Overheard

Architecture firm Butler, Rosenbury & Partners and Bass Pro Shops recently received national recognition for the design of the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Las Vegas. The National Association of Store Fixtures Manufacturers chose the design as Grand Prize Winner for specialty stores greater than 25,000 square feet. The honor was presented at NASFM’s national convention, GlobalShop, in Orlando, Fla. BRP has worked for 10 years with Bass Pro’s new store rollout program. The firm is architect of record for 13 stores and in design phase of three new stores. These projects are generally 129,000 square feet to 190,000 square feet and include special features such as aquariums, merchandise displays and entrance lobbies.

E85 Partnership

Columbia-based MFA Oil Co. announced a new partnership aimed at making corn-based E85 fuel more accessible and affordable to Missouri consumers. The farmer-owned cooperative is partnering with Mid-Missouri Energy, a farmer-owned ethanol plant located near Malta Bend. The goal is to decrease Missourians’ dependence on foreign fuels, lower prices at the pump, provide a boon to the corn farming industry and improve air quality, according to MFA Oil Co. President Jerry Taylor. The Department of Economic Development estimates E85 production has an economic impact of $205 million annually.

Coffee Penetration

Coffee has tied soft drinks in daily market penetration for the first time since 1990, according to the newly published 2006 National Coffee Drinking Trends. The annual market research report of the National Coffee Association of USA also found daily coffee consumption among American adults up for the second year running to 56 percent from 53 percent in 2005 and 49 percent in 2004.

Slice of Nice

The Springfield Cardinals will honor hundreds of cancer survivors during a pre-game ceremony June 14 at Hammons Field. The ceremony is part of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, a nationwide community-based event aimed at raising money to help prevent cancer and save lives. About 700 Relay For Life members and volunteers are expected to take a victory lap before the Cardinals game. Any cancer survivors in attendance are welcome to join in the lap. For more information, call (417) 881-4668.[[In-content Ad]]