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Articles by Alex Cook
Cole County man arrested with 18 grams of meth and a stolen firearm
Members of the mid-Missouri Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force and the Miller County Sheriff's Office arrested a Eugene man after executing a search warrant on May 1. Beau James Brinker, 45, of Eugene faces a felony charge of delivery of a controlled substance, according to a Miller County Sherrif's Office Facebook post. The warrant was executed at the 100 block of Eugene Road.
Power outages resolved across mid-Missouri
Storms on Friday caused major power outages across mid-Missouri this weekend. Two tornados touched down in Benton County Friday evening, with more than 10,000 without power in mid-Missouri. Over the weekend, this number decreased for almost all areas, except for Camden County. Camden County had 2,624 customers without power Sunday afternoon, according to the poweroutage.us. As of Sunday evening, these outages were largely resolved, according to the map.
Warsaw R-IX School District hopes to reopen for school on Tuesday
The Warsaw R-IX School District has asked their community to stay off school property to allow cleanup crews to fix damages across school facilities. The district is traditionally open for school from Tuesday through Friday, meaning that the closed day of school is not a missed day of class, according to the Warsaw 2025-2026 School year calendar.
Viewers submit photos after severe weather moves through mid-Missouri
Severe storms moved through mid-Missouri Friday afternoon, causing flooding, hail, high winds and damage across the state. The severe weather threat for mid-Missouri has ended. With that, local emergency management agencies and law enforcement have encouraged residents to stay safe when outside or using roads due to the possibilities of hazards. Officials are saying to be attentive when driving, especially at night, as roads may have flooded or be at risk of flooding.
Mizzou March Madness Fan Experience
One Mizzou Fan has a house divided, with his family cheering for three different teams this March Madness season Ballpark Village in St. Louis hosted Missouri Tigers fans for a pregame experience before the Men's Basketball game tonight, where the Tigers will take on the Miami Hurricanes at 9:10 p.m. Called the "Mizzou HQ" by the Mizzou Alumni Association, Ballpark Village offered opportunities for fans to get together and socialize before the game this evening.
Power outages reported in Boonville
At approximately 9:30 p.m. Friday, power was restored to over 200 customers who were without power across Boone County, according to outage tracking service Poweroutage.us. About 280 Boone Electric Cooperative customers were without power in northern Boone County at 9 p.m. Friday, according to the power outage map on Boone Electric's website. Boone Electric made a post on Facebook at 8:40 p.m. saying crews were on the way to an outage in Hallsville.
Mizzou football QB battle underway in Spring Camp
Ole Miss transfer Austin Simmons got his first taste of a Missouri uniform in the first day of spring camp. Mizzou football head coach Eli Drinkwitz said that Simmons will battle for the Tigers starting spot at quarterback with the sophomore Matt Zollers. “Excited about the quarterback competition we’re gonna have this year,” Drinkwitz said.
Father Tolton to hold groundbreaking for phase one of Game On!
Tolton Regional Catholic High School is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for its Game On! campaign at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The Game On! campaign will ultimately move the high school closer to completing the original campus design and providing enhanced facilities to its students. The ceremony is to celebrate the groundbreaking for the first phase of construction on Tolton's Outdoor Athletics and Activities Complex, which will include the football, soccer, and track portion of the complex.
Coug Gaming: Do We Even Want Grand Theft Auto VI?
Grand Theft Auto VI is on the horizon, but with rising prices and limited time, do we actually want it? Video games have come a long way from the arcades; it feels like games just keep getting larger, whether it be in content, price, or file size. So, why do so many gamers feel burned out? There is a lingering discontent in gaming spaces. Big games keep releasing, with more issues than gameplay.
The True Cost of RPK
RPK Group is being paid “about $300,000” for their work on the Vancouver campus, according to Interim WSU Vancouver Chancellor Sandra Haynes. The RPK group is a consulting company that specializes in higher education, hired in July by Interim Chancellor Haynes. The group is currently engaging in two reviews for the campus.
The Switch 2, A Forgettable Disappointment
The long awaited Nintendo Switch 2 finally released this year, although even before release, warning signs were already evident. The Switch 2 seemed nearly identical to the first Nintendo Switch, and there is a significant price increase from the original’s launch price. That being said, after owning the first Switch since 2017, the overheating problem with that console caused the battery to swell, prompting me to buy the Switch 2 or risk turning my Switch 1 into an impromptu BBQ.
WSUV increasingly relies on tuition as campus bleeds transfer student retention
Tuition revenue now accounts for the majority of the budget funds at WSU Vancouver following budget cuts, as the campus loses graduate students and transfer student retention declines. In a town hall presentation, Interim Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Damien Sinnott showed the funding allocations for the fiscal year 2026 budget. Notably, of the $4,302,100 in budget cuts, $3,725,390 was from the loss of money from state appropriations, administration fees, and general interest.
WSU is being overhauled, based on these six pillars
WSU President Elizabeth Cantwell has announced the start of a redesign of Washington State University as a whole, under her six aspirational “pillars” of higher education. The goal of this redesign is to help bring WSU closer to its land-grant mission, to improve post-graduation outcomes, improve coordination between campuses across the WSU-system, and much more.
Bean-counting in a power vacuum
Efficiency has arrived. In a power vacuum created by WSU System President Elizabeth Cantwell’s decision not to appoint a new chancellor for WSU Vancouver, the interim has called in external consultants to ask questions. Called in by Chancellor of WSU Tri-Cities and Interim Chancellor of WSU Vancouver Sandra Haynes, rpk GROUP is a consulting company that specializes in higher education.
Amid budget cuts, WSUV halts faculty, staff hirings
Facing a near 10% budget cut this year, WSU Vancouver has resorted to leaving multiple faculty and staff positions unfilled as a workaround. Due to the $17 million budget cut across the entire WSU system, WSU Vancouver’s budget was cut this year by $4,302,100 or 9.8%. Each campus took a cut to compensate for the loss, ranging from 1% to 10%.
Facing clipped role, WSUV budget chief packs out for Oregon State University
Jennifer Chambers-Taube left her role as vice chancellor of finance, operations and enrollment at WSU Vancouver on Aug. 29. She had been at the Vancouver campus for over 3 years and oversaw the budget for this year before her departure. Chambers-Taube left due to concerns over changes happening to the WSU system. These changes include President Cantwell’s approach to increasing efficiency among campuses, which involves centralizing resources while diminishing Chambers-Taube’s role at WSU Vancouver.
Tri-Cities vice chancellor appointed as WSUV’s new budget chief
Damien Sinnott, WSU Tri-Cities vice chancellor of finance and administration, now holds a similar role at WSU Vancouver as interim vice chancellor of finance and operations. His appointment to the position was at the behest of Vancouver interim Chancellor Sandra Haynes, who is also chancellor of the Tri-Cities campus. Sinnott plans to travel between the Vancouver campus and Tri-Cities every week, starting this week on the Vancouver campus.
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