Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Christopher Ave will start a new role later this month.

The Director of the University of Missouri’s media relations and public affairs will become the City of Columbia’s communication director on June 22, the city announced in a Monday press release.

Ave was one of three finalists announced by the city last month and will make $150,000 per year in his new role, the city confirmed with ABC 17 News. The city hired a firm for $28,000 to find its new director after Sydney Olsen left earlier this year for a similar position at Central Bank, previous reporting shows.

The other two finalists for the role included Rob Jones and Shayne Martin. The city held an event last month for residents to meet the finalists.

“I am thrilled at the opportunity to lead communications and engagement efforts for the world-class city of Columbia,” Ave was quoted in the city’s press release.

He has more than 30 years of experience working in journalism and strategic communications, the release says. Ave has also worked as the director of communications with the St. Louis County Department of Public Health and was previously an editor at The St. Louis Post Dispatch, the release says. He has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, according to the release.

“Christopher’s extensive experience in journalism and strategic communications makes him an outstanding addition to our team,” City Manager De’Carlon Seewood was quoted in the release. “We are excited to welcome him to the City and look forward to his leadership in strengthening communication and engagement with our community.”

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Marie Moyer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Public Schools will return to Cole County court on Monday as the months-long legal battle over charter schools in Boone County continues.

CPS filed the suit in December after the charter school, Frontier, announced a plan to establish a charter school in the county. The application was later approved by the state’s Board of Education in April.

The case primarily revolves around SB 727, which was signed in Spring 2024.

SB 727 states that charter schools can be operated in counties “between 150,000 and 200,000 inhabitants.” While the bill does not call out Boone County by name, census data shows that Boone County is the only county in the state that falls between these guidelines.

In a revised petition filed in April, CPS argues that SB 727 was unconstitutional since it only affects Boone County. They also argue that when the General Assembly went forward with the bill, it was required by the constitution to publish the provision in Boone County after it was introduced, which they also failed to do. The group also argued that the BOE’s approval of the application was also unconstitutional since it hinged on SB 727 to allow the school in the first place.

In their response, the state argued that the lawsuit is coming too late and CPS had until the end of the legislative session or May 30, 2025, to file the suit.

CPS pushed back against this, arguing they wouldn’t have known to prefile a lawsuit since no charter school applications were sent before the deadline.

“No one knew if there was ever going to be a charter in Boone County,” CPS attorney Natalie Hoernschemeyer said.

The state also argues that they and the Attorney General are not proper defendants for the case since they don’t oversee Board of Education decisions.

“We weren’t involved in it, it was the state Board of Education,” state attorney Ryan Dugan said.

They add that the state also has “sovereign immunity,” which prevents lawsuits from being brought against the state.

CPS initially argued that Frontier had not taken proper steps in its application, like receiving public input from the community.

According to court documents, CPS is requesting that the judge declare that the approval of Frontier’s application was unconstitutional and reject it.

Judge Emily Fretwell, overseeing the case, said she will make a ruling “in the next couple of weeks.”

This is an ongoing story.

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Gabrielle Teiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A tick-borne allergy might be on the rise across Missouri and the United States. But scientists and researchers can’t really pinpoint how much it may be growing.

Alpha-gal syndrome is a food allergy to products from mammals, like red meat, which contain the alpha-gal molecule, that a person can develop when bitten by the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum).

Alpha-gal (galactose-a- 1, 3-galactose) is a sugar molecule naturally found in most mammals, but not in humans.

“Alpha-gal syndrome is a food allergy, but it’s a very unusual food allergy,” said Dr. Benjamin Casterline, a dermatologist and immunologist with MU Health Care researching alpha-gal syndrome. “It has delayed symptoms, and the symptoms are very variable.”

According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, more than 110,000 suspected cases of alpha-gal syndrome were documented between 2010 and 2022. These are classified as suspected cases because not every state tracks cases of alpha-gal syndrome.

Foods that can cause symptoms include beef, pork, lamb, venison, cow’s milk and gelatin.

More common symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and hives. More severe symptoms include anaphylaxis, arthritis, neurological symptoms, headaches, brain fog and in the most extreme cases, death. Some people may not have any symptoms at all.

Symptoms often start a few hours after eating something containing the alpha-gal molecule, but can start sooner or later.

Alpha-gal syndrome isn’t unique to the United States. Cases have been discovered in Europe, Asia and Australia.

Since the condition was discovered in 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also estimates that up to 450,000 people in the United States may have alpha-gal syndrome, with many not even knowing they have it.

In May, the Missouri General Assembly passed HB 1855, tacked onto HB 2372, which makes alpha-gal syndrome a reportable condition, requiring labs to send positive results to the Department of Health and Human Services within seven days to keep better track of where more cases are popping up.

The law is pending a signature from Gov. Mike Kehoe.

From 2017 to 2022, every Missouri county but five reported at least one suspected case of alpha-gal syndrome, with 71% out of the 114 Missouri counties and St. Louis city having more than 87 suspected cases per 1 million people.

Most of the states with the most suspected cases are in the Midwest and the South, like Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kentucky and eastern Oklahoma and Kansas. There are also states on the East Coast with high levels of suspected cases, like Virginia, Delaware and North Carolina.

Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

According to the CDC, this year, 67 out of 100,000 visits to the emergency department were for tick bites in the Midwest. Emergency department visits for tick bites more than tripled from March to April 2026.

“Unfortunately, we don’t really have any breakthrough treatments for alpha-gal syndrome,” said Casterline. “Nothing has been specifically studied for alpha-gal syndrome except for lifelong dietary avoidance, which is a tall order for people.”

And for some, like Rebecca McCorkle, who has been living with alpha-gal syndrome for around two decades, it is an order that dictates almost every decision she makes every day.

“When we go to visit family, we take our own pots and pans, when we go on vacation, we stay in Airbnbs, and we take our own pots and pans. When we do anything, that’s what we have to think about,” said McCorkle. “Every time that I turned around, I was having to pull out this laundry list of do’s and don’ts, I thought, ‘gosh, I’m not the fun, easy person that I used to be.'”

Watch ABC 17 News at 6 on Wednesday to hear more about how alpha-gal is changing life for some Mid-Missourians.

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Supreme Court on Monday denied the state’s appeal on a ruling last week that tweaked the ballot language on a question asking voters to eliminate the state income tax.

Chief Justice W. Brent Powell denied the appeal by state officials to challenge the rewritten ballot language in an order posted Monday morning.

“Missouri’s highest court is allowing voters to see a more truthful ballot summary of the power grab behind the politician’s Amendment 5,” Scott Charton, a spokesman for the group Missourians for Fair Taxation, said in a news release Monday.

The Missouri Western District Court of Appeals denied an attempt last week to take the question off the ballot, but rewrote the language that will appear with the question on the August primary ballot.

The court stated in the decision that its rewrite cleared up that a “no” vote would still allow for future changes to the tax system.

The court also changed the ballot summary to note that the amendment would require local tax rate cuts without reducing school funding if sales tax revenue increases.

Amendment 5 would allow the state to phase out the current income tax, while increasing sales taxes to make up for the loss, and was a major priority of the Republican majority in Jefferson City this past legislative session. Gov. Mike Kehoe decided in May to put the measure on the August primary election ballot. Other ballot issues were certified last week.

The lawsuit was originally brought by private citizen Jill Owens against Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and other state officials.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

One person was rescued after their vehicle was swept away in floodwaters in Cole County early Monday morning.

Jefferson City Fire Department said its crews were called around 5 a.m. to assist the Russellville-Lohman Fire Protection District near Scrivner Road and South Moreau Creek.

Russellville-Lohman crews arrived to find the car had tried to cross floodwaters but was swept from the road. The vehicle was completely submerged in the creek and the driver was on top of it.

Jefferson City Fire responded with a water rescue team, including a rescue boat with three Water Rescue Technicians. The person was rescued and brought safely to shore.

JCFD said Cole County EMS crews evaluated the person.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

There have been multiple reports of flooded roads in Mid-Missouri after storms and heavy rain moved through the area.

Since 10 a.m, Sunday, Boone County Joint Communications has sent out at least 15 alerts for water in the roadway or flooded roads.

The most recent alert was sent at 5:07 a.m., stating that N. Route E is closed between W Wilcox Road and W Driskel Road due to flooding.

Another alert sent just before 5 a.m. states the area of E. Route Y and S. Clinkenbeard Road is flooded.

Another alert sent at 2:02 a.m. Monday, stating water on the roadway at N. Oakland Gravel Road and N. Teresa Dr., creating a traffic hazard. Use Caution and avoid the area if possible.

Other areas include:

Water on the roadway at Creasy Springs and Bear Creek.

Water on the roadway at the 7033 Block of E St. Charles Road.

Flooding in the roadway on Route E between West Bethlehem Road and West Alspaw Road.

Flooding in the roadway on Highway 40 between West Cunningham Dr and North Ivy Lane.

Flooding in the roadway at Clark Lane and Robert Ray Dr.

Flooded roadway in the 400 block of Kristi Lane.

Flooded roadway at East Johnson Ave. and South Henry Clay Blvd.

There were reports of a collapse at E Loy Martin Road and Bobbie Garrett Dr. due to flooding.

BCJC also sent out an alert regarding a tree blocking the westbound lanes at E. Richland Road and South Richland Lane, creating a traffic hazard.

The MoDoT traveler map shows that Route Z, west of Eldon, Route A, south of Moreau Creek and southbound Highway 63 near Ashland are closed due to water in the roadway.

The Boone County Office of Emergency Management issued a flood warning until 7 a.m.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The first match of the FIFA World Cup is Thursday, and some Mid-Missouri agencies are working and training for kick-off.

The Boone County Office of Emergency Management started planning for the World Cup about a year ago, deputy director Jacob Waller said.

“We kind of started planning internally some of the issues we thought we might see, everything from, you know, increased medical emergencies or increased tourists, increased traffic on I-70, all of that kind of stuff,” Waller said.

The emergency management office isn’t sending anyone to help out in Kansas City, Waller said. The focus is on assisting and training in the county.

“We’re just kind of planning for everything, kind of the way that we look at this is, you know, we hope we don’t get any negative impacts, but we’re planning for that because it’s training,” Waller said. “It’s an excuse to get all of our stakeholders together to talk through a common problem.”

He gave a couple of examples, like a crash on I-70, an influx of patients at local hospitals or bad weather.

Kansas City is expecting over 650,000 visitors from all over for the World Cup. While the office isn’t sending anyone to the World Cup, Waller said they’re sending at least one person to the State Emergency Operations Center to aid with resource requests.

Missouri State Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Caty Lubert said the SEOC will be running during match days and KC2026 Fan Fest times.

Pam Kramer, KC2026 CEO, said safety is a top priority for the games and Fan Fest. KC2026 is hosting and organizing the World Cup events, including the watch parties on game days.

Kramer said the safety and security planning group has over 50 agencies and 300 people involved. The Kansas City Police Department is leading much of the effort, and bringing in outside aid from local, state and federal levels.

Luebert said the Missouri State Highway Patrol is assigning 100 people a week to assist in operational and supporting roles. An additional 25 people will focus on clearing traffic crashes and other assignments.

The Columbia Police Department will be sending officers to Kansas City, spokesperson Colin Imhoff said via email. It’s a voluntary sign-up, and it won’t affect staffing in Columbia. The exact number of people being sent is unknown.

The Boone County Fire Protection District is staying in the county for the World Cup and preparing for emergencies, and will be ready to respond to Kansas City in case, BCFPD spokesperson Gale Blomenkamp said over text to ABC 17 News.

The Columbia Fire Department is not sending anyone.

MU Health will have a team prepared to send ambulances or aid to Kansas City, if requested, but won’t send anyone ahead of time. Spokesperson Eric Maze said there will be an incident command team on duty in Columbia during matches.

Boone Health isn’t sending teams. Spokesperson Christian Basi said they plan on helping out close to home.

“Our focus has to remain here in mid-Missouri to ensure our community, including all of our stay-at-home soccer fans, have access to emergency care,” Basi said.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The city of Eldon lifted a four-day-long mandatory boil order Saturday morning, after routine testing found Total Coliform and E. coli in the water supply Tuesday.

The city started an emergency sanitisation process earlier this week, which uses chlorine to kill harmful bacteria.

Now that the boil order has been lifted, the city is asking residents to flush lines by running cold water for three to five minutes from any faucet used for drinking, throw out ice that was made with water before the boil order and replace or flush water filters.

This is the second time the city has found E. coli in its water within the past year. The city had a three-week-long boil order in late December.

What caused the bacteria to get into the water supply is still unknown.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has asked the city to prepare a permanent plan to prevent this from happening, which will need to be submitted to DNR for approval.

In an interview with ABC 17 News on Wednesday, the city administrator, Mandy Asbury, said the city is considering making a permanent chlorination system.

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Saturday, Boone Health hosted its Mid-Mi Baby Expo, welcoming about 400 first-time and expecting parents for hands-on lessons focused on childbirth, infant safety and newborn care.

The event ran from 8 a.m. until noon.

Missouri has seen a slight rise in childbirths over the last few years, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Throughout the day, parents took part in hands-on seminars covering everything from what to do if a baby is choking to basic newborn care, including diaper changes.

Attendees practiced everything from diaper changes to how to respond if a baby is choking. Families also got a closer look at what the delivery process can look like through demonstrations using a hospital delivery bed and newborn warming center.

For many parents, the event also helped calm some first-time nerves.

“I’m like a little anxious and nervous and all that. I’ve been around babies, but they’re not my babies, so it’s a little different this time around,” said Myranda Rivera, a Jefferson City resident expecting her first child this fall.

The expo comes as state data shows Missouri recorded a 1.3 percent increase in births last year, with nearly 68,000 babies born statewide, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Data from March of Dimes also shows that over 1,000 babies are born in Missouri during an average week, while 143 are born preterm.

Boone Health Clinical Supervisor for Labor and Delivery Brandy Templeton said the hospital delivers up to 120 babies each month.

She said fewer than 10 percent of those births require NICU care or additional medical support.

“A fraction of that need to go and stay down in the NICU, and typically those are babies that are born a little earlier than 37, 38 weeks. Those kiddos need a little extra help,” Templeton said.

Templeton said Boone Health cares for a wide range of mothers, including patients with high-risk pregnancies and pre-existing medical conditions.

“We take care of people that have no pre-existing conditions and are completely healthy. We have moms that are having babies a little older and may have pre-existing diabetes, high blood pressure and things like that that can complicate their prenatal care,” Templeton said.

According to March of Dimes, most births in Missouri between 2022 and 2024 were to women in their 20s and 30s. About 51 percent of births were to women ages 20 to 29, while roughly 42 percent were to women in their 30s.

State data also shows Missouri recorded fewer infant deaths in Jan. 2025 compared to the same month the year before. Twenty-four infants died in Jan. 2025, down from 42 in January 2024.

However, Missouri’s overall infant mortality rate still increased slightly in 2024. Preliminary state data shows Missouri recorded 6.3 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births in 2024, up from 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Several Boone County Sheriff’s deputies were seen in the 4300 block of W. Bethany Drive in Southwest Columbia on Saturday.

An ABC 17 News reporter on scene observed law enforcement putting up crime scene tape. The reporter also saw at least eight evidence markers placed on scene.

The reporter also saw an MU Healthcare vehicle and around eight Boone County Sheriff’s vehicles.

Crime scene tape was later removed at around 4:17 p.m. and put up around homes at 4337 and 4439 W Bethany Drive. Crime scene tape was taken down at around 4:32 p.m.

Law enforcement also put up at least five evidence markers on what appeared to be holes in two homes.

Neighbors nearby told another ABC 17 News reporter that they heard several shots fired and heard an argument around 2 p.m.

“We usually hear fireworks and stuff out here a lot, but it’s sort of that game of is it fireworks or is it gunshots? This time it was just right in front of the house. Looks like they for the spot right across the house from us,” neighborhood resident Corey Sandoval said.

He said he was at work when he got a call from his fiancée, who said she heard eight distinct shots.

Sandoval’s neighbor, Laura Whitman, has two kids, one who is in high school and another in elementary school. She said they and her husband were watching TV when they heard the shots and called 911.

“When I called 911, they were ‘OK, from that address, there are a couple other callers.’ So we just stood outside waiting. We told the boys to stay inside,” Whitman said.

Whitman said she heard screaming after the shots, almost like the people involved were arguing.

Whitman and Sandoval both said the neighborhood is usually quiet, although crime happens in the surrounding areas.

“I wish it would stop,” Sandoval said. “You know, gotta crack down on these people and stop being polite, because we can either be polite or we can be safe.”

Whitman said she is a little scared because her kids’ exposure to events like a potential shooting.

“It’s getting a little closer to home every time. So it’s like, why is this happening? Why does it keep happening?” Whitman said.

ABC 17 News has reached out to the Boone County Sheriff’s office.

This is a developing story.

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