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By KATIE BARNES/Missourian  ¦   Costumes and decorations fill the alley between Ninth and Tenth Streets on Walnut in downtown Columbia as part of Gotcha!'s Halloween preparation. Gotcha! has begun renting costumes for the approaching holiday, and now has extended store hours every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

By KATIE BARNES/Missourian  ¦   Ashley Counts helps a fellow employee hang up costumes at Gotcha! in downtown Columbia on Wednesday, Oct. 3. Counts has been working at Gotcha! for three years. "The job is pretty insane, but also really fun," she said.

By KATIE BARNES/Missourian  ¦   Costumes and decorations fill the alley between Ninth and Tenth Streets on Walnut in downtown Columbia as part of Gotcha!'s Halloween preparation. Gotcha! has began renting costumes for the approaching holiday, and now has extended store hours every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

By ELAN COLELLO  ¦   Near Ashland on Sept. 26, Stanley Nichols, a World War II veteran, shows medals he recieved after the war.

By ELAN COLELLO  ¦   Stanley Nichols, a World War II veteran, poses in his garden outside his home near Ashland on Sept. 26.

By ELAN COLELLO  ¦   Stanley Nichols, a World War II veteran, found these German binoculars while on tour near the Rhine River in Germany.

By Photo courtesy of Rex Bandy  ¦   Rex Bandy with an unidentified woman.

By Photo courtesy of Vernon Sievert  ¦   Vernon Sievert and his wife, Marjean Sievert.

By Photo courtesy of Rex Bandy  ¦   Rex Bandy.

By Submitted  ¦   Columbia's Chris Kelly is taking a whitewater trip down the Colorado river.

By SUZY LAFFERTY  ¦   Author Sara Gruen signs a stack of books for MU's University Bookstore after signing copies for her readers at the Daniel Boone Regional Library on Tuesday. Gruen's book, "Water for Elephants," was featured in the library's One Read program this year.

By SUZY LAFFERTY  ¦   Nancy Herron holds her freshly autographed of "Water for Elephants," by Sara Gruen who sits facing her at a Daniel Boone Regional Library book signing on Tuesday. Librarian Sally Abromovich sits to Gruen's left. "Water for Elephants" was the library's One Read book this year.

By SHEILA JOHNSON  ¦   Michael Ruh, left, and D.L. Gladbach put the finishing touches on a new barrier-free playground, called the Jack Dylan Kindling Family Commons, at Boone County Family Resources Tuesday at 1209 E. Walnut St. The playground was built with money from a memorial fund for Jack Dylan, who was born with a severe heart defect and survived only six months.

By Andrell Bower  ¦  

By DEBORAH CANNON/The Associated Press  ¦   Texas’ Limas Sweed is stripped by Kansas State’s Chris Carney. The Longhorns and Oklahoma weren’t the only top teams to drop the ball on Saturday. Seven of the nation’s top 13 ranked teams earned their first loss.

By David Friesen  ¦  

By Amber Brinker  ¦   Janet Marsh, a co-owner of 9th Street Video, talks to a customer on the phone while she searches for video titles. "We actually have some customers who watch more movies than I do," Marsh says.

By Amber Brinker  ¦   Janet Marsh, a co-owner of 9th Street Video, says her store has been successful because it's not a chain store. "We have a different kind of selection here," she says.

By ASHLEY L. CLARKE  ¦   Jill McCoy, owner of McCoy's Pumpkin Farm in Centraila, moves a table to make a path for the new donkey, Keisha. McCoy and her husband, Roger McCoy, sell more than 50 varieties of gourds, pumpkins and squash.