Bartering, with virtual currency
Members of student-founded group lose (and earn and trade) their marbles From MizzouWire Members of the student-founded online bartering group Columbia Exchange Circle swap virtual “marbles” instead of money to exchange services and goods. Call them optimists. Call them innovators. Faced with a gloomy economy and increasingly impersonal personal interactions, some MU students have found […]
Boone Hospital Center building eco-friendly patient tower
Boone Hospital Center’s new patient tower will go beyond helping patients — it will care for the environment, too. BHC is integrating “green” project design, materials and policies into the construction of the tower with the intention of becoming one of the first hospitals in the area to meet LEED Green Building Rating System standards […]
Eco Brokers interpret ‘green living’ costs, benefits
When people are hunting for a new home or planning renovations, “eco-friendly” is quickly rising on their list of priorities. The National Association of Home Builders recently asked consumers to list their top 12 influences in buying a home, and energy efficiency ranked No. 2, right behind the quality of living space. In 2004, energy […]
City expanding energy demand management program
Kraig Kahler and his staff at Columbia Water and Light are increasing their efforts to persuade people to make their homes and commercial buildings more energy efficient. They want owners to replace their drafty windows or coat them with clear insulation, add insulation to their attics and exteriors, buy better heating and air conditioning systems […]
DNA lab solves crimes, changes lives
Kim Gorman checked and rechecked the test results in her Columbia lab. There was no doubt: They locked up the wrong guy. It wasn’t Johnny Briscoe who raped and robbed a woman at knifepoint in her apartment.
Cigarette butts from the crime scene, stored away and forgotten in a St. Louis Police Department crime lab, were tested for DNA. The saliva came from an acquaintance who framed Briscoe.
Twenty-three years after being wrongfully convicted of rape, after spending nearly half his life in a Missouri prison, Johnny Briscoe was set free in 2006.
Customer Service: The Ogre and the Intern: A Cautionary Tale
I hate interns. At least that’s what I always tell prospective ones when I’m conducting interviews. It’s not that I hate them so much as I don’t like the deficiencies that usually come with them. Interns typically lack basic office skills, and many have not yet found the maturity to handle the obligations of holding […]
Tour of Missouri survives political skirmish, skips CoMo
A statewide bicycle race hardly seems a likely catalyst for a titanic political struggle. But that’s what happened when Gov. Jay Nixon attempted to cut funding for the Tour of Missouri this year. Created in 2007, the Tour of Missouri pits some of the world’s most famous bicyclists against each other as they transverse across […]
Financial planner hooked on fishing industry
For Jared Reynolds, you could say fishing is in his blood. The year he was born, his parents, Walt and Emily Reynolds, built the first marina on Truman Lake. Walt was a professional bass angler who fished the national B.A.S.S. tournament trail. Jared, now 30, has parlayed that upbringing into a niche career as an […]
MADMEN Of Mid-Missouri
For a young company growing at hyper-speed, Pure Marketing and Media had an inauspicious start.
About 18 months ago, Brent Beshore and Erik LaPaglia were meeting for lattes at the Coffee Zone to exchange business advice. Beshore was taking a break from graduate studies and running a new company, Event Solutions, that orchestrates events, while LaPaglia was working as a regional marketing agent for Mediacom’s advertising and sales division, OnMedia.
Some of Event Solutions’ clients had asked Beshore if he would like to also act as their marketing and advertising agency. Beshore had been declining such offers, but then he received a proposal from a big client that he could not pass up. Beshore wondered what to do next. LaPaglia advised him to buy into an existing marketing and advertising agency.
Bargain Buying Binge
While on her way to see “Hello, Dolly!” at the Lyceum Theatre in Arrow Rock, Sheila Scott from Jefferson City stopped in Columbia to grab some lunch and to check out the merchandise at Upscale Resale.
Four years ago, she stepped into the store on West Broadway for the first time on a friend’s recommendations. Now, she stops by almost every time she is in Columbia.
Economy evolves, retailers adapt
The recession and related cutback in consumer spending is compelling Columbia retailers to come up with innovative ideas for increasing sales, particularly downtown, where the downturn has had the deepest impact and the amount of vacant space has spiked.
While some businesses in the typically volatile retail sector have closed recently, including Kayotea Tea Room & Bistro, Arsenic Leopard and Manhattan Closet, many are opening, such as MacKenzies restaurant, Artlandish Gallery and Plato’s Closet.
He who can sell… wins
It happened again: Yet another conversation with a frustrated business owner lamenting a dramatic loss of sales to an outside competitor. By “outside,” I mean “out of state.” Someone who wasn’t even on the radar a year ago is now eating their lunch. In each instance, the theme is the same. These competitors are aggressively […]