Lana Dicus spoke with us at the CoMo 200 celebration on the Fourth of July.She's a history teacher – a 2007 Missouri Gilder Lehrman "Preserve America" History Teacher of the Year, in fact, and she spoke about the vastness of Missouri history – including some of her own family history – and about some common misconceptions about the state.

Shaun Smith is a Columbia area educator. He spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the CoMo 200 celebration on the Fourth of July.Sean has a decade of teaching under his belt, and often imparts knowledge of Missouri history onto the future generations that walk through his classroom. He spoke about some the challenges he faced as a teacher during the COVID-19 pandemic – as classes moved online.

Linda Godwin spoke with us at the CoMo 200 celebration on the 4th of July. She’s originally from Cape Girardeau and is a former astronaut and scientist for NASA who did four space flights and logged over 38 days in space during her career.Today, she works with the Climate and Environment Commission in Columbia informing the community about climate change and spoke about her experiences and how they’ve made her passionate about protecting the planet.

Barb Bailey and Aaron Horrell spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the State Historical Society’s Bicentennial event in August.For the past several years, these two artists from the southeastern part of the state, shepherded the Missouri Bicentennial mural around the state, so that as many people as possible – regardless of any age or ability, had the chance to participate in painting the mural.They spoke about what this process was like, why it’s important and what it means to them to be a Missourian.

In this 30-minute Special from KBIA’s Missouri on Mic, host Becca Newton spoke with Sean Rost from The State Historical Society of Missouri about our state’s tradition of oral history and storytelling.We’ll be hearing both stories – and from storytellers across the state – about what drives them to keep this tradition alive.

Nadia Naverrete-Tindall spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the CoMo 200 celebration on the 4th of July. She’s is originally from El Salvador, but has lived in Columbia for many years.She spoke about her passion for the environment and about how the pandemic affected her work, family, and social life.

Wayne Cummins spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the CoMo 200 celebration on the 4th of July.He’s a Columbia firefighter and spoke about what it was like growing up in Missouri and how the pandemic has affected him as a first responder.

Lisa and Gary Kremer spoke with KBIA’s Missouri on Mic team at the Missouri State Fair back in August. They reflected on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way they live their lives, and Lisa reflected on losing her mother in the winter of 2020 to the disease.

Jackson Hotaling works in Columbia for a non-profit focusing on equitable access to transportation and spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the State Historical Society’s Bicentennial event in August.He spent a year living in China before the COVID-19 pandemic and spoke about the differences between his experience abroad and his life in Missouri.

Jin Yan has been living in the United States for two decades, and this year became a US citizen. He spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at a naturalization event at the State Capitol. The event was just a part of the Missouri Bicentennial Commemoration in August.He spoke about how he plans to use his newly granted rights as an American citizen.