Author: KMIZ

Mitchell Kaminski

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

 Jefferson City officials introduced an $86.9 million spending plan Thursday that Mayor Ron Fitzwater described as a “bare bones budget to meet the needs of this city.”

The proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, presented to the City Council’s first Budget Committee meeting, comes in close to last year’s approved total of $86.5 million. The city’s general fund, which covers basic operations, makes up $42.8 million of the plan, with public safety again being the largest expense.

Police spending accounts for $13.9 million, roughly 31% of the general fund, while fire services are budgeted at $10.7 million, or 25%. Public works is the next-largest department at $7.8 million. Personnel services overall make up nearly half the city’s general fund budget, totaling $43.4 million.

Fitzwater said budget priorities include “taking care of their people” through salaries and benefits, supporting public safety, and investing in infrastructure, particularly road improvements. 

His budget includes a 2.5% pay increase for city employees, as well as a 10% increase for health insurance and 5% for dental insurance. The mayor noted that departments submitted $49 million in requests, but only $42 million could be funded, leaving the original proposal $7 million over budget before adjustments.

The budget also proposes $14.3 million for wastewater services and $11.5 million for parks and recreation.

Revenue challenges and adjustments

In a letter to the council, Fitzwater said the city anticipates a slight dip in sales tax revenue, projecting $14.3 million, about 1% lower than last year’s receipts and the fiscal year 2025 budget.

A new revenue source has been added to the general fund: Gross receipts utility tax payments from the city’s wastewater system. The so-called PILOTS-GRUT revenue stream will transfer 6% of gross receipts from wastewater to the general fund, allocated for street improvements. City officials emphasized it will not affect consumer rates.

Key modifications

The budget sets aside money for several upcoming elections, including a November 2025 lodging tax vote, the April 2026 general election and an August 2026 capital improvement measure. Lodging tax revenue is expected to offset the cost of the special election.

Other notable changes include:

Funding for six new leased police vehicles.

Increased legal and human resources spending for union negotiations and an updated compensation study.

A buy-down of $1.05 million from the Capital Improvement Sales Tax to address HVAC issues at City Hall and the police facility.

Support for the Chamber Childcare Initiative Program and additional yard waste pickups.

The final budget, incorporating any amendments adopted during Budget Committee meetings, will be presented at a regular City Council meeting held at the end of the annual budget season.

Throughout the process, the City Council has the authority to propose and adopt further amendments until it is passed.  

The new fiscal year begins Nov. 1 for Jefferson City.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Public Schools is adapting to the evolution of artificial intelligence and its use throughout the district.

CPS spokesperson Michelle Baumstark said the district has a group working to learn more about various aspects of AI. This effort is being led by Beth Winton under the direction of Adam Taylor, the district’s chief academic officer.

“AI is used in lots of ways for instructional purposes, realizing efficiencies and innovation. There are also different types of AI,” Baumstark wrote in a statement to ABC 17 News.

Baumstark said the district is not taking a stance that AI can never be used, but AI should not replace a student learning a needed skill. She said that AI can be used by students to “personalize learning and problem solving, but should not replace the student’s own original thinking.”

When people think of AI use in education, it tends to fall under the use of generative AI, the product of programs such as ChatGPT.

Baumstark said acceptable uses of AI for students include:     

Assisting students in better understanding of the curriculum or skill development. 

Aiding in classroom research tasks.

Individualizing tutoring, reviewing content and as a study aid.  

Baumstark said students are expected to provide transparency about external sources in their work, including generative AI. Teachers also may have syllabus instructions that include acceptable AI use specific to their classroom. Students must cite and explain the role the tool played in the creation of their work. 

The Columbia Board of Education approved the 2025 school year’s artificial intelligence use plan at its Jan. 27 meeting. The plan says students and employees may be disciplined, and employees may be terminated, for AI use that violates the policy or any related procedures.

Baumstark said students must comply with all district technology use, all statements in the CPS Student Handbook and school board policies on academic integrity.  

The district’s student handbook states that any form of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will not be tolerated.

“It shall be a violation of policy for students to take credit for work that is not their own. This would include, but not be limited to, the use of technologically generated writing, purchased papers, books, periodicals, interviews, and research abstracts without attribution,” the policy reads.

Students who cheat or plagiarize may face punishments including: no credit for the work, grade reduction, course failure or removal from extracurricular activities.

At least once per school year, the district’s policies on AI use for safety, data privacy, appropriateness and effectiveness will be reviewed and changed if needed. Employees and students may also submit requests or suggestions for new AI uses to the district.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The U.S. Justice Department has released transcripts of a deputy attorney general’s two-day interview with Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

The department posted transcripts from each day of the interview, along with 16 audio files, on the Justice website on Friday afternoon. Maxwell was transferred to a minimum security prison after her interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

ABC News reported on Friday that Maxwell provided no incriminating information about well-known people during the interview. She also told Blanche that she didn’t witness or hear of any inappropriate or criminal activity by President Donald Trump or former president Bill Clinton, ABC reported.

Check back for updates to this developing story.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man charged with manslaughter has settled with the family of a woman who was killed in a crash in February 2024.

Court documents filed on Thursday show Matthew Shilling settled with the family of Christina Mayfield for $25,000 in her death.

Shilling is currently facing criminal charges in Boone County, including first-degree involuntary manslaughter, two counts of armed criminal action, one count of second-degree assault and a count of driving while revoked, a misdemeanor.

A pretrial conference is schedule for 9 a.m. Monday and a jury trial is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3. A motion to endorse was filed in the case on Thursday.

Shilling is accused of causing a crash that killed Mayfield, 32, on Feb. 2, 2024, on Business Loop 70 near Hathman Place. Court documents say a motorcycle driven by a person they have not identified was rear-ended by Shilling’s SUV, sending it forward into another SUV and throwing the driver and Mayfield from the bike. 

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boonville woman charged with incest in Benton County was arrested Thursday in Boone County.

Troopers arrested Kimberly D. Schnieders, 35, on a warrant for statutory sodomy, child endangerment involving sexual conduct and incest on Thursday afternoon, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol online arrest report.

Charges were filed against Schnieders on Aug. 1, and an arrest warrant was issued Aug. 6. She was booked into the Boone County Jail on Thursday on a $50,000 bond.

Schnieders was arrested at her Boone County workplace Thursday, a Boone County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said. She was released Friday morning to Benton County authorities.

The investigation began in December 2024 when a minor and the minor’s father reported to the Howard County Sheriff’s Office that the victim’s biological mother, Schnieders, had touched the victim inappropriately and shared sexual images with the minor, according to a probable cause statement.

In a follow-up interview, the victim told investigators that Schnieders forced sex on them in Benton County, the statement says.

Schnieders told investigators that she and the victim often had play wrestling matches or fights, according to the statement.

A search of the victim’s phone allegedly turned up several sexual photos of Schnieders, sent in May 2024. Schnieders admitted to taking the photos, but denied sending them to the victim, the probable cause statement says.

The court has denied Schnieders’ application for a public defender.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Contractors for the City of Columbia will conduct some pavement maintenance from Aug. 27-Sept. 12 on more than 30 streets around the city, a Friday press release from the city says.

The release says crews will use Onyx surface treatment on treats that previously used chip seal. Onyx is a thin, fast-drying protective seal made from asphalt emulsion and recycled materials, according to the release.

Crews will work each day from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. until the project is complete, with the exception of Sundays, and Aug. 30-Sept. 1 for Labor Day weekend, the release says.

Maintenance will occur on:

Prairie Lane from North Creasy Springs Road to concrete section near West Prairieview Drive

West Prairieview Drive from North Creasy Springs Road to Prairie Lane

Blue Ridge Road from North Garth Avenue to Piranha Court

Lovejoy Lane from Deer Run Court to Grace Ellen Drive

Lovejoy Lane from Blue Ridge Road to Deer Run Drive

Grace Ellen Drive from Oakland Gravel Road to Oakland Gravel Road

Parker Street from Vandiver Drive to the north end of the street

Topsail Drive from Parker Street to Grand Banks Drive

Burlington Street from Heriford Road to Vandiver Drive

Towne Drive from Whitegate Drive to Clark Lane

Hathman Place from Paris Road to Business Loop 70 East

Whitegate Drive from Paris Road to Sylvan Lane

Calvert Drive from Nelwood Drive to the end of the street

Nelwood Drive from Paris Road to Quail Drive

Spring Cress Drive from Mexico Gravel Road to Pineland Drive

Fern Flower Court from Spring Cress Drive to the end of the street

Thompson Road from North Wyatt Lane to Creve Coeur Drive

Thornwood Drive from Thompson Road to Beechwood Drive

Beechwood Drive from Thornwood Drive to Thompson Road

Daffodil Drive from Thornwood Drive to the concrete section

Pineland Drive from Beechwood Drive to the concrete section

Summit Road from Walther Court to South Fairview Road

Laurel Drive from Summit Road to South Fairview Road

Defoe Drive from Faurot Drive to Scott Boulevard

Brewer Drive from Defoe Drive to West Rollins Road

West Gillespie Bridge Road from Scott Boulevard to Chapel Hill Road

Oak Cliff Drive from Chapel Hill Road to the south end of the street

Katy Lane from Forum Boulevard to Limerick Lane

Katy Lane from Limerick Lane to Martinshire Drive

Misty Glen from Katy Lane to Valley Vista Drive

Westwinds Drive from West Boulevard South to the west end of the street

Royal Aberdeen Street from Glen Eagle Drive to Killarney Drive

Killarney Drive from Royal Aberdeen Street to the east end of the street

Sheffield Court from Forum Boulevard to the end of the street

Glencairn Court from Glencairn Drive to the end of the street

Stirling Court from Highlands Parkway to the end of the street

Stonehaven Road from Highlands Parkway to the west end of the street

Highlands Parkway from Glencairn Drive to Highlands Court

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A now-former Centralia police officer has been charged with seven felonies after he is accused of assaulting a woman over the course of several months.

Curtis Higby, of Mexico, Missouri, was charged on Thursday with two counts of first-degree domestic assault, a count of armed criminal action, tampering with evidence, third-degree domestic assault and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

He is being held at the Audrain County Jail without bond. A confined docket hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26.

A court filing describes Higby as a Centralia police officer. A Centralia Board of Alderman meeting agenda shows Higby was appointed as a full-time officer on April 21. A Department of Public Safety spokesman told ABC 17 News in an email that Higby has a valid peace officer’s license, but is not currently commissioned by any law enforcement agency. Centralia officials confirmed he was fired on Friday.

The probable cause statement says at least three incidents occurred from Feb. 1-Aug. 9 and the victim spoke with law enforcement on Aug. 16.  

Court documents say Higby slammed the victim into a dresser on Feb. 1. During another assault in May, Higby allegedly held a gun to his head before pointing it at the victim before leaving the residence, the statement says. Higby allegedly came back to the residence and taunted the victim with the gun again, the statement says.

On Aug. 9, Higby was accused of pushing the victim and strangling her in front of a baby, the statement says. He then allegedly grabbed a gun and pushed it against the victim before pushing her out of the room, the statement says.

Higby allegedly denied pointing a gun at the victim, but claimed he hit the victim on Aug. 9 after he claimed the victim tried to smother the baby, the statement says.

Investigators learned that Higby has a camera in the room where the last assault allegedly occurred, but “gaps in recordings existed around that time period,” on Aug. 9, the statement says.

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Josie Anglin

COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)
Audrain County is getting a new health center.

The Audrain County Health Department signed a new lease agreement with the county commission and the City of Mexico for the former Vandalia Medical Clinic, which went bankrupt, according to a news release. The building will be used as part of a plan to create a critical access hospital in Mexico, the release states.

The Audrian County Health Department already operates WIC and foot clinic services in Vandalia. The new building will be able to offer more services, such as vaccines. The news release says renovations to the building will start in the next few weeks, with a goal to open the clinic in the fall.

The release says the building will act as a central hub for enhanced public health services and future growth opportunities in eastern Audrain County.

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Madison Stuerman

 COLUMBIA, MO. (KMIZ)

A 20-year-old man has been indicted by a Cole County grand jury on child sex crimes.

Charles Yeager Jr. of Holts Summit was indicted on counts of first-degree sexual abuse and fourth-degree child molestation.

Court documents state Yeager had sex with a minor between June and October 2024. Documents also state he has a felony no-bond warrant for a sex offense in Callaway County, but had been avoiding contact with police.

Yeager also has an active ex parte from the victim but is still trying to contact the victim’s mother through social media, according to documents.

He is being held in Cole County jail without bond.

 

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An elderly man from Macks Creek was flown to University Hospital on Friday after he was seriously injured in a crash in Camden County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the crash occurred on eastbound Highway 54.  A 2002 Chevrolet Silverado was heading east when the driver – an 87-year-old Macks Creek man – failed to yield to a flagger and hit a 1998 Freightliner, the report says.

The man was not wearing a seatbelt, according to the report. He was brought to Lake Regional Hospital by ambulance before being flown to University Hospital, the report says.

Both vehicles had moderate damage. MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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