Author: KMIZ

Jazsmin Halliburton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri Board of Curators is seeking to attract developers for an entertainment and hospitality district on campus to enhance the university’s offerings.

The university aims to build on the momentum of the current renovations of Memorial Stadium and continue its goal to enhance the game-day experience for fans. The university will actively seek proposals to open certain areas on or near campus for entertainment and hospitality, enhancing the university as a whole.

There will be three development zones that the university has designated for developers:

Development Zone #1: North Campus/Central Business District

5th & Locust Street North

5th & Locust Street South

10th & Locust Street

Hitt & Paquin Street

University Avenue

Development Zone #2: Campus Core

Flat Branch Creek

Stadium & Tiger Avenue

Stadium & College Avenue

Development Zone #3: Athletic Sports Complex

Hearnes Complex

Gustin Golf Course

In the university’s search for developers, several requirements must be followed when requests are submitted. According to university documents, developers should consider and strive its request to follow the guiding principles of the university, such as:

Projects should prioritize hospitality and/or entertainment, enhancing the game-day experience within the MU Athletics Sports Complex and may include other mixed-use components to form a year-round commercial hub.

Projects within the MU Athletics Sports Complex should incorporate novel ideas, features, and benefits that have the potential to differentiate/elevate MU Athletics.

Projects should generate meaningful revenue for the University, either through upfront funds or over time through on-going payments.

Projects should not require any University capital be committed.

Projects should not require that the University issue or underwrite the use of bonds as a financing source.

Projects should not impact the University’s credit or rating.

Projects should be financially feasible and based on realistic assumptions.

Developers must send in their request to the Board of Curators by January 9, 2025.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia residents had the chance to learn more about the city’s newly approved fiscal year 2026 budget during a “Let’s Talk Local” event on Wednesday night.

Mayor Barbara Buffaloe hosted the discussion at Missouri United Methodist Church, where city officials outlined spending priorities and answered questions from the community. Around 35 people — including city staff and media — attended.

During the presentation, the city’s Director of Finance Matthew Lue shared an anecdote that summed up the message behind the city’s budget priorities. 

“Don’t tell me what your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are,” Lue said in reference to a quote from James W. Frick. 

By that measure, public safety remains one of Columbia’s top priorities. The city will spend $35 million on police and $30 million on the fire department this fiscal year. The next highest line item is Public Works at $17 million.

“The majority of that is for people,” Buffaloe told ABC 17 News. “It’s for the people responding for when you call for service.” 

The city is operating under a planned deficit for the second straight year. However, City Manager De’Carlon Seewood said that was partly by design. Last year’s shortfall helped purchase new police vehicles, while this year’s budget focuses on raising employee salaries.

“Last year, with capital purchases, we bought police vehicles. We bought vehicles for public works and so that was actually purposely done,” Seewood said during the meeting when talking about the deficit. “This year, it is about employees. Like the mayor said, we made a commitment to our employees. In the past, we hadn’t been rewarding our employees, and our salaries hadn’t adjusted and what we saw was we couldn’t hire anyone.” 

Seewood told ABC 17 News the city is currently reviewing its revenue sources after being asked whether tax increases could help close the deficit and improve staffing. He said that while it’s an option, no decisions have been made.

Staffing remains a concern for the Columbia Police Department, though Chief Jill Schlude said the department is carefully evaluating its needs before making additional funding requests.

CPD plans to bring back the downtown unit in May, but that move will come at the expense of the traffic unit.

“A city this size should have traffic so we want to make sure we build out a real ask,” Schlude said during the meeting. “I told the mayor this the other day and I think she was surprised but at one point we only had one detective working all the property crimes in the city.”

Schlude was also asked about the homelessness downtown. She says the department has been tracking calls they get about the unhoused and roughly 86% of those are for trespassing. 

“I think it’s important for people to understand that the police department. We’re not policing housing status, we’re policing behavior,” Schlude said. “So we’re responding to what people are doing that is not within the law, and just the way the world is right now, we get called to handle a lot of things that really aren’t things that we handle.” 

​​Schlude said most of the city’s officers have received crisis intervention training, but the police training program the city previously used did not offer it, leaving a gap in the department. She said the goal is to reach 100% certification, though the training takes a full week to complete.

The city has recently ramped up enforcement efforts downtown, but questions remain about how long that can last.

“Obviously, we have outside forces that are helping out right now, especially on weekends and gamedays. But we don’t expect it to happen much after the season,” Buffaloe told ABC 17 News. “When it gets colder, we don’t have as many hotspots in the downtown area. But, if you look forward to our fiscal year ’26 budget, we actually will, because of people we have graduating from the academy, we will have our summer unit starting before the summer of next year.”

The next Let’s Talk Local discussion is scheduled in two weeks and will feature D’Markus Thomas-Brown from the Office of Violence Prevention.

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ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources says it’s almost done cleaning up a portion of the Lake of the Ozarks where a marina caught fire over the summer.

Investigators say the Aug. 4 fire was accidental and may have been caused by an electrical issue with a house boat. Several docks and a boat caught fire.

The DNR first had to remove the docks before taking out the boats.

A DNR spokesperson told ABC 17 News that cleanup should be finished in one or two weeks.

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Nia Hinson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A full report outlining recommended safety improvements for Business Loop 70 in Columbia is expected to be completed by next spring.

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission met Wednesday night at City Hall, where leaders provided an update on the audit. The City of Columbia and CBB Transportation Solutions conducted walk-throughs along the loop on Tuesday and Wednesday to identify safety improvements needed in the area.

Mckenzie Ortiz, an advocacy coordinator at Local Motion, took part in the walk-through on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Ortiz said Tuesday night’s walk took place from the Aldi and Interstate 70 interchange roundabout to Providence Road. Wednesday morning’s walk took place from Hickman High School to Paris Road.

Ortiz said the walk gave her a unique experience of what activity along Business Loop 70 is at night.

“The one thing I noticed is that there’s a lot of pedestrian activity, even after dark in that area,” Ortiz said. “Also a lot of people driving, picking up folks so it was a lot busier than I thought. This morning, we were at Hickman High School so we got to observe the high school traffic and the marching band. We saw a lot of activity there too so overall we just saw how busy Business Loop really gets.”

Ortiz said overall, she believes the road could use more sidewalks, especially east of Range Line Street and said maintaining the sidewalks is key. She also said having traffic experts along the walk allowed them to view inconsistencies of drivers not knowing what to do, and trying to avoid medians.

Ortiz is a Columbia resident who doesn’t drive and said she has walked along the Business Loop before, and knows how scary doing that can be. She said conditions are especially scary on the east side, due to a lack of connected sidewalks.

“I was really excited to be there with professionals who are usually in their car to get them on their feet and kind of walking the lay of the land so that way they know what my experience is like and also the experience of so many folks, so many students from Hickman High School, so many people in general that don’t have cars,” Ortiz said.

The audit focuses on identifying safety improvements aimed at eliminating traffic-related deaths and serious injuries. The project prioritizes safer conditions for pedestrians, cyclists, seniors, motorcyclists and school-aged children.

A CBB Engineering Project lead told ABC 17 News on Tuesday that he sees a need to adjust the signal timing at Business Loop 70 and Stadium Boulevard on Saturdays during sporting events at Cosmo Park.

He also said filling in gaps along the  the south side of the corridor, as well as adding crosswalks to parts of the corridor for pedestrians is necessary.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone Health is chipping away at Missouri’s primary care shortage, hiring 25 providers in the past 12 months, eight of whom are primary care providers.

Four additional primary care providers are expected to join Boone Health by the end of the year, according to a Wednesday press release from Boone Health. The release adds that each provider can accept 1,800 new patients.

“It’s not an 8-to-5 job. We do a lot of extra charting, we have to do a lot of extra reading to keep up the credentialing that we have, we obviously do research,” Boone Health Dr. Holly Boyer said. “We’ve got more people to be able to accept those new patients.

“Across the nation, there has been a strong need for primary care providers, and the mid-Missouri community is no different,” said Drew Wilkinson, Boone Health vice president of provider and ambulatory operations said in the press release.

According to Rural Health Information Hub, 106 out of 114 counties in the state are considered Health Professional Shortage Areas for primary care.

According to a Health Resources and Services Administration report from June, Missouri needs to add 476 primary care physicians to address the state’s shortage rates.

“I’ve heard from patients that they’re being booked out six months, sometimes eight months, to get into a primary care physician,” Boyer said. “It’s been really hard for patients to be seen in a timely fashion just because of the shortage.”

Both SSM Health St. Mary’s in Jefferson City and MU Health Care are focusing on increasing numbers. MU Health Care reported in June that 13 providers were expected to join its workforce in July.

The next primary care provider expected to join Boone Health will begin working at Boone’s Moberly Clinic in December.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two men who were charged in separate child porn cases in Missouri were indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday.

David Narcato, 41, of Columbia, was indicted in the western district of Missouri on two counts of producing child pornography and one count of child porn possession.

He was previously charged in 2023 in Boone County with five counts of first-degree child molestation, three counts of statutory rape, first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, two counts of statutory sodomy of a victim and possession of child pornography. All Boone County charges stated the victims were younger than 12 years old.

Court documents in previous reporting state the assaults occurred between 2021-23. One of the victims underwent a SANE exam following an injury. Documents initially stated the child “fell off a bike” but a physical exam indicated injuries related to sexual assault.

That victim eventually stated there was sexual contact from Nacarato and that he lied about the incident, court documents say.

Case from Miller County

Brandon Long, 21, of Eldon, was indicted on receiving child porn and possessing child porn. He was previously charged in 2024 in Miller County with possessing child pornography and first-degree promoting obscenity.

Court documents in previous reporting say the Miller County Sheriff’s Office received a cybertip from the social media messaging application Kik that said child porn was uploaded from a Miller County IP address.

Search warrants were served to Kik in July 2024, and the company provided encrypted files that depicted child porn from an account, the statement says. Images of Long were also include, the statement says.

While a search warrant was being served at his home, Long allegedly admitted to sending and receiving child porn and claimed the account belonged to him, previous reporting says.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A family member of a woman who died in 2022 more than a month after she fell at a nursing home in Miller County has sued the facility for wrongful death and negligence.

A petition filed Tuesday in Miller County by Brenda James — the daughter of Ursula Hill — alleges the Miller County Nursing Home District in Tuscumbia did not have proper staffing levels and employees were not trained properly to deal with a “catastrophic injury.”

The lawsuit claims that Hill slipped on feces that was on the floor of a room that was not properly cleaned on Feb. 25, 2022. Hill was told she had a broken bone in her left leg on March 1, 2022, and was brought to Lake Regional Hospital on March 12, the petition states.

She was diagnosed at the hospital with a fractured left fibular and a swollen ankle, court documents say. She died on April 5, 2022.

The death certificate – which is partially shown in court documents – lists three causes of death, including complication from diabetes, complication from dementia and a significant condition of a left fibula fracture.

A summons was issued for the Miller County Nursing Home District on Tuesday.

ABC 17 News has reached out to the Miller County Nursing Home District on Wednesday afternoon.

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Lucas Geisler

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Department of Justice will begin handling claims of a Columbia businessman misusing a pandemic-era relief plan — an allegation he denies.

Federal attorneys unsealed the case on Oct. 7 against Greg DeLine and three of his companies — GKD Management, Midwest Mortgage Association and Amega Sales. The DOJ is considering whether DeLine violated the False Claims Act through numerous Paycheck Protection Program loans he received in 2020.

The case stems from a complaint made in 2020 by Columbia attorney A.W. Smith to the federal government. Smith filed the suit as a “qui tam” case against DeLine under the False Claims Act. The Federal Bar Association describes such cases as allowing “whistleblowers to take legal action on behalf of the government.” The whistleblower can collect a portion of any money the government collects if successful.

DeLine told ABC 17 News on the phone Wednesday that he expected the case to end in a repayment plan to the federal government. DeLine denied that any fraud took place, but declined to comment further on the case.

Smith said he first suspected the fraud when he and DeLine had business conversations that included the number of people DeLine employed. Smith said DeLine told him many of his more than 400 workers were “1099 employees,” or independent contractors at his trucking or mobile home businesses. Small Business Administration rules prohibited employers from including independent contractor payments in their loans.

Greg DeLine complaintDownload

Records from ProPublica show DeLine had a $5.8 million loan forgiven through the PPP. Amega Sales received a $242,647 loan forgiven, GKD Management had $454,400 forgiven and Midwest Mortgage Associates had $794,200 forgiven, all for payroll expenses.

Smith said each business applied for PPP loans with hundreds of employees, which would have made DeLine one of the largest employers in Boone County. Smith said he felt DeLine was “double-dipping” on PPP loans.

Smith, through his attorney Joe Kronwaitter, declined to comment on the case.

Assistant prosecutor Matthew Sparks said the DOJ would accept the case and planned to file an amended complaint in the next 60 days. ABC 17 News received an automated reply from the U.S. Attorney’s Office saying questions outside “national security, violations of federal law, and essential public safety functions” would be answered after the federal government shutdown.

Qui tam actions have been used before in PPP fraud cases. The prosecutor’s office in New Jersey announced a $13 million settlement with three companies after receiving a qui tam complaint. The DOJ announced a $21 million settlement with three Chinese companies over PPP concerns following a similar complaint.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday for a gun charge.

Damion Hunt, 32, was charged with being a felon with a gun. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

Previous reporting indicates he was found with a gun during a traffic stop on Oct. 3.

Hunt was arrested on suspicion of illegal gun possession, according to an Oct. 6 press release.

Hunt was previously convicted of second-degree assault in connection with a 2019 downtown shooting.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia woman was accused of assaulting her mother on Oct. 8 and biting a Columbia police officer.

Nicole Denvit, 31, was charged on Tuesday with first-degree domestic assault, resisting arrest and misdemeanor fourth-degree assault. She is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond.

An arraignment was held on Wednesday. A confined docket hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday and a preliminary 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25.

The probable cause statement says police were called to a Columbia residence at 9:38 a.m. Oct. 8 for a reported assault.

The officer wrote in the statement that they say blood “splattered” on the victim’s clothes, as well as a number of injuries to the victim’s face and body. Police described seeing a blood streak on the floor of the victim’s bedroom, as well as several other areas of the home where the victim claimed they were assaulted and strangled.

The victim described Denvit to police as intoxicated at 6:30 a.m. and was first verbally abusive before following the victim to her room, dragging her by her hair and striking her 30-40 times, the probable cause statement says. The victim had lost consciousness at one point during the assault, according to the statement.

Police met with Denvit at an emergency room waiting area of University Hospital.

“I did not observe any obvious physical injuries on her face or arms. I observed some scratching and bruising on Denvit’s right knuckles. I observed a scratch on Denvit’s left hand. I observed bruising on the top of Denvit’s right foot, the part consistently used to kick someone with. I observed Denvit to be highly intoxicated,” the officer wrote.

The officer told Denvit she was under arrest, and she allegedly began kicking, pushing and biting the officer, the statement says.

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