FACTS ABOUT COLUMBIA

POPULATION

Columbia: 84,531

Boone County: 135,454

CLIMATE

Temperatures: Columbias mean temperature is 55.4 degrees. The average temperature is 29.3 degrees in January and 78.4 degrees in July.

Precipitation: Annual rainfall averages 40.51 inches, and annual snowfall averages 22.4 inches.

CONVENTION AND TOURISM

Lodging: There are 27 hotels and motels with 2,773 total rooms. There are 13 meeting facilities at area hotels.

Exhibition: Boone County Fairground, 107,300 square feet; Holiday Inn Executive Center, 20,000 square feet; Hearnes Center, 70,000 square feet; Midway Exposition Center, 66,000 square feet.

Information on events, points of interest, meeting plans and tour arrangements is available through the Convention and Visitors Bureau, 300 S. Providence Road, P.O. Box 6015, Columbia, Mo., 65205. The bureau can be reached at (573) 875-1231, faxed at 443-3986 or contacted at its Web site www.visitcolumbiamo.com.

EDUCATION

Elementary and secondary: Columbia Public Schools encompasses three high schools, three junior highs, three middle schools and 19 elementary schools. The 2001-02 enrollment was 16,243. There are 10 non-public schools with an enrollment of about 1,110.

Vocational-technical: The Career Center instructs adults and ninth-, 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders and offers more than 300 courses each semester in customized training for local businesses. Some Columbia students also attend Moberly Area Technical Center.

Colleges: The University of Missouri-Columbia has about 19,700 undergraduate students and 6,426 graduate and professional students. It has a faculty and staff of about 11,400. It is both an acclaimed research institution and a state land-grant university. Columbia also has two private liberal arts colleges: Stephens College and Columbia College.

MAIN LIBRARIES

Columbia Public Library: 444,897 volumes

Ellis Library, MU: 3.2 million volumes

MEDICAL

Three general hospitals with 910 beds

Three specialty hospitals with 233 beds

One intermediate-care facility, 10 residential-care facilities and nine skilled-nursing facilities

761 medical doctors, 45 doctors of osteopathic medicine, 22 doctors of chiropractic medicine

91 dentists

2,494 registered nurses and 666 licensed practical nurses

130 doctors of veterinary medicine

RECREATION

Three bowling alleys

Three country clubs

Three movie theaters with a total of 24 screens

2,084 acres of public and state parks

13 swimming facilities

35 tennis courts

Eight golf courses

13 health clubs

One outdoor skating park, one indoor roller rink

More than 30 miles of nature and fitness trails

NEWSPAPERS

Columbia Daily Tribune: Afternoon paper on weekdays, morning paper on weekends. Daily circulation of 21,100, Sunday circulation of about 25,000

Columbia Missourian: Morning paper published daily except Saturdays by MU School of Journalism. Paid daily circulation of about 7,200

Columbia Business Times: Biweekly with circulation of 5,000

Mid-Missouri Business Journal: Biweekly with circulation of 5,000

Boone County Journal: Weekly with circulation of 2,132

Columbia Senior Times: Monthly with circulation of 5,000

Centralia Fireside Guard: Circulation of 4,300

AM RADIO STATIONS

KFRU, Columbia 1400 AM

KTGR, Columbia 1580 AM

KFAL, Fulton 900 AM

KLIK, Jefferson City 950 AM

KWIX, Moberly 1230 AM

KWOS, Jefferson City 1240 AM

KXEO, Mexico 1340 AM

KWRT, Boonville 1370 AM

FM RADIO STATIONS

KCOU, Columbia 88.1 FM

KOPN, Columbia 89.5 FM

KWWC, Columbia 90.5 FM

KBIA, Columbia 91.3 FM

KMFC, Centralia 92.1 FM

KTLH, Columbia 93.9 FM

KCMQ, Columbia 96.7 FM

KCLR, Columbia 99.3 FM

KPLA, Columbia 101.5 FM

KBXR, Columbia 102.3 FM

KMFC, Columbia 103.1 FM

KOQL, Columbia 106.1 FM

KJLU, Jefferson City 88.9 FM

KATI, Jefferson City 94.3 FM

KWWR, Mexico 96.0 FM

KKCA, Fulton 97.7 FM

KJMO, Jefferson City 101.1 FM

KRES, Moberly 104.7 FM

KZZT, Moberly 105.5 FM

KTXY, Jefferson City 106.9 FM

TELEVISION STATIONS

KOMU-8 NBC affiliate

KMIZ-17 ABC affiliate

KQFX-11 FOX affiliate

KRCG-13, Holts Summit, CBS affiliate

EMERGENCY SERVICES

Columbia police: 139 budgeted officers

Boone County Sheriffs Department: 36 deputies, two majors, three captains, two lieutenants and several sergeants and investigators

Fire departments: 128 Columbia firefighters, nearly 250 Boone County firefighters. The citys fire insurance rating is 3; the countys is between 5 or 9, depending on location.

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Twenty-three banks, savings and loans and credit unions with assets totaling more than $2.5 billion.

LABOR ANALYSIS

Columbia is part of a nine-county labor market area that draws on a civilian labor force of 201,000. About 34,000 workers in the area are underemployed, which means they have education, skills or training that exceed their current job responsibilities.

TRANSPORTATION

Highways: Interstate 70 runs east-west, and Highway 63 runs north-south through Columbia.

Railroads: Columbia Terminal (COLT) and Gateway Western Railway; Amtrak and Norfolk Southern in Jefferson City

Motor-freight carriers: 14 interstate motor freight lines serve the Boone County area, with 12 terminals in Columbia.

Air: Columbia Regional Airport: 6,500-foot runway. AmericanConnection provides daily flights to St. Louis from the airport.

Bus: Columbia Area Transit-intracity (CAT), Greyhound, airport shuttle and charter services

Waterways: Port of Boonville Missouri River

PARCEL, MAIL AND TELEGRAPH SERVICES

Parcel service: Local delivery service and several major parcel services are available on a daily basis. UPS has a regional facility in Columbia.

Telegraph service: Western Union

Post office: First class. 511 E. Walnut St.

UTILITIES AND SERVICES

Natural gas: Ameren/UE

Electricity: Ameren/UE, Columbia Water & Light, Boone County Electric Cooperative, Centralia Municipal Water and Light

Cable television: Mediacom, Charter Cable, Capital Cable

Local telephone: CenturyTel, 100% Digital, Fiber-optic

Long-distance carriers: AT&T, MCI, U.S. Sprint, PrimeLink, Tel Central

Water: City system has a capacity of 24 million gallons per day and average daily consumption of 12.74 million gallons. Rural water districts supply county residents.

Sewer: The citys wastewater treatment plant near McBaine has a capacity of 20.3 million gallons per day. Boone County Regional Sewer District serves the county.

RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES

Housing: There are 2,208 houses available in Columbia, according to recent figures from the Columbia Board of Realtors. Of those houses, 77 are priced under $50,000, 296 are priced between $50,000 and $80,000, 347 are priced between $80,000 and $100,000, 926 are priced between $100,000 and $160,000 and 562 are priced higher.

Industrial land: Industrial sites are available with interstate, rail and runway access, in green-field settings and in fully developed industrial parks. Regional Economic Development Inc. maintains inventories of existing industrial sites, industrial buildings and commercial buildings. REDI provides buildings designed to companies requirements through turn-key, lease or lease-purchase arrangements.

WHERE WE ARE

Columbia and Boone County are in the heart of Missouri and the nation, bisected by Interstate 70 midway between Kansas City and St. Louis.