An annual tradition for 939 the Eagle host Fred Parry is to interview former Landmark Bank chief executive officer Jeff MacLellan on the final show of the calendar year for the “CEO Roundtable.” Mr. MacLellan has spent 35 years studying economic trends in Columbia and Boone County. He joined Fred in-studio Saturday morning for the hour on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” program. Mr. MacLellan tells listeners that when he started in the banking industry in 1973, there were about 18,000 banks nationwide. He says that number is about 4,000 today. He also addressed the issue of Columbia’s rising home costs, saying the median home sold in Columbia in 2023 was about $343,000. Mr. MacLellan also addressed the traditional three pillars in Columbia’s economy: education, health care and insurance. He notes there are about 55,000 to 60,000 students in Columbia, counting the 18,000 students at Columbia Public Schools (CPS). The University of Missouri and MU Health Care continue to be, by far, the two largest employers in Columbia/Boone County. They have 8,709 and 5,092 employees, according to the latest numbers from Columbia Regional Economic Development Incorporated (REDI). While Shelter Insurance continues to be the seventh-largest employer in Columbia/Boone County with 1,375 employees, Mr. MacLellan tells listeners that finance is emerging as the third-largest pillar now:
No April election for Boone Hospital’s board of trustees
There will be no contested races in April for the Boone Hospital Center board of trustees.
Only one candidate filed for each of the two open positions on the board, so there’s no need for the April election and their names won’t appear on your spring ballot. Gary Thompson will fill the five-year term currently held by Dr. Bob McDavid, the former Columbia mayor who’s retiring from the board. Judy Starr will fill the remaining four years of a term that opened when businessman Greg Steinhoff resigned in October.
2023 statistics from Columbia Regional Economic Development Incorporated (REDI) show that Boone Hospital Center is the sixth-largest employer in Columbia/Boone County, with 1,581 employees.
(LISTEN): VU’s lights display continues this evening in Columbia
Big crowds are expected again tonight for Veterans United Home Loans’ (VU) south Columbia holiday light spectacular.
The event opened on Tuesday evening and continues each night through December 17 from 7 to 10:30. VU spokesman Chad Moller tells 939 the Eagle that traffic flow is normally heaviest early each night.
“Even during the high traffic times, it really only takes only about 15 to 20 minutes to drive through the whole show. It’s just the bigger delay is getting into the complex because of all the traffic,” Moller says.
The driving route is one-mile long around the Veterans United campus complex on Veterans United Drive, and the traffic flow accommodates about 1,000 vehicles per evening. The event is free and no reservations are required. This is the event’s fourth year. VU spokesman Moller notes the first year was during the COVID pandemic in 2020.
“It’s grown a lot since that very first time because we didn’t have a ton of time to put it together. But honestly I don’t think the idea was hatched with the concept of continuing it on for a long time. It was just something we wanted to do to try to uplift the community in a very dark period of our time collectively. So, but it was so well-received like you say,” says Moller.
Mr. Moller tells 939 the Eagle that Veterans United is pleased that the community has embraced the holiday light display, adding that VU is proud to do it. VU is Boone County’s third-largest employer with 3,474 employees, according to the latest Columbia Regional Economic Development Incorporated (REDI) statistics.
Columbia’s “Winter Wonderland” opens this evening at Shelter Insurance headquarters
You can expect several thousand visitors during the next eight nights at the “Winter Wonderland” garden of lights at Columbia’s Shelter Insurance headquarters.
Winter Wonderland opens this evening at 5:30 and runs until 7:30 and will take place each evening through Saturday December 16. It’s the third straight year that Shelter has done the Winter Wonderland garden of lights in its famous gardens. The popular five-acre gardens include a waterfall.
You’ll see thousands of lights, different holiday scenes and decorations that include “Peanuts” characters Charlie Brown and Pig Pen. You’ll be able to walk around the lighted path and take pictures of the lights that are on display.
Shelter spokesman Brad Johnson tells 939 the Eagle that “Winter Wonderland” drew about 13-thousand visitors during its first year in 2021 and another 10,300 last year, which featured a few nights of inclement weather. “Winter Wonderland” is free and open to the public.
Columbia-based Shelter Insurance is Boone County’s seventh-largest employer, with 1,375 employees. Those numbers are per Columbia Regional Economic Development Incorporated.
(LISTEN): Boone Hospital Center’s new chief executive officer is praised by board
Boone County’s sixth-largest employer has a new chief executive officer.
Brady Debois started this week. Boone Hospital Center’s board of trustees chair Dr. Jerry Kennett describes their new CEO as extremely intelligent and detail-oriented.
“The main thing is about Brady is he’s had experience at both not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals. He actually worked at Mosaic in St. Joe (northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph) for several years, was president of the hospital there,” Dr. Kennett says.
St. Joseph-based Mosaic Life Care is a physician-led health system that serves 35 counties in northwest Missouri, northeast Kansas, southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Columbia Regional Economic Development Incorporated (REDI)’s 2023 statistics show Boone Hospital Center has approximately 1,581 employees.
Meantime, St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare and Kansas City-based St. Luke’s will be merging in January. 939 the Eagle’s Fred Parry reports their merger will form a $10-billion system with 28 hospitals. Fred’s guest tomorrow (Saturday) morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” will be Dr. Kennett. He’ll be discussing numerous topics on the program, including the merger.
“St. Luke’s is being pressured tremendously by KU Medical Center, they’ve hurt them. So I think they’ve probably lost some market share over to KU, in fact I’m sure they have. So that was their incentive. BJC’s incentive is to get larger and be able to do managed care contracts across the state. Now what would it do to central Missouri? It would certainly affect Boone (Hospital) if MU Health Care became part of that,” says Dr. Kennett.
Kansas City television station KMBC reports St. Luke’s is the second-largest health care provider in Kansas City, while BJC is the St. Louis area’s largest health system. Dr. Kennett will join Fred Parry in-studio from 7-8 tomorrow morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable.”