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IT ALL DAY-PENDS

The annual end of May holiday, Memorial Day, is meant as a day for us to remember those who have died in active military service to our country. But many view it as the unofficial start to summer. How about you? Do you take time to reflect? Or is the day all about rays reflecting off the pool or lake instead?

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CONTENTS

151

Dueling DJs

153

On The Town

155

A New View

156

Darkow Draws

158

The Final Word

Dueling DJs Two local radio personalities square off on a topic du jour.

Each issue, two on-air talents from two different Zimmer Radio Group stations will voice their opinions on what you might call a controversial topic. This issue, check out Liz’s and Jordan’s takes on where they go for the perfectly concocted cocktail.

Liz, Clear99 Flyover

Flyover is by far the BEST place to go for a delicious cocktail in Columbia! From their different concoctions to their beautiful garnishes, their drinks are works of art! I had never tried a cocktail with egg whites before going to Flyover and I was initially nervous but now there is no turning back.

My favorite drink on their menu is the Silver Fox. It has tequila, lemon and grapefruit juice, agave and egg white. It tastes like the most luxurious vacation! The mixture of the tequila and fruit juice was perfection and the egg white was an added bonus! No additions or subtractions were necessary! I was so impressed with the Silver Fox that Flyover quickly became my go-to whenever I wanted a nice Friday night out. If you’re looking for a cocktail that is masterfully crafted and is beautifully presented, you have to go to Flyover! I picked the Roof for the best place to get a drink in Columbia simply because of the atmosphere and staff. Their handcrafted cocktails are made to perfection every time you order — they know how to keep you coming back!

I also love it for the views of the city. No matter what the occasion is, The Roof is the perfect place to go! Maybe it’s a date, celebrating a birthday or just catching up with friends. Either way, you will have one heck of a good time.

When you do make a trip to The Roof in Columbia, I recommend trying the Breakfast in Bed which is Hendrick’s gin mixed with lemon, raspberry and club soda. And for those tequila lovers out there, you should try the El Diablo! It has Milagro Silver tequila, mixed with lime, crème de cassis, and ginger beer. If beer is more your thing, they also have rotating draft beers from local and regional breweries!

Jordan Jay, 94.3 Kat Country The Roof

Matt Garrett, Heather Hargrove, Dave Griggs, Sen. Caleb Rowden, Rusty Strodtman, Karen Taylor, Matt Moore

Jackie Waters and Mike Parks Michele Baty and Linda Landon

Lunch With a Leader

The Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Lunch with a Leader was held on March 26 at the Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center. A special guest speaker, State Senator Caleb Rowden, provided his insights into transportation funding, education and workforce development. The event was held both in-person and virtually.

Date

March 26, 2021

Location

Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center

Photos by

Wally Pfeffer mizzouwally@compuserve.com

Brian Burks and Curtis Shuman John Glascock and Matt McCormick

Geoff Karr and Josh Blackman Nick Knoth and Steven Ramsey

A New View

BEING A PHOTOGRAPHER, I HAVE ACCESS TO SOME UNIQUE POINTS OF VIEW IN THE COMMUNITY.

Assignment:

Jim Riek Home

The Location:

Rural Callaway County

This issue of Inside Columbia magazine is filled with animals. For the Cutest Pet feature, I photographed a handicapped dog, a cat and a goat.

As I photographed former KOMU news anchor Jim Riek, I was lucky to again greet his pet parrot, Skipper.

I first met the bird more than 15 years ago and was reminded of how nice it was to hear him say “Hello” as I walked into Jim’s house.

Skipper is a beautiful but loud bird with a decent vocabulary. Jim says the bird has a foul mouth, but I found it entertaining. I could easily visualize him sitting on a pirate’s shoulder, cussing like a sailor.

His yellow and blue feathers are still gorgeous, but you can see the age in his face.

Skipper recently turned 21 years old, and I expect him to celebrate with a cocktail like anyone else.

Have a happy birthday, Skipper.

L.G. Patterson

Advertising Index

INSIDE COLUMBIA

Advanced Radiology ......................................... 80-81 Ai Painting Plus .................................................... 75 Ammo Alley ......................................................... 38 Anderson Engineering, Inc. .................................... 79 APM Construction Services.................................44-45 Artichoke Annie’s Antique Mall ............................. 116 Atterberry Auction and Realty Company .............48-49 Bank of Missouri.....................................................17 Beauty & Beyond................................................... 54 BMW of Columbia................................................... 2 Burrell Behavioral Health ....................................... 55 CC’s City Broiler............................................. 51, 159 CenterPointe Hospital ...........................................150 Central Bank of Boone County ................................8-9 Central MO Dermatology........................................71 Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health....10 Columbia Chiropractic ........................................... 46 Comacho Coffee ................................................... 77 Commerce Bank ...................................................... 3 Convergence Financial.......................................64-65 Convergence Lending .............................................31 Crumbl Cookies..................................................... 66 Downtown Appliance............................................ 119 Faber Law Firm ..................................................... 50 Fleet Feet Sports Columbia ......................................15 Garrett Painting..................................................... 59 Hawthorn Bank ....................................................160 Hodges Roofing..................................................... 70 Holiday Inn Executive Center...................................19 Homes by Megan – House of Brokers Realty.............76 Inside Columbia ................................................... 119 Klempke Realtors............................................... 60-61 Lee’s Tires............................................................. 25 Lean Kitchen Company .......................................... 63 Lizzi & Rocco’s .....................................................6-7 McVey Mowing LLC ........................................ 67, 152 Mediacom ............................................................ 40 Menard Inc. .......................................................... 25 Mercedes-Benz of Columbia ....................................12 Merrill Lynch – Logan Gray.................................... 22 Midway Antique Mall ............................................ 78 Molly’s Jewelry Design .......................................... 62 New Beginnings Construction .............................56-57 NW Industries, LLC .................................................21 R Veterinary......................................................52-53 Room38................................................................ 58 Rost Landscaping & Superior Gardens .................... 42 Serpico Talent Solutions .....................................68-69 State Farm Insurance – Phyllis Nichols ...................154 Stone Hill Winery ...................................................15 Suites at Concorde ...............................................140 Tallulahs ............................................................... 47

The Broadway, A Doubletree by Hilton ...................150 The Tiger Hotel .................................................72-73 The Terrace Retirement Community................... 74, 152 The Wellness Way - Columbia.................................4-5 Zimmer Communications-Meet the Team ...................18

Zimmer Communications ........................................ 20

BOOM!

CC’s City Broiler................................................... 110 Commerce Trust Company ...................................... 84 Edward Jones – Gina Mauller-Crane ....................... 87

Lenoir Woods........................................................ 90 Missouri Wildflowers Nursery................................. 85 Mutual of Omaha – Wally Pfeffer ........................... 95 N.H. Scheppers Distributing Company ..................... 89 SumnerOne.......................................................... 114 Zimmer Communications – fuse32 ........................... 90

Doubling Down

PUTTING A FOCUS ON HEALTH CARE.

At various points over these past 27 years, I have often opined on the significance of health care to Columbia and Boone County’s economic engine. In the last three years, the planets have aligned in a way that makes our community an even greater attraction for regional health care. With the opening of the NextGen Precision Health Center later this year coupled with MU’s plans to construct a new Women’s and Children’s Hospital and a major management change at Boone Hospital after a 33-year lease with BJC Healthcare, there’s never been a more important time to seize this unique opportunity.

Health care has become a $2 billion mainstay in our local economy and all expectations are that its economic impact will become even more significant within the next five years. As Baby Boomers continue to become more reliant on health care and outlying rural hospitals continue to decline and disappear, we can expect to see more and more activity on our local hospital campuses.

The folks over at Regional Economic Development, Inc. (REDI) recently hired Fourth Economy, a national economic development consulting firm, to study labor trends in our community. The study identified 17,200 jobs in the local economy that were directly tied to the health care industry. More than 2,000 of these jobs had been created in the last decade and expectations are that another 2,000+ jobs will be created in the next 10 years. The best part of this news is that the majority of these new jobs will be above Boone County’s average wage of $46,722.

Even with that kind of growth, Columbia does not compare well to other college towns. Unfortunately, out of the 38 communities in the SEC, Big 12 and Big 10, Columbia ranks #37 in the total growth of health care jobs in the past 10 years. We’re being outpaced by Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, Iowa City, Ann Arbor, and yes … even Lawrence, Kansas.

What’s my point? Even though health care is the fastest growing industry in Boone County, we have so much room for more opportunity. Imagine what might happen if community leaders and elected officials became more intentional and focused on growing economic opportunities in the local health care sector. While a “blue ribbon” panel was formed a few years back to explore the issue, there was, unfortunately, little follow-up on their work or effort to put an actual plan in action.

There’s never been a more important time to take action on this idea. The Fourth Economy report also pointed out a looming demographic shift that adds a chilling sense of urgency to the topic at hand. Most of us remember the jarring recession of 2008-2009. Due to a pessimistic outlook amongst young people at the time, many people delayed starting families during that economic downturn. As a result, economists, relying on birth rate studies, are predicting we can expect to see a 15% decrease in the typical college-going population by 2026.

That’s a tough pill to swallow when you consider that Columbia is home to 49,939 students currently enrolled in higher education. That’s one out of every three Columbia residents. For a community that relies so heavily on a major state university and several smaller colleges for economic vitality, we need to act fast to deal with the potential loss of more than 7,500 students in our economy. You may recall that losing nearly 5,000 students after the shenanigans of 2015 was devastating for several sectors in our local housing market and the businesses that rely on student spending and lifestyles.

By studying the 36 college towns ahead of us on the list, perhaps leaders can identify opportunities that will create new jobs while boosting the activity needed to stoke an already robust health care sector. They can start by reinforcing the message that the best health care is local care, discouraging the more than 2,000 patients who currently travel to St. Louis and Kansas City for care each year.

We have five years to prepare ourselves for this likely decline in student population but we must act now. There’s never been a more important time to double down on health care in our community and to do everything in our power to help our local hospitals, medical groups and the ancillary businesses that support them. Let’s get the ball rolling.

BY FRED PARRY

Fred Parry Founder & Publisher Emeritus fred@insidecolumbia.net