Author: KMIZ

Jazsmin Halliburton

SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri State Fair kicked off in Sedalia Thursday, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to attend over the next week and a half. The theme of the fair this year is Step On In.

Governor Mike Kehoe proclaimed the fair a “Great American Fair” at the kick off ceremony Thursday morning. This is the first step in what Gov. Kehoe is calling ‘Show-Me 250’ as the United States inches closer to its 250th birthday in 2026.

Leading up to the next Fourth of July, Kehoe said communities across the nation will celebrate 250 years of America. He said the state of Missouri is already celebrating with the Missouri 250 logo being pushed out and drone shows.

This is the Missouri State Fair’s 123rd year and hot temperatures mixed with thousands of people and 11 days of action can leave plenty possibility for some things to go wrong.

The fair is the state’s biggest agricultural showcase and can bring more than 30,000 attendees each day. In 2023, the fair broke the record for total attendees, with just under 350,000 people attending. In 2024, 345,643 people attended the fair.

Fair attendees will generally see the most traffic around the fairgrounds near the entrances. The entrances to the fair can be found at these locations:

Centennial Gate entrance – Hwy 65

Main Gate entrance – 16th St.

Gate 11 entrance – Hwy 65

Gate 6 entrance – Clarendon Rd.

General parking can be found along W. 16th St. and Hwy 65.

For those who choose to take the Amtrak to Sedalia for the fair, expect to see traffic around the train station in the morning and evenings on Main St. and S. Limit Ave.

Local, county and state first responders will be on site at the fairgrounds to keep visitors safe over the next week and a half.

Members of the Missouri State Fair’s Volunteer Fire Department have been coming together for nearly 65 years just to serve the state fair exclusively.

“This year we have 74 different departments represented here with personnel and we are going to average about 80 members each day at the fair,” said Larry Eggen, the spokesperson for the department.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol also assisting with work around the clock.

“We want to make sure that we have security going on 24 hours. So we have got a night squad and the day squad,” said Cpl. Justin Howard. “We have nine troops around the state of Missouri, and we’ve brought in a lot of members and personnel here to the state fair just for operational reasons.”

Emergency Medical Services and fire officials tell ABC 17 News they feel confident with the string of protocols on site.

“If you get sick our EMS serves our first aid, and we have our DMAT. They are like an urgent care, basically a little higher up than our first aid and then if they can’t help you, then we go to Bothwell with the patients,” Eggen said.

The “DMAT Tent” a Disaster Medical Assistant Team is set up with beds, monitors and an X-ray machine. Eggen said heat is important to plan for outside of physical injuries.

“We’ve had as many as 40 people, 40 calls in a day, the heat related,” Eggen said.

Seven water stations are set up around the fair grounds to help fairgoers cool down and beat the heat. The Missouri State Fair Foundation is also selling water bottles for $1 around the fair grounds.

“We’ll sell approximately 70,000 bottles in a week. There’s 32 pallets over there right now for this initial run and four pallets of Gatorade,” said Bret Kuhns with the foundation.

The money from the water bottle sales goes back into the state fair grounds.

Gates will be open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. If you are entering after 10 p.m., fairgoers will want to use the entrance on Clarendon Rd.

Box office hours will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Carnival area will be from Monday-Friday, 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to Midnight.

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Matthew Sanders

The Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday said it would wind down vaccine research using the type of technology used in the predominant COVID-19 vaccines.

The agency said it would wind down its mRNA vaccine research and pursue other types of research through its Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement that the authority would end 22 mRNA vaccine development investments. He suggested the vaccines were not effective against upper respiratory infections.

Do you think it’s the right move? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was arrested in Illinois last week and charged with first-degree murder in Randolph County is in custody in Missouri.

Todd Turner, 38, of Cahokia Heights, Illinois, was charged with first-degree murder last week in the death of Donald Hickem on Feb. 1. He was booked into the jail at 2:21 p.m. Monday. A judge on Tuesday scheduled his arraignment for 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 11. He is being held without bond.

Hickem, 37, was found dead with gunshot wounds in the 500 block of North Moulton Street on Feb. 1.

Timothy Turner, 37, of Columbia, was initially charged in the case with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Timothy Turner was shot and killed by Columbia police after a standoff in the 1500 block of Raleigh Drive in Columbia. Charges were not filed against the officers said to be involved.

Court documents in previous reporting say a phone registered to Timothy Turner was found at the Moberly residence in the 500 block of North Moulton Street.

A witness who knew Timothy Turner allegedly told police that the Turners entered an alley near the home and Todd Turner had told Timothy to put his gun away, court documents say.

The witness walked down the alley and heard four-to-five shots, the statement in previous reporting says. The witness went inside a home and came back out to see the Turners in a vehicle, with Timothy Turner pointing a gun at the witness, the statement says.

The witness claimed in a probable cause statement that they left with the Turners in Timothy Turner’s vehicle and they planned on driving to Illinois.

The statement says that lab results from June 18 determined the bullets recovered from Hickem’s body were fired from two different guns.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 66-year-old woman from California, Missouri, had to be airlifted to University Hospital after her vehicle was hit by a dump truck on Tuesday afternoon, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred on Lookout Trail Road at Industrial Drive in Moniteau County, the report says.

The report says a 2018 International Dump Trick was heading southbound when it failed to yield to the 1997 Chevrolet Lumina — that was driven by the woman – that was heading eastbound. The dump truck was driven by a 66-year-old Prairie Home man, the report says.

The Prairie Home man had no reported injuries. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts. The Chevrolet was totaled, while the dump truck had minor damage, the report says.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department is ramping up enforcement of misdemeanor offenses downtown in an effort to reduce violent incidents.

The department is using crime data to identify specific locations, days and times for targeted enforcement.

The new targeted approach is designed to interrupt patterns of behavior that often escalate into more serious incidents, including open container violations, littering, trespassing, minors in possession of alcohol, peace disturbances, parking violations and pedestrian traffic violations. 

“What you permit is what you promote, and so we need to start getting on the front end of curtailing things before they get out of hand,” Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude told ABC 17 News. 

The strategy drew attention during Monday’s City Council meeting, when Ward 1 Councilwoman Valerie Carroll said several constituents raised concerns about receiving jaywalking tickets and arrests made during the Black White Ball reunion on Saturday night, an event that drew hundreds of alumni from Columbia’s high schools.

“I want to say that the event is very dear to the identity and culture of the First Ward and many residents who live there,” Carroll said during the meeting. “I also want to say that I understand the reports that I’ve heard from police and the need for proactive policing.” 

Schlude told ABC 17 News the arrests and police presence did not have anything to do with the Black and White Ball, adding the citations occurred after officers told people multiple times to get off the street before a supervisor showed up and determined the warnings were being ignored. A total of eight citations were issued for pedestrian traffic violations. 

“Frankly, a lot of our folks don’t even know that the Black and White Ball is occurring because the only event we really participate in is the parade. We do event security and traffic control for the parade and so there’s no events associated with that — that I’m aware of — that are scheduled to be downtown. Certainly not at 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning,” Schlude said. “There was nothing about this, proactive enforcement or presence that had anything to do with the Black and White Ball.” 

On June 8, shots rang out downtown near Walnut Street, resulting in an innocent bystander sufferning nonlife-threatening injuries. That same weekend, John Rogers, one of the owners of the Athens Building located on the 800 block of East Walnut Street, where his law office is located, found a rock through his glass door. 

“It was just the crowds, and when a certain amount of people got there. It got to be a problem that we had two incidents that were a little bit more serious,” Rogers said. “One night, there was a shooting, or at least shots fired. And another night, we had a rock thrown through one of our front windows.” 

Rogers said the incident highlighted an increase in criminal activity in the area, which has made some residents feel unsafe. In response, he wrote a letter to Schlude and several other city leaders, asking for increased patrols, enforcing existing ordinances and making arrests when appropriate. 

“What I  hear more about and notice more, is people either complaining or just saying they don’t go downtown in downtown Columbia in general,” Rogers said. “If we want people to work down here, live down here, and visit down here, it needs to be safe.” 

In the letter, Rogers claimed the June 8 weekend was not an isolated incident.

In the past 18 months, CPD says it has seen a sustained and escalating gun violence downtown, which has included three uninvolved bystanders being shot and numerous others put at risk. 

These incidents include: 

Schulde said the department’s shift to a more-active enforcement approach was accelerated by the June 8 shooting, but it wasn’t possible until staffing levels improved. Since June 8, the department has increased its downtown police presence between 10 p.m.-4 a.m., particularly on weekends.

“Six months ago, we maybe had 10-to-12 officers on a shift at night.  This past weekend, we had 15 officers plus supervisors on, and we’ve also been able to expand our street crimes unit so now they work in two shifts.” Schulde said. “Staffing has really been a blessing to help us be able to do more of these activities.” 

The department now has eight officers assigned to a “swing shift” from 3 p.m.-3 a.m., which overlaps with another group of officers working from 6 p.m.-6 a.m. 

According to Schlude, the hotspot for gun violence has shifted from the 900 block of East Broadway in 2024 to the 800 block of Walnut Street in 2025.

Eight of 11 shots fired and shooting reports in the past 18 months have occurred after bars closed at 1:30 a.m. Several of those incident were allegedly followed by large fights in the street. CPD also claims that officer presence alone has not been enough to deter the violence. In three of those incidents, officers were present and in one instance, an officer was shot at by one of the suspects when he tried to intervene. 

“Looking at the data, we’re finding that a lot of these more violent incidents are No. 1 happening after bars closed and they’re happening late at night. So early in the morning technically, but after that 1:30 hour,” Schlude said. 

“We’ve received a lot of feedback and concern from downtown business owners, parents whose students are going here to school, and so there’s definitely been reasonable questions about what we’re doing to make sure people are safe downtown.  This is just part of that effort. And if you look back historically,  when the downtown unit was in existence, this was a large part of what kind of their purpose and charge was, so we’re really just trying to get back to that more data-driven, place-based policing approach.” 

Schulde hopes the increased police presence downtown will strengthen relationships with local bars and help reduce the number of incidents. With college students returning to Columbia soon, the department also plans to offer training for bars that see a high volume of incidents. 

“School is starting back up in just a couple of weeks. This is just kind of a precursor to that because we’re going to have an exponential amount more people downtown,  we’re going to be encountering additional issues,” Schulde said. “There’s alcohol involved, so that’s not too surprising. But  people should just expect to see more officers downtown.”

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia is looking to replace one of its busiest and oldest fire stations.

Columbia Fire Station 5 — located on Ballenger Lane — is nearing the end of its lifespan, according to Assistant Fire Chief Jeffrey Heidenreich, leading to the department to request a replacement.

“It’s becoming functionally obsolete when it comes to the fire service and the modern expectations and requirements on size, space and other necessities of stations,” Heidenreich said.

The city is now amending its fiscal year 2026 budget to include $6 million for a replacement, according to city spokeswoman Sydney Olsen. The funding will come from capital improvement sales tax investment income.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Jacque Sample told ABC 17 News she was told by a resident the building could have been built on an old coal mine. Sample said the city is now working to determine if that is the case.

“It’s really important for us to do a land survey to make sure that we don’t rebuild and have the same problems in the future,” Sample said. “I know the city is looking at digging into kind of some historical records to determine if that is the case and remap out where those potential old coal mines might be.”

Sample said it isn’t clear when the city will conduct the survey. The station was built in 1971 and is the third busiest station overall in the city. The only busier stations are located downtown and Fire Station 2 on Worley Street, according to Heidenreich.

However, the deteriorating and sinking conditions of the station is taking a toll on firefighters, who have to spend time documenting and repairing the station.

While the station is acceptable as far as current state and living conditions, Heidenreich said the department had to think about whether it makes sense to continue pouring money into the place.

“We’ve had to invest a considerable amount more in time and money addressing physical issues with the station,” Heidenreich said. “Multiple attempts at raising or stabilizing the foundation and concrete repairs that we haven’t had to do at other stations.”

ABC 17 News took a tour of the fire station, noticing several cracks in walls and floors, broken windows and brown spots in ceiling panels created from a build-up in humidity. Heidenreich said a moisture build-up in the attic drips into the ceiling tiles, creating the brown spots.

The tiles were replaced in December, and the department will have to replace them again soon to avoid running into issues with mold. Firefighters have also resorted to adding a fan hanging from the ceiling, as well as a dehumidifier to try and pull additional moisture from the attic to minimize damage to the ceiling.

The station had a major remodeling in 2019, but was stopped mid-progress due to station settling.

The station has continued to deal with those settling issues over the years, now leading to the recent sticking of a door within the station, as well as another door that wasn’t able to open or close until crews put in additional lag bolts.

Another issue the station is battling: The community bunk room. The room was a common practice in the fire service for a long period of time, but the trend has since moved to include individualized bunk rooms.

“As our workforce grows and the diversity of our workforce increases, we think it’s important to invest in individualized bunk rooms, or individualized rooms for our firefighters and our members for privacy and safety and sleeping concerns,” Heidenreich said.

Heidenreich said that was an issue for the fire department during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they weren’t able to separate firefighters from one another to prevent it from spreading.

The fire department also deals with discolored water coming from its sink and ice, as well as low water pressure that can become problematic when filling up their fire trucks.

The bay area has experienced problems of its own. Fire equipment has gotten substantially larger over time, including the firetrucks. Heidenreich said the trucks have become wider over the years, and the trucks have limited clearance up top and on the sides when parking in the bay.

Firefighters have made contact with the sides of the garage due to the issue, leading to visible damage to the garage.

“We’re talking about inches on each side of the truck every single time they go out,” Heidenreich said. “And since this is the busiest, single company house in the city, they’re running you know, sometimes 10, 15 calls a day coming in and out this bay.”

Firefighters also have to coordinate with one another when getting into the trucks, due to a lack of space in the bay when the door of the truck is opened. There is also severe settling and cracking on the bay floor, despite the concrete being replaced in 2023.

Heidenreich said other stations fire stations 4 and 6 are also on the decline, but station 5 has seen the worst of it. The department also wants to improve its reliability percentage, but is also running into problems with that.

“One of the next steps we take once a station and an engine become substantially busy to the point that the reliability slips under 90%… as an example, this station (fire station 5) is close to 80%. We look at the possibility of adding an additional staffed fire apparatus. And so for our deployment model that would be a ladder company, and a ladder company isn’t able to fit into stations 4, 5, and 6,” Heidenreich said.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Three people were indicted in separate federal cases in Mid-Missouri, according to a Wednesday press release from the Department of Justice.

The release says Joanna Fabian Rivera, 33, of Arizona, was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. She was allegedly found with packages of cocaine and heroin in her vehicle on May 3, the release says.

Alex Mills Zoll, 42, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was charged with three felonies and was accused of child enticement, attempted to produce child pornography and sending and selling obscene material across state lines, the release says. The case was investigated by the Boone and Callaway county sheriff’s offices.

Aaron James Kipper, 34, Columbia, was charged with illegally owning two guns. The release says he is a convicted felon and was found with two guns on June 27.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A patient had their leg impaled by a steel rod on Wednesday morning in a west Columbia neighborhood, according to a press release from the Columbia Fire Department.

The release says firefighters were called at 10:10 a.m. to the 300 block of Parkwood Court for a report of a fall injury. Identifying information about the patient was not given in the release.

“A patient had sustained a mechanical impalement to the leg by a piece of a reinforcing bar, a steel rod commonly used in concrete construction,” the release says.

A truck that was “equipped for technical rescue operations” was sent and crews removed  “a portion of the metal and railroad ties” to prevent more injuries occurring, the release says. The patient was brought to an area hospital with a portion of the bar still in their leg, the release says.

“This is exactly the type of call we envisioned when we made the strategic decision to distribute heavy rescue capabilities,” Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said in the release. “The quick, coordinated response and specialized tools on our ladder truck made a real difference in the outcome for this patient.”

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Erika McGuire

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Club Car Wash, a Columbia-based company was given a “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau after the company received more than 240 complaints over that past 36 months, the BBB said in a press release Tuesday.

The BBB says the complaints stem from alleged vehicle damage, billing issues, and poor customer service. The company also received 73 customer reviews, the majority of those being negative, according to the BBB.

The “F” rating is the lowest on its scale, the BBB claimed in a release on its website it is due to a pattern of unresolved and unanswered complaints.

Customers claim Club Car Wash failed to pay for damage allegedly caused during automatic washes. Others claim they were unable to cancel the company’s $22-a-month subscription or get refunds.

Club Car Wash has said that many complaints involve preexisting vehicle damage, the release from the BB says.

In July in St. Charles County, Club Car Wash was ordered to pay $3,200 to a man whose 2019 Ford F-250 was damaged in April 2024, when a loose cord from another vehicle struck several parts of his truck, according to court documents. The damage included a broken windshield, and damage to the grille, headlight, hood and fender.

In Boone County in 2023, a woman filed a small claims lawsuit after alleging her 2013 Mazda’s rear top bumper was damaged after going through Club Car Wash automatic wash. Court documents say the woman filed a claim with employees. The petition says her claim was denied a month later because her vehicle was considered too old.

Court documents show Club Carwash settled with the vehicle’s owner, Uvirkaa Akumaga, for $1,163 on Jan. 9, 2024.

A Club Car Wash location in Columbia has a sign listing disclaimers and terms, which state the company is not responsible for damage to:

Vehicles seven ears or older;

Any Kia Trim;

Bug shields or rain guards of any kind;

Any style antenna;

Aftermarket wheels or extended valve stems;

Power running board in down position;

Windshields with prior chips or cracks in non-factory installed parts and accessories;

All externally attached items;

Preexisting paint imperfections;

Any prior vehicle damage; and

Accidents due to driver negligence.

The release from the BBB says it it received a complaint from a woman in Cape Girardeau who reported that a piece of her vehicle’s molding was torn off during a wash, with repairs estimated at $558. According to the BBB, Club Car Wash did not respond to the complaint.

Another case, in Arnold, Missouri, a woman claimed her son’s vehicle sustained damaged to a window, which caused $600 in damage. The BBB claims the company denied responsibility and did not respond to the complaint.

Former Club Car Wash customer Mindy Schmelz said the passenger-side door of her Grand Traverse SUV was scratched during a wash at a location in the St. Louis area. Schmelz, who says her vehicle had low mileage and no visible damage beforehand.

“I got out of the car, I just happened to look down for whatever reason and I noticed these like three patterns of scratches that were just like very uniform at the same level,” Schmelz said. “I knew the damage wasn’t there so we immediately went back up to the car wash and reported it,”

Schmelz says she reported the damage to an employee who then filed a claim. But a few days later, Schmelz says she was told the company would not take responsibility.

“We were told, ‘Oh sorry we can’t verify that we actually did the damage so we’re not going to cover it,'” she said.

Schmelz said she urged the company to review security footage from before the wash to confirm the scratches weren’t there.

“They’re like because of the glare and the metallic paint that you have, we couldn’t determine the damage wasn’t there prior,” Schmelz said. “We can’t determine that we actually did the damage, so we’re not going to cover it.”

After being denied payment for damage, Schmelz said felt she didn’t have much resource.

“We canceled our memberships,” Schmelz said. “I ended up just leaving a bad Google review for it because I’m like there’s no reason other people need to be subjected to having their new vehicles damaged or their vehicles in general damaged, people pay a lot of money for their cars and they want them to be kept nice,”

When Schmelz learned the BBB gave the company a “F” rating, she wasn’t surprised.

“I’m not surprised, to be honest with you because like, event two years ago when I wrote my Google review on it, and just even our local one on their Facebook reviews, which they’ve since taken away the ability to, There was so many people that were like my car has been damaged,” Schmelz said.

“You know their response was, we didn’t do it, I’m sorry you’re not happy with the response but we can’t verify that we did the damage or anything like that so I wasn’t surprised that they got that review,” she said.

Schmelz said she has not repaired her vehicle.

A Club Car Wash executive previously responded when BBB brought complaint pattern concerns to its attention, stating: “We have video and photo proof that these cars come in with the damage, but they feel the need to still make a complaint. The other thing is 228 complaints thankfully are minimal to the 50 million cars we have washed in that time frame so it’s obvious we don’t damage vehicles.” 

The BBB recommends several tips when using car wash services:

Research the business before paying at BBB.org

Review terms and disclaimers posted at the facility or on the company’s website

Understand subscription plans and how to cancel them. Monitor your billing statements

Pay by credit card when possible to retain the ability to dispute charges

File complaints with BBB and your state attorney general’s office if you feel wronged

Club Car Wash operates more than 200 locations across 11 states, with six locations in Columbia.

ABC 17 News reached out to Club Car Wash and the Better Business Bureau.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man is sitting in jail after authorities claim he assaulted a woman with a cane on Monday evening in Columbia.

Daren Hart, 57, of Columbia, was charged on Wednesday with second-degree assault and armed criminal action. Court filings show he is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says the victim in the case flagged down police around 7:30 p.m. Monday in the 1200 block of Lakeview Avenue. Police wrote the woman was bleeding from her head and had other injuries.

The woman allegedly told police that she and Hart were in an argument near a creek when he started punching her in her face, the statement says. He then allegedly picked up a cane and started hitting her, the statement says. The victim allegedly had issues talking because of her injuries, the statement says.

The victim pointed out Hart to police when he walked out of a wooded area while holding a cane, the statement says.  

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