Author: KMIZ

Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Public Schools is working to get a handle on work that needs to be completed within its schools.

The Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee met Tuesday afternoon to provide an update on its facility condition assessment. CPS narrowed down each facility’s needs into four categories: Immediate, critical, noncritical and deferred maintenance.

Immediate needs are identified as work that the school district needs to complete this school year, Chief Operating Officer Lazell Ofield said.

Ofield said a facility audit was completed on the building that identified fire and life and safety as the most immediate needs. Ofield said there are 17 buildings within the district that need work done that falls within that category. The buildings include elementary, middle and high schools within the district.

“There’s opportunity in our electro closets to make sure that those conduits that go throughout the building, that the area around it is still tight,” Ofield said.

However, Ofield said the buildings have still passed the fire inspection and CPS is in compliance with all fire codes. He said CPS is looking to make the changes for an extra layer of safety.

Critical non-recurring projects refer to work such as weather-proofing walls or working to keep water from getting into buildings. Non-critical projects are one-time jobs that can include upgrading lights within buildings to LED lights or motion-censored lights.

Deferred maintenance is work that requires a full replacement, such as fixing roofs or updating floors within buildings. CPS has estimated that work would cost $150 million, but wouldn’t be completed for many years.

Board member April Ferrao said she didn’t find that number surprising.

“I think when you see the total at first, it’s like ‘wow’ but you have 42 buildings and we only have about $2-$3million each year from our funding that we use towards planned capital improvement,” Ferrao said. “There’s always things that are growing, or unexpected things that come, so I don’t think there’s anything that’s concerning to me. Even the amount, because like I said, over 10 years we’ve been focused on building buildings.”

The audit was conducted in 2018 by an outside vendor. Ofield said CPS is now hoping to comb through that audit and update it with work the district has already completed over the years since then. He said CPS is hoping to have that updated within the next couple of months.

“Based on the categories of the facility audit, we’re able to update our current facility audit with the work that we’ve already completed,” Ofield said.

The projects will be paid using the operation budget, Ofield said.

Ofield said the next steps include working with the facilities and construction team to begin building a package to identify the scope of the work and then sending out an RFP for vendors to bid on.

CPS will then share the updated information with the community and with building administrators, laying out the different categories and priorities, Ofield said.

CPS is also starting the planning process for its 10-year master plan. Ferrao said the district is slightly behind working on the plan, in part due to Ofield recently joining the board, after Randy Gooch retired last year.

Ferrao said the board is looking for the community’s involvement in the plan.

“This public school serves almost 19,000 students, it feeds people into our workforce. We’re one of the largest employers,” Ferrao said. “We want to have community input to help guide us in what is it that the community wants and I think it’s very important to have the teachers and the taxpayers involved in what does that plan look like.”

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Alison Patton

MOBERLY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Moberly water line maintenance fund has more than tripled in cost since 2020. This is according to data the ABC 17 team received from the city.

City Community Relations Manager Scott McGarvey wrote in a statement this is because material costs have gone up since the COVID-19 pandemic, and because of proactive efforts to prevent repeat breaks in water lines.

“This approach means higher short-term costs, but it reduces repeat failures, strengthens the system, and improves reliability for our customers,” McGarvey wrote in a statement.

Instead of fixing the cracks or damage to the water line, the city assesses nearby lines to see what can be updated to PVC piping, McGarvey said.

“If we have a leaky valve, perhaps we might in the past have just replaced a valve and moved on,” McGarvy said. “Now we take a look at what does that water main looks like, the structure of it, and we may replace a block of water main, which will take old cast iron out of the system, replace it with modern PVC.”

McGarvy said it’s an expensive process, especially when there are a lot of water line breaks.

Last year, Moberly had about 80 water line breaks, according to McGarvey.

The new assessment took effect in fiscal year 2024, McGarvey said. The numbers in the water line maintenance fund reflect that.

In 2023, the total maintenance for the water line was a little under $132,000. The next year, it jumped to about $196,500. Finally, the 2025 fiscal year, which ended in June, was just over $310,000.

Moberly residents started paying an extra $3 on their water bills in July to help pay for the repairs and updates, according to McGarvey.

The city eventually wants to replace all the cast iron pipes, but McGarvey said he doesn’t know when that will be, considering there are 55 miles of pipe throughout the city.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Southern Boone Fire Protection District has announced its next fire chief.

M. Jay Niemeyer was announced as the Fire Chief for Southern Boone Fire on Monday over social media.

Niemeyer is replacing Jim Bullard, who retired in April after 47 years of service.

The new chief has been a firefighter since 1990, when he started as a volunteer firefighter for Boone County. He has also served as a paramedic for seven years in Columbia and four years as a firefighter in Lee’s Summit. However, Niemeyer spent the past 24 years of his career with the Jefferson City Fire Department, where he is currently an Assistant Chief.

The release says Niemeyer is a Nationally Registered Paramedic and holds multiple certifications in Missouri.

He is the current Safety Officer for Missouri Task Force 1. With the group, he has been deployed to Hurricanes Helene, Florence and Katrina, according to the release.

Deputy Chief Colin Wright served as interim during the search process. 

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Audrain is one of five counties suing the State Tax Commission over increasing property assessments.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in Polk County. Audrain County joins Polk, DeKalb, Reynolds and Pike counties in challenging the commission’s decisions on property reassessment.

The counties allege that the commission has not taken the proper legal steps to compel them to raise their property tax assessments because there was no notice and no hearing as laid out in state law, according to the lawsuit. Instead, the commission requires assessors to sign memoranda of understanding that compel them to adjust tax rates, the suit says.

Audrain was among the counties that refused to sign a memorandum of understanding to raise residential property assessments 12-15%. State officials later insisted on 15% after the county agreed to 12%.

The commission’s study had shown residential property was assessed at 59.21% instead of the 90-100% the commission requires, according to the lawsuit.

Lawsuit against the State Tax CommissionDownload

“The increases proposed by the Commission … are arbitrary and not based on accurate data and if imposed will have an unequal and discriminatory impact on taxpayers within the respective Counties and will negatively impact taxpayers’ abilities to stay in their homes,” the counties’ lawyer wrote.

The commission withheld more than $50,000 in tax reimbursements from Audrain County because officials did not sign the memorandum, the lawsuit states.

The counties are asking the court to pause the tax commission’s action while the case is litigated.

Summons have been issued to state tax commissioners, but no hearings have been set.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A portion of South Sixth Street in Columbia is closed due to a chilled water line break.

Columbia Public Works said in a release that South Sixth Street is closed to traffic between Elm Street and East Stewart Road.

The area is expected to be closed between two and seven days while excavation work is done by the University of Missouri.

A University spokesperson, Christopher Ave, told ABC 17 News that there was a break in a chilled water line that supplies cooled water to air conditioning systems in multiple buildings.

“The break was quickly isolated, and systems were quickly rapidly restored, Ave said over email. “The cause of the break is currently being investigated, and repairs are underway.”

Ave added that there was minimal impact on normal operations.

The closure is also impacting two Go COMO routes, the Tiger Line 403 and Black routes.

Go COMO said in a social media post that the northern loop of the 403 route will not be used and the stop across from Naka Hall will not be in service. A temporary stop is set up at the corner of South Sixth Street and East Steward Road.

The southbound black bus route will use a detour during the closure. No stops will be closed, according to Go COMO.

Sidewalks are still open, but pedestrians are asked to use alternate routes if possible.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An inmate at the Fulton Reception & Diagnostic Center died 11 days after being at the facility.

The Missouri Department of Corrections said Darnell Davis, 34, died on Sunday at 7:53 a.m. at the facility.

Davis was serving a five-year sentence for receiving stolen property, seven years for domestic assault and 15 years for endangering the welfare of a child, causing serious emotional or physical injury.

Online court records show that these stemmed from two cases in 2018.

Davis was taken into the custody of MDOC on August 13.

An autopsy will be done, according to the agency.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Stephens College is entering the new school year with a new president and an increase in enrollment.

In a release, the school said the undergraduate enrollment is projected to increase by more than 8% this fall. This is the largest number since 2021.

The overall enrollment is expected to increase by 5% compared to last year.

The fall semester is also marked by the start of its 25th president, Shannon B. Lundeen.

The college is also highlighting academic improvements, including an expansion of the on-campus Nursing Center and Animal Behavior Program.

“For generations, Stephens has nurtured confident voices and creative minds,” Lundeen said in the release. “Women’s leadership and representation remain unfinished business, and Stephens is uniquely positioned to prepare students to rise to the challenge. Our mission has never been more relevant, and the opportunities have never been more vital.” 

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Starting in early September, Highway 50 over Vetter Lane in Jefferson City will be narrowed a crews work on the bridge for several months.

According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, starting Sept. 8, construction crews will start to narrow Highway 50 over Vetter Lane to one lane in each direction. Traffic will be head-to-head during this work.

Work will be done to replace joint seals, apply protective coating to the substructure and repair the bridge deck, the release states. The lanes will have a 12-foot width restriction and reduced speeds in place.

MoDOT says two ramps will be closed during the work: the Clark Avenue ramp onto eastbound Highway 50 and the Eastland Drive ramp onto westbound Highway 50.

The traffic shift will take multiple days and is expected to be done by Sept. 10th, weather permitting.

The full project will not be done until December, according to MoDOT.

MoDOT said in a release that this work could cause traffic delays for several miles during peak commute and weekend travel.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Randolph County man has been charged in Audrain County with eight child sex charges stemming back two years.

Floyd Yoder is charged with two counts of first-degree statutory rape of a person less than 12 years old, five counts of statutory sodomy – deviated sexual intercourse with a person less than 12 years old, and one count of first-degree rape with a victim less than 12 years old.

Court documents state that a confidential person left a voicemail for the Audrain County Sheriff on July 29.

During a follow-up with the person, deputies learned an 11-year-old girl had reported a man in the community had been doing sexual things to her in Spring 2024.

Deputies said the person told deputies that they didn’t know that Yonder was the suspect until April 2025. They also said Yonder allegedly admitted he tried to assault two juveniles, including a three-year-old.

Documents state that Yonder allegedly told deputies in July during a conversation with an investigator from the Missouri Children’s Division that he assaulted both victims at his house in rural Clark.

Yonder allegedly admitted to deputies during a post-Miranda interview that he had touched both children multiple times over the past two years.

Prosecutors charged him as a predatory sexual offender, which means he could be sentenced to life in prison, because there were at least two victims.

Online records show he was served a warrant on Tuesday.

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Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A panel of judges has ordered a Boone County circuit court to correct a judgment in a 2022 Columbia shooting case.

Terrance Johnson was found guilty by a jury in March 2024 and sentenced in April 2024 to 14 years behind bars for a 2022 shooting. He was found guilty of first-degree assault, shooting a gun at a motor vehicle/person, unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action.

The Western Appellate District ruled that the court made a mistake when entering the written judgment that was different from the jury verdict and what the judge said in court.

Court documents state that the prosecution admitted to this mistake and agreed that the circuit court plainly erred in entering a written judgment that was different from the jury verdict and the court’s oral pronouncement. This required the court to “correctly memorialize the verdict and pronouncement of sentence.”

The panel denied Johnson on another part of the appeal after he claimed the court refused to submit to the jury his proposed defense-of-others instructions on arguments related to self-defense.

The court ruled that while his defense was that he acted in self-defense, the panel did not find any error in the circuit court’s refusal to instruct the jury, as he did not introduce the argument or evidence to support a defense-of-others instruction.

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