Hannibal (St. Louis, Springfield, Independence: litigation, relocation, travel)

[Norge13]

My wife and I have traveled the state rather extensively twice already this year. The first trek took us from KC to St. Joseph, across the state to Macon, down through Columbia and Jeff City to Rolla, then back across through Springfield to Joplin and Carthage, before ending the trip back up to KC. This latest time, we traveled into the state on 63 up through Willow Springs, Cabool, etc. up to Lebanon, then zig-zagging back and forth from El Dorado Springs to Warsaw to Versailles to Sedalia to Boonville to Knob Noster, then through Independence and Liberty up to Bethany, then across to Kirksville, then down through Hannibal and St. Louis before leaving. The extensive traveling is related to our looking for a hobby farm for a future relocation, and while we had looked in the Macon/Brookfield area at first, now it looks likely that we'll end up near Cameron. In our travels, we've liked some areas we've seen, we've disliked some areas, and we've even fallen hard for a place or two (Cole Camp is cute, cute, cute, Boonville -- and the land just to the South of it -- was lovely, Columbia had some hip 'hoods, and I can't say enough about KC just for Waldo Pizza alone). In general, folks in Missouri were unwaveringly amicable, there is abundant natural beauty, and most smaller towns have a nostalgic charm.

All that having been said, the subject line of this post should indicate that this post is specific to Hannibal. Perhaps residents and frequent visitors don't see it as outsiders do, so I just wanted to post an outsider's perspective. Again, by definition, an outsider doesn't have all the facts, rather he/she just forms general impressions. So, please take these impressions with that grain of salt. Certainly, I don't post these observations to hurt feelings, detract from community pride, or to just generally upset local residents, but rather because I hope they can be helpful to those who care about Hannibal and how it might look to a first-time visitor.

To be both blunt and frank, we were shocked to see the present condition of the city. Perhaps it's come a long way, and clearly there are people who care a great deal about the area in general, and their home in particular, but there is certainly a lot of work that needs to be done to address the problems. We've never seen a city so blessed with gorgeous historic architecture that has allowed so much of it to so alarmingly deteriorate. It was truly a depressing and saddening sight, but it almost made us angry. What can be done to save some of these homes and buildings before they are too far gone for saving? Rampant poverty was both startlingly visible and evidently widespread, and the level of which was somewhat surprising to us, given that Hannibal relies so much on tourism revenue. Public dumping seems a problem, as well. I've traveled up and down the Miss. enough to know the problems faced by many of the aging river towns, but Hannibal seems to have qualities in its favor, unlike many similar towns -- other river towns don't have the Twain connection, for example, or the caves, etc. However, those features haven't been enough to save Hannibal from falling into a poor state of disrepair. Most stuff within a couple blocks of the river seems in decent shape, but outside of that, conditions quickly become borderline shocking.

Again, these are first impressions from an outsider, so perhaps spending more time in Hannibal would be warranted to see the positives, of which I'm sure there are many. However, I would say that most visitors don't plan to spend a great deal of time there, so their first impressions are important, as they affect word-of-mouth. For a tourism town, first impressions and word-of-mouth are vital.

So, the real questions are these:
1. Is Hannibal really in as bad a shape as it seems at first glance?
2. What could be done to help prevent such an inherently beautiful place from falling into deeper disrepair and poverty?

[Marie'sBees]

Something is being done.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290

Gov. Blunt Announces DREAM City Hannibal Approved to Establish Enhanced Enterprise Zone Designation




HANNIBAL — Gov. Matt Blunt today announced that the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) has approved Enhanced Enterprise Zone (EEZ) designation for the city of Hannibal and parts of Marion and Ralls counties. The designation will allow city and county officials to continue to move forward and support economic development efforts.

Hannibal is one of Gov. Blunt’s inaugural Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri (DREAM) communities.

“I am pleased we are able to help the Hannibal community with this important effort to enhance its economic development efforts and create jobs,” Blunt said. “We continue to actively assist Hannibal and other DREAM communities that are working diligently to build on their strengths and seek new opportunities to revitalize their downtown business centers to create and retain jobs.”

The Enhanced Enterprise Zone program was implemented in 2004. Enhanced enterprise zones are specified geographic areas designated by local governments and certified by the Department of Economic Development. Zone designation is based on certain demographic criteria, the potential to create sustainable jobs in a targeted industry and a demonstrated impact on local cluster development.

Gov. Blunt created the DREAM initiative to help small and mid-sized Missouri communities access existing state assistance to programs to help with downtown revitalization and job creation efforts.

Gov. Blunt’s DREAM Initiative allows communities to more efficiently and effectively engage in downtown redevelopment and revitalization and attract new private investment opportunities to the hearts of their communities. In total the inaugural ten DREAM communities have received more than $30 million for housing, construction and renovation projects and infrastructure improvements. The governor’s initiative also offers exclusive training and seminars created to help all DREAM applicants learn more about how to access existing redevelopment programs and tools to revitalize Missouri’s historic and diverse downtowns.

Cape Girardeau, Excelsior Springs, Hannibal, Hermann, Kennett, Neosho, St. Joseph, Sedalia, Washington and West Plains were the first to be named DREAM communities. In 2007 Gov. Blunt unveiled Missouri’s newest DREAM communities. Aurora, Caruthersville, Chillicothe, Clinton, Kirksville, Maryville, Mexico, Poplar Bluff, Sikeston and Trenton are the second annual DREAM community recipients. For more information about the governor’s efforts to improve opportunities for Missouri communities visit the DREAM Initiative Internet site at www.dream.mo.gov.

In addition to creating the DREAM initiative, Blunt has made growing Missouri’s economy and expanding opportunities to Missouri’s working families a high priority. His pro-job, pro-growth policies have helped facilitate the creation of nearly 90,000 new jobs since January 2005. The state’s economic outlook has improved with the passage of aggressive litigation reform, workers’ compensation reform and proactive recruiting tools like the Missouri Quality Jobs Act, which has created 22,000 new jobs that pay above the average wage and offer health care benefits to their employees. Blunt has also led the successful effort to enact tax incentives for Missouri manufacturers to help them grow their businesses and create jobs.

In 2006, Missouri set a record for exports with $12.8 billion in sales to 191 countries around the world. Through the third quarter of 2007 those sales figures were up by 7.15 percent compared to the same period in 2006, according to the World Institute for Strategic Economic Research (WISER).