Features

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Children's Grove

Kindness in CoMo

Joyce Smith wholeheartedly believes that a single act of kindness can change a life. “You never know what people are going through,” Smith says. “When I moved to Columbia in 2013, I wanted to make a difference artistically. Through Children’s Grove’s projects and working with unbelievably kind people, I hope that I have.” Children’s Grove, […]

MU Game

10 Things Every Columbian Must Do

There are so many things that make Columbia a wonderful place to live and work — certainly more than 10, but if we listed out all the things you should do in Columbia, well, we would fill decades worth of magazines (see what we did there?).

Feel free to disagree with our list, but if you haven’t done one of the below things, just trust us and try it out. There is just something special about the energy at a University of Missouri football game and something awe-inspiring about the Big Tree. Better yet, when you do head to these local favorites, snap a pic and tag us. We can’t wait to see your experiences!

Tigers In Tokyo

One of the biggest impacts that COVID-19 had on the professional athlete world was the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

A Return to Roots

A Return to Its Roots

Photos by Notley Hawkins Post-pandemic, many of us are finally enjoying reunions and homecomings. That’s certainly true for the Boone County Fair, which returns to Columbia July 20 to 24 for the first time in 5 years. Its return in Columbia’s Bicentennial year is just the icing on the anniversary cake. For Jeff Cook, owner […]

Victory Dance

What started as a tomato rescue project — yes, you read that right — in 2015 is now an heirloom seed and plant business providing Missourians..

Feeding a Community

Wayland and Renee Taylor have been working tirelessly to feed hungry communities in Columbia and Boone County, especially those who have been hit hardest by the pandemic. One major way they have contributed is by

Home School

This summer, when parents were forced to realize that the coronavirus pandemic would derail Columbia Public Schools’ status quo well into the fall semester — if not well into 2021 — they were faced with a practically impossible task: Get their children educated without the everyday infrastructure and built-in resources of a classroom. Any parent […]

The Reigning Pump-king

It was a friend who first planted the seed for the idea. After hearing how much fun Jacob Leffert had growing pumpkins, RJ Bechtold decided to plant a patch himself, and got permission from his Dad to use a one-acre plot behind his family’s business, the Midway Truck Stop.

Beautifying Columbia’s Traffic Boxes

If you’ve ever wondered how a guitar-playing deer made it onto a traffic box in downtown Columbia, you’ve come to the right spot. Every year, the City of Columbia hires local artists to decorate downtown’s traffic boxes not only to deter graffiti, but also to bring some local art into everyday life. It’s a great […]

Hometown Heroes

As Columbians battled their way through the stay-at-home order, personal quarantines, working from home with their spouses and schooling their kids over the past several months, one thing stood out. Well, several people and businesses stood out. While everyone did their part staying home to prevent the spread of COVID-19, some members of our community […]

Heartfelt Gesture

Michele Spry takes giving back to heart. The business she and her husband Brandon run, Midway Electric, Inc., is a Partner in Education with Midway Heights Elementary School and she’s also involved with Central Missouri Honor Flight and Honor Everywhere. In addition, three years ago, she donated her wedding dress to Real Imprints through the […]

From Loss to Legacy

When not working her day job at Flat Branch Home Loans, Jessica Robertson-Capell volunteers as president of the nonprofit Armani’s Angels. She manages the organization with a board of eight other women, all of them volunteering countless hours in the name of its mission: fundraising and providing support to people with pets in need of […]

The Ins and Outs of Pet Parenting

Columbia is a pet-friendly city with amenities that include three fenced dog parks and two leash-free nature areas. There are local shops dedicated to pet needs, social events that revolve around our non-human friends and even several restaurants that allow animals on their patios. Whether they’re four-legged, furry, feathered or scaled, pets are a meaningful […]