Your five-minute catch-up for Wednesday, July 29. Here’s what matters on our stretch of the river today.
Easing Up, A Little
The worst of the heat has passed, for now. It was 74 degrees and partly cloudy as of this morning — a real change from the extreme-heat warnings of the last week and a half. Today should still climb toward 90 with heat index values in the low 90s, but forecasters are tracking less heat and another late-week rain chance, so the trend is finally in the right direction.
Around the Counties
Mizzou is leading the largest federal grant in Missouri history. The University of Missouri system and 240 partner organizations have landed a $160 million federal grant to build a Midwest hub for rare-mineral research, mining, and logistics. Missourinet has the details.
Ameren customers get one more shot to weigh in tonight. The state Public Service Commission holds its virtual hearing on Ameren Missouri’s request to build three battery-storage projects and two solar facilities at 6 p.m. today, over WebEx or phone — register by 5 p.m. It’s the only one of the four scheduled hearings a Rocheport-area ratepayer can actually reach; we broke down the case and how to join here.
Three Boonville High School teachers just won $2,000 for a classroom idea. Angie Hackman, Danielle Russell, and Kelly Smith took the 2026 Show Me Careers Hack-A-Thon with a proposal called Developing Market Value Assets in the ELA Classroom. Boonville Daily News has the story.
It was a big weekend for Boonville sports. Gene Reagan Field hosted 294 wrestlers from 65 clubs for the PPWA Under the Lights tournament; 37 teams played Hail Ridge Golf Course for the Dean Caldwell Fore the Kids memorial tournament we told you was coming; and the Boonville 9 All-Stars, fresh off their Cal Ripken state title, won the Midwest Plains Regional in South Dakota to qualify for next year’s World Series.
Happening Soon
Rocheport’s own Locals Night is tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Katy’s Fork in the Trail. Friday evening, catch Joe Devoy on piano at 7 p.m. at the Rocheport Winery at Mount Nebo Inn, and COMO Restaurant Week kicks off in Columbia the same day.
Outdoors & River
The Missouri River keeps climbing, gently. The gauge at Boonville read 7.6 feet this morning, up from 7.18 on Tuesday — still nowhere near flood stage. It’s also day two of the MR340: more than 600 paddlers left Kaw Point on Tuesday for the 340-mile nonstop run to St. Charles, and Rocheport is one of the better spots on the whole course to watch them go by. Here’s how to follow along.
Roads & I-70
A new closure to plan around: MoDOT will shut down the Route 124 ramp at U.S. 63 in Boone County from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 3 for shoulder-widening work; MoDOT’s release has the detour guidance. Closer to home, the westbound I-70 ramp work at Providence Road (MO-163) and the overnight lane squeezes we told you about Tuesday are still in effect.
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