News

When Gavin Hooks' parents divorced, his Christian faith faded.

"I felt like God had left me, or I felt like my faith wasn't sufficient to work through this problem," he said. He didn't stop believe in God, but for about a year, he "dropped out" of his faith walk. 

Eventually, he returned. He'd worked through the issues of his parents' volatile split – or so he thought. 

Fast forward 20 years. Hooks' mother died, and he realized something: He still had deep issues that he hadn't dealt with. 

Members of Columbia’s city council gathered at the Activity and Recreation Center Friday to discuss the city’s strategic planning.

The Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a recommendation to build The Residences at Fifth and Conley, an apartment building able to house up to 354 students. Development Services Manager Pat Zenner says the developers of the new apartment complex are working well with the city and taking an innovative approach to avoid problems.

The Jefferson City Council held a meeting Thursday to discuss the construction of a conference center and hotel. City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus said the city has been considering such a project for 80 years.

Many MU faculty members are upset at how they found about the University’s plan to temporarily close some campus buildings next year for renovations. They're also concerned about the future of the Museum of Art & Archeology and the Museum of Anthropology

Jesse Hall, Swallow Hall and Pickard Hall will all close for about a year. Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services Jackie Jones presented the steps of the project and answered questions at the MU Faculty Council meeting yesterday.  But, department of geography faculty member Mike Urban wasn’t satisfied.

The Blind Boone Ragtime Festival returns to Columbia this Sunday, honoring a local and national legend.  The festival features concerts and seminars from world-class ragtime performers both Monday and Tuesday.  It is named for John William “Blind” Boone, a ragtime musician who lived in Columbia around the turn of the twentieth century and helped pioneer the genre.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture first began designating funds for rural development in 1933 as part of the New Deal. More federal funds were allocated in the Agricultural Act of 1970. During this fiscal year, the rural development program is administering approximately $38 billion in loans, loan guarantees and grants. It’s being used to construct or improve 48 rural libraries, assist 243 projects in the delivery of healthcare and help more than 270,000 low income families get affordable housing, according to the USDA.

Keeping tuition affordable is the top goal of the University of Missouri’s most-recently appointed curator.

Clay Waller pled guilty to the murder of his wife, Jacque Waller, in Cape Girardeau County Court on Thursday, bringing a bittersweet end to one of the most high-profile murder cases in recent Cape Girardeau history.

Waller was charged with second degree murder and will receive a sentence of 20 years. Prosecutors agreed to the plea deal in exchange for Clay Waller providing the location of Jacque’s body and an account of her murder.

In Turkey, the daily clashes between demonstrators and police have grown into a protest movement. The uprising that defies comparison started modestly last week in the center of Istanbul. Environmentalists gathered in Taksim Square to protest against the government’s plan to pave over a small park.