Gordon Dickson

Columbia

Assistant professor @Mizzou and city editor @CoMissourian. Former @startelegram. 💗 Mountain bike trails, model railroading, long drives, family, ☀️NM

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Articles

Boone County voters agree to $6 million fire district bond measure

2 weeks ago | columbiamissourian.com | Adeen Rao |Gordon Dickson

By Adeen Rao,Gordon Dickson Voters on Tuesday approved $6 million in bond funding for the Boone County Fire Protection District, which plans to use the money for new fire vehicles, equipment and other improvements. With 100% of votes counted, 83.3% of voters were in favor of the bond measure while 16.7% opposed it. The results are unofficial.
Mystery surrounds $25,000 donation to Columbia mayoral campaign

3 weeks ago | columbiamissourian.com | Annie Goldman |Lucy Valeski |Gordon Dickson

By Annie Goldman,Lucy Valeski,Gordon Dickson The largest donor to mayoral candidate Blair Murphy's campaign is mysterious, to say the least. A political action committee known as Citizens for a Better Columbia, which donated $25,000 to Murphy's election bid, lists its treasurer on Missouri Ethics Commission documents as a Hallsville man who died in 2022.
Candidates push for more Columbia police officers, pension funding

1 month ago | columbiamissourian.com | Stephanie Meininger |Nicole Voss |Gordon Dickson

Many candidates for mayor and City Council are talking about the need to pour more resources into the Columbia Police Department in order to make the city safer. But what do they mean by that?
Boone County voters to decide on fire protection bond issue Apr. 8

1 month ago | columbiamissourian.com | Max Quinn |Gordon Dickson

By Max Quinn,Gordon Dickson Boone County Fire Protection District is asking voters for a $6 million bond upgrade for infrastructure and equipment. If approved in the April 8 election, voters would see no increase on their taxes, according to a fire district board of directors news release. This ballot measure would simply continue a 25 cent tax per $100 of assessed valuation on real and personal property taxes.
More funding sought for Boone County children, family services

2 months ago | columbiamissourian.com | Nicole Voss |Lucy Valeski |Gordon Dickson

Nearly $70 million has been raised during the past decade by a portion of the Boone County sales tax that aims to improve services for children and families, according to a recently-published report.
Local labor unions ask city for pay raises and independent oversight

Jan 21, 2025 | columbiamissourian.com | Nicole Voss |Annie Goldman |Lucy Valeski |Gordon Dickson

Pay raises, recruitment incentives and third party oversight dominated local labor unions' priority lists to the Columbia City Council and city staff. "As we look into the future, we're going to have to look at substantial increases to these resources, for infrastructure, for the fire department, for every department of the city," Zack Privette, president of Columbia Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 1055, said. "Because we're growing, and we got to keep pace with it."
Columbia remains one of few cities in America with a short-line railroad

Nov 30, 2024 | columbiamissourian.com | Alex Buchanan |Nicole Voss |Gordon Dickson

By Alex Buchanan/Missourian,Nicole Voss,Gordon Dickson It's not an everyday occurrence, but every now and then, a 1950s-era diesel locomotive - a navy blue beast with the name "COLT" emblazoned on its side - will emerge from a small warehouse area in north Columbia and make the roughly 20-mile trek to Centralia. The train's top speed is only 25 mph, and often it carries just a handful of cars filled with steel, rubber, lumber and other products.
Gold Star mom wants to bring back Columbia's Memorial Day Parade in 2025

Nov 25, 2024 | columbiamissourian.com | Max Quinn |Gordon Dickson

By Max Quinn,Gordon Dickson Some Columbia residents are trying to bring back a popular Memorial Day parade, which has not been held since 2019. Sherry Wyatt, whose son Sterling Wyatt was killed in Afghanistan in 2012, wants to bring back the event as a Gold Star Memorial Day Parade. Her goal is to have the new version of the event make its debut on Memorial Day 2025, which will be May 26.
CPS celebrates growth following the release of it's Annual Performance Report

Nov 25, 2024 | columbiamissourian.com | Molly Gibbs |Gordon Dickson

By Molly Gibbs,Gordon Dickson Columbia Public Schools achieved a large increase in its Annual Performance Report score from the state, an indication that the district is meeting state standards for preparing students for college, career and life. The results show higher attendance and higher levels of achievement in English, math and social studies. The district's 2024 score of 86.5 places it in the top 20% of all Missouri school districts.
Boone County politicians appear at NAACP candidate forum

Oct 30, 2024 | columbiamissourian.com | Sara Spreitzer |Gordon Dickson |Mary Bell

By Sara Spreitzer,Gordon Dickson,Mary McCue Bell Several candidates for local offices said they would support efforts to get more Boone County residents involved in government during a candidate forum hosted by the Columbia chapter of the NAACP. The NAACP is the nation's oldest civil rights organization and held the forum at Second Baptist Church on Tuesday night.