Author: KMIZ

Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) 

Missouri saw a drop in sports betting activity in its second month of legalization, and once again, no tax revenue went toward education.

After bringing in more than $543 million in wagers in December, sportsbooks handled just over $385 million in January.

However, after accounting for payouts, voided wagers, and promotional credits, the state once again finished in the red. Missouri books reported a net loss of $6.7 million for the month, an improvement from the $20.8 million loss recorded in December.

And no profit means no tax revenue.

“As for the January numbers, they were not too surprising,” Mike Leara, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission, told ABC 17 News in a statement.   “We do expect an increase this month from March Madness, and we also look for sports wagering to see a spike for the upcoming World Cup.” 

Many of the losses were once again driven by promotional bets, a common strategy sportsbooks use to lure in new customers. 

Sam Pack, a sophomore at the University of Missouri, said he has been gambling since he was 18, when it became legal for him in Illinois. Pack said that once sports betting became legal in Missouri, he was quick to take advantage of the promotional offers.

“I like it when you sign up for apps, you get the bonus bets,” Pack said. “Be smart with your picks. If you can do a protected play, do that, and then if you lose that, you can use bonus bets to win more money.” 

However, with many Missourians already creating accounts during the first month, those numbers were expected to gradually decline.

“It’s one of the larger concerns where you look at it, where when you have such operator-friendly numbers early on, where they’re allowed to get rid of these free bets so heavily, it does cause a tax thing,” said Ryan Butler, a senior news analyst at Covers.com. “This isn’t terribly uncommon. And in states where they are, if they’re allowed to do this and they’re taking full advantage of it, so still stand by it. Once we get a little further in, this is going to level out.” 

GeoComply’s geolocation services recorded more than 18.5 million login attempts from over 520,000 accounts during the first week of legalized sports betting alone.

After writing off $125.1 million in free-play wagers in December, sportsbooks wrote off $33 million in February. FanDuel wrote off $33 million in February, a $20 million drop from the first month, while DraftKings wrote off $9.2 million, down from $39.3 million in December. 

According to the Missouri Gaming Commission, sportsbooks were able to apply negative adjusted gross receipts carried forward from promotional costs in the previous month, which also affect those totals. 

Impact on local schools

When Amendment 2, which legalized sports betting in Missouri, appeared on the ballot, one of its most vocal supporters was the group Winning for Missouri Education. The group estimated the measure would generate about $100 million in tax revenue over five years.

Under the amendment, a 10% tax is applied to sports betting revenue and directed toward education. However, operators are allowed to deduct certain expenses and must also contribute to the compulsive gambling prevention fund before any tax revenue is calculated. The ballot language also allows for the possibility that no money would go to schools if taxable revenue is too low.

According to Butler, the amount of money sports betting will actually send to schools is often overstated.

“The impact is going to be really unnoticeable to even people in education,” Butler said. “It’s always part of the campaign, and I think sportsbooks overall got a little bit better at it going, ‘Guys, this is just an opportunity. It’s a little bit of money. It’s something, this isn’t going to make or break Missouri schools.’” 

Any money from sports betting generated for public schools goes into a general pot and is distributed through the Missouri school funding formula known as the foundation formula. However, Heather McArthur, chief financial officer at Columbia Public Schools, says those funds are not materializing to meet the funding target that was set by the state legislature last spring

“We were conservative in budgeting for the foundation formula funding last spring because the decisions were made very late in the budgeting process, and we had doubts that the funds would actually be distributed as appropriated,” McArthur told ABC 17 News in a statement. 

But with Gov. Mike Kehoe recommending the foundation formula remain flat in this year’s fiscal budget and transportation funding expected to decline, CPS says any additional revenue from the state could help offset shortfalls in other funding sources.

“Fortunately, the district is highly locally funded and has built up reserves in recent years, but the outlook does not look great,” McArthur said. “We will have to continue to look for internal efficiencies and additional revenue sources in future years to make up for the deficit spending.” 

University of Missouri issues warning as March Madness approaches 

While March Madness could boost the state’s tax revenue, the University of Missouri is raising concerns about its potential impact on student-athletes.

On Thursday, UM System President Mun Choi issued a statement reminding students, faculty, and staff about expectations surrounding sports wagering and the protection of student-athletes.

Since sports betting became legal in Missouri on Dec. 1, 2025, NCAA and SEC schools like MU have faced new challenges in ensuring the integrity of competition and the welfare of student-athletes. 

In Thursday’s statement, Choi outlined prohibited behavior for students and employees, including attempting to influence or compromise the outcome of athletic events, sharing confidential information about MU athletes and harassing players.

Violations may breach federal or state law as well as university policies.

According to the University of Missouri, students found to harass athletes or engage in betting-related misconduct are subject to discipline under the university’s Standard of Conduct, which can include warnings, probation, suspension or expulsion. 

“Maybe people joke about it in comment sections of Instagram posts, but I’ve never seen anyone seriously threaten a player,” Pack said.

Faculty and staff who violate the Standards of Faculty Conduct or MU’s Code of Conduct may face reprimands, suspension or termination. Student-athletes are encouraged to report any harassment so the university can monitor and address potential threats.

According to Butler, March typically ranks as the sixth-most active betting month, with September, October, November and December usually seeing the highest betting activity, due to being in the heart of football season. 

Nationally, concerns about harassment and manipulation have grown as betting on individual college athletes, including prop bets, has expanded. Surveys indicate 36% of Division I men’s basketball players reported harassment linked to betting, and NCAA investigations have found cases of athletes wagering on their own performances or sharing insider information.

Butler noted that while sportsbooks are pushing to keep these bets legal, losing player props would not be a major blow. 

“These individual college player props are less than 1% of their handle. It’s just not a huge deal for them,” he said. “They’re still fighting to keep them.”

Missouri officials are closely monitoring the issue. MU Athletics Director Laid Veatch warned that when student-athletes are paid, and sports betting is legal, player prop bets make it easier for athletes to become involved. Choi also said in January that the university tracks social media to watch for harassment and continues to evaluate policies in line with other institutions.

While only four states currently ban individual college athlete prop bets, Missouri officials say they may revisit the issue as more data becomes available.

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Jessica Hafner

The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Team has issued a Weather Alert Day ahead of the potential for a few strong storms, accumulating snow, strong non-thunderstorm winds, and wind chills near or just below zero between Sunday and Monday.

Severe thunderstorms have ramped up along the cold front approaching St. Louis, with the severe threat ending for Mid-Missouri. Attention will now turn to snow showers, rapid temperature drop, and strong non-thunderstorm gusts to 50 mph tonight into Monday morning.

SETUP & TIMING:

Temperatures have already begun to plummet to the 50s where the cold front has moved through, and storms have fired up along the cold front. Strong winds will pick up behind the front in addition to snow showers wrapping around low pressure. Snow chances look to linger through the first half of the overnight before clearing Monday morning, when cold and wind will be the big story.

IMPACTS:

Impact potential is becoming clearer as the timing of the cold front is becoming more consistent, as well as the moisture behind the front. This gives us a better idea of the type of severe threat that will be present in Missouri ahead of the front, as well as when the transition to snow will occur. There also remains high confidence that we stand to be quite windy and cold Sunday night into Monday morning.

SNOW:

The snow chance is questionable as well. We are uncertain exactly how much moisture makes it into the wrap-around portion of this low. The northwest side of this will surge in cold air at the low levels and try to take advantage of what moisture is available, creating snow showers overnight. The potency of this snow is greatest in the northeast, nearest this low that passes by. We are also quite warm leading into the event. The soils are warm and still wet in spots, which may make ground temperatures slow to cool. It’s possible that warm ground temperatures could contribute to more of a slushy accumulation at first. Still, winds will be dropping temperatures into the 30s and 20s while the snow falls, and eventually into the teens by Monday morning. This will eventually freeze anything that is initially slushy, but early warmth could greatly cut down on accumulations.

Snow accumulations currently look limited, with chances highest across the region for less than 2 inches of snow. It’s entirely possible we only record trace to 1 inch amounts in the northeast. A less likely scenario does exist where we end up with such little snow that accumulation is avoided, but it still looks likely for some at the moment.

COLD & WIND:

Due to the confidence in high winds throughout this entire period, a wind advisory has been issued for the entirety of Central Missouri until Monday afternoon.

The aforementioned cold will be less uncertain as winds rush in Sunday night. Wind gusts as high as 40-50 mph at times, with winds sustained around 20-30 mph will drop temperatures well into the teens by Monday morning.

Wind chills could drop a few degrees below zero by Monday and continue to stay bitterly cold throughout the day.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was charged Thursday with three felonies after leading police on a chase through busy city streets, according to court documents.

Dejon M. Woltkamp-Linzie, 29, was charged with aggravated fleeing, second-degree kidnapping and armed criminal action after the chase that started Wednesday afternoon on West Worley Street. An officer tried to pull Woltkamp-Linzie over at Worley and Lasalle Place for running a stop sign and having no registration, according to a probable cause statement.

Woltkamp-Linzie drove through a red light at Worley and Providence Road and went into oncoming traffic to go around cars at a stop sign at Rogers Street and Fifth Street, the statement says. The chase reached speeds higher than 70 mph on Washington Avenue and continued at high speeds on Wilkes Boulevard, police say.

The vehicle, a Nissan Sentra, also passed a school bus and then went airborne, almost losing control, according to the statement. The suspect eventually crashed into two utility poles.

Woltkamp-Linzie ran a short distance before giving up, and told police that a passenger in the vehicle had been driving, according to the statement. He also allegedly said he ran because the passenger had a warrant for her arrest.

Woltkamp-Linzie remained in the Boone County Jail on Friday on no bond. His initial arraignment was set for Friday afternoon.

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Camryn Payne

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Board of Education approved a contract for door locks at the Jefferson City Academic Center, a pricing amendment for substitute teachers and other staff and heard the preliminary budget at its meeting Thursday.

The board approved a $65,783.70 contract with Riverside Technologies Inc. to put in new door locks at the Jefferson City Academic Center. The district is renovating the Southwest Early Childhood Center to house the new academic center. The facility will serve as an alternative high school and is expected to reopen for the 2026-2027 school year.

The new pricing amendment between the district and Penmac Education Staffing will give substitute teachers and other staff a raise. The new rate is a 28% increase over what the district currently pays. The new rate will go into effect in July.

The board was presented with the preliminary budget for 2026-27. The district is projecting more than $138 million in revenue, an 0.8% increase from this year’s budget. Expenditures are projected to be over $135 million, a 6% increase.

The district says the increased cost is largely due to teacher and staff pay raises, increased benefits and adding new staff to the Jefferson City Academic Center.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A lane of Interstate 70 eastbound in Columbia was closed Friday morning for emergency repairs, again.

But engineers hope this time they have solved the problem.

The area near mile marker 131 and the St. Charles Road exit has been closed multiple times for emergency repairs dating back to last year.

The Missouri Department of Transportation said in a news release that the closure was expected to last into Friday evening.

The agency said the on-ramp to I-70 from St. Charles Road was also closed. Traffic cameras showed a long line of vehicles backed up on eastbound I-70 in Columbia on Friday afternoon.

Jeff Gander, MoDOT’s project manager for improvements on Interstate 70, said an unusual amount of moisture under the road is causing the pavement to shift. Workers tried a new approach Friday by adding new drainage features, he said.

“Every time we go in there, we try to, we try to do it a little better than we did last time,” Gander said. “And this time we went above and beyond and put that drain tile in there. So hopefully, this is the last one.

Drivers are encouraged to avoid the area.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Tuscumbia man died after a crash in Miller County on Thursday afternoon.

Missouri State Highway Patrol said the crash happened on Route C, half a mile north of Ulman Ridge Road in Miller County.

Troopers said a 47-year-old man from Tuscumbia was driving a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 truck when it went off the right side of the road.

The driver overcorrected back onto the road, crossed the center line and went off the left side of the road. The crash report states the car flipped over onto a fence.

The driver was taken to Lake Regional Hospital, where they died.

Troopers said the man was not wearing a seat belt, according to the report.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Conservation will begin its 2026 Callery Pear Buyback Program to stop the growth of the invasive tree across the state.

Registration for the buyback begins on March 16 and continues until April 16. People who register to cut down one or more Callery Pear trees, commonly known as the Bradford Pear tree, will get one native tree in return. The native replacement tree will be potted in three-gallon containers and will be between two and four feet tall.

The Bradford Pear tree is non-native to the state and invasive. The Missouri Department of Conservation is partnering with the Missouri Invasive Plant Council, the Missouri Community Forestry Council, Magnificent Missouri, Forrest Keeling Nursery, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, and the Missouri Prairie Foundation to host the 2026 Callery Pear Buyback Program in locations around the state.

Bradford Pear trees have white flowers that are pretty, but they can cause problems for landowners and wildlife. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the trees have a top-heavy canopy and have brittle branches that can often break during storms. Bradford Pears are fast-growing trees with flowers that also have a foul smell, and some even have thorns.

On April 21 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., people who registered can pick up their native tree in more than 20 different communities around the state. Those locations include Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Doniphan, Hannibal, Jefferson City, Joplin, Kansas City, Kirksville, Lebanon, Liberty, Moberly, Park Hills, Parkville, Pineville, Riverside, Rolla, Sikeston, Springfield, St. Charles, St. Joseph, St. Louis, Warrensburg and West Plains. 

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An attack on a large Reform synagogue in Michigan has shaken Jewish communities across the country, including those in mid-Missouri.

No one was hurt or killed when a suspect rammed a vehicle into the building Thursday, though the suspect was later found dead.

Authorities said a security guard at the synagogue opened fire on the vehicle during the incident. Federal investigators said the incident appears to be a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.

ABC 17 News spoke Thursday with Ben Trachtenberg, vice president of Congregation Beth Shalom in Columbia, who said incidents like this resonate deeply within Jewish communities.

“The events are obviously terrible, and Jewish people all over the world are thinking about the people in Michigan and wishing them all the best,” Trachtenberg said.

A member of the Columbia congregation said they were “stunned” upon learning about Thursday’s attack and asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons.

Even though no one was hurt in Thursday’s attack, Trachtenberg said Jewish congregations have long been mindful of security concerns.

“Antisemitism is not a new thing and Jewish congregations have been thinking about safety for a very long time,” he said.

Local congregations continue to evaluate their own safety measures.

A member of Beth Shalom said security measures have increased at the synagogue in recent years.

“I think everywhere should be concerned about an attack because you just don’t know,” they said. “You could be in the most supportive Jewish community, and someone from five communities away could come and make life hell.”

Temple Beth El in Jefferson City sits about a minute’s walk from the Jefferson City Police Department. Meanwhile, Congregation Beth Shalom in Columbia is roughly a 12-minute drive from the Columbia Police Department.

Despite the distance, Trachtenberg said he feels confident in the congregation’s safety preparations and its relationship with local law enforcement.

“We’ve had a good relationship with the Columbia Police Department, and we’ve been in touch with them from time to time,” Trachtenberg said. “There’s some coordination with St. Louis to give us advice as well. So we’re taking this very seriously.”

Missouri also participates in a Nonprofit Security Grant Program that helps high-risk nonprofit organizations including houses of worship, improve safety through security equipment, training and emergency planning.

Under the program, nonprofits such as synagogues, mosques, churches and community centers can apply for up to $200,000 per location for security improvements, with a maximum of $600,000 per organization within a state.

Trachtenberg said Congregation Beth Shalom has been approved for participation in the program.

ABC 17 News has reached out to both the Columbia Police Department and the Jefferson City Police Department to ask whether additional patrols or security measures are being considered around local houses of worship following the attack.

On Friday morning, the Columbia Police Department responded, “We do not comment on security details of known businesses, places of worship etc.  for the protection of those patrons. We share intelligence information and keep informed with various law enforcement partners. We maintain a state of patrol operations to be at the ready as needed.”

The Missouri Department of Public Safety said it is tightening security measures and monitoring potential threats linked to Iran. The department also posted safety guidance on social media, encouraging the public to remain alert to possible terrorism threats, cyberattacks and extremist activity.

Mike O’Connell, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, said law enforcement agencies remain vigilant amid ongoing global tensions.

“It’s safe to say that since the conflict with Iran began, law enforcement, governments and the private sector have been at a heightened state of readiness to detect and defend against terrorism,” O’Connell said.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A U.S. military refueling plane involved in the operations in the Middle East went down over Iraq on Thursday.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that the downing was not from hostile or friendly fire.

“The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing,” Central Command wrote in a statement Thursday afternoon.

One of the KC-135 Stratotankers went down in western Iraq. Another made it safely to the ground.

Check back for updates to this developing story.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Holts Summit woman charged with a slew of felonies, including murder, for a shooting outside an apartment building will not go to trial this week.

Heather Smith’s trial on child endangerment, unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and second-degree murder charges had been scheduled to start Friday, but was pushed back at a hearing early this week.

Now the trial, being heard in Boone County on a change of venue, is scheduled to begin April 20.

Smith’s next hearing is set for March 19.

Smith is accused of killing Kara Dills, 37. Court documents in previous reporting say the shooting started with an argument between Smith and Dills at Hunter Lane Apartments. The documents cite nine witnesses to the shooting.

Dills allegedly got a gun and pistol-whipped Smith on the forehead, documents say. The gun went off, grazing a man later identified as Thomas Jones, on his head, according to the probable cause statement. After Dills lowered her gun and started to walk away, Smith shot her in the stomach, the statement says.

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