Omnibus spending bill includes nearly $9 million for projects in Columbia

Millions of dollars for projects in Columbia and Boone County were included in the omnibus spending bill signed by President Bush last week. The measure is one of many appropriations bills that make up the federal budget for fiscal 2009.

Local projects in line for nearly $9 million in funding include:

• $2.1 million to modernize laboratory facilities at the National Plant and Genetics Security Center at MU.
• $734,820 to support MU’s National Center for Soybean Biotechnology, which produces research to increase profitability for farmers and to produce soybeans with health and nutritional benefits for consumers.
• $703,044 for the MU Center for Agroforestry. The money will fund research into viable alternative production and protection options to help revitalize the economic and environmental health of rural farms and communities in Missouri and surrounding states.
• $1.2 million to MU’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. They money will help provide analysis of agricultural policy alternatives to Congress, rural communities and regions with programs and information necessary to find a balance between environmental concerns and economic viability.
• $500,000 for the Missouri Theater renovation.
• $810,588 to Boone County Senior Citizen Service Corp., which will use the money to equip the Alzheimer’s Disease Demonstration Center on the campus of The Bluffs retirement home.
• $735,000 for an overpass at Gans Road and U.S. 63.
• $2 million to extend the main runway at Columbia Regional Airport. The project will accommodate future air cargo needs and larger aircraft.