Month: November 2025

Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) 

The Columbia City Council on Monday night unanimously approved a $58,000 consultant agreement with Avenu Insights and Analytics to help track and enforce the city’s new short-term rental regulations.

Between February and July, the city passed a series of ordinances establishing land use, business license, and tax rules for short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs or VRBOs. As those regulations took effect, city staff said a specialized vendor would be needed to help monitor compliance.

According to a council memo, Avenu’s software will track listings across 80 different rental platforms, identifying properties used as short-term rentals and flagging those operating without a license. The system will also collect data on occupancy rates and estimated revenue to help ensure the city collects the required 5% accommodation tax.

Development Services Manager Patrick Zenner said the city currently reviews listings on only a handful of major platforms when an application is submitted, which means some rentals can go undetected.

“Without having the vendor’s services, the City’s ability to identify operators and bring them into licensure compliance is significantly curtailed which results in less ability to collect the accommodations taxes that are regulatorily required to be paid by each operator,” Zenner said in an email.

During Monday’s meeting, Ward 1 Councilwoman Valerie Carroll described the process of tracking those rentals as “labor-intensive and onerous” on city staff. A large selling point of the contract was the cost, with Community Development Director Clinton Smith adding that the contract costs about half the amount of hiring a full-time employee to do the same work.

The proposed five-year contract includes a $5,000 setup fee and an annual maintenance cost starting at $26,250, with small increases each year. The agreement could be extended for up to 10 years at a total cost of about $312,000. The contract allows the city to terminate the agreement at any time without cause.

City staff estimates there are about 475 active short-term rentals in Columbia, but only 125 applications have been submitted, resulting in a compliance rate of less than 25%. If all were licensed and taxed, the city projects annual revenue of roughly $818,000—well above the contract’s cost.

Zenner said the vendor will also operate a 24-hour complaint hotline and assist with enforcement efforts, acting as “an extension of the city’s staff” in monitoring short-term rental activity. Zenner added a major factor in picking Avenu was they were one of only a few vendors that offered live U.S.-based customer service.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Room at the Inn location in Audrain County will only be open next month on an “as-needed basis,” according to a Friday social media post from the Audrain County Shelter Resource Coalition.

The shelter in Mexico typically opens fully in December, but a lack of funds has resulted in the location only opening that month when a cold weather advisory has been issued and volunteers are available, the post says.

Regular shelter hours will occur from 5 p.m.-7 a.m. in January and February, according to the post.

“When funding is uncertain, we have to make difficult choices,” ACSRC Executive Director Ra’Vae Moore said in the release. “Room at the Inn has always been a lifeline for individuals who are experiencing homelessness during the coldest months of the year, and while we are not able to open every night in December, we are committed to responding when temperatures reach dangerous levels. Our goal is to continue to work hard to raise enough funds to fully open in January and February, just as we have in past years.”

The release says the shelter may open when:

Hard freeze conditions with temperatures between 24-27 degrees Fahrenheit for two or more hours; or

A wind chill warning of at least 20 degrees occurs; or

A winter weather advisory occurs that predicts snow, sleet and ice on the roads; and

There’s enough trained volunteers to run the shelter.

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Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Transportation on Monday cut the ribbon on its first seven miles of completed pavement on Interstate 70 in the Improve I-70 project.

The project seeks to make I-70 a three-lane highway across the entire state. This first portion focuses on the road from Columbia to Kingdom City.

Barriers will be removed from the completed stretch at Route J (mile marker 137) to Route M (mile marker 144) by the end of the week, Brandy Broeckling with construction company Millstone Weber said.

“We have a more efficient, safer piece of piece of infrastructure,” MoDOT Director Ed Hassinger said at Monday’s ribbon cutting. “We are standing on brand new pavement, a little over a year from when we broke ground up at the Drury Inn. And that is just incredible progress.”

State Rep. Kathy Steinhoff (D-Columbia) called the moment historic.

“I mean, we’ve been planning for I-70 for years,” Steinhoff said. “This is going to make a huge difference. It’s going to help us get to places on time, but it’s also going to help everyone be safe.”

The portion of interstate between Columbia and Kingdom City is expected to be completed in late 2027, MoDOT said.

“The main focus of the project was to add the third lane in each direction on I-70. All three lanes will be new concrete pavement, along with the new 12-foot concrete shoulder,” Broeckling said. “The Route 54 interchange will be completely reconstructed. There’s also numerous changes at the U.S. 63 interchange, which you can see we have all been working on for the past year. And in between there are several other bridges and box culverts that will be getting replaced as well.”

The overall Improve I-70 program is expected to be complete in late 2030.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The state safety coordinator of the Missouri Department of Transportation denies that he wielded a gun during a road-rage incident in Jefferson City.

Harry Adrian IV, of Tuscumbia, was charged Wednesday in Cole County with felony unlawful use of a weapon. A criminal summons was issued for him the same day, and an entry of appearance and not guilty plea were entered on Friday.

Adrian’s lawyer, Ben Faber, said the claims were made up.

“My client denies these charges,” Faber told ABC 17 News. “They were filed after a disgruntled driver made a false police report. Unfortunately, because this person made an allegation against Mr. Adrian, he has been charged with a felony offense and now must defend himself not only in court, but in the court of public opinion. We are confident that Mr. Adrian will be cleared of these charges and look forward to putting this nonsense to rest.”

The probable cause statement says Adrian was accused by two people of pulling out a gun and pointing it at them during a road rage incident around 3 p.m. Sept. 22.

A deputy wrote that he stopped Adrian’s vehicle while he was following the alleged victim’s vehicle in the 3000 block of Highway 54 East in Cole County.

Adrian allegedly told deputies that he was involved in a road rage incident, but claimed he held a cellphone instead of a gun, the statement says. Deputies found a handgun in Adrian’s Ford F-250, the statement says.

Online records show Adrian has worked for MoDOT for 12 years.

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