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As the fall season quickly approaches, we are seeing the benefits of significant of ongoing economic development efforts. Specifically, the Flood Protection District Council is working with the Levee Issues Alliance to tell the positive story of the restoration of the American Bottoms Levee System to the 100-year level of FEMA recertification expected in mid-2017. Currently, the levee construction is approximately 81% complete. This project is in the home stretch and nearing the final stages with $110M in new infrastructure investment. Without a doubt, this is a project that has been done the right way with significant cost savings and use of local contractors and labor.
In another construction project, Amazon opened its fulfillment centers in Edwardsville and started training its workers. To aid in this process, Madison County Transit (MCT) created new bus routes enabling more workers to staff the positions at Lakeview Commerce Center. This is an excellent example of MCT listening to the needs of supply-chain companies and reacting quickly to create a solution! Well Done MCT! Additionally, the East St. Louis riverfront project of merging road and bridge projects is nearing the final phases enabling much easier drive for commuters in the future. Further residential, commercial, and industrial real estate markets in SWIL are strong and growing with more developments planned.
Please read on to learn more about exciting construction projects and strategic partnership activities underway among many of our members, including SBDC 2016 Metro East Start-Up Challenge, SIUE partnership with T-REX, 2016 Jobs Plus Regional Job Fair, and Midwest Cyber Center of Excellence CyberPatriot recruitment event.
Ronda Sauget, D. Mgmt, MBA
Executive Director
Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois
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With levee work ending, local leaders say region is prepared for business
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/6/2016)
With work to rehabilitate the American Bottom levee system nearing completion, the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois is getting ready to post the "Open for business" sign.
(Read More)
Amazon opens fulfillment center in Edwardsville
(The Intelligencer, 9/6/2016)
Amazon recently welcomed new employees for day one at its two fulfillment centers in Edwardsville, IL.
(Read More)
Amazon celebrates "Day One" in metro-east
(Belleville News-Democrat, 9/11/2016)
Employees hired to work in one of Amazon's two new fulfillment centers in Edwardsville got on the job Aug. 24.
(Read More)
MCT begins route to commerce center
(Edwardsville Intelligencer, 9/8/2016)
A newly-created bus route is providing workers at the Lakeview Commerce Center in Edwardsville with better access to their jobs.
(Read More)
Op-ed: Counties got Mississippi River levee system right
(The Telegraph, 9/12/2016)
As a Metro East business owner, I know the value of the Mississippi River levee system. It protects my company, the homes and families of my employees, and our neighbors in a huge area known as the American Bottoms.
(Read More)
Ojeda invests $1.7 million in Metro East medical lab
(St. Louis Business Journal, 9/8/2016)
Ojeda is investing about $1.7 million to launch Envision Health Lab, an O'Fallon, Illinois-based clinical and anatomic pathology laboratory.
(Read More)
IMPACT Strategies Awarded Contract to Build New Public Safety Facility for the City of Edwardsville
(St. Louis CNR, 8/30/2016)
Construction-management firm IMPACT Strategies announced it has been awarded a $12 million contract to build a 51,000-square-foot public safety facility for the City of Edwardsville.
(Read More)
2016 Metro East Start-Up Challenge offers $20,000 in prizes
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/6/2016)
Fledgling entrepreneurs have a window of opportunity to get their business' name in front of a large audience, but the window is closing fast.
(Read More)
Major road, bridge projects advance in East St. Louis area
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/6/2016)
An interweaving pair of road and bridge projects is coming into the homestretch near the East St. Louis riverfront, which will delight drivers who have been challenged in recent months navigating their way into Illinois.
(Read More)
SIUE announces innovative partnership with T-REX Innovation
(Riverbender, 9/1/2016)
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Denise Cobb
, interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, today announced a new partnership for with the T-REX Innovation Center located in downtown St. Louis.
(Read More)
MLS merger gives local Realtors access to more listings
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/6/2016)
Five months into a regional, multiple listing service merger, local Realtors are seeing benefits of having access to listed properties from a much wider territory.
(Read More)
Midwest Cyber Center of Excellence to host CyberPatriot recruitment event
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/6/2016)
Midwest Cyber Center of Excellence is hosting a HackSpace Competition for high school and middle school students Saturday, Sept. 10 and 17.
(Read More)
IMPACT Strategies passes milestone on St. Louis-Belleville Hofbrauhaus
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/6/2016)
Construction-management firm IMPACT Strategies Inc., has surpassed the half-way point in building the St. Louis-Belleville Hofbrauhaus, the largest single-themed destination restaurant in the region.
(Read More)
Business entity preparing Roxana property for development
(The Alton Telegraph, 9/3/2016)
Partners in a Granite City-based excavating business are preparing land for development at Route-143 and Wanda Road.
(Read More)
Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation to break ground on new Central Collinsville Health Center
(Riverbender, 9/6/2016)
Residents of Collinsville - and from throughout Madison and St. Clair Counties - will soon have greater access to affordable, quality healthcare right in their own backyard.
Q&A with Jim Schultz, CEO, Intersect Illinois (formerly the Illinois Business and Economic Development Corporation)
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/9/2016)
IBJ: Describe the economic development corporation and its goals.
(Read More)
Funds to help local landowners to fix flooding, erosion issues
(Belleville News - Democrat, 9/7/2016)
HeartLands Conservancy will receive more than $500,000 in grant funding from Illinois EPA for installing projects that reduce water pollution in the Upper Silver Creek watershed in eastern Madison County.
(Read More)
Shiloh will pay for $17K for archeological survey off Frank Scott for future BJC
(O'Fallon Progress, 9/7/2016)
Shiloh may get more than just a partnership between Memorial Hospital and BJC HealthCare - it may become the hub of healthcare in Southern Illinois off of I-64 with BJC purchasing 20.9 acres on the northern side of Frank Scott Parkway.
(Read More)
One word can officially describe Collinsville school - Excellent
(Belleville News -Democrat, 9/6/2016)
Kreitner Elementary School, of the Collinsville School District, has been named a 2016-2018 National PTA School of Excellence.
(Read More)
SIUE Trustees approve contracts for SIUE School of Engineering Design Center
(Riverbender, 9/8/2016)
The Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees, at its regularly scheduled meeting on the Edwardsville campus today, approved contracts worth more than $3.5 million to construct a student project design center for the School of Engineering.
(Read More)
Plans in place for Jobs Plus 2016 Regional Job Fair
(Riverbender, 9/6/2016)
Individuals from across the St. Louis region in search of new career opportunities are invited to attend the upcoming Jobs Plus 2016 Regional Job Fair, where an estimated 50-plus employers will be seeking talent to fill hundreds of job openings region-wide.
(Read More)
New memory care facilities part of growing area trend
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/9/2016)
It's 10 a.m. on a weekday, and the halls of San Gabriel Memory Care are amazingly quiet. Many of the residents are resting comfortably in their rooms.
(Read More)
270 River Bridge hits 50, replacement in the works, IDOT says
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/9/2016)
Fifty may be the new 40, but when it comes to heavily trafficked bridges, 50 is downright ancient.
(Read More)
NAI DESCO: Retail real estate is strong with Edwardsville and O'Fallon leading the way
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/9/2016)
The retail/commercial real estate market in Southwestern Illinois is strong, according to David Wittenauer, principal of NAI DESCO.
(Read More)
BARBERMurphy Group: Commercial real estate remains strong in Southwestern Illinois
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/9/2016)
The commercial real estate sector continues to be strong in Southwestern Illinois, according to Wayne Barber, a principal in the BARBERMurphy Group.
(Read More)
RASI: Southwestern Illinois residential market showing strong growth over last year
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/9/2016)
The residential real estate market is strong in Southwestern Illinois, according to Deb Treat Frazier, association executive of the Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois.
(Read More)
Metro East housing stats show continuing climb
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/9/2016)
The Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois released the July 2016 housing statistics, which show higher home sales year-to-date, an increase in median home prices, and a decrease in the average days on market compared to last July.
(Read More)
SBDC clients win top awards at East St. Louis Initiative's First Pitch Contest
(Riverbender, 9/9/2016)
Two Illinois Metro East Small Business Development Center clients were among three winners in the first regional business plan pitch competition hosted by the East St. Louis Initiative.
(Read More)
Board backs efforts at Cahokia Mounds
(Edwardsville Intelligencer, 9/10/2016)
Though preservationists have talked about it for years, the effort to bring Cahokia Mounds into the National Park Service is picking up steam and the Maryville Board of Trustees is on board.
MWCCOE HACKSPACE COMPETITION
Midwest Cyber Center of Excellence (MWCCOE) is hosting a CyberPatriot recruitment event, MWCCOE HackSpace Competition, to get middle/high school students excited towards STEM programs and to encourage children to participate in this year's CyberPatriot IX competition.
IN OTHER NEWS
Washington Monthly ranks SIUE among Top Master's Universities in Illinois
(Riverbender, 9/2/2016)
For the seventh-consecutive year, Southern Illinois University SIUE Chancellor Dr. Randy Pembrook. Edwardsville is in Washington Monthly's Top 60 for master's universities in the nation.
McKendree University welcomes largest first-year class
(Belleville News- Democrat, 8/30/2016)
McKendree University in Lebanon welcomed the largest and most diverse student body in its 188-year history with the arrival of 470 new first-year students and 120 new transfer students.
(Read More)
Korean Vet 'Mosquitoes' visit with Scott Airmen
(Belleville News- Democrat, 9/1/2016)
Sixteen veterans of the Korean War visited Scott AFB Aug. 26, and upon their arrival, they were welcomed by the 375th Air Mobility Wing leadership and Team Scott Airmen.
McKendree University partners with Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois to offer online degree discounts to employees
(Riverbender, 9/1/2016)
McKendree University has recently entered in a partnership with the Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois to offer online degree programs at a discounted price to all employees.
(Read More)
Commerce Bank adds 12 charging stations for electric vehicles
(St. Louis Post - Dispatch, 9/9/2016)
Commerce Bank has added charging stations for electric vehicles at 12 locations in the St. Louis area.
(Read More)
Hundreds greet SIUE Chancellor Pembrook at campus reception and installation
(Illinois Business Journal, 9/9/2016)
Southern Illinois University President Randy Dunn played host Thursday at a reception for the Edwardsville campus' new chancellor Dr. Randy Pembrook in the Morris University Center's Meridian Ballroom.
(Read More)
Tired of pedaling uphill? Local store has a solution for you
(Riverbender, 9/4/2016)
Pedego, which sells and rents battery-powered bicycles and also offers tours on area bike trails, has a new location.
(Read More)
Big boost ahead for Belleville brewer's production
(Belleville News - Democrat, 9/3/2016)
If things go the way Todd Kennedy hopes they will, he'll be pumping out more beer in one shift in a new production site than can be made around the clock for a week inside his 4204 Main Street Brewing Company pub in Belleville.
(Read More)
Juice bar cafe approved for metro-east site
(Belleville News - Democrat, 9/7/2016)
Natalie Kelsey has a vision for a vacant building near Lindenwood University-Belleville: She plans to open a juice bar cafe that will promote healthy diets.
(Read More)
United Way sets 2016 campaign goal
(ALTON Telegraph, 9/10/2016)
Pride Inc. will be adding to another organization's beautification of Statehouse Square with its forthcoming, fifth annual, "Another Dam Party" to help pay for the next improvements.
(Read More)
Pride Inc. aims to improve Statehouse Square
(Edwardsville Intelligencer, 9/10/2016)
Pride Inc. will be adding to another organization's beautification of Statehouse Square with its forthcoming, fifth annual, "Another Dam Party" to help pay for the next improvements.
(Read More)
Restaurant combines deli sandwiches and video gaming
(Belleville News-Democrat, 9/10/2016)
The new Lucky Rose Cafe & Lounge in Swansea is like two businesses in one.
(Read More)
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Contact Information
Ronda Sauget, Executive Director, Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois
618-692-9745
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