Articles

A 2003 lawsuit against Dillard’s in Columbia, which appears likely to go to trial, contains allegations that “suggest a larger pattern of race based harassment,” wrote Judge Diana Murphy of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in the court’s opinion released last week.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and five other speakers agreed Thursday at a national convention that closing the economic gap between blacks and whites is the most important issue facing blacks today.

In front of his own grill, 10-year-old Sam Thurman, of Columbia, approaches barbecue as more than just a meal. It’s a delicacy that requires knowledge, good taste and a flare for cooking. He doesn’t just sit back and watch.

Welder Denis Yates had lost everything before he moved to Missouri in 2000. But he's built a new career drawing on 18th-century blacksmithing techniques, skills you can find on display at the Boone County Fair.

Sandra Smith stood under a red-and-white tent Thursday afternoon that housed a petting zoo at the Boone County Fair. The hay-filled, white cages that surrounded her held some unexpected creatures, such as Bendy the kangaroo, Mowgli the 70-year-old tortoise and an emu that preferred the company of goats.

The Boone County Fire Protection District board of directors has closed its meetings twice as often since Jan. 1 than it did in 2006, as it deals with personnel and legal issues.

Sam Russell has been an avid bicycle rider his entire life, thanks to generations of enthusiasts in his family, including his Uncle Walt, who founded Walt’s Bicycle Fitness and Wilderness Co. Even now, after a biking accident left the 28-year-old paralyzed from the waist down, he can’t wait to get back on the trails.