Author: KMIZ

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Education has asked the district to raise health insurance premiums by 20% for the upcoming school year.

That request came after a Thursday morning meeting. The district will take on the cost of the premiums next year, but will pass along costs of any dependents to employees.

This was nearly 10% lower than what the consultant recommended to fully cover the expected cost increases.

The increase will be part of next year’s budget which should be presented in May.

CPS health insurnaceDownload

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A sexual harassment and retaliation investigation report filed by the law office of Vessel, Bridges and Murphy says a jury or judge would likely rule a Camden County commissioner retaliated against an employee.

The report claims actions by Steve Dougan, Camden County’s Second District commissioner, would likely be ruled as retaliation, though claims of him sexual harassing an employee possibly would not stand.

Dougan was not named in the report, but minutes from a March 2 closed meeting showed he was accused of sexual harassment and retaliation.

The report indicates Dougan had sent the employee a text message on Dec. 19 in order to set her up on a date with one of his friends. A comment that could be considered sexual in nature about the friend was sent to the employee, the report says. The report also describes Dougan telling a story about a strip club to the employee.

Concerns were allegedly brought up to Dougan during a Feb. 2 counseling session that included another commissioner and the woman’s immediate supervisor. Dougan allegedly then started making claims about poor performance.

The report then claims another session was held on Feb. 24 and Dougan “wrote up” the supervisor for poor performance twice that same day.

“It is my understanding that if the Complainant’s supervisor was terminated, Complainant’s job status would be in limbo because she could now be replaced by a new supervisor or terminated by a majority vote of the Commissioners,” attorney Jack Fleming wrote in the report. “Complainant’s fear that the accused Commissioner was paving the way for her termination was legitimate and credible.”

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Matthew Sanders

Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and JudgmentDownload

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Cole County judge has certified a ballot issue summary that was rewritten after the Missouri secretary of state admitted it was unfair, despite having approved it.

Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe issued his order, including new ballot language, on Friday based on arguments given during a Feb. 2 hearing in a Cole County courtroom. The lawsuit was brought by People Not Politicians — an activist group that is working against a new congressional map favored by the Republican supermajority.

Stumpe’s new ballot language eliminates the description of the state’s current map as “gerrymandered” and protects incumbent politicians. The language still describes the map as more compact and having boundaries that better keep cities and counties intact.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins had admitted in legal filings that the language was unfair and likely to prejudice voters, Stumpe wrote.

The “Missouri First” map at the heart of the ballot question was approved by the Republican supermajority in the Missouri General Assembly amid a White House push to gain GOP-friendly seats in the House, giving the majority more cushion. The map carves up the current Fifth District, which is represented by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver.

The map is set to appear on the November general election ballot.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Four Texas men who were charged in early 2025 for their alleged roles in ATM thefts in Camden County were indicted by a Cole County grand jury earlier this week.

Mylek Freeman, Christopher Delasbour, Augustus Sherman and Tyrese Holloway were all charged in Cole County with accessory to stealing more than $750, accessory to stealing a vehicle and first-degree property damage.

Sherman pleaded guilty on Oct. 30 in Camden County to stealing a vehicle while the other men are still charged with stealing more than $750 and stealing a vehicle. Sherman was sentenced to five years in prison.

Previous reporting indicates Cole County deputies were called at 1:17 a.m. Jan. 29, 2025, to Farmers Bank in Lohman after an ATM was broken into and “an undetermined amount of money had been taken.”

Police were later called to a report of ATM thefts in Osage Beach. They were later found in Oklahoma with more than $47,000 in cash, $11,440 of which came from an ATM, court documents in previous reporting say.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 59-year-old woman from Dixon, Missouri, was seriously injured in a single-vehicle crash Thursday on Route D in Phelps County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the woman drove a 2002 Dodge Ram eastbound when it went off the right side of the road. The driver overcorrected and went off the left side of the road before hitting a ditch and overturning, the report says.

The woman was flown to University Hospital in Columbia. The report says she was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Emergency crews in Fulton are asking residents to avoid the area around a commercial recycling center after a fire.

The business, David’s Recycling, is a local car recycling and scrap yard. It buys old cars and sells the steel and parts.

The City of Fulton shared on social media, alerting residents to a fire near W 7th Street and Airway Drive and W 7th Street and Route F around 11:30 a.m. Police said the smoke could reduce visibility for drivers.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a social media post the fire involved 10-15 vehicles.

🚨Recycling Center Fire in Fulton🚨

Firefighters are battling a large fire involving 10-15 vehicles at a recycling center in Fulton.

Thick smoke is drifting across U.S. 54.Please be careful when traveling through the area. pic.twitter.com/0ihyXxvCXw

— MSHP Troop F (@MSHPTrooperF) March 20, 2026

Central Callaway Fire Chief Greg Luebbert told ABC 17 News that no one was hurt in the fire but an employee operating a piece of machinery came close to being hurt.

Blake David later identified himself as that operator and explained that a lithium car battery was the cause of the blaze.

“The hybrid hybrid situation is, you know, newer,” David said. “I pulled the, battery, the main battery out of the vehicle for the motor. When I went to smash it with the trackhoe it completely just blew up.”

Luebbert described fires started by lithium batteries as “runaway fires”.

“They spread very, very rapidly. This is at least a second extreme fire I’ve seen from lithium ion batteries,” Luebbert said.

David said he had to act quickly following the explosion, despite being in shock.

“Blew me completely out of the crane,” David said. “My first thought is we got a quarter million dollar piece of equipment we got to get out of this first.”

David said the business has been in his family for three generations. This is not the first time something like this has happened.

“We had a van come in and the battery was still in it, just a regular battery,” David said. “It caught on fire and it burned and burned.”

David said the situation has opened his eyes and the company will be implementing a new policy going forward.

“I’m going to have a sign up front ‘No hybrid batteries’ they have to be removed from the vehicles. That would prevent a lot of it,” David said.

According to David, the loss will add up to around $250,000 dollars, but he said the money isn’t what’s important to him right now.

“I’m just lucky you didn’t kill me or hurt me really bad,” David said.

He also commended the response by law enforcement, but described one challenge they faced with the area.

“The fire hydrants are clear up the road, probably a good half mile to three quarters of a mile. They had to run hoses all the way down here,” David said. “By the time they got the hoses down here and the water down here, it had spread to the big pile.”

David said the business will be back up and running like normal come Monday, David’s Recycling is typically closed on weekends.

He asked future customers to be mindful and open about the features and problems with their car to keep everyone involved in the process as safe as possible.

“When you’re bringing stuff to a scrap yard for an extra $2 or $3, don’t try to hide something a propane tank, this or that in a car, I’ll give you the $2, but that $2 can save my life,” David said.

An ABC 17 News photographer on the scene was stopped near Elaine Drive and W 7th Street in Fulton.

One resident told ABC 17 News she heard an explosion around 10:50 a.m. that shook her house. She reported hearing lots of sirens.

The resident shared photos showing parts of cars and other items on fire.

Black smoke was seen coming from the recycling center.

This is a developing story.

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Nate Splater

Tornado-prone regions in the United States are shifting eastward from the traditional “Tornado Alley” toward the Mississippi and Tennessee River valleys. This expansion is bringing more frequent severe weather and tornado outbreaks to areas historically less accustomed to such intensity.

In recent decades, the frequency of favorable tornado days has increased significantly in states including Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. Meteorologists attribute this shift to rising atmospheric temperatures and record-level moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, which provide the essential ingredients for major storm outbreaks.

Shel Winkley, a meteorologist with Climate Central, noted that the Gulf of Mexico has been running at near-record temperatures, which feeds the low-level moisture necessary for storms.

“A warmer atmosphere is kind of like the catcher’s mitt that can hold that moisture until the right weather system unlocks it,” Winkley said. This moisture, combined with warmer temperatures and weather triggers like cold fronts, creates an environment more conducive to severe thunderstorms.

Since 1979, the Eastern United States has seen as many as 15 additional days of high Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) during the spring and summer months. This trend toward more frequent storm-producing conditions in the East contrasts with the Western United States. The West has seen a decrease in high-potential days as the region deals with persistent drought and heat.

Residents in the Midwest and Southeast face unique dangers from storms that occur after sunset.

Unlike traditional patterns where storms often diminish after the heat of the day, these regions are experiencing more “nocturnal” events. “Now, especially from Missouri down to the southeastern U.S., we’re experiencing more nocturnal severe weather events, which is more dangerous because, one, you’re asleep,” Winkley said. He added that the darkness makes it nearly impossible to see approaching storms.

Visibility is further complicated by the geography of the Deep South and Missouri.

“With a shifting increase of where these tornadoes are occurring when you get into Missouri, when you get into the Deep South especially, there’s one thing that’s the biggest issue, which is going to be line of sight,” Winkley said. “You have a lot more trees than you do in the central plains.” This makes it difficult for both residents and storm chasers to spot tornadoes with the naked eye.

Socioeconomic factors and housing types contribute to the rising risk in these newly active regions. There are more than 8 million mobile homes in the United States, with the highest concentrations located in the Southeast. In some counties across the Mid-South and Southeast, mobile homes account for 30% to 50% of all residences. These structures are often inadequate to withstand tornadic winds and are frequently located in remote areas far from emergency services.

Research suggests that the likelihood of a tornado-related death in a mobile home is 15 to 20 times greater than in a permanent home. According to a 2018 study, mobile home residents represent a near majority of all tornado deaths in the Southeast. This vulnerability is compounded by a lack of access to public tornado shelters in rural communities.

While the total number of tornadoes in the United States has not increased overall, the concentration of tornadoes within specific events is rising.

“Climate change isn’t causing more tornadoes. We’re not seeing an increase in the number of tornadoes overall,” Winkley said. “But what we are experiencing is more tornadoes on those biggest severe weather days, those tornado outbreak days.”

These outbreaks are increasingly shifting toward the eastern half of the country.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A duplex fire in north Columbia led police to shut down a city street Friday and led to a woman’s arrest on suspicion of arson.

The fire on Newton Drive was called out at about 10 a.m., according to a Columbia Fire Department spokesperson. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire — the spokesperson said the fire marshal was at the scene investigating on Friday morning.

No serious injuries were reported, but medics evaluated a woman who had been inside the house and took her to a hospital for an unrelated illness.

A Columbia Fire Department release said firefighters found flames and heavy smoke coming from the duplex when they arrived. There was high heat and heavy fire inside, the release states. Flames were put out in four minutes.

Anjaleque Bragg, 31, was charged with one count of first-degree arson, according to court records. Bragg, who was found outside sitting on a box with several items beside her, told police she started the fire in the duplex because she did not want to live there anymore, and wanted to die in the fire, according to a probable cause statement.

Bragg said she used lighter fluid and a match to start the fire next to back door, and that she knew her mother was still home, the statement says.

Leslie Lane was closed between Providence Road and Garth Avenue during the response, according to an alert sent by dispatchers.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

One person died after a fire late Thursday near New Florence in Montgomery County.

The New Florence Fire Protection District was called to the structure fire on Buechele Road at about 10:30 p.m., according to a social media post. Firefighters pulled one person from inside the structure, who was pronounced dead by medics.

Three other local fire departments were called in to help.

The Missouri Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating, the fire district says.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Transportation is encouraging Mizzou tiger fans to stay safe on the road as the University of Missouri Men’s basketball team takes on the University of Miami in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night in St. Louis.

Construction on I-70 has been prominent across the state as MoDoT continues its Improve I-70 project to expand the highway to three lanes in each direction from St. Louis to Kansas City. According to MoDoT’s Improve I-70 Director Eric Kopinski, no adjustments will be made to scheduled lane impacts; however, I-70 will be monitored over the weekend.

MoDoT is warning drivers to be alert as there are multiple work zones on I-70. They ask drivers to obey the speed limit and have a designated driver if they plan on drinking alcohol.

According to the MoDoT traveler map, the construction areas where drivers could see more delays are between Columbia and Kingdom City and Warrenton to Wentzville.

When fans get to St. Louis, MSHP Troop C will assist St. Louis police with traffic control and other needs.

Mizzou and Miami are set to tip off at the Enterprise Center on Friday at 9:10 p.m., and the game will air on TruTV.

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