Good morning, Columbia.

Diesel prices reached record highs on Labor Day, with the national average at about $5.90 per gallon and Columbia setting a record of about $5.51 per gallon compared to a year ago.

Rising fuel costs are expected to increase transportation expenses for food and equipment in the region.

Paul Wagner, the new Columbia School Board member, will be sworn in on Sept.

14. He brings decades of higher education policy expertise and aims to help manage school funds amid tighter state funding.

A University of Missouri study finds that parents who share personal accounts of 9/11 with children lacking direct memories can help explain the event and its lasting impact (including changes in airport rules and surveillance) ahead of the anniversary next week.

Mizzou received a $50 million donation from alumnus David Payne to fund engineering programs, support renovations to Naka Hall and launch construction of the new Payne Energy Innovation Center (116,000 sqft) to boost energy research across campus.

The center will open fall.

Missouri educators remain uneasy about a rushed A–F grading system for schools using 2024–25 data.

The department will hold feedback sessions in St. Louis (Sept. 9) and Columbia (Sept. 10) before presenting the draft to the state board on Sept. 15.

The Missouri Department of Conservation is hosting a virtual monarch butterfly program on Sept.

12, 10:30 a.m.+11:30 a.m., where naturalist Jessie Ballard explains how to create butterfly waystations to support monarch migration online for participants aged 10 and older; registration is required.

Today, the city begins building a roundabout at South Fairview Road and Chapel Hill Road; phase 1 will allow traffic with lane restrictions while separate work closes Grindstone Plaza Drive until Oct.

8 and a West Worley Street lane near The Shoppes at Stadium until Sept. 15.

Southern Boone School District will honor team physician Dr. Luke Stephens (who passed away unexpectedly over the summer) by displaying a white lab coat on the sidelines at every home football game this season.

The 67th Heart of America Marathon took place Monday morning with cooler weather than the weekend's heat.

Race organizers set up 13 aid stations + a trail vehicle to keep runners safe along the course in southwest Columbia and southwestern Boone County.