Author: KMIZ

Matthew Sanders

President Donald Trump is threatening to deploy the National Guard in Democrat-run U.S. cities such as Chicago, New York and Baltimore after a test run in Washington, D.C.

Trump said Friday that Chicago will be the next city to see National Guard soldiers patrolling the street — a sight that has caused concerns about civil liberties in the nation’s capital and beyond. Some news outlets are reporting that the plans have been in place for weeks.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement Saturday that he has not heard from the federal government and that Illinois has not asked for help.

The deployments follow Trump’s actions in June, when he sent soldiers into Los Angeles to help with immigration operations.

Do you think troops should be deployed to more American cities? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Gabrielle Teiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 60-year-old man was seriously hurt after a crash in Benton County Sunday evening, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.

The report states a 60-year-old Lowry City man was driving a 1996 Toyota Camry east on Route T, west of Quail Run Rd., when he swerved into the westbound lane and hit a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 driven by a 57-year-old Warsaw man.

Troopers said the 60-year-old man was flown to University Hospital with serious injuries. The 57-year-old man suffered minor injuries and was taken to Golden Valley Memorial Hospital by ambulance.

The report says the 57-year-old man was wearing a seatbelt, but it is unknown if the 60-year-old man was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

The Dodge suffered extensive damage, while the Toyota was totaled, according to the report.

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Matthew Sanders

EDITOR’S NOTE: The crash location has been corrected.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two Hallsville residents were declared dead at the scene of a crash with a tractor-trailer Saturday in Monroe County.

A 46-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman were killed when their Ford Escape didn’t yield to the tractor-trailer on Highway 154 west of Perry, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report. The woman was not wearing a seat belt, the report states.

The 39-year-old tractor-trailer driver from Belvidere, Tennessee, was not hurt.

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Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo, (KMIZ)

As Columbia College students head out for the first day of classes Monday, enhanced security features across campus, including new lights and cameras, are in place to keep them safe.

“We have upgraded 80 cameras around campus to provide additional views of different areas on campus just to make sure that they’re all covered,” spokesman Sam Fleury said.

In addition to upgraded ones, the university has also installed 12 new cameras. In total, there are 160 monitoring the campus this year.

Fleury said parking lots are one of the highest priority areas for surveillance and the upgraded cameras provide a 360-degree view.

Columbia College has about 8,000 students enrolled for the 2025-2026 academic year, with 900 attending Columbia’s campus, according to Fleury.

Marianna Tomz was one many students who began her senior year Monday. She said she has always felt safe on campus.

“I lived in Miller my freshman year and then I lived in Cougar Village the past two years, so I’ve been on campus always,” Tomz said.

She said some of the new features on campus will make her feel safer this year.

“Cougar Village parking lot isn’t very big so I do have to park in Miller sometimes and that walk can be a little dark because there’s a lot of trees and stuff,” Tomz said. “So I think the increased lighting is going to help a lot.”

Fluery said LED lights have replaced traditional lighting to make parking lots brighter.

The university has also hired an additional campus safety officer.

“We now have 10 officers that we have on our team,” Fluery said. “We have two on-call, patrolling 24/7 on campus at all times… working to make sure the perimeter and then the interior of campus is secure.”

This addition comes as the Columbia Police Department said it was also ramping up its enforcement efforts downtown after students’ return to campus, according to previous reporting.

Campus safety is one of many improvements Columbia College said students can expect around campus this year.

Besides enhanced safety, $2.2 million from the college’s reserved building fund and donations paid for a remodel of the Atkins-Holman Student Commons, a refresh of the Stafford Library, and the relocation of the nursing program to Federal Hall downtown, which is still in progress.

To be prepared for possible campus emergencies, Columbia College urges students to sign up for alerts through its LiveSafe App.

“Students can follow along and make sure they get alerts if there is any sort of danger on campus or weather or updates that need to be sent out,” Fleury said.

The app will recommend an action to take during an emergency and send out updates as they become available.

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Marie Moyer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Cole County Judge Brian Stumpe on Monday denied the temporary restraining order the Missouri National Education Association sought against House Bill 12, which would give over $51 million to the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program for families to use on private school tuition.

The MOScholars program will give families of children with special needs or in low-income areas scholarships to access alternative schooling opportunities and educational resources.

“MOScholars is about giving parents the freedom to choose the educational path that best fits their child’s needs,” Malek said.” That freedom should never be taken away — not by bureaucrats, and certainly not by union bosses.”

Last year, through a senate bill, the general assembly increased eligibility for the program by expanding both eligible income levels and changing the definition of “qualified student” from students in specific counties to students from the entire state.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for parents and kids across Missouri,” Attorney General Bailey said in a statement Monday. “Missouri continues to fund public education at record levels. But for children who need something different, whether due to special needs, safety concerns, or failing districts, scholarships like these are lifelines.”

“We think it’s good to have options for all children, including the public schools and the scholarship program and so the value of the scholarship is just like we’ve seen in higher ed, where scholarships have helped kids get the right placement,” said attorney Brian Cleveland, who is representing families opposed to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit against the state was issued by the MNEA in June after state budget talks. In court documents, the MNEA claims the multi-million dollars of additional funding is unconstitutional.

In the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, it said, “No Missouri statute beyond HB 12 itself authorizes the expenditure of general revenues for private school scholarships.”

Several defendants in the suit argue that vouchers are eligible for public schools, MNEA President Rebeka McIntosh disagrees.

“That’s not how vouchers work,” McIntosh said. “Our goal is that 900,000 public school students in Missouri deserve the very best they can get, and by draining all $51 million of general taxpayer funds to unaccountable, untrained private schools is not what is best for public school students in Missouri.”

Opponents also argue the scholarships could divert students from public schools, cutting their funding because the state distributes money per pupil. McIntosh adds that rural communities are especially vulnerable, as many small towns rely on public schools for both education and jobs.

“The public school is the heart of the community, it’s the heart of those small towns, we know that across our state and Missouri and when the schools don’t have what they need, then the entire community suffers,” McIntosh said.

“When this has been done in other states, the only people taking advantage of those voucher programs are people that are already in private schools, so it’s not expanding necessarily opportunities for students who can’t get in,” State Rep. Kathy Steinhoff (D-Columbia) said. “Not leveling the playing field of white people. I think it’s going to.”

A case review for the lawsuit is scheduled for Sept. 22 at 9 a.m. in the Cole County Courthouse.

Both the plaintiffs and defendants in the case are confident as the lawsuit continues.

“We’re just prepared to move on with arguing the case, and we will do that beginning in September and feel very confident that we can win on the merits of the case,” McIntosh said.

“It’s up to the plaintiffs as to what action they want to take next, and we’ll be there whenever they or the court wants us to make sure that we tell the families’ stories defending the program,” Cleveland said.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Education will hold a hearing at the Aslin Administration building Thursday morning to discuss the property tax rate for Columbia Public Schools.

For the 2025-26 school year, the tax rate is dropping by nearly $0.16, meaning property owners will pay CPS $5.55 for every $1,000 of assessed value in property taxes for the year. However, due to the 8% increase in property assessment valuations, the district could collect $3.5 million more than last year through property taxes.

According to Chief Financial Officer Heather McArthur, due to the 8% assessed valuation growth, CPS will have to roll back its tax rate to account for the difference. The CPS financial committee will be discussing its tax rate number in a meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Columbia Board of Education will meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Aslin Administration building.

Final tax rate levies must be decided before September 1.

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Matthew Sanders

The answer to the question Mizzou football fans have waited all offseason to hear came Wednesday: both.

Coach Eli Drinkwitz said Wednesday that he will play both Beau Pribula and Sam Horn in Mizzou’s season opener next week.

Fans have speculated all season about which QB — graduate transfer Pribula or returning redshirt junior Sam Horn — would get the starting snaps in Week 1. That speculation only grew when the Los Angeles Dodgers took Horn in Major League Baseball’s draft.

Do you like Drinkwitz’s approach in Week 1? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Olivia Hayes

FULTON, Mo. (KMIZ)

Fulton Public School students were back in the classroom today to kick off the 2025 school year.

Safety is top of mind for the district, which has more than 2,300 students across its six schools. This will be the start of the district’s student resource officer’s first full year. Officer Mackenzie Elmore started in January, for the last half of the 2024-25 school year.

Fulton Police Chief Bill Ladwig told ABC 17 News the department wants to use their resource officer for problem prevention and problem resolution. He said Elmore will work for all six schools in the district and that she goes around to all of them each day.

Ladwig explained that per the police departments agreement with the school, Elmore cannot discipline the students, only school administrators. However, Elmore can assist and support the school administrators in their discussion.

Ladwig said during Elmore’s short time at the Fulton School District, she has transformed the role.

“It’s building those relationships with the kids, high-fiving them, being there, talking to them, whether it’s reading a book to a an elementary class, or helping explain a topic to a junior high or high school class,” Ladwig said.

FPS in a statement mirrored Ladwig’s words telling ABC 17 News, “We are committed to utilizing our SRO to continue to build positive relationships with our staff, students & families, helping to create a secure and supportive learning environment for our students.”

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, MO. (KMIZ)

Some parents of students who attend Columbia Public Schools are not pleased with a new bus company the district rolled out, two days into the school year.

CPS debuted its new bus service, DS Bus Lines during its first day of school on Tuesday, after it signed a three-year contract in February. The new company’s buses have safety features including GPS tracking for parents to track the bus in real time, and cameras inside and outside the buses.

CPS said roughly 8,000 students are enrolled to take the bus. The deadline for late opt in is Wednesday, Sept. 3.

Steve Tubbesing is the grandfather to an 11- and 8-year-old who attend Jefferson Middle School and Ridgeway Elementary. According to Tubessing, the two have to take two buses to get to their school everyday. On Monday afternoon, he said the two were dropped off at a stop about 16 miles away from their actual bus stop– near Mount Zion Road.

“I guess the main thing is on what planet is it OK to let a 12-year-old and an 8-year-old off of the school bus if it isn’t their stop? I honestly don’t know what the bus driver was thinking,” Tubessing said.

Tubessing said his son-in-law frantically reached out to the bus company multiple times trying to find out where his children were, but couldn’t get anyone to answer the phone. He used a “ping” on his daughter’s cellphone to find them and pick them up.

“Thank god my son-in-law had find my phone app on his phone so he could find her phone,” Tubessing said. “You know, everybody’s scrambling to try and find where they’re at so that nothing happens to them….it was just a nightmare.”

Tubessing said his 8-year-old granddaughter was also left at Benton Elementary School, instead of Ridgeway Elementary, the school she attends.

Tubessing said his son-in-law reached out to CPS regarding the incident. An email ABC 17 News obtained shows the district said DS Bus Lines launched an investigation into the complaint and requested the video footage. The district also said it is working on strengthening communication.

CPS spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark told ABC 17 News via email that the district cannot comment on individual student information. She said anytime there are route issues, CPS investigates it and works to address it. Baumstark said CPS asks for patience while they work through the new company.

“We had a good start yesterday and again this morning. We did have a couple of buses that were running behind in the afternoon yesterday. We’re working today to make some adjustments to improve the timing for those routes.  We’ll continue to improve over the next several days,” Baumstark said.

After all of the late requests for transportation are completed, CPS will be able to launch the family mobile app, Baumstark said. However, some parents are having opposite experiences with the new bus company.

Jordan Jones, the mother to a 12-year-old boy who attends Bethel Street Center said she contacted DS in a panic on Tuesday when her son didn’t get off the bus at his usual time, but was unable to get a hold of anyone.

“I need to be able to know where my child is and know that my child is safe,” Jones said. “The concern is over my child’s safety especially because now there’s this new Missouri law that students aren’t allowed to have their cell phones in the schools. Even if he had a cell phone which he doesn’t, he wouldn’t have been allowed to have it with him.”

Ivy Williams is the mother to a kindergartener and attends Rosetta Avenue. Williams said her experience has improved drastically compared to Student Transportation of America.

“I think in the morning they were maybe like two minutes late, in the afternoon, maybe about five minutes late. But, I kind of expect that because how are they gonna make it to me in like five, 10 minutes,” Williams said. “Last year, even for pick-up or drop-off they were anywhere between 30 minutes to 45 minutes late.”

ABC 17 News reached out to DS Bus Lines for comment.

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