Author: KMIZ

Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins is asking local election authorities to verify voters’ citizenship status after a federal program flagged people for potential illegal status. However, many county clerks have spotted citizens on the list.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said Hoskins sent her a list of 74 voters in November whose immigration status needed to be confirmed.

“We could see just from looking at the numbers and looking at the actual voters that were on it, that many of them were naturalized citizens,” Lennon said. “One [voter] we actually registered at their naturalization ceremony.”

The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements is a federal program that allows the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to verify a person’s status. Hoskins uploaded Missouri voter rolls to the program within the past year.

The Secretary of State’s Office sent lists of voters who needed status verification to county clerks across the state in November. In December, over half of Missouri county clerks signed a letter addressed to Speaker of the House Jon Patterson about Hoskins’ overreach and the inaccurate data the SAVE program provided.

The letter provides two solutions for lawmakers to consider: the Department of Revenue shares immigration statuses with local election authorities, or pass a law that modifies the opportunities noncitizens and citizens have to register to vote.

Lennon said Patterson and other lawmakers didn’t respond to the letter.

About a month after the letter was sent, Hoskins sent another list of flagged voters, which cut down the voters on the first list. Lennon said the second, refined list had only 33 names on it.

“So we didn’t give anything back to the Secretary of State’s Office. I don’t know what happened between the first and the second, really only the Secretary of State’s Office know,” Lennon said.

Lennon said her office still hasn’t done anything to verify the status of the people on either list because the voters indicated on their voter registration that they were citizens.

Clinton Jenkins is the Miller County clerk and the president of the Missouri Association of County Clerksand Election Authorities.

He said members of the association agree that citizen status needs to be checked, but it needs to be done accurately.

“The last thing we want to do is have an actual verified voter removed from the record by mistake,” Jenkins said. “We have time to do this, especially before the August primary election. So let’s pump the brakes and let’s figure this out to do it the right way.”

Jenkins said counties with large cities, like Boone County or Jackson County, will have to deal SAVE data more often than rural counties.

Jenkins said the Secretary of State flagged a registered Mille County voter, but not a citizen. He said the person indicated on the voter application that they weren’t a U.S. citizen, and the county made a mistake in processing the paper work.

Jenkins said another person was flagged earlier this year, but the Secretary of State’s Office retracted that shortly after issuing the notice to Jenkins.

Miller County election officials only received two names.

Click here to follow the original article.

Matthew Sanders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City woman was charged Friday with domestic assault and armed criminal action for allegedly stabbing her mother in the face.

Michelle I. Ritchie, 33, was charged Friday with first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action in the Thursday stabbing at 221 Dover St. Police came to the home after Ritchie called 911, saying she had cut her mother’s face and was sitting in a vehicle in the Target parking lot, according to a probable cause statement.

Police found blood on the kitchen floor, countertops and cabinets, along with a bloody steak knife and spoon, the statement says. The victim told officers that she tried to keep her daughter from leaving in her vehicle, and after they went back into the house, her daughter stabbed her in the face with a knife and a spoon.

Ritchie allegedly told officers that she aimed for her mother’s eye in an attempt to kill her, and that she knew the assault was illegal.

Ritchie was in the Cole County Jail on Friday without bond. No hearings have been set.

Click here to follow the original article.

Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

One person was hurt after a crash in Southeast Columbia on Friday morning.

Columbia police confirmed the crash happened at 8:20 a.m. on Southbound Highway 63.

A Boone County Joint Communication alert went out minutes later that Highway 63 southbound at the Discovery Parkway onramp was closed due to the crash.

ABC 17 News photographer saw a red car in the ditch on the side of the highway.

At least five Columbia police vehicles were seen parked temporarily on the highway.

Sgt. Chris Hobbs with the Columbia Police Department told ABC 17 News on scene that the passenger of the car was taken to the hospital.

The man was reported to have moderate injuries.

Columbia Fire assisted police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol at the scene.

The scene was cleared at 9:40 a.m.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The No. 22 Tennessee Lady Volunteers made quick work of the Mizzou women’s basketball team on Thursday.

The Tigers suffered a road loss in the form of a 98-53 Southeastern Conference romp by the Lady Volunteers.

Tennessee (16-6, 8-2 SEC) jumped out to a 29-13 lead after the opening quarter and stretched its advantage to a staggering 53-22 at halftime. The Volunteers outscored the Tigers 23-12 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 76-34.

The Tigers made just four of their 23 3-point attempts and went just 30% (16-of-54) from the floor. Junior guard Grace Slaughter led Mizzou with 20 points, while junior guard Shannon Dowel scored 11.

Senior forward Janiah Barker directed the Lady Volunteers with a game-high 22 points as Tennessee went 52% (39-of-75) from the field. Junior guard Talaysia Cooper totaled 17 points, junior guard Alyssa Latham put up 15, senior guard Nya Robertson had 14 and freshman guard Deniya Prawl came up with 13.

Prawl and freshman guard Jaida Civil pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds apiece as the Lady Volunteers dominated the Tigers on the boards 49-30.

Mizzou committed 21 turnovers on Thursday compered to Tennessee’s 10.

The Tigers (16-11, 4-8) host Auburn at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19 at Mizzou Arena.

Check back for updates.

Click here to follow the original article.

Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia, Missouri, man who was deported to the Netherlands after more than four months in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody says he endured overcrowded, unsanitary and inhumane conditions at the Camp East Montana detention facility in El Paso, Texas — a place he described as “the most horrific” he has ever seen.

Owen Ramsingh on Thursday posted on Facebook for the first time since returning to the Netherlands early Sunday morning. Ramsingh was a longtime green card holder who was detained in September after attempting to re-enter the United States following a trip to visit family in the Netherlands. ICE cited drug convictions from Ramsingh’s youth as the reason for his detainment.

Ramsingh’s social media post described the death of a 55-year-old man whom Ramsingh claimed was shackled, handcuffed and strangled by personnel from Akima Security, the private contractor operating the facility. Ramsingh claimed officials characterized the incident as a suicide in statements to the press and law enforcement. 

“Akima security ran the facility and was very unprofessional. These security guys were making bets on us on committing suicide, they were using excessive force on detainees, they even killed a 55-year-old man,” Ramsingh wrote.

On Jan. 3, Cuban immigrant Geraldo Lunas Campos was found dead in the camp, which El Paso County’s medical examiner ruled a homicide on Jan. 21. 

Ramsingh told ABC 17 News in a message that it was the same incident that he described in his post, saying that Campos was attacked by Akima Security’s disturbance control team, who later tried to say it was a suicide. 

According to an autopsy report from the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner, obtained by ABC 17 News through KVIA News, Lunas Campos “was witnessed to become unresponsive while being physically restrained by law enforcement.” Emergency medical services were called and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

ME Case 26-0007 Geraldo Lunas CamposDownload

The report found hemorrhaging in the neck muscles and connective tissues, as well as petechial hemorrhages in the eyelids and neck skin.

“Based on the investigative and examination findings, it is my opinion that the cause of death is asphyxia due to neck and torso compression. The manner of death is homicide,” the medical examiner wrote.

Following the release of the autopsy report, El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson called for a “full, independent investigation” into Lunas Campos’ death. 

ICE said Lunas Campos was arrested July 14 in Rochester, New York, and transferred to El Paso on Sept. 6. Officials claimed he had prior criminal convictions, including weapon possession, sexual contact with a child under 11, reckless driving and drug-related offenses.

The Camp East Montana facility has faced repeated allegations of inhumane conditions and inadequate oversight. ABC 17 News has reached out to Akima for comment regarding Ramsingh’s allegations and the medical examiner’s findings.

Lunas Campos’ death on Jan. 3 was one of at least three reported at the facility since it opened in August.

Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant, died Jan. 14. ICE said his death was a presumed suicide. Two detainees were reportedly prevented from being deported so they could be interviewed after seeing Diaz the day he died. It is unclear whether an autopsy has been completed.

The first reported death involved 48-year-old Guatemalan immigrant Francisco Gaspar Cristóbal Andrés, who died Dec. 3 of liver and kidney failure, according to ICE.

Ramsingh alleged discrimination against English-speaking detainees from security, writing that about 90% of the facility’s security staff was Hispanic. 

The Camp East Montana facility has a projected capacity of 5,000 detainees and held about 3,250 people as of Dec. 19, according to ICE.

Ramsingh wrote he spent four and a half months living in a 38-by-78-foot pod with 72 other detainees. The space included five toilets, six showers, two televisions, two cameras and five six-seat tables.

“These pods where we were detained were very filthy; full of bugs all over the showers and toilet and throughout the pod and facility,” Ramsingh wrote. “We were served 3 meals a day about 12oz each meal they were very small and we starved. There was no commissary or any access to any other foods it was just enough to survive we had to eat either in our beds or by the restrooms that smelled very bad. People blew their noses in the sinks spit on the floors all over the showers and bathrooms it was disgusting. Some people were taking showers with no shower shoes which lead to infections on their feet.” 

He said recreation time was limited to a small outdoor area he described as resembling a “dog kennel,” surrounded by low barbed wire that detainees could easily come into contact with.

Sleep was difficult, he added, because of what he described as “screaming and hollering each and every night.”

Ramsingh also alleged inadequate medical care, saying he was sick for weeks without medication or treatment. He described shortages of basic supplies such as shampoo, toothpaste and deodorant, and said he had to hand-wash his clothes because the facility could not keep up with laundry demands.

Click here to follow the original article.

Olivia Hayes

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Parents are raising concerns after the United Way’s United Cerebral Palsy Heartland approved a 45% tuition increase at its Columbia Child Development Center over the next two years.

According to a letter from UCP Heartland shared to ABC 17 News by a parent, who wishes to stay anonymous to avoid impacts to their child’s care, starting April 1, 2026, tuition rates will increase by 25% and raise another 20% on Jan. 1, 2027. The letter was received by families on Monday.

“We have budgeted for the typical annual increase but were completely taken by surprise when we opened our letter,” said the concerned parent in a statement to ABC 17 News. “This is one of a very few number of centers that accepts these kids. Where are they going to go if they don’t qualify for assistance?”

The parent wished not to be identified out of concerns over possible impacts to their child care.

The Child Development Center provides child care for children with ranging disabilities.

“There are families who have been with UCP for 5-8 years and are now faced with the decision to pay an additional $3K – $8K a year for the same service or uproot their child’s safe space and sense of community,” the parent wrote.

The letter shows the Child Development Center charges weekly rates, with current costs sitting at:

Infants (0 to 1-year-olds): $305/ per week.

Red room (1 to 2-year-olds): $305/ per week.

Blue room (2 to 3-year-olds): $250/ per week.

Yellow room (3 to 4-year olds): $235/ per week.

School age (5+ years): $110/ per week.

In April those rates will increase to:

Infants and Red room: $381.25/per week.

Blue room: $312.50/per week.

Yellow room: $293.75/per week.

School age: $137.50/per week.

In January 2027, the rates will increase to:

Infants and Red room: $457.50/per week.

Blue room: $375/per week.

Yellow room: $352.50/per week.

School age: $165/per week.

A second parent, who wishes to remain anonymous due to avoid impacts to their children’s care, told ABC 17 News she has two children enrolled at Child Development Center and with the looming tuition increase, her family has had to look at other options for child care.

“It’s a daunting task to be put on so short notice,” the parent said.

She went on to explain how the current tuition costs already take a toll on her family.

“It’s definitely affected us growing our family more,” the parent said. “Being able to move to a better neighborhood, being able to take a holiday together.”

In the letter, UCP Heartland cited low enrollment numbers and low tuition revenue over several years as the reason for the increase. The letter goes onto say UCP Heartland believes that the increase in tuition costs will help ensure long-term sustainability.

UCP Heartland’s Interim President and CEO Jane Kaiser echoed similar sentiments in a statement to ABC 17 News.

“We’re experiencing rising costs for staffing and operations, and this adjustment simply brings our pricing in line with what we believe to be industry standards,” the statement reads.

The organization said in its letter to parents that all currently enrolled children may remain enrolled until they transition to kindergarten. Scholarships are also available for children with medically diagnosed disabilities if the financial need exists, according to the letter.

The second parent ABC 17 News spoke with says her family makes just enough to not qualify for federal assistance programs, so she is unsure of what scholarships her children could qualify for. She said there has been little to no communication from UCP about the scholarships offered or how to apply. Regardless the increased costs go far beyond what her family can afford.

“There’s definitely not another $1,200 a month in our budget just for childcare,” she said.

She also said she was confused about the reasoning UCP provide for the tuition increase being low revenue and enrollment. The parent noted no concerns over finances had been expressed by the organization in the four years her children have attended.

“The previous daycare director even reached out talking about that they were trying to expand,” she said.

The nonprofit wants to focus on boosting its enrollment in 2026. Kaiser said UCP Heartland’s top priority is providing high-quality and inclusive care for Columbia families.

Both parents told ABC 17 News that UCP’s corporate offices have yet to return their phone calls and emails with questions about the rate increase.

Click here to follow the original article.

Camryn Payne

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend plans for potential developments to the Jefferson City Council.

The first of the four request for builds was from Lifehouse Church. The church wants to convert its building into a child care facility on the corner of Grant Street and Hough Street. The commission recommended rezoning the church so it can become a child care facility.  

Vetter Holdings LLC, filed the second request. They are looking to build 48 housing units at the intersection of Schotthill Woods Drive and Eastland Drive. The request was recommended on the condition of establishing an underlying zoning district of a RA-2 high density residential to determine site elements

Another request property owners filed on the behalf of McBride Lans Growth LLC to create a 140-lot residential development on Rock Ridge Road and Route C.

The last request came from Eagle Enterprises LLC. They want to build a storage unit and a building with a warehouse and shop that would be located at the intersection of Eastland Drive and E. Elm Street.

Each bill will be introduced to the Jefferson City Council at its March 2 meeting, while public hearing for the bills will happen at the March 16 meeting.

Click here to follow the original article.

Sam Roe

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia took public comment on the proposed railbanking of the COLT railroad in a series of meetings on Thursday.

Members of the public gave feedback and asked questions about the proposal, which would preserve 2.5 miles of out-of-service railroad from Rogers Street to Brown Station Road.

Railbanking is a process that preserves a rail corridor for potential reactivation or for recreational purposes. The project would range from Brown Station Road to Rogers Street.

The city will be taking public comment on its “Be Heard” page until March 10.

Click here to follow the original article.

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City Board of Education approved a $2.1 million contract at its Thursday meeting to fix a portion of the roof at West Elementary School.

The contract was awarded to Columbia contractor Integrated Facility Services. The contract was approved with the board’s consent agenda.

Contractors would work from 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Notes from the contract show HVAC work and other systems will be included.

The project is expected to be completed by Aug. 7, 2027.

IFS Contract – WestDownload

East Elementary to become district’s first fine arts school

The school board also moved forward with making East Elementary School the district’s first fine arts school.

District spokesman Ryan Burns told ABC 17 News in a message that “the goal would be to plan for this transition and implement initial components throughout the 2026-2027 school year to officially launch as a fine arts school for the 2027-2028 school year.” The board approved the measure 6-1 on Thursday night.

Burns cited Thorpe Gordon Elementary transition into a STEM school in 2022, which saw test scores in standardized testing improve, along with attendance.

Students living within East Elementary’s attendance boundary will still go to the school. The district will also allow a lottery process to allow those outside the boundary to attend, as space allows.

Click here to follow the original article.

Steven Lambson

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City police arrested a woman on Thursday in connection with a reported knife attack earlier in the day, according to a news release.

Shortly after noon, the release said, officers went to the 200 block of Dover Street, north of Truman Boulevard, for a reported assault. They found a woman with serious injuries, and said she had been assaulted with a knife. Medics took the victim to a local hospital; police aren’t releasing her condition at this time.

Police said the suspect had fled before officers arrived. About a half hour later, police found and arrested the 33-year-old female suspect on Stadium Boulevard and took her in for questioning.

The release said charges recommended to the prosecutor against the suspect include domestic assault and armed criminal action.

Click here to follow the original article.