2025 Results
A Year of Connection, Growth, and Milestones on the Missouri River
2025 was a year that stretched our imagination of what community engagement on the river can look like. With the launch of a new organizational brand, new school districts joining our programs, staff growth, and the addition of a new boat to our fleet, the Missouri River met us at every bend with opportunities to deepen our roots and strengthen our relationships with communities along its banks.
The rollout of our new branding marked a meaningful moment for Missouri River Relief. More than a visual refresh, it gave us clearer language to reflect who we are and how we show up: authentic, grounded, welcoming, and deeply connected to the river. It helped us better tell the stories that volunteers, families, students, and paddlers already know firsthand. The river changes us.
2025 also brought important growth and transition within our staff. Petie Holder joined Missouri River Relief as Development Director, strengthening our fundraising and donor relationships. Becca Ray came on as Grant Writer, helping expand our capacity to secure funding that supports long-term program growth. Harry Katz joined the team as Communications Director, bringing new energy and focus to how we share stories from the river. After years of leadership as Executive Director, Steve Schnarr transitioned into the role of Race Director, continuing his deep involvement with the MR340 and the paddling community that has helped define the organization
Across 136 programs in 21 communities, 1,535 volunteers donated 9,508 hours in service of the river. Together, students, teachers, paddlers, and community members from all walks of life spent more than 38,000 hours on the Missouri River, creating experiences rooted in learning, stewardship, challenge, and joy.
The story of 2025 is one of momentum. People showing up, learning alongside one another, and discovering new relationships with the Missouri River.
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The Story of 2025
The thread that runs through every year at Missouri River Relief is people stepping into a new relationship with the river. In 2025, that thread wove together new communities, new programs, and new ways of seeing what this river can offer.
Spring began with familiar rhythms as Missouri River Days returned to Columbia, alongside something new: a pilot Missouri River Days session in Jefferson City. Working with a single school district allowed us to test the program locally, build trust, and learn what was possible. That momentum carried into the fall, when the full Jefferson City Public Schools District joined the program.
Our work also reached far upstream with a spring cleanup in Omaha and Council Bluffs, reconnecting with a community eager to roll up their sleeves and care for their stretch of river.
Summer months brought the energy of Mornings at the River, Missouri River Adventure Camp, and the 20th anniversary of the MR340. Just in time for the fall season, we welcomed a transformative new way to bring people onto the river: the Salli Webb, a 26-foot aluminum passenger boat designed to carry thousands of future river stewards.
We closed the year with one final act of care. A chilly but spirited Osage and Missouri River cleanup in the Jefferson City area which brought volunteers together for a powerful reminder of why this work matters.
Throughout the year, the story remained the same. When people meet the river face to face, something shifts inside them.
Growing Our Team to Meet the Moment
As Missouri River Relief’s programs continued to grow in reach and complexity in 2025, our staff evolved alongside them. These changes were not about growth for its own sake, but about building the capacity needed to support volunteers, students, paddlers, partners, and communities with care and consistency.
Each new role strengthened a different part of the organization, while leadership transitions ensured continuity and deep institutional knowledge remained at the core of our work.
Petie Holder, Development Director
Petie Holder joined Missouri River Relief as Development Director, bringing a people-centered approach to fundraising and donor engagement. Her work focuses on building long-term relationships rooted in trust, transparency, and shared values. In 2025, Petie helped strengthen the systems and partnerships that make our programs possible, ensuring supporters feel connected not just to outcomes, but to the river stories they help sustain.
Becca Ray, Grant Writer
Becca Ray joined the team as Grant Writer, expanding our capacity to pursue funding that supports both program stability and future growth. Her work helps translate on-the-ground impact into clear, compelling proposals, connecting funders to the real experiences happening on the river. In a year of program expansion, Becca’s role helped ensure Missouri River Relief could grow thoughtfully and responsibly.
Harry Katz, Communications Director
In the late fall of 2025, Harry Katz joined Missouri River Relief as Communications Director, bringing focus and intention to how we share the story of the river and the people connected to it. His work centers on translating hands-on experiences into clear, authentic storytelling that reflects the organization’s values and community. From impact reporting to program storytelling, his role helps ensure that the voices of volunteers, students, paddlers, and partners are seen and heard.
Steve Schnarr, Race Director
After years of leadership as Executive Director, Steve Schnarr transitioned into the role of Race Director in 2025. This shift allowed him to continue stewarding one of the organization’s most visible and demanding programs, the Missouri American Water MR340, while remaining closely connected to the paddling community. His deep experience, relationships, and institutional knowledge continue to shape the race and its culture as it moves into its next chapter.
Meet the Salli Webb, our Newest Boat!
In 2025, we proudly welcomed the newest member of our fleet: the Salli Webb, a 26-foot passenger boat powered by a 225 Yamaha motor that will carry thousands of students, families, and volunteers onto the Missouri River for hands-on learning and stewardship.
The boat is named in honor of two individuals whose impact on river education and recreation runs deep.
Salli O’Donnell is an MR340 paddling legend and the first female top solo finisher.
Ragan Webb is Columbia Public Schools’ Elementary Science Coordinator, whose leadership helped make Missouri River Days possible.
Huge thanks to the Mid-Missouri Solid Waste Management District for funding this incredible addition to our fleet. Its impact will ripple across generations of river learners and stewards.
A New Chapter in Jefferson City
Our expansion into Jefferson City unfolded in two intentional steps: a spring pilot Missouri River Days session, followed by the entire district joining us in the fall. This rollout allowed us to adapt the program to local needs and create a strong first-year experience for hundreds of students seeing their hometown river through new eyes.
In the fall, Catfishing Lessons also arrived in Jefferson City, giving families access to guided fishing instruction, gear, safety training, and the confidence to use the river as a gathering place. Across Columbia and Jefferson City, 546 participants engaged with the Catfishing Gear Library and Lessons program.
Education on the River
Education played a major role in our work throughout 2025, which became our largest education year yet. More than 6,364 participants, including 4,318 students and 189 teachers, took part in programs rooted in curiosity, discovery, and hands-on learning.
Across Missouri River Days, Adventure Camp, and Mornings at the River, our approach remained grounded in a simple belief. The river is both classroom and teacher.
Students learned to read the river’s rhythms, ask questions about wildlife, understand history through place, and build confidence through firsthand experience. Parents and caregivers watched their children light up with new knowledge. Teachers shared that they saw their students think differently after stepping onto a boat for the first time.
These programs generated more than 11,000 participant hours on the river, fostering curiosity, respect, and a lasting relationship with the Missouri River among the next generation.
Education by the Numbers
- 59 programs
- 6,364 total participants
- 2,019 volunteer hours
- 4,318 students
- 189 teachers
- 11,000+ hours on the river
River Cleanups
Cleanup days are where our mission becomes tangible. Volunteers step into mud boots, gather tools, climb riverbanks, push through brush, and work side by side to uncover the river’s natural beauty. The camaraderie of a cleanup day, laughter, sweat, and shared meals, is as memorable as the trash removed.
In 2025, cleanup efforts stretched across 162.6 river miles, removing 21 tons of trash through both large community cleanups and Trash Mobs. From spring cleanups in Kansas City and Omaha and Council Bluffs to closing out the year on the Osage and Missouri Rivers, volunteers of all ages came together to leave their stretch of river better than they found it.
Cleanup Totals
- 9 cleanups
- 12 Trash Mobs
- 743 cleanup volunteers
- 21 tons removed
- 239 tires removed
2025 Big Muddy Speaker Series Highlights
The Big Muddy Speaker Series continued to bring thoughtful, curious audiences together to explore topics connected to the Missouri River. With nearly 700 attendees over the course of the year, presentations ranged from ecology and art to history and flood policy, deepening public understanding of the river through storytelling, science, and dialogue.
Paddling and Racing
Paddling programs connect people to the river through challenge, endurance, exhilaration, and awe. In 2025, the river community felt bigger and more connected than ever.
20 Years of the MR340
The MR340 reached its 20th year in 2025, marking two decades of the longest nonstop river races in the world. The 340-mile course from Kansas City to St. Charles challenges paddlers physically and mentally, while offering an unmatched way to experience the Missouri River as a living, moving system.
The 2025 race also marked a leadership transition, with longtime Missouri River Relief Executive Director Steve Schnarr stepping into the role of Race Director. His deep history with the race and close ties to the paddling community helped guide the MR340 through its 20th year, balancing tradition with the steady coordination required to support hundreds of paddlers and volunteers across the state.
Racers from across the country and beyond took to the river, supported by volunteers, safety crews, checkpoints, and river towns along the route. Together, they created a shared journey defined by perseverance, teamwork, and respect for the river.
More than 27,000 participant hours were spent on the water during the MR340 alone, reinforcing the race’s role as both a world-class paddling event and a powerful point of connection between people and the Missouri River.
This milestone year brought together 542 paddlers and 206 volunteers, weaving thousands of individual stories into one shared journey across the state. For many racers, the MR340 is a personal test of grit and resilience. For others, it is a team effort built on trust and support. For all, it is a rare opportunity to experience the Missouri River continuously, day and night, in all its complexity.
Race to the Dome
Race to the Dome has become a beloved fall tradition, offering paddlers a shorter but no less meaningful way to experience the Missouri River together. The race brings boats of all kinds into a shared journey toward Jefferson City, where the river bends beneath the Capitol and welcomes paddlers to one of its most iconic landings. For many, it serves as a first race experience, while for others it is a return to the river in a different season and state of mind.
In 2025, Race to the Dome reached its largest field yet, with 148 boats and 204 paddlers taking part. Volunteers, safety crews, and community partners helped create a day defined by encouragement, celebration, and connection to place. As paddlers landed together at the finish, the race once again demonstrated how shared time on the river builds community, confidence, and a lasting sense of belonging.
Our Mission
Missouri River Relief exists to safely connect people and communities to the Missouri River through hands-on cleanups, education, and recreation. The numbers matter, but they do not tell the full story.
Every river mile cleaned strengthens a community’s relationship to place.
Every student who steps onto a boat challenges a generational fear of the river.
Every volunteer hour is a gesture of care.
Every paddle stroke deepens someone’s understanding of themselves and the river that carries them.
From 2001 to 2025, this shared effort has created an extraordinary legacy.
- 518 cleanups
- 36,653 volunteers
- 104,567 volunteer hours
- 1,105 tons of trash removed
- 1,889 river miles cleaned
- 8,150 tires removed
- 47,330 education participants
- 209 educational river trips
- 7,120 paddlers in MRR events
- 308 Big Muddy Speaker Series events
As we head into Missouri River Relief’s 25th anniversary in 2026, we are carrying not just statistics, but stories of people transformed, communities strengthened, and a river that continues to shape us all.
SYOTR in 2026.
2025 By the Numbers:
MRR Cleanups: 10
Trash Mobs: 40
Volunteers: 1,535
Tons of Trash: 21
Tires removed: 239
Miles cleaned: 90
Students: 4,318
Teachers: 189
Paddling Events: 4
Paddlers: 746
Attendees: 1,727
Communities: 21
Total Participants (volunteers, students, teachers, paddlers, attendees): 7,457
2025 Quick Links: