The new year has arrived, and you have survived another holiday season. The parties, the family get-togethers, the feasts, treats, and evenings of excess. It’s resolution time: time to cleanse and purge and make an attempt to drop those extra pounds that mysteriously appeared last month. But this requires effort, exercise, and eating right. That means denial of all that […]
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How often did we brush off what our parents told us? Wrote it off as overprotectiveness, outdated thinking, or just plain nonsense? How often did we believe we knew better? One lesson I heard over and over was that life passes quickly. It never felt true when I was a curiosity-driven kid who could stretch a single afternoon into a whole
The start of a new year always brings a sense of possibility. It is a natural moment to pause, reflect, and set intentions for what we hope to build together. As mayor, my greatest intention for the year ahead is simple and steady: to keep showing up, to keep listening, and to keep leading alongside
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First Chance for Children (FC4C) hands out nearly 400 packages of diapers directly to mid-Missouri families each month. In November, that number doubled, as the U.S. government shutdown impacted financial assistance. In just forty-eight hours, FC4C distributed more than a third of its typical monthly supply, with more families calling every day. “What we are witnessing is no longer simply
Linda Harris didn’t know how to boil water before she started her job as a cook at EverTrue Lenoir Woods. Lenoir Woods, located at 3710 Lenoir St., offers independent and assisted living care for seniors in Columbia. Dining services at Lenoir Woods include restaurant-style and buffet-style dining as well as quick snacks in a bodega-style market. Harris is a cook at Lenoir Woods,
‘Like a Big Family’: Linda Harris Marks 50 Years at Lenoir Woods Read More »
The online version of this story was updated on January 21, 2026. As Columbia’s social calendars shift and families settle into new routines, one activity keeps coming up in conversations among local moms: mahjong. Classes are full, groups are forming, and a weekly league has taken root, all driven by people looking for connection, focus, and
Even before the COVID pandemic altered the way businesses do business, Dr. Jill Luther was hatching an idea for the University of Missouri School of Veterinary Medicine to offer mobile animal surgery services. As that concept grew to fruition, the university and the vet school were making budget cuts, and adding mobile vet surgery didn’t make the
It’s difficult being a large animal veterinarian, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find them. Treating large animals is hard, sometimes dangerous work, and what’s more, it’s not as lucrative as caring for small animals in an urban area. Over an entire career, a small animal vet in the Kansas City suburbs is likely to earn much more — and get kicked by cows much less
