St. Charles County Business Record, MO articles from January 2007

St. Charles County Business Record, MO archives from January 2007

Eminent domain, minimum wage among new laws taking effect today.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka While most of Missouri's laws take effect in the hazy heat of August, the New Year will herald the official start of several new laws, from an increase in the minimum wage to limitless campaign contributions in state...

County, state experience gains in economic development in 2006.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady

County, state experience gains in economic development in 2006.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Looking back at the growth and development of St. Charles County in 2006, the first thing that comes to mind is the home-building industry, according to Greg Prestemon, president of the St. Charles County Economic...

St. Charles welcomes new business.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff In December, the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of American Family Insurance agency owned by Yvonne Stewart, located at 1809 Zumbehl Road.

Manufacturing, service sector job growth up.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Job growth in manufacturing and service sectors is expected to increase for January 2007 compared to January 2006, according to the latest numbers from the Leading Indicator of National Employment. The...

Three-fourths of employees are job hunting.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff More than 75 percent of employees are looking for new jobs, according to the employees surveyed in the 2006 U.S. Job Retention Poll released by the Society of Human Resource Management and The Wall Street...

St. Charles chamber awards Trailblazer Award to cancer center.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The St. Charles Chamber of Commerce recently honored the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital with the Trailblazer Award for its tobacco- free initiative with Orchard Farm School District...

Three local businesses received state fast-track award.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff MEMC Electronic Materials Inc., Premier Bank and T.R. Hughes Inc. have been named recipients of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Fast Track Awards of 2006. The Fast Track Awards have been...

Dawn Peterson named first Chamber Champion of the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Dawn Peterson of Fat Dog Creative has been named the first-ever Chamber Champion of the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber Champion award was created to recognize the hard work and dedication of a...

St. Charles Community College foundation awards $25,600 in scholarships.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The St. Charles Community College Foundation has awarded $25,600 in scholarship money to 28 students currently enrolled in spring 2007 classes at the college. Several businesses and community leaders have also...

Ameristar awards $10,000 to Volunteers In Medicine.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Ameristar Casino St. Charles' Community Advisory Board recently awarded its $10,000 "Reaching Out to the Region" donation to Volunteers In Medicine, a 50-person staff that serves the medical needs of...

First Community Credit Union donates money, coats for charity.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff In the month of December, First Community Credit Union collected more than 575 coats for its sixth annual Kurt Warner's First Things First Warm-Up Coat Drive. It also gave $1,420 to The Children's Home Society...

Cissell Mueller Construction completes Mazda dealership.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Peters-based Cissell Mueller Construction Inc. has completed construction of a new auto dealership and service facility for Randy Blount Mazda in Ferguson, Mo. The new two-story, 16,600-square-foot...

DESCO Group expects completion of Target in fall.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The DESCO Group will debut its first Super Target next summer as it works on its $20 million Yankee Ridge Shopping Center in Lincoln, Neb. According to the developer, more than 98,000 people with an average...

The Lawrence Group receives award for best rest stop.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The Lawrence Group received the award for Best Rest Stop at the Express Scripts MS 75-mile bike tour, held Sept. 9-10. The Lawrence Group was awarded the prize at a ceremony in December at Maryland Heights...

Tom Burket joins Jay Henges Enterprises as closet division manager.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Jay Henges Enterprises has recently added Tom Burket as closet division manager. Burket will head the company's new closet and shelving division, which will serve the local home-builder community. Burket...

Amber Smid joins June Roesslein Interiors as design assistant.
January 1, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Amber Smid joined June Roesslein Interiors as a design assistant in the model-home division. In her new position, Smid assists interior merchandisers in the selection of model-home furnishings. Smid was a...

By the numbers, county courts fare better than city.
January 2, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Both circuit courts in St. Louis experienced an increase in civil case filings over the last fiscal year and had the heaviest caseloads in Missouri, according to court statistics released in late December by the...

Can Dierbergs Markets be sued for what it sells?
January 4, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter A federal judge's denial of remand in a St. Louis case has the potential to change the way product liability cases are tried in Missouri, say the lawyers trying to persuade the judge to change his mind. In court...

Class-action suit brought against farmers from 13 states resumes in St. Louis.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka A hefty class-action suit brought against Monsanto by farmers from 13 states will kick back into gear today with oral arguments before a federal judge in St. Louis. The plaintiffs, farmers and farming entities from...

Missouri-based company wins cash settlement with Sun Microsystems.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter After four years of protracted litigation and five weeks of trial, Fenton-based Custom Hardware Engineering & Consulting, has emerged with a confidential cash settlement and the satisfaction that a small business can...

Five ways legislators should improve the legal system.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan Missouri lawmakers kicked off the First Regular Session of the 94th General Assembly on Wednesday and it is shaping up to be another year of competing legislative agendas. Education, health care and immigration look...

Braun's St. Charles-based Youth In Need gives troubled kids a fighting chance.
January 6, 2007... Byline: William Stage Founded in 1974, Youth In Need, a St. Charles-based not-for-profit agency, serves troubled children and their families. What began as a single youth shelter has evolved into a multi-services agency with crisis...

Business groups look at creating wireless region.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask Not too long ago, some local business leaders looked at the possibility of developing a wireless Internet network in St. Charles County, commissioning a study to determine the feasibility of such a system. Others in the...

Three local businesses team up to offer health challenge.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Amy Armour Three local businesses have teamed up to create a weight-loss contest to help people lose weight and hopefully draw in some new clientele for their businesses. Healthy Solutions, Fitness Together and Meal Makers have...

Braun's YIN gives troubled kids a fighting chance.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Wm. Stage Founded in 1974, Youth In Need, a St. Charles-based not-for-profit agency, serves troubled children and their families. What began as a single youth shelter has evolved into a multi-services agency with crisis hotline,...

St. Charles Main Street's Christmas Traditions has successful year.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Victoria Siegel Santa came through for the merchants on St. Charles' Main Street this holiday season. With a little help from Mother Nature and an advertising campaign sponsored by the Greater Saint Charles Convention and Visitors...

SSM Healthcare opens new facility for injured workers.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Amy Armour SSM Healthcare opened SSM WorkHealth, a 2,200-square-foot, occupational health office in St. Peters in the Enterprise Bank Building on Nov. 14. The facility offers specialized treatment for patients with work-related...

LMI Aerospace sells, leases back properties.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Charles-based LMI Aerospace Inc. has reached an agreement to sell four real estate properties and lease them back from a subsidiary of CIT Group Inc. LMI sold the four properties for $10.3 million. Two of...

County's jobless rate dipped in November.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Charles County had a 3.5 percent unemployment rate in November, a two-tenths of a percent decline when compared to the county's jobless rate in November 2005. The county continues to have the lowest rate...

St. Charles businesses apply for licenses.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The city of St. Charles said the following companies applied in December for business licenses: * And Toile, 806 N. Second St., retail merchant; * China King Buffet, 3743 Elm St., restaurant; * Chinese Express...

Hearing set on AmerenUE rates.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The opportunity to comment at a public hearing in Wentzville on the utility's controversial proposal to raise its rates for electricity. The Missouri Public Service Commission will hold the hearing at 5:30...

Hansen's Tree Service promotes Amy Schult.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Hansen's Tree Service has promoted Amy Schult to director of marketing and community relations. In that position, Schult will be responsible for managing Hansen's promotional efforts and the various community...

Jeff Simmons joins Bax Engineering.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Bax Engineering in St. Charles recently hired Jeff Simmons as a residential project manager. Simmons recently moved here from Atlanta where he worked as a project manager for a residential engineering firm....

Heartland Bank's David Gaines to host radio show.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Heartland Bank said David Gaines, an investment representative for Heartland Financial Security Group, will produce and host a financial talk show on radio station WGNU AM920. His show, "It's Your Money," airs...

EQUIS Hospitality Management renovates TownePlace Suites.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Louis-based EQUIS Hospitality Management LLC is renovating TownePlace Suites by Marriott in St. Charles. The suite renovations are complete, and the lobby and public areas will be renovated by next month,...

Friedla Development Group to start work on Enclave at Woodfield.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Friedla Development Group said it plans to start building in its 42-home Enclave at Woodfield development in St. Louis County this summer. The development will be located off Smelting Works Road, approximately...

MO law schools defend ethics curricula.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Missouri law professors advocate a comprehensive approach to teaching legal ethics in an effort to prepare students for ethical questions that they may face as lawyers. In response to a report released by the Carnegie...

MO Supreme Court rules police wrong to detain Swedish model and seize pot.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Lawyers for a Swedish model convicted of second-degree drug trafficking convinced the Missouri Supreme Court that nearly 70 pounds of marijuana found in a vehicle search was the result of an illegal search and seizure...

Commentary: Classes help, but ethics remain personal.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan Most lawyers I know are ethical people. They were ethical prior to entering law school, remained ethical during law school and have continued to be ethical throughout their legal careers. Lawyers are constantly faced...

Campaign finance law restrained in Missouri.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck A Cole County judge on Monday issued a temporary restraining order against a portion of a new state law that bans campaign contributions during the January-to-May legislative session. However, other portions of the law...

Dowd joins Clayton law firm of Gallop, Johnson & Neuman.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter James R. Dowd, former judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, has joined the Clayton law firm of Gallop, Johnson & Neuman. Dowd, working in an of-counsel capacity, joined the firm at the beginning of...

Missouri Supreme Court judge calls for expanded judge evaluations.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Scott Lauck In his final State of the Judiciary address, Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael A. Wolff gave a succinct call for increased judicial salaries and announced plans for a newer, better Missouri Bar judicial evaluation....

Convicted of now invalid law, sex offender wants off Missouri Sex Offender Registry.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka The Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in the case of a convicted sex offender who claims a discarded state law clears him of his past crime and saves him from the sex offender registry. Harold...

Correction: Wrong logo.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Staff Report The logo that ran with the column entitled 'Lawyer gift cards have play, especially in Missouri' in the Jan. 9 issue ran with the wrong byline and author photo. As noted at the bottom of the story, it was written by...

Missouri attorney and mother file for a writ against state's social services department.
January 12, 2007... Byline: Allison Retka Having been rebuffed by the southern district appeals court, a parent and attorney from Seneca filed for a writ last week against the state's social services department in the Missouri Supreme Court. A Jan. 24...

How to pay for Missouri/Illinois bridge.
January 12, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan A panel of national transportation experts held meetings this week in St. Louis in an effort to end the standoff between Missouri and Illinois over the proposed new bridge over the Mississippi just north of downtown...

Missourians in the news: Robert "Bob" M. Marx.
January 13, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Robert "Bob" M. Marx III has joined Midwest BankCentre as vice president of mortgage. Marx is responsible for leading the bank's mortgage lending operations, managing a team of mortgage...

Missourians in the news: Elizabeth Blackwell, Laura M. Duncan, Matthew H. Kaiser, Catherine Schroeder, Steven R. Wild.
January 13, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Thompson Coburn has announced that Elizabeth Blackwell, Laura M. Duncan, Matthew H. Kaiser, Catherine Schroeder and Steven R. Wild have been selected to become partners in the firm. ...

Missourians in the news: Mark E. Goodman, Gary R. Sarachan.
January 13, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Mark E. Goodman and Gary R. Sarachan, of Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan, PC., have been named as co-chairs of the law firm's Litigation Practice Area. Goodman has litigated for 34 years...

Missourians in the news: Kathie Libbra.
January 13, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Welsch, Flatness & Lutz has hired Kathie Libbra of Livingston, Ill., as a customer service representative. Welsch, Flatness & Lutz Inc. is a provider of insurance, financial and risk...

Missourians in the news: Kimberly D. Travis.
January 13, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Kimberly D. Travis has been promoted to senior research associate at Gateway Commercial, a member of the Cushman & Wakefield Alliance. In that capacity, Travis tracks and analyzes the St. Louis...

Missourians in the news: Kendrick Lathum.
January 13, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Kendrick Lathum has been promoted to project manager at Brinkmann Constructors. Lathum, who joined Brinkmann as a project engineer in 2004, assumes full profit and performance responsibility...

Missourians in the news: Christopher N. Foulk.
January 13, 2007... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Christopher N. Foulk, CPA, has joined RubinBrown as a manager in its Manufacturing and Distribution Group. Based in the firm's St. Louis office, Foulk brings to RubinBrown more than six years...

St. Charles advisory panel rejects Noah's Ark TIF.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask The future of a $385 million redevelopment proposal in St. Charles is in doubt after an advisory panel recommended against subsidizing the project. In somewhat of a surprise, a majority of the St. Charles Tax-Increment...

Will traffic congestion from Highway 40 project bring businesses to St. Charles County?
January 15, 2007... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady With the Missouri Department of Transportation planning to shut down large sections of Highway 40/Interstate 64 for road improvement construction in 2007, many businesses are re-evaluating how to get better access...

Masterclock Inc. lands contract with Microsoft.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask Masterclock Inc. in St. Charles has landed a major contract to supply Microsoft with 1,000 digital clocks. The contract is valued in excess of $500,000, said William Clark, Materclock's president. Clark said his company...

College Student launches biz selling fish tanks for waiting rooms.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask Anyone who has spent time in waiting rooms -- be it the doctor's, dentist's, or even the lawyer's or accountant's office -- knows how slowly time passes. There may be some old magazines to read. There might even be some...

New Frontier Bank to open third St. Charles County branch.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Amy Armour Like its namesake, New Frontier Bank has found a new place to set up camp in the county. Later this month, the bank will celebrate the opening of its third bank in the county, at 3773 Elm Street in St. Charles. The...

White Auto Body donates cars.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff White Auto Body, with locations in O'Fallon and Florissant, has donated vehicles to women who reside in those communities. The donations were part of the Acoat Selected National Benevolence Program. Acoat...

The Goddard School opens annex.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The Goddard School in O'Fallon recently celebrated the opening of a new annex. The annex features a kindergarten classroom, school-age center and gymnasium. The private preschool is located at 9008 Phoenix...

Lindenwood University offers matching grant.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Lindenwood University said it will match an education grant given to members of AmeriCorps, a federal government program in which participants can earn money for college while working in community service...

St. Charles City seeks nominees for Employers of the Year awards.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Charles City is seeking nominees for its Employers of the Year awards luncheon. Each year the city honors three companies doing business in St. Charles -- one in the service sector, one in the retailing...

Economic Development Center of St. Charles posts job openings.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The Economic Development Center of St. Charles County has two job openings. The not-for-profit organization headquartered in St. Peters wants to hire a full-time marketing specialist and a credit analyst for...

St. Charles County has new Web address.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Charles County government has a new Web site address: www.sccmo.org. County staff and department e-mail addresses also have changed to reflect the new URL. For example, the address for the county's...

Kozeny-Wagner completes second phase of St. Charles project.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Kozeny-Wagner Inc. recently completed construction of the second phase of the St. Charles County Department of Correction project. The second phase was competed a month ahead of schedule according to the...

Brinkmann Constructors completes mixed-use building in town center.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Brinkmann Constructors completed construction of the first mixed-use building at the $170 million Wildwood Town Center by Koman Properties in West St. Louis County. The 48,000-square-foot, $14 million...

Johnson Realty of St. Louis lists 100th home.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Johnson Realty of St. Louis already has listed its 100th home after just more than a year in business. Founders Mike and Cheryl Johnson began Johnson Realty in October 2005 as a way to offer full-service...

Vantage Homes hires Marc Bruffett as project manager.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Vantage Homes has hired Marc Bruffett as project manager in the St. Charles area. Bruffett formerly worked as a project manager for Toll Brothers in Chicago. He will be responsible for managing communities in...

Brinkmann Constructors promotes D. Kendra Lathum to project manager.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Brinkmann Constructors recently promoted D. Kendrick Lathum to project manager. Lathum, who joined Brinkmann in as a project engineering in 2004, will be responsible for developing and maintaining project...

Kimberly Travis promoted to senior research associate at Gateway Commercial.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Kimberly Travis has been promoted to senior research associate at Gateway Commercial. In that capacity, she will track and analyze the St. Louis real estate market, updating and managing a real estate database...

Lawrence Group secures South Side Tower contract.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff The Lawrence Group has secured a $7.1 million construction loan through Southwest Bank to begin work on the new South Side Tower development in south St. Louis city. Construction is expected to be completed in...

Walton Construction begins renovation of Gateway Arch museum store.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Business Record Staff Walton Construction Co. has begun renovations to The Museum Store, located under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The $145,000 project includes demolition and renovation of the existing 3,000-square-foot store....

St. Charles County Exec. to name Sen. Chuck Gross to director of administration post.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask When Joe Ortwerth first assumed the office of St. Charles County Executive, his first two directors of administration -- Tom Engle and Joe Kernell -- were experienced managers with no political aspirations. But recent...

TIF Commission rejects Mayor York's Noah's Ark site proposal.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask St. Charles Mayor Patti York favors creating a tax-increment financing district at the Noah's Ark site to allow for Greg Whittaker's mixed-use development there. However, the 11-member TIF Commission rejected the idea,...

MiTek Industries plans grand opening.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask MiTek Industries Inc. has planned a grand opening for this Friday to celebrate its 177,600-square-foot, multipurpose facility in the Fountain Lakes Commerce Center in St. Charles. The company started some operations in...

Walters Golf Management buys another Golf Club.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Mike Trask St. Charles-based Walters Golf Management has added another area golf course to its collection. As of the first of this year, Walters became the owner/operator of the Stonewolf Golf Club in Fairview Heights, Ill....

Few complaints against judges end in discipline.
January 16, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Allegation 1: A judge steals money by false pretenses and conversion and fails to file a tax return. Allegation 2: Another judge gets involved with a woman who's in his court to get a divorce; he gives her advice about...

Meet the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline.
January 16, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Charged with investigating complaints against judges, the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline consists of six members: one appellate judge selected by appeals court judges, one circuit judge selected by...

Hazelwood-based Mallinckrodt Inc. objects to Shell share of Great Lakes clean up.
January 17, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter A proposed settlement between the federal government and Shell Oil would leave the oil company paying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency $228,630 of costs associated with cleaning up hazardous materials found at...

Commentary: Tax cheats are tax cheats, even with law degrees.
January 17, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan The holiday season has come to an end and many are now preparing for that other favorite time of year -- tax season. Accountants and tax lawyers will keep busy going over their clients' returns -- searching for...

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals moves to shed claims in three St. Louis weight-loss cases.
January 19, 2007... Byline: Donna Walter Drugmaker Wyeth has filed motions for summary judgment in three cases pending in the St. Louis-based federal court, and more can be expected. In Hill v. Wyeth Inc. and Cavender v. American Home Products Corp., the name...

Pentagon official raises hackles for criticizing U.S. law firms that represent inmates in Cuba.
January 19, 2007... Byline: Will Connaghan A Pentagon official raised the hackles of the legal profession recently when he was critical of U.S. law firms that represent inmates incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Charles "Cully" Stimson, who carries the...

Mary Jane Pieroni joins West County-based CPA firm of Bergman, Schraier & Co PC.
January 20, 2007... Byline: Staff Report Mary Jane Pieroni, the immediate past treasurer for the city of Ladue, has joined the West County-based certified public accounting firm of Bergman, Schraier & Co PC, as manager in the accounting and auditing...