Author: KMIZ

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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Mitchell Kaminski

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri lawmakers are taking a hard look at regulating artificial intelligence, focusing on images and videos created without consent. 

The House Emerging Issues Committee held a public hearing on Monday to examine a series of bills that would expand criminal and civil penalties for nonconsensual AI-generated content.

Lawmakers emphasized the rapid growth of AI technology has outpaced existing laws, creating gaps in protections for individuals and raising the need to hold creators and platforms accountable.

Committee members also noted more than 30 states already have laws addressing AI-generated images — which comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December limiting states enforcing their own regulations — and discussed a possible “sunset” provision to test whether definitions hold up over time.

The bills under consideration cover a range of issues:

Rep. Sheri Gallick (R-Bates County), HB 2350 – Expands Missouri’s criminal definitions of child pornography and explicit sexual material to include “artificially generated visual depictions” of minors.

Rep. Jeff Farnum (R-Atchison County), HB 2035 – Makes it illegal to use AI to replicate or alter a person’s image or voice to create sexual material without written consent. Victims could sue for damages and attorney’s fees, and the Missouri Attorney General could investigate violations.

Rep. Bill Lucas (R-Jefferson County), HB 2321 – Establishes the “AI-Generated Content Accountability and Privacy Protection Act of 2026,” making it a crime to knowingly publish or distribute AI-generated content depicting someone without consent. Penalties range from fines up to $110,000 and prison terms up to five years, with exceptions for satire, art, journalism and research.

Rep. Melissa Schmidt (R-Wright County), HB 2361 – Creates a class C felony for creating, soliciting, promoting, or possessing nonconsensual altered sexual depictions. Online platforms would be required to remove reported content within 48 hours. Civil lawsuits would also be allowed for damages, injunctions and attorney’s fees.

Rep. Cecelie Williams (R-Jefferson County), HB 1913 – Allows victims to sue if an “intimate digital depiction” is shared without consent and creates criminal penalties for knowingly or recklessly disclosing such material. Disclaimers are not a defense, and internet and telecommunications providers are shielded from liability.

Rep. Wendy Hausman (R-St. Charles), HB 1887 (“The Taylor Swift Act”) – Permits individuals, including minors, to sue if digital depictions are shared without consent and imposes criminal penalties for reckless or intentional disclosure, including Class E and Class C felonies for repeat offenses.

Rep. Dave Dolan (R-Scott), HB 2862 – Targets digital impersonation, allowing Missouri residents to seek declaratory relief, injunctions, and damages if images or recordings misrepresent them, including cases tied to paid advertisements. Parents or guardians may act on behalf of minors or incapacitated individuals.

Committee members emphasized that the bills are too important to rush and suggested consolidating the proposals into a single package before a vote, ensuring that Missouri has clear and enforceable protections as AI technology continues to evolve.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia City Council on Monday night unanimously approved plans to for a culvert replacement project Old Plank Road.

The design and construction will cost $620,000, with the city funding $337,000 of the amount, according to estimates in meeting documents. The memo indicates $282,763.10 will be provided by the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Regional Bridge Program. The city’s portion of the bill will come from the quarter-cent Capital Improvement Program sales tax.

The project is located near Plank Way and Forum Boulevard. Previous reporting indicates the city has $757,490.18 budgeted and $26,643.57 has been spent so far.

In December 2020, a structural inspection determined that approximately 90% of the metal at the bottom of the structure has rusted through, resulting in the loss of essential bedding material beneath the pipes, the meeting agenda says.

A 24-foot-by-6-foot precast arch structure was picked as the replacement design, meeting documents show.

A public comment asked the city to “examine improving visibility” to the west of culvert and had asked the city to add a turn lane.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A portion of Park Avenue in Columbia near Frederick Douglass High School will close later this week through Feb. 27, according to a Monday press release from the City of Columbia.

Beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday, a contractor for the Columbia Housing Authority will close Park Avenue between North Providence Road and North Fifth Street. Crews will complete water line connections and replace concreate for a part of the East Park Avenue Apartments project, the release says.

Southbound traffic on Providence Road will not be allowed to turn left onto Park Avenue, the release says. Detour signs will be posted to direct traffic to East Ash Street, the release says.

At least one sidewalk in the area will remain open.

Everything is expected to be reopened by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia City leaders unanimously approved a new design to the Douglass Park basketball courts during Monday night’s council meeting.

The city had been having discussions about changing the basketball courts since 2023. It was announced in 2023 that the courts would honor Willie Cox, a former assistant coach of the University of Missouri women’s basketball team who died in 2019. Cox also hosted basketball camps at Douglass Park.

Columbia Parks and Recreation voted last month to move forward with an alternative design, after residents pushed back on earlier design concepts claiming it focused too much on the university. The two courts will now be painted blue and gray with white court lines. The west court will also include “Douglass Bulldogs” on each baseline, while the east court will include “Moonlight Hoops – Est. 1989.”

Several residents from the public thanked the city for their willingness to listen to their concerns throughout the process, and expressed the need for additional security at the park. Mayor Barbara Buffaloe also thanked residents for their tenacity in speaking up.

Parks and Recreation Director Gabe Huffington also told the council on Monday that the department intends to install a water fountain with a bottle filler on the east side of the basketball court. That would require an additional $10,000 in park sales tax funding. The water fountain would be open from April through October each year, according to city documents.

Huffington also said Monday night the city is planning to have additional public engagement about the park in 2026. Discussions regarding additional security at the park will be included within those, he said.

Columbia resident Anthony Johnson was vocal throughout the discussions about ensuring the park’s history was preserved through the new design. He told ABC 17 News before Monday night’s vote he would be in favor of the new design. He said he grew up in Columbia and remembers playing on the courts as a child, something he described as a place of unity for the community.

For Johnson, the new design of the courts is bigger than basketball.

“If you look back at the history of Columbia we were segregated, this area down here, this downtown area…this is where the Black people had to live. Our businesses, our homes like this was our community,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he’s excited to re-build the park and some of the programs the city used to have at it. He said discussions are continuing about bringing back Moonlight Hoops.

According to city documents, the theme and the color blue were the most-popular ideas presented by residents during the public engagement portion of the project.

Columbia Resident Stephen Cooper said he’s lived in Columbia his entire life and remembers playing basketball on the courts daily as a child. He said including the name “Douglass Bulldogs” on the court was fitting.

“This is history. You know, it goes way back. A lot of us come up through the projects down there so if you would name it anything else, there’s no history there,” Cooper said.

Renovations will cost roughly $900,000, with funding from the University of Missouri, the Veterans United Foundation and the 2021 Park Sales Tax. Planned upgrades also include new rims, LED lighting and a park shelter.

According to the city, $495,000 will come from a 2023 fiscal year grant, $321,000 will come from the park sales tax and $100,000 is being sourced from donations. Improvements to the courts are expected to begin immediately after approval and must be completed by September 2026 to meet grant requirements, according to Huffington.

Johnson said he believes the most important part of the process is that it was a community-led project. He said the process serves as a stepping stone for him and is hopeful the changes send a message.

“I hear so much they don’t listen to us so what’s the point of wasting our time? That’s people’s reasons for not voting, for not showing up for different things,” Johnson said. “So, this was a process that was done and we came together and expressed how we felt about it and were able to get a different outcome.”

Documents also state that Parks and Recreation has met with funding donors who want to add a Mizzou-themed basketball court honoring Cox in an alternate park location in the city. A decision on that will be made after the city finishes improvements to the Douglass Park courts, Huffington said.

Douglass park council docDownload

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 32-year-old man from Sweet Springs, Missouri, was seriously injured Sunday morning in a crash on Highway 127 at 157th Road in Saline County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the man was driving a 1999 Toyota Avalon southbound when it went off the road, hit a ditch and overturned.

The man was not wearing a seatbelt and he was brought to Centerpoint Medical Center by ambulance, the report says.

The Toyota was totaled. MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.  

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Gabrielle Teiner

Editor’s note: The total hours a day for the Rapid Care Path method was corrected after source error was noted.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone Health says it is making strides to reduce stressors for patients waiting in the emergency department.

In mid-October, Boone Health fully implemented a new method called the Rapid Care Path to get patients into and out of the emergency department quickly and efficiently, helping staff treat about 500 to 600 more patients each month.

“We’ve decreased our length of stay for discharge patients by about 20 minutes or about 11-10%,” said Boone Health Emergency Department Manager Nick Woods.

The average time a Missouri resident spends in an emergency department from arriving to leaving is 2 hours and 35 minutes, ranking the state 29the longest average wait time among states.

Boone Health sees around 100 patients per day in the Emergency Department. The department has 16 beds. Just last week, on Monday, the department saw more than 120 patients.

The changes have led to a drop from 3.7% of patients leaving without being seen to about 2%, said spokesman Christian Basi.

The Rapid Care Path method uses an area 24 hours a day, every day, for patients dealing with non-life-threatening conditions during busier times.

“It’s a huge win for us, our community, the hospital,” said Woods. “We still have some opportunities to help smooth things out, but overall it’s going well.”

Woods says the biggest noticeable difference with using the new care method is the reduction in the number of patients leaving before being seen or before treatment is completed.

Woods says the department has changed its staffing to help on the front end when patients are checking in, and providers have even increased their staffing numbers to help handle the volume of patients.

“We put a clinical person as the first point of contact for patients checking in, so I think that’s helpful,” said Woods. “And just seeing the provider that much sooner, so people feel like there’s someone quickly seeing them for the concerns they’re having.”

Boone Health’s 2026 budget allowed the department to hire more people, which they are looking to continue.

Boone has also implemented safety measures for staff and patients, such as adding panic buttons and changing door opening devices.

Woods says hospital management is always looking at feedback from staff and patients to see where they can improve.

Since 2020, the number of patients seen in the emergency department has grown nearly 50%. In 2025, the department saw a total of 36,596 patients, compared to 24,445 patients seen in 2020.

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Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Customer demand at the Columbia Regional Airport is expected to surge as American Airlines expands its flight schedule, United Airlines returns, and Allegiant Airlines adds new service.

The increasing number of passengers flying in and out of COU has sparked the need for additional parking. To address the issue, the city on Monday night unanimously passed an amendment to its fiscal 2026 budget to build a new 600-spot gravel lot south of the terminal near Angel Lane.

The proposal sought $400,000 from the transportation sales tax. Airport staff says increased parking is critical for accommodating growing ridership.

Longtime Columbia resident Patricia Carl lives right down the street from the airport. She said more parking would be beneficial.

“It just seems like the parking lot is full,” Carl said Monday. “I’ve never seen this many cars here.”

She believes many flyers find the free parking a perk.

“When I’m comparing my airfare in the parking as to which airport I’m going to use, that really gives Columbia [Regional] Airport an advantage,” Carl said.

But she said having more spaces available would be beneficial.

“We want people to know that we will be ready for all of the new flights beginning this year,” Airport Manager Mike Parks wrote in an email.

According to city documents, the southside parking lot would be an interim but necessary solution.

“This new lot will serve the immediate needs for parking and will also allow overflow parking as we continue expanding and paving lots closer to the terminal,” Parks wrote in an email.

Plans to pursue longer‑term, paved parking improvements are in the works, city documents say.

The southside lot would be about eight-tenths of a mile from the terminal. Parks said COU would shuttle parkers given how far away it is.

Monday night’s approval allows construction of the parking lot to begin this year. Parks said the airport hopes to get the lot done before more flights start in June.

The project would include erosion control measures, grading, base rock installation, compacted stone surfaces and upgraded entrances and exits.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia is considering a 1% public safety sales tax to help close the multi-million dollar gap in its police and fire retirement fund and support improvements across both departments.

Public safety makes up nearly half of the city’s general fund spending for fiscal 2026, with about $66 million budgeted across police, fire and the municipal court. About a quarter of that fund is sales tax. Around $55 million of the public safety budget goes to employee salaries and benefits, leaving little room for other expenditures.

The city is already forecasting sales tax to come in on the lower end of its initial projection for FY 26 due to little to no growth from FY 25.

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.

Sales tax presentationDownload

City officials noted the most critical funding need is the retirement fund for Columbia police officers and firefighters. The police pension has a $66 million funding gap, while fire has a nearly $90 million funding gap for a total of around $156 million.

Columbia Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer explained this move by the city would also move the pension fund to the state pension system and decrease a lot of risk.

“The state system is exceptional, it has a lot of options and it’s very safe,” Schaeffer said. “Ours is very small and I wouldn’t say fragile, but it’s really connected to the market.”

He said being apart of the state pension program will also help recruitment efforts.

“With the new generations, they want the mobility, they want the ability to move across different agencies in a state system.” Schaeffer said. “The state pension system eliminates any barriers to be able to do that.”

Additional priorities include a new police facility and vehicles, the renovation of three fire stations and two new fire stations.

“We have critical needs that involve almost 50-year-old fire stations,” Schaeffer said. “Fire stations four, five and six.”

It will also help fund the fires of 50 new police officers and 40 firefighters over four years. Schaeffer said the extra personnel would make a more immediate impact on the community.

“By adding that fourth person on every company in the city that allows us to send less resources, fire trucks,” Schaeffer said. “A lot of times we have to send two or three fire trucks to get the eight people that we need, but if we had four on we would just send two.”

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. The City Council will discuss the proposal at its meeting Monday night.

If discussions go as hoped, the issue could be on the August ballot.

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