Gran Recapte food drive combats food insecurity in Catalonia

Organizers of the Gran Recapte food drive gathered at the Ninot Market Friday morning to kick off the annual initiative. 

"The primary goal of this campaign is to raise awareness that in our society, a society of economic prosperity, there is a significant sector of the population that is struggling, that is living in poverty," said Lluís Fatjó-Vilas i Barbat, president of the Barcelona Food Bank. 

Over 2,000 collection points will be open in markets and supermarkets this Friday and Saturday....

'Catalanizing' technology: campaign promotes Catalan language on digital devices

, On Monday afternoon, Catalan language advocates gathered to announce the launch of configura.cat, a website that provides video tutorials and step-by-step instructions for configuring connected devices in Catalan. 

The site includes instructions for how to "Catalanize" Google and the four most common operating systems: Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. 

"Today the number of devices configured in Catalan, in our opinion, is unsatisfactory and does not do justice to the power of our cultural rea...

How strikes and collective action have shaped Barcelona history

As students and workers prepare for a general strike in support of Palestine on Wednesday, they join a long history of labor organizing in Catalonia. 

The October 15 strike has been planned for weeks, and comes after mass demonstrations in Barcelona against the Israeli interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla. It also follows another strike earlier this month, led by Catalonia's largest health worker union, to call for improved working conditions in the healthcare sector. 

Brendan von Briesen...

Drivers advocate for ride-hailing service jobs at protest

Ride-hailing drivers protested in front of the Territory Department headquarters in Barcelona on Tuesday. 

Earlier this month, the Catalan government announced a new law that will require VTCs (vehicles de transport amb conductor, or private-hire vehicles) to be booked two hours in advance and last a minimum of one hour. The law favors the taxi industry and prohibits VTCs from driving between municipalities in Barcelona's metropolitan area. 

VTC advocates say the law unfairly targets their job...

Columbia Area Earth Day Festival grows in its 35th year

Small businesses set up alongside environmental organizations, political groups and community nonprofits on “Eco Avenue” — a name referring to the downtown blocks transformed by the annual Columbia Area Earth Day Festival on Sunday.The festival added three new blocks and took up more space in downtown Columbia than it ever had before in its 35 years, festival coordinator Laura Wacker said.
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'A gut punch': NEH terminations hit Missouri Humanities, University of Missouri projects

The Trump administration’s cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities are rippling through Missouri, as the state’s humanities council, the University of Missouri’s Ellis Library and an MU professor face the loss of federal funding.The NEH’s budget supports humanities councils, libraries, museums and special projects in every state and jurisdiction. In early April, NEH grants were immediately terminated for 56 state and jurisdiction humanities councils. Over 1,000 grants have since been t...

Proposed revisions to feral cat ordinance may lower permit requirements

It may soon become easier to care for feral cats in Columbia, as residents push for fewer restrictions on feral cat colony caretaker permits.Currently, the city’s feral cat ordinance outlaws providing food or water to a feral cat colony without a permit. Permit holders must regularly feed and monitor the colony, obtain medical care for sick or injured cats and ensure all cats are spayed or neutered, trapped and tested annually, ear tipped, vaccinated and microchipped — requirements residents say...

Waters, Dickson win seats on CPS board

Suzette Waters returns to the Columbia School Board for a second term along with newcomer Erica Dickson, voters decided Tuesday.Waters was the top vote-getter with 17,698 votes, followed by Dickson with 16,885 votes and Rice with 10,423, according to unofficial results.Waters is reclaiming her seat for another three-year term. She watched results roll in from home, where she was watching a livestream of her daughter’s last college choir concert.Waters said she was excited and relieved to win wit...

MU Faculty Council approves expansion of transfer admissions policy

Under existing policy, a transfer student must have a 2.0 GPA and a degree from a regionally accredited two-year college in Missouri or a bordering state to be accepted to MU with junior standing and general education requirements met. This version of the policy has been in place since 2022 and was based on recommendations from a task force created to improve policies that create barriers for transfer students.

Under existing policy, a transfer student must have a 2.0 GPA and a degree from a re...

Rural school districts face funding uncertainty after Department of Education cuts

After the presidential administration called Thursday for dismantling the Department of Education, future distribution of federal Title Ⅰ funds for high-poverty schools could be up in the air.In mid-Missouri, many rural school districts rely on these funds.Tipton R-VⅠ School District in Moniteau County uses Title Ⅰ funding to hire reading and math specialists, said superintendent Terry Robinson.“Title funds are part of our funding because we're not that affluent and we don't have a large local p...

I-70 Business Loop grants on hold, future funding uncertain

With a federal grant on hold indefinitely, it's unclear whether the City of Columbia will receive the $2.13 million it was awarded last year to study improvements to I-70 Business Loop.The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods infrastructure grant to the city in March 2024. After the Trump administration’s January executive order ending federal funding for DEI programs, the grant was placed on hold.“We think this street is definitely a prime examp...

University of Missouri leaders prepare for potential spending cuts • Missouri Independent

University of Missouri faculty and staff received an email Monday morning from MU President Mun Choi announcing plans to begin reducing expenses in response to the Trump administration’s federal funding cuts.
Choi explained that the university’s administration will begin cost-cutting measures for this fiscal year in the coming weeks, citing a “reduction in indirect cost returns as well as cancellation of specific federal projects.” The email also acknowledged that federal cuts are likely to cont...

Boone Health to provide free skin cancer, glucose screenings in Columbia this weekend

Boone Health will offer free skin cancer screenings Saturday, Feb. 22 at The Crossing church.The community screening event will take place from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Attendees are advised to wear loose clothes and minimal makeup, keep hair loose and take note of any skin concerns to point out to screeners before the exam.Boone Health spokesperson Christian Basi recommended wearing shorts or a looser shirt underneath layers, as nurses will only be checking exposed areas.“We have nurses that are on st...

Access or excess: Navigating the health care network in mid-Missouri

When Courtney Palmer moved to Columbia and knew she needed to establish primary care, she started by calling MU Health Care.“You muster up the energy, and then you start making phone calls, and MU is the first thing that always comes up,” Palmer said. “We’re in Columbia, and that’s our hospital.”
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Changes to MU parking plans will take effect Aug. 1

Changes to the University of Missouri’s parking program will be announced next week, according to a presentation at Thursday’s MU Faculty Council meeting. The Conley Avenue parking structure will also reopen by Aug. 1, when the changes are set to take effect.Sarah Chinniah, MU’s vice chancellor for business operations and strategic initiatives, and Josh Ignagni, director of parking and transportation, presented plans for a new demand-based parking model. They also announced the expansion of MU’s...

Missouri agencies conduct annual homelessness count

On the night of Jan. 23, a group of Missouri organizations working to end homelessness conducted the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. This process documents the number of people across the state experiencing homelessness on a single night at the end of January.The count is run by Missouri Balance of State Continuum of Care, a planning body designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The department requires these groups of agencies nationwide to conduct the yearly data ga...

Jackson County judge hears Planned Parenthood motion to reconsider abortion restrictions

At a hearing in Kansas City on Friday, Planned Parenthood asked a Jackson County circuit judge to reconsider her December order that left some abortion restrictions in place."Planned Parenthood and the ACLU remain hopeful that this court will do right by Missourians and block the laws in short order," Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint statement issued after Friday's hearing.
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City of Columbia to host transit job fair amid calls for higher transit driver pay

The City of Columbia is hosting a transit job fair this Saturday to recruit bus and paratransit van drivers.This fair is taking place just days after LiUNA Local 955, the local union representing public employees, presented to Columbia City Council at a work session on Tuesday.Andrew Hutchinson serves as a union representative for LiUNA Local 955. He said the union is advocating for higher wages and a binding arbitration process that would install a third party to resolve potential contract viol...

Columbia Planned Parenthood ready to provide abortions next month

Missourians voted this week to pass Amendment 3, establishing a constitutional right to abortion which will take effect on Dec. 5. If a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood on Wednesday is successful, its Columbia location on North Providence Road will offer abortion services for the first time since 2018.Emily Wales serves as president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. She said the lawsuit to strike down Missouri’s total abortion ban will likely continue for months, but Planned Parenth...

Columbia Citizens Police Review Board navigates upheaval

The Citizens Police Review Board has struggled to define its role since Columbia City Council voted Sept. 3 to limit its responsibilities in response to a new statewide public safety law.At the first board meeting since the ordinance changing the board’s duties was passed, Assistant City Counselor Rose Wibbenmeyer explained the effects of the changes. The revised Missouri statute states that the power of review boards is now “solely” limited to complaints involving four categories of misconduct:...

MU’s only Latin fraternity endures despite low membership

Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity Inc. currently has one active member at MU: junior Victor Peralta, who also serves as president of the chapter. 


The fraternity was founded in 1975 at Kean University. It became the first nationally recognized Latin fraternity in the nation, and the Delta Delta chapter was established at MU in 2012. The chapter is the first and only Latin fraternity on campus. 


Despite limited membership today, the fraternity’s alumni network is extensive. Paying respect t...