Author: KMIZ

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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Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia city leaders are set to discuss a proposed 1% sales tax increase to help fund operations and public safety improvements at Monday night’s pre-council meeting.

The plan is expected to bring in an additional $38.6 million for the city to help pay for more police officers and firefighters.

According to a presentation for the meeting, the goal is to hire 50 police officers and 40 firefighters over the next four years. The tax would also fund a new police facility, vehicles, and two fire stations and trucks. It is also expected to bring renovations and upgraded technology for the fire and police departments.

Additionally, some of the money would go towards funding for police and fire pension plans. The current funding gap is 51% for the police pension and 57% for the firefighters’ pension.

If the 1% sales use tax were to go into effect, the presentation provides examples of the increase:

$4 Cup of Coffee: Additional four cents ($4.32 to $4.36)

$12 Meal: Additional 12 cents ($12.96 to $13.08)

$100 Grocer/Retail Purchase: Additional $1 ($107.98 to $108.98)

About 32% of collected sales tax revenue comes from visitors from outside Columbia.

Monday’s pre-council meeting will begin at 5 p.m. in City Hall.

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Matthew Sanders

The first week of the Winter Olympics is in the bag, with mixed results for the United States.

The U.S. was a distant third in the medal count behind Norway and host Italy as of Sunday night. The U.S. was the silver leader with eight medals, however.

But another week of competition is ahead. Will you be watching? Let us know by voting in the poll.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A person rescued from a fire early Sunday in Richland has died.

The Tri-County Fire Protection District posted the update Monday on its Facebook page. The district says it won’t release details about the victim out of respect for privacy.

According to an earlier post, crews were called to the 400 block of North Pine Street in Richland in Pulaski County around 4:30 a.m. Sunday. The callers told the dispatcher that a home was on fire and that someone inside of the home was injured, the post says.

Crews found heavy fire coming from the front side of the home upon arrival.

The victim was treated on scene and transported to a local hospital. They were listed in critical condition as of Sunday morning, the post says.

The district later wrote that it found out about the death that evening.

The fire was brought under control around 5:30 a.m. and the scene was cleared around 8:45 a.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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Alison Patton

COLE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The friends of Lawrence Renn Junior, who owned 178 acres of land and wanted to turn it into a county park, are considering the next steps after the land was sold in an auction.

Hawthorn Bank is the trustee of the Renn Trust, which included the farmland, and what Renn’s friends claim to be worth millions of dollars. The bank is also trying to figure out what to do with the trust money and the $2.2 million from the recently sold farmland.

The trust language requires the bank to donate the money to a charitable organization or use it for college scholarships.

“We are getting closer to knowing the full value of the assets in the trust following the sale.  We are working on a plan to distribute funds for college scholarships. Announcements will be coming over the next few months,” Hawthorn Bank’s Jill Dobbs told ABC 17 News over email.

Friends close to Renn are asking the bank to use it to maintain already existing parks.

The trust originally intended for the land to be turned into a memorial park and offered the land to Cole County, with the condition of creating and maintaining the park, which county commissioners declined.

A group of Renn’s friends sued the bank and county to try and stop the auction from happening, but Cole County Judge Joseph Shetler dismissed the case because the group didn’t have legal standing to file the lawsuit.

Now, the group and the bank are trying to figure out what happens next.

Attorney for the group, Dave Bandre, told ABC 17 News that one idea is to put some of the money toward already existing parks in Renn’s name.

“One suggestion has been to see if, per the terms of the Trust, Hawthorn Bank will direct the Trust to donate some or all of the proceeds of the sale to a charitable organization which can fund parks in the late Mr. Renn’s name in some of the small municipalities in Cole county,” Bandre told ABC 17 News on Tuesday.

Mark Knapp, a friend of Renn’s and a beneficiary of the trust, said Bandre presented the idea to the bank. The group met with their attorney Wednesday, where Bandre relayed how the bank took it.

“I’m not saying that can’t happen, but it sounds like he [Bandre] talked to the bank’s attorney and you know, I don’t mean to be rude, but basically the bank was giving us all the finger, you know what I mean? Is kind of how Dave said it,” Knapp said.

Tony Porter, another friend of Renn, said the bank didn’t say no, but it didn’t seem like they were “keen on the idea.”

There’s one more route the group can take: get the attorney general involved.

In Shetler’s decision, he ruled that only Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and her office have legal standing to challenge the bank on how it’s handling the trust.

“Our Office did receive a consumer complaint on this issue, which is still under review. There is no pending legal action from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office on this matter,” a spokesperson for the attorney general told ABC 17 News via email on Wednesday.

However, the attorney general won’t be able to return the land, Bandre said in an email.

“The AG has the ability to protect the interests of the ‘public’ when a charitable trust is involved. My clients (and others) have reached out to the AG to complain that Hawthorn did not do what they were obligated to do as Trustee of Mr. Renn’s Trust,” Bandre said in an email on Wednesday.

A three-person advisory committee was supposed to be formed to guide the Cole County Commissioners on park development, management and maintenance, according to the trust language. The committee was never formed.

Knapp said the committee could have acted to keep the bank accountable with the trust funds, and without the committee, the attorney general will have to step in to make sure the bank isn’t misusing the funds.

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Euphenie Andre

Columbia, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia city leaders will discuss design plans for the Old Plank Road culvert project during Monday night’s city council meeting.

According to the council agenda, city officials said the existing culvert– originally built in 1986– has significantly deteriorated over time. 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 agenda says.

The City of Columbia has appropriated $757,490.18 for the Old Plank Culvert Replacement as part of its system maintenance program.

According to city records, the Streets Department has $29,153.87 encumbered for the project and has spent $26,153.87 so far, leaving a remaining balance of $730,846.61.

The Old Plank Road Replacement Project, managed by Tom Wellman, will replace failing and undersized corrugated metal culverts beneath Old Plank Road near Forum Boulevard. The Public Works project is partially funded through a grant, with the Stormwater Division assisting in covering the remaining costs.

The total project budget is $400,000, with half of that amount currently appropriated.

Plans call for removing the existing culvert and replacing it with a single-opening arch structure. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2026.

Nate Walker lives near the culvert slated for replacement and agrees improvements are needed.

“I think there’s something that needs to be done with this road,” Walker said. “When we had the snow storm about a month ago, you could see there’s not really good ditches or anything here, and it’s very narrow.”

Walker says his main concern is how construction could impact daily life for him and his neighbors.

“The only think that I’m concerned about is access to our homes, access to getting in and out and so forth but I’m not against progress,” he said.

That progress is already visible nearby. The West Old Plank Road exit at the Route K roundabout reopened Feb. 13 after construction began Feb. 5, completing Phase 4 of that project. All driving lanes within the roundabout are open.

Walker said when the roundabout temporarily closed, traffic was rerouted down Old Plank Road — bringing a surge of vehicles past his home.

“All that traffic came by here and it was almost unbearable at times,” Walker said.

Additional work at the roundabout, including sidewalk installation, grading restoration and streetlight installation, is scheduled to continue this spring.

The city is currently working on 27 projects as part of its 10-year Capital Improvement Plan. Of those, two projects are located in Wards 1 and 2, six are in Ward 3, one is in Ward 4, three are in Ward 5 and three are in Ward 6.

Monday night’s meeting is at 7 p.m. at Columbia City Hall.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Fire Protection District responded to a single-story house fire Saturday night, around 10:13 p.m., according to a BCFPD Facebook post.

Residents of the home evacuated after hearing smoke alarms go off, and a dog was rescued, according to the post. No one was injured.

Crews arrived on scene about five minutes after the call came in, and found the home’s garage on fire, according to the post. Fire fighters were able to put out the fire before it could spread to other area of the home.

In the post, BCFPD reminded people to regularly check that their smoke alarms work.

“Working smoke alarms make a difference. Please test yours regularly,” the post reads.

According to the post, three engines, two tankers, one squad, 22 firefighters and a Boone Health ambulance responded to the scene.

Crews are still investigating the cause of the fire.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia is looking to crack down on unregulated gaming machines with a new ordinance set to be presented Monday.

“Gray machines” or “no-chance machines” are similar to randomized slot machines but feature skill elements or sometimes the ability to show the outcome of the next roll. This requires the player to make a decision or skill-based action to play, making the legality of the games murky.

The ordinance was initially requested by the city council in October 2025 to address concerns about gaming machines. According to city documents, more than a dozen businesses operate a gaming machine.

The ordinance would make it illegal to offer the use of an electronic gaming machine, with violations being punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or 30 days in jail.

Council MemoDownload

The ordinance will be on first reading at Monday’s city council meeting. The law requires that an ordinance be read three times for public notice before the Council votes on it, according to the city’s website.

The memo adds that if approved, CPD may need to adjust arrest and processing procedures, and enforcement of the rule may be delayed.

On Feb. 10, 2026, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway also focused on unregulated gaming enforcement by suing five businesses with gaming machines in Dunklin County.

The Columbia City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday.

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Haley Swaino

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Ballwin, Missouri woman was injured in a crash that shut down part of Interstate 70 in Cooper County Saturday evening.

According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, the 34-year-old was driving a 2022 Hyundai Elantra eastbound on I-70 around 4:30 p.m., west of the Missouri River Bridge. The car hydroplaned and hit a guardrail near mile marker 113.

A 28-year-old Kansas man was also headed eastbound, driving a Kenworth T680 semi-truck, and hit the crashed car. The semi then jackknifed, flipped on its side and hit the concrete median barrier, the report says.

A car hydroplaned on Interstate 70 in Cooper County near mile marker 113 on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.

A semi jackknifed after hitting a crashed car on Interstate 70 in Cooper County near mile marker 113 on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.

The Missouri woman had moderate injuries and was taken to University Hospital by ambulance. The man was not hurt. The report says the vehicles were totaled, and both drivers were wearing seatbelts.

MSHP Troop F said in an X post that it was investigating a multi-vehicle crash with injuries on I-70 around 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Drivers were told the crash would likely keep the eastbound lanes closed for about two hours.

🚨Crash Blocking EB I-70 at 113 MM🚨

Troopers are investigating a multiple vehicle injury crash blocking eastbound I-70, west of the Missouri River Bridge (between Boonville and Columbia), in Cooper County.

The eastbound lanes will likely be closed for two hours. pic.twitter.com/52iqiwU1PJ

— MSHP Troop F (@MSHPTrooperF) February 14, 2026

The scene cleared and both lanes reopened around 7 p.m., according to a later post.

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Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A work crew on scene of the former Fear Fest Haunted House tells ABC 17 News that a fire at the former attraction site in the 6300 block of West Highway 40 is a controlled burn.

Boone County Fire Spokesman Gale Blomenkamp also confirmed to ABC 17 News that it was a controlled burn.

Eli Darrough said his company was asked by the property owner to come a remove what was left of the buildings. Darrough said Fear Fest owner and operator Bill Schnell is no longer associated with the property and that the cost of repairs outweighed what it would cost to tear the structures down.

He said his crew is on day two of the process.

Columbia’s Fear Fest Haunted House made an official announcement on Halloween 2024 stating that it would not be opening for the season for the first time in its more than 20 year history. The attraction racked up 15 safety violations during its annual inspection by the Boone County Fire Protection District. 

In Jan. 2025 the Missouri Attorney General’s office launched an investigation into the haunted attraction’s owner after multiple people said they still had yet to receive a refund for their 2024 Fear Fest Haunted House tickets. The Missouri Attorney General’s office had to dismiss its case in Oct. against Schnell after being unable to locate him.

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