MoDOT bridge work
Construction crews began work on three Interstate 70 overpass bridges in Columbia, at Range Line Street, Garth Avenue and Business Loop 70 West. MoDOT expects the project to cost $18 million. The new bridges will be constructed alongside the existing bridges.
Bank of Missouri merges
The Bank of Missouri has much to celebrate, beginning with its merger agreement with Bank Star of the BootHeel. Bank of Missouri added Bank Star’s locations in Caruthersville and Steele to its network of 21 locations across the state. Bank Star had $91 million in assets.
The Bank of Missouri was also recognized for outstanding social media outreach. The Independent Community Bankers of America named the Bank of Missouri a top 50 community bank leader in social media.
All Columbia Police officers underwent a procedural justice-training course after being accepted into a nationally sponsored program. Their training focused on developing positive relationships with the community and being proactive and transparent in community policing. Only 66 agencies nationwide were selected for the program.
Central Methodist classes
Central Methodist University and Moberly Area Community College, both of which maintain satellite campuses in Columbia, announced they would begin offering programs at the same location in the Columbia Parkade Center.
The space currently occupies MACC’s Columbia programs. CMU will maintain its presence at the Forum Shopping Center in addition to its classes offered at the Parkade.
The partnership will allow MACC students to begin earning higher degrees while continuing to learn at the same site: the schools will initially offer six bachelor’s degree programs and one graduate program at the Parkade site.
Boone County Historical Society and Commerce Bank announced the creation of the Commerce Bank Boone County History Scholars Program, which will award two $1,000 scholarships to area eighth-graders.
This year, students were required to submit either a research-based essay or a creative narrative highlighting Boone County’s equestrian history. The Boone County Historical Society will hold the two scholarships until the contest winners graduate from high school, at which time the money will be released to the school of their choice.
COMO in Inc. 5000 list
Inc. magazine’s annual list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies is a who’s who of the startup world. Alumni include Oracle, Domino’s Pizza and Microsoft.
This year, we’re celebrating the five Columbia companies to appear on the list. Four are repeat winners, and one is a newcomer. AdKarma was CoMo’s highest-ranking member for the second year in a row, despite slipping from 38th to 217th. True Media made the list for the sixth year in a row, ranking 2,770th; Division-D was the only Columbia repeater to move up, from 4,242nd to 3665th. Job Finders came in at 1368th, and Accurate Rx Pharmacy, the first-time winner, ranked 2,036th.
Eyes on Freight
Eyes on Freight, a Columbia company that matches companies to supply chain providers, was accepted into the San Francisco-based 500 Startups business incubator. The company will participate in a four-month accelerator program in San Francisco focusing on marketing, mentoring and developing partnerships.
Eyes on Freight currently works with companies in 22 countries and 58 different services but expects to expand upon completion of the 500 Startups program.
CC grant renewed
Columbia College’s Trio Student Services Program recently received a $1.15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The program has received $4.29 million in federal grants since its launch in 2001. Columbia College says the grant will allow the program to continue for the next five years.
The program, available to day students on the Columbia campus, assists first-generation college students, students with physical and mental learning disabilities and students who meet federal income guidelines.
MU music school project
Three months after receiving a $10 million donation from Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield, which kicked off a fundraising campaign for a new music building, the University of Missouri is still accruing donations for the project.
Sam Hamra, a graduate of MU’s business and law schools and chairman of Hamra Enterprises, donated $100,000 to the project. The school will need to raise $35 million in private donations before asking the state for matching funds to cover the building. The new facility would be constructed on the corner of Hitt and University on the MU campus.
Mizzou Online offers tuition break
MU announced it will begin a tuition-assistance program encouraging community college graduates to work on four-year degrees through Mizzou Online.
The Mizzou Online Community College Tuition Award, worth 10 percent reduction off tuition, is available to Missouri residents who have graduated from a community college in the state and are pursuing one of MU’s undergraduate distance programs. The reduction will count toward the student’s base tuition and can be used for up to 150 cumulative hours of classes.
Boone County studies cities
The Central Missouri Events Center Review Committee went to meet with officials in Independence, Missouri, and Overland Park, Kansas, to discuss strategies for event hosting.
The trip was prompted by the closure of the Boone County Event Center, which hosted its last Boone County Fair this summer. The committee, comprised of seven county stakeholders, first visited the Independence Events Center, where they met with City Manager Ron Heacock and a representative from Global Entertainment, the company that manages the center. The committee also toured various sports and tourism facilities in Overland Park.
New ownership, new retail
Sumits Hot Yoga studio transitioned ownership this summer, and new co-owners Jocelyn Kilgore, Bob Kilgore, Kelly Bietsch and Fred Bietsch are bringing retail flair to the business.
The ownership team added apparel from top-tier yoga brands, such as Lululemon, Onzie, Beyond Yoga, Spiritual Gangster and ALO Yoga. “We have recognized the need in our community for the quality yoga and athletic apparel products for men and women that we are providing,” Jocelyn Kilgore says.
Stephens College world-ranked
Stephens College has staked a spot among the capitals of fashion on the first Business of Fashion school rankings. BoF, a well-respected online news site for the fashion industry, named Stephens the 13th best fashion school in the world.
In the rankings, Stephens is the fourth highest-rated school in the United States, with the six other American schools on the list all in the Eastern Time zone. BoF also named Stephens first in long-term value and fifth in learning experience.