SIKESTON, Mo. – Thanks to a substantial grant that the Sikeston Regional Chamber and Convention and Visitors Bureau has received from the Missouri Dept. of Economic Development, the city of Sikeston will see one of its oldest downtown buildings rehabilitated and converted into a rodeo museum and visitor center.

A $484,138 grant came from the MDED in April 2023 that will help fund efforts to revitalize the long-time United States Post Office downtown, which was originally built in 1931. The grant dollars were awarded to Sikeston’s chamber and visitors bureau via the Local Tourism Asset Development Grant Program.

Bids are currently being accepted from constractors.

The building currently houses Historic Downtown Sikeston offices. Its ground floor will become the visitor center and rodeo museum while also housing the tourism and existing offices. Space on the second floor will be rented to local entrepreneurs to help encourage the growth of small businesses in and around Sikeston.

Regional tourism officials say this location will serve as the only rodeo museum currently in existence in Missouri.

The Local Tourism Asset Development Grant, initiated by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson in October 2022, is a means of supporting the tourism industry statewide, which was one of the sectors that suffered the most during the pandemic.