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By Christina Trester  ¦   Valentine’s Day is associated with chocolates, flowers and love. Here are some facts about the holiday and all things associated with it.

By Samantha Sunne  ¦   Columbia pumps in its water from the McBaine Bottoms, where the water is much closer to the surface. The bottoms are part of a strip of southwest Boone County that contains alluvium, a deposit of sand and mud from the Missouri River.

By Samuel Joseph  ¦   The city pumps water from its McBaine supply down the well shaft, pushing back the already present untreated water. When the city pulls the water back up from the well, it is the same water that was put in earlier.

By Amanda Schnieders  ¦   The next four months hold opportunities to witness several noteworthy galactic events, including a planetary transit across the sun that will not occur for another 120 years. Val Germann, president of the Central Missouri Astronomical Association, presented a list of the most visually striking events as the first part of the "Cosmic Conversations" lecture series on Feb. 1. Looking at the month and date you desire, the diagram below shows you what constellations and planets you might see while looking due south around 8 p.m. Mouse over the numbers to learn about some of the top visual astro-events.

By Rachel Stinebring  ¦   The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Saint Louis Zoo plan to reintroduce approximately 200 American burying beetles to the Wah’Kon’-Tah Prarie, located in St. Clair and Cedar counties. Originally, the beetles were found all across southwest Missouri.

By Rachel Stinebring  ¦   The American burying beetle is one of the rarest insects in the country and currently faces extinction. Once native to southwest Missouri, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Saint Louis Zoo have proposed reintroducing about 200 beetles to May at Wah'Kon-Tah Prairie this spring. The beetles mate for life, making them one of few species to do so. Here is a look at their life cycle.

By Rachel Schallom  ¦   Missouri forward Ricardo Ratliffe has led the NCAA in field goal percentage since Jan. 1, and his lead keeps growing each week. The NCAA season field goal percentage record was set in 1981 by Oregon State’s Steve Johnson at 74.6 percent. Missouri has seven regular season basketball games left.

By Nicole Thompson  ¦   Gordon Lamb, former University of Missouri System interim president, died Monday. Lamb spent more than 40 years serving higher education.

By Haoyun Su  ¦   The city of Columbia and Conley Road Transportation Development District plan to build a bridge and a road that will extend northwest from Conley Road to meet East Boulevard and eventually connect with Business Loop 70 East.

By Sarah Morris  ¦   10th and Locust, LLC, is asking the city to rezone four lots on Locust Street to allow it to build a mixed-use development with retail space and apartments.

By Christina Trester  ¦   In fiscal year 2011, Missouri had the lowest state appropriations per capita rate for higher education in the SEC. Mississippi has the highest rate, $345.09.

By Christina Trester  ¦   Enrollment rates at MU have been increasing since 2001, while the state appropriations to MU have decreased. Gov. Jay Nixon proposed more budget cuts to education for fiscal year 2013 in his State of the State address.

By Samantha Sunne  ¦   Fungus attaches to the tips of tree roots closest to the surface.

By Samantha Sunne  ¦   A look at how much different types of truffles cost around the world.

By Rachel Schallom  ¦   Gov. Jay Nixon’s higher education budget has been a hot topic lately, but the MU Athletics Department doesn’t have much to worry about when it comes to planning revenue. The athletics department operates with a budget of $56,391,317. Only 4 percent of the funds come from the university’s budget.

By Rachel Stinebring  ¦   In 2011, Billy Jivetti, an MU doctoral student in rural sociology, founded Pathways Africa, an organization that works to improve health care access and education in his native western Kenya. The organization has been able to complete the first floor of the Fellbaum Community Health Centre Emmaus, located in Emmaus, Kenya, but will rely on fundraising and grants to complete the structure.

By Rachel Schallom  ¦   In December, national beef prices reached a record high with retail prices coming in at more than $5 per pound. Missouri raises the third-highest number of calves in the nation. It is a $3 billion to $4 billion industry for the state. Pork prices have increased as well.

By Rachel Schallom  ¦   On Tuesday, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon proposed using $40 million from a possible settlement with mortgage lenders to reduce state cuts to public colleges and universities. These are the governor’s recommendations to split the money among state-supported schools.

By Yan Lu  ¦   Rick Santorum won the non-binding Republican primary election in Boone County. He received 3,260 votes, beating Mitt Romney by 1,476 votes.

By Christina Trester  ¦   In 2010, HIV and AIDS rates in north central Missouri for blacks were much higher than rates for all other races combined. The illustrations below demonstrate the rates for blacks compared to other races. The rates are per 50,000 people.