audio features 2007
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12/28/07
The federal "No Child Left Behind" law requires every student in the country to be proficient on their state's annual assessment by the year 2014. Like school districts across the state and the nation, Columbia public schools have struggled to meet the high benchmarks set by the federal program. As KBIA's Matt Velker reports, all that may change this year. For Columbia students, the new year brings a new test.12/21/07
The University of Missouri has a new system president, and former Sprint/Nextel CEO Gary Forsee faces some challenges when he takes over in February. One of those challenges will be promoting the values of higher education with Missouri lawmakers. KBIA's Janet Saidi spoke with some of the state's key lawmakers to get their reactions on the new president and what it will take to win them over.12/20/07
Columbia's "Visioning Process" has been in the works since January 2006. The idea was for Columbia residents to get together and gather views and plans about Columbia's future. KBIA's Henry Atkinson has more on how members of the community got involved--or not--with the planning of the city's future.12/12/07
Ameren UE reached a settlement recently with the state of Missouri for the Taum Sauk Reservoir collapse. The collapse took place two years ago this week. The settlement requires Ameren to pay 180 million dollars in damages...but a parks advocacy group believes the state was shortchanged in the settlement. KBIA's Martin Winkler reports.12/04/07
A recent census by the Missouri Department of Conservation looked at who's applying for hunting licenses and at what ages. The results show that baby boomers seem to be putting away the camouflage. KBIA's Liz Langton went hunting to find out more, and files this report.
12/02/07
MU's reign as the number one college football team in the country faded away last night, but that didn't stop the thousands of Mizzou fans watching in San Antonio, and about 700 others fans that were at the Mizzou Arena cheering the Tigers on. KBIA's Sean Powers was there for the buildup... and the letdown.
(Right: Haile Ghirmazion and his son Nathan, both of Columbia, watch the Big 12 Championship game live from the Mizzou Arena.)
11/22/07
On Thanksgiving Day, Americans are traveling to spend time with friends and family to celebrate the holiday. It’s also time to remember families who have loved ones serving in the military overseas. KBIA recently caught up with a family before and after a reunion with their father, who served nine months in Kuwait. Reporter Sean Powers has this snapshot of a family welcoming their loved one home from war, in time for Thanksgiving.
(Right: The Ferrises stand huddled together at the St. Louis Lambert-International Airport on Sunday, November 18, 2007. Eldest son Steve also brought his fiancé Christy.)
As the arrival of the Thanksgiving holiday also signals the official beginning of the holiday shopping season, KBIA's Betsy Mikel embarked on a three-part series called "Giving Back." It's about a certain kind of giving.
11/24/07
The Central Missouri Humane Society has been in operation since 1943. Since that time, the organization has adopted out thousands of animals. KBIA's Betsy Mikel caught up with Humane Society volunteers to meet the people working to improve, and sometimes save, the lives of animals.11/23/07
The Central Missouri Food Bank is one local organization working to ensure that as few people as possible go hungry. Reaching the goal is aided by a fleet of volunteers, who do everything from repacking food in a warehouse, to serving on the board of directors. KBIA’s Betsy Mikel went to the Central Missouri Food Bank to find out what the volunteers are bringing to the table.11/22/07
The Boys and Girls Club of the Columbia region opened 12 years ago, with the mission of providing a safe place for kids to learn and grow, especially kids who may not have the care or supervision they need outside school. KBIA's Betsy Mikel checks in with volunteers "giving back."
10/29/07
Governor Matt Blunt has been cracking down in recent months on undocumented workers in the state of Missouri, thrusting the state further into the national immigration spotlight. The League of Women Voters wants to develop a national position on the immigration issue, and is asking its chapters to help gather ideas and opinions in time for the 2008 election. Columbia's League of Women Voters held an open forum recently to hear what the public had to say on the matter. KBIA's Matt Tarnawa was at the forum, and found that Mid-Missourians have a lot to say about immigration...and a lot to disagree on.10/10/07
When he was thirty-two years old, Michael Fosberg received news about his family that would forever change his life. KBIA’s Mike Moreau spoke to Fosberg about the events leading up to the unexpected revelation, and the different ways in which Fosberg channeled his emotions.10/02/07
One local organization in Jefferson City works to give international refugees a new life in mid-Missou
ri. KBIA’s Allan Thompson has this story of one family’s arduous journey from a refugee camp in Tanzania to Columbia, Missouri.(Right: Riziki Jeanine and her three-year-old son, Rodrike, wait for their luggage at the Columbia Regional Airport.)
09/24/07
After more than fifty years in the music business and 75+ LPs, jazz artist David "Fathead" Newman is still going strong. KBIA's Mike Moreau spoke with Newman about some of his experiences along the way.09/08/07
More than thirty nationally known blues musicians will be playing this weekend in Columbia at the Roots and Blues BBQ Festival. As KBIA's Mike Moreau reports, what festival fans may not know is how some of the artist have had help getting here.08/17/07
Wine tasting took a new turn in Columbia recently -- when a downtown bakery hosted a tasting of its wine ice cream. KBIA's Sean Powers reports. Click here for some additional unaired customer reactions to the flavor of wine ice cream.08/14/07
All summer long, teenagers and adults have been shooting hoops in Douglass Park as part of a city program known as Moonlight Hoops. KBIA's Sean Powers reports as teams compete in the final playoffs.08/13/07
Jim Kuper is not really a caterer and he'ss not quite an entertainer. He's an amalgamation of the two. Otherwise known as the Pancake Man, Jim Kuper travels the Midwest serving up hot, fresh and fluffy pancakes to thousands of people every year. KBIA's Alex Grigsby caught up with the Pancake Man earlier this summer as he served breakfast to about 300 cyclists before they departed on a 60 mile organized ride on the Katy Trail.08/06/07
Sacred Heart Church offers Columbia's only Catholic Spanish Mass and serves Columbia's growing Hispanic population. KBIA's Jordan Witt visited the church and spoke to staff about their goal to unite the church's Spanish- and English- speaking members.08/06/07
Just East of Columbia about 130 mobile homes sit on two neighboring mobile home parks, Ed's Mobile Home Park, and Sunset Mobile Home Park. Recently the owners of these properties applied for annexation into Columbia city limits. Because the proposed annexation involves rezoning from a residential zone to a commercial zone, this has many of the parks' residents, and a local advocacy group, nervous about the future of the residents who live there. Reported by KBIA's Alex Grigsby. KBIA's Sean Powers spent some time over the summer on the Columbia Transit in conversation with various residents.
July 27, 2007: "New Beginnings"Dominic Johnson, 16, is a high school drop out. For the past year, he has been working in construction and trying to make his way in the real world. Just like many teenagers, he just wants to grow up. He wants to make his own rules and be his own adult. A few months ago, he experienced tragedy for the first time after learning that one of his friends was murdered in a gang-related shooting. Being an adult has its costs, and Johnson says he misses being a kid.
Drug addiction brought 33-year-old Adam Day to Columbia. Day says drugs were masking his identity, and he says rehab was his only option for survival. He has been clean for six months, and he says he hopes to stay sober for the rest of his life.
Anastasia Kononova, is a foreign exchange student from Russia. She is currently working towards her Ph.D. in journalism from MU. She shares her thoughts about what it's like living in America.
July 20, 2007: "Favorite Pastimes"
Sarah Small, 37, loves to dance. She says even though she likes meeting new people on the dance floor, what she really enjoys is the music. As long as the music is right, she says she can dance the night away.
Ryan Sams, 23, loves hanging with his baby ... only his baby has wheels. Sams regularly rides his skateboard through Columbia with his other friends. He says he is not looking to start trouble like some people presume skateboarders do; he just wants to have a good time.
For 22-year-old Ian Watson, knitting takes the cake as his favorite pastime. The usual image associated with knitting might include a grandmother, but Watson is no grandmother.
July 13, 2007: "In the Family"
Shelia Blaise, 46, has six children and eight grandchildren. Riding with her on the bus is Danielle, Shelia's youngest child. Shelia's five other children and their father do not live with her and Danielle. It is just Shelia and Danielle under one roof, but they say that is all right because they have each other. Shelia is as supportive as a mother can be, and Danielle simply loves her mother.
Mark Anderson, 38, rides the bus with his 3-year-old son Isaiah. Mark and Isaiah live in Columbia's 3rd Ward. Mark says he wants to see his son succeed in every way possible, but he says he feels constraints being put onto Isaiah's future by the black community.
July 06, 2007: "People Who Help People"
For the past 29 years, Sherlee Zumwalt has dedicated her time and energy to a fraternity house. As the house mother of Alpha Epilson Pi, the Jewish fraternity on the MU campus, she says she loves making sure her kids have everything they need.
Dan Jones has been helping people his whole life, and professes that providing aid to others is what makes him happy. He even helps people he does not like, but as he says helping someone and liking someone are two different things.
7/24/07
MU Chancellor Brady Deaton recently announced a three-year financial plan that seeks to save seven million dollars over the next year largely through cost-cutting and savings measures. KBIA's Janet Saidi sought reactions from faculty and staff in the days following the announcement.6/27/07
Big Canoe is a local environmental group that believes in a sustainable mid-Missouri. Every Saturday, its members get together and work on a lot they purchased with the goal of turning it into an urban farm. KBIA's Robby Berlin spoke with members Greg and Ellen as they worked in the garden and files this report. For more on Big Canoe, visit the group's website by clicking here.
6/20/07
In the year 2000, the National Center for Education Statistics released a report stating that though girls and boys show equal interest in science and math in younger grades, by the time they reach middle school, twice as many boys express interest in these subjects than girls. KBIA's Andrea Chalfin takes another look at these statistics, and one effort to close the gap.For more on Sally Ride Science, visit her website by clicking here.
Click here to reach the homepage for the National Center for Education Statistics.
5/21/07
The Missouri Department of Corrections is launching a program at Vandalia Women's Correctional Center to provide prisoners life skills with a mixture of religious teachings. The program is already a fixture at Algoa Correctional Center in Jefferson City. It's called the InnerChange Freedom Initiative and its drawing criticism from some who say it's a violation of the idea of separation of church and state. Reported by KBIA's Patrick Fleming.For more information on the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, visit their website here.
5/18/07
The neighborhoods and the people that make up Columbia's Garth Avenue are the subject of a feature that comes out in tomorrow's Missourian. KBIA's Janet Saidi spoke to the journalists that put the story together.5/17/07
A string of fatal teen car accidents in mid-Missouri over the past year has raised concerns among Missouri lawmakers and parents about the risks teen drivers face behind the wheel. The Missouri Department of Transportation reports traffic crashes as the leading cause of death for 15 to 20 year olds. KBIA's Catherine Wolf talked with Missouri school officials, a lawmaker and one mother to find out why these accidents have been occurring and what can be done to prevent them.4/12/07
Folk duo Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen are married to their music ... and married to each other. They performed Thursday night at the Columbia Public Library, but first they stopped by the KBIA studios for a conversation with KBIA's Jennifer Galt.3/23/07
Three MU veterinarians performed a pioneering surgery on a malnourished and abused tiger this week by attempting to correct the right forelimb with an operation that had never before been attempted on a tiger. Reported by KBIA's Janet Saidi.
Click
here for Hate Close to Home, KBIA's special
coverage of a march in Columbia by a neo-Nazi group
and the community's subsequent reaction.Coverage includes a roundtable of community leaders discussing what they thought of Columbia's reaction, coverage of the march itself and the counter-protests, and a glimpse at events leading up to the march.
3/6/07
The Lenten season has local Christian leaders thinking about how they can cooperate. Since Ash Wednesday, members of the Columbia Interfaith council have been hosting Lenten breakfasts at their churches. This Sunday an Interfaith service meeting will happen at First Baptist Church in Columbia.
KBIA's Nan Wu and Kevin Quealy brought four of the Interfaith leaders together for a roundtable discussion in our studios last week. Hear how these self-described "gray haired leaders" have adapted to the internet age and how they find new things to give up for Lent each year in this web exclusive.3/5/07
Madison, Missouri is a town of about 600 people located about 50 miles north of Columbia. In this small town, Chris Akers runs his barbershop which mixes music and haircuts. Reported by KBIA's Patrick Fleming.2/27/07
The University of Missouri has been working with state lawmakers to find a way to get the MOHELA deal to go through. A couple of weeks ago, U-M System President Elson Floyd said embryonic stem cell research would not take place in any building paid for by the loan agency's sale. Yesterday, University of Missouri officials said they would divvy up the health research buildings, again making sure no MOHELA funds went to stem cell research facilities. KBIA's Katherine Harben looks beyond the politics at what restrictions and new buildings might mean for the actual researchers on MU's campus.2/19/07
In honor of President's Day, KBIA's Henry Atkinson hit the streets of mid-Missouri to see just how much citizens really know about these American leaders honored today. Think you know your Presidential history? Take Henry Atkinson's online Presidential quiz.1/25/07
Scientists
at MU think they can identify cancer cells through sound. KBIA's
Sean Powers talks to the researchers of this detection method and
to one local woman who has battled the disease.1/12/07 Columbia’s city-wide smoking ban took effect one minute after midnight Monday. Smoking will no longer be allowed in public places within the city. The change will be most noticeable in the city’s bars and restaurants … KBIA News profiles two restaurants that will be heavily impacted by the ban. Both are diners, and both have long histories of smoking.
We begin by talking with employees and customers at Ernie’s diner, where Sarah Ashworth dropped by Monday morning.
Many Columbia business owners welcome the ban – others remain solidly opposed to it. Customers have also voiced a range of opinions. But at one café in the heart of downtown Columbia, many customers and staff seem to be united in their vigorous opposition to the smoking ban. KBIA’s Janet Saidi visited Lucy’s Café Monday morning.
To hear audio features that aired prior to 2007, visit our archive here.
