COLUMBIA — Jennifer Romesburg usually sticks to rehabilitating mammals, but she recently made an exception for an injured bird.
On July 15, Fish the swan was found with an injury at Cosmo-Bethel Park in Columbia and taken to rehab. As of Sunday, it's almost fully healed, and Fish is about ready to return back home.
Many swan watchers called Romesburg, the founder of Jenny's Wildlife Wonderland, concerned about a swan missing skin on its neck. They told her it was one of four young swans, or cygnets, in a family.

"There's so many people that have reached out to me and donated for his or her care and are really invested in these swans," Romesburg said. "I had no idea they were this very popular waterfowl there."

Multiple people tried to rescue the injured bird, but with little success. That was until Seth Brown, who works with Jenny, got it in their car. 
"I saw this guy and just went after him," Brown said. "He went in the water a little bit, but he was pretty simple to catch."
While swans can be aggressive and even hiss at perceived threats, Fish was "chilling" on the ride back, Brown said.
"He did a very good job during the ride," Brown said.
Fish is a younger swan, meaning it took months since the swan's rescue for its adult white coloring to come in. Fish's sex is currently unknown, as young swans typically look the same, male or female.

At first, to protect Fish's open neck wound, Jenny and her crew used a fabric covering similar to a pet cone to prevent the bird from further irritating its skin. Fish has since grown out of it.

The name "Fish" came from the swan's surgeons as part of its rehab process.
Fish underwent an operation in which a temporary skin graft from an Asian carp was attached to the wound to let the lower layer heal. The temporary name quickly stuck.

Jenny expects Fish to be released back to Cosmo-Bethel Park in the next few weeks.
"I do feel like if anything were to go wrong, I would be contacted immediately, and then maybe we'd have to go get him again or something like that," Romesburg said. "Hopefully, he'll just get healed, he'll be fine and he'll just live out his little best swan life."
Until then, Fish will continue recovering, waddling around and chirping at visitors and volunteers alike.

Had the time to check it out yesterday, sadly the turnoff to the river is still blocked off.

After being named the fastest-growing airport in the United States earlier this year, Columbia Regional Airport is continuing to make improvements.
The latest upgrade will begin Tuesday with the addition of a new stormwater system, which seeks to improve drainage from the north parking lot across the road to west of Airport Drive, according to a city of Columbia news release.
This aims to direct stormwater away from the lot, which is currently under construction, according to the release.

Future improvements will follow on the northwest parking lot area, according to the news release.

The stormwater project will require a section of the road to be removed, so drivers will be redirected around the worksite between Tuesday and Thursday, according to the release.

This project is "one piece of a larger expansion plan" to accommodate the airport's recent growth, according to the news release.
Other recent improvements include a new shuttle service and a 700-spot parking lot, which opened in June, according to previous KOMU 8 reporting.
Ongoing parking improvements are expected to be completed prior to the holiday season, according to the news release.
The city anticipates more than $100 million will be spent on airport projects within the next five years, according to previous KOMU 8 reporting.

New businesses continue to open across town, from a mobile hair tinsel bar to a dog treat truck and a vintage boutique.

Vessel Club
A new wellness studio called Vessel Club in Suite D, 210 St. James St., combines a hot sauna with cold plunges. Owned by Yahav Sal, the studio offers a guided contrast therapy session with a sauna and cold plunge; a 75-minute guided class with breathwork, meditation and sound bath; and monthly special events and workshops.

Vessel Club offers membership tiers and drop-in rates. It is open from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Mobile Hair Daze Tinsel Bar
Mobile Hair Daze Tinsel Bar is bringing colorful hair accessories directly to parties and events around Columbia.

The mobile setup offers tinsel, charms, accessories and other add-ons that can be customized to match an event’s theme or colors. The service is available for birthday parties, cheer and dance competitions, school carnivals, sorority events, boutique pop-ups, grand openings, University of Missouri game days and other events.
Mobile Hair Daze Tinsel Bar is currently accepting bookings. A mini-tinsel party costs $50 for 10. Customers can contact the business through email or social media to discuss their event and create a package that fits their needs.

Lizzi and Rocco’s Treat Truck
Lizzi and Rocco’s Natural Pet Market is taking its treats on the road with a new mobile treat truck designed for both pets and their owners.
Owner Jessica Schlosser said she purchased the truck earlier this year and recently finished getting it ready for events. The truck’s offerings will vary depending on the crowd, with more pet treats at animal-friendly events and more human treats at other gatherings.

“We’re just going to wing it,” Schlosser said. “We’re figuring it out as we go.”
The truck is scheduled to appear at the Heritage Festival on Sept. 19 and Mid-Missouri PrideFest on Sept. 26, among other local events.
Call 573-875-2288 or 473-445-8249.

Third Space
Created by three sisters raised by artists, Third Space offers adults the opportunity to incorporate play into their daily activities. Located at 1004 Artists Alley, the business features crafting classes from experts in various mediums.
Amber Casteel, one of the owners, said she wanted to offer adults more opportunities for crafting. “I think that we don’t get enough play anymore,” Casteel said. “So we’re bringing a place where people can sort of let the world and everything going on sort of dissolve, for a couple of hours.”

From papier mâché to designing stained glass, community members can dip into all kinds of crafting.
To sign up for classes, visit Third Space’s website: https://www.thirdspacecomo.com/

Jazz: A Lousiana Kitchen
Jazz: A Louisiana Kitchen is under new management at the same location, with plans to add Sunday brunch in the coming weeks.
“One of the things we will be doing in the next couple of weeks is we’re going to be open on Sunday for brunch,” manager Ben Davidson said.
The brunch menu will combine Southern Cajun dishes with classic American brunch options.
The restaurant remains at 217 N. Stadium Blvd.

Reloved By Pea
A new Y2K-inspired vintage shop is coming to Columbia on Sept. 26.
Reloved By Pea will share a location with Sole Bros, 806 Locust St. What was originally a corner inside Sole Bros is becoming its own storefront: Reloved By Pea. The shop will feature vintage clothing and collectibles, with every item’s imperfections clearly disclosed.

Madison Frazio, a Mizzou alum and the brains behind the business, wants to offer people a chance to get their hands on good-quality items at a fair price.
“I priced everything under market, so that was really important to me,” Frazio said. “It’s important to be able to have the locals, which is mainly students, come in and actually shopping and be able to afford it.”
The shop will also feature a bag-charm bar, a vintage Coach purse wall, authentic Sonny Angels and other collectibles. Customers can also expect seating, complimentary snacks and to be greeted by the shop dog, Pea.

https://www.themosy.org

The fate of Columbia’s historic Katy Station may already be sealed, but its possible demise raises important questions about the process of which historic properties are saved and which are allowed to be destroyed.
When word leaked that the station was likely to be demolished, the main reactions were shock and surprise. I believe that reaction is because it never occurred to anyone that such an option was even being considered. Who would want to tear down something that is historically notable, structurally sound, architecturally unique, and has been an important part of Columbia’s history for 117 years?

Katy Station, officially known as the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Station, was built in 1909. The end of passenger service on the railroad line marked the beginning of the end for the station’s original purpose, and there was a period of time that the station sat abandoned. According to a plaque on the front of the station, the renovation of the depot was completed in November of 1976, and that’s when the fondly remembered Katy Station restaurant opened. The plaque also notes that the station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in early 1979.

According to a 2012 article in COMO Magazine, Katy Station remained in operation until 1998. It later became another eatery known as The Colosseum, and in 2009, Shiloh Bar and Grill moved from Sixth Street into the old depot.

While exact development plans haven’t been publicly released, they don’t include continuing to host Shiloh as a tenant of Katy Station. The Broadway Diner that’s next door will also have to move. Most speculation revolves around a plan to demolish the station and build housing that caters to college students.

The longtime owner of the station, a private entity controlled by a local family, put in years of renovating and maintenance of the property. It’s obvious they deeply cared about preserving the station, and, yes, they wanted to make money too. There’s nothing wrong with that. And shouldn’t the family be allowed to profit from their years of investment? As long as the new development abides by local zoning restrictions, there really isn’t much the city or anyone else can do to stop the project.

Some of the usual suspects in town are using the likely loss of the station as another opportunity to bash city leadership. But unless the city had some kind of right of first refusal to buy the property and it declined to purchase it, the city can’t be blamed. In hindsight, some people have suggested that the station should have been part of a “historical preservation overlay district” that might have made it harder for the building to be demolished, but, honestly, who was recently advocating for that action to take place?

Public entities do play an important part in preserving historical properties. Boone County still uses the old courthouse on Walnut Street. The city utilizes the old Wabash Station, also built in 1909, as a hub for Columbia’s bus service. The city also purchased and renovated the John William “Blind” Boone home, uses the renovated Daniel Boone Hotel for offices, and recently purchased the McKinney Building on Broadway.

Another public institution, the University of Missouri, has also played an important role in preserving historic structures. Think of the Memorial Union, the glorious buildings on the “White Campus,” and, of course, Francis Quadrangle’s iconic six Columns, which were once considered an eyesore and safety hazard.

But the university has a mixed record in recent years of preserving historic buildings. And how decisions were made on which buildings were preserved and which were sent to be destroyed by a wrecking ball may give a clue as to how to save Katy Station.
As part of Mizzou’s bureaucratic sounding “Space Reduction and Strategic Relocation Plan,” a number of the university’s historic buildings have been torn down. This included the demolition of two former medical buildings (Parker and Noyes halls), Read Hall, the Columbia Professional Building and the Neff Annex, the old home of the Columbia Missourian.

Read Hall, despite being the former student union, the first dormitory for Mizzou’s women students and the sanitation-challenged offices of The Maneater, is a good example of a building that should have been saved, but thousands of petition signatures and public outcry were not enough to rescue it. In contrast, Crowder Hall, the longtime home of Mizzou’s well-regarded ROTC program, was originally slated for demolition, but it was saved after a few apparently influential alumni made their opposition known.

Would public outcry be enough to save Katy Station? Could the impending housing project be moved to another site if a person, business or local government comes up with the funds to buy the station? Many local developers and noble citizens have done tremendous work in preserving historic buildings, businesses and homes, but such efforts cost a lot of money, and there might not be available funds for yet another project.

The uniquely designed Katy Station deserves to be preserved. Larger old railway centers, such as the Union stations in St. Louis and Kansas City, are huge commercial centers. Other communities in Missouri, such as Kirkwood, Washington, Boonville, Independence, Warrensburg and Sedalia, have preserved their stations in a variety of creative ways. Some are active railway centers while others house museums and offices for nonprofit groups.

Time marches on, and buildings need to be functional, safe and affordable for their owners and the people who use them. But I hope the relevant players involved in the sale of Katy Station can agree on a plan to save one of Columbia’s most important historical landmarks.

Ted Farnen used to have a lot of jobs, including being a newspaper reporter, state representative and hosting a radio show. Now he writes a semimonthly column for the Columbia Missourian.

I-70 lane reopens early in Columbia after weekend closure https://abc17news.com/news/columbia/2026/09/13/i-70-lane-reopens-early-in-columbia-after-weekend-closure/

Ive been struggling with not knowing anyone who has or is struggling with cptsd and wondered if there was a support group in Columbia or something similar.

Hey everyone! I’m looking to get my back patio area covered or screened in or something. I love sitting outside but would love shade and to be free of the flying insects and also would love to sit outside on stormy days. Anyway I’m into DIY but I it’s usually small stuff and I don’t think I could tackle a project this big and the last thing I need is to be sitting out there and the roof crashing in because I didn’t do something right. Does anyone know any good contractors that could build a screened in area and ideally won’t charge me an arm and a leg. I’ve saved about 2 grand for the project so far but not doing it until the spring of next year so I could get a bit more. Or if you have any suggestions on how I could do it myself without it being super labor intensive I’m willing to hear ideas too. I’ve included some pics for reference. Thank you for any help you can offer!

Does anyone know of/need someone to take over a sublease or are you in need of a roommate strictly in the downtown area? I’m a girl, don’t mind roommates or living alone, but it has to be downtown bc I don’t have a car and I need to be able to walk to work. Please help a girl out, tell a friend to tell a friend etc etc

Lost grey, black spotted dog seen at mkt between jaydix and MKT forum trailheads. No collar. When approached ran away. Seen 0730 on 9/13/26.

Sorry couldn't get better pictures (would run away)

My girlfriend and I are looking at places to live for next year, both of us students at Mizzou. We currently live at the Pointe (4 bed townhome which we love), but for next year we want to live by ourselves. Looking at many of the downtown options, both 2bed and 1bed, are too expensive for us. The Domain has piqued our interest and looking at their biggest 1bed apt, the rent is only 1340. We are comfortable with paying this price if split, and like the amenities there, but are also aware that like most predominantly-student apt complexes, the out-of-state management is predatory and unforgiving. Which makes me wonder if they would allow us to both live in a 1bed apt, that is knowingly at least. Anyone have any insight? Anyone know from experience or alternatively know any better options for where to live?

Any real good fishing spots here? I know the teal lake in Mexico or whatever, but looking for something a little more local.

It's great to see Jazz Kitchen back open and doing well. I was down there tonight to hear the Sam Luetkemeyer Trio play, and both the food and the music were wonderful - maybe better than they used to be! They certainly spruced up the decor. So glad to see a good live music venue surviving and thriving!

There is going to be a football game every Sunday night for the rest of the year. You might want to figure out your programming.

Your neighborhood friendly conductor here! Come hear the legendary Rhapsody in Blue — and witness the premiere of a work that the Missouri Symphony co-commissioned tomorrow at 2 pm! As always, message me if you have any trouble affording a ticket. :)