Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia has hired a Texas-based law company to help hire its next city attorney.

City documents show the city hired Strategic Government Resources, Inc.  for the recruitment project.

Documents say the pricing cannot exceed $30,419, with $ 25,919 being used for consultant services and $4,500 for ad placements.

The city is looking to replace Nancy Thompson, who is retiring from the city attorney role on Oct. 14.

SGR Professional Services Agreement City CounselorDownload

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ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Week 2 of the Missouri high school football season kicked off on Friday night.

You can find scores from all of your Mid-Missouri teams below, as well as highlights in the video player above.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 22-year-old Rolla man was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash Thursday night on Phelps County Road 5280, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the man was riding the 2021 Honda Rebel 300 westbound when he went off the right side of the road, returned to the roadway and the bike overturned.

The man wore a helmet, but was flown to University Hospital.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A dead body was found floating face down in the Missouri River near the Noren River Access in North Jefferson City, the Jefferson City Police Department announced in a Friday press release.

First responders were called at 3:17 p.m. for a report of an unresponsive person floating face down, the release says.

The fire department launched a boat rescue at 3:34 p.m. and found the body three minutes later, per the release.

JCPD is the primary investigator in the case.

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City Police Department spokesman says someone crashed a pickup truck into the Auto Zone on Missouri Boulevard on Thursday night.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, first-degree property damage and reckless driving. The driver’s name was not released by police and associated charges were not filed on Casenet on Friday afternoon.

The spokesman wrote in an email on Friday that an officer was patrolling on Stadium Boulevard when he heard a loud crash and glass breaking.

The truck went through a handrail before crashing into the building, the email says. The driver allegedly refused field sobriety testing and chemical testing, so a warrant was obtained to collect a blood sample, the email says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Education unanimously picked Paul Wagner to become its newest member during its Thursday meeting.

Five people filed to hold the seat formerly held by  Jeanne Snodgrass, who stepped down in July because she is moving. 

The other finalist was Erica Perry.

Wagner will be sworn in on Monday, Sept. 14.

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Ellyse Edwards

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri drivers heading to recreation spots such as the Lake of the Ozarks for Labor Day weekend are paying nearly a dollar more per gallon than they were one year ago.

The statewide average for regular gasoline reached about $3.82 per gallon Friday, according to AAA. That is nearly 93 cents higher than Missouri’s average of about $2.90 at the same time last year.

Drivers leaving from Columbia are paying slightly more than the statewide average. Regular gasoline in Columbia averaged about $3.87 per gallon Friday, compared with about $2.93 one year ago. That is an increase of approximately 94 cents per gallon.

Despite the year-over-year increase, Missouri’s average remains below the national average of about $4.15 per gallon.

AAA says the country is on track for its most expensive Labor Day at the pump. The previous national Labor Day record was $3.82 per gallon, set in 2012.

GasBuddy had projected a national Labor Day average of $4.03 per gallon, 87 cents higher than the holiday average in 2025. The national average has since climbed above that projection, according to AAA.

The higher Missouri prices come as travelers head to the Lake of the Ozarks for the holiday weekend.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said all available troopers will patrol the state’s roads and waterways during the Labor Day counting period. The period begins at 6 p.m. Friday and ends at 11:59 p.m. Monday.

The Highway Patrol’s preliminary online reports show at least five drownings investigated by the agency at the Lake of the Ozarks since May 27. The incidents were reported May 27, June 10, July 4, July 22 and July 25.

A 22-year-old Columbia resident was also seriously injured in a near-drowning at the lake July 31, according to the Highway Patrol.

During the 2025 Labor Day counting period, Missouri recorded nine boating crashes that resulted in six injuries and no deaths. One person drowned, and troopers arrested nine people on suspicion of boating while intoxicated.

The Highway Patrol is reminding visitors to wear life jackets when they are near, on or in the water. People whose holiday plans include alcohol are encouraged to designate a sober driver for both their vehicle and boat.

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Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Supreme Court of Missouri has rejected the Missouri attorney general’s attempt to appeal its decision striking down a new congressional map to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Brent Powell signed the order, which simply states, “Respondent’s motion for a stay of injunction pending emergency appeal and application for stay to the Supreme Court of the United States overruled.”

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway posted on social media Thursday night that she planned to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court and that asking the Missouri court for a stay of its injunction was the first step.

The Missouri court’s decision struck down a map passed by the Republican-dominated General Assembly last year and forced a November vote on the map. The map pushed by the White House and approved by the General Assembly split up the Democrat-friendly Fifth District, subsuming the Kansas City district into other districts with large rural populations.

Republicans responded to the ruling by emphasizing that Missouri voters cast ballots in the August primary based on the General Assembly’s map, not the map approved in 2022 after the census.

Hanaway had asked the court for a stay pending an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, or an “alternative stay” to allow the high court time to review the case.

With the 2025 congressional map, Boone County was split into the Third and Fifth districts for the August primary election. Now, for the November election, Boone County will be in the Third and Fourth districts.

The big change is in the northern part of the county, where many voters will shift from the Fifth District back into the Fourth, Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said.

Party nominees chosen in the August primary election will not change districts, and those party winners will continue to run in their districts, said Lennon. The biggest change is that no one in Boone County would be in the Fifth District with the map reverting to its 2022 version.

Lennon said Friday that she and other clerks warned state officials of this possible outcome.

“That was something that I think that as a clerk and our clerks association had raised that concern in May that this was a possibility that would happen if we waited until Aug. 4, the deadline to certify the referendum petition to the ballot,” said Lennon. “It was certainly a consequence that I think was talked about and discussed amongst us clerks in April and May.”

If the 2022 map stays in effect, Lennon said, moving voters back into their old districts will be an easy task.

“It’ll be about 40% of our voters that have moved to a different district that go back to their old district,” said Lennon.

Check back for updates to this developing story.

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Matthew Sanders

The Missouri Supreme Court made national headlines on Thursday for a decision with far-reaching implications for November.

And it’s a case that could be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Missouri’s court ruled that a congressional map passed by Republicans in the General Assembly last year would not be in effect for the November election, and that a referendum on the new map would be on that election’s ballot.

Things get a bit complicated, though, given that Missourians chose party nominations based on the new map’s districts last month.

Do you agree with the court’s decision? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Firefighters responded to a call for a house fire near the Business Loop in Columbia on Thursday night.

Flames were seen coming from a home in the 1100 block of Pannell Street. Firefighters were using water from a hydrant from the corner of Smith Street.

High flames were seen coming from the second floor of the home and firefighters were heard using chainsaws to get into a portion of the building.

At least five firetrucks were seen on the Smith Street side of the scene.

Assistant Fire Chief Lester Shewmake told ABC 17 News at the scene that firefighters believe no one was in the home at the time of the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The fire was out by 11:06 p.m.

ABC 17 News is working to learn more information. Please check back for updates.

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