In Focus: Breaking Down the Sweep of Poverty in Columbia
Where is poverty in Columbia? If you looked, where would you find it? What would it look like? What about the poverty factors that aren’t easily visible? A community assessment report completed for the Heart of Missouri United Way in late 2011 found that 40 percent of Boone County residents said they had little or […]
Off to a Running Start: Brandi Huebner, Kelly Bietsch, Anne Tuckley, and their Entrepreneurial Spirits
The Passionate Newcomer Brandi Huebner – Owner, Eat Fit Go Brandi Huebner brought the franchise Eat Fit Go to Columbia in April of 2017 after working part-time as an aesthetician at Pela Cura Laser & Medical Spa. Eat Fit Go came into Huebner’s life just when she needed it most. While suffering for 20 years with […]
Online & at Home: Meet Scout & Nimble’s Jesse Bodine
Design has always been a passion of mine,” says Jesse Bodine, president and co-founder of Scout & Nimble, an online home décor and furniture retailer. “When I was little, I would ask for décor items instead of toys. I was constantly rearranging my room and watching home decorating shows on TV.” Jesse also had a […]
Pop into Spring
Personalize your palette like a pro. From a cold, grim landscape covered with ice and snow to the arrival of growth and warmth, spring is a breath of fresh air and the time to set the tone for summer. One way to awaken spring spirits is by adding color and life to a room. With […]
At Home with History
Carrie Gartner and Jonathan Sessions restore their 1920s craftsman bungalow. When Carrie Gartner and Jonathan Sessions began looking for their future home, they knew they wanted a house with history. They also wanted it to be small, manageable, and in the central city. “We’re not McMansion people,” Jonathan explains. Carrie and Jonathan sought a craftsman-style […]
Financial Planning Through the Ages
In December 2016, Amanda Jacobs posted a video to her personal Facebook page of her daughter counting out $100 bills onto a desk. Jacobs, vice president and asset manager at Jacobs Property Management, was purchasing an $8,600 car in cash, so her daughter was helping her. Jacobs, a certified Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University instructor […]
Transition Points: Teresa Maledy, Steve Sowers, and Commerce Bank's New Era
Retirements are a big deal at Commerce Bank, but they’re an especially big deal when the person retiring is Teresa Maledy. Maledy started as a part-time teller with the bank more than 37 years ago; last month, she announced that she’ll be retiring as CEO and chairwoman of Commerce’s central Missouri region. She’ll cede the […]
In Focus: Deciphering the City's Debt
Debt can be a funny thing. On the one hand, you probably need it in order to access some of life’s big-ticket items: going to college, upgrading your automobile, buying that first house, starting your own business, etc. On the other hand, if you take on too much of it without a clear plan […]
A Little Spark: The Ripple Effect of Microlending
Small business loan counselor Liza Zimmerman says Columbia is “ripe” with opportunities for microloans, socially-conscious small loans that are a building block for many entrepreneurs. Zimmerman is a loan counselor at Justine Petersen, a St. Louis-based company that provides small loans to low- and middle-income entrepreneurs through a partnership with the Small Business Administration. […]
In Focus: PEDs in the Office
Over a dinner conversation with my husband’s extended family a few months ago, his cousin mentioned that another college student at MU had recently overdosed on Adderall in the library. He said they must have taken an “insane” amount to actually OD. I had questions: what is this stuff? How did the student get it? […]
Doing Well: What's the Real Value of Employee Wellness Programs?
The first scholarly interrogation of the relationship between health and the workplace was published by Bernardino Ramazzini, an Italian physician and professor born in 1633. In 1700, Ramazzini published “De Morbis Artificum Diatriba,” or “Diseases of Workers,” the book that would earn him the title of “the father of occupational medicine.” In the book, Ramazzini […]
Treat Yo' Self: Self Care in the Workplace
Read almost any article on workplace perks — the internet is awash in them — and you’d think that every business has an on-site gym, massage therapist, and juice bar. Some companies are fortunate enough to provide gym memberships for employees, or leadership coaching. But the reality is most employees don’t get the flashy perks. […]