Month: May 2025

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man who is currently incarcerated has been charged with several child sex crimes dating back to 2012.

Joe Stevens, 39, was charged on Wednesday in Cole County with two counts of first-degree statutory rape, one count of forcible rape, three counts of forcible sodomy, three counts of first-degree child molestation, one count of sexual misconduct involving a child, one count of child abuse and one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

He is being held at South Central Correctional Center in Licking, Missouri, and is serving a five-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree assault on July 18, 2024, in Camden County. A court date has not been set.

The probable cause statement says that one of the child victims – now 16 – spoke with a forensic interviewer last month about sexual assaults committed by Stevens when the victim was 3 or 4 years old. The victim allegedly disclosed the assaults to a therapist, recently.

Court documents describe multiple assaults by Stevens on the victim and the victim claimed to witness Stevens rape their sibling, who was also a child at the time.

The assaults occurred nearly every day and the victim claimed Stevens told them not to tell anyone and claimed no one would believe them because the victim was a child, the statement says. A sibling described seeing an assault to law enforcement, the statement says.

Stevens allegedly denied the allegations and claimed “’they’ are trying to make the victim believe it was him that did it,” the statement says.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Several Mid-Missouri law-enforcement agencies are taking part in active-shooter training at the Community R-6 school district until the end of the week, the Audrain County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Wednesday social media post.  

The post said the training occurred Wednesday and would last until Friday.

“Passersby and residents will notice a large law enforcement presence at those schools on those days,” the post says. “There is no need for alarm or panic, and we thank the school district for the partnership we share in efforts to provide a safe environment for learning in our communities.”

Area law enforcement participating in the training includes the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Audrain County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Mexico Public Safety Department and Hallsville Police Department, the post says.

Click here to follow the original article.

Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

More than a month after a tornado destroyed Columbia’s recycling facility, nearby cities are grappling with an influx of recyclables.

Columbia’s recycling program has been suspended since the April storm that leveled the city’s facility, forcing the closure of curbside collection and all eight drop-off centers. Curbside pickup is still active, but all curbside recycling is being brought to the landfill. City officials say the rebuilding process could take more than a year.

“Obviously, the first week or so there were some frustrations and lots of questions of how things are supposed to be handled now and that sort of thing,” Columbia Public Utilities spokesman Jason West told ABC 17 News. “ I think over the last few weeks,  people have come to understand, especially since we started at least accepting and restarted the curbside pickup for recycling, even though everything still going to the landfill,  people are being understanding and patient while we’re going through all the different assessments and looking at possibilities and future options.” 

Ashland temporarily shut down its drop-off center earlier this month. A social media post from the city says that the site was closed due to “ongoing misuse,” residents began dumping “excess materials” there. The site reopened this week, but will only accept drop-offs on weekdays moving forward.

Jefferson City has also reported an increase in recycling from Columbia residents.  West says Jefferson City officials asked the City of Columbia to remind residents to follow the rules at Jefferson City’s recycling facility.

“They do have a glass bin that can accept glass, but recyclables shouldn’t go in black bags,” West said. “When they see a blue Columbia bag, they know there’s probably going to be contaminants in there, which messes up their process.”

West urged residents using other cities’ facilities to follow posted instructions and ensure they’re recycling properly. Both Ashland and Jefferson City have signs explaining what materials are accepted and how they should be sorted.

Columbia has hired a consultant to evaluate the city’s recycling system and plans to discuss potential solutions during Monday’s pre-council meeting.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A crash in the westbound lane of Interstate 70 led to a lane of traffic becoming blocked on Wednesday night.

A viewer at 10:14 p.m. said they saw the crash occur minutes before in the westbound lane and said multiple cars were involved. Boone County Joint Communications sent a notification at 10:17 p.m. stating that a collision occurred at the 127.6-mile marker of westbound Interstate 70. One lane of traffic was blocked.

Traffic backed up past the Highway 63 connector.

An ABC 17 News reporter saw a vehicle getting towed at 10:53 p.m. Traffic began moving again at 11 p.m.

Check back for updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

Elon Musk is done with governing.

The tech billionaire said Wednesday that he is stepping down immediately from his role with DOGE, which has made waves with its job cuts and other moves to reduce government spending (critics point out that government spending hasn’t actually gone down).

May 30 had long been eyed as an end date for Musk’s job as DOGE head, given his designation as a special government employee. And the administration says the work that he and his team started will continue.

Are you happy to see Musk leave? Let us know by voting in the poll.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Fire Department will continue doing training exercises on Thursday at the parking garage on Fifth and Walnut in downtown Columbia.

During the training, the stairwell on the west side of the garage will be closed to the public, however, all other areas of the garage will be available for parking.

Thursday is the second day of training for the department. According to a press release, training sessions will take place at 8 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. These trainings are designed to prepare emergency crews for navigating multi-story structures and responding quickly in real-life situations.

According to the release, the training scenarios will be realistic and may include uniformed personnel, emergency vehicles, hoses and other equipment throughout the day.

The Columbia Fire Department training sessions are not open to the public.

The final day of these training exercises for the department will be June 5.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Clerk’s Office has confirmed that Vera Elwood will appear on the ballot in the Aug. 5 election for the open Ward 2 seat.

City Clerk Sheela Amin wrote in an email that her petition – which was submitted last week – was deemed sufficient. She is running against Ken Rice, who announced his candidacy earlier this month and his petition was also deemed sufficient.

The city called for a special election on Aug. 5 after Ward 2 Councilwoman Lisa Meyer announced that she would step down on May 16. Election packets can be picked up at the city clerk’s office and candidates have until June 3 to file, according to previous reporting.

A release from the city says that residents who wish to run for the seat must file a petition, which must include obtaining 50 signatures from registered voters in the Second Ward.

Click here to follow the original article.

Meghan Drakas

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia police are still searching for a man seen with 59-year-old George Showalter before he was killed at the Red Roof Inn in 1994.

George Showalter, date unknown

On April 17, 1994, Columbia Police responded to a call at the Red Roof Inn Motel near Interstate 70 and found Showalter facedown and naked on a bed in room 147. At the time, police said an autopsy by the Boone County Medical Examiner’s Office found Showalter was strangled to death.

Showalter’s wallet was missing from the room. Columbia Police Department Lt. Matt Gremore told ABC 17 News there were no defensive wounds on Showalter. Despite the missing wallet, police remain unsure of the motive.

“It’s hard to know the motive, if that’s a coincidence that the wallet is missing, I would say it’s probably not a coincidence, but I would be speculating on my part to know that,” Gremore said.

Gremore said “a bunch” of evidence was collected at the crime scene, but would not go into specifics about the items collected. But he did reveal information about new evidence being tested.

“We’ve had several cold cases that we’ve looked at to send new evidence off to private labs,” Gremore said. “This case is one of those cases that we’re looking into to see if we can get something to come from it.”

Thirty-one years after the crime, police are not only continuing to search for new leads from evidence testing, but they’re also continuing to search for the man last seen with Showalter.

“Based on talking with witnesses the day before on the 16th, police were able to get a rough sketch of the individual they believe that was with Showalter prior to his death,” Gremore said.

A sketch of the man seen with George Showalter on April 16, 1994. (Credit: Columbia Police Department)

Police gave this description of the man seen with Showalter before his death:

20 to 40 years old

Average build

Light brown, possibly graying hair

Brown-and-white checkered shirt

Possible vest

Police say the man was seen with Showalter at the Olde Un Theatre Adult Store on East Walnut Street around 4 to 6 p.m. Then, at around 9 p.m., the two were seen down the road at Boone Tavern next to the Boone County Courthouse in the outside deck area.

Police say they don’t have any suspects, but investigators would like to speak with the man last seen with Showalter. Police ask anyone who might know something to contact them.

“It’s hard to come forward with information, it’s not easy,” Gremore said. “I completely understand that. The problem exists that if you have killers that are in your community, the reason why they keep getting away with it is because nobody’s come forward.”

A ‘light-filled human being’

Friends and family of Showalter tell ABC 17 News that he was in town that weekend for a library conference.

“He enjoyed going to Columbia,” Kris Richards said. “He graduated from Mizzou, so he finally felt like he was going back to the stomping grounds.”

Richards is the manager of The Independent-Journal newspaper in Potosi, Missouri. He grew up in the family newspaper business and says he is the third generation to run The Independent-Journal. He says Showalter served as a mentor to him.

“I was actually in a laundry basket at the end of his desk whenever he was the editor at the newspaper,” Richards said.

Showalter was born in 1934 in Potosi — a small town with a few thousand people about an hour and 15 minutes south of St. Louis. In Potosi, he served as the president of the local historical society, worked as an administrator for the Potosi R-III School District and at The Independent-Journal.

“One of the things that I thought was amazing about him, he probably typed, you could say about 100 words a minute,” Richards said. “He could sit there and always had a cigar in his mouth because he smoked a cigar continuously. But he could sit there and talk to you, answer a question, carry on a conversation, and type up a story or headline for a picture and never miss a beat.”

Richards said Showalter had a passion for history and “connecting the dots.”

“I remember just how intelligent he was and how focused he was on doing his work,” Richards said. “His big thing was providing information. That’s what he did with the newspaper, and that’s what he did with the school to learn.”

Showalter’s cousin, Wendy Correa, recalls connecting with Showalter over their shared interest in family history.

George Showalter and his sister Marge Showalter on an unknown date (Credit: Wendy Correa)

“I connected with him at all of our family reunions because of our mutual love of history and genealogy and books and education and photography,” Correa said. “Especially on his research of our extensive family tree decades before the internet was invented.”

Correa said Showalter was one of the most engaging humans she has ever met.

“I think he was the most interesting person in our whole family,” Correa said. “He was named Volunteer of the Year in Potosi.”

Correa says when she graduated high school, Showalter and his sister Marge sent her an antique silver spoon on a silver necklace that was “incredibly thoughtful.”

Silver spoon graduation gift to Wendy Correa from her cousins Marge and George Showalter (Credit: Wendy Correa)

“He was a tremendous light-filled human being, and we need more George Showalters in the world,” Correa said.

Decades after his death, Showalter’s family is still grieving the loss. Correa recalled the shock and horror she felt when she found out he had been killed.

“Disbelief that something like that could happen to such a good human being,” Correa said. “It’s just haunted me for years that there was never any closure for the family.”

Showalter’s cousin is still holding out hope the case will be solved.

Click here to follow the original article.