Author: KMIZ

Jazsmin Halliburton

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The House Commerce Committee voted 7-3 on Wednesday to advance a resolution that could eliminate income tax.

The committee voted to pass HJR 174, sponsored by Republican Speaker of the House John Patterson. The resolution would post a ballot question to voters to potentially phase out the income tax by 2031 so long as certain revenue benchmarks set by lawmakers are met.

“This is a great opportunity to stop taxing everyone’s income and modernize Missouri’s 100-year-old tax system. It’s an opportunity to do something really big and make Missouri competitive,” Patterson is quoted in a news release from MO Tax Relief Now. “It simply asks taxpayers, do you want to try something else to keep more money in your pocket?”

Income tax elimination is one of Governor Mike Kehoe’s top priorities for the 2026 legislative session. Income-tax revenue makes up about two-thirds of the state’s revenue. If lawmakers vote yes on the HJR 174, it would cut the state’s income tax to zero in 2031, and lawmakers could replace it with an expanded sales tax.

Many Republicans who support eliminating the income tax say it means more money in Missourians’ pockets. Missourians and people visiting the state could pay more at the cash register.

Representatives from tourist-attracting areas like the Lake of the Ozarks argue that eliminating the income tax makes Missouri more competitive. However, Democrats argue this would increase the prices of everyday services, especially for senior citizens.

“Nobody in Missouri is complaining that sales taxes are too low, and House Democrats are committed to preventing Tax Hike Mike from raising them. If we can’t stop him in the legislative process, we will stop him at the ballot box,” Rep. Ashley Aune (D-Kansas City) said in a press release.

Governor Mike Kehoe said at a press conference Wednesday that any sales tax that Missourians don’t pay is a win.

“I’ve seen as high as 10% of our sales tax is not paid by a Missouri resident, no matter what that number is, that’s a win for Missourians,” Kehoe said.

When the committee heard public comments regarding HJR 174 in January, Jason Zamkus, a lobbyist with the Missouri Realtors, testified in opposition to the bill. Zamkus said the bill could force price hikes on services such as home inspections, appraisals and title insurance.

The resolution will head to the full House chamber for debate and possible passage to the Senate. If the General Assembly clears it, it will be on the November ballot.

Kehoe said debate on the House floor could be as soon as next week, ahead of the general assembly’s break, which starts March 13 and starts again March 23.

Rep. Mark Boyko (D-Kirkwood) filed an alternate tax plan at the beginning of the session, which hasn’t seen the light of day.

Boyko said the governor’s plan won’t make it past the voters.

“The governor’s plan is dead,” Boyko said Wednesday to ABC 17 News. “My constituents and people across Missouri who I meet are concerned about how they’re going to pay for their daily lives and the cost of everything from hamburgers to college education to cars.”

He said the governor’s plan could increase those costs.

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Matthew Sanders

The U.S. military and Israeli forces hit Iran with a devastating series of strikes starting Saturday, even taking out several members of the upper echelon, including the ayatollah himself.

The Trump administration is touting initial strikes as a great success, despite some American deaths in Iranian counterstrikes. But the president says many more weeks of fighting are ahead, and the biggest is yet to come.

Supperters are rejoicing that the violent, authoritarian regime has been decapitated. Others are calling the war illegal, especially without congressional approval.

What’s your take? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Lincoln University sprinter who is accused of killing her boyfriend was indicted by a Cole County grand jury on Tuesday, according to court filings.

Denita Jackson, 27, is charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. She is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. An arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, March 16.

Jackson was accused of stabbing and killing her boyfriend Kevaughn Goldson last week after she allegedly found him with another woman at a residence on Fairmount Boulevard.

Goldson and Jackson were members of LU’s track teams.

Goldson, 23, was a senior from Jamaica who was a sprinter on the LU track and field team, according to the LU Athletics website. Jackson’s hometown is listed as Berbice, Guyana.

ICE issued an immigration hold for Jackson on Thursday.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A pending U.S. Supreme Court case could determine whether millions of Americans who use marijuana can legally own firearms.

The high court is reviewing the 1968 federal Gun Control Act, which makes it a crime for anyone considered an “unlawful user” of a controlled substance to possess a gun. While marijuana has been legalized in many states, including Missouri, it remains illegal under federal law.

Dan Viets, an attorney for Missouri NORML who wrote a brief in the case, said the central legal question revolves around history, specifically whether there is a longstanding tradition of restricting gun rights for cannabis users.

“Historically, there was no restriction. There was no regulation related to being a cannabis consumer and restricting Second Amendment rights,” Viets told ABC 17 News. “So our argument to the court is that there should not be any right now.”

Viets said the distinction between active impairment and habitual use is critical. He noted laws already prohibit possessing or using guns while impaired by alcohol and argued a similar standard for marijuana would make sense.

“We have laws which say that it’s illegal to possess or use firearms while you’re impaired by alcohol,” Viets said. “And a law that says the same thing about marijuana would make perfect sense, but not a blanket prohibition that says if you ever use marijuana, you can never possess a firearm.”

Dave Roland, senior legal adviser with the Freedom Center of Missouri, said the case carries sweeping implications because of the widening gap between state legalization and federal prohibition.

“This is a big issue because one of the most commonly used drugs in the country right now is marijuana,” Roland said. “The implications are pretty massive and could affect tens of millions of Americans.”

In states like Missouri, where marijuana is legal under state law, Roland said users “are running the risk of being dispossessed of their Second Amendment rights.”

The case has also created unlikely political alliances.

“Groups like the NRA and the ACLU were working together on this case because they all recognized that the civil liberties implications really are pretty gigantic,” Roland said.

Kevin Jamison, president of the Missouri Sport Shooting Association, a state affiliate of the NRA, said he personally opposed marijuana legalization. While his organization has not taken an official position on the case, Jamison said he also believes a blanket federal ban may go too far.

“I had a client who acted in self-defense while under the influence of marijuana — this was when it was illegal. I believe that some of our members indulge. I do not ask. It seems excessive to make these people felons,” Jamison told ABC 17 News in an email.

Supporters of the challenge have also pointed to the long history of hemp cultivation in the United States, including in Missouri, where hemp was once a major crop. Viets argued that history undercuts the idea that cannabis use has traditionally been tied to firearm disqualification.

Viets emphasized the case is not about promoting gun ownership, but about equal treatment under the law.

“We’re not promoting gun use. We’re not promoting gun ownership, but we are promoting fairness and equal treatment for cannabis consumers along with everyone else,” he said.

Roland said the historical debate also touches on how early American laws treated intoxication.

“The men who wrote the Second Amendment drank alcohol all the time and in large quantities. And so it is very interesting to contemplate what did they mean by  a habitual drunkard,” Roland said. “These are people who I guarantee you would not have looked kindly on it if you told them ‘Oh, hey, you’re on your fourth cocktail of the day, maybe you shouldn’t be allowed to have firearms anymore.’ I think they would have taken great offense at that.  And so, it’s it’s really interesting to contemplate  whether there is any real parallel at all between this historical analog of habitual drunkenness being a disqualifying factor for the possession or use of firearms and the current statute that  is at issue in this case.”

If the Supreme Court upholds the federal ban, both Viets and Roland said the real-world impact may be uneven.

“I don’t think it would have much impact on the hemp industry. I think people will go on buying and consuming cannabis as they have for decades, whether it’s legal or not,” Viets said. “It will have some impact on the firearms industry because there’s a big chunk of the population who are cannabis consumers.”

Roland said a ruling in favor of the federal government could instead push certain conduct further out of view.

“What it might do is push the possession of weapons or the use of drugs even more underground,” Roland said, adding that it “probably wouldn’t make it go away entirely.”

Roland also pointed to past Missouri efforts such as the Second Amendment Preservation Act, which sought to limit state and local cooperation with federal gun enforcement. Even if revived, he said, such a measure would not prevent federal authorities from enforcing the law.

While President Donald Trump has supported the federal government’s position in the case, Roland said he does not expect dramatic state-level shifts regardless of the outcome.

“President Trump has not been a full-throated supporter of the Second Amendment. He has, in fact, introduced regulations on guns that have really rubbed many within the right to keep and bear arms community the wrong way over the years,” Roland said. “It is an interesting and tenuous dance between the gun enthusiast community and the Trump administration. But I do also want to emphasize that even if the president  supports the position that’s been taken by the federal government here and he does, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to make it a priority.”

The court is expected to issue its decision by the end of June.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Bars in Columbia will be able to stay open later during this year’s World Cup, but not for as long as some had hoped for.

The Columbia City Council unanimously voted on Monday night to approve an ordinance that extends the time bars can sell alcohol and stay open on certain days a FIFA World Cup game occurs. The tournament starts in June.

State lawmakers last year approved a law that would allow bars to sell alcohol from 6 a.m.-5 a.m. during the duration of the World Cup from June 11-July 19.

Columbia on Monday opted to allow bars to stay open until 2:30 a.m., an hour later than normal. However, after discussion amongst city leaders, the council voted to only allow bars to stay open later during select days of the World Cup, when game start times are later. Bars will also have to apply for a special permit to be able to do so.

Sal Nuccio, owner of Eastside Tavern, called the hour extension “not much.” He said he doesn’t believe the city is fulling allowing businesses to take advantage of the opportunity. He said he didn’t believe most bars in the area would have stayed open for the full 23 hours, even if they were allowed to do so.

“We’ll take it. But I mean it’s a shame because it’s really an opportunity for a lot of small businesses to catch up on a lot of stuff by bringing in all that extra money,” Nuccio said. “It would be a benefit to the city and state, too, because we would all have to pay sales tax on all that extra money we made.”

The city had considered allowing bars to serve alcohol for 23 hours, but later decided to opt out of that over fears it could put a strain on public safety resources and following pushback from a local commission in the city.

Columbia Police Department Chief Jill Schlude told city leaders on Monday the 23-hour law would not allow police to effectively plan..

She also noted games aren’t held every night and soccer games are only 90 minutes long, with added time for extra breaks. She said she felt it would help police if there was a set closing time and specific dates CPD could be made aware of.

“I’ll be very transparent, that’s my concern is that we’re going to have establishments that this isn’t about the World Cup, it’s just about staying open until five in the morning and serving booze,” Schlude said during Monday night’s meeting.

The dates bars will be allowed to apply to stay open later inlcude:

June 14

June 17

June 20

June 21

June 23

June 27

July 3

Schlude said she also believed doing so would allow for restaurants to better prepare to stay open later on certain nights.

Nuccio said he also believed that bars should not be required to apply to stay open later, calling it “ridiculous” to have to go through the city to do so. He also said with students typically out of town during the season, summer is a slower time for a lot of bars downtown. He said the extra hours would have been beneficial to businesses.

The city noted on Monday night that some bars had cited staffing issues for their reasoning of not wanting to partake in the extension. Nuccio said while it would have been difficult, he was willing to make it work.

“It would have been extra work for me because I would have just hired extra security people. But, I would have had no problem because I got more money coming,” Nuccio said. “I’ve been thinking about this for months. I already talked with my staff about [extended hours] and everybody was like, ‘It would be something else, it would be an adventure, would be some hard work,’ but once we get through it, I think we’d all be happy that we did it.”

Ward 5 Councilman Don Waterman told ABC 17 News on Tuesday afternoon after Monday’s vote that he felt the changes were a fair compromise and something the council, including himself, felt comfortable doing. He believes the approved measure allows for the police and fire departments to prepare, while also helping local bars out.

“It still gives them an hour and a half to celebrate, commiserate, whatever; and so I think it was a good compromise,” Waterman said. “Plus, with the current police shift running 3-to-3, you’re going to be able to get you know the bar helping people out. If they have to go to extra staffing for another hour because of that, that’s better than otherwise.”

Harmon Colvett, assistant manager of International Tap House, said while an hour extra to stay open isn’t a lot of time, it’s better than no extra time. Colvett also said he doesn’t foresee having staffing issues at his bar and that he understood the city’s concerns.

“I also work an ambulance service, so I completely understand where the city’s coming from. Every hour open is another hour for silliness and bad decisions,” Colvett said. “I hope that the police and the City Council have an effective plan in place.”

The city also voted to allow bars to apply for one permit for $100, rather than having to apply multiple times. The city also decided against regulating how many bars are eligible to apply for the permit.

Amy Schneider with the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau said the city had not received any applications as of Tuesday afternoon.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Human remains were found in Phelps County, according to a Tuesday social media post from the Phelps County Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation is occurring in the central part of the county, though the sheriff’s office did not give the name of the street or city where the remains were found.

An investigation is occurring with the Phelps County Coroner and Rolla Rural Fire Protection District.

Check back for updates.

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