G.J. McCarthy photo

Tequila Baker, left, gets help adjusting the tassel on her cap from Amber Bealmear as they prepare for Hickman High School’s commencement yesterday in the Hearnes Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia.   Read the Article

Local News Stories
Program offers second chance
By JANESE HEAVIN of the Tribune’s staff
She wasn’t valedictorian nor was her name attached to a scholarship on the program, but Tequila Baker was among the proudest Kewpies to graduate this year.

Rock Bridge graduates largest class yet
By JANESE HEAVIN of the Tribune’s staff
From a distance, it was hard to tell Rock Bridge High School graduates apart as they formed a patch of Kelly green caps and gowns last night on the floor of the Hearnes Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Mesa Air proposal criticized
By MATTHEW LeBLANC of the Tribune’s staff
City officials here and in Jefferson City are urging the Columbia City Council to vote against a proposal from a Phoenix-based company to provide federally subsidized flights to Kansas City and St. Louis.

Lawmaker makes case for UMSL ethics institute
By TERRY GANEY of the Tribune’s staff
With lobbying scandals in Washington, D.C., and business corruption in Houston, is it time for an institute on ethics in St. Louis?

Untended cooking sets damaging fire
A kitchen fire yesterday afternoon caused about $15,000 damage to a home at 901 Ashland Road, Battalion Chief Gary Warren of the Columbia Fire Department said in a news release.

Just ducky
Russ Chambers, secures a wood duck nesting box to a pole steadied by his father, Russell Chambers, as members of Boy Scout Troop 708 put up 26 boxes yesterday at the Columbia municipal wetlands near McBaine.