Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Tigers men’s basketball team is getting ready for a Wednesday night home tipoff.
The Tigers will host South Dakota at 7 p.m. at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers remain undefeated as they continue through the easiest part of the schedule.
Watch Coach Dennis Gates take questions about the preparation in the media player.
Alison Patton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Missouri ranks 37 out of 52, which includes the 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, for preterm birth rate, according to the 2025 March of Dimes report.
Missouri had an 11% preterm rate in 2024, which is the same as in 2023.
St. Louis had the highest preterm birth rate at 12.8%, according to the report. The March of Dimes calls this an “F” rating, although St. Louis did improve from the previous year.
Jackson and St. Charles counties both worsened, standing at a “D” rating, according to the report. Jackson County was at 11.1% and St. Charles County was 10.9%.
Katie Goodlet works in the Boone Health hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit as a physical therapist with premature and ill babies.
She said parents have to leave their baby in the NICU, and it can be overwhelming for some.
“You’re giving your baby to someone else, and you’re trusting somebody else to make the right decisions for your baby,” Goodlet said.
A premature baby is born before 37 weeks and hasn’t had the time to develop the skills needed to be out of the womb.
“That impacts everything, like how you’re developing, because if you’re supposed to be nice and tucked and then you’re developing out here and gravity’s not being your friend, it makes it harder,” Goodlet said.
Goodlet said premature babies need help with feeding cues and motor development.
She said this is a stressful, but empowering time for parents.
“The mom’s been here all this time, and now they’re getting ready to go home,” Goodlet said. “They have watched their baby develop outside of the womb, and they’re excellent parents.”
According to the report, smoking, hypertension, unhealthy weight and diabetes in pregnancy can contribute to a preterm birth.
The report also says paid family leave and mental health checks are crucial to improving maternal and infant health in Missouri; however, the report indicates that the state does not have these policies.
The report also cites Medicaid extension and expansion, doula care reimbursement and maternal mortality review as programs or policies in Missouri that are improving maternal and infant care.
Cameron Montemayor
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The City of St. Joseph has announced a change in hours of operation for the Animal Services Shelter on Lower Lake Road.
Beginning Dec. 1, the shelter will adjust its hours to Tuesday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The shelter is not open to the public on Sunday or Monday now, but animal redemptions can be scheduled by appointment on those days.
Those looking to adopt can find a complete list of animals at petforu.com
Josh Helmuth
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A special education teacher in D11 now has a special book that’s gone to number one on Amazon’s best sellers’ list.
Shannon Pinar is a para-educator at Martinez Elementary School. She’s also the proud author of “Treasured Tales From Under The Rainbow,” which is a collection of short stories inspired by real students Pinar has taught.
“As I look back over the years, I am reminded life is made up of small moments – simple, fleeting and yet powerful enough to shape who we are,” said Pinar. “Treasured Tales from Under the Rainbow is a collection of small moments forever etched in my mind. Stories for and about real children I have known. Each story offers something – each holds a truth, about faith, love, and the power of the little things.”
Martinez Elementary School Principal Katie Cincoski praised Pinar’s accomplishment, noting the dedication and passion behind her storytelling.
“I couldn’t be prouder of Ms. Shannon for publishing this beautiful book. She poured her heart into every sweet story, and it truly shows,” she said.
The district applauds Pinar for her creative achievement and her continued commitment to students. Her success reflects the meaningful relationships built within our schools and the powerful stories that grow from everyday interactions in education.
Is there someone remarkable at your school? Email Josh! SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com.
Karina Bazarte
EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) – The City of El Centro is having its annual State of the City Address on Thursday, November 20.
The City is inviting residents, businesses, and the community to attend. It’s taking place at the El Centro Library community room.
El Centro Mayor Sonia Carter says city leaders will also provide updates on long-term projects like the Imperial Avenue complete streets plan and ongoing housing development efforts.
“I just want to see the community come together and be happy. I think this is going to be a night where it brings everybody from all of our sister cities. We see each other at State of the City events and I think that this is going to be phenomenal with everybody coming together and just having a wonderful night,” said Mayor Carter.
The mayor says seating is on a first come, first serve basis.
Adrik Vargas
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma community came together this morning for the Ninth annual “Breakfast with Champions” to raise money for local Special Olympics athletes.
The funds help athletes train, compete, and do what they love year-round.
Jamie Heckerman said the program has grown a lot over the years.
“I’ve seen that evolution, started just a small program that mainly did one or two sports here, and now they do several…five or six in the fall, another five or six in spring,” Heckerman explained.
For the first time, the event was open to the public.
Lisa Ball said, “This year, we wanted to make sure that the whole community could come celebrate our athletes and see how awesome they are.”
Athlete Michelle Hornung said she plans to keep competing as long as she can.
“For as long as I can still do it,” she said.
Ball added that all the proceeds stay in Yuma to support equipment, uniforms, transportation, and more for the athletes.
KVIA ABC-7
FABENS, Texas (KVIA) — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office needs help finding two men last seen in Fabens. It added, they may need medical assistance.
24-year-olds Aaron and Jorge Sanchez are white males. According to the missing persons report, they were last seen wearing black, white and blue sweaters; blue pants and dark shoes.
The report said they were last seen on Mike Maros St. near Fabens High School Tuesday morning.
If you have any information, call EPCSO at (915) 538-2292 or 911.
Abraham Retana
SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA) – A local non-profit is hosting an event to appreciate the people who put food on our tables.
Campesinos Sin Fronteras is hosting the Dia del Campesino Appreciation Breakfast on December 5 from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.
More than 20 agencies will providing their services for day laborers and migrant farm workers, along with food and music.
“We are going to have information about immigration, education, housing health, legal services everything that we think our workers need,” said Emma Torres, Campesinos sin Fronteras executive director.
The farm workers breakfast will be at the campesinos sin fronteras parking lot on Main Street near C Street in San Luis, Arizona.
Eduardo Morales
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Patrick O’Malley says he was in his garage when he started his motorcycle, and something went wrong, sparking the fire on Tuesday evening.
Rural Metro Fire Department says that when they arrived at the home near E. 49th Drive, and S. Sandra Avenue, the garage was engulfed in flames, along with a motor home and parts of the house.
Fortunately no one was injured, however, both the home and motor home were a total loss.
“Going through picking out a couple of things, there’s not much in the house that’s left, the whole house, the whole roof is gone,” O’Malley says.
Courtesy: Rural Metro
Courtesy: Rural Metro
O’Malley describes what was going through his mind when the fire went out of control.
“I’m normally able to think things through and I wasn’t able to I just…it just took me all off guard, but the first thing I did was make sure my wife and dog were out of the house and call the fire department,” O’Malley continued.
Rural Metro Battalion Chief Jeff Woodruff describes how severe the fire was when they arrived on scene.
“It was a pretty intense fire. The homes around it, the roofs were starting to smoke so we put up blinds and cooled off other homes to make sure the other homes didn’t ignite in the process,” said Chief Woodruff.
Courtesy: Rural Metro
Courtesy: Rural Metro
Courtesy: Rural Metro
Meanwhile, O’Malley shares how he and is wife are dealing with the loss of their home.
“We’re just going to try to clean up today, and talk to who we need to talk to and let God straighten it out,” he says.
O’Malley also appreciates the all the support he has received.
“I’m grateful to have family, I’m grateful that God is still on the thrown and that God is always good no matter what,” he said.
Courtesy: Rural Metro
Courtesy: Rural Metro
The owners are working on making a GoFundMe for those who would like to donate. If you would like to donate to the families GoFundMe, click the link HERE.
Scott Harrison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — To the concrete and asphalt used in widening and upgrading sidewalks along two blocks in the heart of downtown, you can include a natural resource.
Trees.
This week, workers began planting 38 trees along Tejon Street between Colorado Avenue and Kiowa Street.
As of early Wednesday morning, six of 18 hackberry trees had been placed on the west side of Tejon between Colorado and Pikes Peak avenues; that block recently reopened after being closed for improvement work since early spring, and has temporarily closed again for the tree work.
The block between Pikes Peak and Kiowa Street has recently closed for the next phase of sidewalk widening and other upgrades, and will eventually feature 20 white oak trees planted there.
The trees are planted in structural soil cells, which provide a foundation for the sidewalk and adequate space underground for tree roots to spread.
Officials said that the trees are up to 20 feet tall when planted and should eventually reach a height of 50 feet — which is as tall as some of the downtown buildings.
The city’s project manager will be available later on Wednesday morning to provide more details.
