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Upgrades Announced to Columbia's Parks and Rec Department

Columbia’s Parks and Recreation Department unveiled its new ten-year plan Tuesday during a public meeting at the Activity and Recreation Center.

By Michael Graves and Lee Banov (Columbia, Mo.)

Guests were encouraged to submit comments with additional changes to the planned upgrades, including extra park benches, new baseball and soccer fields and areas for popular non-traditional games like disc golf and pickleball.

Richard Perkins is an engineering aide for the Parks and Rec Department.  He said the plan will be responsive to new recreational gaming trends.

“We are just looking for input from other groups that may be interested in our new facilities. ”

Officials expect the upgrades will draw visitors to Columbia for sports tournaments and bring business to the city.

As a born and raised Cleveland, Ohioan, Leanne Butkovic is no stranger to extreme fluctuating weather, frustrating sports teams and the charm of the Midwest and the people within it. She is a senior in the convergence journalism sequence at the University of Missouri-Columbia and has worked in several different newsrooms, yet has always had a penchant for radio. Since her freshman year, Leanne has produced her own music show on the university's student-run radio station, KCOU. She has also contributed to several magazines and their online affiliates based in Ohio, including Scene Magazine and multiple trade publications. She was an intern for VICE Media, working in their online documentary TV 'station' VBS.tv, in New York City this summer.