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Professional Headshot of a man named Matt William against a 3D textured white wall

Banking on Columbia

It is July 1865.  The Civil War ended in April. The first public university west…

overlapping signs saying "now hiring" from all different places

The Talent Gap

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic noticeably impacted the national and local labor market across all…

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close up of a group of small group of people gather outside of a building for a cermonial ribbon cutting

Business is Blooming

Lara Pieper is proof that a professional setback can be turned into a huge opportunity…

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close up black and white headshot of a man named Andrew Grabau standing beside two women named La Toya Stevens and Adonica Coleman

Impact COMO 2021

This past year continued to provide unexpected opportunities for innovation in the ways our local…

Professional headshot of a women named La Toya Stevens

La Toya Stevens

Job description My role is to advance equity, increase brand awareness, and raise funds through…

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view of the back of peoples leeges participating in a particiapting in a charity alzhemiers walk overlaid with blue, yellow, orange, and purple flower outlines

Not An Island

“I’m always in walk mode,” says Chris Cottle, walk manager for the Alzheimer’s Association Greater…

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birds eye view of a farm surronded with trees and a lake with a red barn

A Home of Love

About 30 minutes northwest of Columbia, nestled in the rolling hills of western Boone County,…

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Birds eye view of four people working on an urban farm with rows and rows of plants

Growth Through Service

In The Beginning  In 2008, a concerned group of MU students took action to decrease…

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a wide array of vegtables for sale at a local farmers market

Fresh Finds

Equipped with a handful of market tokens and our favorite reusable totes, COMO Magazine staffers…

A women sitting at her desk inside of a studio building

Art Is Healing

It seems unbelievable now, but a life of creative passions was not always something artist…

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Close up of the front door of a brick school with a sign that reads "Ridgeway Elementary school" above the front door

Playing the School Lottery

Lottery schools give Columbia residents options where they originally might not have had one.  Which…

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a small group of people meet in a dirt lot that is going to become a community garden

For All to Know

A college education promises abundant knowledge and experience, but for many, a degree is not…