Good morning, Columbia.

NAACP hosted a town hall meeting Tuesday night at Second Missionary Baptist Church where over 60 community members and leaders discussed community policing, job equity, mental health and housing challenges with breakout sessions that aimed to find solutions + another town hall is set for Nov. 10.

Ronald McDonald House Mid-Missouri selected Christina Devine as its next executive director effective Dec.

1 — she will replace Terri Gray, who retired earlier this year. Devine’s board service and volunteer experience make her a strong fit to support families across the region.

Race Matters, Friends claims that the close scrutiny on Reign Bar—as part of a broader pattern targeting Black-owned businesses—raises concerns over selective public safety enforcement.

The nonprofit will hold a virtual press conference at 1 p.m. Monday to urge local officials for consistent oversight.

Save Katy Station, a local group trying to stop the sale of Katy Station, will host a free event on Oct.

4 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Shiloh Bar and Grill to celebrate 1,000 supporters and share building plans (including live music and old blueprints).

Missouri Good Neighbor Week runs from Sept.

28 to Oct. 4 and invites residents to nominate businesses, neighborhoods and individuals for statewide recognition of neighborly acts - nominations are now open for awards in Most Neighborly Business, Most Neighborly Neighborhood and Most Engaged Neighbors.

Mid-Missouri PrideFest returns this weekend in the North Village Arts District with drag and musical performances including shows at Rose Music Hall and a parade on Broadway starting at 11 a.m. on Sunday; the free festival suggests a $10 donation for the drag shows amid lower vendor turnout.

West Middle School is set to become a fine arts lottery school as Columbia Public Schools integrate arts into its curriculum, making it the district's second middle school to adopt this model (a shift toward creative learning).

Freshmen from local public schools participated in the Worlds of Work event on Thursday, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, where they watched live demos + spoke with local professionals in healthcare, technology, and trades to explore diverse career paths in the community.

Columbia College celebrated its new nursing facility and dedicated the Barbara J.

Bilger family nursing program. The college described the gift (one of the most significant philanthropic investments in school history) as a milestone for its nursing department.

Boone County’s 911 center switched its phone service provider from Brightspeed to AT&T on Wednesday after a Sept.

16 outage disrupted emergency calls in Mid-Missouri — Christie Davis with Boone County Joint Communications confirmed the change on Thursday.

Councilmember Carroll said there’s no evidence linking Reign Bar to nearby incidents as local business owners and community groups express support amid criticism from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

The bar, at the corner of Walnut & Ninth, remains under scrutiny while urging fair investigation.

Boone Health launched First Gift, a birth tissue donation program in partnership with Saving Sight, and a mother who delivered by C-section donated placenta + cord tissue on Thursday.

Her donation could help up to 75 people, and more mothers can choose to donate in the future.