UM System spokesman Christian Basi

(LISTEN): Mizzou to expand Columbia’s current research reactor

September 25, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

The MU Research Reactor (MURR) in Columbia was built in 1966. This view is seen from above (file photo courtesy of the MU News Bureau)

The University of Missouri is planning a groundbreaking ceremony for next Monday for an expansion of the current MU Research Reactor (MURR) in Columbia, which was built in 1966.

MURR, which operates at 10-megawatts, is the nation’s most powerful university research reactor.

UM System spokesman Christian Basi tells 939 the Eagle that the groundbreaking is for MURR West and will be an expansion of the production facilities. State Rep. Kathy Steinhoff (D-Columbia), who serves on the Missouri House Budget Committee, tells 939 the Eagle that the MURR produces critical medical isotopes.

“It is an amazing thing. I mean Mizzou was just ranked number one for a university research reactor in the whole nation. And that is probably because of the fact that they are the only ones in the nation that are producing an isotope that is been fighting all kinds of cancers worldwide,” Steinhoff says.

State Rep. Kathy Steinhoff (D-Columbia) questions a witness during a March 20, 2023 House committee hearing in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The current MURR near South Providence is licensed through 2037, and is down the hill from Faurot Field. It cost about $1.5 million to build. It operates 52 weeks a year, 24 hours a day, six-point-five days a week.

“It is amazing how many people … I live in Columbia and it amazing how many of my friends don’t even know that it exists right there. And it will be leading the way,” says Steinhoff.

Mizzou officials also want to build a second and new research reactor near Discovery Ridge in south Columbia, saying that is critical to ensuring a lifetime supply of isotopes needed to diagnose heart disease and to detect and treat cancer. Next Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony to expand the current MURR is not a groundbreaking for the future reactor, according to UM System spokesman Christian Basi. Mizzou’s Sarah Chinniah told Columbia business leaders in June that the proposed new reactor will cost about $1-billion and will take about ten years to build.

Memorial Stadium and other Mizzou athletic facilities to be toured by UM Curators

August 1, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

The UM Board of Curators will be touring some of Mizzou’s athletic facilities in Columbia Tuesday morning.

UM System spokesman Christian Basi tells 939 the Eagle that curators will gather at Memorial Union, before shuttling to Memorial Stadium to begin their 9:30 tour. UM System President Dr. Mun Choi is expected to join them on the tour.

Meantime, Mizzou football’s new 86,000 square foot indoor practice facility in Columbia is now complete, according to Mizzou Athletics. Construction began in the fall of 2021 on the $33-million facility, which was funded through private donations. It’s located next to Faurot Field’s $98-million south end zone complex.

It will be called the Stephens indoor facility, for Brad Stephens and his wife Rachel Cohen Stephens. The Mizzou graduates have made numerous cash and in-kind contributions.

Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz has said that an indoor facility to train and practice in is critical to the program’s player development efforts. The facility replaces the Devine Pavilion, which opened in 1998. Devine has a 70-yard field, while the new facility has a full-length football field.

Mizzou to phase out printing operations but will keep University Stores in-house

July 20, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

Citing numerous factors, Mizzou officials have announced that they will phase out the university’s printing services operation in Columbia within the next calendar year.

That facility is on east Columbia’s McGuire Boulevard, near Lemone Industrial drive. Mizzou’s Print and Mail services has been serving campus needs since 1935.

Mizzou officials say the current business model for printing services is not sustainable. They say revenue has declined by 50 percent in the past decade and that operating costs are projected to increase. They also cite staffing challenges at the printing operation, saying they’ve lost nine full-time staff members in the past five years and have had a difficult time filling vacant positions.

The university says key pieces of printing equipment need repair, including a saddle stitching machine. Mizzou says a repair would be $60,000, while a machine replacement could cost $500,000.

Mizzou vice chancellor Sarah Chinniah says printing services remains committed to its customers and that they’ll continue to fulfill orders through the transition. A University spokesman tells our news partner KMIZ that a couple of dozen employees will lose their jobs.

Meantime, Mizzou has decided to continue operating University Stores in-house. University Stores include the Tiger Team Store, the Mizzou Store and UMKC bookstore. UM System spokesman Christian Basi says University Stores remains financially independent. Basi says University Stores has also contributed $20-million in student scholarships and capital reserves in the past five years, while putting $13-million toward deferred maintenance in the MU Student Center.

Mizzou North’s demolition continues in Columbia; restoration expected to be done by 2024

May 10, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

Major demolition continues this morning at Mizzou North on Columbia’s Business Loop.

UM System spokesman Christian Basi says demolition began in mid-March and is expected to be done by December. The scene is surrounded by a chain link fence, with heavy construction equipment and dumpsters inside the demolition zone. Mr. Basi says restoration of the site will follow the demolition and should be done sometime before the summer of 2024. Mr. Basi says there are currently no specific plans for the property, at this time.

UM System President Dr. Mun Choi told 939 the Eagle in January that the empty building has asbestos issues and was not suitable for occupancy. President Choi says the reason Mizzou moved out of the building is because it wasn’t suitable for continued long-term occupancy.

The UM Board of Curators approved the $10-million demolition plan in September. That building used to be the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. The back of Mizzou North is visible from I-70 in Columbia, near the Providence road exit.

UPDATE: Mizzou has had water damage at seven residence halls and several athletic facilities

December 30, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

A drone view of Mizzou’s Jesse Hall in Columbia (2022 file photo courtesy of Mizzou spokesman Uriah Orland)

Crews from Columbia’s ServiceMaster and Neville and Sons remain on the Mizzou campus on this Friday, cleaning up water damage from the Christmas holiday weekend.

UM System spokesman Christian Basi says water pipes that burst during the Christmas weekend’s subfreezing temperatures have caused damage at seven residence halls and at one academic and research building.

Basi says there’s also damage at several Mizzou athletic facilities: Mizzou Arena, Memorial Stadium and at the football training center across Providence from Faurot Field. Basi says the heaviest damage is to Memorial Stadium’s tower, adding that the damage at Mizzou Arena is minor involving an exterior wall.

Mr. Basi tells 939 the Eagle that damage estimates are still being calculated. No injuries have been reported.