Author: KMIZ

Erika McGuire

PILOT GROVE, Mo. (KMIZ)

The response to an EF-2 tornado that damaged or destroyed dozens of buildings in Pilot Grove was hampered by some first responders not being able to communicate with each other using radios at the scene.

A four-page “after-action report” drawn up by the Cooper County Emergency Management Agency gives insight into the response before and after an EF-2 tornado touched down in Pilot Grove on April 2.

Technology and communication issues caused problems, but the overall response, officials say, was swift and largely effective. ABC 17 News obtained the report through a Missouri Sunshine Law request.

The document outlines how county officials prepared for the threat, how first responders mobilized as the storm developed, and what challenges they faced once the tornado hit.

“We knew what we were doing, it’s just that we were rusty,” Cooper County Emergency Management Director Larry Oerly said.

Pilot Grove tornado reportDownload

Severe weather and tornado warning

The day began under dangerous conditions, as the National Weather Service had issued a rare high-risk alert for severe thunderstorms across multiple states. A severe line of storms developed in southwest Missouri and moved through Cooper County, eventually producing a tornado in Pilot Grove.

Oerly said outdoor warning sirens were activated, but they failed to sound.

The siren, described as a “Cold War–era” model on the Pilot Grove water tower, relies solely on electricity and is the only one of its kind in the county. By the time it was activated, the tornado had already damaged power infrastructure. For the siren to be activated, a call needs to be made to 911 dispatchers, who then activate the siren.

“From the time the initial weather service alert comes out to the time that the sirens get activated, going through the different channels that it has to go through, there may be anywhere from one minute to two or three minutes, depending on the incident,” Oerly said.

According to previous reporting, the siren was triggered a second time, but Oerly was unsure if that attempt was successful. Cooper County EMA protocol during a tornado warning is to sound the siren as soon as the warning is issued, then attempt a second activation eight to 10 minutes later if the warning remains in effect.

Oerly said a $26,000 battery-powered siren was ordered before the tornado but had not arrived due to delays. The siren arrived in mid-May and was installed next to Pilot Grove City Hall.

On-scene communications

The report identified several areas for improvement, including on-scene communications. The report found that communication at the scene was “less than ideal” because law enforcement was operating on the Missouri Statewide Interoperability Network, while fire and EMS crews were using VHF radios.

The report says that as storms and warnings continued, it was recommended to activate radio tones to advise multiple agencies of new weather warnings.

Because the two systems aren’t directly compatible, responders sometimes couldn’t talk to each other in real time. Oerly says first responders were on different frequencies because the county couldn’t afford the equipment to fix the problem.

However, he emphasized that the communication issues did not affect the quality or speed of the response.

“It had no impact on the response itself, other than the units weren’t able to communicate with each other,” Oerly said. “Once the command center was set up, we were able to get sheriffs, fire and EMS in one location as a joint command for better coordination.”

Before the tornado, Oerly said, improvements to the county’s communication system were already underway and are expected to be completed by the end of this year or early next year. The $2.7 million project, funded through American Rescue Plan Act funds, will upgrade radio infrastructure across the county.

“It will give more repeated frequencies, and repeated frequency means there will be seven towers listening for this when somebody keys the mic. Right now we only have one,” Oerly said. “By having seven towers, when a responder keys the mic on a repeated frequency, everyone will be able to hear it. Law enforcement also monitors the VHF frequency, so this means we can assign one of those repeated frequencies to an incident, everyone can talk, everyone can hear, which we weren’t able to do at that time.”

A complete overhaul of Cooper County’s communications system began in 2021, even before a combine sparked a wildfire in Wooldridge in 2022, burning over 3,000 acres and destroying at least 23 buildings.

Oerly said Cooper County EMA lacked funding, putting the project on hold. Now the county’s 911 system is being upgraded, with a consultant helping figure out where communication systems are needed and how to improve infrastructure.

“We purchased two towers, getting ready to build a third one. We utilized a lot of what we already had, but we’re adding to it,” Oerly said. “The whole center’s redone. We went with the next generation 911 system in it … This already happened before the tornado.”

Mobile command center

The report also noted that it took too long to set up a mobile command center. Oerly said Cooper County EMA spent nearly an hour deciding that a command post was needed. Once the decision was made, it took about 20 to 30 minutes to set it up on Highway 135, along which much of the damage was located.

“The biggest delay was that it hadn’t been used in a while. So when you go to pull it out, the tires need a little bit of air. They weren’t flat, they were low,” Oerly said. “So it took a little bit to get it out. It is a trailer, so it had to be hooked to a truck and brought out, had to get a generator set up for it.”

One member of Cooper County EMA and the county’s presiding commissioner set up the command post.

The Cooper County mobile command center. (Courtesy Cooper County Emergency Management Agency)

Oerly said Cooper County EMA has conducted two school shooter drills with law enforcement that required setting up and breaking down the command post twice in one day at two different locations. The practice helps make the setup faster, he said.

Cooper County EMA has been approved for a grant to add another radio inside, the command center. The upgrade will allow first responders to talk with one another on a repeater or a microphone.

Response and damage assessment

Shortly after the EF-2 tornado hit Pilot Grove, Cooper County EMA began checking homes and buildings to assess the damage see if anyone was hurt. Buildings, door knobs and mailboxes were marked with caution tape to show buildings had been checked, with first responders going back and rechecking.

The report recommended training all agencies on the same system to eliminate redundant building checks.

“One thing we talked about was getting some supplies and our mobile command center or even some of the response vehicles that they can, it’s like a sticky piece of paper that shows that this has been checked and who checked it, and putting it on the buildings themselves,” Oerly said. “The caution tape did its job. We could have done better with the forms that stuck to the building, where people could have said ‘Oh, such and such was here.'”

The report also said the Missouri Department of Transportation needed a better way to monitor and control traffic. The report noted MoDOT could not verify if people requesting access had business in the affected areas.

“Many of the volunteers didn’t have a name tag or anything with them. So when they would pull up, to go in to get past a roadblock, the person working the roadblock didn’t know them and wasn’t going to allow them in, and that slowed some of that down,” Oerly said.

To improve this, Oerly said name tags were made for everyone in the fire department, with copies made to go inside their fire gear and their vehicles.

Electrical safety was also listed as an area for improvement. The report says first responders should assume all downed power lines are live until they’re told the lines are grounded. As part of the improvement plan, the report said the county will review training on electrical safety for all first responder agencies.

What went well

The report identified some strengths:

Initial search and rescue operation in the affected area

Utility companies’ response and shutting power down to damaged lines

Power was restored within 16 hours of the initial incident. Fifty utility poles were replaced, along with 1.19 miles of electric and fiber lines.

Agencies worked well together.

Command post personnel kept accurate records for accountability purposes.

Community support.

The tornado traveled for 6.3 miles with a width of 200 yards and estimated winds of 115 mph. It was on the ground for six minutes.

According to the report, the twister hit 16 homes, 12 commercial buildings and two public buildings.

“I know there was around $300,000 done on public infrastructure,” Oerly said. “It was due to all the electrical lines that were down, all the power poles that were down.”

The twister also damaged vehicles, farm equipment and trees. No injuries were reported.

A total of 29 different agencies responded to the aftermath.

Getting back to normal

Since the tornado struck Pilot Grove, residents have been working to clean up debris and rebuild.

Mike Schupp and his 83-year-old mother have lived in the community for decades. His mother was home during the storm and decided to take cover in the basement once she saw a chair fly through the air.

Her home remained standing after the storm, but Schupp later learned it was no longer safe to live in.

“It was unbelievable what we saw,” Schupp said. “Structurally, it didn’t look that bad, but then the insurance company showed up and said, ‘Yeah, this house is demolished. It has to be torn down.'”

The ranch-style house suffered significant damage, especially to the roof.

“There were no trees left, no buildings left, the roof was pretty much off the house, and there was nothing left. Where do you start?” Schupp said.

The house was eventually torn down, and Schupp built his mother a new one on the same land with safety upgrades.

“We’ve put a safe room right into the garage, concrete walls and ceiling so that she’s protected in case she has that happen in the future,” he said.

One of the issues Schupp faced with the rebuilding process was being underinsured. The cost to rebuild was over $100,000, he said.

“You never have enough insurance, and that’s just the way it is. Things have gone up so much in terms of cost,” Schupp said. “I had one grain bin at the time. It blew away, and I had to pay for another one.”

About a week after the tornado struck, the community came together to help with the cleanup.

Schupp said it wouldn’t have been possible without help.

“We just piled it all in a big pile. We had hundreds of people show up to help clean up and couldn’t be more thankful for the community that we live in,” Schupp said.

Brenda Harrian has been living in Pilot Grove for 16 years. She is an assistant with Cooper County EMA and works with the Columbia Fire Department. She was out of the country when she learned about the tornado through a friend.

“She’s like, ‘Yhe house is really bad, and everything around is gone,'” Harrian said.

She returned home two days after the tornado hit.

“Some of the trees, the first things I planted when we moved in, were gone. I had big walnut tree that uprooted and was gone, and the greenhouse was devastated,” she said. “Another shed was blown off the foundation and ripped away … and the back of the shop had a huge hole in it.”

A large shed on Harrian’s property was unusable for more than four months because of the damage. She faced the same issue Schupp did: being underinsured.

“I only had it insured for what we paid for it when we moved in several years ago, so it’s nowhere near what it costs.

She said she spent $30,000 to rebuild the shed. “My fault for not being insured enough,” Harrian said.

Harrian’s greenhouse, a sentimental item, was also badly damaged. She said it measured 30 by 78 feet and was a landmark in Pilot Grove; neighbors would tell visitors they were in the right spot if they were across from it.

“My little place just to relax, I would plant so much every year. I miss it,” She said.

Harrian has repaired her shed, but the greenhouse is no longer standing. She wants to get another one in the future.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City woman was charged with multiple felonies on Tuesday after she allegedly used a knife to attack another woman.

Nica Turner, 64, was charged with second-degree domestic assault, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. She is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. An arraignment is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The probable cause statement says police were called on Monday afternoon to a home on Madison Street for a reported assault. Turner – after allegedly trying to spit on officers – told police the victim had hit her with a phone and cut her with a knife, the statement says.

Police spoke with the victim, who allegedly told them that she and Turner got into an argument about the victim’s toddler-aged children, which led to Turner throwing a phone at the victim’s head and punching her, the statement says.

The victim locked her and her two children in a bathroom to protect themselves from Turner, the statement says. The victim then left the bathroom to find her phone so she could call police, court documents say.

Turner then grabbed a knife and started making a slashing motion and ended up cutting two of the victim’s fingers as she braced for impact, documents describe.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was accused of firing a gun Monday at a Boonville intersection has been charged with several felonies.

Dorian Gardner, 37, of Boonville, was charged on Wednesday with first-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action, illegal gun possession and endangering the welfare of a child. He is being held at the Cooper County Jail on a $200,000 bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says Gardner and the victim had been arguing all day and the victim was driving Gardner back to his residence when he told her to stop the car “or else.”

Gardner then allegedly took the victim’s cellphone and stepped outside of the car, the statement says. He then threatened to shoot the victim and pointed a gun at her before turning the gun toward the intersection and firing straight ahead near the intersection of 6th and Locust streets, the statement says.

The shell casing of the bullet was found within 100 yards of Laura Speed Elliott Middle School, court documents say.

Police eventually found Gardner and he initially denied being involved in the incident before admitting to having and firing a gun, the statement says.

He was sentenced to probation in 2023 after he pleaded guilty in Boone County to first-degree burglary. He completed a 120-day program and was ordered to five years of probation, along with a 10-year suspended sentence. 

He also pleaded guilty in 2021 to first-degree tampering with a vehicle. He was sentenced to five years of probation in that case, along with a seven-year suspended sentence.

Click here to follow the original article.

Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A University of Missouri student recently accused of strangling another person at a residence hall after being blocked on a social media app had a history of crimes against other people, according to Kansas court records.

Maxwell Warren, 18, was charged Nov. 3 with first-degree burglary, second-degree domestic assault, first-degree domestic assault and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault on allegations that he strangled another person in a residence hall after the victim blocked him on Snapchat.

It’s not the first time Warren has been in the criminal justice system.

Sentencing documents from previous cases in Kansas show Warren had a criminal record before the MU choking allegations.

Warren pleaded guilty in April 2024 to being a criminal threat, a felony. He was sentenced to nine months’ probation and ordered to comply with a mental health treatment plan. He also had to complete a juvenile victim impact panel, a program where young offenders hear personal stories from victims of crime to help understand the consequences of their actions.

On top of $1,000 in restitution, Warren was barred from having contact with the victim in that case.

He pleaded guilty in August 2024 to violating a protection order and was sentenced to six months of probation.

MU does not check criminal history during the admissions process, a spokesman wrote in an email. Spokesman Christopher Ave wrote that MU received 27,000 admission applications for fall 2025, and many states close juvenile criminal records to the public.

Warren’s attorney, Andrew Popplewell, deferred questions to MU.

“I am not licensed to practice law in Kansas,” Popplewell said. “In Missouri, juvenile records are confidential. Even if I knew anything about any Kansas records, I am bound by ethical considerations to not discuss.”

About 70-72% of four-year colleges in the United States require applicants to disclose their criminal history. This percentage varies by institution type. A 2019 study found 81% of U.S. private colleges required such checks, 55% of public colleges and 40% of community colleges.

Columbia College, a private school, asks applicants if they’ve been convicted of any crimes, according to its website.

Applications require a “Yes” or “No” answer to the question: “Have you ever been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor?” The College says a “Yes” is not an automatic denial of admission, but will initiate a review process.

The MU victim had blocked Warren on the social media application Snapchat on Sept. 26, according to the probable cause statement. Warren went to the victim’s residence hall to confront the victim the same day. When the victim cracked open the door, Warren forced his way into their dorm room, the statement says.

He then allegedly strangled the victim while demanding that they add him back on Snapchat immediately. The victim unblocked Warren after the assault, the statement says.

Warren allegedly sent a message to the victim on Instagram acknowledging the assault on Sept. 28 and then threatened to hurt the victim again on Sept. 30, court documents say. Warren then allegedly assaulted the victim in their dorm room again on Oct. 29, the statement says. That time, the victim allegedly lost consciousness after they were strangled.

In a separate probable cause statement, a witness reported seeing Warren assault a woman near the Virginia Avenue garage on MU’s campus. Warren claimed he was assaulted first, but video footage supposedly did not support his claim, the statement says.

Researchers say not many studies have looked at whether screening college applicants for criminal history reduces crime on campus.

Warren is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond, and Ave said he has been banned from MU’s campus.

He appeared for a hearing on Nov. 5 by video from the jail where he waived his arraignment and pleaded not guilty, according to court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 9.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Tigers are looking to get back in the win column to close the season.

The 7-4 Tigers will travel to Fayetteville on Saturday to take on Arkansas at 2:30 p.m. in the Battle Line Rivalry game. The Tigers are coming off a loss to Oklahoma last weekend in Norman.

Watch a news conference with Coach Eli Drinkwitz and players here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Transportation is working to improve a Boone County intersection after more than 11 crashes over the past five years.

The agency said in a release that a meeting is scheduled from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Sturgeon City Hall.

MoDOT stated that it plans to remove the crossover between the northbound and southbound lanes of the highway. Both Route CC and Roy Barnes Road will have acceleration and deceleration lanes added.

The road will stay open during construction.

An exact date has not been set, but work is planned for 2026.

Meeting attendees will be able to speak with project team members, view exhibits outlining the planned work and proposed detour, ask questions and leave comments.

An online comment period started Tuesday and runs through Dec. 23.

Click here to follow the original article.

Olivia Hayes

EDITOR’S NOTE: AI was used to help research the initial version of this story.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Missouri National Guard soldier and former University of Missouri police officer has filed a lawsuit against the university’s board of curators, claiming wrongful termination while he was deployed overseas.

Jakob Hans Wetter alleges in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that MU violated the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights and his constitutional due process rights by firing him without a full hearing while he was on active military duty. The lawsuit, filed in Boone County Circuit Court, claims the university violated several procedures during an investigation into a complaint against Wetter.

The petition also states that Wetter was denied his right to legal counsel during an investigative interview.

An MU spokesman said the university denies the claims in the lawsuit and will respond in court.

“The University of Missouri does not tolerate the kind of behavior exhibited by the plaintiff in this case, and his employment has been terminated. The university denies liability for the claims asserted by the plaintiff and will respond to them in court,” University spokesman Christopher Ave wrote in a Tuesday evening statement.

Wetter lawsuitDownload

Wetter was fired on Jan. 21 while on military orders, the suit states. He had worked for MUPD since Sept. 17, 2023.

According to the petition, MUPD initiated an internal investigation against Wetter following a complaint received last August. The investigators allegedly failed to complete the inquiry by the deadline and conducted an interview without allowing Wetter access to a lawyer.

The petition claims that Wetter was informed of his firing via a letter from MUPD Chief Brian Weimer, which cited violations of MUPD policies but did not specify the dates of the alleged misconduct. Wetter argues that the termination letter did not provide him with an opportunity for a hearing or to present evidence in his defense.

Wetter wants his job back with back pay and legal fees.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Lawyers for the State and People Not Politicians met in federal court Tuesday for a hearing to determine whether a judge will block Missouri’s new congressional map.

A lawsuit filed by People Not Politicians is over a referendum to block the newly created congressional map that the group wants on next year’s ballot. The group has raised more than $1.7 million in contributions since forming and has collected more than 100,000 signatures.

The State argues that redistricting is a complicated issue that takes legislative expertise, calling the topic “an inherently technical enterprise,” in court documents.

The state added that if put onto the ballot, details of redistricting could become unclear through limited ballot language and possible influence from outside groups

“Voters would be ‘educated’ on the competing maps via dark-money-funded advertising and 100-word summary statements about each proposal,” according to court documents.

People Not Politicians argues that they have interacted with thousands of voters who are educated in redistricting and would like to have a say in legislation.

“What I was hearing was, frankly, clarity from the state about how afraid they are of voters getting the final say on this,” People Not Politicians Director Richard von Glahn said.” If you think what you did is a good thing, you have nothing to fear from a referendum, it is an opportunity to say, ‘see, the voters are with us.'”

People Not Politicians also argues that the State has no grounds to be going to federal courts for the case, since the rules being interpreted are from the Missouri Constitution, making the case a state issue.

I would argue the Constitution is quite clear, the Constitution says any act of the General Assembly is subject to the referendum, it then provides exceptions to that,” von Glahn said. “Congressional redistricting is not one of those.”

The state argues that state law is a federal question, therefore a federal case. The state also adds that referendum petitions are a state process, meaning voters are participating in state action.

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a countersuit in October, stating that the referendum is unconstitutional and infringes upon lawmakers’ constitutional right to draw the congressional map.

Hanaway says in a statement that the lawsuit “is about protecting Missouri’s constitutional authority from being hijacked by out-of-state dark money groups.” Missouri Republicans have long complained that Missouri’s initiative petition process allows for groups that don’t report their donations to have an outsized impact on the process.

Federal Judge Zachary Bluestone expects to decide on the case before Dec. 9, the same day People Not Politicians expects to submit their signatures for approval. The deadline for the signatures is Dec. 11.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman who is accused of embezzling money from nonprofits in Boonville and Columbia is back in jail.

Jennifer Waibel, 52, of Boonville, is being held at the Cooper County Jail for a Boone County warrant, according to online jail records. She was booked into the jail at 1:48 p.m. Monday and is being held on a $30,000 bond.

She is charged in Cooper County with stealing more than $25,000 and has a preliminary hearing in that case scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26. Waibel is charged in Boone County with stealing more than $750 and two counts of fraudulently using a credit card.

In the Cooper County case, she is accused of stealing $49,661.36 from Unlimited Opportunities by spending the money in several transactions from June 16-Aug. 31, 2023, which included several multi-thousand-dollar purchases at Walmart locations in Boonville, Columbia and in Madison, Georgia.

The probable cause statement in that case also claimed that employees were threatened with retaliation if they spoke out about the situation.

In the Boone County case, she’s accused of spending $13,650 on gift cards while using 10 company credit cards from Impact Support Services, located on Chapel Hill Road in Columbia.

Court documents in that case say she spent that money from March 15-31. When Waibel was interviewed about the charges, the statement says she allegedly said “Can I just pay you back?”

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two people were accused of stealing weed, oil and thousands of dollars from a Columbia home this past weekend, hours after police had conducted a death investigation.

David Stroup Jr., 51, and Uneeda Stroup, 48, both of Alaben, Missouri, were charged with second-degree burglary, stealing more than $750 and stealing drugs. They are both being held at the Boone County Jail on $15,000 bonds. Court dates have not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says police were called to a Mace Court residence for a death investigation at 7:48 p.m. Saturday. Court documents did not list the dead man’s name, but it stated he owned a dispensary. Police found 10-15 sealed bags of marijuana that weighed roughly a pound each, and various bundles of cash, the statement says.

Around 3 p.m. Sunday, one of the people described as a witness called police to say the home had been burglarized, court documents say.

Video footage at the home allegedly showed a man and a woman arrive around 11:40 p.m. Saturday in a Honda Ridgeline, enter the building multiple times and leaving with boxes, the statement says. The two people went back to the home around 3:51 a.m. Sunday and left with more items, court documents say. They returned one more time at 4:09 a.m.

One of the victims identified the Stroups from the footage, the statement says. One of the witnesses allegedly told police that David Stroup Jr. had asked him around 9:30 a.m. to go to the same home to pick up a game system, court documents say.

Both Stroups initially claimed to have taken the weed and oil, but denied taking the money, the statement says. They then brought a container to the Columbia Police Department that had 14 pounds of marijuana, 15 jars of cannabis oil and $6,701 in cash, the statement says.

David Stroup Jr. then admitted to taking all of the items, but claimed he did not admit it before because he thought police were another acquaintance earlier when they spoke on the phone, the statement says.

Click here to follow the original article.