Cape Girardeau, MO

Cape Girardeau is a Mississippi River city and the economic center of southeastern Missouri, about 100 miles southeast of St. Louis. It is also home to Southeast Missouri State University, giving the city a college-town layer alongside its regional business role. The old cape in the name was a rock promontory above the river, later altered by railroad construction. Downtown still leans into the riverfront, with floodwall murals, Riverfront Park, and historic districts that make the city feel tied to the Mississippi rather than merely near it.