Rain

Fire

I was sent by the Columbia Missourian to cover a fire at an abandoned University of Missouri research building.

A fire spits flames into the sky on Sinclair Road at about 9 p.m. Thursday. 

MU Police Department officer Justin Patlan blocks southbound traffic on Sinclair Road at about 9 p.m., close to where a fire broke out Thursday

First Day in the new Catholic high school

Father Tolton Regional Catholic High School had its first day in its new facility. The mass was held in the gymnasium while parts of the school remain under construction. The skylights in the gym made for some nice afternoon light onto the bleachers.

Madeline Baggett talks to her father Dennis Baggett in her kitchen before her mother Jennifer Baggett (right) drives her to her first day in the new building for Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School. The Baggetts said they chose Fr. Tolton because it brings values from home into her school. 

Caroline Parker sits in class in the gymnasium.

Students receive Communion from Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School principal Kristie Wolfe in the school's gymnasium on Tuesday. This was the first Mass to be held in the new school. 

Caroline Parker studies in her class held in the gymnasium on Tuesday at Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School. Because construction of the facility has not been completed, classes are being held in any available rooms, including the weight room, art room and music room.  

Students sit in the gymnasium in their uniforms during class.The dress code has restrictions on all clothing except for socks.

Olivia Oglesby, Heidi Gundy and Caroline Parker hold hands during mass at Fr. Tolton Catholic High School. The school opened for its first day in the new facility at U.S. 63 and East Gans Road. 

The sky through a 17-foot lens

The biggest lens. Seventeen feet to be exact. I was able to see jupiter and its moons!

Steve Bornemeier looks into the sky at the Morrison Observatory in Fayette, Mo. The observatory has several telescopes, including one that is more than 130 years old.

Cameron McCalister climbs the stairs to the 130-year-old telescope housed in Fayette's Morrison Observatory on Oct. 27. The observatory is open for public viewing on Thursday evenings.

A photograph titled "The Moon at Twenty Days" hangs in the Morrison Observatory in Fayette. The observatory has been on Central Methodist University's campus since 1936.

Zane Rice, 9, and Steve Bornemeier look into a telescope at the Morrison Observatory in Fayette. The observatory has several telescopes, including one that is more than 130 years old.

Footies

The Hickman High School soccer team prepares for their district semifinals game against their rival team the Jefferson City Jays.

Extreme Makeover: Joplin

Morgan Grawe, Courtney Padgitt, Lauren Vienravee, Stephanie Rasch and Emelie Henzel prepare to be filmed by the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" crew on Tuesday in Joplin. The MU architecture students traveled from Columbia to volunteer. The The students traveled from Columbia to volunteer by unwrapping furniture and rolling artwork.

A Crate&Barrel home decor truck delivers furniture on Jackson Street in Joplin, where homes are being built by "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Seven families are having homes rebuilt only blocks away from St. Johns Regional Medical Center, which was destroyed by the May 22 tornado.

Two men work on one of the seven houses being built for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

A volunteer works on one of seven houses being built for Extreme Home Makeover.

For more information about the event read the Columbia Missourian's full written piece here.