Month: July 2026

Sutton Parker

COLUMBIA Mo. KMIZ

Missouri state parks funding and soil and water conservation funding will be back on the ballot for the Aug. 4 election.

Amendment 1 is an automatically recurring 10-year renewal of Missouri’s existing 1/10-cent statewide sales tax, which split-funds state parks and soil and water conservation efforts. The tax has won passage every 10 years since its inception in the 1980s.

The tax would specifically go to renovating facilities, maintenance and the upkeep of state parks.

Along with funding for the soil and water Conservation program to preserve water quality and help to reduce erosion to protect water quality.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Kurt Schaefer said the tax generates around $168 million.

“So it gets split in half. So 50% goes to our state park system, and then the other 50% goes to the Soil and Water Conservation program,” he said.

This year, with many other tax votes on the ballot, Schaefer said the familiarity of this amendment makes him confident it will pass again.

“I think the distinction with amendment one is voters have approved this so many times, in support of it, it showed through their vote that I think they’re very familiar with it, you know, so every ten years that this has been on the ballot since the 1980s, it has increased in the number of votes it gets,” he said.

Scheaffer said that if the amendment is not passed, park funding would have to come out of the state’s budget.

“Presumably general revenue, which is something that’s in very short supply right now. We’re dealing with a lot of issues in the state budget right now with general revenue,” he said.

Adding that a lack of general funds was the reason this amendment was added to the ballot in the first place.

“So that’s the one thing about this, really, in the 1980s that was put together by citizens who got this on initiative, a petition onto the ballot in 1984,” he said.

Tylet Schwartze with the Conservation Federation of Missouri said that if this amendment fails, it would lead to entrance fees returning to state parks.

“If it weren’t to pass, it would definitely be some financial challenges. The burden on the state parks, potential entrance fees,” he said.

Scheaffer said one of the reasons behind the creation of the amendment in the 1980’s was for that exact reason.

“Parks were actually starting to install gates to charge an entrance fee. And that’s really what prompted the parks part of this tax to get people involved and get it on the ballot and get this passed initially in 1984,” he said.

Schwartze said that even with other taxes up for a vote in August, he remains hopeful Amendment 1 will pass.

“Even though there are other amendments, I think it’s important to focus on Amendment 1 and what it does, the impact that it has on the citizens. It’s a renewal tax;s been around since 1884. Last time, citizens renewed this tax by over 80%. So four out of five Missourians said yes last time,” he said.

The last time Amendment 1 appeared on the ballot was in 2016, when it was passed by 80% statewide.

Click here to follow the original article.

Demetra Alarcon

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Pavement maintenance will take place on Old 63 starting from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. each night starting Monday.

The City of Columbia Public Works Department has been revamping streets throughout Columbia one at a time. The construction on Old 63 will start at its intersection with Chinaberry Drive.

The work will start south and end north by Business Loop 70.

John Ogan with the City of Columbia Public Works says that although the project was supposed to start on Friday, weather pushed the work back.

An estimated finish date was set for July 31. There has been no confirmation if this finish date will be met due to the unexpected weather.

Since the work is taking place overnight, not everybody will be affected and one lane will always be open.

Ogan urges drivers to stay alert and keep workers safe.

“They’ll be working just a few feet from live traffic. So if you see these crews, just follow the flagger instructions. Don’t go until it’s your turn.” Ogan said. “These are workers who are working for the benefit of our transportation network. Just make sure they go home safe.”

The last time Old 63 was repaved was 15 years ago.

Roads that have gone through maintenance this summer are:

Nebraska Avenue from North Seventh Street to North Providence Road

Big Bear Boulevard from Providence Road to the east end of the street

Watson Place from Elm Street to Woodson Way

South Fifth Street from Cherry Street to East Stewart Road

Sixth Street from Ash Street to Elm Street

Elm Street from South Sixth Street to South Ninth Street

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Missouri appeals court has reversed a decision made by a Cole County judge in a decades-old murder case.

Judge Emily Fretwell had dismissed charges against William “Chris” Niemet earlier this month.

Niemet, of Fulton, is charged with first-degree murder in a 1991 death of his classmate in Russellville.

Fretwell had dismissed the case on July 16 and the attorney general’s office filed an appeal immediately, according to a Friday statement from the AG’s office and court filings. Catherine Hanaway’s office filed a writ against Fretwell, which was issued by the Western District court on July 20.

Hanaway’s filing on July 16 kept Fretwell “from taking further action” in the case, unless Fretwell vacated the order. Fretwell then vacated her order and an arraignment was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Niemet is accused of killing Greg Jones in April 1991 in Russellville. Jones was 14. Niemet also would have been 14 at the time. Niemet was charged in 2020 with first-degree murder. The trial has been delayed multiple times.

Fretwell was assigned to the case in May after a request for a change in judge was filed.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Sedalia Police Department issued an endangered Silver Advisory for a 79-year-old woman with dementia who went missing on Friday morning, according to an alert from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Helen Frances Gillespie was last seen at 7 a.m. in the 1900 block of East 9thn Street in Sedalia, according to the release. She is 5-feet, 5-inches tall, weighs 180 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes.

She left her residence this morning in a blue 2012 Toyota Rav 4 with an “unknown intended destination.” The license plate reads LG3D8S.

The vehicle was last seen heading northbound on Glenstone Avenue at Kearney Street in Springfield, Missouri, at 2:09 p.m., the release says.

Click here to follow the original article.