Secure your legacy
Are you taking full advantage of estate and gift tax exemptions?
Commerce Trust, working in conjunction with your estate planning attorney, can guide you through the in-depth conversations required to assess how the use of tax exemptions could most effectively be incorporated into your estate plan.
The holistic, team-based approach at Commerce Trust, consisting of financial and tax planning, investment portfolio management, and trust administration, is designed to guide you toward achieving your family’s goals while safeguarding your legacy.
The current federal lifetime estate and gift tax exemption amounts, absent further legislative action, are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.
Connect with Lyle Johnson, your dedicated Market Executive for Commerce Trust, at (573) 886-5324 or lyle.johnson@commercebank.com.
Learn more about securing your legacy at commercetrustcompany.com/estatetax.
Giving to Family: Tax Efficient Gifting Strategies for Your Estate Plan
By Scott LaPresta, CTFA, Senior Vice President, Director of Private Client Advisors, Commerce Trust, and Amy Stiglic, CTFA, Senior Vice President, Market Executive, Kansas City, Commerce Trust
Gifting to family members provides for their needs while advancing your estate plan. In addition to the benefits your relatives receive, strategically gifting may decrease your transfer tax liability by lowering the value of your estate. Below are five methods to maximize the value of family gifts for donors and recipients.
1. Annual gift exclusion
For tax year 2025, the IRS allows you to gift up to $19,000 tax-free to as many people as you want, and married couples can give up to $38,000 to an individual without triggering a taxable gift.
Both recipients and donors can benefit from annual gifts. In contrast to an inheritance, recipients can enjoy the gift immediately without losing any value to pay transfer taxes.
Donors can coordinate annual gifts to achieve estate planning objectives like potentially decreasing their estate tax liability by lowering the value of their estate.
2. 529 accelerated gifting
By making an accelerated gift to a qualified tuition program (QTP) like a 529 plan, you can contribute up to five times the annual exclusion ($95,000 for individuals and $190,000 for married couples in 2025) in a single year tax-free.
This strategy can provide significant value for those aspiring to attend college while lowering the value of the donor’s estate.
3. Lifetime estate and gift tax exemption
The 2025 federal lifetime estate and gift tax exemption amount is $13.99 million for individuals and is effectively doubled to $27.98 million for married couples.
This means the total value of one’s estate plus any taxable gifts can generally be transferred tax-free up to that amount. Using the lifetime exemption now, at its historically high level, may lower your eventual estate tax liability.
4. Medical exclusion
The medical exclusion is another way to give a gift to family members by paying for their medical expenses without triggering a taxable gift.
The payment must be made directly to the care provider and be solely used for qualifying medical expenses as defined by the IRS. Donors can also pay for health insurance under the medical exclusion, but payments for medical care that are reimbursed by the recipient’s insurance company do not qualify.
5. Educational exclusion
Gifts that qualify for the educational exclusion are also not subject to the gift tax. The gift must be paid directly to a qualifying educational institution and exclusively used for tuition.
GIFT STRATEGICALLY WITH COMMERCE TRUST
Gifting to family members may seem straightforward, but care is needed to ensure the value of the gift is not diminished by taxes. If gifting is a priority for you, contact Commerce Trust at www.commercetrustcompany.com/estateplanning to learn how our tax management,* estate planning, and education planning professionals collaborate to execute a customized estate plan that is unique to you.
*Commerce Trust does not provide tax advice to customers unless engaged to do so.
The opinions and other information in the commentary are provided as of January 16, 2025. This summary is intended to provide general information only, and may be of value to the reader and audience.
This material is not a recommendation of any particular investment or insurance strategy, is not based on any particular financial situation or need, and is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified tax advisor or investment professional. While Commerce may provide information or express opinions from time to time, such information or opinions are subject to change, are not offered as professional tax, insurance or legal advice, and may not be relied on as such.
Data contained herein from third-party providers is obtained from what are considered reliable sources. However, its accuracy, completeness or reliability cannot be guaranteed.
Commerce Trust is a division of Commerce Bank.
Investment Products: Not FDIC Insured | May Lose Value | No Bank Guarantee
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The COMO Mojo: Lessons from the Late Shift
No matter how old you are or how many jobs you’ve had, most — if not all — of us remember our rst-ever jobs.
Since turning 16, I’ve had ve, and my rst one was hands-down the worst (yet, oddly enough, somehow one of the best). You guessed it — the food industry. More speci cally, Panera. Or “Bread Co.” for you wacky St. Louis natives.
Let me set the scene. I was hired as a “café associate”/barista, and according to the application, my duties included welcoming customers, taking their orders, handing over their bakery items, and making drinks like co ee and smoothies. Simple enough, right?
I should’ve been more wary when, on my rst day of training, I learned that since I worked the closing shift (4 p.m. to whenever everything was done), I was responsible for shutting down the front of the store — everything except the main food line. at meant sweeping and mopping the oors, cleaning both the men’s and women’s bathrooms (I’ll spare you of the horrors I witnessed in there), wiping down tables, vacuuming the dining room, emptying the drink bubblers, and taking out what felt like endless containers of trash to the dumpster. You get the idea. e list was, and I say this with barely any exaggeration, never-ending. And despite asking for around sixteen hours a week, I somehow ended up working close to thirty, while being a full-time student.
It’s honestly embarrassing to admit how many times I cried in the walk-in refrigerator. But hey, it was an experience in building character, right?
You might be wondering what made this job one of the best despite all that. e answer? My coworkers — a ectionately coined as e Panera Pals. Don’t get me wrong, we still got the job done, but we kept things lighthearted, cracking jokes and making the shift feel less grueling. (I clearly took working there way
too seriously, so this was a much-needed stress relief.) On weekends, after working 12-8 shifts, we’d head next door for a late dinner or just hit up McDonald’s. One holiday season, we even met up at 5 a.m. for a Christmas celebration before some of us clocked in for the early-morning shift.
We’ve all since moved on, and now, we look back and laugh at the misery of that crazy job. But looking back, my biggest takeaway, both from that job and every one I’ve had since, is the importance of nding a community and leaning on it to get through tough times. It’s funny how shared struggles — however miserable in the moment — can bring people closer together.
At every job I’ve had, I’ve befriended people I probably wouldn’t have even thought to talk to if I’d just passed them in public, and many of them I still hold dear to this day. As we re ect on the past few years and how life has changed, it’s worth thinking about our people — the ones who got us through times of uncertainty and hardship.
Who helped you work through a difcult chapter? Who in your life, or your community, might need someone to lean on right now?
While the power of connection is evident in a work setting, it’s just as important beyond it. We all have the opportunity to be that person for someone else. And sometimes, all it takes is a shared laugh, a small act of kindness, or simply showing up for each other to remind us we’re not in it alone.
KELSEY WINKELJOHN ASSOCIATE EDITOR kelsey@comocompanies.com
Then and now: MU nurses Heidi Baybrook and T.J. Headley reflect on five years since COVID-19 began.
Photo by Anthony Jinson
COMO’S ADVISORY BOARD
We take pride in representing our community well and we couldn’t do what we do without our COMO Magazine advisory board. Thank You!
Beth Bramstedt
Church Life Pastor, Christian Fellowship Church
Heather Brown
Strategic Partnership Officer, Harry S Truman VA Hospital
Emily Dunlap Burnham
Principal Investigator and Owner, Missouri Investigative Group
Tootie Burns
Artist and Treasurer, North Village Art District
Chris Horn
Principal Treaty
Reinsurance Underwriter, American Family Insurance
Kris Husted
Investigative Editor, NPR Midwest Newsroom
Laura Schemel
Director of Marketing and Communications, MU Health Care
Art Smith
Author & Musician, Almost Retired
Megan Steen
Chief Operating Officer, Central Region, Burrell Behavioral Health
Nathan Todd
Business Services Officer, First State Community Bank
Casey Twidwell
Community Engagement Manager, Heart of Missouri CASA
Wende Wagner
Director of Resource
Development, The Boys and Girls Club of the Columbia Area
Have a story idea, feedback, or a general inquiry? Email Jodie@comocompanies.com.
Calcium deposits in the walls of coronary arteries can put you at a greater risk for heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
To make an appointment for a calcium screening, call Boone Health at 573-815-8150. The non-invasive screening takes approximately 15 minutes and can be completed at Boone Hospital or at our Nifong Radiology clinic.
What the Dog Wants
A sense of community is important for all of us creatures.
BY MERRILL SAPP
It started when our neighbors found our dog, Ernie, in their house. Ernie had dug under the fence and into their yard to play with their dogs. When Annie and Brinley went in through their doggie door, Ernie followed.
Annie is a big brown mutt with a barrel chest, generous waistline, and big, soulful eyes. e doggie door allows her the independence to go outside at night and bark, which she does sometimes. Annie moved in next door with her people, Robert and Mary, just a few months before Ernie invited herself into their home. We had met Robert brie y in the front yard and wondered if we should say anything about the night barking.
After nding Ernie in their house, Robert and Mary could have forti ed the fence or fashioned some other sort of resistance to her incursion. Instead, they agreed with my partner, Ryan, to build a gate into the chain link so the dogs could go back and forth at will. at seemed to be what the dogs wanted — each other. Robert also thought Annie could do with more exercise, that maybe she would lose weight and not get up so much at night. (We didn’t mention the barking, but it seemed like a possible win for everyone.)
No one remembers exactly how the idea was proposed but it only took a few seconds to agree to build the gate and split the cost. A few days later, two handymen cut
Annie is quick to op down for belly rubs and likes to sit with me on the top steps of our deck while I scratch her back. Sometimes she just leans on me as we sit together, ignoring Ernie’s pleas to play and making me wonder whether Ernie will realize that Annie’s visits have become as much for my attention as for hers.
It took longer for Brinley, an older white and tan mutt with light-blue eyes, to settle into the new arrangement; but now she runs and wrestles like she feels young again.
a hole in the chain link near the front of the yard while the dogs had their rst tastes of more freedom. Ernie had been in the neighbor’s yard, but Annie and Brinley hadn’t been in ours. ere was a lot to sni . It only took a couple of hours to install a four-foot gate, turning the barrier into a passageway. e handymen seemed to enjoy the dogs’ antics while they worked. ey left the gate open for the dogs — and it has stayed that way ever since.
Between the two households, there are four dogs. ey spend a lot of time playing outside or just sitting together in the sun. Big Annie can tolerate Ernie’s rambunctious play and the neighbors tolerate her bad habit of pulling on Annie’s collar until it breaks. Both involved parties have quietly replaced the collar at least once. Sometimes we nd dog toys we don’t recognize in our house; I suspect the same is true for Robert and Mary. Annie comes over most evenings to ask if Ernie can come outside and play. We see Annie’s face appear at the back door but can also surmise when she is there from Ernie’s excitement.
Annie and Brinley have become much more than the neighbor’s dogs. ey are an important part of Ernie’s life and, I daresay, the humans in our house have grown attached, too. We get two more dogs to love without the responsibility of their care.
Ryan’s son, Tyson, claims this arrangement is “the best thing that’s ever happened” to these dogs. ey do seem very happy. When Tyson dog-sat for the neighbors last weekend we learned that if Ernie is present when their dogs get evening treats, Ernie gets one, too. It hadn’t occurred to me that Ernie might have developed a relationship with Robert and Mary that I didn’t know about.
We have gotten to know both our dog and human neighbors better. e fact that Robert and Mary are dog people who care enough about their dogs to allow them this kind of autonomy is probably the most important piece of information. But I also know about Robert’s allergy to chocolate and Mary’s generosity with baking sugar. Sometimes Ryan and Robert stand at the open gate and talk about gardening or other things that neighbors talk about.
We will probably never be friends in the way that our dogs are, with regular evening playtime; but the dogs have provided us a connection to our neighbors that makes the place we live more special. Other houses haven’t come with a community of happy dogs or neighbors who honor their dogs’ needs as much as Robert and Mary do.
And it’s been a long time since I heard Annie bark at night — a win for everyone.
Dr. Merrill Sapp is an assistant professor and co-director of clinical medicine and director of research at Stephens College. She has written for Earth Island Journal, About Place Journal, Mongabay News, and other publications. She has traveled the world to learn about and work in the service of elephants. Her 144page novel, “Knowing Wonder: An Elephant Story,” was published in January 2025 and is available at Reverberations Books, an imprint of Chin Music Press.
Good Dads in the Spotlight
The impact of fatherlessness on children can rip through a community.
BY MARY KATE HAFNER
Research institutions, such as the National Institution of Health (NIH), have focused more on fatherlessness since the mid-nineties. eir evidence shows that fathers can contribute uniquely to their children’s well-being.
e NIH found that fatherlessness can increase a child’s risk of poverty, poor academic performance, aggressive behavior, adverse mental and physical health, drug and alcohol use, the likelihood of dropping out of school, and teen pregnancy, among other outcomes.
Good Dads, established in 2015, is a nonpro t dedicated to creating a community that connects fathers to their children by providing inspiration, resources, and events for local dads. Headquartered in Spring eld, Missouri, Good Dads serves communities across the state and opened its Columbia chapter in February 2024. It began when leaders in southwest Missouri recognized the impact of a father’s absence on a child’s well-being and came together to support fathers.
For D’Markus omas-Brown, regional director for Good Dads, the organization was a missing puzzle piece for a community-oriented holistic system of care in Columbia.
Good Dads is in the business of prevention — preventing children from becoming another statistic. Good Dads believes the three key ingredients for a great place to live are robust economies, safe neighborhoods, and strong schools and families — where great communities begin.
Jane Williams, founder and executive director of Love Columbia, brought Good Dads to Columbia after seeing the need for its services. Good Dads o ces are located in Love Columbia’s Victorian House next door to Love Columbia’s main o ce at 1209 E. Walnut St. Love Columbia provides referrals, sometimes walking clients across the parking lot to the other’s building.
Good Dads also collaborates with TMT Consulting, e ROC, Grandma’s Southern Eats, Sophia’s Helping Hand, and Community Enrichment Inc., among other educational and faith-based organizations and social services agencies.
HOW CAN YOU BE A GOOD DAD IF YOU’VE NEVER SEEN ONE?
“A good dad is a dad who is trying,” said omas-Brown. “If you’re trying to be a dad in my book, that constitutes a good dad.” omas-Brown explained that his team often builds from ground zero. Some fathers participating in Good Dads programs have not had a healthy fatherhood example in their lives, but they are present to break their generational patterns.
Good Dads o ers a variety of programs in each chapter. e organization empha-
sized that the programs and curriculums are evidence-based and data-driven, and developed in collaboration with organizations like PREP Inc., a prevention and relationship education program.
One of Good Dads’ most popular programs, Good Dads, Strong Schools, is currently at West Boulevard Elementary and Alpha Hart Lewis Elementary schools. Held an hour before school begins, the program provides donuts, co ee, and milk to kids and dads and includes an activity to facilitate conversation and bonding.
New Pathways for Good Dads and Good Dads 2.0 are programs created with at-risk fathers in mind. omas-Brown de ned atrisk dads as fathers “at risk of losing their family, at risk of losing in uence in their kid’s life, in their family’s life, at risk of a substance use disorder, at risk of recidi-
Good Dads – Columbia
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
• Mataka Askari peer specialist, Connections to Success
• Ellis Carter business professional
• Alvin Cobbins retired educator
• Conrad Hake program director, Love Columbia
• Dr. Sabha Jalali retired optometrist
• Chris Lunn Veterans United Home Loans
• Tom May MFA Oil Company
• Ann Merrifield executive director, Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Marcus Richardson pastor
• Sherill Schlimpert retired educator
• Tasca Tolson trauma counselor
• Jane Williams co-founder and executive director, Love Columbia
vism, and at risk of poverty.” e programs help fathers enter their child’s life at an appropriate pace that works best for their child.
Other programs include faith-based and community-orientated programs focusing on modeling and in uence, emotional intelligence, and other topics. e programs run in sixteen and eight-week intervals and conclude with a graduation ceremony celebrating the work achieved.
Fathers who enter a program with Good Dads are assigned a case manager who checks in with their progress and helps assist with other aspects impacting their fatherhood, such as managing child support. Case managers are also an ear to listen and lend support if a father needs to talk.
After a father completes a program, their case manager continues to follow up with them, and they are encouraged to join continuing support groups. In the support groups, dads from all walks of life share a space to talk about the di erent stages of their children’s development, what it’s like to be a father, maintaining positive mental health as a dad, co-parenting and everything in between. omas-Brown noted that those groups naturally evolve into a community of dads uplifting each other.
“Part of our secret sauce for that is that dads learn from each other,” said omas-Brown.
As the fathers uplift each other, they uplift their communities. omas-Brown explained that a good dad is good for everyone.
One involved father in a neighborhood can positively impact other children by providing a positive male role model for kids who might not have one at home, potentially mitigating some of the adverse e ects of fatherlessness.
On its website, Good Dads provided ndings that engaged fathers are more engaged at work and experience more job satisfaction. Put simply, happy dads are happy employees. omas-Brown also pointed out that “present fathers” have been linked to better pregnancy outcomes for the mother. e NIH reported that father involvement during pregnancy is associated with a range of improved maternal and child health outcomes. When fathers are more involved, mothers are more likely to seek prenatal care and avoid unhealthy behaviors.
A year into its existence as a chapter, omas-Brown explained that one of the top things he wants people to know about Good Dads is that everyone can participate.
“If someone is thinking, ‘Man, I wish I could get involved,’ call me,” he said. “I think we’re all a ected by fatherlessness in one way or the other. So, we all can be involved in remedying the gap.”
Good Dads – Columbia 1205 E. Walnut St. 417-501-8867 ext 300 ava@gooddads.com Facebook: /gooddadscolumbia
Eyes on the Road, Hands Off Your Phone
Understanding Missouri’s new distracted driving law.
BY ROGER M C KINNEY
In the year of education before citations began under Missouri’s new distracted driving law that took e ect Jan. 1, Missouri Department of Transportation engineer Trent Brooks already had seen a di erence. Brooks, who heads the Coalition for Roadway Safety Central Region, cited a study conducted by Cambridge Mobile Telematics. Its ndings showed a 5.1 percent reduction in distracted driving and 1,000 crashes prevented. at reduction meant 660 fewer injuries, ve fewer fatalities, and avoiding $22 million in economic damages.
Speaking with Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers, Brooks said they have told him that following a vehicle with a
distracted driver is like following a vehicle with a drunk driver. But when the vehicle is pulled over, the driver is on the phone and not drunk.
Under the new law, a driver can’t have a phone in their hand or on their lap when driving. If the phone is on a mount or connected to a vehicle through a system like Apple CarPlay, that is legal.
With a week remaining in January, Columbia Police had issued two citations for distracted driving, tra c Sgt. Curtis Perkins said in an email.
Law enforcement can’t cite a driver if they’re on their phone with no other violations, Perkins said.
“ e new distracted driving law is a secondary o ense, meaning you cannot pull someone over for just being on their phone and have to have another reason to stop the vehicle,” Perkins wrote. “We are enforcing the distracted driving law as we stop vehicles for other violations.”
A rst conviction under the law results in up to a $150 ne, which Brooks characterized as “pretty signi cant.”
A second conviction increases the ne to $250. A third conviction in two years results in a $500 ne. e ne also is $500 if the violation is in a school zone or work zone. If there’s a crash resulting in serious injury, the ne can reach $1,000.
If there’s a fatality, the driver may go to prison for seven years.
“When these crashes occur, 54 percent of those killed are someone other than the driver,” Brooks said.
ere were 414 fatalities attributed to distracted driving crashes in Missouri between 2019 and 2023, but Brooks said that number is probably higher.
“ e issue is worse than what the statistics say,” he said.
ough hands-free calling is allowed under the law, Brooks said that also is discouraged, because studies show that it also distracts drivers. For instance, drivers have died while FaceTiming, he said.
e point of the law isn’t to issue citations, said Highway Patrol Troop F Sgt. Kyle Green.
“We want to save lives,” Green said, agreeing with Brooks that the nes can be “a substantial hit.”
With the snow and ice covering roads in January, Green said citing drivers hadn’t yet been a priority, though he noted that law enforcement is responding to too many crashes involving distracted driving.
“ e issue it causes for law enforcement are the crashes that result from it,” Green said, adding that a driver looking at their phone while driving can quickly cause a crash.
“A lot of things can change on the road,” he said. “ ere might be a stop sign or a red light.” He recommends pulling over or giving your phone to a passenger if it rings or receives a text message.
Previously, the law applied only to those under 21. e new law applies to all drivers.
It’s yet to be seen how successful the new law will be, but it has promise, Brooks said, noting, “Certainly, it’s a very positive step.”
Dress for Success
BY KELSEY WINKELJOHN
One of the most fundamental rules for attending a job interview is to dress professionally. is is often emphasized just as much — if not more — than preparing to answer interview questions. First impressions are crucial in shaping how a candidate is perceived, and the way you present yourself visually can inuence an interviewer’s initial judgment before you even say a word.
Wearing professional attire to an interview can also strengthen your con dence and enhance your overall performance. When you feel polished, you’re more likely to project self-assurance, speak clearly, and engage e ectively with your interviewer.
While following this guideline may seem straightforward, it can be challenging for students or individuals with limited incomes or knowledge of the professional world to acquire interview-appropriate clothing. To address this challenge, local organizations have provided resources for people to access interview clothing more easily, ensuring they can look their best and improve their chances of success.
JOB POINT
For adults in Columbia who want to jumpstart their careers, Job Point o ers a free ve-day Job Readiness Training program. is program supports participants in translating their experiences into e ective resumes, practicing for interviews, and exploring various career pathways and job opportunities.
ose who complete the training gain access to additional resources to support their next steps. One such resource, subject to availability, is Job Point’s professional workwear closet, which is stocked with interview-appropriate clothing and attire for new jobs or signi cant life events, available free of charge.
“As students begin working on developing their resumes, the last thing we want is for someone to hesitate to submit it be-
cause they’re afraid of not having something to wear for the interview,” explains Marketing Director Elizabeth Sensinta ar. “If we can eliminate that hurdle, it frees them to focus on preparing mentally for the interview without the anxiety of clothes weighing on their shoulders.”
For those looking to support this initiative, donations of gently used dress shoes for men and women and women’s workwear are currently in high demand. Due to limited storage, however, it’s best to call 573-474-8560 before donating. For more information about Job Point, visit jobpoint.org.
TRUMAN’S CLOSET
Truman’s Closet is an extension of Tiger Pantry, the University of Missouri’s food bank that supports students, faculty, sta , and MU Health Care workers. is program provides professional clothing for borrowing, speci cally for career fairs, interviews, and workplace occasions. Truman’s Closet o ers a selection of suits, dresses, dress shirts, blouses, and accessories, all available for free rental with a valid University ID. Graduation caps and gowns are also available for rent.
Today, Truman’s Closet remains student-led, re ecting its ongoing commitment to supporting students and other University of Missouri a liates.
Donations can be made at 299 Hitt Street during designated hours of operation. Monetary contributions can also be made to Truman’s Closet’s gift account to help ll inventory gaps and ensure that everyone can nd options that t their size and style needs.
For more information, visit the Truman’s Closet homepage or contact tigerpantry@ missouri.edu or 573-882-2704.
VOLUNTARY ACTION CENTER
e Voluntary Action Center (VAC) is a nonpro t organization that assists low-income individuals and families in Boone County in transitioning from crisis to stability. VAC o ers nancial support for essential needs such as rent, utilities, prescriptions, and work-related expenses.
VAC o ers Upscale Resale vouchers for professional clothing to those who are currently employed or preparing for an interview; some of the items that can be found at Upscale Resale include quality men’s and women’s clothing and accessories like scarves, shoes, purses, jewelry, ties, and belts. Each voucher is valid for a one-time shopping trip valued at $75, and individuals can access one voucher per twelve-month period.
For more information about VAC and its services and programs, visit vacmo.org or call 573-874-2273.
Photo provided by Job Point
The Challenge of Non-News News: Cutting Through the Confusion
BY BARBARA BUFFALOE
In today’s fast-paced digital world, information spreads faster than ever. But with this constant ow of updates, headlines, and social media posts, a growing problem has emerged — how do we know what is real, relevant, or even applicable to our daily lives?
Columbians, like people everywhere, rely on social media for local updates. While social media can be a great way to stay connected, it’s important to remember that almost anyone can post almost anything, and misinformation can spread rapidly, even if it’s not factual.
Too often what starts as a well-meaning post can quickly spiral into confusion. We’ve seen it happen when executive orders are issued at the state or federal level — within minutes, social media lights up with people asking, “What does this mean for Columbia?” e problem?
Many times, the people sharing or reacting to the news don’t have all the facts. And before o cial sources have had a chance to clarify the details, misinformation spreads.
Take, for example, a recent executive order on housing assistance. Within hours of its announcement, posts ooded local Facebook groups claiming that rental assistance programs in Columbia were ending immediately. In reality, the order had no direct impact on local programs — but that didn’t stop panic and frustration from spreading before the facts were clear.
is is the challenge of “non-news news.” It’s not always fake information, but it’s often incomplete, misleading, or lacks the necessary context to understand its actual impact. When these stories take o , they distract from the real issues that need attention and make it harder for people to trust the information they receive.
SO, HOW CAN WE CUT THROUGH THE CONFUSION?
• Pause before you share. If something sparks an emotional reaction — anger, panic, or urgency — take a moment
to verify it before passing it along. Sensational headlines are often designed to generate clicks, not clarity.
• Go to the source. If the news involves a local issue, check o cial city, county, or state websites before assuming how it applies to Columbia. Our city works hard to provide accurate, timely updates through o cial channels, and we encourage residents to rely on these sources.
• Cross-check with reputable news outlets. If only one social media post is reporting something major, that’s a red ag. Established journalists follow strict fact-checking procedures — if it’s big news, multiple reliable sources will be covering it.
• Ask yourself: Does this a ect me directly? Not every national policy change, viral story, or alarming headline has local consequences. It’s important to stay informed, but also to focus on what’s relevant to our own community.
Our own Daniel Boone Regional Library o ers an excellent online series of videos that explore di erent aspects of media literacy. I encourage everyone to check them out and empower themselves to be more discerning consumers of information. And remember, media literacy isn’t just about protecting ourselves from misinformation — it’s about keeping our community grounded in reality. When we share responsibly, we help create a Columbia that is informed, engaged, and focused on the issues that truly matter. To the residents of Columbia: thank you for staying curious, questioning what you see online, and working together to ensure that our city thrives on facts, not fear. Let’s continue building a culture of trust, where accurate information leads the way.
Barbara Bu aloe currently is serving her rst term in o ce as the mayor of Columbia.
The Given Life
Finding joy in what we have.
BY BETH BRAMSTEDT
When I was a young girl, I dreamed of traveling the world and writing about it. I wanted to meet new people, see new places, savor new cultures, and share those experiences with others. When I wasn’t traveling, I hoped to be authoring novels from a quaint cabin in Vermont.
As I grew up, those hopes and dreams changed, but I still had expectations of what my life would look and feel like. It still involved writing and some version of the perfect family living in a home with a white picket fence — and a puppy, my boys would say.
is picture of life was somehow frozen in time. My kids still lived at home and my parents did not age. Loss of relationships, health concerns, and nancial stress were not part of the picture. In my dream, I was
living the life I wanted, and it was perfect.
If only our dreams were reality.
Instead, as Wendell Berry has said, “We live the given life, not the planned life.”
If I am honest, for most of my adult life, I have reacted to and resisted the life I have been given. I have been conditioned to see change as bad and surprises as threatening. is belief has resulted in a constant striving to create the life I want. To pursue life as I would like it to be.
I have lived the planned life, and it has been exhausting.
In recent years, I have begun to discover the joy in living the life I have been given instead. Life that includes family and friends moving away, unexpected health concerns, relational and leadership challenges, and more.
is change of perspective has resulted in more gratitude, contentment, and joy than I ever imagined. But to discover this joy, I had to surrender the idea about what my life should look like and trust that God knows better.
Luke 12:32 reminds us, “Don’t be afraid, little ock, because your Father delights in giving you the kingdom.”
is verse brings me comfort. God is the Good Shepherd, watching over us, and keeping us safe from harm. He is urging us not to be afraid because he is not just there to keep us safe, but to give us the kingdom. He delights in giving us more than we could want or even ask for. It just might not look like what we have in mind!
So here we are with a choice. Will we choose to jump into the life we have and make the most of the opportunities and relationships we have been given? Or will we strive to create the life we want?
It is our choice, but the Jesus way reveals a clear path. 2 Peter 1:5 answers the question this way, “Don’t waste a minute in building on what you’ve been given.”
In the days and months to come, may you nd joy in receiving and responding to your given life.
Beth Bramstedt is the Church Life Pastor at Christian Fellowship.
Crab and Shrimp au Gratin
BY HOSS KOETTING
Hopefully, everyone had a great time on Fat Tuesday. I’m sure some may have had a little too much fun, though, if one were in quest of the coveted beads! At any rate, we are now in the season of Lent, a time of preparation for Easter. Between now and Good Friday, each Friday is a day of abstinence (from eating meat!) for Catholics. At one time, every Friday of the year was meatless, hence the legendary Friday sh fries, but over time, traditions changed.
It was from these sh fries that I rst developed a wariness toward seafood; not that the sh was necessarily bad, but neither was it good. One could expect either a low grade commercially breaded “ llet,” which forty years ago may have been a real llet or maybe a glori ed sh stick, or otherwise a hand breaded cheap white sh such as pollock.
e result, no matter which avenue was taken, was usually a greasy, “ shy” tasting product that needed copious quantities of tartar sauce to make it palatable.
It took several years, and numerous good seafood experiences, to overcome this earlier trepidation regarding sh.
I now enjoy many preparations of seafood — cooked, cured, and raw. If I’m near an area that is known for seafood, that may be all I eat. But for some reason, for the seven Fridays of Lent, the desire for meat makes seafood seem unattractive. It must have something to do with the “forbidden fruit” concept that we crave that which we can’t have. When I was younger, I’d stay up til’ midnight on Fridays just so we could then legally fry up a burger! Even today, when a variety of good, quality seafood is available, none of them will hold a candle to even the lowly hot dog. I suppose that is the sacri cing aspect of the season.
So now I am in a perpetual quest to come up with methods of preparation that are enticing. ere’s the old faithful, tried and true fried shrimp, and fried walleye, but too much fried anything isn’t a good idea. Tuna noodle casserole is good for one appearance, but a little canned tuna goes a long way! Here’s one that’s a bit di erent and has a little kick to it. It is a bit rich, but it’s good to splurge a little when you’re sacri cing.
Jim “Hoss” Koetting is a retired restaurateur/ chef who enjoys gardening, good food, good bourbon, and good friends.
INGREDIENTS
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• ½ cup all-purpose our
• ½ cup half & half
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup clam juice or shrimp stock
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2-3 teaspoon Hoss’s Cajun Seasoning
• 1 pound small or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, raw
• 1 pound claw or lump crab meat, picked through for shells
• 1 ½ cups grated sharp Cheddar
• ½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the butter in a heavybottomed saucepan. When the butter is completely melted, whisk in the our and stir constantly for 3-4 minutes.
3. Slowly whisk in the half & half, stirring briskly until you have a smooth sauce, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, lemon juice, Cajun seasoning, and whisk again.
4. Add the shrimp and stir for 3-4 more minutes until the shrimp is just opaque. Remove from the heat.
5. Add the crab meat and gently mix.
6. Grease an 8-inch pan, casserole dish, or pie plate with cooking spray. Pour the mixture into the pan.
7. Place the grated cheese on top, completely covering the seafood mixture. Bake in oven for about 10-15 minutes, until bubbly.
A REASON FOR BEING
BY ALICIA BELMORE | PHOTOS BY CHARLES BRUCE III
When is the next one coming? What will be served? Who will be there? ese questions are the talk of town among Columbia foodies and their social circles these days in anticipation of a fascinating new phenomenon and pop-up eatery known as Ikigai Omakase.
e Japanese translation of ikigai is “reason for being or purpose,” and to creator Sean Sanchez, this was the perfect name for his creation — and the perfect time to make it come to life.
Sanchez moved to Columbia from the state of California in the fall of 2016. He was getting tired of working for Chipotle when he answered a Craigslist ad and began working at Sake Japanese Bistro and Bar. Working at Sake for three years as kitchen manager whet his appetite for working with and creating sushi dishes but his work there reached a stand-
still with no room for progression. After a slight reprieve at the Barred Owl Butcher & Table — interrupted by the pandemic — he found himself back at Sake working with the sushi chef once more.
Sanchez had a strong yearning to do more with sushi.
“It scratches my brain with the way it has to be the exact same each time,” he said. When Sake’s head chef moved to the Uchiko sushi restaurant in Austin, Texas, Sanchez was invited to spend time there.
“ ere was talent and passion there that you can feel when you walk in and I said to myself, ‘ is is what I want and want to be,’” he explained.
During that time at Uchiko, Sanchez began imagining the possibilities for an opportunity like that in Columbia and wondered why no one else was creating sushi dishes the way it was done at Uchiko. Sanchez said he was pleasantly surprised that the rst pop-up event was so successful.
But why have pop-up events and not a brick-and-mortar restaurant? His goal was to be a bit more elusive, and something more than a regular pop-up with the same menu all the time — something that stirs up anticipation for the next one or wondering if you should get tickets for the next one because you don’t want to
miss out, and who knows when the next pop-up will happen?
e process and planning of Ikigai Omakase pop-ups is an in-depth undertaking. Sanchez begins the roughly threemonth process by thinking of a menu, deciding on the number of courses and what they will be, what sh is in season, and the avor pro les to feature.
“I want it just so that each bite compliments the one before and prepares for the next,” he said, explaining his from-concept-to-reality thinking. ere’s about a one-month planning process where Sanchez works with suppliers, decides on a date, and reworks the menu a bit. en
about a month or so from the date, he posts about the pop-up event on Facebook. e menu is not included in the post as it is a chef tasting, which is designed to add more surprise and buzz for the event.
ere are no physical tickets as reservations are all made through direct messages and Venmo. Once a person or group has messaged and paid through the Venmo link, their spot is held. If the pop-up is sold out, interested parties are placed on a list to be contacted rst for the next one, and given the opportunity to snag reservations rst.
Sanchez currently works at Irene’s BBQ and hosts there.
“Honestly, without them I don’t believe I’d have the opportunities or be as exposed,” he said, expressing gratitude to the establishment.
At the pop-up events, guests arrive, mingle, and nd their spots marked with name cards on the tables. e meal is served family-style, allowing guests to connect with each other and the event’s atmosphere. ere are also accommodation for allergies and menu substitutions.
It is a social setting where people can get out of their comfort zones as well and create a sense of community. Sanchez described it as “helping people engage with someone they may not normally talk to, enjoy food together, and have a connection even if it is only over the food they are experiencing together.”
Sanchez may one day own and operate his own restaurant, but for now, he says, “My whole goal with this is more of a passion project. Bringing something to Columbia that Columbia doesn’t have.”
When is the next pop-up? It’s coming on April 21 when Sanchez hosts a celebration event at Irene’s to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Ikigai Omakase. Connect with Sanchez on Instagram at @ikigai_omakase and watch for event noti cations.
Hermann, Missouri
Wine Country… and So Much More!
Located along the Katy Trail, Hermann is home to breathtaking scenic views complete with towering bluffs, rolling hills, and row crops. Hermann is the heart of Missouri Wine Country.
VisitHermann.com
Hermann has long been known for exceptional wines and compelling tours of Missouri’s most historic and awarded wineries. Here, you can sip wines while overlooking vines, tour beautiful cellars, and experience authentic German-style cuisine in a renovated carriage house.
That is just the beginning! Hermann is also home to distilleries, microbreweries, and restaurants offering a wide range of food from burgers, wings, and pizza to traditional GermanAmerican fare to coastal and Cajun cuisine.
Embracing its German heritage, Hermann keeps history alive with museums offering guided
and self-guided tours and experiences. The downtown, filled with historic brick buildings, is home to locally owned shops featuring antiques, boutique items, locally sourced and hand-crafted goods, and fine arts.
Hermann is teeming with opportunities for artists or art enthusiasts. Murals are found indoors and on buildings, along with statues, fine art galleries, art walk events, and live music year-round. Hermann was recently honored by the Missouri Arts Council as a Creative Community award winner.
Looking for more activity? Start the day with yoga on the bluff. Bike the Katy Trail,
the nation’s longest rails-totrails project, hike the Grand Bluffs, and fish or kayak the Missouri River. Then, end with sunset at the Riverfront Park.
You won’t want to miss events such as Wurstfest, Maifest, Wine & Jazz Festival, Oktoberfest, and Christmastime in Historic Hermann.
Stay in the heart of downtown amidst beautiful German architecture or perched on a hillside with views as far as eyes can see. From cozy cottages to luxury suites, boutique hotels to whole house rentals, and RV camping, Hermann is ideal for a stop along the Katy Trail, a romantic retreat, or a quick getaway.
(Re)Discover COMO
Unbound Book Festival
Did someone say, “Book festival?” Even better? “FREE” book festival.
e 10th Unbound Book Festival runs April 17-20 in downtown Columbia, bringing nationally and internationally acclaimed authors of world-class renown to talk about their books, their work, and their lives. And it’s FREE. But the festival relies heavily on volunteers, and anyone looking to join that busy team of bookworms and booklovers can nd all the details on the Unbound website.
Min Jin Lee is the keynote speaker for the 2025 festival. She authored “Pachinko,” which is No. 15 on the New York Times’ best books of the 21st century.
Unbound was founded by British novelist-turned-Columbia resident Alex George, who later would launch Skylark Bookshop as an extension of the festival's aims. He recently moved to Boston but maintains his connection to Unbound.
e festival’s keynote speakers included
Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith and George Saunders. In 2024, "Station Eleven" novelist Emily St. John Mandel owned the honor.
To learn more about the 10th edition of Unbound, go to unboundbookfestival.com.
Museum of Art and Archaeology
In the late nineteenth century, two professors played a leading role in promoting the study of art and archaeology at the University of Missouri: Walter Miller (1864-1949) and John Pickard (1853-1937). ey collected materials for teaching archaeology and art history, acquiring photographs, sculptures, reliefs, plaster casts that reproduce wellknown (and mostly ancient Greek and Roman), and original works of art.
e 1894-95 Mizzou catalog includes a description of the newly opened Academic Hall, later renamed Jesse Hall, as well as a mention of a museum. Today the museum’s collection includes more than one hundred works from those early years. Professors Miller and Pickard retired during the Great Depression, and in 1935 the department of classical archaeology and history of art was disbanded.
In 1961, the rst gallery was opened in Ellis Library with fourteen newly donated Old Masters paintings, a gift from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. With that donation, the Museum of Art and Archaeology was formally named.
In 1976, the museum moved to Pickard Hall. In its new quarters the museum began to play a signi cant role in the community which led to the establishment of Museum Associates.
In 2013, the Museum of Art and Archaeology moved to Mizzou North, then in 2022 the museum moved again — this time back to campus, to the lower level of Ellis Library. After nearly four years of renovation work, the museum o cially re-opened to the public on May 3, 2024.
Today, the museum’s collection features 16,000 objects spanning six continents and 6,000 years, including contemporary works and ancient classics.
Capen Park
is 31.9-acre park is a cornucopia of outdoor wonder and recreation. For starters:
• Rock climbers can enjoy the majestic blu s and scenic overlooks.
• e city of Columbia has a mulch site there where residents can drop o yard waste and pick up mulch.
• e park has bridge connections to Grindstone Nature Area and the Hinkson Creek Trail.
• Are you a dog lover? Be sure to bring your pup along.
Operated by the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department, Capen Park has a one-half mile nature trail and is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. e main parking area is at 1600 Capen Park Drive.
For more than sixty years, the limestone crags of Capen Park have been a popular destination for mid-Missouri rock climbers and rappelers. Numerous routes, from slabby face climbs to overhanging roofs, provide a wide variety of experiences for local climbers. e blu ’s easy access, close proximity to town and scenic setting along Hinkson Creek make it a great resource for outdoor enthusiasts. e property was acquired in 1978 from James and Lucy Capen. Six of the original 21.5 acres were donated by the couple, with the remainder being purchased for $65,000. In 1983, an additional 10.34 acres were acquired.
(Re)Discover COMO is a monthly feature sponsored by the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau highlighting places, events, and historical connections that new residents and visitors can discover, and not-so-newcomers and long-time residents can ... rediscover.
Microcurrent/High frequency
Treatment
Hydration/SPF
Preparing for the Future
Career and technical education provides pathway to employment.
BY LAUREN SABLE FREIMAN
While trade and technical education programs have been around for many years, leaders at the helm of area career and technical education programs say that students of all ages are taking a fresh look at the bene ts of practical, hands-on learning opportunities that prepare them to enter the job market.
ough technical and trade education carried a stigma at one time, Brandon Russell says that perceptions have changed, and more and more students and their families are considering that a four-year degree program is not the only option available to them after high school. As the director of career and technical education at the Columbia Area Career Center (CACC), Russell says the “trade tech” program of the past has reinvented itself as career and technical education and has gained much interest and traction from both students and employers in the process.
“It’s a model of education that has been around for a long time and it works, but there is much more interest and willingness to utilize it than ever before,” Russell said.
CACC draws its 2,300 students from each of the four Columbia Public School System high schools, Centralia High School, and private and independent schools, in addition to homeschool students. It o ers eighteen program areas with eighty courses. e largest programs include culinary arts, agriculture, digital media, certi ed welding, and professions in healthcare, which includes students working towards a Certied Nursing Assistant certi cation.
“People have started realizing that career and technical education programs are about helping students nd their future and getting them involved in pathways ear-
ly in their education,” Russell added. “We are getting students deeper in experiential learning that is reality based.”
CACC has made strides in growing work-based learning experiences, and it has placed a focus on partnering with community businesses to help students learn in the community.
“We were trying to grow work-based learning before the pandemic, but as we experienced the pandemic it taught us a lot of di erent things,” Russell explained. “Social capital is so important for students who were so isolated during the pandemic, so we have to build social capital and get students engaged with adults in the community.”
To that end, just over one year ago the CACC registered with the Department of Labor as a youth apprenticeship sponsor. It is now focusing on creating apprenticeship opportunities for students from age 16 through 24.
“We are seeing a real shift in the employers we talk to in their willingness to work with younger potential employees,” Russell
said. “We recently toured a plant, and they were excited about getting access to our students — and getting them trained.”
Brandon McElwain, director of marketing for State Technical College of Missouri — just an hour drive southeast of Columbia in Linn, Missouri — can vouch for increased awareness and interest in career and technical education.
“We are the fastest growing college in the state, with a 90 percent increase in the number of students in the past eight years,” McElwain noted.
With more than thirty degree and certificate programs, McElwain said that every program has seen a signi cant increase in enrollment, with much of the increase coming over the past couple years.
“HVAC, electrical, utilities, and the heavy equipment operation and management program have been some of the programs that have seen the biggest increases,” McElwain said.
Every program except the dental program at State Tech provides a two-year associates degree upon completion, and each
program includes an internship between the rst and second year. Upon graduation students have access to career placement assistance until retirement.
“We have over 600 people on our advisory council, and we have an annual career expo with over 400 businesses,” McElwain added. “With the relationships our students have with instructors, they make sure you get through the program, and they get you into the workforce.”
e value proposition is two-fold, he said.
“If you come to State Tech, you will get a career and won’t go into debt with student loans, and I think that resonates with a lot of people throughout the state,” he said. “ ere is a trend nationally to realize that jobs in the trades are in high demand, and Missouri has a need for a bigger workforce. We are one of the biggest drivers for that.”
With more than 2,400 students currently enrolled, McElwain said that State Tech has a graduation rate in the low 80 percentile, the highest graduation rate in the country for a two-year school. Combined with a 99 percent career placement rate, McElwain said the educational model at State Tech is a win for both students and employers.
John Scalise remembers when it felt like high school students had two options at graduation — go to a four-year college or do nothing. From his vantage point as the president and CEO of Job Point, those days are long gone. He regularly sees students complete programs and certi cations in twelve to sixteen weeks, then enter the workforce.
“ e majority of our programs have a rolling start, so you can come in today with interest and start in a matter of days,” Scalise said.
Scalise says that he’s also noticed a shift in mindset among employers who are much more likely to provide on-the-job training to quality employees.
“ e amount of training that employers o er willingly has increased, and most are just looking for the real basics, for people who will show up, show up on time, and be consistent,” he said. “Every warehouse uses a computer, but every warehouse has a di erent system. With a certi cate from our warehouse training program, you can get a job at a warehouse and get specialized training on their systems.”
At Job Point, programs are open to those who haven’t graduated from high school, and many programs are also friendly to those with legal history, Scalise said. Students are required to take an aptitude test, and most programs require an eighth or ninth grade level for reading and math. Some programs, like HVAC and CNA, have higher requirements for reading or math.
“People are looking for a faster way to earn money than going through four or ve years of college and excessive debt,” Scalise explained. “ ey’re realizing that they don’t want to invest money with the hope that it leads to something good, they are seeing that there are other ways to get there.”
With eight di erent certi cate courses — CNA, o ce technology, construction trades, carpentry, highway maintenance and repair, warehouse, HVAC, and commercial driver’s license — plus three more coming soon — solar panel installation, hair braiding, and child care — Scalise added that he also views career and technical education as a risk-free way to try out a career or employment path.
“You can invest three or four months and try it out, and you might decide that you never want to do it again, and you’re glad you didn’t wait four years to nd out,” he said. “It’s also a good way to supplement an education while pursuing a four-year degree.”
While many students earn minimum wage upon program completion, some start o much higher, and all have the opportunity to earn more with experience and additional training.
“We have people complete the highway maintenance and repair program after being in prison for a long time and make $90,000 in a year o of a twelve-week program,” Scalise said. “It’s not unheard of to change your life completely with something like that.”
WHAT THE HOME PROS KNOW
& ROOFING
DAVE PARSONS HEARTLAND HOMES REMODELING
AUSTIN MCBRIDE ROST LANDSCAPING
SPRING IRRIGATION SYSTEM ACTIVATION
By Austin McBride Find more at rostlandscaping.com
Warmer days are ahead so it’s time to start thinking about Spring.
Your spring to-do list may be long, but one thing you shouldn’t have to worry about is prepping your irrigation system for the hot months to come. It’s crucial not to overlook irrigation system maintenance. That’s where irrigation maintenance companies, like Rost Superior Irrigation, are here to assist and help you check it off your list. There are several items that irrigation maintenance companies address during spring activation to ensure your system functions correctly throughout the growing season. Below is a quick outline to help you check all the boxes as well as an upgrade that will assist in water management.
Backflow Device Test
WHAT THE HOME PROS KNOW
Austin is a Sales Manager for irrigation, lighting, fencing, and estate gates at Rost Landscaping. He is also a Professional Water Witcher. When he is not on the job he enjoys hunting, fishing, raising livestock, and be being a full time family chauffeur.
Most systems run off city/county water systems or wells. To prevent possible contaminated water flowing back into our water supply, irrigation systems are fitted with a backflow device at the start of the system. This device is usually located underground and near your water meter or well head. This device can also be used to shut the system off should there be damage that needs repair.
Backflow devices, as required by Missouri state law, must be tested by a certified backflow device tester once every year to ensure proper function. Should a backflow fail, repairs must be made and reports submitted to the appropriate water municipality before the system may be turned on. Your irrigation maintenance company should be able to complete all required tests and submit the correct documents on your behalf.
System Activation & Repairs
Once backflows have passed the required testing, the system can be charged. At this
time, it is best practice to cycle through the system to test all zones for proper function and coverage. Should any issues arise, such as broken/cracked pipe, popup sprinkler function, electrical/valves issues, etc. they will be addressed and repaired by your experienced irrigation technician. A proper system diagnostic can provide you with assurance that your current system is operating at its optimal potential for the season.
Improvements
system with every shift in the weather, the controller does it automatically. If you live within the City of Columbia, you are also eligible for a rebate when upgrading to a weather-based controller.
Taking your system to the next level of functionality and water efficiency couldn’t be easier. WIFI enabled controllers gives you instant system control from anywhere in the world! Along with that comes ease of use as most WIFI enabled systems pull data from a local weather station and apply that data to your irrigation system. It will adjust run times as needed to ensure your lawn and landscape is at its best without needing to make changes to your
Like any part of your home, not taking the proper steps to ensure system functionality can lead to larger than expected expense in the future. Proper care of your irrigation system by Rost Superior Irrigation, will save you time and headache. Now is the time to schedule your spring activation and backflow test— and don’t forget to ask about time and water saving upgrade options with a new WIFI controller.
DAVE PARSONS LEAD PROJECT MANAGER
REBUILDING AFTER THE FLAMES: EXPERT FIRE RESTORATION TIPS WHAT THE HOME PROS KNOW
By Dave Parsons dave@heartlandhomesmo.com
Ahouse fire can be one of the most devastating experiences a homeowner can face. The damage extends far beyond what the flames consume — smoke, soot, and water used to fight the fire can create long-term issues that make restoration a complex process. That’s why professional fire restoration services are essential for ensuring a safe and thorough recovery.
Acting Fast to Minimize Damage
Dave Parsons is the lead project manager for interior remodeling at Heartland Homes, where he’s been for the last year and a half. However, his expertise in the remodeling field spans over 20 years, with a specialization in whole home remodels. Helping customers bring their ideas to life is his passion.
Time is critical after a fire. The longer soot and smoke remain in a home, the harder they are to remove and the more damage they can cause to walls, ceilings, and even structural components. Responding quickly can help prevent further deterioration and make the home safe for future repairs.
Fire Board-Up Services: Protecting Your Property
One of the first steps in fire restoration is securing the home. After a fire, doors, windows, and even parts of the roof may be damaged or missing, leaving the structure vulnerable to weather, animals, and potential vandalism. Boarding up exposed areas helps keep the home protected until complete restoration can begin. This crucial step helps prevent additional complications and ensures the safety of both the property and the surrounding neighborhood.
Comprehensive Restoration: From Structural Repairs to Finishing Touches
Fire damage restoration involves much
more than just cleaning up the aftermath. The process includes removing debris, addressing smoke and soot damage, and ensuring the home’s structural integrity is intact. Significant structural repairs and cosmetic improvements are often necessary to restore the home to its original condition—or even better.
The Hidden Dangers of Smoke and Soot
Smoke and soot are not just unpleasant; they can be hazardous to health. Residual smoke particles can embed themselves in walls, furniture, and even ductwork, leading to lingering odors and potential respiratory issues. Professional restoration teams use specialized equipment and techniques to remove these contaminants safely and effectively, ensuring a clean and healthy living environment.
Moving Forward After a Fire
Recovering from a fire is never easy, but with the right professionals by your side, the path to restoration becomes much clearer. By acting quickly, securing the property, and relying on experts to handle every stage of the repair process, homeowners can regain a sense of normalcy and comfort.
Heartland Homes offers a full range of fire restoration services, including emergency board-up, debris removal, smoke and soot cleanup, structural repairs, and interior refinishing. Their experienced team ensures that every aspect of your home’s restoration is handled with precision and care. For expert fire restoration services, contact Heartland Homes today to get started on the road to recovery.
COVID
Columbia nurses recount pandemic experiences.
“ WE WORKED REALLY HARD TO MAKE SURE NO ONE DIED ALONE.”
REFLECTIONS
BY JODIE JACKSON JR AND NATASHA MYRICK
PHOTOS BY ANTHONY JINSON
In the rst days of the COVID pandemic, when all the COVID patients were moved to one area of the intensive care unit at University Hospital, the sta there was isolated from the rest of the hospital.
at quickly became the standard protocol.
“We called it COVID Cove,” MU Health Care RN Heidi Baybrook recalled. “Someone always had some music playing in the background and it helped ease the uncertainty of the unknown. I think that time period helped to really build our teamwork.”
at teamwork, each medical professional’s skills, and the overall resilience of the team and individuals would be tested as Columbia’s two hospitals grappled with the worldwide pandemic that o cially began on March 11, 2020.
Looking back ve years later, four local registered nurses (RNs) responded to an email questionnaire from COMO Magazine, seeking their personal insights and perspectives on being an ICU nurse during the pandemic. Baybrook said her profession, which is experiencing a nursing shortage nationwide, is still in recovery — in more ways than one.
“I was in survival mode and not even aware of it for pretty much the entire time,” she explained. “It wasn't until after the pandemic that I was talking to a nurse from a different department, and she told me I had to gure out how to participate in everyday life again and do the things that would rebuild me to being ‘Heidi.’ It's actually been slow going. e experience was lifechanging and I can't think about COVID days without feeling profoundly exhausted and empty.”
WANTING TO DO SOMETHING ‘BIGGER’
Understanding the psyche of the nurses who also became de facto therapists, housekeepers, and other additional roles might require plugging into the motivations that put them on a path to become a nurse. For Sara Wilks, an ICU RN at Boone Health, her reason for pursuing a nursing career is not uncommon: Memories of a relative receiving care or a parent having a medical background.
“I also have memories of my grandmother receiving home health and hospice in her last years, and the connection and the gratitude for the work and care these nurses provides was invaluable,” Wilks said.
Baybrook was rst a cosmetologist before pursuing a nursing degree, rst at Columbia College and now at Mizzou.
“I wanted to do something bigger and nd something that gave me more ful llment,” she said, explaining that her next step was to complete her BSN degree at MU.
MU Health Care RN T.J. Headley watched his mother battle cancer and chose to become a nurse “to help others and make a positive difference in others’ lives.”
at common denominator would make a di erence in their own lives, too. Wilks agreed, adding that remembering the early days of the COVID pandemic and trying to isolate speci c moments is challenging.
“It all feels like one long fever dream,” Wilks said.
CRYING IN THE DARKNESS
e “this can’t be real” moment for Wilks hit her after watching news reports of the pandemic gripping Italy and seeing healthcare workers with their faces creased by the N95 respiratory masks.
“We had no real context to gauge how this crisis would pan out,” she said. “I remember waking up one night and going out to my living
room to cry because I was so afraid of being separated from my family and forced to live on site at the hospital or a designated living space for those who were chronically exposed, such as healthcare workers. We just didn’t know what would happen, which leaves the mind to create some real doozies in way of scenarios.”
For Baybrook, as for most nurses, she said, there wasn’t a single “this can’t be happening moment,” but a more brutal, drawn-out period where the virus and the accompanying lockdown and rampant misinformation played out over time.
“I had a seven-week stretch where every patient I cared for died, either on my shift or they were gone when I came back,” she said. e pain was multiplied by the tragedy caused by visiting restrictions.
“We had a lot of patients die without their families, due to visiting restrictions or family members being afraid of getting sick as well,” she said. “We worked really hard in our unit to make sure people didn’t die alone.”
Headley can relate to that memory.
“We lost a lot of patients,” he said. “Most were in the ICU alone during that time. It was very hard for nurses, and it was hard for families to not be there.”
‘GROSS
MISINFORMATION’
Morgan Nistendirk, BSN, RN with MU Health Care, recalls the “everything has changed” moment was when an entire side of the ICU was cordoned o to begin admitting COVID-positive patients and those who were being tested.
“One day we walked into the hospital, and everyone entering had to have their temperature taken at the door,” she added. “Working in the primary ICU that housed COVID patients, we were isolated from the rest of the hospital.”
ere were life-and-death, compelling scenes that played out countless times out of public view. Yet the reality of what was happening sometimes was overshadowed by what Wilks referred to as “the gross amount of misinformation that was being spread from social media and exacerbated by the administration in power.”
Baybrook echoed that stance.
“ ere was so much misinformation throughout the pandemic, so many changes that postCOVID nursing is really having to work to build the trust of the patients, and rea rm that we are on their side and want to be an advocate for them and honor their wishes,” she said.
Wilks continued, “One of the worst parts, for me, was dealing with those who felt they knew more about the realities of COVID and what was happening ‘behind the scenes’ than those who were living it in real time. e conspiracies [theories] were hurtful and curated in fear and distrust in a time when we needed to support each other, however it felt like it became another thing to politicize and divide us.”
Headley said that was a “another paint-point for nurses.”
“People didn’t believe that COVID was real and that so many people lost their lives because of it,” he said. “It really downplayed the lifesaving work we were doing.”
Baybrook recalled a “steady and constant” reality of “patients dying, their room opening up, and a new one coming in, and you just kept repeating the process.”
e experience gave nurses an appreciation for each other and their teams.
“Our unit had fantastic teamwork, and everyone was so good about making sure nobody else was drowning,” Baybrook said. “We had a most supporting leadership team.” She also lauds the work of respiratory therapists, doctors, and others. “ ey were also good about checking in with us to see how we were coping.”
THE UNSUNG HEROES
ose medical professionals were among the unsung heroes of the pandemic, the nurses said, speci cally spotlighting respiratory therapists and the doctors.
“Respiratory therapists do not receive enough credit and appreciation,” Baybrook noted. “A respiratory therapist was critical to the patients’ survival and progress.”
“PEOPLE DIDN’T BELIEVE THAT COVID WAS REAL AND THAT SO MANY PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES BECAUSE OF IT. IT REALLY DOWNPLAYED THE LIFESAVING WORK WE WERE DOING.”
HEAVY WEIGHTS
Wilks said the experience is hard to convey to anyone who has never worked or been in the ICU, “let alone during a pandemic.”
“Emotional burnout was huge; the witness of su ering can take its toll,” she said. “It truly is like being in war ... some of us detached from the trauma so we could continue to move forward, which makes remembering it all di cult at best.”
Baybrook added, “I remember thinking, ‘I just want to see someone get better and leave alive.’”
Yet the most painful memories are important to convey, Wilks added.
“Long shifts, constantly changing protocols, and sta ng shortages became the norm,” she said. “ e trauma of watching patients die, often isolated from their families, weighed heavily on nurses and doctors.”
She said doctors also worked hard, missed family events, “and sacri ced as much or more as nurses.”
“ ey also carried a tremendous weight of wanting to save their patients ... ey listened to sobbing family members, were hands-on helping us in the moment — on top of managing the care for so many critically ill patients,” Baybrook said.
Nistendirk wants history to remember those heroes.
“Physicians, respiratory therapists, and nurses were not only doing their jobs but also acting as family support to patients at the same time, since no one was allowed to visit in the beginning,” she said, adding pharmacists, pastoral care, case management, housekeeping, and transport services to that list. “ ere were weeks that felt like you were just running on autopilot since a lot of patients admitted with COVID required the same care in the sense they would all be placed on the same type of medications or therapies.”
Nistendirk is also adamant about the harsh reality of the pandemic and knows there might still be those who believe the pandemic was “created” or “made up.”
“A fact that cannot be disputed is that a lot of people passed away,” she said. “And I believe the number of lives lost during those years is easily just a number to many people.”
Expect to get your hands dirty: landscaping, septic pumping ... and politics?
Columbia is home to many forms of “dirty jobs,” from septic tank pumping, landscaping, welding, construction. You name it and Columbia probably has it. Recently, pet waste removal has joined the “dirty” list. Often, those jobs can be hard work, lthy, boring, and in all various weather conditions. But without the individuals who tackle those dirty jobs, things would quickly get messy for Columbia.
It’s probably not surprising to learn that many never dream of having a “dirty job.” However, those careers can be ful lling, but they don’t make headlines. ey are away from the public eye.
ey are the jobs that keep the lights on, the cows fed, and the toilets clean.
From 2003 to 2012, Mike Rowe was the host of the Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs.” e reality show aired for ten seasons and highlighted many trades during that time. From his blog, Rowe explained that one of his goals was “to introduce the country to a collection of people who worked in dirty and di cult environments but loved what they did.”
Danny Carroll is the owner of Danny’s Landscaping. He grew up playing in the dirt and has always had a knack for being outside. In rst grade, his teacher asked what he had done over summer break. He answered, “I moved 100 pounds of peat moss.”
“I remember as a child when the landscapers would come around my family house, to trim the bushes or something, I would always go out and work with them,”
Caroll said. “I loved the physical nature of the landscape shears, and I would try to trim our bushes and get them lopsided.”
During high school, Carroll continued to do landscaping.
“Well, my world sort of expanded as a teenager,” Carroll said. “I mowed lawn, and trimmed bushes ... cleaned out landscapes for side money to buy drum stu because I was also a drummer.”
In 1998, Carroll left Chicago to attend the University of Missouri to study percussion performance. However, he soon changed his major to horticulture plant science, with an emphasis in landscape design. To establish residency, Carroll worked for MU doing landscaping. He said he was able to get hands-on experience with commercial machines and learn commercial maintenance, fertilizer regimens, and planting trees and other plants.
“It just kept reinforcing this love for the outdoors and machines and physicality, and being dirty,” Carroll said. “Just a hairier version of the little boy back then, in the sandbox. You know, ‘Ogling over the digger.”
After college, Carroll decided to follow his dream to become a drummer.
“I thought at one time I was gonna be a world-class drummer,” he said. “I thought I was gonna be famous for playing drums and for a large part of my early 20s, I toured,
ing & Hydrojetting, and was soon promoted to manager. In 2017, he decided to buy the company that was started by the Morgan family in 1978.
“I'm blessed to be a business owner. I would say God's blessed me, my family; we try to make our business a family type business,” Martin said. “[We] look after each other and we know days can be long, and so we try to take good care of our employees and run a good business.”
Martin added: “I would say [a college degree matters] because it just gives you that educational background ... it shows that you have a desire to learn.” He also suggested that a degree from a technical college may be valuable. Martin said business and marketing courses were importAs many individuals are choosing their career paths, there can be valuable information to learn from those in business. Although it may seem like a college degree is the most important path, some would argue that trades schools can provide a great career. Martin added a
help channel students into a career.
Carroll also has advice for those looking to get into his line of work or starting a
“My best advice is to show up when you say you're going to, do the best work that you can, clean up after yourself, and do the right thing,” he said. “If you do those
that way,” he added. “But there are other aspects that you don’t need a college degree.”
Columbia Board of Education Election Preview
Candidates differ on handling of Yearwood departure, threat of charter schools.
BY ROGER M C KINNEY
Voters in the Columbia Public Schools on April 8 will choose two candidates from the three individuals vying for a pair of three-year terms on the board of education. e candidates are Erica Dickson, Ken Rice, and incumbent school board President Suzette Waters.
Blake Willoughby, whose term expires in April, didn’t seek re-election.
Dickson is the founder and CEO of the Mid-Missouri Black Doula Collective. A mother of three, she earned a Master of Arts in teaching from Columbia College in 2018. Dickson joined Columbia Public Schools in 2016, serving in various roles such as attendance secretary, instructional aide, Homeschool Communicator and assistant director of student services.
Rice is the chief operating o cer of Pickleman’s Franchising LLC, a gourmet sandwich shop which began in Columbia in 2005 and now has thirty-two locations in seven states. He has been married to his wife, Rebecca, for seventeen years, and they have ve children. He had been an executive board member of Spaulding for Children, an organization that looks to place challenged children with families. Rice is a decorated combat veteran who served as a nuclear, biological, and chemical non-commissioned o cer during the Gulf War.
Waters is a CPS graduate and parent who has lived in Columbia for more than forty years. She’s a dental hygienist at Como Dental. She and her husband, Andy, have two college-aged kids. She is in her third year on the Board of Education and in her second year as board president.
COMO Magazine emailed all three candidates the same questions. e questions focused on Superintendent Brian Yearwood’s recent departure, school attendance policies or initiatives, diversity training, and charter schools.
Murphy and Heath Challenge Buffaloe for Mayor’s Seat
Get to know the mayoral candidates and how they plan to shape Columbia’s future.
BY JODIE JACKSON JR
Incumbent Columbia Mayor Barbara Bu aloe faces three challengers in the April 8, 2025, municipal election. Challengers are longtime Columbia business owner Blair “Murph” Murphy, Tanya Heath, and write-in candidate Lucio Bitoy.
Bu aloe won the mayor’s seat in 2022, garnering 43 percent of the vote. She is the city’s second female mayor and previously served the city for eleven years as the city’s sustainability manager. She moved to Columbia in 1998 to study at the University of Missouri. Bu aloe holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design and a master’s degree in Environment and Behavior, both from MU. Heath staged an unsuccessful mayoral campaign in 2022. She works in public relations and advertising and owns her own health and wellness business. She graduated from Hickman High School in 1987 and from the University of Missouri in 1991 with a Bachelor of Journalism. Heath also volunteers in various local organizations and has been a member of Community United Methodist Church for 30 years.
Murphy is the owner of Johnston Paint and Decorating and a board member of CrimeStoppers. He is a lifelong resident of Columbia, graduating from Hickman High School. He has previously been involved with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Daniel Boone Little League, among other volunteer organizations.
Bitoy works as a substitute teacher for Columbia Public Schools. He has lived in Columbia since 2017 and previously worked as a community relations specialist and public information o cer for Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services. Bitoy holds a political science degree from Lincoln University in Je erson City. He is running as a write-in candidate.
COMO Magazine invited the three candidates on the ballot to respond to a series of questions via email. All candidates were asked the same questions.
Scan the QR code to read the candidates’ responses and learn how they plan to address key issues for CPS.
Who will lead Columbia next? Scan the QR code to learn about Columbia’s mayoral race and the candidates on the ballot.
What was your first job or the most unusual job you’ve had?
My rst job was a summer day camp counselor. I loved it! It was the same place I attended as a child, and it was so rewarding helping shape the kids’ summers like counselors before me did. It also helped that we spent three days at the pool and two days going on incredible trips to local hotspots.
– ASHLEY LASITER
I worked at Bucks Ice Cream on Mizzou’s campus during my freshman year. It was all fun and games until you had to help make the ice cream. e smell alone kept me away from all ice cream for a few years after I stopped working there.
– LAUREN KARR
I worked at Worlds of Fun as a “ground squirrel!!” We were responsible for keeping the grounds litter-free with a small broom and dustpan. When the park closed, we had to sweep through the parking lot also for pick up. People are gross and the things we found out there were awful. Only made it through about two weeks and moved on to work at Ponderosa Steak House. I still hate making salads and pies.
– LILLY HERNANDEZ WINKELJOHN
I used to sell concert memorabilia at Chicago area shows, often Jimmy Bu et shows. Very devoted fan base, which is nice when you work commission.
– MADELEINE LEROUX
While earning my cosmetology license, I worked at a salon in a retirement home. I spent most shifts perfecting my perms while listening to resident’s life stories — and some surprisingly juicy gossip.
– JORDAN WATTS
Hired on at $1 an hour — that’s right, a buck an hour — as a server at the Belle Drive In. Not an outdoor cinema, mind you, but a greasy spoon eatery and pool hall/ pinball machine dive in my hometown of Belle, Missouri. I was 16. Within six months, I was promoted to assistant manager and cook and got a 50 percent raise! Yeah, to $1.50 an hour. Pink Floyd on the jukebox, half the crowd stoned, allI-could-drink ice cold fountain Coca Cola, and just three blocks from my house. Oh, and I’d also become the “school news” reporter for e Belle Banner, the town’s weekly newspaper that gave me my start.
– JODIE JACKSON JR
One summer when I was in college, I cleaned all the cabinets in a fraternity house!
– BONNIE YOUNGQUIST
My rst job was working at Quiznos in high school.
– HEAVENLY VALLEY PHOTOGRAPHY LLC
I worked at the concession stand at Twin lakes for Columbia Parks and Rec!
– SARAH PARKS
I worked at the concession stand at Oakland Pool. at was my rst job.
– ADRO NIEMAN
In college, I got paid to sleep. An older lady (in her late 90s) was afraid to be by herself at night, so her daughter paid me to stay the night. She set me up in her spare room, we would watch TV together and have popcorn together. It was such a sweet time and hey, pretty easy way to make some money during college and I did it for three years!
– ANDREA LYN SEPPO
New old-fashioned fun blooms this spring.
Spring is just around the corner and so are brand new ways to play at Silver Dollar City during our new Spring Exposition! The festival comes to life April 10 with loads of new entertainment like an old-fashioned hoedown with the Kinfolk Bluegrass Band, fast-footed cloggers, a ragtime piano and the sounds of Dixieland, Cajun & Polka bands throughout The City. The skies above become more colorful with the new Parasol Sky and master gardeners share the secrets to their green thumbs. Plus, taste the flavors of the Ozarks by the plateful, alongside Bayou eats, dishes from the deep South and even Midwest Sheboygan specialties. Fun is always better with friends so plan your visit today!
