SportsZone Football Friday highlights and scores: Week 4
ABC 17 News Team
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Missouri high school football kicked off Week 2 of the 2025 season on Friday.
Scores from Mid-Missouri teams are posted below.
Highway 5 bridge replacement project extended through October
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Work on the Missouri Highway 5 bridge over Bear Creek in Glasgow will continue into October, according to a Friday press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation.
The bridge replacement was expected to be done this month.
“An underground spring requiring extensive excavation and a deteriorated roadway foundation under Route 5 which required substantial work have extended the project timeline,” the release says.
Temporary traffic signals and the narrowed lane will remain in place until the end of the project, the release says.
Crash causes traffic delays on Interstate 70 in Cooper County
Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A non-injury rollover crash involving a tractor-trailer stifled traffic flow on eastbound Interstate 70 in Cooper County on Friday.
The crash happened at about 5 p.m. By 6 p.m., traffic was at a near standstill, with the Missouri Department of Transportation’s traveler information map showing a delay of hours possible.
The crash happened near the 96 mile marker. Traffic was backed up beyond the 93.5 mile marker near Pilot Grove, a MoDOT camera feed showed a little after 6 p.m.
Cole County judge strikes down language in 2026 reproductive rights ballot issue
Matthew Sanders
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Cole County judge on Friday ruled that language for a measure placed on the November 2026 ballot by Republican legislators was unconstitutional, ordering the state to go back to the drawing board.
Judge Daniel Green ruled in favor of Anna Fitz-James in her lawsuit against Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, House Speaker Jonathan Patterson and Moberly-area Sen. Ed Lewis. Fitz-James sued in July, claiming on three separate counts that the language approved by the Missouri General Assembly did not comply with constitutional requirements.
The ballot issue would roll back protections in Amendment 3, which was approved in November 2024 with 51.6% of the vote.
Green sided with Hoskins and legislators on the first count. But he ruled on the other two that the ballot language was “insufficient and unfair.”
The judge agreed with Fitz-James that the ballot language failed to alert voters to what the amendment would change in the constitution.
ORDER AND PARTIAL JUDGMENTDownload
The ruling now sends the issue back to Hoskins, who is charged by state law with drafting a new, sufficient and fair summary statement, Green wrote. A new statement is due to the court within seven days of Friday’s order and the case remains open, Green wrote.
Fitz-James is represented by the ACLU and other groups.
“In response to a legislative ban on abortion, hundreds of thousands of Missourians exercised their right to use the citizen-led ballot measure to establish a new fundamental right to reproductive freedom in our constitution last November,” Tori Schafer, director of policy and campaigns at the ACLU of Missouri, said in a statement emailed to ABC 17 News. “While we are pleased that the judge saw through the legislature’s deceitful language, the fight does not end here. Elected officials have a duty to provide Missourians with accurate information on their ballots, and we are holding them accountable as Amendment 3 reinstates the abortion ban and overturns the reproductive freedom voters secured last year.”
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office supported the decision.
“Today’s ruling is a clear win for Missourians. The Court upheld HJR 73 on the central constitutional issues and confirmed it contains a single subject. Our Office is confident the Secretary of State will revise the ballot summary so voters receive fair, accurate language on this important amendment,” the office wrote in a statement.
MO Protects was not enthused with the ruling.
“MO Protects is deeply disappointed in Judge Green’s ruling striking down the summary language for the pro-life amendment. This decision is yet another example of constant judicial intrusion into the legislative process,” the group said in a statement. “The people of Missouri elect representatives to write laws and present measures for the ballot, and time after time those efforts are second-guessed and obstructed by the courts. Missourians deserve straightforward ballot language and the opportunity to decide for themselves. It should not be the role of a judge to interfere with that process or to tip the scales in favor of abortion activists. MO Protects will continue working to ensure that voters are given a fair, honest choice at the ballot box.”
Man charged with murder in 2017 killing faces more gun charges
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A man who was recently arrested in connection with a 2017 homicide case is facing additional felony charges.
David Adams, 44, of Columbia, was charged on Friday in Boone County with illegal gun possession and stealing a gun. He is also charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, second-degree felony murder and illegal gun possession in the death of Augustus Roberts.
Adams is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A hearing for the new set of charges has not been scheduled, while a hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 29 in his murder case.
Adams was arrested last month along with Julius Cureton, 37, of Columbia. Cureton is also charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery and second-degree felony murder in Roberts’ death. Cureton is also being held at the jail without bond and has a hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Jeffrey McWilliams, 33, is also a suspect in the case, and is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. Online court records indicate that he has a hearing scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 3.
Court documents in Adams’ new case say police found several stolen guns at Adams’ residence while serving a search warrant.
Roberts is the son of a former Northeast Missouri judge. Adams changed his last name from McClain, according to court documents.
Police said Roberts was targeted and killed during a home invasion in the 1900 block of Lasso Circle. A Drug Enforcement Administration investigation alleged in 2019 that the homicide was tied to a drug trafficking scheme and that Roberts was selling “high-grade marijuana.”
Jury trial scheduled in 2026 for woman accused in fatal Holts Summit shooting
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A jury trial has been scheduled for the spring for a woman charged with murder in a fatal shooting at a Holts Summit apartment complex in April.
Heather Smith, of Holts Summit, was charged with three counts of unlawful use of a weapon, a count of first-degree of endangering the welfare of a child, second-degree felony murder and armed criminal action. Her trial will be held in Boone County.
A pretrial conference has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20. The jury trial is set for 9 a.m. Friday, March 13 at the Boone County Courthouse.
Smith is accused of killing Kara Dills, 37. Court documents in previous reporting say the shooting started with an argument between Smith and Dills at Hunter Lane Apartments. The documents cite nine witnesses to the shooting.
Video surveillance allegedly showed Smith threatening witnesses with a pistol before the shooting. One witness allegedly tried to disarm her after she pointed the gun at several people, but was not successful.
Dills allegedly got a gun and pistol-whipped Smith on the forehead, documents say. The gun went off, grazing a man later identified as Thomas Jones, on his head, according to the probable cause statement. After Dills lowered her gun and started to walk away, Smith shot her in the stomach, the statement says. She later died.
Jones was later charged with fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor, for failing to listen to deputies. He has a hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7.
Road work scheduled for several Columbia streets
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Columbia announced in a Friday press release that pavement maintenance would begin next week for South Providence Outer Road and other nearby streets.
Affected streets include:
South Providence West Side Outer Road from the Hinkson Creek Bridge and the south end of the street
South Providence East Side Outer Road from Buttonwood Drive (near Buchheit) to the south end of the street
Buttonwood Drive from Green Meadows Road to the Buttonwood Drive roundabout
Madrid Lane from Sieville Avenue to East El Cortez Drive
Sieville Avenue from Monterey Drive to Balboa Lane
Granada Boulevard from Monterey Drive to Bethel Street
Corporate Plaza Drive from the Outer Road to Santana Circle
Santana Circle from North Cedar Lake Drive East to the north end of the street
Carrieridge Drive from North Cedar Lake Drive West to Dorothy Dean Drive
Crews will work from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. each day, and work is expected to be completed by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3. “No parking” signs will be posted on the street 24 hours in advance.
Storm-damaged Southern Boone goal post replaced
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A new goal post in the south end zone at Southern Boone High School’s football field was installed on Friday morning, according to a school district spokesman.
The goal post broke on Monday from high winds after thunderstorms entered the area. Photos from the district showed the uprights and cross bar were detached from the broken goal post.
District spokesman Matt Sharp wrote in an email that the new post will be fully installed before Friday night’s home game against Boonville. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Boone County first quarter wage growth mediocre among largest Missouri counties
Matthew Sanders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Boone County was middle-of-the-pack among the state’s biggest counties in wage gains over the first quarter of the year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week.
Wages reported to the bureau increased by close to 3% in Boone County in the first quarter, which covers the period of January to March. St. Louis City, St. Charles County and Jackson County had larger gains.
Greene County placed a distant seventh among the seven largest counties.
Boone County’s average weekly wage for the period was $1,186 — the highest in Mid-Missouri. Cole and Callaway counties ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Ste. Genevieve reported the highest average salary in the state.
Wage levels in all of Missouri’s 108 smallest counties were below the national average.
Boone County had the largest year-over-year employment increase among the state’s seven biggest counties. Employment statewide was up 0.1% in the first quarter compared to last year.
Former Pulaski County substitute teacher pleads guilty to child sex crimes
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A former substitute teacher from a Pulaski County school district pleaded guilty on Wednesday to child sex crimes.
Carissa Smith, of Dixon, Missouri, pleaded guilty to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of having sexual contact with a student. She was previously charged with 19 felonies, including statutory rape, statutory sodomy, child sex trafficking and paying a child for sex.
She will be sentenced at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19.
Previous reporting indicates she previously worked for the Dixon School District, but resigned in August 2024.
Court documents in previous reporting say a victim told law enforcement they were coerced into sex with Smith and that she supplied marijuana, alcohol and money on multiple occasions.