Volume 16Issue 5

October 3, 2009

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6Boss of the BarColumbia attorney Skip Walther assumes presidency of organization in challenging time

Parkade CampusMoberly Area Community College moving to Columbia's original mall 8

18Tuning OutA CBT analysis of Columbia's radio market

See Page 16

SPECIAL SECTION

Media and Entertainment

By Kathleen Pointer

As Kevin Pentico gathered his luggage at Columbia Regional Airport, he had just one complaint about his Delta flight from Memphis on the 34-seat turboprop plane.

“It’s so loud,” Pentico said. “Instead of pea-nuts, they should pass out earplugs.”

Nevertheless, Pentico is sold on the airport. He lives in the Lake of the Ozarks area and in the past used the Springfield airport because it’s a shorter drive from home. But he changed his itinerary to Columbia for this trip to North Carolina to visit his ailing mother and is plan-ning to fly out of Columbia Regional again in February for one simple reason: It’s cheaper.

“It’s about an hour and a half drive for me to get to the airport, but when I’m saving $150, it is well worth it,” Pentico said.

Although Pentico was lured in by the cheaper flights, fellow mid-Missourians are dis-covering other benefits of Columbia Regional. There’s free parking, it doesn’t take two hours to get there by car (as it does if they fly out of St. Louis or Kansas City), the security checks are fast, and the flight goes to a hub airport (St. Louis and Kansas City are not hub airports).

The traffic at Columbia Regional Airport is now the highest it’s been since 2002, and on average 80 percent of the seats are filled on the three daily flights to and from Memphis International Airport.

The deal providing air service to the hub airport, which began in August 2008, helped rejuvenate Columbia Regional.

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Airport bustlingCity proposing improvements

ManagingtheBlues

At the Roots N’ Blues N’ BBQ Festival last Saturday afternoon, three bands were playing, thousands of people were streaming downtown and hundreds of volunteers, staff and security workers were managing the crowd when the weather forecast proved correct — it started to rain. Then it started to pour.

Nicole Thieret, who was managing the festival for Thumper Entertainment for the first time, stayed calm while troubleshooting over her walkie-talkie and cell phone. “We had rain for about an hour, and it kind of cleared the streets out, but everyone came right back out.” The musicians, they kept on playing.

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21

5

Albright Heating & Air .................................. 16

Beckett & Taylor Agency ............................... 6

Boone County National Bank ...................... 24

Carpet One .................................................. 14

Children's Hospital ...................................... 20

City of Columbia Water & Light ................... 21

Columbia Regional Airport .......................... 18

Commerce Bank .......................................... 15

Delta Systems Group .................................. 19

First Community Bank ................................. 22

Flat Branch Center ........................................ 8

Huber & Associates ....................................... 9

Jacobs & Kemper Auction & Realty ............ 18

KeLani Salon & Spa ..................................... 18

Landmark Bank ............................................. 2

Rickman Center ............................................. 8

Salon Envie .................................................. 16

Sandler Training ............................................. 3

Socket Internet ............................................ 23

Sycamore ...................................................... 8

Tech 2 ............................................................ 7

The Insurance Group ..................................... 4

Triangle Blueprints ....................................... 14

UMB ............................................................ 11

Visionworks ................................................. 17

Willie Smith's Magic Services ..................... 14

Smart ThinkingCathy Atkins urges business leaders to plan positively for 2010

People You Should KnowMark Mills, the new boss at Cumulus, loves Cosmo Park

3D Realty ....................................................... 4

Awareness Management Systems ................ 4

Century 21 Advantage ................................... 4

Country Club of Missouri............................... 4

Grand Cru Restaurant ................................. 23

Harlan, Harlan & Still...................................... 6

Jamaican Jerk Hut ...................................... 17

Lathrop & Gage ............................................. 7

MEC Water Resources Inc ............................ 4

Moresource Inc .............................................. 4

Northwestern Mutual ..................................... 4

Parkade Center ............................................. 8

Phoenix House .............................................. 4

Pickleman’s Gourmet Café ............................ 4

Pure Marketing and Media ............................ 4

Ragtag ......................................................... 23

State Farm Insurance Agency ....................... 4

Thumper Entertainment ................................. 1

Walker-Winter Insurance ............................... 4

Walther, Antel, Stamper & Fischer ................. 6

YouZeum ..................................................... 10

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The Columbia Business Times is published every other Saturday by The Business Times Co. 2001 Corporate Place, Suite 100, Columbia, Mo 65202. (573) 499-1830.

Copyright The Business Times Co., 2008. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Third-class postage paid at Columbia, Mo. The annual subscription rate is $39.95 for 26 issues.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT:The Columbia Business Times strives to be Columbia’s leading source for timely and comprehensive news coverage of the local business community. This publication is dedicated to being the most relevant and useful vehicle for the exchange of information and ideas among Columbia’s business professionals.

Writers in this issue: Kathleen Pointer, Abby Rogers, Jason RosenbaumColumnists in this issue: Cathy Atkins, Al Germond, Mike Martin

Chris Harrison | General Manager | Ext.1010David Reed | Group Editor | Ext.1013Alisha Moreland | Art DirectorSarah Handelman | Graphic DesignerBetsy Bell | Creative Marketing DirectorJennifer Kettler | Photo Editor | 573-529-1789Cindy Sheridan | Operations ManagerBecky Beul | Marketing RepresentativeJoe Schmitter | Marketing Representative

(573) 499-1830 | (573) 499-1831 faxeditor@businesstimescompany.com

Cbt CAlENDAR Of EvENTS

OCTOBER 20095City Council Meeting5:45 p.m. pre-council meeting, 7 p.m. meeting at the Daniel Boone City Building, 701 E. BroadwayThe pre-council meeting topic is the Columbia Regional Airport master plan. 874-7222 or -7208.

6Building an Investor-Ready Technology Company6 to 9 p.m. Osher Lifelong Learning Center Training Room 2, Room 128, 3215B Lemone Industrial BlvdThe first of a four-part course discussing a variety of topics related to business creation and development of a high-technology company. The fee is $149 for the series. Second session Oct.13: 882-7096 (UCIE).

Women’s Network leadership Series5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Columbia Country Club“Success in a Multi-Generational Workplace,” is the first of a six-week series of seminars to develop leader-ship skills led by Cathy Atkins of Sandler Training. $99 for Women’s Network members. $125 for Chamber members. Second session Oct. 13: “Living According to Core Values and Balanced Goals.” 817-9119.

7Columbia Regional Airport Master Plan Meeting12:30 p.m. at Columbia Regional AirportThe Technical Advisory Committee and Public Advisory Committee will hold a joint meeting to discuss its plan. 874-7508 (Airport).

8Quickbooks for Beginners9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 3215B Lemone Industrial Blvd

This second of two class sessions is designed to help entrepreneurs learn to use the financial record-keeping software. The fee is $119 or $49 for businesses located in Boone, Audrain, Howard or Callaway counties. Contact Virginia Wilson: 882-9952 or 882-7096 (UCIE).

14Exploring Entrepreneurship Start-up Class5:30 to 7 p.m., W1004 Laferre Hall, MU College of Engineering This Missouri Business Development Program class is for those interested in starting a business. Registration required. 882-7096 (UCIE).

Chamber Roundtable luncheon11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Shakespeare’s, 3304 W. BroadwayThe networking event helps new members get to know current members. 817-9110 (Andrea Jira).

REDI Board of Director's Meeting11:30 a.m. at the Walton Building; 442-8303 (Michele).

15“Tips for Tax Planning” Seminar11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Columbia Country ClubTax planning is the subject for this second session in the Small Business Leadership Series, spon-sored by the University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Register at 573-882-7096.

16Centennial Investors Seminar7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 205 Cornell Hall, MU campusRobert Okabe, an expert in early stage enterprises, and a panel of experts will present “The Power of Angel Investing,” which will provide an overview of the angel investing process. $150 for Centennial Investor mem-bers and $300 for non-members. 874-1132 (Don Laird).

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PEOPLEMOVEON THE

Presented By:

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HiringsDan Johnson has been named head of school for Columbia

Montessori School. Prior to this position, Johnson founded Kingfisher Academy in Atlanta where he served as academic director for the past 10 years.

Sean J. Matheis has been hired as a licensed sales associate at State Farm Insurance Agency. He will be providing auto, home, life, business and health insurance to clients in mid-Missouri. Prior to this position, Matheis was a realtor with 3D Realty and Century 21 Advantage.

Brice Tomlinson has been hired as an account coordinator at Pure Marketing and Media. Previously, Tomlinson worked at Crispin, Porter, and Bogusky in Boulder, Colo., and TracyLocke in Dallas where he worked on accounts such as Gap and Nokia.

Marissa Todd is the new project director for the Voluntary Action Center. In this position, Todd will coordinate the Christmas program, fundraising events and the center’s marketing efforts. Todd earned a law degree from the University of Missouri and is working on her master's degree in business administration at Stephens College.

Seth lindenbusch has been hired as a financial representative by Northwestern Mutual. As part of this appointment, he will be associ-ated with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network The Rentschler Financial Group. Lindenbusch previously worked as a retail branch manager for Central Bank in Fulton, Mo.

Adrian McBride has been hired as the corporate development officer by Pickleman’s Gourmet Café. McBride will head franchise marketing, branding and customer relations, among other duties.

Dorsey Ragland has been named the director of sales U.S. Cellular in Kansas. She will lead all sales activities in this position. Ragland has been with U.S. Cellular for 16 years and recently served as an area sales manager in Columbia.

PromotionsThe Columbia Police Department has promoted three

employees from sergeants to lieutenants: Krista Shouse-Jones, Brian Richenberger and Ken Gregory. Shouse-Jones heads the Community Services Unit and Records Division, Richenberger supervises the Narcotics and Street Crimes units, and Ken Gregory is with the Patrol Division. The promotions took effect Oct. 1l. The promotions are part of the department’s plans to implement geo-graphic policing.

RecognitionsRoger W. Johnson received a David J. Dixon Appellate

Advocacy Award. Johnson is an assistant prosecutor with the Boone County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The award was created by the Missouri Bar Association to honor achievement in appellate practice by members of the Bar who have been practicing less than 10 years.

Alternative Community Training, a nonprofit organization that provides support and employment opportunities to people with developmental disabilities, recognized Trent Stober, past president of the board of directors and president of MEC Water Resources Inc., with a plaque for his service. Kat Cunningham, president of Moresource Inc., was recognized for six years of service to ACT.

Caleb Walker of Walker-Winter Insurance completed the On Your Farm Certified Agency designation from Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company. The training is a series of educational courses aimed at helping insurance agents understand farming operations, provide basic risk assessment to help reduce expenses and provide professional, knowledgeable service.

Allstate Insurance Agency recognized local agency owner Dant Allison with the Regional Champions award for high standards in customer satisfaction, customer retention and profitable business growth. Allison’s agency is one of the top Allstate agencies in the country in auto, property, commercial, power sports insurance and financial services sales.

Appointments

The Board of Directors of Alternative Community Training has elected new officers. Physician and consultant Joel Jeffries is serving as president, Cathy Atkins, sales and management consul-tant for Awareness Management Systems, is serving as vice presi-dent, and Jonathan H. Tips, head golf professional at the Country Club of Missouri, is serving as secretary/treasurer.

The Alzheimer's Association Mid-Missouri Chapter board has wel-comed new members: Andrea Benna, the eligibility and recruiting compliance coordinator at the University of Missouri Department of Athletics; Kay Niemeier, a utility management analyst with the Missouri Public Service Commission; and Brad Jenks, director of development for annual planned gifts at Columbia College, who was elected vice president of the board.

The 2009-2010 class of Donald W. Reynolds Fellows at the Reynolds Journalism Institute has been announced. Class members are: Michele Mclellan, from Knight Digital Center; Jacqueline Banaszynski, the Knight Chair in Editing at the Missouri School of Journalism; Sean Patrick Reily, from the Los Angeles Times; Stephanie Padgett, from Empower Media Marketing; Michael Skoler, from the Center for Innovation in Journalism; and Clyde Bentley, from the Missouri School of Journalism. The six scholars will work to develop new ways to gather, process and deliver news, information and advertising.

vicky Sparks has been appointed to serve on Columbia’s Substance Abuse Advisory Commission. The mayor and the City Council appointed Sparks, a mental health advocate at Phoenix House. Her appointment will expire in October 2010.

Sander C. Sowers has been elected to serve as the District 5 representative to the Missouri Bar Young Lawyers Section Council. The council is the governing body of the Young Lawyers Section of the Missouri Bar, which includes attorneys licensed to practice in Missouri who are 36 years old or younger and who have practiced law for less than three years.

Bruce Walker has been appointed to the Walsworth Publishing Company’s Board of Directors. Walsworth Publishing Company pub-lishes scholastic yearbooks and prints specialty publications. Walker is a dean and professor with the University of Missouri’s Trulaske College of Business and is also a member of the boards of directors of Boone County National Bank and the Missouri Innovation Center in Columbia. v

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PEOPLE YOu SHOulD KNOW

Mark MillsMarket Manager – Columbia/Jefferson City, Cumulus Broadcasting

JOB DESCRIPTION: Head coach and sales trainer. Overall responsibilities include day-to-day operation of eight radio stations: NewsTalk 1400 KFRU, Q106.1, 101.5 KPLA, 102.3 KBXR and 100.1 the Buzz in Columbia along with NewsTalk 1240 KLIK, Jeff Country 104.1 and COOL 97.5 in

Jefferson City.

AGE: 52 YEARS LIVED IN COLUMBIA: Lived here a few years, left for about three years and came back 25 years ago HOMETOWN: Butler, Mo.

EDUCATION: Class work at Central Missouri State University (now the University of Central Missouri) in organizational speech communications

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Carrera Soccer Club, past president of the Columbia Soccer Club, deacon at First Christian Church.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: I have experience in both radio programming (on-air) and radio sales. I started in my hometown at 14, went to Warrensburg for college (where I served as chief announcer of the student staff), then moved around the state to various radio stations and

worked morning shows, afternoon shows, sports play-by-play, programming and production. Around 1980, I moved to the sales side of radio, working as a sales representative, local sales manager and general manager. I left the radio business for 11 years as I worked for two printing

and publishing companies selling and servicing high school and college yearbooks. I decided to move back to the radio business in 1995 when I joined Premier Marketing. I have worked in this same building since, holding senior marketing consultant, local sales manager

and general sales manager positions for Cumulus since they purchased the radio stations in 2004.

A COLUMBIA BUSINESSPERSON I ADMIRE AND WHY: There are a lot of them, young and old. I really admire any person who develops a plan and sticks their neck out to open their own business and then literally live their dreams. Individually,

I admire Dr. John Yonker, the senior minister of the First Christian Church. There’s a lot of reasons why; he lives life to the fullest with high expectations. John’s a great role model. He’s a great storyteller and teacher. And when

he’s not running marathons and doing triathlons, he hits a golf ball extremely well.

WHY I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT MY JOB: I’m passionate about my job because radio advertising works. It’s been a pleasure to work with business owners to develop marketing plans and then enjoy the opportunity

to watch their business grow and thrive. All around Columbia and central Missouri, there are success stories that we all should celebrate. I’m glad I get the opportunity, on a daily basis, to

stop by a number of those businesses to hear about their success.

IF I WEREN’T DOING THIS FOR A LIVING, I WOULD: …likely be in the same sort of sales position. But I could be happy riding a mower cutting grass on a golf course.

BIGGEST CAREER OBSTACLE I’VE OVERCOME AND HOW: A significant shift in the landscape of the media business. From consolidation, to new media, to the most recent downswing in the economy, this business has seen its unfair share of change. It’s been interesting, but I feel like hanging in there to continue doing something I’m passionate about has made sense.

WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PROFESSION: It’s exciting. It’s always changing, but at the same time there are consistencies. We program our radio stations to deliver our customers’ business messages to a distinct community of

listeners for each station.

WHAT I DO FOR FUN: In my free time I really enjoy spending time with my family regardless of what is on the agenda. Golf, occasionally.

FAMILY: My wife, Janet Mills, is a paraprofessional at Fairview Elementary School. My daughter Jade Mooney is a graduate of Hickman High School and now a 9-1-1

operator at Boone County Joint Communications. My daughter Jordan Mills is a senior at Hickman High School, and it looks like she’ll become a Missouri Tiger next year (after

a close call with entertaining the idea of attending KU or KSU — it would be hard for me to spend money in Kansas). My dad, John Mills, lives in Clinton, Mo. He just recently celebrated

his 96th birthday. He’s not as active now, but he is still sharp as a tack. He’s been my No. 1 role model, raising 4 boys, all of whom he encouraged out into the greater world to accomplish what

God intended for each of us.

FAVORITE PLACE IN COLUMBIA: Cosmo Park. I’ve spent a lot of time there watching soccer games. It’s a crown jewel in Columbia, I think. Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field on a football Saturday because of the energy. I think football Saturdays in some part define who we are as Columbia citizens. Downtown Columbia because the entire collection of shops, business offices, governmental buildings and churches really does reflect the broader community.

ACCOMPLISHMENT I’M MOST PROUD OF: I’m most proud of my family. I have totally enjoyed all the phases of raising our two girls. I also am proud of working my way up the ladder at Cumulus to market manager, primarily because of the relationships I’ve had the pleasure of developing with both customers and co-workers

MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT: I was a charter board member of the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers and still sit on the board. I've been a public address announcer for the Missouri state high school wrestling tournament and the state basketball championships for 30 years.

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PERSOnALItY PROfILE | SKIP WAlTHER

Walther elected Bar presidentBy Jason Rosenbaum

Missouri Lawyers WeeklyReprinted with permission

A colorful map of Missouri is perhaps the most striking object in Harold “Skip” Walther’s law office in Columbia. Each county is shaded in bright colors on the map, a gift to Walther in the 1980s. It might be the best harbinger for his impending endeavor.

Walther, who focuses on real estate and prop-erty law, was elected president of the Missouri Bar on Sept. 23.

Despite potentially daunting challenges, Walther said he’s ready to lead the organization representing lawyers practicing at every point. “I really like practicing law; I like representing my clients,” Walther said. “And I don’t think there’s a great deal of difference in being a presi-dent of a group because you’re basically representing their interests.”The coming storm

Walther assumes the presi-dency as clouds hover over the legal community. The weak economy has made the job market difficult for attorneys, and it has lowered the amount of state resources available to the judicial system.

Walther said one priority is the public defender system, which he says is in crisis. Lawyers within the Missouri State Public Defender System have said they don’t have enough staff to keep up with its caseload.

Although the public defender’s office received additional funds this year to hire more attorneys, the agency’s main legislative goal — putting a caseload cap into statute — was thwarted with Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto. Prosecutors and judges who openly questioned whether the agency had a caseload “crisis” played a role in calling on Nixon to veto the bill.

Nixon has said he hopes to procure more funding for the public defender system. And Walther, who noted that Missouri ranks lower than other states in funding per lawyer in the

public defender system, said the General Assembly must act.

“It creates a great difficulty in attracting competent and hard-working people when they’re being paid far less than they deserve to be paid,” Walther said.

Cathy Kelly, the state’s deputy public defender, said in the past the bar has been helpful in funding studies of the agency’s caseload. She also said the leaders of the bar can help pull warring sides together.

Rising through the ranks

born in Jefferson City, Skip Walther was interested in becoming a lawyer from an early age. His mother was a legal secretary, and his uncle Jim butcher was a lawyer who served as boone County’s presiding judge, a position now known as the boone County presiding commissioner.

(In an e-mail to Cbt, Walther said his uncle practiced with Cullen Cline, Ann Covington and Bill Mallory for several years, and the annual Boone County Bar picnic held in September is named in his honor. “Jim’s most famous case involved the Oakland Gravel road tax bill issue,” Walther said. “Jim challenged the city’s method of charging property owners for street improvements and won in appellate court, and it caused the city to change the way it bills property owners for taxes. Everyone thought he was tilting at windmills in that case.”)

Even though he lived in Kirksville when he was growing up, Walther said he spent every weekend at his uncle’s house in Columbia.

“I was exposed to lawyers throughout my junior high and high school years,” Walther said. “And I just always kind of thought that’s what I wanted to do.”

After graduating law school from the university of Missouri, Walther became an assistant prosecuting attorney in boone County. Russell Still, a former public defender who is now an attorney for the Columbia-based Harlan, Harlan & Still law firm, recalls going head-to-head with Walther in the courtroom.

“He went at you hard,” Still said. “He was always well-prepared and had all the arguments. He was very aggressive in asking the jury to get him a guilty verdict.”

Still said Walther’s experience as an assistant prosecutor will gave him a good understanding of the legal system, particularly the issues afflicting public defenders.

“I think he’ll be a good advocate for that, because he’s been there,” Still said. “He’s been there trying burglary cases. And I think he’s always realized and always said that you need good lawyers on both sides of those cases because sometimes mistakes are made, and every once in a while you get some not-guilty verdicts in there because they got the wrong guy.”

Since entering private practice in 1982, Walther has focused on real estate, estate planning and corporate law at the Columbia-based firm of Walther, Antel, Stamper & Fischer. Also, he has been active in civic activities.

Among other things, Walther’s résumé lists involvement in the Cub Scouts and a role as a bingo caller at the Cosmopolitan Club in Columbia. It also lists his participation on the board of directors for the Columbia Special business District.

Although he’s coached baseball, softball, basketball and soccer, Walther is perhaps best known for his tennis abilities, Still said. Walther, who has tennis awards strewn around his office, also serves as a private and volunteer coach for those interested in the sport.

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“I think their assistance has been valuable in helping bring coalitions together and raising awareness of a problem and trying to show that it’s not us versus them, it’s the whole system that’s sinking or swimming,” Kelly said.

Dwight Scroggins, Buchanan County’s prose-cutor, said Walther should focus on the ailments of the entire criminal justice system.

“We are in an inflationary time for the entire criminal justice system. The numbers keep growing for everyone — including the courts, prosecutors and the public defender system,” Scroggins said.

Beyond leading meetings of the bar’s Board of Governors and serving as the chief representative for the bar, Walther will assume some responsi-bility in presenting a legal agenda in Jefferson City. Declining revenues and scarce resources could make it difficult, he said, to fully fund the judiciary and the public defender system.

Walther said he will work with legislators who are cognizant of the legal community’s problems.

“There are some fairly young new members of the General Assembly who are attorneys,” Walther said. “It’s easy for us to communicate with them because they understand what it means to be an attorney.”

Court plan fightOf all of the potential issues, the fight over

the future of Missouri’s Nonpartisan Court Plan could define Walther’s term as president.

Better Courts for Missouri introduced a ballot item this year that would effectively scrap the way the state chooses some of its judges. If the group’s constitutional amendment passes in the 2010 election cycle, governors would appoint judges in certain areas, and the Missouri Senate would have the final say in seating them.

The bar has been adamantly opposed to changing the Nonpartisan Court Plan. And Walther has picked up the mantle of defending the plan in public forums.

Although opponents of the current plan say the current system is unaccountable and favors trial attorneys, Walther said efforts to change the plan would give more power to people with political considerations.

“We believe, and we continue to believe, that this attempt to change the system of judicial

selection in the state of Missouri is based upon partisan considerations and not based on sub-stantive complaints,” Walther said.

James Harris, a Republican political consul-tant who is the executive director of Better Courts for Missouri, said the bar wants to keep the cur-rent system because it would keep attorneys in a dominant position for judicial selection.

“I’m sure Mr. Skip Walther’s a nice gen-tleman personally,” Harris said. “We have a disagreement on public policy and where we can improve the courts.” Walther’s public per-sona is on display as a regular panelist on the CBT "Sunday Morning Roundtable" on KFRU. The weekly radio talk show delves into issues affecting state and city government.

David Shorr, a Columbia attorney who works for Lathrop & Gage, is another regular panelist on the show. He said Walther sometimes acts as his “foil” on the air.

“It’s fun to joust with him,” Shorr said. “He is not an absolutist. He is somewhat malleable, which makes it a little easier on a Sunday morning to put up with it.”

Shorr said Walther is a “challenging advocate” who will be a strong proponent for attorneys around the state. Walther particularly will be a fierce defender of the Nonpartisan Court Plan.

“He’s very knowledgeable about it,” Shorr said, “and he’s very passionate about it as well.”

Walther has a deep, soothing voice most of the time. But he can become intense when he’s talking about controversial issues — such as the Nonpartisan Court Plan.

Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, said Walther has a “competitive” edge that will help him when he becomes the bar’s president. He said that will be especially helpful when he deals with hot-button topics.

“He will push the bar to get things done,” Kelly said. “Skip doesn’t want to sit around in meetings that aren’t going anywhere. He wants to have a goal and accomplish it.”

With what he calls “significant issues” on the horizon, Walther said it makes sense to involve as many people as possible when formulating policy or making decisions.

“You have to involve as many people as you can — get as many ideas as you can — so you can try to cover all the bases,” Walther said. v

ECOnOMIC InDEx SuMMARY

Revenue from the 1 percent city sales tax fell 7 percent in June, the latest month with com-plete data, compared to collections in June 2008, according to a report from the city’s Finance Department. That’s the second-highest monthly percentage decrease in three years.

Columbia’s latest unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in August, matching the rate of the previous month. More than 6,000 of the roughly 90,000 workers are jobless.

For the first six months of the calendar year, revenue from all sales tax payers in Columbia is down 3.28 percent compared to the same period last year.

Receipts from hotels and theaters dropped 16.4 percent in June compared to that month a year ago, and are down 12 percent year-to-date. Decreases for the construction/home improve-

ment sector are 6.6 percent for the month and 11 percent for the year-to-date.

The bright spot is the category of depart-ment, retail and grocery stores, which accounts for about half of all sales tax collections. Revenue in the store category is down less than 0.4 percent for the year.

“If there’s any shining light, that’s it,” City Finance Director Lori Fleming said.

The federal government’s cash-for-clunkers program played a role in steadying the retail sales tax revenue from the retail market, Fleming said. After a long drought, auto sales increased during the summer as buyers took advantage of the program, which provided $4,500 for each “clunker” they traded in for a new car.

Tax collections from vehicle sales increased from $203,500 in July and August of 2008 to $210,200 in that two-month period this year. v

Sales tax revenue dives, jobless number exceeds 6,000

(continued on Page 6)

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MACC moving to Parkade Center, reaches MU admissions pact By David Reed

The night before enrollment opens at Moberly Area Community College’s Columbia campus, students — some with sleeping bags — line up outside the administration building as if they’re trying to get front-row tickets for a rock concert.

“We have to hire security guards,” said Jaime Morgans, MACC public relations director. After the doors open, “there are bodies everywhere, lining the hallways.”

The early morning and evening classes at the satellite campus are particularly popular with students holding down full-time jobs.

Enrollment at Missouri’s 12 community col-leges increased nearly 13 percent this year, and MACC’s enrollment had the second-highest jump — 28 percent. The number of students enrolling at the Columbia campus has increased from 870 in 2005 to 1,692 this fall. MACC now leases build-ings at Stephens College and the University of Missouri along with the main building on Walnut Street behind the Stephens campus.

“We’ve outgrown everything we’ve been in,” Morgans said.

But next fall, MACC will move all of its Columbia operations to the Parkade Center on Business Loop 70 and plans to increase enroll-ment to about 1,800.

The agreement to lease 37,000 square feet in Columbia’s original shopping mall was signed in mid-September, and the community college plans to do extensive renovations to accommo-date administration and faculty offices, a faculty lounge, science labs and general classrooms.

Parkade, which has slowly added tenants in the past few years, will be about 95 percent occu-

pied after MACC moves in, Manager Benjamin Gakinya said.

“We’ve warned them — it’s going to get a lot busier in there,” MACC President Evelyn Jorgenson said.

She pointed out that the new location ben-efits the commuter college by providing ample parking space, and it’s on the bus line and close to low-income areas of the city.

Each of Missouri’s community colleges has a designated service area, and the MACC region includes Boone County at the southern end. MACC began offering classes in Columbia in 1998, two years after Jorgenson became president. She lived the previous 21 years in Columbia, where she taught adults at Douglass High School and got her master’s degree and doctorate at MU.

“I felt the need for a community college all the time I lived in Columbia,” Jorgenson said.

After getting associate degrees, about 25 percent of MACC’s students transfer to MU to get bachelor’s degrees, Morgans said. The com-munity college had 240 Columbia graduates last year. Of MU’s almost 31,000 students, about 1,400 are transfer students from community colleges, and MACC is the No. 1 provider of transfer students to MU.

About the same time Jorgenson signed the lease agreement with Parkade, she and MU Provost Brian Foster signed an agreement to start the Mizzou Connection Program.

The program will offer 50 degree options. The goal is to strengthen the relationship between MACC and MU and provide resources, such as early MU academic advising and information

about campus activities while the students are still attending MACC.

“MU research has shown that transfer students do as well or better than native students,” Jorgenson said.

MACC also wants to provide adult technical training and career training that will make the local workforce more attractive to industries considering moving to or expanding in Columbia, she said. “I think we can play a very impor-tant role in supporting economic development in Columbia.” v

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MU Provost Brian Foster and MACC President Evelyn Jorgenson sign the Mizzou Connection Program agreement.

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The 215,000-square-foot Parkade Center will be nearly filled when MACC moves in.

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HEAlTHCARE SYMPOSIuM

Insurance reform’s high stakes By Jim Muench

The health care reform bills competing for votes in Congress are attempts to counteract the swiftly rising costs and rapidly growing ranks of uninsured Americans that threaten the nation’s medical system, according to the Missouri Foundation for Health.

During a symposium on global health at Westminster College, Ryan Barker, the foundation’s health policy analyst, outlined what’s at stake for Missourians as the issue nears resolution.

Formed in 2000 as part of a settlement with former Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, the foundation provides $60 million annually in grants to promote health across the state. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri created the foundation when the larger company became a for-profit entity, said former state Rep. Tim Harlan, who attended the symposium on Sept. 23.

U.S. per capita spending on health care has risen at a much faster rate than other nations since 1980 and rose to $6,500 in 2006.

Likewise, the number of uninsured people in the United States rose from 38.4 million in 2000 to 46.3 million in 2008. On the state level in 2008, the U.S. census estimates that 739,000 Missourians were uninsured for the entire year. Barker said a Families USA study might have provided a more accurate figure. It found that 1.5 million Missourians were uninsured at some point during 2006 and 2007, 874,000 of whom were uninsured for six months or more. With a total state population of 5.9 million, that means nearly a quarter of the state’s population has been uninsured recently.

According to the foundation’s Missouri County Level Study in 2007, the percentage of uninsured residents in the average Missouri county is 14.7. Boone County comes in below the average at 11.1 percent, a rate similar to that of other metropolitan areas. Ten working-age Missourians die each week because of lack of medical insurance, Barker said.

The percentage of the population with private health insurance dropped from 72.6 in 2000 to 67.5 in 2008, according to the census, and although large employers continued to provide insurance for employees during this decade, the percentage of small employers providing insurance decreased by 7.7 percent.

By 2008, 96 percent of firms with 50 or more employees still offered medical insurance, while only 43 percent of smaller employers offered it.

Meanwhile, 72 million Americans struggle with medical bills or debt, Barker said, probably because the total medical insurance premium for families in Missouri rose 76.1 percent between 2000 and 2007. With such price increases, over time the share of an individual’s disposable income has increased from about 3 percent in the 1930s to 16.6 percent today, which takes up a higher percentage of the family budget than food at 13 percent and housing at 14 percent.

Taxpayers and insurance customers already pay a heavy burden to carry the uninsured. By law, all patients must receive medical care in an emergency room setting, so the federal government reim-burses hospitals for uncompensated care, which amounted to $42.9 billion in 2008, Barker said. This amount of uncompensated care equates to an average 2008 tax burden of $627 for a family of four.

In addition, hospitals push some of the cost of the uninsured onto those with private insurance. Missourians pay an extra $400 per family and $130 per individual on their premiums to cover the cost shift from the uninsured, Barker said.

Competing ProposalsAt the end of September, three bills dealing with health care insurance were making their way

through Congress.The three bills range in price between $615 billion and $1.6 trillion, according to the Congressional

Budget Office, and offer common themes, Barker said. The bills require all individuals to purchase coverage and employers to offer qualified coverage. They call for insurance market reforms and premium subsidies for both individuals and employers, create larger exchanges to spread risk over a larger pool of people and expand public programs such as Medicaid to a higher percentage of those above the poverty level.

The House version and the Senate version passed by the committee that deals with health care offer public insurance plans, while the Senate Finance Committee version proposes the formation of health cooperatives instead. Barker said cooperatives are basically revamped versions of the Health Maintenance Organization model of health care, from which the industry has moved away because of consumer objections.

Various benefit packages have been proposed, Barker said, with all three bills offering minimum benefits of preventive care, hospitalization, emergency services, prescription drugs, maternity care and provisions for mental health and substance abuse. All three bills also offer no exclusions for pre-existing conditions, no cost-sharing on preventive care, no annual or lifetime limits on coverage and coverage for dependents up to age 26, which is one year more than Missouri offers today.

Although large businesses will be generally unaffected by the proposed changes, small businesses will receive several benefits, including greater transparency, greater choice, improved coverage, tax credits and access to a new health insurance exchange that should bring lower rates and administra-tive costs. Likewise, under the three plans, families are projected to save $2,300 on average by the year 2020, and the individual mandate to purchase insurance will mean far fewer uncompensated costs, Barker said.

Barker said health care reform will likely benefit businesses because it would lead to fewer sick days, shorter illnesses, a lower employee turnover rate, lower administrative costs and lower premiums for employees. In addition, it would increase access to prevention and care for chronic conditions, which would eliminate or reduce the cost shift of uncompensated care and expanding coverage, all of which will result in a net gain in economic well-being of about $100 billion a year, Barker said. v

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vOICES

Many of us had such high hopes for the YouZeum, an interactive project that began as a "health adventure center" amidst discrete murmurings by skeptics who considered this a cockeyed idea to begin with.

People with honorable intentions went after grants and donations that eventually tallied into the millions for the project, which was relying on some helter-skelter math that just didn't look realistic from the start ($8 million is the number most recently posited). Our worst fear is a bailout using public funds, but that’s unlikely in any event because local and state govern-ment cupboards are pretty bare these days.

The building at 608 Cherry St. is really just another James A. Farley Post Office. The year 1935 is carved on the cornerstone, which marks the heyday of Farley's reign as postmaster general. He was a wunderkind in President Roosevelt's first two terms. He restored health to the department and, in the midst of the Great Depression, sprinkled the country with hun-dreds of these dominating emblems of govern-ment presence. The "stimulus" program of the period put thousands of construction workers back on the job.

After being used for 30 years as the city's main post office, 608 Cherry was remodeled for use as a general-purpose federal building. When the four-columned hulk no longer fit that function, 608 Cherry was made avail-able to various public entities, including the Columbia Board of Education, which showed varying levels of disinterest when pro-posed as a tenant.

I'll leave it to others to recount this tale from the proj-ect's chrysalis as a health adven-ture center into the $8 million dollar YouZeum. Although the "I Told You Sos" from various quar-ters pump up the amplitude of their skepticisms, one wonders what went wrong. Although this might be just another one of those 503(c)(3) not-for-profit ventures, the YouZeum is still a business, and the project should have undergone all the pro forma due diligence that any other endeavor would normally have been subjected to.

Most of us don't like alienating our friends and neighbors with negative thoughts and premature judgment. The stamp of approval bestowed by respected community leaders who might not have fully vetted the finan-cial underpinnings naturally brought others to dive into what has become the abyss of the YouZeum. Eight million dollars later, some of us are pretty ragged off about this. Money ponied up by Mabee Foundation, Boone Hospital Center and various well-heeled individuals might come to naught.

The YouZeum's future is rather fuzzy now, with the recent announcement of reduced hours and another head here and there rolling out the door as a sacrifice. A few perpetual optimists speak about makeovers, traveling

exhibits and maybe some other magical elixirs that could rescue the project.

Phooey! The YouZeum idea is a dud, and the community needs to move on.

My greatest concern all along has been the YouZeum's potentially destructive effect on the fundraising activities of other long-established charitable organizations including the Central Missouri Food Bank and the United Way. Eight million dollars would have fed a great many central Missourians. Imagine what just half that sum would have done for medical research.

Let's have a more honest appraisal from a business perspective the next time a project like this comes along. In spite of possible alien-ation, those of us with questions should be more willing to face off with our friends before potential boondoggles get too far down the rails. The same goes for the Fourth Estate. v

Al Germond

Al Germond is the host of the "Sunday

Morning Roundtable" every Sunday at 8:15

a.m. on KfRu. He can be reached at al@

columbiabusinesstimes.com

from the Roundtable

What went wrong with the YouZeum? A boondoggle from the start?

Citizen Journalist

The long, tragic courthouse journey of Dorothy Twala KeeBy now, you’ve probably heard of the

Columbia Citizens Police Review Board, a newly formed city commission charged with reviewing complaints against police officers.

Problem is, the review board’s task is one-sided. Without an equally empowered Columbia Citizens Judicial Review Board, for instance, the problem of rising crime and what to do about it becomes only more imbalanced.

As any police officer will tell you, the keys to effective law enforcement reside not with the cops but with the courts, a situation nowhere better illustrated than in the convoluted, 20-year courthouse journey of Columbia resi-dent Dorothy Twala Kee. For Kee, the Boone County Courthouse is a revolving door circus of trial continuations, revoked probations, failures to appear, suspended sentences and frustrated police.

“We found drugs in her house again,” a Columbia police officer told me about Kee a few weeks ago.

Last September, “Man, woman arrested as police seize crack” blared a Columbia Daily Tribune headline. “Police found crack cocaine on 38-year-old Dorothy T. Kee. Kee was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug parapher-nalia. She was later released from the Boone County Jail after posting a $5,000 bond.”

She was released, yet again, to return to her ramshackle home where the gas meter was removed more than a year ago. Surrounded by quiet, law-abiding neighbors, Kee’s home sat

vacant for more than five years during a recent incarceration. A tree grew up through the side of the house, and frozen sewage burst through the cleanout pipe in the front yard.

Case.net — an online summary of Missouri court activity — provides a window on Kee’s life as a de facto ward of the courts. It's not only eye-opening, but also tragic. Appearing in front of Judges Frank Conley, Larry Bryson, Gene Hamilton and Deborah Daniels over the years, Kee hops from suspended sentence to suspended sentence, reprieve after reprieve, in and out of a fractured freedom that encourages not rehabilitation, but self-destruction.

Stealing 6/24/1990Arresting Agency: Columbia Police DepartmentDisposition: Guilty PleaSentence: Incarceration, Jail (Suspended) PRObAtIOn ORDEREDOutcome: Probation Revoked

Stealing 7/16/1990 Arresting Agency: Columbia Police DepartmentDisposition: Guilty PleaSentence: Incarceration, Jail (Suspended)

Kee doesn’t show up again in the court records until 2006. In April of that year, she pleaded guilty to trespassing and was fined $100 and pleaded guilty to marijuana posses-sion. She was fined $200.

In October and again in December of that year, Kee was convicted of using drug para-phernalia and sentenced each time to 120 days in jail. In the last four months of 2008, she was arrested three times on drug possession charges and with resisting or interfering with her arrest by the Boone County Sheriff’s Department. Each entry ends with: Not disposed.

Represented by a public defender, Kee doesn’t show up for her hearings and instead bounces back from continuance to continu-ance — a judicial term for changing a trial or hearing date to a future time. The dockets from her three latest arrests were for continued hear-ings or rescheduled hearings. On Aug. 13, Kee’s docket read hearing continued/rescheduled. The defendant (Kee) requested a continuance for negotiation, and the case was reset to Aug. 27. On Aug. 27, Kee’s docket read as follows:

Hearing Continued/Rescheduled8/27/2009DEfEnDAnt fAILS tO APPEAR, bOnD fORfEItuRE ORDERED WItH HEARInG SEt fOR 09-17-09.

Kee will undoubtedly be free again to bring her problems back to the family home she inher-ited. She lives alone but doesn’t keep to herself. Neighbors say that visitors come and go from the house into the wee hours of the night and that Kee will sometimes wander up and down the street scantily clad while screaming and hollering at nothing but shadows and wind. v

Martin, a Columbia resident and science

journalist, can be reached at Mike.

martin@weeklyscientist.com

Mike Martin

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With airport traffic at the highest Columbia Regional has seen since 2002, the new master plan addresses needs for future growth.

What a difference a year has made in the life of Columbia Regional Airport. Last summer, the traf-fic count plummeted to zero as the city waited for a new air-line to start service. There was talk about the airport losing its federal subsidy for essential air service because of the low passenger counts.

Then, in mid-August of last year, Mesaba, a regional carrier for Northwest Airlines, started offering three flights daily to and from Memphis, a hub with connections to 88 cities. The Department of Transportation kicked in a $2.2 million annual subsidy.

The service, now operated by Delta Airlines, has brought passenger numbers up to the highest they’ve been since 2002. About 80 percent of the seats on the three flights are being filled.

Travelers crowd the waiting room at the Columbia airport. The airport hopes to redo seating in the terminal area in the next several months.

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1- to 5-year proposed actions1. acquire land for runway extension2. rehabilitate/reconstruct runway 13/31 and taxiway3. extend runway 13/31 to the east4. repair runway 2/205. realign Highway H and rangeline road6. rehabilitate taxiway ‘a’7. extend runway 2/20 to the north8. relocate the end of runway 13

6- to 20-year proposed actions:1. expand air carrier apron2. rehabilitate south apron area3. expand air carrier auto parking lot4. expand south terminal, apron and hangar5. expand north hangar 6. construct airfield perimeter road system7. Upgrade wildlife fencing8. relocate and construct new airport rescue and Fire Fighting building

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The Master PlanColumbia Regional Airport’s revised 20-year master plan

outlines about $64 million dollars in projects, including $16.5 million from local funds. Members of the Columbia City Council will discuss the updated master plan at the pre-council work session on Monday. The Airport Advisory Board is expected to approve the plan at its monthly meet-ing on Wednesday. The Council is expected to put the plan on the agenda for public hearing late this month or in early November.

One of the main aspects of the master plan is extensive work on both of the runways. Both runways will be extended and will have pavement repairs done during the next three to five years, if Council approves the plan. The smaller perpen-dicular cross-winds runway will be finished first so it can ac-commodate larger aircraft when the main runway is closed for construction. The airport will also purchase some adja-cent land, expand hangar space and renovate the terminal.

city proposeslong-termsoars,

impro ements

6- to 20-year proposed actions:1. expand air carrier apron2. rehabilitate south apron area3. expand air carrier auto parking lot4. expand south terminal, apron and hangar5. expand north hangar 6. construct airfield perimeter road system7. Upgrade wildlife fencing8. relocate and construct new airport rescue and Fire Fighting building

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Airport bustling ... continued from Page 1

In addition, the Missouri Department of Trans-portation provided the city with an $80,000 marketing grant that’s been used to promote the airport’s use.

Regional leaders have also pitched in.“We’ve been trying to advocate for the airport,”

said Mike Downing, director of Connecting Our Regional Economies. “It’s important for the whole region. Communities, the university and all types of businesses rely on good air transportation, so the more flights to major markets, the better.”

Now the city and supporters of the airport are about to present their plan for future growth. They intend to present to the Columbia City Council next month a master plan with projects that would cost about $64 million, including $16.5 million in local funds, during the next 20 years. The highlights of the plan are to:

• Extend and repair the two runways• Buy some adjacent land• Renovate the terminal• Expand hangar spaceThe Airport Advisory Board has been working on

this version of the master plan for the past year, ac-cording to Airport Manager Kathy Frerking.

“The FAA likes to see airports do an update every seven to 10 years,” Frerking said. “We look at our fa-cilities to see what we need to do to accommodate our needs and look out to the future when we’ll be even bigger.”

One of the major components of the master plan is extending both the main runway and the smaller perpendicular runway and to repair the pavement on both. Frerking said the goal is to begin construction on the runways within the next three to five years.

The smaller cross-winds runway will be fixed first to make it better equipped to accommodate commer-cial planes while the main runway is improved.

“Now that we’re doing so well with air service, we certainly don’t want to do anything to damage the numbers we have right now,” Cecil said of the plan to keep air traffic moving.

But the discussion surrounding the runway devel-opment hasn’t always been just about how or when to improve the runways. The runways at the Columbia Regional Airport intersect, but larger airports such as Kansas City International have been changing to par-allel runways. Cecil said the advisory board discussed proposing parallel runways but decided it would be too expensive and time-consuming.

“The FAA prioritizes their proj-ect funding, and for us to go with parallel runways would require a lot more funding and land acquisi-tion,” Frerking said.

The airport held a public meeting in August about potential land acquisitions, but Frerking said the master plan is preliminary and is just an outline of what they want to do.

The advisory board is expect-ed to endorse the plan during its monthly meeting Wednesday, Cecil said. The next steps are getting the plan through a public hearing and approved by the Council. Cecil is optimistic the Council will back the proposal because there is more “positive attention” surrounding the airport than in previous years.

“When Bill Watkins became city manager, things started to change,” Cecil said. “He’s a big supporter of how to make things work at the airport.”

The airport’s resurgence comes after a number of years of lackluster performance and upheaval.

Delta is the fourth airline carrier in less than nine years. It’s faring much better than the last airline, Air Midwest. In 2007 Air Midwest’s passenger numbers dropped below the 10,000 mark, which put the airport in danger of losing its Essential Air Service designa-tion and the accompanying federal subsidy of about $1 million per year.

Air Midwest/US Airways Express stopped flying to and from St. Louis that year and just had service

to Kansas City. Then in July of 2008, the number dropped to zero because the airport was between air carriers — Air Midwest/US and Mesaba/Northwest Airlines (now Delta).

Mesaba/Northwest Airlines competed against two other airline carriers that proposed air service with St. Louis and Kansas City. The City Council endorsed service with Memphis because it is a hub airport, and the Federal Aviation Administration agreed.

“In the past, with our flights to Kansas City and St. Louis, people could fly from Columbia to catch a flight, or they could drive and catch that same flight — that’s not the case anymore,” Cecil said. “If a plane (coming into Columbia) got

delayed for an hour or two, people started feeling like they were wasting time because they could already have been back in Columbia instead of waiting on a flight.”

As numbers on the Delta flight continue to surpass numbers from recent years and people in the regional

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Lake of the Ozarks resident Kevin Pentico stopped using the Springfield airport as soon as he learned he could save more money using Columbia Regional.

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area embrace flying through a hub airport, the discussion of ex-panding to include other airlines that fly to additional airports continues.

“(Memphis) is very successful, and it’s been well received by customers,” Downing said. “And this success gives us ammuni-tion to go after airlines in other markets like Dallas or Chicago.”

Frerking agreed that an air carrier that went to hub airports in Chicago or Dallas would be an ideal future acquisition because of their relatively close proximity to Columbia.

“Airlines are cutting capacity and cutting routes because of the economy and high fuel costs,” Frerking said. “Acquiring another airline is not something that will happen overnight. It is some-thing we’re continuing to pursue.”

In the more immediate future, the plan for Columbia Regional Airport is to redo seating in the terminal area.

“We’re hoping to have it finished in the next several months,” Frerking said. “We need to figure out more exact funding to see if we have money to do all the lobby seats.”

St. Louis airport’s demiseWhile Columbia Regional is flying high, its big city neighbor to

the east is taking a nosedive. Lambert, which was the14th busiest U.S. airport in 2002, was

ranked 31st this year, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The airport once provided direct service to over 100 cities, but the decline started soon after American Airlines took over from TWA in 2001. American, the primary airline at Lambert, made its first major cuts in flights in 2003. By next summer, American Airlines will have cut 46 flights out of the airport and eliminated 20 of its non-stop destinations, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. This will leave the airport with 36 daily American flights going to only nine destinations. v

TOP: Travelers quickly exit the plane and head into baggage claim as a storm rolls in at Columbia Regional.

LEFT: Travelers wait in line to rent a car from Enterprise.

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SPECIAL SECTION | Media & entertainMent

Thieret, 24, collected armfuls of yellow um-brellas to pass out to musicians, venders and other staff.

Also during the festival, a headliner musician came down with bronchitis and had to be re-placed the day before the performance. Although Thieret said there were police officers patrolling every 50 feet or so, volunteers still needed to quickly wrap a parking lot with yellow “do not cross” tape so people test driving Ford Fiestas wouldn’t hit anyone. One band leader wanted

to be paid immediately because she was leaving the country.

Thieret said on Wednesday they were still counting tickets and waiting for a crowd esti-mate from police. An estimated 120,000 people attended last year’s festival. “I don’t think it was more than last year,” Thieret said. “There were a lot of people concerned that with charging this year there would be less numbers, but there were always people waiting in lines to get tick-ets, and not many people complained that they had to buy tickets.” v

ABOVE: David Issacs, of the reggae group the Itals, sings of love and peace to a crowd at Peace Park. The word ital means pure, natural and unprocessed. These are the adjectives the group uses to describe the sound and message of the band. “Well, we really not like the environment of the city,” said lead singer Keith Porter on the group’s Web site. “We like to live in the country and come into the city and do our work and go back. You get more better food to eat out there, you know…more fresher food and fresh air and t'ing like that.”

LEFT AnD BELOW: The Itals danced and sang as the crowd swelled in Peace Park.

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And the show went on…Festival ... continued from Page 1

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ABOVE: Rexroy Scott of the Jamaican Jerk Hut tends to the BBQ at the festival. During the rainstorm Patty King called on the Jamaican Hut and 10 other vendors to provide cardboard boxes that could be flattened and laid down in the muddy parks.

ABOVE: Festival goers enjoy the show as a group of hula-hoopers throw tricks to the beats of a street musician at the Roots n' Blues n' BBQ Festival.

LEFT: Bouncing beach balls fly through the air as festival goers enjoy music in Peace Park. “The festival was a total success,” spokesperson Tara Hart said. “The artists and fans were totally happy. Obviously we wished there wasn’t rain, but that didn’t seem to bother anybody. There was always a constant stream of people waiting in lines to buy tickets.”

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Radio listeners changing habits

KPLA now No. 1 in key ratingBy Abby Rogers

People are tuning into the radio less and in-stead are spending more time logged onto the Internet and listening to music on their iPhones and iPods. It’s a national phenomenon, but it’s also affecting the local radio market.

Overall, they’re listening to the radio nearly three hours less per week now than they were in 2006. In spring 2007, survey participants spent around 18 hours and 45 minutes a week listen-ing to the radio. In spring 2009, radio listeners were only spending around 16 hours tuning in.

“There are more choices today,” said Jack Miller, president of True Media, a media strategy and communications company. “More choices result in a dilution of consumers exposed to any one media.”

The CBT, with Miller’s help, analyzed statis-tics from Arbitron, a research firm that surveys radio listeners. The statistics were from two listening periods, or ratings books: fall 2008 to spring 2008 and fall 2008 to spring 2009. The analysis used surveys of listeners ages 25-54, the demographic of most interest to advertisers, and measured time spent listening as well as each

STATION FORMAT OWNERFALL 2007/

SPRING 2008SPRING 2008/

FALL 2008FALL 2008/

SPRING 2009

Adult Contemp. Cumulus Broadcasting 10.1 12.1 11.7

KCLR FM Country 11.4 8.9 10.4

KOQL FM Rhythmic Contemp. Cumulus Broadcasting 6.3 8.9 9.1

KTXY FM Pop Contemp. Zimmer RadioGroup

3.8 5.1 6.5

KSSZ FM News - Talk Zimmer RadioGroup

6.3 6.3 6.5

KBXR FM Adult Alt. Cumulus Broadcasting

6.3 6.3 6.5

KCMQ FM Classic Rock Zimmer RadioGroup

7.6 6.3 6.5

KFRU AM News - Talk Cumulus Broadcasting

6.3 5.1 5.2

KBBM FM Active Rock Cumulus Broadcasting

1.3 2.5 3.9

KWJK FM Adult Hits BittersweetBroadcasting

5.1 5.1 3.9

KWWR FM Country KXEO Radio Inc. 3.8 2.5 2.6

KZZT FM Classic Hits FM-105, Inc. 1.3 1.3 1.3

KTGR FM All Sports Zimmer RadioGroup

3.8 2.5 1.3

KPLA FM

Zimmer RadioGroup

MARKET SHARE PERCENTAGE AGES 25-54*

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KWWR KWJK KBBM KFRUKCMQKBXR KSSZ KTXY KOQL KCLR KPLA

3.3 3.3 3.3

5.3 5.35.9 5.9

7.9 7.9

9.9 9.9

*Arbitron ratings data using the percentage of those listening to radio in the Columbia area who are listening to a particular station for at least 5 minutes during a 15 minute period Monday through Sunday from 6 a.m. to Midnight

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station’s share of radio listen-ers in the market

KCLR, a country music sta-tion owned by Zimmer Radio Group that had been No. 1 in the local market for years, had the largest drop in time spent listening since 2006. KCLR fell to No. 2 in market share, behind KPLA, an adult con-temporary station owned by Cumulus Broadcasting.

In spring 2006, KCLR’s mar-ket share was 14.3 percent. In the fall 2006-spring 2007 rat-ings period, its share fell to 12. 8 percent, but it remained on top of the market.

Over the next two years, the station’s mar-ket share fell to 11.4 percent and then 8.9 percent, and the time spent listening fell from 10:15 to 7:45 to 6:15. In the latest survey, KCLR’s market share bounced back a bit to 10.4 percent, but its market share still fell 9 percent.

In spring 2006, KPLA’s market share was 6.1 per-cent. In the fall 2 0 0 6 - s p r i n g 2007 ratings pe-riod, its ratings share grew to 8.1 percent.

The sta-tion’s market share continued to grow over the next two years. By fall of 2007-spring 2008, KPLA’s mar-ket share was at 10.1 percent. It grew to 12.7 percent in the next rating’s book. The station’s time spent listening was at 7:00 and grew to 7:45. In the most recent survey, KPLA’s market share dropped a bit to 11.7 per-cent, and its time spent listen-ing fell a bit as well to 7:00.

KFRU, a local AM news/talk radio station, saw its time spent listening measurement drop 17 percent from one year ago. However KFRU’s share of

the market increased slightly, from 5.1 to 5.2 percent.

KFRU’s main competi-tor is another news/talk sta-tion, KSSZ, an FM station bet-ter known as the Eagle. The Eagle’s time spent listening in-creased 4 percent from one year ago, according to the Arbitron statistics.

Programming Manager Nicci Garmon said the Eagle had good books for the demo-graphics it was looking for.

KBIA, the University of M i s s o u r i -Columbia’s ra-dio affiliate and local National Public Radio station, had a 26 percent de-crease in time spent listening and a 38 per-cent decrease in market share since one year ago. The sta-tion’s market share dropped from 6.3 to 3.9 percent.

The radio market has been suffering the same fate as the rest of the media world. C o m m e r c i a l stations are dependent on a d v e r t i s i n g revenue, and stations are experiencing decreases na-tionally, Miller said.

But Mark Mills, Cumulus’ local market

manager, remains optimistic.“We’re lucky in the fact that

we’re still a small market,” Mills said.

Being a small market allows the sales staff members to talk to their customers every day and work with them to main-tain a profitable business plan.

The Eagle is also doing “pretty well” with advertising, Garmon said. Although adver-tising revenue for the entire industry is down, the Eagle is not one of Zimmer’s struggling stations, she said. v

KCLR, a

country music

station owned

by Zimmer

Radio Group

that had been

No. 1 in the

local market

for years, had

the largest

drop in time

spent listening

since 2006.

KCLR fell to

No. 2 in market

share, behind

KPLA, an adult

contemporary

station owned

by Cumulus

Broadcasting.

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SPECIAL SECTION | Media & entertainMent

KFRU’s Lile most popular in morning news talkBy Abby Rogers

Every weekday morning, commercial radio station hosts David Lile and Tom Bradley compete with the public station KBIA for a share of the news-talk listen-ers in the Columbia market.

Lile, who’s been hosting KFRU’s “Morning News” program from 6 to 9 a.m. for a dozen years, has helped the AM station keep the top spot in three of the past five surveys of listeners ages 25 to 54, the demographic of most interest to advertisers.

Lile has been broadcasting for 32 years and has a “heritage position” in Columbia’s radio market, Cumulus Broadcasting Market Manager Mark Mills said.

KFRU started its morning show about 50 years ago, and Mills con-tends the AM station enjoys the same position as Lile in the com-munity, which sets it apart from its competitors.

Lile’s show is known to be mostly apolitical, and the station believes it’s the style of his program and the rest of the station’s morning programs that keep listeners tuned in.

“Those programs, just by their very nature with the information they bring, would be the draw for signifi-cant numbers of listeners in the market,” Mills said

Bradley has been the host of “Wake Up Columbia” on the Eagle, KSSZ-FM, from 6 to 9 a.m. for about two

and a half years. The Zimmer-owned station was No. 1 for one 12-week survey of the early morning peri-od in 2007 but dropped significantly in the past two “books.”

Bradley also has long roots in the local radio mar-ket. He started as a co-host for a morning talk show on KPLA, an apolitical adult contemporary station. On the Eagle, Bradley makes his views known on his show.

Bradley tries to bring his sense of fun into the station with him, but his opinion is always prevalent.

“My commentary is all throughout the show,” Bradley said. “Everything we talk about I have a chance to talk on or comment on.”

Despite being on air at the same time and sometimes talking about the same current events, Bradley said he doesn’t feel pressure to compete with Lile; he only feels pressure to improve his own performance.

Both shows compete with KBIA’s morning news program for listeners and, to a lesser extent, for advertisers.

KBIA’s “Morning Edition” news program runs from 4 to 8 a.m. It is

the University of Missouri-Columbia’s station and an NPR affiliate.

The CBT, with the help of Jack Miller at True Media, analyzed morning radio show statistics for people ages 25 to 54 who listened to the radio Monday through Friday from 6 to 10 a.m. The statistics came

from Arbitron, a media and marketing research firm that surveys radio listener rates. The statistics ana-lyzed time spent listening to the radio and each sta-tion’s market share.

The rating period includes the first hour of KFRU’s “The Morning Meeting” program co-hosted by Simon Rose and Renee Hulshof, the first hour of “The Glenn Beck Program” on the Eagle and the first hour of clas-sic music on KBIA.

In the fall 2006-spring 2007 ratings book, KFRU had a 6.7 percent market share. That percentage jumped to 10.5 percent in the fall 2007 to spring 2008 period. The station’s ratings fell again to 8.5 percent in the fall 2008 to spring 2009 ratings. KFRU’s time spent listening followed a similar pattern. It started at 3:15 per week, jumped to 4:00, then fell to 3:30.

According to Arbitron, the Eagle’s time spent lis-tening has decreased 8 percent since one year ago. The station’s market share was at 8.1 percent in the fall 2006 to spring 2007 period, increased to 9 percent in the next survey and went back to 8.1 percent in the fall 2007 to spring 2008 period. The Eagle’s market share dropped to 6.6 percent and 6.8 percent in the past two surveys. The station’s time spent listening started at 3:30 per week, decreased a bit to 3:15 and then to 3:00.

KBIA had a 38 percent decrease in time spent lis-tening from a year ago and had the biggest decline in market share in the latest survey. Its percentage of the market in the past five surveys, chronologically, was: 8.9, 8.2, 9.7, 8.2 and 5.9. KBIA’s time spent listening was initially 3:15 and increased to 4:00. However, the station’s time spent listening fell to 2:30 in the recent ratings. v

David Lile

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Smart Thinking » Cathy atkins

Get your head in the GameThis has been an interesting year. For some

business owners, 2009 is one they’d rather for-get. For others, it represented, if not profit, then at least business as usual. Either way, 4th quarter is upon us, and with that, we begin to cast our eyes toward 2010.

It’s at this time of year when companies begin to murmur words such as budgeting, planning and strategic direction. It’s true that, for many, 2009 has taken its toll on the P&L statement. It’s also taken its toll emotionally on people at all lev-els of an organization. As my clients begin their journeys of writing a one-page business plan that will direct them over the next 12 months, the process of hammering out financials, clarifying objectives and committing to an action plan is, frankly, the easy part. The more dif-ficult, albeit more important, part is setting your head and heart on a new path as well. If you’re one of those who found 2009 to be a struggle and want nothing more than to wave it good-bye, I have a few suggestions that will help:

Fiercely believe in your-self. Too many people swim in the muck of untapped potential. Lance Armstrong said it beautifully in his book, It’s Not About The Bike. He says: “Pain may last a minute, an hour, a day…but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. Quitting, however, lasts forever. So when I feel like giving up, I ask myself, ‘Which would I rather live with?’”

Work a plan. It’s been said that we all live with one of two types of pain: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Running a successful busi-ness is about doing what needs to be done, even when you don’t feel like it. You wouldn’t dare go through a day without brushing your teeth. No matter what, you’d find a way. Develop the same attitude with your priority behaviors. It might be making cold calls, having an owner-ship team meeting, saying thank you or reading to your children at night. If it’s that important, get it done no matter what.

Engage the support of family and friends. Listen to others and learn from them. A Sandler friend once shared that his business grew tre-mendously when he started looking for what others could teach him. Everyone has something to offer you: a story, an idea, a wisdom. Listen, observe, and learn.

Develop the heart of a warrior and the spirit of a servant. Build up your Teflon coating that helps you withstand problems, naysayers and mistakes. They are a natural part of business. Be

clear with your words and intentions, and make a passionate commitment to serving others.

Have faith — faith in your team, faith in your-self, faith in your God — that you’re living out your purpose and that it will be blessed.

Take time each day to think. Getting caught in the “doingness” will lead to unproductive be-havior, which is a day spent busy but not pro-ductively. Never confuse the two. Periodically stop and think. Good ideas will emerge. They’ve been sitting against the wall of your mind, wait-ing for you to ask them to dance.

Enjoy the ride just for the sheer experience. A wise friend once challenged me, metaphori-

cally, to stop furiously shoveling coal into the furnace long enough to enjoy the warmth of the room. It’s an exciting and often funny world we live in. Quit taking yourself so seriously. Be grateful for where you are, appreciate yourself and laugh at the oddity of it all.

Take care of yourself. As a business owner, people are depending on you. You can’t be your best if your body-mind-spirit connections are out of bal-ance. Eat smart, exercise, sleep, laugh and take time away. If you don’t like who you are when you’re alone with yourself, you won’t be an effective leader.

Let go of mistakes. We like to beat ourselves up over a mistaken notion that we can be perfect. Take yourself out of busi-ness “time-out.” Forgive

yourself and others, make adjustments to pre-vent a repeat occurrence, and move on. Life is what happens on the other side of a misstep.

Be grateful. Say thank you, and mean it. At least five times a day, look someone in the eye and offer your appreciation. It could be your staff, your family, mail carrier, a cashier, a visi-tor — or yourself.

It’s been said that there are two motivations for setting goals; either you’re running away from something, or you’re running toward something else. Strategic vision can be both pre-ventive and creative. Too many business people spent 2009 in fear, glancing nervously over their shoulders. As a result, they lost sight of where they were going.

It’s time to get your head in the game. Start your 2010 facing forward. v

Catherine Atkins, president of Savant Business Development Systems, is the exclusive authorized franchisee of Sandler Training, a global leader in sales and management consulting. Visit www.savant.san-dler.com c Sandler Systems Inc.

It’s been said that there

are two motivations for

setting goals; either

you’re running away

from something, or

you’re running toward

something else. Strategic

vision can be both

preventive and creative.

Too many business

people spent 2009 in

fear, glancing nervously

over their shoulders. As

a result, they lost sight of

where they were going.

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PUBLiC RECORDDeeds of trust issued Sept. 14-21

SPAEDER, CASSIDY M & NOAH SBANK OF AMERICALT 14 PL 1 TRAILS WEST$1,260,000

VULGAMOTT, RICHARD L & HELEN AUMB BANKLT A-3 OFF BROADWAY CONDOS$860,887

HILL, MICHAEL ANDREWCHARLES SCHWAB BANKLT 30 PL 1 LAKE WOODRAIL SUB$860,887

MOTTAZ, BRIAN F & FIKE, HEATHER DBOONE COUNTY NATIONAL BANKLT 12 TOWNSQUARE SUB PLAT 1$667,771

BERRY, CHARLES S & RHONDAPREMIER BANKLT 58 MIDWAY CROSSINGS PLAT 2$438,480

BECK, NANCY ANNE & MARK CORDES TRUSTBOONE COUNTY NATIONAL BANKSTR 20-46-11 /E/NE$389,000

I-70 LLCCHAMPION BANKLT 3 TRADE WINDS PARK PLAT NO 1$360,000

POTTER, JAY & BONNIECITIMORTGAGE INCLT 125 QUAIL CREEK PLAT NO 2$289,000

DAVIS, TINA RMISSOURI CREDIT UNIONLT J BL 1 RAYFIELD SUB$284,600

MOEGLING, GARY G & ELLEN WMISSOURI CREDIT UNIONLT 25 FF R B PRICE'S SUB$270,000

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NIGH, TIMOTHY ALLENBANK OF AMERICALT 7 PT FF FYFER'S NORTHERN ADD$264,400

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COOPER, TERRISTATE FARM BANKLT 2808 PL 9 PARK DE VILLE PLACE CONDOS$250,000

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Time Well SpentFrom the staff of Event Solutions, www.eventplanningcompany.net

How to protect event guests from H1N1 With the growing threat of H1NI, better known as swine

flu, people across the country are approaching everyday handshakes and friendly high-fives with a touch of hesitancy. Although the virus can spread through human contact, there are ways to increase health safety at events where interaction is the main purpose. Consider the following tips:

Sanitize• Make hand sanitizer available throughout the event ven-

ue. Some of the best places to place bottles of sanitizer are at the entrance (particularly if there is a registration desk), next to the bar and near the food tables and waste receptacles.

Avoid Buffet-Style• By serving meals on plates or having catering staff pass

out individual hors d’ oeuvres, you can significantly de-crease the amount of people near the food your guests will be eating.

Teamwork• Be sure to speak with the catering staff or manager for

your event about taking proper precautions and extra care when cleaning. If one of the workers looks ill, do not be afraid to ask him or her to leave. It is for the safety of everyone involved.

PREVIEW

Citizen Jane Film Festival What: The 2nd annual Citizen Jane Film Festival seeks to bring awareness to the gender divide among American filmmakers by showcasing the best of narrative, documentary, animation, experimental and short films, all featuring women behind and in front of the camera. The festival invites filmmakers, indus-try professionals and film lovers to open a dialogue while they enjoy beautiful and challenging films. This event promises to be a fun and enriching experience for all involved. Where: Ragtag Cinema When: Oct. 16-18Cost: Tickets are $10 for general admission on opening night and $8 on subsequent days ($8 and $6.50 for students and se-niors). The $100 “Insane Jane” pass grants access to all films, musical performances, special events and parties. The $60 “Plain Jane” pass grants access to all films.More information: www.stephens.edu/citizenjane. Anticipation Rating: 8/10

Rombauer Wine & Gourmet Dinner at Grand Cru Restaurant on Oct. 15. Four-course dinner and a speech by the proprietor of Rombaeur Vinyards in Napa, Calif. Cost: $125. Proceeds benefit a foundation providing financial assistance to cancer patients and a cancer research fellowship. More in-formation: 443-2600 or e-mail grandcru@socket.net

HIT LIST

CBT RECommENdaTIoN

1. Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival- Missouri River town of Hartsburg: Oct. 10-11

2. Comedian Jeff dunham- Mizzou Arena : Oct. 113. Cypress String Quartet- Jesse Hall: Oct. 124. artrageous Friday- The District: Oct. 235. Inauguration of President dianne m. Lynch- Stephens

College: Oct. 28-306. P.a.C.E. presents: The diary of anne Frank- Missouri

Theatre: Oct. 29