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By My Courier-Tribune The Missouri Department of Conservation encourages walking through the winter woods, especially for families. Fresh snow is the perfect blank canvas for seeing what animals have been up to. Snow or no snow, footprints and other clues left behind tell a story of how animals survive in winter. At night, nocturnal animals

By Columbia Missourian via My Courier-Tribune In the heavily forested Ozark plateau south of Columbia, black bears are increasingly making Missouri their home. After being nearly eradicated from the state in the 1930s, the bear population is finally bouncing back, thanks to conservation efforts in recent decades. Today, Missouri has about about 900 bears, a

By My Courier-Tribune As winter sets in, gardeners thumb through seed catalogs in anticipation of next year’s gardens. But not all seed sources are created equal, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Katie Kammler. Choose a reputable source known for disease-free seed, high germination rates and good results, said Kammler. Consider the variety selection, seed

By Dr. Keith Roach via My Courier-Tribune DEAR DR. ROACH, Recently, I was rejected from donating plasma (not blood) because my iron that day was 57 mcmol/L, and the maximum allowable was 54 mcmol/L. I was rescheduled to get retested in a few days. The technician said to eat beans and similar foods to lower

By St. Louis Post-Dispatch via My Courier-Tribune One regret has needled David Morris for half a century. The 74-year-old, a military veteran and father of six, has owned a grocery store, sold real estate, and worked on an assembly line, at a post office and as a lab technician. But Morris, of Black Jack, never

By Missouri Independent via My Courier-Tribune JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri has made the tentative decision to participate in a federal food assistance program for kids, potentially opening the door for millions of dollars in aid through a program called Summer EBT. However, the decision is not binding and Missouri still has to submit a detailed

By My Courier-Tribune A free, online webinar at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 4 will provide students and families with an overview of the new, simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid as well as tips, deadlines and reminders for maximizing financial aid for the 2024-2025 academic year, according to a press release. The webinar will