Features

Cutest Pet Winner Loki

Meet Columbia’s Cutest Pets

Photos by L.G. Patterson Meet four of Columbia’s cutest pets. How do we know? You helped us pick! We sought out the most adorable animals to feature in our pages and received hundreds of entries of dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets and even one zebu. (Unfamiliar? So were we. It’s a form of cattle.) Suffice to […]

Encounters Angela Pottery

Local Artist Talks About Journey to Pottery and Faith

Photos by L.G. Patterson For Angela Johnson, work is an opportunity to exercise her passion. Passion for pottery, that is. Always interested in the arts, Johnson studied fine arts at the University of Missouri, earning her bachelor’s degree in 1995. By her late 20s, Johnson found herself living a life that was unhealthy and wound […]

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Columbia’s Winter Bucket List: 10 Things to Do During Our Cold, Snowy Season

Photos by L.G. Patterson Winter in Columbia has arrived, whether you’re ready for it or not. And while spending the season hibernating inside can sound particularly tantalizing, there’s so much to do in our community during these cold, snowy months. To make sure you don’t miss out on anything this season, we’ve put together 10 […]

The Gray Lady at Columbia College

Haunted History: A Peek into Columbia’s Ghostly Past

Photos by L.G. Patterson Fans of fall know one of the perks of the season is the heightened interest in haunted history. There’s a chill in the air, it’s getting darker earlier, the dried leaves rustle as they hit the ground and it all combines to give you a feeling of something … other worldly. […]

Enns Entomology Museum staff

Bugging Out: 5 Unique Species Found at the Enns Entomology Museum

Photos by L.G. Patterson  While most people usually take whatever preventative measures possible to keep insects away, Kristin Simpson spends much of her time surrounded by them. As manager of the Enns Entomology Museum at the University of Missouri, bugs are simply a part of her life. “I was not one of the nerdy kids […]

Shannon Beck

Handcrafted Haven: Shannon Mulvania-Beck Creates One-Of-A-Kind Jewelry

Photos by L.G Patterson When the pandemic began shutting down businesses and communities around the world, people found different ways to cope and adapt. Shannon Mulvania-Beck was working from home with her child taking part in virtual kindergarten, when the stir-crazy feelings began to set in. “When I feel stir crazy, I do crazy projects,” […]

A home Tiger tailgate party.

5 Tips for a Terrific Tiger Tailgate

Photos by L.G. Patterson With the start of football season comes the perfect time to throw a great tailgate party to cheer on our own Mizzou Tigers. So we asked Andrea Lyn Seppo of Andrea Lyn Events to help us come up with your guide to hosting a great tailgate party this season — right in […]

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Finding a New Passion: Amanda Johanning Uses Jiu-Jitsu to Empower Women

Photos by L.G. Patterson Amanda Johanning never thought martial arts would be part of her journey. But the moment she first stepped foot on the mat, her whole life changed.  “I was hooked just from that very first day,” Johanning says, noting that it was more than just a hobby. “I feel likeI stumbled upon […]

Laurie Kingsley and Paul Wagner at Gallery 717

Gallery 717 Encourages All to View, Contribute and Take Miniature Art

Photos by L.G. Patterson Many communities have adopted the concept of little free libraries over the past decade, small boxes installed in neighborhoods that encourage anyone to take or bring books. But it’s not that common to see an art gallery version. Unless you frequent the area near Rollins Road and Westport Drive in Columbia. […]

Libby Hampel, Give MASU

Gift-Giving Genius: Libby Hampel’s New Company is Wrapped in Luxury

Photos by L.G. Patterson Libby Hampel is a surface pattern artist, an entrepreneur and someone who is making the planet a greener and more cheerful place. Not coincidentally, she has a lot in common with the eco-friendly gift-wrapping papers she designs, prints and sells through her online store at givemasu.com. “MASU is playful, thoughtful and […]

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Rest & Relax With These Weekend Getaways

Who doesn’t love a vacation? Personally, after the last two years, I think we’ve all earned at least one good, long vacation. But that isn’t always workable. Schedules, costs and even paperwork can become barriers to a lengthy trip, but you can’t let that stop you from disconnecting and checking out what lies beyond mid-Missouri. We’ve provided some tips for five weekend getaways to help get you started. Whether you’re looking for a solo sojourn, a family affair or a romantic respite, there’s something for everyone in these getaways. Drive safe!

Trey Dawson of Backyard K9

Backyard K9 Founder Details Path From Incarceration to Small Business Owner

Photos by L.G. Patterson Trey Dawson never planned on working with dogs. The owner and lead trainer for Backyard K9 had grown up with dogs and certainly been around them, but he never really trained them or sought them out. In fact, the path to founding Backyard K9 had quite a few bumps. Dawson is […]

Columbia's Cutest Couples

Local Love: Meet Columbia’s Cutest Couples

Photos by L.G. Patterson When spring is in the air, love is in the air. And we wanted to share some love stories.  So we asked you to nominate some of the cutest couples in Columbia, and you came through! Sixteen of the cutest CoMo couples we’ve ever seen were nominated and more than 450 […]

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ACA Business Club Provides Connections, Space

Photos by L.G. Patterson A new option for networking has been growing in the Columbia area. The ACA Business Club, 204 Peach Way suite A, has been quietly expanding its membership throughout the past two years, thanks to the efforts of Lili Vianello and her husband John Shrum, who manage the club.  Vianello’s business, Visionworks Marketing […]

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Making a Green Start

Photos by L.G. Patterson Editor’s note: This article was updated in March 2023 with new information on The Clean Refill. Leah Christian has always been a bit of an environmentalist. It was something she always had an interest in thanks to her parents, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Christian has […]

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Making Their Mark

Photos by L.G. Patterson For most of us, high school and college were times of fun and friends, exploration and excitement, monumental moments and massive mistakes. While the same may be said for Dylan Frazier, Begim Tokhirjonova and Ariel Schachtman, these three young Columbians have also filled their formative years with dedication. Whether it’s spending […]

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Chefs Off-Shift

You’d think the last thing chefs want to think about once they’re off their kitchen clocks is food. And you’d be partly right: Turns out the local toques featured in our Foodie Four each have a different culinary creation or gastronomic go-to that they like to whip up once they’re home post-shift. We asked each […]

 A HOM3TOWN GIRL 

Sophie Cunningham usually knows better than to pay attention to the chatter on social media, but following Missouri’s loss at South Carolina on Jan. 28, she couldn’t help herself. This was three weeks after Gamecocks fans started calling her a “dirty” player during the Tigers’ home win over South Carolina. It was in the days […]

The Daniel Boone Little League softball team

Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend

Talk about winning one for the home team. The Daniel Boone Little League (DBLL) softball team took home a history-making third place win in the Little League World Series this past August. “We’re the first softball team in the State of Missouri to ever make the Little League World Series (LLWS),” says Nick Britton, the […]

Making it in Music City

For hopeful country artists, Nashville is the place to make or break a career. For several mid-Missouri natives, Nashville was the next step in their natural progression as a singer, songwriter, and musician. From performing on countless stages in Music City to strumming guitar strings, and pulling heartstrings on their albums, these mid-Missouri natives are […]