Area Development
From Working Class to World Class
Northeast Missouri is a storied place, thanks to a certain Hannibal icon named Mark Twain. But the region continues to spawn creative talent. Shane Mayes is a contemporary example. In an effort to curb offshoring of American IT jobs, Shane founded Onshore Technologies in 2005, a "rural outsourcing" company with customized training at its core.
In just a few years, Onshore has garnered high-profi le contracts and international attention.
Industries old and new continue to grow the region. Newly-expanded Continental Cement (once the primary supplier of concrete for the Panama Canal) and BASF, producer of agrichemicals, both benefit from their proximity to the region's railroads and port. Ethanol and biodiesel plants are creating hundreds of jobs as the country moves toward fuel alternatives.

Northeast Missouri residents understand the importance of good infrastructure to their economic success. East-west Route 36, connecting Hannibal to St. Joseph across the state, is now a four-lane highway, thanks to voter support. This expansion, coupled with improvements to north-south Highway 63, is creating a new business corridor across Missouri.

Higher education is another piece of the success equation for Northeast Missouri. A. T. Still University (Kirksville) is the nation's founding school of osteopathic medicine. Truman State University, also in Kirksville, consistently ranks as the top Midwestern public university at the master's level (US News) and as one of the best values nationwide (Kaplan's). Hannibal-LaGrange College, Culver Stockton, and Moberly Area Community College round out the list with strong academic and vocational training programs.


Northeast MO Workforce Investment Board
Mark Fuqua, Executive Director
111 East Monroe
Paris, Missouri 65275
660.327.5125
www.nemowib.org