Author: KMIZ

Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council is moving forward with its plans for a proposed 1% Public Safety Sales Tax it believes will help close a $156 million funding gap in the Columbia Police and Fire retirement fund.

The police pension has a $66 million funding gap with nearly $81 million currently in the account. While the fire department has a nearly $90 million funding gap with just under $144 million in its account.

The police and fire pension fund grew 50% fewer in fiscal year 2025 than it did in fiscal year 2024. The city believes the 1% sales tax would bring in an additional $38 million for public safety departments by fiscal 2028. That money would go into a separate and dedicated account; public safety departments would also still receive about $60 million in general revenue funds.

Matt Nichols, President of the Columbia Police Officers Association, claims the problem started in 2012, when the pension plan was last changed.

“By 2032 the goal is to have the pension funded to 80%,” Nichols said. “We are now 14 years into this plan and we have lost almost 20% of funding out of the police pension.”

Nichols said officers accepted fewer benefits up front with the promise of retirement stability.

“We are now eligible [to retire] at 25 years of service,” Nichols said. “Instead of receiving 60% of our salary, now we only receive 50% and our contribution has increased by almost 2%.”

Randy Minchew, a member of Columbia’s Finance and Audit Committee, claimed years of the city not properly funding the account’s deficit has snowballed the issue.

“The money that sits in that pool is supposed to be earning a certain amount of money and everything that it doesn’t earn the city is supposed to pay. The city got used to funding in a certain amount,” Minchew said. “We’re not putting enough funds in because surely this is going to turn around, surely we’ll get back to where we were, right? But we don’t and we’re not going and now and now it’s too low.

Columbia has the seventh-highest sales tax rate out of the most populated cities in the state, sitting at 7.975%. The new tax would make it the fourth-highest sales tax rate at 8.975%.

The tax increase would have to be passed with a vote by Columbia residents. If discussions go as hoped, the issue could be on the August ballot.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 21-year-old motorcycle rider was seriously injured in a Tuesday afternoon crash on Route W in Miller County, just east of Lighthouse Road, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the man rode his 2013 Harley Davidson 1200 Custom westbound when he crossed the centerline and hit the driver’s side of a 2023 Ford Expedition. The Ford was driven by a 67-year-old Lake Ozark man.

The Eldon man did not wear a helmet and was brought to Lake Regional Hospital by ambulance, the report says. The driver of the Ford wore a seatbelt and had no reported injuries.

The Harley was totaled, while the Ford had moderate damage, the report says.

MSHP reports do not list those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An out-of-state resident who was diagnosed with measles traveled through St. Louis Lambert International Airport earlier this month, according to a Tuesday press release from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The release says the infected person was at the airport between 5-7 p.m. Feb. 7 and was at Terminal 2, baggage claim and road a shuttle to the parking area.

Everyone who may have come in contact with that individual should watch for symptoms for 21 days (in this case would be until Feb. 28), the release says.

This comes as measles outbreaks have occurred recently in South Carolina and Texas. Cases in North Carolina, Washington and California have been linked to the South Carolina outbreak, according to reporting from CNN.

The DHSS says measles is highly contagious and can “easily pass it on to 9 out of 10 people around them who are unvaccinated or do not have natural immunity.”

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A septuagenarian has been charged in Boone County after he was accused of robbing a downtown Columbia bank at gunpoint over the weekend.

Basil Kyles, 71, of Columbia, was charged on Tuesday with first-degree robbery, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. He is being held at a mental facility in Fulton, according to a Columbia Police Department spokesman. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says Columbia police were called around 11 a.m. to First Mid Bank on North Fifth Street in downtown Columbia. Kyles – who was wearing a ski mask – had allegedly pulled out a gun and demanded money. He allegedly told the tellers that he did not have “anything to lose,” court documents say.

He took $6,000 in a Walmart bag and was seen on multiple cameras walking south toward Broadway Diner, the statement says. The ski mask was allegedly found outside of Shiloh’s bar, the statement says. Kyles was eventually identified by the owner of Broadway Diner and more clothing of his was found in the bathroom of the business, the statement says.

A couple at the diner had also stated that they bought Kyles an Uber ride to his apartment at Oak Tower Apartments, the statement says. Kyles was seen on video entering his apartment, the statement says. Police interviewed him and he denied being downtown that day, court documents say.

Police eventually found a handgun and $5,140 in cash in a drawer, court documents say. Kyles allegedly told someone else in the apartment he won money in a poker game and the roommate was surprised to learn from police that a gun was found in the residence, the statement says.

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Haley Swaino

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Tension boiled over at Tuesday morning’s Cole County Commission meeting, leaving the signing of a towing contract tabled.

The county was set to sign with Broadway Wrecker Service after awarding it a bid last week to be the sheriff’s towing and storage company for abandoned and impounded vehicles.

After a cost comparison of towing, hourly and storage fees, Broadway Wrecker Service was found to be the lowest option, according to Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Hoelscher raised questions about how long storage is, how long rates apply, if fees for evidentiary tows are passed to owners, and who has discretion.

Before that conversation could be had, local towing companies took the floor with serious concerns.

Kendall Stubinger of Kendall’s Towing and Recovery “Tow Pro” said his business is also considered to have “dba Broadway Wrecker” at the end of its title.

“The company that has been awarded this bid, I’m not sure if that’s my company or somebody else’s company,” Stubinger said.

He said he owns the name Broadway Wrecker, but another company runs Broadway Wrecker Service. And that has been a point of confusion. He added that his company has run one of Broadway Wrecker’s trucks for about a year.

Western District Commissioner Harry Otto said the bid is being awarded to Broadway Wrecker LLC, as listed by the secretary of state.

Stubinger said he doesn’t own an LLC, but legally, he has claims to Broadway Wrecker. Operationally, he said the actual service company seems to be fraudulent.

He said the company has had multiple crashes.

“Them [Broadway Wrecker Service] having accidents in the past and not giving up their insurance information, the insurance companies are getting ahold of me and wanting me to give my insurance information,” Stubinger told ABC 17 News Tuesday.

He worried that will be another point of confusion if the company were to tow for the sheriff.

“So this bid gets awarded to them people, how many people are going to be Googling my number as Broadway Wrecker and calling me looking for their vehicle?” Stubinger said.

The location and contact information is another point of confusion.

Broadway Wrecker Service says it’s located in Jefferson City on its Facebook page. A Google search says the towing company is located on McCarty Street.

But Operations Manager Patrick Love told ABC 17 News the lot is on Plaster Court, on the other side of town.

The company also lists Economy Towing as its email. As confirmed in its bid contract, that operates out of Columbia.

First page of the bid by “Broadway Wrecker Service” to be Cole County’s towing and storage company.

ABC 17 News called and a worker answered the phone at the company as “Economy Towing Broadway Wrecker Services.”

Stubinger brought up the fact that the company does not have a website either.

Otto said that wasn’t required in the contract.

“Basically, the average citizen, they’re gonna call whoever they wanna call to tow them,” Presiding Commissioner Sam Buschman said. “This contract is just for impounded vehicles, abandoned vehicles.”

Stubinger questioned what number dispatch will give when a citizen calls that their car has been towed by Broadway Wrecker.

A representative with Toebben’s Towing joined Stubinger and asked, “How are they [people whose vehicle was towed] gonna know that though, where to find that number at?”

Buschman said the county went with Sheriff John Wheeler’s recommendation to go with the $20,000-$25,000 a year option.

Commissioners then asked why the county is going with a seemingly questionable out-of-county company.

“We get a company from 40 miles away coming in here wanting to do business in our town, and they’re doing it for less than half of what we can do it and have done it for the last years,” Stubinger said.

He said that’s a hit to local companies.

Broadway Wrecker Service also lied to commissioners, according to Stubinger. He said they lied about being approved by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and about how many employees they have.

The company is not on MSHP’s approved tow list.

Broadway Wrecker Service had mentioned having spoken to the sheriff regarding the contract, Stubinger said, which companies seeking the bid were told not to.

A representative with Diamond Towing stood up and asked why Patrick Love with Broadway Wrecker Service was having side conversations with the sheriff’s office.

Wheeler approached the men at the podium and said that they were all contacted about the contract.

“I sent the same email to all three of you, so don’t start throwing me under the bus,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler told the men their pricing fell short.

He said the bid was submitted for Broadway Wrecker Service, and Stubinger’s claim that he owns Broadway Wrecker is not the same. Wheeler said he went by the listing of the secretary of state when recommending the contract be awarded to Broadway Wrecker Service.

He told ABC 17 News in an email that the county put out to two bids because it did not have response times in the original.

After about half an hour of comments Tuesday, the commission voted to table the contract and confirm with the highway patrol Broadway Wrecker Service’s approval to work for the county.

ABC 17 News reached out to Broadway Wrecker Service and has not heard back.

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Marie Moyer

Editor’s Note: AI was used in background research for this article.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Teachers and parents faced Missouri legislators on Tuesday as two Missouri senators work to write a new grading system for schools into law.

Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an executive order creating school report cards in January, before his State of the State address. The order directed the Missouri Department of Education to implement a new letter-grade system for schools by June.

Senate Bills 1194, sponsored by Sen. Ben Brown (R-Washington), and 1653, sponsored by Sen. Curtis Trent (R-Battlefield) seek similar provisions to Kehoe’s order to codify the bill. Both texts would also create the “Show Me Success Program.”

During Kehoe’s address, he highlighted Brown’s bill and encouraged the General Assembly to pass similar legislation.

“[Parents] know what a good report card looks like,” Trent said. “When it comes to schools, they’re handed pages of acronyms, charts that don’t really tell them anything in plain English as to how their child’s school is actually doing.”

The Show Me Success Program will link high school performance to funding. Schools ranking in the top 5% of student performance statewide will receive $100 per student. Those in the top 10%, but below the top 5%, will be eligible for $50 per student.

According to the fiscal notes for the bill, more than $7 million would be eligible for the program. Committee member Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern (D-Gladstone) pushed back against the program during Tuesday’s hearing.

“If a school is doing well, then they’re going to receive more money, but a school that is doing poorly will not receive additional money. So my question is, how are they expected to improve then?” Nurrenbern said.

Trent defended the bill, arguing that school performance is a policy issue instead of a financial issue, adding that he is willing to drop the program in favor of moving forward with the report card.

“If schools were failing to perform because they didn’t have sufficient funding, that’s thing that we could just address with more money,” Trent said. “People deserve to be rewarded financially if they are performing above expectations.”

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, public schools and public charter schools will be graded on a lettered A through F scale based on a 0 to 100-point scale:

A – Producing excellent student outcomes

B – Producing more than satisfactory student outcomes

C – Producing satisfactory student outcomes

D – Producing less than satisfactory student outcomes

F – Failing to produce adequate student outcomes

Scores will be based on the annual Missouri Assessment Program, or MAP, results. High schools will also be evaluated on their graduation rates. The new grade cards are designed to be standardized and easily understood by parents, taxpayers, school personnel and legislators.

“Many people have mentioned that a through F is easier to understand than stars or different indicators that aren’t necessarily self-explanatory,” Jordan Zakery the Regional Advocacy Director for ExcelinEd in Action said.

Testimonies for the bill also included members from the school groups in Louisiana and Mississippi, two of 11 states in the nation with a letter grade system for schools. Both witnesses reported seeing academic growth following the new system.

Schools that fail to test at least 95% of students will drop a letter grade. The point scale will also become stricter as school scores, Trent calling the rule a “treadmill for success.” For example, when 65% of schools earn an A or B, the minimum score required for each letter grade will go up by five points for the next year.

Zakery added the system is not meant to punish low-performing schools.

“On both sides of the coin, whether a school is low performing, high performing or so on A or an F, it highlights the positive things about these schools,” Zakery said. “This policy also helps identify where schools can improve.”

Opponents of the bill support the need for transparency, but warned that the test is too one-size-fits-all. Steven Carroll with St. Louis Public Schools and the Cooperative School Districts of Greater Kansas City reported that many students face socioeconomic issues and unstable home lives that can affect school performance.

“A public school has to take in whatever child walks through their front door, all the social problems, the challenges that a student may have,” Carroll said. “Yet you expect them to go in and maybe do well on a test and then the school is the only one getting graded.”

Mike Lodewegen, the Director of Legislative Advocacy with the Missouri Association of School Administrators, testified at the hearing for information. He took no particular stance and instead reported on what administrators are discussing regarding the bill.

Some concerns included resources being moved away from teachers.

“We will be able to increase scores if we focus on the test, whatever you focus on, that will happen, resources will be dedicated specifically to that, right?” Lodewegen said. “What does that do? How does that impact the profession?”

The Missouri Department of Education is required to finalize the implementation plan for the grading system by June. Schools will begin receiving their first annual scores under this system by Sept. 15. Schools will also need to publish their scores for the public by Sept. 30.

If approved by the committee, the bills will be moved to the Senate floor for debate.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man has died after he was shot Friday night in Osage County.

Osage County Sheriff Mike Bonham said Tuesday that the man, previously identified as 45-year-old Jarrod Compton, was pronounced dead just before 10 p.m. Monday.

“We are still working the case at this point,” Bonham said when asked about arrests.

Deputies found Compton wounded outside a mobile home on County Road 703 near the Gasconade River at about 4:30 p.m. Friday. He was flown to University Hospital for treatment.

Bonham said Saturday that the shooting may have been related to a love triangle involving family members. One person had been detained and a weapon had been found, he said.

Bonham said Tuesday that the person deputies detained had been released. An autopsy will take place this week.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A group of Montgomery County residents and property owners has filed a lawsuit to stop the construction of a data center.

Preserve Montgomery County, LLC, is suing two parties, Montgomery County and the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The group is asking for a Cole County judge to invalidate and ban the county from any action on the plan, bond order, and development agreement. Sabrina Cope of Truxton is listed as the company’s registered agent.

Steve Jeffery, an attorney with Jeffery Law Group representing the plaintiffs, said the group contacted him after county commissioners approved the most recent agreements tied to the project.

“They approached me several weeks ago about the data center project proposed in Montgomery County,” Jeffery told ABC 17 News. “The county commissioners there had already entered into several agreements, including a tax abatement plan and an infrastructure development plan.  So once the most recent of these plans was approved by the county Commission a week or so ago,  the group decided, well, it’s time to pull the trigger.” 

The lawsuit claims the county has violated Missouri’s Sunshine Law in multiple ways, all connected to the approval of the data center.

The plaintiffs are suing on 10 counts, including failure to post reasonable accessible public notices, conducting unlawful closed sessions and charging excessive fees to respond to sunshine requests.

Montgomery lawsuitDownload

In the 35-page lawsuit, the group cites multiple residents making sunshine requests and the county responding with an invoice between $200-$700 for the records.

For Montgomery County resident Tammy Ridgley, the issue began with unanswered questions.

“My initial thought was I wanted more information,” Ridgley said. “And honestly, that’s why we are where we’re at right now, because we haven’t gotten the information that we requested to make us feel good about our project.”

The group also accuses the county of not accurately providing notice for public meetings as required by Missouri law. Jeffery said one of the biggest concerns is transparency.

“For example, the three county commissioners each executed a nondisclosure agreement preventing them from talking about something,” Jeffery said. “But if you actually read the agreement, it never says who the agreement is with or what the subject matter is. Also Missouri statutes don’t authorize county commissioners to enter into nondisclosure agreements.” 

Jeffery also questioned whether the project should receive tax incentives and whether residents have been given complete information about its potential impact.

“They’re concerned about the amount of the tax abatement, whether or not the proposed data center really even needs a tax abatement, they’re a trillion-dollar company, but also more importantly, just the unknowns about the water usage that this data center operation would consume,” Jeffery said.

According to Jeffery, two hydrogeology reports presented to the county relied on a Missouri Department of Natural Resources report issued in 2020 that projected sufficient groundwater through 2060.

“If you actually go back and read it, it was issued in 2020, before anyone even considered having a data center here and the massive drawdown of the aquifer that the data center would use,” Jeffery said. “So in other words, it’s kind of smoke and mirrors here.” 

Ridgley said the scale of the development has heightened concerns in the community.

“The community is scared. This isn’t a small project in our community. It’s a thousand acres. One of our towns is half that size,” she said. “We’re basically building another small city with this data center.”

In the lawsuit, the Department of Economic Development is also accused of failing to properly monitor and administer the grant agreement. The lawsuit states that because the county allegedly violated Missouri’s sunshine law, it has also violated an agreement with the department. The DED is accused of not taking action to address these violations in connection with the data center.

Jeffery said the group is asking the state to rescind its $5 grant agreement with Montgomery County for a mega-scale development, claw back any funds already paid, and invalidate the tax abatement plan and development agreement. Ridgley emphasized the lawsuit is not about financial gain.

“In this lawsuit, no one is looking for money. What we’re looking for is the right answers,” Ridley said. “Just because we’re a small community doesn’t mean that we’re not going to stand up for ourselves and push for answers.”

Prior to the lawsuit, scores of Montgomery County residents packed public meetings to register their opposition to local data centers, citing concerns about the developments using up energy and water resources.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Cole County prosecutor’s office has filed charges after one person was shot on Friday.

David Jarrett, 26, was charged on Friday with unlawful use of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child. The charges were not made public until Tuesday.

Police were called to a home in the 900 block of Cedar Way in Jefferson City on Friday at noon.

Court documents state that Jarrett was heard threatening to hit a witness when the victim intervened. The victim tried to get Jarrett to leave the home, but he refused.

Police said the victim and Jarrett both pushed each other before he pulled out a gun from his holster and fired one round into the floor.

A child was reported to be on the ground in a walker when the gun was discharged.

A witness told police she removed the child from the home and when she returned, found the victim with Jarrett in a headlock.

Documents state that Jarrett then allegedly pulled out his gun again and shot the victim once in the torso. The victim was taken to University Hospital.

“Medical staff advised that no vital organs were struck, but the bullet was still inside of his body, where it will remain for the time being,” police reported in court documents.

Police reported finding damage to the floor consistent with a bullet, according to documents. Bullet fragments and another shell casing were also found in the same area, along with blood.

Jarrett was arrested after he left the scene with the young child, according to documents. Officers tried to stop his pickup truck as it was leaving the scene, but Jarrett drove away. He was arrested on E. Elm Street after stopping the truck.

Documents state that police found a Glock 17 .9mm with two rounds missing and a spent shell casing still in the chamber.

He is being held at the Cole County jail without bond as of Tuesday morning. A court date was not scheduled, according to online records.

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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man who pleaded guilty to a shooting in downtown Columbia is asking a judge to retract his plea during his sentencing hearing Tuesday.

Steven Harris, 46, pleaded guilty in January to unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and stealing a gun for a shooting in downtown Columbia in March 2025. Harris sent two letters to Judge Stephanie Morrell asking to withdraw his plea.

Harris is accused of firing shots at a vehicle with a stolen gun near the intersection of Ninth and Walnut streets.

According to court documents, a blue Chevrolet Tahoe hit Harris, leading him to run after the vehicle and fire the gun. Officers reportedly found several shell casings and wrote in court documents that Harris dropped the gun when instructed by police.

In Harris’s letter to Judge Morrell, he mentioned his displeasure with his lawyer and that the Tahoe intentionally hit him on the night of the shooting. He claims he was acting in self-defense, according to the letter.

Harris is set to be sentenced at 9 a.m. in the Boone County Courthouse.

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