Mayor Rediger reflects on partnership with Southeast

When students come to Southeast Missouri State University, they come for the campus. They come for the high-quality affordable education and energetic campus life, but what they might not come for is the city of Cape Girardeau. What many students don't realize is the unique relationship the university has with the city and how the seemingly separate communities become one.

Southeast opened in 1873, 80 years after the settling of Cape Girardeau. For more than 100 years, the university and Cape's relationship with one another was strictly platonic. Students lived and worked in Cape Girardeau and faculty and staff did the same. The university served as a main job provider for the region and the students who lived there for the year provided an economic boost the city needed.

After more than 100 years since the university opened, one man who truly appreciates the partnership between it and Cape Girardeau is Mayor Harry Rediger. Though Rediger is not native to Cape Girardeau and did not attend Southeast, he has been part of the Cape Girardeau and Southeast communities for years.

Rediger moved to Cape Girardeau as the manager of JCPenny but quickly involved himself in the Cape Girardeau community. He served on the boards of the Cape Girardeau School District, United Way of Southeast Missouri, American Red Cross and Saint Francis Medical Center. He was a member of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce and Cape West Rotary. He also served as the president of the Zoning and Planning Committee until he was elected mayor in 2010.

Besides being involved the city, he was also involved at Southeast as a member of the Southeast Booster Club, the Copper Dome Society and President's Council.

Throughout his years of service to the city of Cape and the university, Rediger has seen the two join forces to create a strong symbiotic relationship.

"We would not be the city that we are without the university," he said.

In 1987, the city of Cape and the university began tackling large building and financial projects together beginning with the Show Me Center.

The Show Me Center, the entertainment and sports venue which has hosted the likes of REO Speedwagon, Toby Keith and most recently the Beach Boys and Temptations, was the first large project Cape Girardeau and Southeast completed together.

The Show Me Center was followed by the River Campus, another 50-50 joint effort between the city and the university. The River Campus is home to Cape Girardeau's cultural art events ranging from plays and musicals put on by university students to traveling acts from all over the world. The River Campus' board of directors is a branch of the city of Cape Girardeau and is made up equally of city and university representatives.

The city of Cape and Southeast have shared the cost and responsibility on smaller projects as well, including the renovations of Capaha Field, home of both the Southeast Redhawk and Cape Girardeau Capahas baseball teams. The city and the university also will be sharing the cost of a sculpture that will be placed in the roundabout at the intersection of Fountain and Morgan Oak streets by the River Campus. The sculpture is being designed and constructed by Chris Wubbena, a professor at Southeast who has constructed the Esprit de Corps sculpture that was erected outside the River Heritage Museum last fall.

"Our partnerships through the years have been win-win," Rediger said. "A lot has been together that could not have been done separately."

Rediger said Southeast and the city of Cape's relationship allows the community of Cape Girardeau to grow economically and culturally.

but that each entity provides its own benefits to the other. He said many students choose to come to Southeast because of the Cape Girardeau community, which he said offers a small-town, safe environment with plenty of interesting things to do.

"Parents and students alike are very impressed by our city," Rediger said. "I think we've had students who chose to come here because of our city."

Downtown Cape Girardeau has seen a significant boost in small businesses in recent years, providing a variety of shops and restaurants within walking distance from the university. Cape Girardeau also provides a number of outdoor activities like Trail of Tears, Riverfront Park and an 11-mile bike trail that stretches from one edge of town to another.

Rediger encourages students to explore what Cape Girardeau has to offer.

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"We want all of our students to know that we are a growing city, a safe city, we have a lot of history that they can explore," Rediger said. "We're a great community to live, work and play."