re: how far is st. louis from columbia?

you can visit STL or KC if you fly up to MO for a weekend. There is also a small airport in Columbia but you may or may not find that convenient when it is often easier to fly into STL/KC and just drive 90 minutes to Columbia.

STL offers the Cardinals stadium (very nice) as well as teh Blues and the Rams. There is a very nice Zoo with no admission charge in Forest Park (near the Art Museum & Science Center and Planetarium).

Herman MO can and maybe should be visited on teh way in or out of town (sort of between STL and Columbia) - nice beers and wines in a very cute small town with German heritage. There is also a Six Flags in teh area of STL which some will go for (and a variety of strip clubs in East STL for you younger and skeezier guys)

Kansas City I've done less visiting but the Chiefs Arrowhead stadium is awesome, the Royals park is right next to it and is really attractive (with cheap tickets) as well. There is a Harry Truman Museum around KC as well for you history buffs... and for people driving up there through Arkansas you can stop in Branson if you are an authentic redneck and Springfield MO if you just need a medium sized city to stop and drink at along teh way.

Columbia is generally speaking a cute smallish town with some nice bars and a fairly nice campus.