Author: KMIZ

Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Flu cases are rising sharply across Missouri as the state heads into the heart of the winter illness season, with emergency room visits rising nearly 6% according to the latest report from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

From Dec. 14–20, Missouri recorded 146 new influenza-related hospital admissions. Emergency room visits for flu-like illness rose 5.8%, while the season total of reported flu cases climbed to 9,255.

Health officials also reported 4,589 influenza-related health care visits statewide during the week, up from 3,977 during the same period last year. Influenza A continues to dominate, with 3,880 cases reported, compared with 704 cases of Influenza B.

Mid-Missouri has also seen a steady increase. The region reported 397 Influenza A cases, a rate of 58.21 per 100,000 people, and 46 Influenza B cases, a rate of 6.74 per 100,000. 

Boone Health spokesman Christian Basi told ABC 17 News the health system has seen an increase in flu cases at both its clinics and hospitals.

Total flu cases for the season in Central Missouri now stand at 884, including 636 Influenza A cases and 248 Influenza B cases. Nathan Koffarnus, an epidemiologist with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said flu reporting typically lags by about a week because of delays in test results.

“The week just before Christmas, we saw cases double in the state. We went from about 4500 cases to over 9000 cases in just one week’s time,” Koffarnus told ABC 17 News. 

Koffarnus said the surge mirrors national trends, particularly in states that tend to see flu spikes earlier in the season.

“That really matches what’s been seen elsewhere in the country as well,” he said. “We’re a little behind some of the say like the coastal areas, but other states that are a few weeks maybe ahead of us with getting hit hard by increased cases, they’re continuing to see those big increases as well.”

The rise comes as larger U.S. cities are often hit first, a trend Koffarnus attributes in part to travel patterns.

“There’s a lot more international travel, domestic travel and some of those, more populous states on the coast. So they do tend to get things a little bit sooner than us. And then it kind of spreads across the country,” Koffarnus said.

While flu activity is currently tracking closely to last season, Koffarnus cautioned that the situation could still worsen.

“It’s tracking really close to last year’s flu season. But it’s important to remember that every flu season is different,” Koffarnus said. “But that doesn’t mean it’ll peak at the same time and we could see way more cases.”

Health officials continue to urge people who become sick to stay home and avoid contact with others. Those at higher risk — including older adults and people with underlying health conditions — are encouraged to seek medical care quickly, as antiviral medications are most effective when started within the first two days of symptoms.

Koffarnus emphasized basic prevention steps, including good hygiene.

“Frequent hand-washing is a big one,” he said. “(You) want to be wary of surfaces, cleaning as much as possible, because you can pick up the virus from the surfaces. Somebody sneezes into their hand, touches a doorknob, you come through, touch the doorknob. So you want to try to not touch your face, especially if your hands aren’t recently cleaned.”

He added staying home when sick remains critical to slowing the spread.

“For those who may be ill, like I said, staying home is the number one thing. Not mixing, not going into work or school. When you’re ill, it’s days three through five that are the when of illness with flu where people are the most contagious to others.”

Declining vaccination rates may also be contributing to the increase in cases.

“One of the reasons potentially why we’re seeing a bigger increase in flu right now is just that we’ve seen vaccination rates fall pretty much every year with flu. And so I think nationally we’re in the low 40% range for people getting the flu vaccine.”

Although the season is already underway, Koffarnus said it is not too late to get vaccinated.

“It’s a little later than we typically would like to see people get vaccinated because it takes a couple of weeks after the flu vaccine for immunity to build up,” Koffarnus said. “We’re still going to have probably a couple of pretty bad months of flu. And it’s typical that January and February are heavy flu months. So getting that vaccine right now could give people a lot of protection for when the flu season could get much worse later on.”

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Data from the Missouri State Highway Patrol shows violent crime–including murder, aggravated assault, robbery and rape — in Columbia is down 6.29% in 2025 from the previous year.

Crime in Columbia has been under watch after a Stephen’s College student was shot and killed on East Broadway in September. Since that incident, University of Missouri President Mun Choi asked the city to up its response to addressing crime, which has led to a wide array of responses from the community.

In Columbia, violent crime has been on a downward trend since 2021, when 652 violent crime incidents were reported compared to 447 incidents in 2025.

Of the 2025 total crimes, murder makes up five, which is a 61.54% drop compared to the 13 incidents in 2024, according to the MSHP crime dashboard.

Robbery incidents went down 25% with 39 crimes committed. Of those, 72.1% did not end with an injury.

Sexual assault went down 20.75% with 42 crimes committed. Acquaintances to the victims make up 38.1% of people arrested, followed by intimate partners who make up 28.6%.

Aggravated assault went up by 0.5%, going from 359 cases in 2024 to 361 cases the following year.

Columbia’s total violent crime incidents are more than three times the total reported incidents of Jefferson City, which had a total of 135.

Jefferson City is down 6.9% in 2025 compared to 2024, according to the MSHP crime dashboard.

Robbery went down 38.46%, with eight crimes. Half of the victims were unharmed, 40% had minor injuries and 10% had major injuries.

Jefferson City didn’t have any reported murders in the dataset for 2025 or the year prior. The city’s last murder crimes were committed in 2023 and 2022, each year had two incidents. Reports of sexual assault did go up 4.65% with 45 crimes. “Acquaintances” were the top alleged assailants, making up 46.7% of the cases, followed by family members and strangers, which both make up 17.8%.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

One person died after they were hit by a vehicle that struck a nursing home on Thursday in the 3300 block of North Ten Mile Drive in Jefferson City, according to a press release from the Jefferson City Fire Department.

The release says firefighters were called at 1:54 p.m. Thursday after they were called about a vehicle hitting a building at 3305 N. Ten Mile Drive — Westbrook Terrace Memory Care. The vehicle was already backed out of the building by the time firefighters arrived, but personnel learned the vehicle had gone through the building and hit a person inside the living area, the release says.

The person who was hit by the vehicle and the driver were both brought to an area hospital, according to the release. The person who was hit by the vehicle later died from their injuries, while the driver had moderate injuries, the release says.

The release says firefighters “utilized specialized shoring equipment to stabilize the building until the owner can make repairs.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council at its Monday meeting will vote on whether or not the city will enter in an agreement with US Capitol Police for security services.

The agreement is listed in the consent agenda for Monday’s meeting.

City documents state the agreement is requested because of the growing number of congressional visits and political events being held in Columbia.

The agreement would set terms and conditions with the Columbia Police Department and Capitol Police to provide protective support for members of Congress when they visit Columbia. The council memo says USCP would reimburse CPD for its services.

“This agreement does not obligate CPD to provide services, nor does it require USCP to reimburse expenses that were not coordinated directly with USCP. The MOU may be terminated by either party with 30 days’ written notice,” the council memo states.  

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Fulton man has been accused of a pair of child sex crimes after authorities claim he sexually abused a child in 2005.

Thomas Harris, 48, was charged on Wednesday in Callaway County with second-degree statutory rape and second-degree statutory sodomy. He is being held at the Callaway County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says the victim described several instances of sex abuse throughout their childhood to authorities on Dec. 29. The victim allegedly told police that when they were 15 years old in 2005, they had sexual relations with Harris, who was 28 years old at the time. The victim went on to describe several more instances of sexual abuse, court documents show.

Harris allegedly told authorities in a Dec. 30 interview that he had “parental consent,” to engage in relations with the child, court documents say.

Christina Barham, 57, of Fulton, was also charged in connection with the case with sex abuse of a child younger than 14 years old and first-degree child molestation. She is being held at the Callaway County Jail without bond. A mugshot was not available. A court date has not been scheduled.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 17-year-old Jefferson City girl had moderate injuries after she crashed her car Thursday morning at Scruggs Station Road and Jakes Lane in Cole County, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

The report says the crash occurred as the girl drove her 2002 Honda Civic westbound and the vehicle went off the right side of the road. The car then hit a utility pole, the report says.

The girl was brought to SSM St. Mary’s Hospital by ambulance. The report says she wore a seatbelt. The car was totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia dog breeder who was charged with 29 felony counts of animal abuse has asked a judge to reduce her bond and to change the venue of her case.

Melissa Sanders, 26, has been held at the Phelps County Jail though she is listed on Boone County’s online jail roster. She is being held without bond.

Sanders’ attorney on Monday filed a motion to reduce her bond, claiming she is not a flight risk though her parents live in the Kansas City area. At a previous hearing before her current set of charges were filed, a judge said they would consider a bond reduction following detention study. A lawyer for the state had argued at the time that Sanders is a flight risk because she is involved in a relationship with someone from Texas.

Andrew Russek, Sanders’ attorney, also filed a motion on Monday asking to change the venue of the case. The prosecution responded on Wednesday with a motion asking the judge to deny the change of venue, claiming it was not done in a timely manner.

Sanders ran Magnum Opus German Shepherds and a number of dead dogs, including a dozen dog skulls, were found at the property of the business when law enforcement served a search warrant, according to court documents in previous reporting. Several malnourished dogs were also found at the property.

Court documents say at least two living dogs that were found were on the brink of death.

The living dogs were turned over to the Central Missouri Humane Society after Sanders was arrested. Owners of the dogs were contacted and reunited with the animals.

The next hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Boone County Courthouse.

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Ryan Shiner

Editor’s note: The road name has been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The ramps leading to and from Interstate 70 near the bridge on Providence Road were closed on Wednesday afternoon as first responders investigated the area.

An ABC 17 News reporter say at least 10 officials and several vehicles at the scene, which included a coroner van.

The van was parked on the access points to I-70 at the scene. Several Columbia police cruisers and two firetrucks were seen.

The online six-hour dispatch log shows police were called to the area at 2:27 p.m. for a death investigation.

Check back for updates.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A woman was charged on Wednesday in Callaway County with a pair of child sex crimes.

Christina Barham, 57, of Fulton, was charged with sex abuse of a child younger than 14 years old and first-degree child molestation. She is being held at the Callaway County Jail without bond. A mugshot was not available. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says Barham made children ages 3 and 4 “practice” oral sex and made the two engage in sex acts multiple times. One of the people described as a witness said they did not remember the sexual abuse when they were 4 years old, but were able to detail the abuse that occurred when they were slightly older, the statement says.

The statement says that lasted several years and that one of the victims was made to engage in a sex act with a man when they were 11 or 12 years old.

The statement says Barham was also aware of a sexual “relationship” the victim had with a 28-year-old man when the victim was 15 years old in 2005. The man in question allegedly told law enforcement he was getting “parental permission,” the statement says. Barham allegedly denied knowing about it before admitting to knowing sexual acts occurred.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

East-to-west traffic on West Route K reopened on Wednesday, according to a press release from the City of Columbia.

The most-recent portion of construction in the area was part of Phase 3 of building a roundabout at Route K and Old Plank Road, the release says.

“Phase three included construction on the southeast portion of the roundabout, as well as associated pavement work needed to reconnect Route K,” the release says. “Some remaining items associated with this phase will be completed in the coming days, including limited sidewalk work and a remaining drive approach. As this work is finalized, drivers may encounter occasional minor lane restrictions.”

Phase 4 begins on Monday, which includes building the northern exit of the roundabout to West Old Plank Road, which includes working on road and driveway stormwater connections, the release says.

“When phase four begins, the roundabout will be closed at its north exit to West Old Plank Road. Drivers traveling south on Old Plank Road and intending to head west on West Route K can detour north using Forum Boulevard, West Southampton Drive and South Sinclair Road. Alternatively, drivers may detour east from Old Plank Road toward South Providence Road and Route K,” the release says.

That phase is expected to last through Feb. 2.

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