Month: August 2025

Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two students are dead and 14 are injured after a deadly school shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school on Wednesday.

This comes after several colleges across the country received fake reports of active shooters, according to a previous ABC 17 report.

Chief Operating Officer for the Missouri School Board’s Association Center for Education Safety, John McDonald, said school safety experts are trying to figure out why there’s a desire to hurt.

“We’ve never figured out that core reason behind that,” McDonald said. “It’s a desire to hurt, and that is most concerning to me because that’s a behavioral issue.”

He said schools need to prepare for “low probability, but incredibly high impact events,” like an active shooter situation.

McDonald said building a community is one of the first steps.

“When a student has relationships that are positive, they’re not shooting anybody. And then every student deserves a kind, caring, trusted adult in their life,” McDonald said.

One of the ways schools can prevent this is by monitoring student behavior.

“We’ve stopped a lot of school shootings by conducting a really good threat assessment on students engaging in behavior that is threatening,” McDonald said.

Schools can also teach students about what to do in the event of an active shooter.

McDonald also said keeping outside doors locked to prevent outsiders from coming into the school is also crucial.

When a school shooting happens, it leaves the community shocked.

John Nicoletti is a police psychologist, and he’s been on about 15 active school shooter cases in Colorado. He primarily talks to first responders affected by the traumatic event after, and sometimes before, it happens.

“A lot of stuff we work on afterwards is: these events never leave the people, you know, if you’ve gone through one, it stays with you forever,” Nicoletti said.

He said it affects the police officers going into the school; the students, teachers and staff in the building; and the parents.

“Then the other thing we try and do with people who survived it, irrespective of where they’re at, is give them a heads up on here are the things that are going to set your children off. Here are the things that are going to set you off. Here are some things to do from that standpoint,” Nicoletti.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A new steel fabrication company will bring more than 30 jobs to Audrain County.

TechFab Structural Steel announced it will be opening an advanced steel fabrication facility in Vandalia.

The company will be investing six million dollars and creating 34 new jobs.

The facility will be 126,000 square feet and fully climate-controlled. A release states the facility will be used for machining and fabricating raw steel products into usable building assemblies.

The new employees at TechFab Structural Steel will make an average wage above the county average. According to Missouri data, the average wage for all industries in 2024 was $48,098 annually or $23.12 per hour.

“I’m very excited to be part of bringing high-tech, high-paying jobs to my hometown of Vandalia,” David Kurz, Operations Manager for TechFab Structural Steel, said in the release.

TechFab Structural Steel will use the Missouri Works program to help expand and retain workers.

“We’re proud to see a new employer investing and creating jobs in Vandalia while strengthening our state’s vibrant manufacturing industry,” Governor Mike Kehoe said in the release.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City’s man attorney has resigned as of Wednesday.

Jefferson City spokesperson said in a release that Ryan Moehlman has resigned from his role as the City Attorney.

Moehlman has been with the city since September 2016, providing legal counsel and support to the council, mayor and other departments.

“His steady guidance, integrity, and deep knowledge of municipal law havegreatly benefited Jefferson City,” Mayor Ron Fitzwater said in the statement.

The release states that Moehlman will be continuing his career with the Missouri Bar.

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Regional Airport is taking steps to prevent vehicles from being left in airport parking lots for extended periods, a problem that has limited available spaces for legitimate travelers.

 “We’ve had vehicles with flat tires and vehicles that have been sitting out there for long periods of time that we’ve observed,” Michael Parks, Columbia Regional Airport Manager, said.

According to Parks, an increase in travelers at COU is one of the main reasons the parking issue has grown.

Airport staff have been doing regular vehicle counts to monitor which cars are actively used by travelers — and which ones may be sitting idle for too long, Parks said.

The ordinance, proposed to the City of Columbia, would require travelers who plan to leave their vehicles at the airport for 30 days or more to complete a form prior to traveling.

The form would include the vehicle’s make and model, where it will be parked, and the expected time the traveler plans to be gone.

Airport officials say this will help them monitor long-term parking and ensure vehicles parked at the COU airport are associated with travelers and travelers only.

“We want to make sure that spaces are available. We’ve seen vehicles stored out here in the past, and really this ordinance change is going to allow us some mechanism to watch for those vehicles that are not associated with customers that are flying in and out of the airport and have that ability to have those vehicles removed from the area,” Parks said.

“If a traveler plans on staying a longer period of time, this ordinance really doesn’t prohibit that. It really is just going to create the ability for us to track those vehicles,” He added.

According to the Columbia City Council memo, parking at the airport for more than 24 hours is prohibited unless they are flying out of the airport.

Traveler Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer is a frequent traveler and relies on COU. She says the ordinance is a step in the right direction.

“It’s so much better for people to fill out a form and have to be fined for them to start charging for parking, which might be the alternative,” Bentz-Mercer said. ‘I think that’s really taking advantage of a great thing, we have this great little regional airport, we can park for free. It’s such a benefit, but if people are leaving their cars here, that’s frustrating.”

The parking lot at COU holds 1,100 parking spaces and is free for travelers.

Travelers who leave a vehicle for more than 30 days without submitting the required form could face daily fines, Parks said.

The Columbia City Council is set to take up the proposed ordinance at its meeting Tuesday evening.

United Airlines is joining COU with three additional flights, after a four-year hiatus. The airline will offer two flights to Chicago and one flight to Denver. The first flight will take off on Sept. 25th.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Governor Mike Kehoe is considering a request for support from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A statement from the Governor’s Office to ABC 17 News said the Governor’s Office and the Adjutant General of the Missouri National Guard are assessing the request.

“If activated, Service members supporting ICe would be performing administrative and logistical support,” spokesperson Gabby Piccard said in an email.

This is in response to a statement the Department of Defense made on July 25 announcing a change in the duty status for military personnel supporting ICE in the immigration law enforcement mission.

Former Governor Mike Parson announced he was sending 200 Missouri National Guard troops to the southern border.

The change in July authorized another 500 newly authorized personnel to provide support at ICE processing and detention facilities, according to the statement.

Piccard said Missouri was one of the ten states included.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Firefighters with Mid-County Fire Protection District responded to a residential structure fire late Wednesday night.

In a post on social media, the agency said crews were called to a mobile home at 10:28 p.m. in the 9900 block of State Route D in Camden County on Wednesday.

Crews found the home fully involved with fire showing from the windows.

The post state firefighters were able to get the fire under control within 15 minutes. Crews then overhauled the fire to put out any remaining hidden fire and hot spots..

Mid-County reported the fire “significantly damaged the interior of the structure.” It is considered a total loss.

Investigators learned the fire started in a utility room near a breaker box.

All of the occupants were able to evacuate safely. Red Cross is assisting the family. No injuries were reported.

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