Open for Business: Woodworking 101

A woodworking instruction and tool shop, WoodWorking 101, opened Aug. 25 at 3017 S. Kansas Expwy. in Kansas Station. Owner Jon Behrle (right) said the shop sells more than 50 different domestic and exotic species of lumber including cabinet lumber, turning stock and carving stock. The retail tools are primarily hand tools, carving tools and wood-turning tools, Behrle said. Classes are offered for beginner and intermediate woodworkers. WoodWorking 101 is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. It also is open until 9 p.m. Thursday.

Urban agriculture is alive in downtown Springfield at Aqua-Terra Gardens, 1500 W. College St. Owner Frank McNeely, who opened for business Aug. 10, grows vegetables including cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce without soil. McNeely's growth methods, called aquaponics and hydroponics, fertilize the produce with fish, chicken and rabbit waste mixed with water. McNeely sells the produce via his farmers' market at the old Hawkins Mill at the corner of College and Kansas Expressway. There are 12 other vendors, he said, that sell milk, eggs, meat and bread products. "We retail to anyone who buys groceries," McNeely said, adding that some of downtown's restaurants also purchase from him. The market is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Competitive Audio added a location in Nixa Aug. 21 at 1252 N. Bryan Drive. Barry Burdette owns the Nixa store, which offers car audio, security, mobile television and window tinting services. Competitive Audio's Springfield shop, owned by Tom and Alice Johannsen, has been in operation for more than 10 years. "We've been wanting to do something else for a couple of years," Burdette said, adding that he would like to expand to offer home audio by next spring. It is open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.