KFRU Business Spotlight 0 July 11th and 12th, 2026. This week we talk about the Columbia Chamber of Commerce with VP of External Affairs, Lily Boyd White. Lily bring sus up to date on the new President/CEO of the Chamber Abdul-Kaba Abdullah. The new leader is in a transition period finishing up his work in the St. Louis area to working in Columbia to get set to go. His official first day will be August 3rd. Lily also helped us look back at the Chamber activities through the end of the fiscal year on June 3oth. We also hear this week from Eric Kopinsky, who is the Director of the I-70 Improvement Program for MODOT. Eric brought us up to date on many parts of the massive project, telling us some segment s that are completed, while other parts are getting underway, quickly moving the project forward.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KFRU Business Spotlight-- July 18th & July 19th, 2026. The August 4th Primary election ballot includes a special City Council election for the 4th Ward, following the resignation of councilman Nick Foster. Ryan King, Sharon Jones and David Sorrell joined me to talk about their reasons for running, their priorities for the city council overall and the 4th Ward specifically. They each answered a specific question about the Columbia Public Safety 1 cent sales tax issue also on the August ballot.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KFRU Business Spotlight -- August 15th and 16th, 2026. Eric Kopinski, the Director of the I-70 Improvement Project for MODOT joins us to get caught up on the latest as the I-70 project continues. The big news this week is that the Lake of the Woods bridge over the interstate at St. Charles Road is rebuild and carrying traffic as of Friday. This piece of the project was completed on a shorter than normal timetable and was ready to go 20+ days early. Lots more is happening in the central Missouri area. Shawna Johnson, the Engagement Coordinator for the City of Columbia from the City Manger's office lets us know of many ways citizens of Columbia can get engaged in conversations about issues confronting the city. This week, there is a Let's Talk Local session on Thursday that will focus on the electric transmission line construction. The meeting is hosted by council members Christina Hartmann and Betsy Peters. There are many other opportunities to get involved on city topics each month.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our first guest this week is Jacque Sample, City Councilwoman from Ward 3. We talk about the passage of the Public Safety Tax and what the council will be digging in to moving forward. We also discussed another "marathon" council meeting and talked about the ever growing list of items that need to appear on the agenda. Lots of activity that comes to the council for discussion, research, public input and finally a decision. In the third segment of the show we talk with Jami Clevenger, the Executive Officer for the Columbia Home Builder's Association. Moved to a later date in the year, this annual event is set for Saturday and Sunday, August 29th and 30th. Also a great way to get input from experts on home remodeling, painting, landscaping and so much more! The HBA Home Show will be held at the Columbia Mall.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KFRU Business Spotlight -- August 29th & 30th, 2026. Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer joins us to talk about the voters passing the Public Safety Sales Tax earlier this month. We talk about the plan that was developed previous to the passage of the tax and discuss the timetable for beginning of collection of the tax (January), the first report on the funds coming in from the tax (March) and plans in place to add to the roster of the fire department starting very soon. Brian Toohey, the CEO of the Board of Realtors gives up the data on the recently released July housing information. Median price in Columbia? $389,000. That's a record! Brian also discusses interest rates, building codes and energy codes being discussed now, with the city council taking an in-depth look at the September 21st meeting.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KFRU Business Spotlight -- June 27th & 28th, 2026. Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude and Columbia Fire Chief Brain Schaffer join me this week to discuss the upcoming vote on a 1 cent sales tax increase for citizens of Columbia, that will appear on the August 4th ballot. The approximately 38 million dollars that would be collected each year would be put into a special separate fund to be used only for additional personnel, equipment and infrastructure for these to public safety entities, allowing them to reach specific standards of service not met because of underfunding for a number of years. Both Chiefs have been presenting educational presentations to many local groups over th past few weeks.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KFRU Business Spotlight -- June 13th & 14th, 2026. Mayor Barbara Buffaloe joins us to talk about the Public Safety One Cent tax that will be on the ballot for the August Election. We go back to the beginnings of the conversations about the need for additional funds to support both the Columbia Fire Department and the Columbia Police Department that started unofficially nearly 10 years ago. The specific official conversations and the vote by the city council to place it on the August ballot came in the last year of so. The council voted to put the question on the August ballot in May. We talk about the needs of both the fire and police departments. We also talked about push back from some groups in Columbia that seem to have made the tax vote a referendum on the abilities and shortcomings of the Mayor, City Council and City Manager, instead of a solution to a problem identified by community conversations recently.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KFRU Business Spotlight -- June 6th & 7th, 2026. Jacque Sample, 3rd Ward City Councilwoman, joins us to talk about her first year (and a bit) on the Columbia City Council, telling us about how the council works together as a team. We asked about her favorite parts of the job and the negative points as well. We talked extensively about the one-cent sales tax up for a vote of the citizens of Columbia on the August ballot. We also talked about the 3rd Ward happenings, including a new City Park on Mexico Gravel Road.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.