Missouri on Mic is an oral history and journalism project from KBIA staff and students documenting stories of Missourians in the state's 200th year. Catch new episodes on KBIA 91.3 FM and KBIA.org every Monday at 8:45 AM during Morning Edition or at 4:45 PM during All Things Considered.
Special thanks to the State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO) and True False Film Fest for partnering with KBIA on this series, and to Missouri Humanities and the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) for their support for the series. Big thanks to the Burney Sisters for providing music for the project. You can follow the Burney Sisters on https://www.facebook.com/TheBurneySisters or learn more at https://theburneysisters.com
To learn more about the story behind this collaborative project and how to produce something similar in your community, check out our Tool Box website here.
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Cassandra Messer: "So I actually was the first one to get a pygmy goat. And I named her Tinkerbell."Cassandra Messer spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at last year’s Missouri State Fair. Messer works for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as an assistant superintendent at Watkins Mill State Park. She spoke about her mother and their family goat farm.
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Abe Kropp spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Missouri State Fair last August. He spoke about his family migrating to Missouri as refugees from the Eastern Bloc.
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Jessica Kanne is a teacher here in Columbia, and she spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at the Daniel Boone Regional Library in February. She spoke about the strain the pandemic has had on teachers, as well as the joys that come from teaching young kids.
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Steve Paul spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Unbound Book Festival in April. He spoke about his work at the Kansas City Star, as well as Ernest Hemingway’s time at the paper.
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Selinda LeVoir was a 9th grader when she spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at the state fair last August. She recently moved to the state due to her Mom finding her own extended family online through 23andMe—a company that helps connect people to biological relatives using DNA testing.She spoke about her recent move to Missouri, how it’s different from living in the city and a little bit about how she’s settling into her new home.
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Verna Laboy spoke with the Missouri On Mic team at an annual tree giveaway for Arbor Day that was held at the Columbia Farmers Market in April. She’s a gardener and spoke about her connection to nature.
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Stephan Haynes spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Missouri State Fair last August. He spoke about his relationship to Missouri barbeque and the love that it represents.
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Kibby Smith spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at an annual tree giveaway for Arbor Day that was held at the Columbia Farmer’s Market in April.The event was hosted by Columbia Parks & Recreation, the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture and other nature-based organizations.Kibby spoke about the importance of trees to a community – and about how the devastating 2011 EF5 tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri continues to impact the landscape of that community to this day.
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Megan Gilbertson spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Central Missouri Renaissance Faire last October.She spoke about her love of Johnson Shut-ins and the nature of the state, as well as some of her hopes for the future of Missouri.
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Cassie Moore spoke with the Missouri on Mic team at the Daniel Boone Regional Library in February.She spoke a little bit about her relationship to reading and about a unique family tradition – a family club that continues to be a foundation of her relationships to this day.