missouri

Did you know that we Americans eat as many as 50 billion burgers a year — an average of three a week for every man, woman and child — enough to circle the globe 32 times? From fast food to gourmet extravaganzas garnished with gold leaf,…

You’ve probably driven or walked past a neighborhood or subdivision and thought, “Whatever were those homeowners thinking?!” The yard seems riddled with rangy plants sprouting sporadically in no apparent pattern, giving off an unkempt…

A week after meeting at a Pampered Chef party, Tara Gutshall and Jazz Rucker went on a double date and closed down Addison’s at 1:17 a.m. “As we walked back to our cars, Jazz sang me the Rucker family song, and I was smitten,” Tara…

Once upon a time — at least, it seems like it was that long ago — Albert and Glenna Faye Rodman had 10 children, born over a span of 17 years in rural Arkansas. Earl Ray Euna Faye Viva Gaye Glenna Bart Delta Debra…

If you’re not familiar with dim sum, it’s understandable. After all, there’s only one restaurant in Columbia that serves it: ABC Chinese Cuisine. Dim sum consists of various steamed or fried dumplings and pastries, and ABC…

Dining out at a favorite restaurant is usually a treat. But, when you have young children, enjoying a public meal can be a challenge. Boredom, tantrums, picky eating habits and glares from annoyed patrons are just some of the difficulties…

Just three years ago, Inside Columbia ran a story on how to be an organized bride, and the essential planning tool was a three-ring binder. It sounds so old-fashioned now, this side of the Pinterest boom. Thanks to this “virtual pinboard”…

How will your wedding be remembered? Will guests describe it as elegant and formal? Joyful and fun? Romantic and sweet? The choices you make for your processional, from how the attendants make their entrances to the choices for…

If you really knew where the food you ate today came from — accompanied by which pesticides, fillers, salt, sugar, color, fat and mysterious additives — you might wonder if your own personal future is threatened just by the simple act of…

If you had to describe Columbia in just one word, which would you choose? Lively? Diversified? Eclectic? Midwestern? These are the adjectives some Columbia newcomers choose when describing their first impressions of the area. Each became…

Are those same old holiday traditions growing tiresome? Looking for some fresh ideas and helpful hints to make it a merrier Christmas? You’ve come to the right place. We gathered a diverse group of experts who weighed in with tips on…

Growing up, Laura Flacks-Narrol remembers the way the menorah’s candle flames filled the room with dancing lights on the evenings of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival. Every year, the Flacks children would begin Hanukkah mornings with…

Don’t look now, but it’s holiday office party season. The best holiday office parties succeed in two goals: people have a good time; and office relationships are strengthened. A standard gathering can achieve both of these…

With the end of the year just days away and the holiday season upon us, we have time to reflect on what we have and be grateful. Below is a list of some local volunteer opportunities to help others in the Columbia community and to continue…

'Tis the season for school breaks. Kids look forward to time off with great anticipation but can find all the free time hard to fill up. And bored kids have two favorite devices: whining and getting into mischief, neither of which tends to…

You don’t have to be a home improvement expert to look at Leon and Jodi Johnson’s bathroom floor and see the Johnsons are victims of inexcusable incompetence. The tile floor looks horrible with discolored, cracking grout and misaligned…

There’s not much about the 1890 version of football that today’s players would recognize and no doubt they're glad that leather helmets and moleskin uniform pants are passé. But one thing hasn’t changed. Since it began, Mizzou’s football…

A staggered line of men walks toward Rock Bridge High School’s football field from the adjacent parking lot carrying helmets, shoulder pads and other gear. It’s around 5:30 on an uncharacteristically moderate Thursday evening in late July.…

When it comes to the Columbia School District, I only know what I read in the press. By the summer I arrived here from California eight years ago my twin daughters had just graduated college. All those years of shepherding the girls through…

Qristyl Frazier wants to know, “What’s your ‘Plus Sexy’?” A rainy late-summer evening found the St. Louis native and Stephens College alumna meeting, greeting and “photo-opping” with adoring fans outside Windsor Auditorium on the…