Missouri Main Street Connection Inc. (MMSC) partnered with the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities through ARPA in awarding $5,000 grants to 12 communities selected through a competitive process to fund projects focused on strengthening heritage and cultural tourism in rural Missouri. The grant helped each community implement a project and market itself to prospective visitors. These heritage tourism projects gave added value to the economies in each community through a range of projects from murals to walking tours to new monuments and building plaques that all highlight each respective community’s history for residents and visitors. One of the Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grants was awarded to Old Town Cape in March of 2022 with the project being completed in October of 2022.

Old Town Cape is the Main Street organization for Cape Girardeau, Missouri.  Cape Girardeau sits on the Mississippi River that is integrally connected to its history and identity as local historian, Dr. Frank Nickell posed, “Cape Girardeau is once again becoming OF the river,” which now appears on the back of Cape Girardeau’s new gateway monument. Old Town Cape staff concurred by saying, “The Mississippi River is arguably the biggest draw to Downtown Cape Girardeau.” Many of Missouri’s river towns and cities along the unruly Mississippi River have not taken full advantage of it so this struggle is not unique to Cape Girardeau.

Now after years in the making, through many different proposals and the collaboration of several different stakeholder entities and individuals, Old Town Cape has moved forward on their strategic plan initiative to have a gateway for downtown installed. The structure serves as a gateway to the river for its community and improves downtown.

The new gateway structure that was installed is in the northwest corner of the intersection of the main throughfares of Broadway and Main Street. The gateway is three-sided monolith structure that is over 20 feet tall with a black granite base and an eagle sitting atop. Local artist Don Greenwood designed the gateway so visitors heading to the river will read “Mississippi River” and as riverboat tourists enter Old Town Cape by way of the river they will read “Cape Girardeau”. The lettering is backlit by LED lights that Old Town Cape can change the color of to reflect the season or enhance the ambience of Downtown Cape. On the back of the gateway is a history written by local historian, Dr. Frank Nickell, which provides tourists and locals alike with a fuller picture of Cape Girardeau’s relationship to the Mississippi River. Finally, the gateway will be surrounded by a circular concrete planter ten-foot in diameter to protect the base of the structure and to provide further beautification with seasonal plantings.

As you can see, this is a massive project which exceeded the $5,000 Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grant, yet it is because of Old Town Cape’s strategic focus and work with local stakeholders that this project was funded through a diverse mix of donations, partners, sponsors, and grants. Each part of the funding demonstrates the oversight needed to implement major downtown revitalization projects successfully from working with Cape Girardeau’s Special Business District for a majority of the cost to the Downtown Cape Community Improvement District for the beautification portion of the gateway including the concrete planter and its plantings to Missouri Main Street Connection as the project catalyst with grant funding and the tools to better tell the story of Old Town Cape included in this project and how they marketed it.

After a year of coordination with vendors, contractors, the City, partners, and other stakeholders, the gateway marker for the Mississippi River is now installed and ready for visitors to check out the newest landmark that holds the history of Cape Girardeau and its connection to the river. The Old Town Cape staff hope and predict that “the gateway will grow to be a local landmark on par with the Clock Tower, River Tales Mural, and the Mississippi River itself.”

Missouri Main Street Connection awarded the Marketing Heritage & Cultural Tourism Grants in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Downtown Strong: Building Resilient Economies grant is a grant provided by the U.S. Economic Development Administration through Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) that continues to impact Missouri communities.

Since 1993, IB Nuts & Fruits Too has been creating gift boxes and baskets filled with Missouri-made products for Washington, Missouri area businesses and individuals. Through the ‘Art of Giving’ residents have grown to treasure IB Nuts & Fruits Too as it has grown over its almost 30 years from one of its original owners Margaret Horn, known endearingly as ‘The Nut Lady’, to being passed down to Barbara Hillerman and her daughter Kristy Stoyer who operated the store for about 18 years moving the store to its current location on the corner of Elm and Second street.

Holly Wunderlich is the newest owner of IB Nuts & Fruit Too as she stepped into ownership when Barbara retired in July of 2019 after working with her and Kristy to transition the store and customers smoothly.  She kept the status quo initially, but there was a lot of work to do in continuing to grow the business and what it could offer to its customers.

Holly’s background in customer service, an MBA, and a project management certification have been beneficial in effectively running the business. During the pandemic shut down, Holly offered free delivery of baskets along with an established shipping option.  She marketed this heavily and actually gained business as companies looked for ways to show appreciation to employees working from home. However, she still wanted help to expand this as part of her business and increase her sales year-round.

She saw the Downtown Strong Grant as an opportunity to work with a consultant to provide valuable feedback and analysis of the business that will help her make the best decisions moving forward. In her application, Holly had identified several areas of growth for IB Nuts & Fruits Too since succeeding the previous owners with updating and refreshing the store’s brand and image, both online and in the physical storefront, streamlining the business operations side to assist in inventory and accounting procedures as well as a better integrated point of sale system, and finding ways to diversify her customer base to increase sales.    With these objectives in mind, it made sense for her to work with Chimera Creative Works, also in Washington, Missouri. 

Steven Lyles with Chimera worked with Holly to provide a complete evaluation of the business, its operations, sales, brand, products and services, and customers. He then built a business plan that would direct Holly moving forward. In addition, Chimera helped Holly with ideas on a brand refresh, building a new website, and designing a new store layout.

Holly noted that, overall, the grant came at a great time for her as she recently had transitioned into ownership of this existing business. She said:

“It allowed me access to professional services I otherwise would not have been able to afford. It helped me put things in writing and focus my business on what I want to accomplish in the next few years. While the business was previously successful, I knew we could do even more and continue to grow, especially online.  We were able to launch a new website and update the brand, which was the main goal.” 

There is a lot happening in Downtown Washington and Holly wanted to make sure her business stayed relevant and was a business the town would be proud to keep in its downtown.  She said, “I love the new look and feel Chimera created. I am excited to continue to implement the changes and incorporate the new brand and tag line.”

The services included in this article were prepared by Missouri Main Street Connection, Inc. using Federal funds under award 05-79-06056 from Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Missouri Main Street Connection Inc. (MMSC) partnered with the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities through ARPA in awarding $5,000 grants to 12 selected communities through a competitive process to fund projects focused on strengthening heritage and cultural tourism in rural Missouri. The grant helped each community implement a project and market itself to prospective visitors. These heritage tourism projects gave added value to the economies in each community through a range of projects from murals to walking tours to new monuments and building plaques that all highlight each respective community’s history for residents and visitors. One of the Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grants was awarded to Warrensburg Main Street in March of 2022 with the project being completed in October of 2022.

Warrensburg Main Street is the Main Street organization for Warrensburg, Missouri. They are no stranger to the hard work of Main Street as they have found creative solutions to revitalize the heart of their community, the downtown, since the late 1970’s when a group of visionary business and civic leaders formed the organization. The most recent project implemented to promote their downtown is the “Stories of Downtown” historic walking tour highlighting their historic buildings in the historic commercial district made possible through funding Warrensburg Main Street received from MMSC's Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grant.

“Stories of Downtown” blends the virtual world with the real-world using plaques, QR codes, and information printed on the plaque and hosted on their website highlighting over 50 buildings around the downtown district. The plaques are on buildings selected for this historic tour spread throughout the district. The plaques have the address, year the building was built, and a brief description or other important facts about the building style.  The QR code is on the plaque itself and takes the participant to the Warrensburg Main Street website where there is a landing page with comprehensive descriptions of each building as well as pictures of the building from past and present. Warrensburg’s ambitious goal of creating this intensive and immersive project were made possible through its incredible use of community partners that include a variety of community organizations, local groups, and the University of Central Missouri.

The design, content, and production work to implement this project took a collaboration with several local partners. Design and content were the first components Warrensburg Main Street addressed by working closely with Johnson County Historical Society, Warrensburg Preservation Commission, and the technical writing class at the University of Central Missouri.  First, during several workshops and brainstorming sessions, students in the University of Central Missouri’s technical writing class developed the content and path of the historic walking tour including what information they researched and created would go on the plaque and on the website as well as which buildings in the district along Pine and Holden Street would get plaques, as they could not at this stage add 50 plaques.  After this step, the Johnson County Historical Society assisted Warrensburg Main Street at selecting the buildings along Pine and Holden Street with significant and noteworthy history that would benefit the most from having a plaque. This collaboration gave each participating group a new way for visitors and locals to engage with downtown and its history, but also gave them a chance to learn about each other.  Other local partners like a marketing company, local photographer, and local printing company were utilized to produce the plaques and webpages that would present and hold the information created and photos taken.

From start to finish the “Stories of Downtown” historic walking tour project was a community project as various partnerships with other community organizations, schools, and local groups made this project a reality. Now that the “Stories of Downtown” historic walking tour is in place, it offers Warrensburg Main Street a way to promote their historic district all year long through a virtual activity that participants can engage with on their own time.  Warrensburg Main Street, Warrensburg Convention and Visitor Bureau, and other community partners are excited to include the walking tour in their 2023 event programing including Historic Preservation Month, University of Central Missouri Family Weekend, and Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce mobile app.

Missouri Main Street Connection awarded the Marketing Heritage & Cultural Tourism Grants in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Missouri Main Street Connection Inc. (MMSC) partnered with the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities through ARPA in awarding $5,000 grants to 12 selected communities through a competitive process to fund projects focused on strengthening heritage and cultural tourism in rural Missouri. The grant helped each community implement a project and market itself to prospective visitors. These heritage tourism projects gave added value to the economies in each community through a range of projects from murals to walking tours to new monuments and building plaques that all highlight each respective community’s history for residents and visitors. One of the Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grants was awarded to Canton Main Street Association in March of 2022 with the project being completed in October of 2022.

Canton Main Street is the Main Street program for Canton, Missouri, which is a community of almost 3,000 people (as of the 2020 census). They received a Community Master Plan from Missouri Main Street Connection in 2021 after working to develop the plan with the Canton Main Street Association, City of Canton, and community partners. A part of this master plan was a wayfinding community gateway monument that captured the iconic imagery of the community and would be clearly visible from highway 61, because their current signage wasn’t effectively drawing in visitors.  The concept for the new community gateway monument included a large “C” that would measure approximately 14 feet high by 16 feet wide at the top of a core-ten steel sculptural component composed of two-dimensional images of natural elements of the Mississippi River, especially pelicans, which is exotic for the Midwest but an identified icon in the city’s branding. 

Implementing a gateway monument of this scale is beneficial as it attracts traveler’s attention and is the visual beginning of the storytelling elements Canton Main Street Association has for their district that convey its history and heritage which has been shaped by the Mississippi River. Being on the Mississippi, with its rich diversity of wildlife that can be enjoyed, has led Canton to be the spot for unique river camping, river walks, bird watching, Blue Catfish fishing tournaments, and a downtown river community to explore. Though it is costly, Canton Main Street Association utilized the Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grant to begin the process of actualizing their gateway concept through getting preliminary technical engineering designs created and applying for permits and permission work with the city.

The Canton Main Street Association board and volunteers have worked diligently over the grant period to designate a location, secure necessary permits and permissions from the city and other entities like the Missouri Department of Transportation, and work with an engineering company to complete the technical engineering study. They are now beginning to raise funds that will pay for the installation of the gateway monument through local campaigns. If you would like to support the Main Street Canton Association with the last stage of this project funding and installation contact them on their Facebook page. 

Missouri Main Street Connection awarded the Marketing Heritage & Cultural Tourism Grants in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) visited Missouri’s state capital, Jefferson City, on January 24th with local Main Street program executive directors, board members, and city officials for the annual “Power of Main Street.” This annual visit to the capitol is a time where state legislators hear what is happening in their congressional district as local Main Street programs share the impact they are having in their downtowns and their revitalization success through the Main Street Approach™.

As our Board President Bob Lewis says, “The world belongs to those who show up,” and that is exactly what Missouri’s Main Streets did. Over 30 delegates from across the state arrived in Jefferson City to meet with their state legislators and pass out educational materials about the “Power of Main Street.” This day of educational advocacy is important for the over 50 Main Street programs in Missouri as it helps legislators understand the impact these programs have at the local level with business and job recruitment and retention, resiliency through the pandemic, and private and public investment in their district.

Warrensburg Main Street got the prize for the earliest meeting with a legislator as they started in the morning meeting with Representative Dan Houx, Representative Rodger Reedy, and Senator Rick Brattin with MMSC staff Keith Winge.  Jill commented;

“We love having the opportunity to talk with our [legislators] about the benefits of having Main Street communities throughout Missouri. We also did a little bragging on the many successes Downtown Warrensburg has seen over the past few years thanks to the resources our state agency provides to us.”

Over the past five years, Warrensburg Main Street worked to provide resources for online networking, online training, grant resources, and digital promotions to their small businesses during the unprecedented time.

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Jamie DeBacker(Warrensburg Main Street), Jill Purvis (Warrensburg Main Street), Representative Rodger Reedy, and Keith Winger (MMSC).

One of the early afternoon meetings was between Downtown Joplin Alliance (DJA) and Senator Jill Carter. Lori Haun and Lindsay Gagnon shared with the Senator the many accomplishments the DJA achieved over the past five years despite the economic turmoil including 75 new businesses, more than 60 apartment units in beautifully renovated historic buildings, the opening of the Cornell Complex, and expanding their Empire Market. They also talked about current ongoing projects like the restoration of the Olivia building and the work they are starting with the Union Depot, including upcoming input sessions. Senator Jill Carter expressed her interest in coming to the input session for the Depot and, if her schedule allows, will drop in. Without these in-person meetings with legislators these personal invites and connections couldn’t be made which will continue to support the success going on in Joplin and across the state in other Main Street districts.

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Katelyn Brotherton (MMSC), Lindsay Gagnon (Downtown Joplin Alliance), Senator Jill Carter, and Lori Haun (Downtown Joplin Alliance).

Some of our local Main Street programs have personal connections with their legislators so their meetings are more casual but still informative on the impact and importance of the Main Street Approach™ in the success of downtowns across Missouri. Alyssa Sanders with Smithville Main Street is very familiar with her representative, Representative Josh Hurlburt who is in touch with what is going on in Smithville through Smithville Main Street.

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Alyssa Sanders (Smithville Main Street) and Representative Josh Hurlbert.

Another strong relationship between Main Street program and legislator is found with Downtown Washington Inc. and newly elected Representative Kyle Marquart. Tyler King and Downtown Washington had a strong relationship with Kyle Marquart as a local Washington citizen. Not every community member will eventually become an elected official at the state level, or even city level, but it is through the grass-roots efforts of the Main Street Approach™ that relationships and connection with community members will lead local Main Street organizations to successful preservation-based economic development. That is why forming relationships with your community at every level including local community member, city official, state official, and beyond is so important as you never know how the connections you form with people will impact the work your organization can accomplish in revitalizing your downtown and forging a bright future.

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Cassidy Desmond (Downtown Washington), Representative Kyle Marquart, and Tyler King (Downtown Washington).

Each meeting with state legislators is as unique as each community and its representatives are different from another. That is why it is important to visit with state legislators and get to know them and most importantly let them get to know you and your organization. The delegates from Pacific Partnership, which included Sam Dean, Amanda Nemeth, Erik Goebel, and Christine Slusser, got to know Senator Ben Brown more as they found a picture in his office of his kids at BIGFOOT 4X4 which is a destination in Pacific, Missouri.

Pictured Above:  Senator Ben Brown.

Several Main Street communities are within the same congressional district and share legislators so they visited with them together.  Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization and Old Town Cape met with Senator Holly Thompson Rehder, Chillicothe Main Street, Brookfield Main Street, and Downtown Marceline Foundation met with Senator Rusty Black, and Historic Downtown Liberty, Inc, Fayette Main Street, and Smithville Main Street met with Senator Denny Hoskins. Each of these local programs are at different levels within Missouri Main Street Connection but all share the desire to continue to improve implementing preservation-based downtown revitalization and see their downtowns grow and were able to share how Main Street is making a large impact in their legislator’s districts.

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Gayla Roten (MMSC), Janna Clifton (Uptown Jackson), Senator Holly Thompson Rehder, Dr. Steven Hoffman (Old Town Cape & MMSC), and Bob Lewis (MMSC).

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Bob Lewis (MMSC), Michael Olinger (Downtown Marceline), Senator Rusty Black, Tomie Walker (Chillicothe Main Street), Dave Tavres (Downtown Marceline), Gayla Roten (MMSC), and Cheyenne Graff (Brookfield Main Street).

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Keith Winge (MMSC), Danelle O'Connell (Historic Downtown Liberty), Senator Denny Hoskins, Deanna Cooper (Fayette Main Street), Corinna Lucas (Historic Downtown Liberty), Alyssa Sanders (Smithville Main Street), and Bill Emmons (MMSC).

Despite the uncertainty of the incoming winter weather, just like how Main Street thrived during the economic turmoil from the pandemic, “The Power of Main Street” Capitol Day was a success. Our staff heard many good things from the legislators as we accompanied the local Main Street program delegates.