Former Chillicothe football player in critical condition after fall from Harpo’s rooftop bar
COLUMBIA — A man from Chillicothe was still in critical condition at the hospital on Monday after he fell from the rooftop bar at Harpo’s Bar and Grill late Sunday night, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Corbin Rodenberg was identified by family on social media as the man involved. MU Health Care spokesperson Eric Maze confirmed Rodenberg’s condition to KOMU 8 News just before 5 p.m. on Monday.
Rodenberg graduated from Chillicothe High School in 2023 and is a former student at the University of Missouri, representatives from the institutions confirmed to KOMU 8 News. Rodenberg was not enrolled in classes at MU for the fall semester, a university spokesperson said.
Chillicothe R-2 School District Superintendent Daniel Wiebers gave KOMU 8 News a statement about Rodenberg, who played football at Chillicothe.
“Our entire district staff and school community are keeping Corbin and his family in our thoughts during this difficult time,” Wiebers said in a statement.
A GoFundMe is collecting donations for Rodenberg and his family. It had raised over $3,900 of a $5,500 goal by 7 p.m. Monday.
A GoFundMe is collecting donations for Corbin Rodenberg and his family.
Anthony Bowne, a lieutenant with the Columbia Police Department, told a KOMU 8 News reporter on scene that someone fell off the balcony at around 9:05 p.m. and was sent to the hospital shortly after.
KOMU 8 spoke to a witness at the scene who said the bar closed and cleared out about 10 minutes after the fall.
Christopher Ave, the communications director for the city of Columbia, told KOMU 8 News on Monday that there is no indication that Harpo’s Bar and Grill is in any violation of city building safety codes.
A Columbia police officer told a KOMU 8 News reporter that someone fell off the balcony at Harpo’s Sunday night and is in the hospital in serious condition.
Ave said the city was searching through its records to find its initial inspection on the rooftop bar expansion at Harpo’s, called Skyy Bar.
Plans reviewed by a city building inspector in 2018 indicated that the upper-level guardrail was 42 inches high, which met code requirements at the time and currently, Ave told KOMU 8 News.
City code requires buildings to meet safety the standards in place at the time they open.
Ave said the city would not have allowed Harpo’s to open its rooftop bar if it were not in regulatory compliance.