellor Rich Walker said. The park will be 25…
Read MoreSIUE to use grant on needs of businesses
Science, ag, development see chemistry in partnership By DENNIS GRUBAUGH A first-time grant is creating an unusual intersection of education, agriculture and science, and in the center of it, supporters hope, will be economic development. The three-year, $680,000 grant was awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, in partnership…
Read MoreGreat escape
Couple’s mobile escape room takes growing trend on the road By DENNIS GRUBAUGH Some businessmen don’t have a clue. Ray and Cami Perkins have a 32-foot trailer full of them. In an age when escape room businesses are seemingly opening in storefronts in every town around, the O’Fallon, Ill., couple are an enigma inside a…
Read MoreMcDonald’s eyes future with interactive overhauls, new look
By DENNIS GRUBAUGH A number of McDonald’s restaurants in the Metro East area are among thousands across the country that have or soon will be transforming their locations for the next generation of fast food connoisseurs. About $317 million is being reinvested in Illinois, affecting a little over 400 restaurants. It’s all aimed at improving…
Read MorePOINT: Is Illinois a good place to do business?
Yes. Data belies the concerns that companies can’t succeed in the state By MARK PETERSON With the world’s 17th largest economy, Illinois is the undisputed economic leader of the Midwest. In 2017, new and expanding companies invested $5.3 billion in the state of Illinois, creating more than 26,000 new jobs, including 551 new projects in…
Read MoreCOUNTERPOINT: Is Illinois a good place to do business?
No. The state’s business environment is a victim of self-sabotaging By BRYCE HILL Illinois offers many natural advantages for businesses to thrive. The Chicago metropolitan area provides access to one of the largest marketplaces in North America, with the ability to easily distribute goods both domestically and internationally. Downstate Illinois serves as one of the…
Read MoreQ&A with Al Bond Jr., Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council
IBJ: Were you surprised by the vote in August against Right to Work in Missouri? Bond: I didn’t expect to win that big. I was hoping we could win by 20 percent and kind of cut the head off that snake but we actually won by 34 percentage points. We only lost a…
Read MoreVAST Produce is 2018 Metro East Startup Challenge winner
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Metro East Startup Challenge, a regional business plan competition, has announced its three cash prize winners, with Waterloo-based VAST Produce earning first place and the grand prize of $10,000. Beastman Tea, LLC, founded by Bradford Eastman, won the $6,000 second-place prize. Eli Ball grabbed the $4,000 third-place award for…
Read MoreHSHS Medical Group welcomes general surgeon
HSHS Medical Group has added Ulunna MacBean, MD, MS, general surgeon, to its teams of providers at HSHS Medical Group General Surgery in Breese and Highland. The practice in Breese is located at 9401 Holy Cross Ln., Suites 113 and 115; the practice in Highland is located at 12860 Troxler Ave., Suite 120. …
Read MoreJudges receive awards for community outreach
Associate Judge Chris Kolker received an award from the Illinois Judges Association for his community outreach. Kolker, and other judges from the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, received awards for presentations they have done at local schools on “Dangers of the World Wide Web” and “Seven Reasons to Leave the Party.” “The ‘Dangers of the World…
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