Author: KMIZ

Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Gov. Mike Kehoe pushed ahead with his proposal to eliminate Missouri’s income tax during his annual State of the State Address on Tuesday before a joint session of the General Assembly.

Kehoe has talked about income tax elimination since he ran for the office. Now he’s looking to implement those ideas.

“If we are serious about building a foundation for growth, to compete rather than be complacent, then we must begin the work now to phase-out and eliminate Missouri’s individual income tax,” Kehoe said in prepared remarks. “We can do both. We can maintain a balanced budget that supports essential services and pursue a bold tax policy that improves Missouri’s competitiveness.”

Kehoe’s plan to eliminate income tax would be done by expanding the sales tax base to include services.

This would include things such as, monthly subscriptions, e-books. online advertising and AI platforms, according to Kehoe.

“When these types of modern services are taxed, it will create new revenue for local governments.These increases will need to be offset by reducing local taxes, like property taxes, a high priority for Missourians and many of us in this room,” Kehoe said.

The current state income tax is between 2-4.7% making up more than half of state revenue, providing about two thirds of the state’s general revenue fund.

Missouri would join nine states that have eliminated income tax, including neighboring Tennessee.

Kehoe stressed the importance of the proposal Tuesday, noting that while the state’s population is growing, economic growth has been average. While the Show-Me State is strong in recruiting jobs and investment, eliminating the income tax would make Missouri more competitive with states that do not have one.

“Our plan includes safeguards to ensure fiscal responsibility and protect against economic downturns, by requiring triggered reductions to the income tax rate. Eliminating the income tax is not about runaway sales taxes. And I will never support extending sales taxes on agriculture, healthcare, or real estate. Period,” Kehoe said.

2026 State of the State AddressDownload

Democratic lawmakers have pushed back on this plan, calling it “the most devastating tax increase in Missouri”, saying it will affect low and middle-income families.

“Eliminating that revenue source requires a massive increase in both rate and scope of the state’s sales tax,” House Minority Leader Ashley Aune said. “To avoid bankrupting state government, the result would be a net tax increase for the vast majority of Missourians. If you want the state to tax services that are currently constitutionally protected from taxation, you’ll love tax hike Mike’s plan.”

Aune claims Kehoe’s plan would be an “unwarranted” tax cut for the rich and would lead to less money to invest in children through public education, along with law enforcement, infrastructure and health care.

“Mike wants to dig his hands deeper into most people’s pockets, but provide them fewer services in return,” Aune said.

Democratic lawmakers are already planning to counter Kehoe’s proposal with another plan.

Aune said either option will hurt Missourians. State Rep. Mark Boyko (D-Kirkwood) said he intends to file an alternative plan next week that he claims would save residents more money. Boyko couldn’t give details of the plan.

Kehoe also stressed the need for responsible state budgeting after the state auditor warned the General Assembly of a quickly dropping reserve fund. Kehoe said his budget reduces $600 million from general revenue spending.

Kehoe’s 2025 State of the State address included priorities such as public safety, economic development, agriculture, education and government efficiency. For 2026, his focus will be continuing to prioritize those areas, according to a press release from the Governor’s office.

Kehoe also signed executive orders on school accountability and to create a government efficiency initiative called Missouri GREAT.

Kehoe’s plan to eliminate the state income tax will need to be voter-approved and is expected to be on the ballot this year.

One of Kehoe’s top priorities ahead of his address is public safety, which has been a hot topic since a Homecoming weekend shooting in September that led to the death of Stephen’s College student Aiyanna Williams.

In December, University of Missouri System President Mun Choi met with Kehoe and Missouri’s public safety team to discuss efforts to combat crime in Columbia. However, that meeting only included university representatives, not city officials.

Earlier this month, Kehoe met with Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, City Manager De’Carlon Seewood, and Police Chief Jill Schlude to discuss public safety.

The city official’s meeting with Kehoe came after a violent start to the year in Columbia.

On Jan 3, a 17-year-old was arrested after police claimed he fired shots inside Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Shoppes at Stadium area, then stole a car and fled on Interstate 70. The following night, a shooting at an apartment complex on Clark Lane left 21-year-old Brianna Hawkins, of Fulton, dead and two others injured.

Buffaloe told ABC 17 News that while the meeting was pre-planned before those incidents took place, both of them came up in their conversation with Kehoe. 

City Manager De’Carlon Seewod described the meeting as “short” but productive. No other meetings with Kehoe have been scheduled.

To address crime among youth, Kehoe said Tuesday he plans to have legislation for juveniles to be charged as an adult for certain violent crimes.

“We must allow prosecutors to request a hearing before a judge for certain violent crimes committed by juveniles and give judges the ability to determine whether those cases should be held in adult court,” Kehoe said.

Kehoe added that the juvenile justice system was designed to rehabilitate young people, but he said it is not meant to be a revolving door for repeat offenders.

He said this would allow more accountability for young violent offenders.

“Right now, when a judge sentences an offender, no one in the courtroom—not victims, not law enforcement, not even the court—can say what that sentence truly means. That lack of transparency undermines confidence in the system,” Kehoe said.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Barnett man has been charged with two felonies after authorities claim he assaulted a woman last month.

Williams Simms, 29, was charged with first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action. He is being held at the Morgan County Jail on a $250,000 bond and a court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says police were called on Dec. 10 for a reported assault. Simms allegedly had been arguing with the since the night before and accused her of being with another person, the statement says.

Court documents say Simms dragged the victim, threw her down multiple times and hit and strangled her before holding a knife to the victim’s throat.

The victim allegedly ran away to a neighbor’s residence to get away from Simms and call law enforcement.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Education unanimously passed its new policy on artificial intelligence.

The policy focuses on “generative AI,” which creates text, images, videos and other media. The new policy set forth by the Missouri School Boards’ Association says that the district must have an AI coordinator, who will monitor advancements, risks and practices of generative AI, according to meeting documents.

Before, the district required one person to be “up to speed” on AI developments, the documents say.

The coordinator will also create AI use plans that are designed to give guidance and criteria for acceptable AI tool selection and use in the district.  

AI policy 1-12-26Download

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Nathalie Jones

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

With the advent of name, image and likeness, college athletics is in a constantly changing state.

Now more than ever, programs around the nation need imagination and innovation in order to find success.

It’s a challenge that Mizzou men’s basketball tasked general manager Tim Fuller when the program brought him on board in 2025. He brought more than 25 years of experience in college hoops with him to Columbia, in an effort to keep up with college sports’ ever-shifting landscape.

Now, six months into his time at Mizzou, Fuller is doing more than just keeping up. He’s setting the standard.

“Dennis [Gates, MU men’s basketball coach] has kind of told me that the role doesn’t have parameters. Be who you are,” Fuller said.

Fuller’s diverse experiences in basketball is one of the qualities that Mizzou felt made him the perfect hire for the new role in Columbia. He has been an assistant coach at Louisville, MU and Providence College, as well as an executive at Nike. However, it was the time he spent building up the most recognizable high school basketball league in the world, that truly changed his perspective.

“I would say that from coaching to GM, there was one path in between there that started to separate me from just the idea of ‘just’ being a coach. That was my time at Overtime, Overtime Elite. Overtime being the media platform for Gen Z, really, embraced what it was to have creators, to have innovation,” Fuller said.

The professional high school basketball league grew from a platform with almost no followers to one that is now the face of innovation.

The folks at Overtime Elite have never been afraid to dip their toe into new areas of nontraditional media, from exploring TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, bringing everything back to each individual athlete’s personal brand. Now, Overtime Elite has 1.4 million followers on Instagram, 3.9 million followers on TikTok and nearly 1 million subscribers on YouTube, as the league continually draws in the top high-school-age talent from across the nation.

“I had never seen that done, before,” Fuller said.

Fuller hopes to bring those same ideals to Columbia. Upon his arrival to campus, the general manager highlighted two areas of focus for his first few months: Recruiting and branding. Nowadays, it’s clear, you can’t recruit, if you can’t brand your athletes. So, Fuller hit the ground running with a revolutionary idea.

“All I wanted to do was bring another perspective to Mizzou basketball, another audience to Mizzou basketball,” he said.

In October, Fuller and head coach Dennis Gates decided to hold a Pro Day, one that would include scouts and some of the top basketball content creators and trainers in the game. People who produced content for YouTube, TikTok and other platforms descended upon Columbia to give their audiences a behind-the-scenes look at Mizzou hoops.

Logistically and financially, in terms of getting the content creators to campus, it wasn’t too difficult for Fuller and company to set up.

“Because you have this nontraditional space, you have several people that, as content creators, they would take the opportunity and pay their own expenses, right? Because they’re like, ‘Hey, I’ve been invited into a space I’ve never been invited to before.’ Then you have others who say, ‘Hey, if you can get my hotel, I’ll make sure we end up there.’ Then you have others that say, ‘I need a flight. I’ll make sure I get there,'” Fuller said. “We had some sponsors for the day that really pitched in because they saw the vision and pretty much those sponsorships made sure that any expenses we had were offset. So, the day was a pretty much a cost-free day for the university.”

Thanks to the contacts that Fuller built up in his time with Overtime Elite, he wasn’t concerned about finding creators he trusted. His chief concern was making sure the event didn’t turn into a distraction for players.

“[Gates] was like, ‘Run with it.’ The day before the Pro day, he said ‘Now you’ve done a good job getting all of this lined up, but you got everybody around here stressing and I don’t like stress,'” Fuller said. “I was like, OK, let me make sure this day goes over well because there was so many people that poured their time into it.”

Pro Day went off without a hitch. In fact, it went so well that other content creators, who weren’t even invited on campus, highlighted on social media how impactful the event was for Mizzou’s recruiting strategy.

The idea of bringing in nontraditional media all boils down to one thing: Teenagers nowadays don’t watch traditional TV, especially their local news. The high-school-aged recruits that MU is targeting consume media through streaming services and social media.

Creators like Cullen Honohan, who runs a YouTube account called “AllHailBball,” commented on the changing media landscape.

“They [children] grow up on YouTube and that’s where they thrive, that’s where they watch. You know, they’re on their phone, mobile quick-hitting content, so if you can provide legitimate value and in a short amount of time, I think that’s where, you know, the younger demographic is going to be engaged,” Honohan said.

“You and I can sit down, we can have this interview, nobody would know it happened until you release it. The influencer, things are instant. And we live in a very instant society,” Fuller added.

Honohan is one of the creators Mizzou hoops decided to work with, outside of the Pro Day it held in October. In fact, Honohan was on campus with Gates, before that event had even happened.

“Missouri’s GM Tim Fuller reached out [to me],” Honohan said. “He’s done an incredible job understanding the importance of content creation within the sport, right now.” 

In his visits to Columbia, Mizzou hoops allowed Honohan to be the “head coach” for a day and get a personal tour of the facilities and of campus from Gates. Honohan said that, of all the schools he’s visited, he believes Mizzou was the most open to the process.

“The more schools that kind of let you in and let you tell their story, the better a video is going to be,” Honohan said. “Missouri has done an incredible job at understanding that and opening up their doors and having willingness to let a content creator come in and make something super cool without, you know, a ton of super strict guidelines.” 

While, Mizzou’s recruiting strategy may be effective in drawing in new talent, it can also be beneficial for the talent that’s already in Columbia. Fuller said it’s all about showing the world what Tiger basketball is all about and the athletes will benefit the most from that.

“There’s people now talking about [our players] that didn’t know who they were before. That was the goal. Right. We know that, you know, the Saint Louis Today knows [them], we know that the Kansas City Star knows [them], but now there’s, you know, [big creators] talking about Anthony Robinson,” he said.

Mizzou men’s basketball was intent on putting itself at the forefront of this new era of recruiting, as content creation will soon go hand-in-hand with college hoops. Fuller’s idea to turn to content creators spurred from the program’s top-rated recruiting class, which features a pair of five-star prospects and one four-star.

“They wanted to know, ‘how are you going to brand us? How are you going to bring things to light?'” Fuller said. “[At the time], it wasn’t something we had tangible answers to.” 

Fuller found success with the Pro Day, but he said he’s always looking for ways to make things bigger and better. He already has the answer for what’s next. MU will be collaborating with Louis Vuitton and former Tiger basketball star Kobe Brown for an event during the NBA All-Star Break on Feb. 12.

“We’re going to have a bunch of the same content creators attend that event with Kobe [Brown] to show Mizzou basketball has connectivity to current athletes, but even the ones that have come through here. We’re still helping them to grow and build their brand and do special things, as well,” Fuller said.

The first day Gates arrived on campus, he had one clear goal for his time in Columbia: Cut down nets and hang up banners. As Tiger hoops still looks to do that on the court, Fuller said there’s an opportunity to do that in cyberspace, as well.

“In basketball, particularly, you have something that’s been known as the blue bloods,” Fuller said. “I want be the first cyber blood because even without winning a national championship, you can still hang a banner in cyberspace.” 

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two men charged in a deadly 2022 shooting in Columbia were sentenced on Monday to 18 years in prison.

Oscar Ashford and Samarion Robins entered guilty pleas last week to second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon. The two are charged in the shooting death of 15-year-old Aubrey Doxley on McKee Street in 2022.

The were were set to go to trial Monday but took a plea deal last week.

Ashford’s attorney, Stephen Concannon said a trail was avoided due to risks. After the sentencing, Concannon reflected on the outcome.

“This is a situation where no one is happy” Concannon said. “One thing I feel successful about is that he was a young man when this happened; and when he leaves prison he will still be a young man. So, we were able to salvage the biggest portion of his life, so I do see that as a success.”

Doxley’s family agreed to the plea agreement, due to not wanting to go to trial.

“I never win, I don’t win in this no matter what, nothing changed for me today I still buried my baby and I have to live with that,” Latoya Doxley, Aubrey Doxley’s mother said.

Latoya and four others read victim impact statements at Monday’s sentencing.

All described the pain the two men have caused since the shooting nearly four years ago. While statements were read, the two men looked straight forward or would look at the person speaking.

Latoya spoke for several minutes and said though she forgives the man, she still wants the truth to come out.

“I forgive yall I always have from the beginning because yall are just babies, but that was my baby,” She said. “I pray in my heart it don’t have to be now yall it don’t have to be tomorrow tell yall moms the truth yall know what happened and you know what you did, if you never tell anyone else tell your moms the truth,”

In her statement, Latoya reflected on her struggle to be angry at the men for taking her daughter’s life.

“I do not hate you no matter how much I’ve tried or wish that I did, that upsets me because how can I not after what was taken from me,” Latoya said. “But, I look at you now and even then and I just see babies but mother in me won’t let me hate you even though you walk in her I don’t see remorse but I understand.”

To keep Aubrey’s memory from living on, Latoya says her and her family will continue to celebrate her birthday, and honor her on the day of her death.

“Everybody loved her, she had her own individual relation with everyone in the family so it has impacted us extremely,” Latoya said.

At the pretrial conference, prosecutors revealed cell phone data that they said showed Robins and Ashford in the area of McKee Street when the shooting happened that left Doxley dead and two others hurt.

One of those hurt included Tavan Williams-Patrick. Court documents placed him in the back seat of the car during the shooting. Charges were dropped against Williams-Patrick in August.

Prosecutors said cellphone data also placed Ashford and Robins at an area hospital following the shooting, when Williams-Patrick was dropped off.

Ayers is charged with felony murder, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. A hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 6, while a pretrial conference is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 3. A jury trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 14.

According to court documents, he allegedly told Doxley’s cousin what happened and claimed Ashford was driving the car while Robins fire shoots out of the passenger window.

However, the state believes the shooting was retaliation for a shooting Ayers was involved in days prior, along with conflicts dating back to 2020.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An inmate at Algoa Correctional Center in Jefferson City is accused of having a 7.5-inch, prison-made shiv in a baby powder bottle last year.

Brandon Bassett, 25, was charged with having a weapon at a prison and armed criminal action. A court date has not been scheduled.

Court documents allege prison staff found the blade while searching Bassett’s locker on Jan. 27, 2025. Bassett allegedly admitted to making the weapon by grinding one end of steel on concrete, so it would become pointed, court documents say. One end was wrapped with a rag, the statement says.

Court information indicates Bassett is serving a six-year sentence after he pleaded guilty on March 21, 2024, in Platte County to first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and illegal gun possession.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An inmate who was previously held at a Jefferson City prison has been accused of raping another inmate in October 2023.

Michael Sheets, 41, was charged on Friday with first-degree sodomy in Cole County. He has since been moved to a Springfield facility. A court appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 29.

The probable cause statement says Sheets entered the victim’s cell on Oct. 8, 2023, at Algoa Correctional Center and raped the victim while they slept.

Court records say Sheets had pleaded guilty to drug possession on Dec. 16, 2021, in Taney County.

He was sentenced to five years of probation, but the probation was revoked on Aug. 3, 2022 and was ordered to serve five years in prison.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A car was seen in the side of a home on Monday afternoon at a Central Columbia intersection.

Several first responders were seen at the corner of West Worley Street and North Garth Avenue around 4 p.m. after a car hit a home.

Columbia police officers and more than a dozen Columbia firefighters were at the scene. A Columbia Fire Department spokeswoman wrote in an email that firefighters were called at 3:56 p.m. and 14 personnel were sent.

The intersection was shut down while first responders worked at 4:15 p.m. A tow truck arrived at 4:24 p.m. and firefighters started leaving the scene at 4:36 p.m. The scene was cleared at 4:41 p.m.

Check back for updates to this developing story.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A company that wants to build high-voltage electric lines to carry wind energy through Missouri has sued a Callaway County landowner for the right to use his land.

Grain Belt Express, LLC., filed the lawsuit against Dustin Hudson of Auxvasse on Friday in county court. In its eminent domain petition, the company alleges it offered Hudson fair market value and tried to negotiate after he rejected those terms.

Hudson continued to say no to Grain Belt, the petition states.

Grain Belt says it needs an easement on Hudson’s land to build and maintain its electric lines. The controversial project has drawn opposition from any local landowners, who say they don’t want high-voltage lines crossing their property.

The federal government canceled a $5 billion for the project last year, but Grain Belt said the work will proceed with private funding. Missouri’s attorney general also demanded documents from the company as part of an investigation.

The project will cross Missouri to deliver power from western wind fields to Illinois. The route will run through Mid-Missouri and a connection is planned from north of Centralia to near Kingdom City. That route includes land in Monroe, Audrain and Callaway counties, according to the Grain Belt website.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Audrain County man who previously sentenced to 50 years in prison in federal court and five years in Missouri for statutory rape and child–porn-related charges took several more plea deals on Monday.

In four separate cases involving five victims, William Dahl, 41, pleaded guilty on Monday to promoting child porn, two counts of child enticement and two counts of sexual assault. A fifth case in Audrain County was dropped. He will be sentenced at 1:15 p.m. Monday, March 9.

“William Dahl’s community now knows what these victims have known for years,” Audrain County Prosecutor Jacob Shellabarger said in a press release. “That he had a long history of sexual assault, enticement, production of child pornography, and sexual assault, and that continued for years. Many in the community chose to protect Dahl, pushing these victims’ truth aside with comments like ‘no one will believe you,’ and ‘nothing will happen to him.’

“The truth, a finding of guilt, has happened – and the truth of what these victims went through is now made plain: William Dahl’s practice of seeking out young women and assaulting and objectifying them, hiding behind his family’s name and reputation in the community has reached its end: in a prison cell.”

Dahl was previously charged with: Forcible sodomy, forcible rape, attempted forcible rape, first-degree child sex trafficking, sexually exploiting a minor, first-degree promoting child pornography, two counts of possessing child porn, a count of first-degree statutory rape, first-degree statutory sodomy, first-degree child molestation, promoting a sexual performance of a child, using a child in a sexual performance, two counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, one count of fourth-degree child molestation, child kidnapping, third-degree child molestation, three counts of child enticement and two counts of misdemeanor giving porn to a minor.

He was sentenced to five years last year after he entered an Alford plea for first-degree statutory rape in Randolph County.  He was previously sentenced 50 years in federal court in December 2023 for producing and two counts of receiving child pornography.

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