Scott Pham

  Today Paul Pepper chats with SCOTT GORDON, The Foodbank for Central and Northeast Missouri, about an upcoming fundraiser that partners with the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre, whereas proceeds from the June 29th performance of Fiddler on the Roof. Watch for more details.

  This week we explain exactly what went down with the Providence Road improvement project and how it became such a huge mess.

The busiest intersection in Columbia is at Providence Rd and Stadium Boulevard. When the city started to look into ways to improve traffic flow about eight years ago, nobody knew it would turn into the big mess that it did.  Before it was over, the meetings multiplied, emotions went high and the city government was accused of arranging backdoor deals.

  The talk around STEM employment (jobs in the fields of science, technology, math and engineering) has largely circled around jobs that require a great deal of education.

This week on the CoMo Explained podcast we talk about why government transparency matters.

As avid explorers of drone technology ourselves, we were excited to hear about Missouri S&T's experiments using drones to aid in bridge inspection. Full Disclosure: I run the Missouri Drone Journalism Program, which is no stranger to controversy.

The collapse of a county highway bridge in southeast Missouri on Saturday was almost certainly not due to structural defects. And the fact that this collapse came on the heels of a similar disaster in Washington state is unfortunate but not necessarily related. Yet it's just a plain fact that bridges in Missouri are aging rapidly and are in serious need of repair.

The bridge that collapsed in Scott County, Missouri was not structurally deficient, said district engineer Mark Shelton in an interview on Saturday.

"The bridge was in good condition," said Shelton. "It was certainly not in danger of any kind of failure."

  A transportation advocacy site called Transportation For America has released an interactive map that shows where the structurally deficient bridges in your community are. 

Updated 4:12 p.m. with quotes and graphics

 The University of Missouri announced today that all employees working in MU's main administrative building, Jesse Hall, will be moved to a new location to allow for the installation of sprinkler systems, improvements to the heating and cooling systems, and an additional elevator. Nearby Swallow Hall which houses MU's Museum of Anthropology, will also undergo repairs including an increase in classroom, lab and office space totaling up to 5,000 square feet.  The project, called "Renew Mizzou," will cost more than $22.8 million.

This is the first year in modern history that we've seen a Republican veto-proof super majority: that's a two-thirds majority that allows Republicans to not only push through most any legislation they want, but also nullify a possible veto from their Democratic Governor, Jay Nixon.