Until recently, Lemay's older population and aging infrastructure made it a rather sleepy place to live and launch. But over the next few years, the community is going to wake up: Pinnacle Casinos chose the site for its $450 million River City Casino, which is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs when it opens in 2009.
Lemay already boasts a 20,000 square foot startup incubator, a supportive county economic council, and a strategic location on the Mississippi River. The local economy is currently dominated by small manufacturers, but the influx of tourists should stimulate the retail and service sectors. -Mina Kimes
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