Author: KMIZ

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A lane of Interstate 70 eastbound in Columbia was closed Friday morning for emergency repairs, again.

But engineers hope this time they have solved the problem.

The area near mile marker 131 and the St. Charles Road exit has been closed multiple times for emergency repairs dating back to last year.

The Missouri Department of Transportation said in a news release that the closure was expected to last into Friday evening.

The agency said the on-ramp to I-70 from St. Charles Road was also closed. Traffic cameras showed a long line of vehicles backed up on eastbound I-70 in Columbia on Friday afternoon.

Jeff Gander, MoDOT’s project manager for improvements on Interstate 70, said an unusual amount of moisture under the road is causing the pavement to shift. Workers tried a new approach Friday by adding new drainage features, he said.

“Every time we go in there, we try to, we try to do it a little better than we did last time,” Gander said. “And this time we went above and beyond and put that drain tile in there. So hopefully, this is the last one.

Drivers are encouraged to avoid the area.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Tuscumbia man died after a crash in Miller County on Thursday afternoon.

Missouri State Highway Patrol said the crash happened on Route C, half a mile north of Ulman Ridge Road in Miller County.

Troopers said a 47-year-old man from Tuscumbia was driving a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 truck when it went off the right side of the road.

The driver overcorrected back onto the road, crossed the center line and went off the left side of the road. The crash report states the car flipped over onto a fence.

The driver was taken to Lake Regional Hospital, where they died.

Troopers said the man was not wearing a seat belt, according to the report.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Conservation will begin its 2026 Callery Pear Buyback Program to stop the growth of the invasive tree across the state.

Registration for the buyback begins on March 16 and continues until April 16. People who register to cut down one or more Callery Pear trees, commonly known as the Bradford Pear tree, will get one native tree in return. The native replacement tree will be potted in three-gallon containers and will be between two and four feet tall.

The Bradford Pear tree is non-native to the state and invasive. The Missouri Department of Conservation is partnering with the Missouri Invasive Plant Council, the Missouri Community Forestry Council, Magnificent Missouri, Forrest Keeling Nursery, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, and the Missouri Prairie Foundation to host the 2026 Callery Pear Buyback Program in locations around the state.

Bradford Pear trees have white flowers that are pretty, but they can cause problems for landowners and wildlife. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the trees have a top-heavy canopy and have brittle branches that can often break during storms. Bradford Pears are fast-growing trees with flowers that also have a foul smell, and some even have thorns.

On April 21 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., people who registered can pick up their native tree in more than 20 different communities around the state. Those locations include Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Doniphan, Hannibal, Jefferson City, Joplin, Kansas City, Kirksville, Lebanon, Liberty, Moberly, Park Hills, Parkville, Pineville, Riverside, Rolla, Sikeston, Springfield, St. Charles, St. Joseph, St. Louis, Warrensburg and West Plains. 

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An attack on a large Reform synagogue in Michigan has shaken Jewish communities across the country, including those in mid-Missouri.

No one was hurt or killed when a suspect rammed a vehicle into the building Thursday, though the suspect was later found dead.

Authorities said a security guard at the synagogue opened fire on the vehicle during the incident. Federal investigators said the incident appears to be a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.

ABC 17 News spoke Thursday with Ben Trachtenberg, vice president of Congregation Beth Shalom in Columbia, who said incidents like this resonate deeply within Jewish communities.

“The events are obviously terrible, and Jewish people all over the world are thinking about the people in Michigan and wishing them all the best,” Trachtenberg said.

A member of the Columbia congregation said they were “stunned” upon learning about Thursday’s attack and asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons.

Even though no one was hurt in Thursday’s attack, Trachtenberg said Jewish congregations have long been mindful of security concerns.

“Antisemitism is not a new thing and Jewish congregations have been thinking about safety for a very long time,” he said.

Local congregations continue to evaluate their own safety measures.

A member of Beth Shalom said security measures have increased at the synagogue in recent years.

“I think everywhere should be concerned about an attack because you just don’t know,” they said. “You could be in the most supportive Jewish community, and someone from five communities away could come and make life hell.”

Temple Beth El in Jefferson City sits about a minute’s walk from the Jefferson City Police Department. Meanwhile, Congregation Beth Shalom in Columbia is roughly a 12-minute drive from the Columbia Police Department.

Despite the distance, Trachtenberg said he feels confident in the congregation’s safety preparations and its relationship with local law enforcement.

“We’ve had a good relationship with the Columbia Police Department, and we’ve been in touch with them from time to time,” Trachtenberg said. “There’s some coordination with St. Louis to give us advice as well. So we’re taking this very seriously.”

Missouri also participates in a Nonprofit Security Grant Program that helps high-risk nonprofit organizations including houses of worship, improve safety through security equipment, training and emergency planning.

Under the program, nonprofits such as synagogues, mosques, churches and community centers can apply for up to $200,000 per location for security improvements, with a maximum of $600,000 per organization within a state.

Trachtenberg said Congregation Beth Shalom has been approved for participation in the program.

ABC 17 News has reached out to both the Columbia Police Department and the Jefferson City Police Department to ask whether additional patrols or security measures are being considered around local houses of worship following the attack.

On Friday morning, the Columbia Police Department responded, “We do not comment on security details of known businesses, places of worship etc.  for the protection of those patrons. We share intelligence information and keep informed with various law enforcement partners. We maintain a state of patrol operations to be at the ready as needed.”

The Missouri Department of Public Safety said it is tightening security measures and monitoring potential threats linked to Iran. The department also posted safety guidance on social media, encouraging the public to remain alert to possible terrorism threats, cyberattacks and extremist activity.

Mike O’Connell, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, said law enforcement agencies remain vigilant amid ongoing global tensions.

“It’s safe to say that since the conflict with Iran began, law enforcement, governments and the private sector have been at a heightened state of readiness to detect and defend against terrorism,” O’Connell said.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A U.S. military refueling plane involved in the operations in the Middle East went down over Iraq on Thursday.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that the downing was not from hostile or friendly fire.

“The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing,” Central Command wrote in a statement Thursday afternoon.

One of the KC-135 Stratotankers went down in western Iraq. Another made it safely to the ground.

Check back for updates to this developing story.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Holts Summit woman charged with a slew of felonies, including murder, for a shooting outside an apartment building will not go to trial this week.

Heather Smith’s trial on child endangerment, unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and second-degree murder charges had been scheduled to start Friday, but was pushed back at a hearing early this week.

Now the trial, being heard in Boone County on a change of venue, is scheduled to begin April 20.

Smith’s next hearing is set for March 19.

Smith is accused of killing Kara Dills, 37. Court documents in previous reporting say the shooting started with an argument between Smith and Dills at Hunter Lane Apartments. The documents cite nine witnesses to the shooting.

Dills allegedly got a gun and pistol-whipped Smith on the forehead, documents say. The gun went off, grazing a man later identified as Thomas Jones, on his head, according to the probable cause statement. After Dills lowered her gun and started to walk away, Smith shot her in the stomach, the statement says.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

EDITOR’S NOTE: A misattributed quote has been corrected.

A Jackson County circuit judge ruled Thursday that a new congressional map drawn last year amid a nationwide push by Republicans to gain an advantage in the U.S. House can remain in effect.

The map, which Gov. Mike Kehoe dubbed “Missouri First,” splits up the Democrat-safe Fifth District and is the subject of multiple lawsuits and an initiative petition. Opponents argue that congressional maps can only be drawn every 10 years after the national census, per the Missouri Constitution.

Thursday’s ruling came in two combined lawsuits. Circuit Judge Adam Caine stayed a ruling on one count pending a Missouri Supreme Court decision in a separate case challenging the new map, but he found for state officials on the other counts.

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Caine wrote in his ruling that the plaintiffs challenging the map failed to show that its districts did not meet legal standards for being “compact and contiguous.”

Richard von Glahn with the group created to challenge the new map, People Not Politicians, said the bigger challenge remains whether legislators can draw a new map in the middle of the decade. That’s the question at the center of the case pending before the Missouri Supreme Court, he said.

“Our position is that the details of the map are not the relevant question. Either way, politicians are trying to seize power from the people and center themselves, and not voters, in our democracy. That is wrong,” von Glahn said.

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, whose office defended the map in court, called the ruling a victory for the people of Missouri and their elected representatives. The ruling, Hanaway’s office said in a news release, reaffirms the legislature’s sole power to redraw congressional maps.

The Missouri General Assembly approved the map, which busts up Democrat Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City district, last summer as the White House pushed for Republican-dominated states to squeeze out more seats. Some states led by Democrats followed with similar moves.

Filing for the August primary election began last month under the new map.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

As the housing gap continues across the nation, developers are increasingly looking to old buildings through a growing trend called adaptive reuse.

Adaptive reuse sees non-residential buildings, such as hotels, offices, and schools, converted into apartments. RentCafe reported that, in 2024 alone, close to 25,000 new apartments were completed nationally from adaptive reuse projects. This is over, 8,000 more units than the prior year.

According to Realtor.com, new home construction fell short of demand last year, leaving the U.S. housing supply gap at around 4.03 million homes in 2025.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition also reported a shortage of over 127,000 affordable rental homes in Missouri.

“Much of what’s been in the headlines has talked about the demand side of housing, which does very little for addressing the cost and the supply side,” said Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix.

The National Association of Home Builders reported that inflation in the global economy has increased the costs of building materials. They found construction costs for a new home accounted for 64.4% of the average price of a new home in 2024, compared to 60.8% in 2022.

A separate study found that the average cost of a single-family home in 2024 was over $428,000. In 2019, the same home cost around $296,000. Despite that sharp increase in prices, the report says builders’ profits rose only slightly over the same period from 9.1% to 11%, a range similar to where construction profits were even two decades ago.

“So the housing demand or the household formation continues to increase, so what’s happening is that people are beginning to look at underutilized or vacant properties,” Ressler said. “What we have found is that governments that work in collaboration with business, the community, are much better suited to be able to provide housing in those areas that are under a lot of stress.”

RentCafe reported that of the 2024 adaptive reuse projects,37% of structures started as hotels, followed by office spaces at 24% and industrial buildings at around 19%.

The Construction Management Association of America also reported that existing buildings account for about 42% of global carbon emissions. Using existing properties helps keep emissions down and gives builders opportunities to add eco-friendly facilities to dated buildings.

“I’d say we’ve been involved in a half a dozen and multiple states,” said Jason Maddox, the president of Midwest-based MACO Development Company. “We’ve done a hotel, we’ve done downtown buildings, a bank conversion, but it seems like the school buildings work a little better.”

Ressler said the historic context of buildings even helps with more affordable housing projects.

“There’s a lot of vacant buildings and many of those buildings are quite old; they can qualify for historical preservation loans,” Ressler said. “What we see, especially in affordable housing, is you can stack loan monies in terms of being able to pencil out, make it affordable.”

A MACO project, the Carver School Apartments in Fulton, which added 33 affordable senior apartments to the city’s housing stock in December of last year, used $766,000 in federal historic preservation tax credits. Maddox said the construction cost around $8 million and the project received around $8.2 million in federal housing credits and $3.7 million in state housing credits.

Other recent adaptive reuse projects in Mid-Missouri include the Tannehill Apartments in Moberly that added 40 affordable senior housing units in Feburary and the Benton School project in Marshall, which is expected to add 17 apartments.

“We are able to determine if there’s a housing need there and if we’re able to do this and help to meet that housing need and also to preserve that structure at the same time,” Maddox said. “It’s a win-win.”

Tune in to ABC 17 News at 10 p.m. Sunday to get a behind-the-scenes look at how these adaptive reuse projects develop.

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Alison Patton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

After less than an hour of debate, the Republican-led Missouri House approved Gov. Mike Kehoe’s income tax elimination bill with a 98-54 vote.

It will now be sent to the Senate, and that chamber is likely to pick it up after spring break, which starts Friday, and legislators will be back in session March 23.

House Joint Resolutions 173 and 174 would phase out the income tax, with the goal of eliminating it by 2032. Lawmakers plan to expand the sales tax base to include services and online purchases as a way to make up for the massive revenue cut.

Income tax makes up about two-thirds of the state’s revenue.

Republican lawmakers argue that the state’s tourism will make up for the revenue loss because out-of-state consumers will have to pay sales tax. The GOP also argues Missourians will take more home in their paycheck, and could choose to spend more, generating more sales taxes.

However, Missourians will have to pay that back at the grocery store, online subscriptions and purchases, and when they pay for services like haircuts or pet care.

Voters will have the final say at the ballot if the bill makes it through the Senate.

In final arguments on the House floor Thursday, Rep. John Martin (R-Columbia) reiterated the need for his colleagues to keep public safety, schools and infrastructure in mind while adjusting the state’s budget.

“We have a historic opportunity to help Missourians to have more take-home pay, and they can choose to spend that,” Martin said. “We also need to evaluate our state budget at this time, a good time to look at the target, as people are wondering how we’re going to make up the difference.”

The bill language said it would protect public school funding. However, Traci Gleason from the Missouri Budget Project said that might not be possible when legislators intend to cut the state budget by a million dollars this year and even more next year, and are already underfunding public schools.

“In that environment where we’re already underfunding, legislators are already making cuts and considering more drastic cuts next year, we’re talking about eliminating a huge source of funding for everything in our budget,” Gleason said.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is also working to adjust the foundation formula for school funding.

Schools could also see shortfalls in local funding.

If the bill makes it through the general assembly and voters give the OK, it would provide a boost to local sales tax revenue. The bill would require local governments to lower property taxes to account for that increase, but that’s where many public schools get a chunk of their funding.

“Schools would be hit by an inability to handle real-world dynamics that any locality faces with population growth, demographics and things like that,” Gleason said. “It would really be a 1-2 punch at both state and local funding levels.”

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County jury made its recommendation on how much prison time a Florida man should face for opening fire in a Columbia restaurant.

The jury recommended a seven-year sentence for second-degree assault, the maximum allowed under the law. The jury also recommended and eight-year sentence for armed criminal action after about four hours of deliberation on Thursday afternoon.

Alexis Gonzalez, 38, was found guilty of second-degree assault and armed criminal action Wednesday. He was acquitted on one charge of unlawful use of a weapon. Gonzalez was accused of shooting Gary Bitsicas in the face on Aug. 17, 2024.

Prosecutors originally charged Gonzalez with first-degree assault, which has a maximum sentence of 30 years. The jury convicted him instead of the lesser offense of second-degree assault, and deliberated the sentence recommendations for most of Thursday.

Judge Stephanie Morrell will decide the final sentence on May 4. Morrell cannot exceed the jury’s recommendations when deciding on a prison sentence.

The state asked the jury to consider the maximum sentence for both counts. The defense asked for one year in the Boone County Jail for the assault conviction and three years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for the armed criminal action.

The state argued that Gonzalez went back into a restaurant with a gun and the intention to harm Bitsicas after an argument outside over a bar tab. Gonzalez claimed he was acting in self-defense and in defense of his girlfriend. Gonzalez expressed his regret one final time on the stand Thursday before deliberations.

“I regret the injuries that Gary had to suffer, I regret the things that people had to go through in that bar, I still do think about it each and every night,” Gonzalez said.

Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson said the verdict will send a message to the public on whether Columbia tolerates crime or stands up to it. He asked the jurors to make an example out of Gonzalez and his actions that night. Johnson said being a gun owner comes with a responsibility that Gonzalez failed to uphold.

“Gun violence on our community is not going to be tolerated,” Johnson told ABC 17 News after court Thursday.

The defense highlighted Gonzalez’s character in closing statements to jurors. His attorney, Jeff Hilbrenner, said Gonzalez is a military veteran who worked as a pharmacy technician before his arrest. Hilbrenner said Gonzalez has no criminal history and no reports of poor behavior while being held in jail since Aug. 18, 2024.

Hilbrenner wasnot available for comment Thursday.

Bitsicas also shared a statement after court on Thursday calling for stricter gun law in the state.

“When the laws are weak, the violence becomes easier,” Bitsicas said. “When the violence becomes easier, more families suffer.”

Bitsicas did not want to share his thoughts on the jury’s sentencing recommendation.

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