John Faaborg’s love of birds took flight early on. “My brother took me birding when I was 7 years old and I was hooked for life,” he says. “The excitement of being able to identify birds was one of the first things that drew me in, then . . .
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 […]
JILL ORR’S NEWEST RELEASE EXAMINE INTERGENERATIONAL ALCHEMY. Jill Orr, formerly solely a mystery-genre writer, decided to step out of her comfort zone this fall and launch a new humor non-fiction gift book, How Not to Be Old (Even if You Are). Orr’s first foray into the world of humorous books explores how those across different […]
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.
Whether you’ve been to Napa every year since you can remember or still prefer Moscato as your wine of choice, chances are you’ll find a Missouri wine you love. Missouri’s wine-making history began in the 1850s in the Hermann area and expanded in the 1870s as Italian immigrants founded wineries near St. James, according to […]
A book of prose poems that was first imagined and contributed to over 15 years ago is now coming to fruition. Mid-Missourian Walter Bargen, one of Missouri’s former poet laureates, is publishing his 24th book this August. The prose poetry book, Pole Dancing in the Night Club of God focuses on well-known Biblical characters in […]
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 […]
“You’ll think of The Paris Hours for many hours after you’ve finished it, haunted by its shocking ending.” Paris in the 1920s was a magnet magnifique, attracting all manner of artists, both acclaimed and aspiring. It hosted the likes of literary legends such as Ernest Hemingway, Marcel Proust and Gertrude Stein, musicians such as composer […]
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 […]
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published June 1, 2020, be sure to check hours of operation for restaurants and attractions described below, as they may have changed since time of publication. With the alluring promise of swimming, boating, fishing or just simple relaxation, a lake getaway in the summer is practically a rite of […]
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 […]
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 […]
**Due to COVID-19, restaurant hours and offerings may change. Please check with the restaurant ahead of time before visiting. With so many laudable local restaurants, it’s easy to stay within the confines of Columbia for cuisine. But there are some spots a little farther afield that are well worth a trip. Here are six area […]
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 […]
Peter Geye is so thrilled we’re talking about snow. It’s mid-February, his hometown of Minneapolis is enjoying a balmy mid-30-degree day, and unlike most of us curmudgeons praying for sunlight he’s not exactly ecstatic the winds are starting to change. Spring is fine. Spring is spring. But winter? Winter is where every story seems to […]
“In closing, this is an incredible place at an incredible time …” For one pregnant pause, Eliah Drinkwitz gathered himself at the podium. This wasn’t unfamiliar territory; after all, he’d given a speech a lot like this just 359 days earlier, to a room filled with dignitaries and pundits and dreamers like these. Perhaps the […]
People J’den Cox Hometown hero J’den Cox easily captured Columbia’s heart with his winning moves on the wrestling mat, first for Hickman High School and then at the University of Missouri, where he was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion and four-time All-American. But he would go on to capture much more: a bronze […]
Claude McKay Love isn’t sure what he’s doing in Columbia, Missouri. The protagonist of Gabriel Bump’s gut-punch of a debut novel, Everywhere You Don’t Belong, Claude knows nothing of Missouri. His world revolves around Chicago’s South Side — specifically Euclid Avenue, where Bump himself once spent his mornings walking to the Jeffrey Local bus stop, […]
You’re a writer in Columbia. You’re still waiting on that six-figure advance, but you’ve been writing, so that makes you a writer, right? Yet no matter your experience level, chances are you’re doing the bulk of this writing at a desk in the corner, alone. You probably like it this way. You want room to […]
You might not notice at first. But screw up your vision, then peer a little closer at the cover of Phong Nguyen’s new novel, Roundabout. You’ll see it: The letter “e” in his last name is a faint, hazy gray, just a few shades darker than the white font that sandwiches it. Seems a simple […]
