Author: KMIZ

Jessica Hafner

The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Alert Day has come to an end after storms exited Mid-Missouri by around 7:00 p.m.

There will still residents without power in Camden, Benton, Cole, Boone, and Callaway counties as of 10:00 p.m.

Our ABC 17 News crews observed possible tornado damage in Callaway and Boone counties.

More than 3″ of rain fell across much of Mid-Missouri since Friday, prompting Flash Flood Warnings and covered roads and low water crossings.

As a front settled over southern Missouri this weekend, it produced several rounds of rain and strong storms south of I-44, though damage reports were minimal in our area.

The front lifts through the area on Sunday, and temperatures will warm to the 60s and 70s as rain continues. A cold front arriving Sunday afternoon will then trigger the development of severe storms into the evening.

The severe risk increases as early as noon on Sunday, but current forecasts indicate that severe storms will first track into western Mid-MO by 2 to 3 PM, including places like Marshall, Sedalia, and the Lake. Storms progress east through 3 to 6 PM, impacting Columbia and Jefferson City, and then eastern Missouri in places like Owensville, Montgomery City, and Vandalia by 6 to 9 PM. Severe storms exit before midnight.

Practically all of Mid-Missouri and areas south are under a 3 out of 5 risk of severe storms, according to the Storm Prediction Center. This indicates scattered to widespread storms capable of moderate damage.

All cards are on the table Easter Sunday afternoon and evening; all severe hazards, including tornadoes, will be possible with a line of storms tracking through the area from 3 PM to 10 PM.

Flooding will be a persistent problem through the weekend with 2 to 4 or more inches of rainfall for much of the area.

You should be where you need to be for Easter weekend ahead of the flooding and storms. Make sure you have the ABC 17 Stormtrack weather app to remain aware of changing weather conditions, including lightning strikes near your location and any severe weather warnings that may be issued.

Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Travelers have missed the deadline to get a REAL ID ahead of a May 7 change to flying regulations.

However, the sooner people get their REAL ID-compliant documents, the sooner they can board domestic flights.

Beginning May 7, non-REAL ID driver’s licences will no longer be accepted to board regulated domestic flights. Military cards and U.S. passports will still be valid. However, for convenience and document security, U.S. residents are urged to make the switch.

“I just turned 18, and I heard it was kind of like your birth certificate and everything else, it just made it a lot easier, didn’t have to carry around as many papers, I was like, ‘Why not?'” said Thomas Flanery who got his REAL ID Wednesday.

According to the Missouri Department of Revenue, only 45% of Missouri licenses are REAL ID’s.

Temporary paper copies of REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses aren’t accepted to board a flight, and the hard copy can take 10 to 15 days to arrive by mail.

Trish Vincent the Director of Revenue for the state of Missouri recommends travelers to factor in this mailing time.

“If they’re traveling in September, they can wait to do that because there’s still plenty of time, but for those that are planning maybe a summer vacation, now would be a good time or within the next month or so,” Vincent said.

The REAL ID requirement started after the REAL ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the change was to “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses and identification cards.”

The law came after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when the airplane hijackers were able to get government identification as they plotted.

REAL IDs are also used to get into certain federal facilities and nuclear power plants. They are not needed to drive or vote. Children under 18 are not required to have a REAL ID when traveling with an adult.

“Missouri is one of those states that it’s an option for you, you don’t have to get a real ID,” Vincent said. “So, again, if you’re not traveling or don’t plan to go to Fort Wood or Whiteman, or going to a nuclear power plant or even go to a federal courthouse, you know, it’s up to you whether you want it.”

Source: Missouri Department of Revenue

To apply for REAL ID, applicants must have a document to prove their identity, a document to verify citizenship, a document to verify their Social Security number and at least two documents that verify their address. A birth certificate is a common document used to prove identity and citizenship.

Applicants will also take a new ID photo.

The DOR has a REAL ID guide to help applicants find which documents comply with each category. The website also features a checklist at the end for users to print out to remember what documents to bring to the DMV.

A standard class F REAL ID driver’s license costs around $27.

Hours vary across licensing offices, so the DOR recommends checking online for the office’s hours first.

“It’s a short wait and just it was a simple in and out,” Flanery said. “Just had to bring address and birth certificate and whatnot, and then they were able to set it up for me just fine.”

Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri announced a new partnership Wednesday with several Korean firms to help develop its new NextGen nuclear research reactor.

The school will partner with Hyundai Engineering America, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, the Hyundai Engineering Company and MPR Associates in a $10 million agreement to start designing and licensing the reactor. The billion-dollar project on south Columbia’s Discovery Ridge is expected to be built within the next decade.

Executive Director University of Missouri Research Reactor Matt Sanford said the new reactor will will incorporate all of the lessons learned from MURR’s 59 years of operation.

“The new reactor w will be larger, more powerful and more versatile,” Sanford said.

The school opened up bids in 2023 for firms to help them design the 20-megawatt nuclear research reactor. MU has emphasized its nuclear research in recent years, as it is one of the only providers of radioisotopes in the world used in many cancer screenings. Local officials have hoped the growth of the research reactor would make Columbia more attractive for economic development and medical research.

University of Missouri Present Mun Choi said the hope is for other companies to manufacture in Mid-Missouri.

“To manufacture the finished product right here in Columbia using our radio-pharmaceuticals and ship it anywhere in the United States within five hours,” Choi said.

University of Missouri Board of Curators Chair Todd Graves said the project will allow Missouri to be a roadmap in playing a bigger role in critical medical isotope research and production for cancer treatments in the U.S.

“This project will be economic development for this state on this level of scientific discovery, a level of high level manufacturing that we will enjoy for many years to come,” Grave said.

The project is projected to cost a billion dollars and Choi said the university already has $200 million for the project that will require state and federal funding.

Gov. Mike Kehoe dedicated $50 million in the state’s budget this year to move the project forward.

President Donald Trump’s tariffs are being watched closely as they continue to impact international trade.

During Wednesday’s press conference, Choi said he doesn’t believe the project will be impacted, for now.

“At this point we’re just exchanging intellutucal property there is no physical assets that are being shipped from South Korea to the United States.” Choi said. “If it does we have to be flexible to have more manufacturing done in this country but thats part of the negotiations we will have,”

MU said the NextGen MURR project will mark the Korean company’s first U.S.-based nuclear reactor project. Hyundai, though, has some experience in nuclear production, working with a firm in Michigan earlier this year to produce small modular reactors.

The bid for this phase of NextGen MURR described the reactor as a “tank-in-pool, low temperature reactor utilizing low enriched uranium.” The firms will serve as the “design authority” with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and will come up with the architecture and design services. MU also sought out project managers ahead of hiring the firms to help keep the project on task.

The university broke ground last month on an expansion of its existing nuclear reactor on Providence Road, known as MURR West, which the school says is the nation’s sole provider of lutetium-177. That plant will further expand, paid through a contract with pharmaceutical firm Novartis, where MU will deliver radioisotopes created there exclusively to Novartis.

University leaders have kept the MURR project a priority in state budget requests.

The university’s current nuclear reactor, located off Providence Road has been operating for nearly 60 years. According to the university it helped 450,000 cancer patients last year across the U.S.

The reactor operates 24 hours a day, 6.5 days a week, 52 weeks a year and is the most powerful university research reactor in the U.S. working at 10 megawatts.

Once the new reactor is built, the University of Missouri will be home to two of the largest university reactors in the U.S., according university officials.

Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

House Bill 495, which was signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe last month, could place people behind bars for participating in stunt driving.

According to Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson, the statue applies specifically to stunt driving in connection with a street takeover. Meaning, that the normal flow of traffic is blocked for the purpose of performing or watching stunt driving.

The law means it is now illegal to race, drag race, wheelie, burn out, do donuts or drift if it disrupts traffic on a public road.

Under the law, a person can be charged with a Class B misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. However, repeat offenders — or those who cause injuries — could be charged with a E felony, according to Johnson.

That person could then face a punishment of up to four years in prison.

“It’s important to note also that even before this statute, a lot of this conduct would violate various traffic laws, including careless and imprudent driving,” Johnson said in a text to ABC 17 News Tuesday night.

Johnson also said if a person acts recklessly and seriously injures someone with their vehicle, they could face up to seven years in prison. If someone is killed, the consequences are enhanced.

Jadon Gooldy 20, of Columbia was arrested and charged with four felonies this week after allegedly shooting a gun at a racing event in south Columbia last Friday. He was charged with first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault.

According to court documents, witnesses say they gathered in the parking lot of ABC Supply on Maguire Boulevard for a racing event held by “Como Underground” around 11 p.m. Gooldy allegedly fired a shot near a person’s head after he claims he heard a woman use a racial slur.

Shrapnel from the bullet ricocheted and hit another person in the leg, leaving a red mark, police say.

An ABC 17 News reporter saw black marks on the road of Maguire Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon that were consistent with tire marks.

According to Boone County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Knerr, there was no evidence Gooldy participated in the racing, so charges under the new law were not filed.

“As for other people present at the incident, I believe CPD is still investigating so it is possible more charges could be coming,” Knerr wrote in an email to ABC 17 News.

According to Capt. Brian Leer of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, street racing has occurred in Columbia for years.

“Stunt driving and other reckless driving is inexcusable, and we will work hard to hold people accountable for that kind of conduct,” Johnson said.