PRINTOn the job: Entrepreneur
Valerie Moseley
May 20, 2009 | 12:00 p.m. CST
Cooper’s Landing belongs to one Mike Cooper, 60, who in 1983 took off to Costa Rica in an old pickup truck to see a solar eclipse and the comet Kohoutek, which he regards as one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. He bought the one-acre spread past Missouri 163 along the Missouri River in 1986, founded the music venue and campground in 1995 and has been battling Mother Nature ever since. As a child, Cooper says he didn’t have a lot of ambition and lacked a plan. Now, he works seven days a week and an astounding 16 hours per day to maintain the venue. His hair is pepper, his mustache is salt, and as he cradles a Miller Lite, Cooper’s sitting in the basement of a mobile home raised six feet above the ground. It’s a good job — until the river floods.
Q&A with MIKE COOPER
What was your mission in creating Cooper’s Landing?
When I first tried to start a business, there was a pretty rough crowd that hung around here, and I decided that I wanted Cooper’s Landing to be a family place. I wanted people to feel secure enough to bring their toddlers.
How would you describe your relationship with the river?
When it rains enough to cause that kind of flood, there’s nothing you can do about it. I just take what it gives me, prepare for the worst and enjoy the best. Hopefully we get enough of the good times when the river’s at its bank, and there’s a beautiful [sunset] that it’s worth dealing with the tough times.
What’s the farthest someone has come from to see Cooper’s Landing?
We’ve had people as customers and guests from Thailand and China, Japan and the Philippines. Then we’ve got people from Guinea-Bissau and Somalia and Iran, and lots of Europeans and Latin Americans. That’s a gratifying thing, to see people with different backgrounds come to a place where they can really relax and enjoy each other.
What do you do on your days off?
Day off? I don’t know what a day off is.
Where do you see Cooper’s Landing in 10 years?
I’m 60 now, so in 10 years I’ll be 70. I’d like to find someone who can take it over but keep it like it is now, heavy on community service and helping people with a lot of different backgrounds.
What’s one thing that would make your job easier?
If I were better looking.
What’s the biggest problem you think Columbia suffers from?
Lack of recognition for what a cool community it is. The music scene here is so productive and vibrant, and we have so many educational resources here.
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