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2 months ago | 
columbiamissourian.com | Jonas Wall |Brittany Hilderbrand
By Jonas Wall,Brittany Hilderbrand On Jan. 22, all University of Missouri undergraduate students enrolled in the 2025 spring semester received the same text. While automated messages are nothing new, this one came with a little more personality. "Hi, this is Roary," said the first line of the mass message from MU's new AI chatbot.
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Jan 10, 2025 | 
columbiamissourian.com | Audrey Stanard |Anna Colletto |Brittany Hilderbrand
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Jan 9, 2025 | 
columbiamissourian.com | Anna Colletto |Brittany Hilderbrand
By Anna Colletto,Brittany Hilderbrand As Columbia Public Schools continues the search for its next superintendent, the community is weighing in. This week's open forums suggest communication and community engagement are among the top priorities for residents. The Missouri School Board Association hosted several forums across Columbia Wednesday and Thursday to aid the district's search, using feedback from nearly 1,300 responses to December's survey as starting points for discussion.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
columbiamissourian.com | Genevieve Smith |Brittany Hilderbrand
By Genevieve Smith,Brittany Hilderbrand The University of Missouri has increased its monetary support for its athletics programs, giving the athletics department around $22.8 million in direct support in 2023. "This is going to be the new normal," University of Missouri President Mun Choi said at the Dec. 5 Faculty Council meeting. "Part of the reason this is going to be the new normal is because athletics is going to require more investments from the university."
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
columbiamissourian.com | Claire Kespohl |Anna Colletto |Brittany Hilderbrand
For years, completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form had been a tedious process for families - especially the 2024-2025 form. But, Missouri experts say, recent modifications have made it simpler. Senior Director of Financial Aid at Columbia College Colleen Brown said students shouldn't fear filling out the FAFSA form this year. The 2025-2026 FAFSA form became available to applicants in late November 2024, and is estimated to take an hour to submit.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
columbiamissourian.com | Anna Colletto |Brittany Hilderbrand
Boone County is investing $9.1 million of children's services sales tax revenue into 50 local programs this year - all aimed at supporting the well-being of the area's children and families. Over $2 million will go to seven programs at the University of Missouri. The $9,171,811.57 will support the new and preexisting initiatives across 40 nonprofits serving Boone County residents throughout 2025.
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Jan 7, 2025 | 
columbiamissourian.com | Anna Colletto |Brittany Hilderbrand
Boone County is investing $9.1 million of children's services sales tax revenue into 50 local programs this year - all aimed at supporting the well-being of the area's children and families. Over $2 million will go to seven programs at the University of Missouri. The $9,171,811.57 will support the new and preexisting initiatives across 40 nonprofits serving Boone County residents throughout 2025.
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Dec 9, 2024 | 
columbiamissourian.com | Katie Grawitch |Brittany Hilderbrand
As the health program coordinator for Columbia/Boone County Public Health & Human Services, Heather Harlan has worked on substance use disorder in communities for about 25 years. During her time as a health communicator, she said she has noticed a vast ripple effect from substance use on families and community systems. "Substance use disorders have long been called a family disease," Harlan said.
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Dec 1, 2024 | 
columbiamissourian.com | Evan Holden |Brittany Hilderbrand
University of Missouri researchers discovered that the bubonic plague can sometimes be transmitted to a flea's offspring. Deborah Anderson and Brenda Beernsten, both professors in veterinarian pathobiology, assessed the likely risk of the bubonic plague being spread.
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Nov 27, 2024 | 
columbiamissourian.com | Benjamin Miller |Brittany Hilderbrand
When some families find it difficult to budget gifts or vacations in line with the rest of their expenses, local organizations like Heart of Missouri United Way and Flourish are supporting families with the gifts of time and connection. "We're a connector for people to get what they need from the different organizations we work with," United Way spokesperson Adam Crumbliss said. "There's a lot of service to give and we want to continue our work so families can focus on spending time together."
