Author: KMIZ

Demetra Alarcon

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A lifelong Columbia resident says he has shared his concerns about excessive speeding on Garth Avenue, but he claims the city won’t take his issue seriously.

Stacy Wilson, 63, has lived in the 2500 block of North Garth Avenue for over 30 years. He told ABC 17 News on Wednesday that the speeding on his street has been an ongoing issue that escalated after the closing of the Providence Road overpass.

Wilson’s block is not far from Parkade Elementary, Parkade Baptist Church and the Bear Creek Trail.

“We’ve got schools, we’ve got parks, we’ve got churches, we’ve got trails. We’ve got all kinds of public walking up and down these roads and that traffic’s just going way too fast,” said Wilson.

Wilson says he reached out to city leadership, specifically Second Ward Councilwoman Vera Elwood, for assistance. According to Wilson, Elwood was responsive at first and acknowledged the problem, but stopped responding after he attempted to schedule an in-person meeting to discuss the matter further.

On Aug. 25, Wilson received a call from city traffic engineer Ray Korning, who reportedly stated that installing speed humps on North Garth Avenue violated city policy.

According to Wilson, the call ended with no alternative solutions offered.

“This is mine and my neighbor’s life right now. This traffic just speeding by day in, day out and it’s just nobody wants to do anything about it,” said Wilson.

In an interview with ABC 17 News, Jacob Ray, traffic engineering supervisor for the City of Coumbia, said he had no knowedge of that statement being made to Wilson.

Wilson said police contacted him about the issue on Aug. 31. Officers said speed radars would be put in. Wilson said the radars were up for a couple of weeks, but after a few days they were ineffective in making drivers slow down. The speed radars are no longer up, and Wilson said the speeding has returned.

One neighbor told ABC 17 News they do not let their children play in the front yard due to cars speeding.

Ray said that multiple factors go into deciding where to put traffic-calming devices like speed humps.

“One of those is really the amount of the traffic volume on the road, but also the connectivity to the surrounding area, and North Garth Avenue is a really important backbone for emergency response,” Ray said.

Ray said putting in a stop sign for the sole purpose of speed control goes against by traffic engineering principles.

“There’s reasons to put in stop signs such as volume, sight distance, crash history, etc. But speed control is definitely not one of them,” Ray said.

Ray said traffic enforcement is the most effective way to reduce speeding.

Wilson thinks the opposite.

“Having a police officer out here for an hour then leaving is not going to do the job because an hour after they leave, the traffic’s going to continue to go at the rate it’s going,” Wilson said.

ABC 17 News has submitted a records request on how many tickets the Columbia Police Department has written for speeding on Garth Avenue in the past 12 months.

Elwood did not respond to a request for comment.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man accused of murder in Morgan County had another felony case bound over to the Morgan County Circuit Court on Tuesday.

Robert Anselmo is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Johnetta Yeager. He is being held at the Morgan County Jail. That case was moved to Moniteau County earlier this year.

Anselmo was charged on Sept. 22 with multiple child sex crimes. The case was bound over to the circuit court on Tuesday. An arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26. In that case, he is charged with 10 counts of sexually exploiting a minor and one count of invasion of privacy.

The probable cause statement in the sex crime case says Anselo had “several” images containing child sex abuse. He allegedly recorded a child victim disrobing at a “lake house” in the summer of 2023, court documents say. The victim was able to identify themselves in the images shown to them by law enforcement, the statement says.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri farmers are encouraged to pre-file applications with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the over $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief Program.

The program is a one-time payment that is intended to provide farmers with financial relief during the harvesting season. It is funded by the 1933 Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act, which helps provide loans to farmers and ranchers and has $30 billion of indefinite borrowing authority from the U.S. Treasury.

Payment rates will be announced in November, but will be calculated according to an applicant’s reported planted acres, cost-of-production estimates and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates yields and prices with the Farm Service Agency.

Farmers of specialty crops and fishermen who may not be eligible are still encouraged to submit data separately to the USDA for relief consideration.

The Missouri Farm Bureau called the announcement “welcome news” during an interview with NewsNation Live on Tuesday. Both Missouri Soybeans and the Missouri Corn Growers Association are awaiting additional details on the program.

“Your team at Missouri Soybeans is working closely with USDA to clarify program details and ensure Missouri soybean farmers have the information they need as the program moves forward,” Missouri Soybeans said in a Facebook post Tuesday.

Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) pushed back against the program, and instead asked for a more long-term form of support.

“I don’t think we’re going to have a farmer in the state who says, ‘Yep, this is what we want every year, for the president to bail us out,'” Cleaver said. “I can tell you, they don’t want to sit around and take welfare; they will tell you they don’t like it, they just want to have the ability to send their products to the market and get a fair price for them, they want the opportunity to work and work hard.”

“Missouri farmers want lower fuel prices, open markets, and free trade — not inadequate government bailouts,” Cleaver said in a Facebook post Tuesday.

Cleaver has previously criticised the administration for importing foreign beef, closing Missouri Farm Service Agency offices and Trump’s influence in the Iran war.

“I’m not at all excited about what the president is doing, he creates a problem and then he wants to say, ‘Hey, I got a solution to the problem.’ In this case, it is a piece of a solution,” Cleaver said.

Cleaver adds that the timing of the program may not be best for harvest season and instead fit more with the upcoming midterm election in two weeks.

“We’re talking about money possibly coming in late November, maybe December, and the farmers need everything they can get right now. They’ve got to go and use the diesel in their farm equipment right now, today, harvest season,” Cleaver said. “The farmers want permanence; they want to have predictability, and those are the two things they just don’t have right now.”

Cleaver is also concerned where additional funding will come from if it’s needed.

The truth of the matter is he will have to come to Congress for some assistance,” Cleaver said. “Congress will return in the second week of November, and I can tell you everybody, they’re going to be interested in finding and hearing the details, and the details must include, ‘how many farmers will get money in my state?’ and everybody else going to ask the same question.”

Congressman Mark Alford (R-Raymore) promoted the program on social media, calling it “real relief for Missouri farmers and American agriculture.”

Applicants must create a Login.gov account linked to the USDA. There, pre-filled applications will be available online.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Officials say a threat a student made at Smith-Cotton Junior High School in Sedalia on Wednesday was not credible.

The Sedalia Police Department wrote on its social media that after a threat was made on social media on Wednesday morning, a school resource officer detained the student.

“The threat was found not be credible and at no time were students placed in a dangerous situation,” police wrote.

Police wrote the investigation is ongoing. The district sent an email to families on Wednesday.

“The Sedalia School District Administration works alongside our law enforcement partners in the community in order to quickly identify and neutralize any threat or perceived threat. This might mean our school resource officers from the Sedalia Police Department and the Pettis County Sheriff’s Office are knocking on doors at midnight and administration is making phone calls and investigating online at all hours of the day or night,” the letter says. “Sedalia 200 is truly blessed to have such strong relationships with our law enforcement agencies. More rural schools across the country are much more isolated and emergency personnel could be miles away. Seconds and minutes count when a true threat presents itself.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The prosecution is no longer seeking the death penalty for a man accused of shooting and killing two people in 2022 at a Jefferson City bar.

Damien Davis, 39, is charged in Cole County with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of illegal gun possession in the shooting death of 26-year-old Skylar Smock and 43-year-old Corey Thames on Nov. 26, 2022, at J. Pfenny’s Sports Grill and Pub.

Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty in 2023. Court filings from Monday show Thompson is no longer trying for the death penalty after the defense agreed to pool a jury from Cole County and waived a venue change that would have put the trial in Platte County.

“Given the absence of capital charges inherent in the State’s death penalty waiver, agrees that said jury need not be sequestered and may return to their homes at the conclusion of each day’s proceeding,” the filing states.

According to previous reporting, investigators claimed Smock tried to break up a fight and remove Thames from the business when Davis started firing shots. Police say Davis admitted to firing shots at Thames but says he unintentionally shot Smock. Previous reporting indicates that Davis had said “I was saving my life” during his arraignment in November 2022.

Court documents claim Davis’ statement to police that night did not match the evidence at the scene, including the location of shell casings or the video evidence captured by the bar’s cameras.

He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. A pretrial conference is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, 2027, while a jury trial is set for 9 a.m. Feb. 22-26.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced a new head of the state’s K-12 schools on Wednesday.

Lisa Sireno will serve as interim commissioner for the department, DESE said in a news release. Sireno was the department’s deputy commissioner of learning services, a job she took over in July.

Sireno is DESE’s third leader this year. Stacey Preis announced her sudden resignation on Tuesday following a State Board of Education meeting. Preis had been working as commissioner after Karla Eslinger retired on June 1.

The state board is in a national search for Missouri’s next K-12 education leader. The group hired The K12 Search Group on Tuesday to help it find a new commissioner, with money coming from unnamed “philanthropic organizations” through the National Association of State Boards of Education. Some state education groups and lawmakers have criticized DESE’s decision to use private funding for the search firm as an issue of transparency.

Sireno has worked at DESE since 2015 in various roles on career readiness and assessment. She worked as the University of Missouri’s director of resource assessment before joining DESE, the department said.

Wheaton R-3 Superintendent Alyssa Kennedy attended Tuesday’s board meeting. She said she hopes Sireno can keep the transition from slowing down work for schools.

“I hope that she’s able to help in that transition and make sure there’s no delay in getting schools what they need,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said the permanent commissioner should have experience in public education, including in classrooms.

“I think the overall scope of that job needs to be somebody who has been in public education for a significant amount of time, somebody that has taught in our public education classrooms and understands specifically currently what is plaguing public education in the state of Missouri. I think that is what we need as a commissioner,” Kennedy said.

State Rep. Ed Lewis (R-Moberly) said he expects DESE’s routine work to continue, but thinks the transition could make it harder to move major policy changes forward.

“Ordinary daily operations will continue. Pretty much. I think big decisions, big shifts, big policy things, it’ll be hard to move those things forward,” Lewis said.

State Rep. Kathy Steinhoff (D-Columbia) said she wants more confidence and direction in state education leadership.

“I just think we need to have some confidence in what is happening in regards to leading education in this state. And there are way too many examples of things that have happened in the last year that they don’t feel like there’s confidence there. They don’t feel like there’s direction because we are kind of jumping all over the place,” Steinhoff said.

The State Board has not announced how long Sireno will serve as interim commissioner or when it expects to select a permanent commissioner. DESE said it will share more information about the selection as it becomes available.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A school bus carrying five Blair Oaks School District students was hit by an SUV Wednesday morning.

Cole County Emergency Services was called to the crash at Route B and Tanner Bridge Road at about 7 a.m. The school bus and the small SUV that collided with it each had moderate damage, according to a Cole County Emergency Services news release.

Seven people were evaluated for injuries, including five Blair Oaks students. Two students reported minor injuries and were released to their parents; the other three students got on another bus and went to school, emergency services stated in a news release.

Blair Oaks Superintendent Ben Muldrum said the bus was struck while it was sitting still.

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Melissa Houston

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Transportation said Wednesday that speed limits will increase to 75 miles per hour on eight stretches of rural interstate around the state.

In a news release, the department stated it took various factors into consideration when deciding where to change speed limits:

Current traffic numbers. Truck traffic. Speed data. Crash history. Terrain of the road and road design. Existing speed limits. Ongoing construction.

The areas chosen for an increase to 75 mph are:

I-29: Exit 56 in Andrew County to 2.5 miles south of the Iowa border. I-35: Northern Cameron city limit to four miles south of the Iowa border. I-49: Arkansas border to Exit 24. I-49: Exit 56 to south of Exit 101 in Nevada. I-55: Arkansas border to mile marker 16.6, south of I-155 interchange. I-55: Mile marker 19.8 north of Highway 84 to mile marker 64.9 at the Route AA bridge. I-55: Mile marker 70.5 north of Route HH to mile marker 86.6 south of Route PP. I-55: Mile marker 106.4 north of Exit 105 to mile marker 164.9 at Jefferson County line.

A map was provided in the release, visually highlighting the interstate road segments where speed limits will increase.

MoDOT director Ed Hassinger said that the decision for which roads will be impacted by the increase came down to the publics convenience and safety.

“There’s a desire, I think, from the public to be more convenient, to be able to get places more efficiently,” Hassinger said. Our concern is safety of the traveling public…we’re trying to balance those two things to get the best outcome.”

Once the speed limit increases are set, MoDOT crews will continue to monitor those specific stretches to make sure there are positive results.

“If we see negative results, then we will dial it back to a lower speed limit, so that’s kind of the plan that we’re under right now,” Hassinger said.

Gov. Mike Kehoe signed the bill allowing increased speed limits into law in July. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Jamie Burger (R-Benton) and carried in the House by Rep. John Voss (R-Cape Girardeau).

For AAA, who opposed the initial bill signed, there is growing concerns about the safety aspect of increasing the speed limits.

“This piece of legislation is moving Missouri in the wrong direction when it comes to roadway safety,” AAA spokesman Nick Chabarria said. “We know that increased speed limits on interstates have resulted in increased fatalities in neighboring states that have enacted similar legislation.”

Chabarria said, based on AAA’s data, neighboring states like Arkansas saw an increase in fatalities of about 27% after increasing their speed limits on rural roads. And in Kansas fatalities increased by 22% he said.

For AAA, Chabarria said they share the same safety concerns expressed in MoDOT’s press release, as well as the goal of active roadways that make driving more efficient. However, he said that the stretches of interstate that are going to see an increase will not make traveling faster by a lot, and the safety aspect is now being jeperdized.

“When you calculate that out, even on that longest stretch, that saves a driver about 3 minutes, and that’s 3 minutes,” Chabarria said. “I don’t think the speed limit increase is necessarily worth it, and I don’t know that the argument that it gets people there faster will hold up when you actually look at the numbers.”

Mid-Missouri was not part of the speed limit increases, and Hassinger said that was partially due to the current construction happening.

“We’re having enough problems getting people to drive, the works zone speed limits, so we made a decision that we’re not going to even look at I-70 until the construction is done,” Hassinger said. “That will be several years from now.”

Hassinger said there is a chance for Mid-Missouri to get speed limit increases, but the analysis for those roads will not happen until after 2030, when most of the construction has been completed.

For urban highways, they require more safety analysis from MoDOT. Hassinger said that when they were looking at the rural interstates, those stretches had less traffic volume, low truck counts, and the roads were mostly flat and straight, making it easier to determine that increasing the speed was safe.

MoDOT will be working this fall to update speed limit signs on those stretches; no timeline of completion was provided.

It is recommended that drivers continue to follow the posted speed limit signs as the updated speeds roll out.

Both Hassinger and Chabarria are urging drivers to understand that speed limits means that is the maximum speed a driver can safely travel in those areas.

“The speed limit going up means it’s a speed limit, and so none of our roads are designed to drive 80 miles an hour on, so 75 is kind of the limit if people want to be safe on the road,” Hassinger said.

“This should be the fastest you’re going on that stretch of road,” Chabarria said. “Even though we’re seeing the speed limit increase on these stretches of roads, you know, drive what you’re comfortable with and certainly drive for conditions we know that speeding is a factor in about a third of all fatal crashes nationwide.”

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Stephi Smith

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

More Mid-Missouri students are exploring careers in the skilled trades, according to construction industry officials.

More than 1,500 high school students registered for Build My Future Central Missouri, a construction career showcase held Wednesday at the Jefferson City Jaycees Fairgrounds.

The event featured hands-on activities where students could practice laying bricks, build miniature toolboxes and attempt to score a soccer goal using a trackhoe.

Rachel Andrews, executive officer of the Home Builders Association of Central Missouri, said the event is gaining popularity. About 1,300 students attended last year’s event, compared with more than 1,500 registered this year.

Andrews also said scholarship applications to the Home Builders Association have increased from about six or seven annually to 20-25 in recent years. She said that growth suggests more students are considering careers in construction.

Heavy equipment operation is often a popular attraction, Andrews said, but students also have shown interest in careers such as HVAC and plumbing. The association surveys students after the event to gauge their experiences.

“They are just amazed that there’s all this that they can do. So that’s why we show them, because it’s hard to tell somebody actually everything that you can do,” Andrews said.

Zermone Miller, a junior at Battle High School, said he is considering a career in welding after graduation. Miller said he enjoyed the wide variety of activities, including the opportunity to use large machinery.

He attended through his school’s career center and connected with DeLong’s Inc., a steel fabrication company.

“If you’re going into anything new and you want to try something new, do welding. It’s really fun. You can learn a lot and make a lot of money from it, too,” Miller said.

Jason Otke, a residential home builder in Columbia and Jefferson City, said his company often works with young people entering the construction industry.

“It gives us hope for the future in trades,” Otke said.

Charlyce Ruth, workforce development manager for the Associated General Contractors of Missouri, said the event draws students from schools within a two-hour radius of Jefferson City.

Ruth said she wants students to understand that a four-year college degree is not the only path to a successful career. Depending on the trade, students can pursue apprenticeships, community college programs or direct employment after high school.

She said she has also heard from unions across the state that the average age of apprentices is decreasing, suggesting younger people are becoming more interested in the trades.

“There’s just more people interested,” Ruth said. “People want to work with their hands.”

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched a new respiratory virus tracking website to predict spread in communities nationwide. The site shows the estimated growth of COVID-19, Influenza and Respiratory syncytial virus in Missouri.

The CDC launched the new website in early October, and it uses estimations to identify outbreak peaks two to three weeks sooner at the state level and a week and a half earlier at the community level.

In Missouri, the COVID-19 epidemic trend is labeled “likely growing,” with a growth probability of 84%. Boone, Chariton, Cooper, Howard, Macon and Randolph counties have a combined COVID-19 growth probability of 78%.

For flu numbers, Missouri has a growth probability of over 99%. However, Mid-Missouri counties northwest of Boone show an epidemic trend of “not changing,” with a 58% growth probability.

The combination of Callaway, Cole, Gasconage, Maries, Miller, Moniteau and Osage counties is categorized as “likely growing” with an Influenza growth probability of 77%.

The flu season officially began on Oct. 1. According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, 34 people were admitted to the hospital for Influenza during the first week of October.

University Hospital saw 50 combined cases of Influenza A and Influenza B, according to an MU Health spokesperson.

Boone Health has reported 11 positive Influenza A cases and 16 positive cases of COVID-19 since Oct. 1.

Medical experts said older adults and people with certain underlying health conditions can face a higher risk of serious flu complications.

Adults 65 and older who also have conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes are at greater risk. Doctors suggest that people experiencing shortness of breath, a high heart rate, or low blood pressure should seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

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